That mail slot is the most blatant vagina/canal metaphor I've ever seen. Like he had to wait for her to shut the door so he could violate it, because it wasn't about just catching her, it was about breaking her boundary after she put it up.

I've seen a lot of people complain that "Men" really doesn't have anything new to say about sexism, but I really like it for portraying it such a unique and visceral way.

Even just the walk scene is so relatable as a woman. I can't tell you how many times I've been enjoying a peaceful walk alone somewhere, either in my neighborhood or a park or somewhere more remote, and suddenly I see a man, and everything changes. It's jarring, to realize A., you're not alone, and B., you may be in danger. The walk is no longer peaceful or enjoyable. You're instantly on guard, even if the man looks or seems "normal" or "respectable". You just want to get to safety.

My sister, her husband and I watched this in October in the middle of the night. We all understood the meaning, but could barely speak about it. The film dug out all my primal fears about strange men. All the times when I had travelled alone as a teen and was targeted by some pervert in a train. All the times I saw a group of men on the street and started walking faster. Many don't even try to understand this film and dismiss it as "man-hating propaganda". They have no idea what it's like to live with a constant worry.

Still feel as though my first reading of this film holds: it was like someone made a horror movie metaphor for when i tried to report sexual harassment to a university

As a woman who experiences paranoia from trauma, i really appreciated the first part of the vid

The imagery of the blowing dandelion and hand entering the mails slot immediately made me think of ejaculation and penetration, respectively. Dandelions proliferate by wind scattering their seeds, so the man blowing them AT her felt so targeted and violating, especially once she retreated and closed the door, setting a clear boundary. But then he violated that boundary anyway! It almost seemed deliberate on his part that he waited for the door to close before ignoring the physical barrier completely. When you read the mail slot as a vagina, especially with the whole room lit in diffused pink and red, the whole scene feels like rape. Nightmarish, really...

My interpretation of the film was along the lines of "Patriarchy as Cosmic Horror" inescapable and undeniable danger. Things morphing together and coming from each other at the same time, the endless cycle of abuse and inherited trauma. There's no escape and realizing that safety is only something that only exists in her ignorance until she takes in her surroundings. No new start will make the social and structural dangers go away. Tainting every facet of both her world and how we see that world through cinematography. I thought it was amazing as an art piece, I love your comparison to a poem. A special note about the hallway scene, it could be another nod to the repeating cycle of trauma and abuse, it's not the first time she or another traumatized person has run through that hall from a grasping hand.

I am seeing a lot of comments about the lack of voiceover for this video, so I just wanted to say that I personally loved this format. It made the analysis feel so concise and deliberate, like everything that needed to be said was said and time was given for the proper breathing room to absorb it all. I don’t expect it to be anything more than a unique approach for this particular video, but I really liked it especially with the poetry readings :)

Men kind of feels like jazz starting off with a well composed piece that's been practiced and well-honed to an excellently polished piece, and then it ends up going very freeform and improvised by the end. Very pure expression that's kind of hard to parse. But you can very much just appreciate it as a whole and not worry about understanding the individual parts.

This man is one of the most talented essayists on this platform, it’s crazy how underrated this channel is. Hoping your channel blows up man

The lack of voiceover for much of the essay is my FAVORITE part. It mirrors what the video's creator says about how the walking sequence of the movie prepares the audience for the poetics of the "resolution." The WAY that the video's creator analyzed that walking sequence prepared me for the work of attending to the meaning and feeling(!) of his "conclusion." The video essay's structure coaxed me into providing the kind of active attention that the essay's content requires in order to be fully experienced. Reading the video's analysis animated on top of the film's visuals was an early cue to (and reward for) reading deeply (both into the movie's imagery and the selected poems). It drew me into a place of receptiveness to the images of the film and the text of the essayist by requiring my visual and linguistic attention. In the same way that the video mirrors the film, this video's frustrated commenters have found themselves mirroring the objections of the film's frustrated critics. So much of the displeasure at the video's lack of voiceover just goes to show how many of the "viewers" came to this experience expecting it to fully reward them for their half-engagement (audio only in an audio-visual work). It's the same mindset as those who sat down to watch an art-house film expecting to receive total narrative closure while only passively (dis-)engaged. This aversion to engaging fully with the present moment is literally the antithesis of this video essay and its true subject: poetry. Was this a sloppily crafted video essay... or a really good poem? EDITS: corrected some phrasing

The entire first half of this video was wonderfully unsettling. The tension was off the roof and this video managed to make me put attention to every detail of every word while simultaneously making me continuously pause it in some sort of surprise adversed preparation. The tematic composition and pacing really come together great. Thank you for the video-and for introducing me to three great poems (though, I'll admit, the second one is my favorite)!

