LA Confidential - Holy shit (racism, sexism) (Spoilers)

pauljeremiah · Oct 23, 2018

One of my favourite films of the 90's.

Deleted member 21339 · Oct 23, 2018

I totally think Anton is a cool dude. Said no one ever

Venatio · Oct 23, 2018

JB1981 said:
I totally think Anton is a cool dude. Said no one ever

Scullibundo · Oct 23, 2018

I hope the OP never watches Taxi Driver.

Deleted member 21339 · Oct 23, 2018

Scullibundo said:
I hope the OP never watches Taxi Driver.

Or A Clockwork Orange

Doomsayer · Oct 23, 2018

Scullibundo said:
How do some of you get through the day?

Seriously.

Puck Beaverton said:
I wish we had an ERA on Film twitter account

I'm glad we don't.

Kinthey · Oct 23, 2018

The scene where Guy Pearce shoots the guy in the elevator doesn't exactly read as glorifying to me. Dude looks like he instantly regrets doing it

julian · Oct 23, 2018

Doomsayer said:
Seriously.

I'm glad we don't.

I think you meant srsly?

More_Badass · Oct 23, 2018

srsly? said:
Terrifying to the characters, yes. But the film makes him into such a cool-headed, invincible--if eccentric--badass, audiences tend to adore the character. It's not for nothing that Anton Chigurgh shows up a lot on "favorite villain" lists. (By contrast, Brolin's lead character is such an uninteresting bore that audiences don't much seem to care when

he finally gets whacked.

)

In no way does No Country present Chigurh as a "cool-headed invincible badass". You should watch the movie again.

And being labeled as a favorite villain doesn't mean people are approving of or seeing him as cool. Chigurh is one of my favorite villains in cinema and it's because he's so terrifying and unsettling, because Bardem imbues the character with such alien inhuman menace, because of how perfectly he embodies the themes of the movie. Not because he's a cool "badass", because he isn't

Hubologist · Oct 23, 2018

Puck Beaverton said:
Is the appreciation for Christoph Waltz in Inglorious Basterds glorifying nazis?

I don't think so, but I can see someone making that argument.

I do not think it's a particularly worthwhile argument to have, personally.

Barry Sandwich · Oct 23, 2018

srsly? said:
It's called critical thinking.

You fail to understand how the filmmakers employ cinematic devices to support and glorify the reprehensible behavior of their POS characters. Repeating myself from earlier in the thread, they're given all the best lines, shots, and "macho points" in the movie. If it wasn't the filmmakers' intention to glorify these lowlifes, they should've balanced these factors out. As it is, they're the sexiest things in the movie.

For the record, I prefer films I watch not to push me to sympathize with any character(s), good, bad, or neutral, as I prefer to navigate the experience on my own initiative. However, like Dirty Harry, this film clearly makes heroes out of its fascist cops.

Eeeehhh... no.

I studied cinema for 3 years, so I understand how cinematic devices are employed.

I just don't think your assumptions about the film maker's intent based on how these characters are portrayed is sound.

Lurcharound · Oct 25, 2018

Puck Beaverton said:
I mean, he would dress up as a nazi and go to his predominantly Jewish school for the sole purpose of getting his ass kicked.

Then there's the whole Oedipal thing with a lot of the women in his novels being similar to his mother, who by his account sounds like she belongs in a dime store novel.

I know. TBH reading it I had to remind myself it wasn't fiction. Then to remind myself it might be fiction to an extent because it's clear he'll happily say/do stuff for effect; by that I mean obviously core elements are real but he could easily be playing with the delivery. In short it's hard to know who he really is but it seems clear there's some issues bubbling away there.

Nimurai · Oct 25, 2018

This is "When keeping it real goes wrong" the thread. I think your intentions were good, but you picked the wrong movie to try and make your case, and you both misunderstood it completely, and how movies work in general.

SugarNoodles · Oct 25, 2018

So many lazy dismissals of criticism in this thread.

This movie isn't just a product of racism and sexism from the time period in which it was set. It is a product of racism and sexism from when it was made.

lobdale · Oct 25, 2018

Nimurai said:
This is "When keeping it real goes wrong" the thread. I think your intentions were good, but you picked the wrong movie to try and make your case, and you both misunderstood it completely, and how movies work in general.

Thanks for saying what I decided I'd say as I read through this example of the OP (and way too many posters) missing the point of films completely