(no subject)

[sapote]

You know, I always found the movie Amelie vaguely ... irritating (not in a "I just don't like him" kind of way but in a "these shoes don't fit quite right" kind of way) because for some reason some part of my brain insisted on treating it as a romantic comedy to which the "lonely, bad childhood" setup was about as important as "quirky, likes box turtles, plans wedding" in some horrible Hollywood thing starring Jennifer Aniston. And it's not, because it's not really a romantic comedy so much as a movie that's about loneliness, even if in the end Our Heroine makes it to the other side.

This makes me think again about how Americans claim to be all about the individualism, but - egregious stereotype here - American movies seem to program you to believe that if Character A wacky setup B unexpected circumstance C then surely true love and/or exciting firefight with Character D. And maybe I just don't watch bad French movies, but they don't seem to assume that all their characters are interchangeable. Or am I missing something because of the culture barrier?

Apologies if I have posted this exact same thought before. I don't seem to have a tag for "pretentiously pretends to have ever taken film theory."

Comments

[rilestar.livejournal.com]

I think it comes down to money. The American film industry is a vast machine, which relies heavily on stereotypes because they don't need explanation. When you're going for the lowest common denominator this is important, because your base assumption is that the majority of your target audience is made of idiots. I mean, you're right - in most big American films you can take one look at the physical presentation of the character and know what kind of childhood they had and exactly what kind of behaviour to expect from them throughout the story. I have a friend who is writing his PhD in the philosophy of mathematics while studying martial arts on the side and working as a security guard. He'd never get cast as muscle in a mainstream Americna film, though - he'd be cast as a nerd or geek because of what he looks like.

Now, it is likely that such a thing exists in other film industries around the world, and that we might miss out on noticing some of it because of cultural differences. However, I don't think it exists anywhere near as much as it does in the American industry. I think because the film industries in other parts of the world aren't as large, they are more open to a bit more depth - there's more room for originality and movement and flexibility in a small business as opposed to a corporation, you know? The American film industry is a tank: huge, hard to manoeuvre, crushes everything in its path. The French film industry is more like a Mini in comparison. :-)

[phnelt.livejournal.com]

Give me a moment to channel my high school english teacher, but Amelie is about loneliness yes, but it more about Obsession and the fetishization of an item. Or so I remember. I always felt like Amelie was a movie fannish people could appreciate. Am I wrong?