I never got poetry, and just didn’t like it. But you explaining it as a way to destroy our brain’s abstract labeling into experience, feeling, and meaning makes complete sense to me. Maybe I need to give poetry another try.

oh i really enjoyed this! for some reason the additional attention of having to read made the whole thing more immersive and tense in a way? also as an artistic choice it really works - considering the subject matter!

I love how you always approach making these videos in different ways that perfectly compliment the film you're talking about. This was excellent, truly.

That translation of the 李白 poem is particularly fitting for this video, I think! Firstly because the translator was a self-admittedly 'vibes only' translator, focusing more on conveying the feeling each of 李白‘s poems gave the reader rather than trying to preserve the a lot of the particulars. Secondly because the common reading of the original Chinese poem doesn't have a woman in it. Adding a woman to the poem and then asking her a potentially intrusive question (where do you live?) aligns with the themes explored in the movie.

im guilty of multitasking and only listening to videos, not watching them. im really glad you made the first half only visual and made me pay attention

its interesting you lol after 'i like how pissed she is about this' re going into the door in the woods. it may be an unusual choice to show it on film but in reality, women are pissed in situations like this. you have to assume you're at risk, that others will judge your choices to be wrong should the situation go south, that schroedingers man both means you harm and is blissfully unaware you could even be thinking that, and know that men deal with none of this just.. walking. living. harper is pissed, why wouldn't she be?

The scene right after she comes up off the path and stands in front of the two houses.She pauses thinks about going in between them but decides to instead go on the outside hit so hard. She’s out of immediate danger but not quite safe yet so she’s still on edge. The feeling of unease doesn’t fully dissipate till she is completely out in the open.

This movie reminded me of Lucky (2020). They both use an bizarre premise to explore the how being a woman can feel like being under constant threat. Both have a sort of dreamlike absurdity to them, but there's some thing very different about their tone that I had a bit of trouble putting my finger on. I think the poetry analogy nails it. Lucky is the premise as a SF short story; Men is the premise as a poem.

I find the text approach to this video supremely engaging and very appropriate for discussing the film’s poetry and you succeeded in getting me to observe the film and the video itself more intently and you lulled me into the very state that you discuss in the final part of the video. My new favorite video of yours, absolutely well done!

I love how Harper’s job is so nondescript. “Reviewing document and giving feedback”. So relatable lol

Since I saw "Men" I've been wondering why I liked that movie so much. Now I know. You put into words what I only felt intuitively. Thank you.

I tend to shy away from text heavy videos. The reason I enjoy videos so much is that I'm a shitty reader, willing but easily frustrated by my own limitations. Every now and then there's a piece that you just drop all else for and let it take the lead for a while. This was one of those. Here the silence felt easy - viewing wise that is, paced and flowing; the unease was well conveyed in the contents too. So beautiful.

This is one of the best video essays I've watched. I love how you explored this movie. The beginning sequence and then the reframing at the end was great. Editing was on point.

For a video where I spent the majority of it reading, this was so unsettling. I don't know how you did it, but you did! Bravo! I really like when you experiment with different ways to make your videos. But all your videos have something very important in common, they all come together so beautifully by the end that they leave me feeling breathless. Thank you, I am amazed by you like always.

I used to write poetry a lot but I haven't been able to access it for a while, since the pandemic started at least. But this made my brain alive with it in a way it hadn't been for a while, which was refreshing. It's funny, I didn't pick up the surreal symbology of the movies later parts as poetic, but the movie made me look up poetry anyway. After the vicar's fucking horrible lecture to Harper with all the references--I couldn't make out all his words, but I got that the first one was something about Agamemnon and then she asks him what he is and he says "a swan"--which immediately made me think of Leda and the Swan, both the myth and the Yeats poem. Also interesting that the poem suggests that the Swan's rape of Leda is what leads to Agamemnon's death. Destructive birth birthing future destruction. I just keep thinking about that line right before things go off the fucking walls, where Geoffrey tells Harper that he's going to check for her intruder outside (despite Harper repeating telling him not to) and Geoffrey says something like "A failed soldier" "What?" (Harper) "My father said I was like a failed soldier. I was only seven. I guess I'll show him." The descendant line of toxic masculinity, from father to son (which always makes me think of This Be The Verse by Phillip Larkin). But what the video kind of helps clarify for me as well is--the movie's not just showing us that cycle, it's showing us Harper watching that cycle, and still not being impressed. All that inner pain and turmoil of toxic masculinity doesn't mean you don't get fucking stabbed if you cross the one boundary remaining.It's sad and gross and disturbing, but it's a reason, not a goddamn excuse.

