I spent a weekend at the movies and found no heroes. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the films. However, view at your own risk. Let’s get into it.
Four Movies
I watched were:
- Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970)
- Basic Instinct 2 (2006)
- The Tribes of Palos Verde (2017)
- The Girl on the Mountain (2022)
All these movies are in the broad genre of “Dramas”. In other words: they are not Comedies; Fantasy; SciFi; Western; Action/Adventure; or Romance. They, in a sense, show contemporary reality and the real-time cultural zeitgeist.
Diary of a Mad Housewife
was amazing! I’d never watched it before. Notwithstanding, I knew it was the movie Neil Young was singing about in his song, A Man Needs A Maid.
So what?
Was the movie accurate? My sense is – Yes, in some cases. Additionally, it is so sad. It’s about domestic life in America, in the 60’s and 70’s, of the upper-middle class. Moreover, the consequences of that on women and children. And men.
Basic Instinct 2
is disturbing. Because there is an unconscious truth to it. There are movies (and books) that show this subject better. (IMO) Such as:
- Body Heat (1981)
- Basic Instinct (1992)
- The House of Sand and Fog (2003)
Okay, more later.
The Tribes of Palos Verde
is a movie that evoked the most emotion from me (= sadness). Because I thought the movie so true of today’s zeitgeist. It again reflects a man in love with himself, but in so search of validation via a woman. Via sexual satisfaction … and so on.
The end result is how that impacts the children.
The Girl on the Mountain
is uplifting on the surface. And yet? What is the message?
In Conclusion
these are not uplifting films.
PS
to be continued.
I didn’t know there even WAS a Basic Instinct 2! I pretty much stopped watching movies around 1990. That’s when Hollywood became really weird.
Good morning, Rich. I was watching 2Way. … Neither did I, it just popped up on my Prime video feed, as did “Diary”. And also, the other two as well. It began because of Trump’s presser at his golf club in Palos Verde. (Prime in cahoots with YouTube & Google probably.)
Overall, they present a 50 year documentary of the feminist movement. Maybe.
White men are shown as obsessed with domination, sex, and power. At best, the men are neglectful. At worst murderous. In between, abusive– physically, psychologically and emotionally. The movies don’t paint a kind picture of successful men. Women, the wives and the children, suffer. Greatly. The exception is Basic Instinct 2.
It’s Sharon Stone, again, in the same role as ‘killer’ novelist, using her sexual prowess to undo and bring down men. Who are stupid fools. (It flopped at the box office.)
Overall, I think they might have been shown in “Women’s Studies” courses. Not a good look for healthy family building. Men as monsters, not heroes.