Have you ever considered writing a short story or screenplay yourself? Your analyses are always so enthralling, I would love to experience something that you'd expose and guide me through, just like your videos - or you know, throw me to the wolves and make me figure it out, I'd be there for it either way. Even that brief pencil example blew my hair right the fuck back about conceptualizaiton of poetry and how it tries to unravel my concrete brain. So grateful to have found you as I wouldn't have the patience to understand these concepts anywhere else, especially because you explain them so effortlessly and tactfully.

Maybe I'm just insane but I noticed that Harper's dress resembles a REGENCY era gown... Specially in the frame of her playing the piano viewed from the cottage window; placed in a world of patriarchy, but specifically a world of manipulation and self doubt to feel vulnerable like late 1700's or early 1800's, a woman's value is determined by men's choices... Harper's submerged on guilt because of someone else's choice, yet not anyone but her husband... She feels guilt but also she's been punished... Just like a centuries' ago narrative. A man chooses and the woman assimilates.

I watched this movie a few months ago & came away from it feeling it was a heavy handed sloppy mess, but your carefully & thoughtfully crafted analysis has made me realise I didn't give it a fair shake. Gonna give it a rewatch soon through the lense of the points you raised in this video. Thanks for the shift in perspective.

I kind of thought it as somewhat similar to Neon Genesis Evangelion on how the overall poetry and symbolism outweigh the litteral theme.

This is your best work yet, the editing is immaculate and extremely poetic!

This was a really interesting analysis... I really love the tie in with poetry. Actually, maybe even more than anything to do with the film itself; I found myself reaching to revisit a copy of Rimbaud's Illuminations and found myself sitting with a new sort of appreciation for the observations and imagery in his poetry perhaps in a sort of similar way. Some, maybe even almost more fitting than your examples (which is not meant as a criticism; I'm just a Rimbaud fanboy of sorts and thank you for inciting the inclination to re-read some of his works with a similar framework, if that makes sense...) On another note, I thought that captioning the first half was a brilliant move leading into where you actually start talking; on an artistic level but also on a practical one, where it forces one to actually pay attention to the imagery.

love your thoughts on this but i also loveeee the format of your other vids, your narration can be really cinematic and really adds to the experience. i hope u go back to that but if not i’ll still watch !

You are so good at putting your thoughts to video. The rhythm, the editing, the way your arguments build on themselves. I'm glad I waited to watch this until I had the time to pay full attention to it.

The end of this movie is so strange and I still don’t know how I feel about it. I got a lot of the same feelings and reads on it as you did, but there’s also a part of me that wonders how much of it was driven by “look at how upsetting and unsettling this body horror is.” Which is kind of in conflict with the rest of the movie because it’s like… hey you know what’s scary?? This thing that women do!! Whoa!! Disturbing!!

Started this movie but couldn't finish it. Too intense for me as a woman. I was so tense about halfway through I knew I was headed for a panic attack or smth

This might just be one of the best videos on this platform. Just pure art appreciation and thoughtfulness. We absolutely need more of this kind of thing! Thank you

You are constantly upgrading. Every work (better term than "video" in your case, I think) evolves from the pevious. Well done!

I loved this! Sometimes movies are beautiful poems and that's wonderful to me.

When I saw this in theatres I cried for the first hour due to it reflecting a very deep trauma I had in a relationship when I was freshly 18. There was something so familiar about the film that was almost cloying, but I think I’m due for a rewatch as there is a frustrating nagging about its plotting. A mirror that amplified the terrors of my lived experience.

Aftersun and Men werenmt favorite film poems of las year!!! Another Garland masterpiece. Thanx!!!

Just got to the spoiler warning. I had maybe heard of this movie in passing once, but the first 10 minutes of this video have completely convinced me to watch it. I hope to come back to this video very soon.

Always excited when you upload! Your videos are so curious about the subject you're talking about and you ask questions that make me think about filmmaking and storytelling beyond the movie. Keep up the great work!

Just found you today through this video and have been binging you videos. They're so good. Really insightful thoughts, and so well produced as to communicate those thoughts. Here's hoping to this channel taking off and making enough so you can do this full time, good luck!

I loved the analysis and presentation of this video.

Absolutely loved everything about this video. Thank you for making it.

I have been enjoying your videos for a while now, but this one is really special to me. I have recently gotten into poetry myself and this was a really great explanation of your perspective on poetry and the way that you presented the video played with form in it of itself, which I think is very fittingly poetic.

After seeing the movie I was in the desperate search of a good analysis video and this channel never disappoints. The video prolonged my experience with the movie and helped me so much with understanding some things I overlooked, and some other things I felt but couldn't quite express. I really liked the movie itself, but, and that is the first time it happens to me with a film, I like the video even more. It is also very comforting to listen to a man talking about the experience of being a woman, the fear that comes with it, the internal helplessness and everything, and it being understood so well by someone who do not deal with those issues. That was a very beautiful video about some nightmarish concepts, and I will come back to it sometimes to think of those issues, feel understood, and remembering the atmosphere of the movie. And also, to dig deeper into the cultural nuggets you left here and there for us to enjoy.

Oh wow it's been awhile since I last saw one of your videos! Glad to see you back! Loved this insightful video on this scene's film lmaguage!

Holy shit An actual interest take on this movie!

This is such a fascinating format for a video essay - you keep pushing the medium in new directions!

absolutely outstanding. you helped me understand annihilation and you’ve helped me gain more meaning from this film too. obviously, this filmmaker is an artist. and your videos are so good.

Every one of your videos is kind of all everything i needed after watching the movie, the poetry bit at the end was amazing

Your videos have a poetry to them, perhaps no more than this one. Loved the unique format to this one!

I finally watched it, having been an Alex Garland fan from the beginning and carefully avoiding as many spoilers as possible after such a long wait. Thank you for this calm, contemplative look at the film. You are appreciated.

I liked your poem :) Always very exciting to see a new video from you, and this was brilliant and insightful as ever. Thanks for doing what you do ^_^

I fully intended to half watch this video while I read on my Kindle, but the format had me hypnotized. Phenomenal.

I spend so much time "watching" KZfaq, having videos play the background while I do something else. I was initially a little annoyed that the first part of this video was text, but by the end I'm so grateful for the encouragement to give this video my full attention as it absolutely deserved it.

Really happy that someone is talking about this movie, it’s extremely underrated and I’m surprised to see so many end of the year lists leave this out even though in my opinion it’s best if the year

We don't always need to explain surreal emotional art with words. Those who get it get it, and I think that's the most important thing. If you get something out of experiencing the art, if it resonates with your own emotions, that's what matters. At least, that's been my experience with certain grotesque art born from trauma. I 'get it,' and trying to explain to others how or why only causes confusion.

Woah, I absolutely adore everything you put out

Glad you’re back !!!! ❤❤❤

first 11 minutes have FULLY sold me on a film that I had completely written off and been entirely uninterested in. great work.

even within this movie, "MEN" is unable to deliver a satisfying climax.

And, am I alone feeling like Harper gets bored with men giving birth to each other?

Incredible video. Thank you

This is a fascinating format for film criticism! I loved it!!!

I'm so glad poetry is getting let's plays now as well as just video gaems maybe the future isn't so bright but at least I can see the way

Interesting format for a video. I like it. I think some people dislike it because they don't like the content to change. I understand, they like certain content for a reason and if that reason goes away, so does their interest. I think it's worth taking the risk to express your art in the way you want and I got a lot out of the format of this video. So thank you for this.

I saw Dune 2 today and two of the trailers were for the new Alex Garland and the new M. Night. We truly live in one of the ages of cinema of all time

An alternative to the Robert Frost poem: A rose, by any other name Would never, ever smell the same. And clever is the nose that knows An onion that's been called a rose.

I'd also say you describing this film as a poem has allowed me to enjoy it in it's entirety, which I did struggle with before 😅 I knew the feelings it was bringing up for me, but sometimes it's hard to break the expectation that a movie feel like a movie first, even when it's getting everything right thematically

this was a beautifully done video

Awesome video, the parts with just movie audio were so cool, really immersive. Makes me want to read more poetry 🤣

LOVE this.

About to watch this video, and I am SO glad you're doing this movie. I'm really interested to hear your takeaway.

i loved the lack of voiceover and the editing in this one. it made me really anxious in the best way lol

Will you do NOPE? I would love to hear an analysis from you about this one.

I've finally watched the movie and... phew, what a (very gory) trip! Thanks for the essay (and kudos on the awesome editing style you went with!). I'll add (for the people who, like me, might spend too much time deconstructing a poem such as this one) that there's a lot to dig into regarding nature and the way it is portrayed in the movie. It appears as if Garland suggest that women are 'more natural' than men: Harper wanders in a forest, a safe space of healing and confort, a shot of a tree looks suspiciously like a pair of voluptuous... "clefted legs". Meanwhile, the Green Man, while a representation of nature, feels at odds with it, always wandering about it non quite natural spaces (the tunnel, the abandoned house, the cemetary). While nature seems organic with Harper, he has to cut his face to insert leaves underneath his skin. Anyhoo, I'm kind of curious about this theme of the movie so I just wanted to jut those thoughts down here. Keep up the good (great) work! Your channel is one of my absolute favorites! :)

Came to this video thanks to a friend. I LOVED your analysis and how you presented It. I've been thinking about this movie since I saw it, definitively It marked me

Loved the poem at the end.

This is great- I don't think it helped me understand the movie any better, but it did make me think of things not even remotely related in a different way. Thank you.

This was so good!!

Wow this was an amazing , unique analysis.

Your video inspired me to watch this movie and make a video of my own. I’ve certainly got… thoughts.

really interesting and thoughtful, i loved this video

Ocean Vuong made me believe in poetry again. This was a great video.

Nice job with the placement of the "p" of "sharpening" :P

this movie really brought to mind feelings I had as a girl in childhood especially. Going from big to small so fast depending on the company you were in

Bangin video, equally horrified by watching this late at night. Can't wait for the next one!

after a year on my watchlist, i 've finally watched... this video, after finally watching the film i loved it your video (and the movie) (perfect movie) perfect video, congrats

I liked where you put the 'p' in 'sharpening'.

I definitely agree when you say you found yourself more interested in the aesthetics - I don't think Alex Garland's projects are boring, etc. story-wise, but it seems like he prioritizes style over substance

What a fascinating exploration of what makes horror effective. So little of the 'visuals' leading up to the tunnel invoke much horror to me, but likely could to a woman who might be far more wary of a lonely walk anywhere, especially one where your unfamiliar with the location. So that tunnel helps to contrast and frame how far one with no security or safety must look to see potential threats. I would love for you to do give your perspective on Under The Skin. What makes the score so effective, what makes the movie feel so alien in its shots, what the movie gleans from its ending?

A cool thing about the shriek is that it plays hard into that feeling of ‘Am I overreacting? Am I imagining things? Am I wrong?’ feeling that often comes when a man starts to harass or menace a woman. Harper is from the city; the countryside isn’t a place she’s familiar enough with to be able to do a confident threat assessment. And that shriek is very finely calculated: it could be a woman - but it could just as easily be a fox. Certainly anyone she tells about it could dismiss it that way, and how is she going to contradict them? She’s just a townie. It’s like the landscape is gaslighting her. And even more: it’s a sound that, if she asked for help, would create a situation that would be unpleasantly easy to sexualise. The scream means a vixen in mating season - a shriek of ‘yes’ when Harper’s whole life depends on saying ‘no.’ You can just imagine the jokes down the pub. Except it’s also a boundary violation even if it is a fox - because it’s not a normal time for a fox to be screaming. Not impossible - but foxes usually scream at night, and usually in the winter. A fox screaming on a summer day feels wrong: it’s a sound for cold and darkness breaking into somewhere that should be warm and light.

The green man was an interesting element of this film. I hadn't heard about it before, but apparently green men are common iconography in certain parts of the world, especially in architecture, and represent rebirth, fertility, and springtime. I think it's interesting that this representation of men was included, especially alongside sheela na gig. Where the green man is a warm and fruitful deity, sheela na gig is a lusty and sinful one, despite both representing fertility.

I liked this video, very different and has given me a new angle to watch movies with. Thanks!

Life is a staring contest. If you can stand to look long enough, maybe you'll gain some control. Nature, space, "the abyss," dominate our minds, no matter how long we try to stare them down.