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So, I know I’m reeeaallly late to this topic, but here I am.
While I liked Frozen, it wasn’t my favorite. I liked the “just because he’s a prince doesn’t mean you should marry him” theme, but it was okay otherwise. I personally think that Big Hero 6 had better themes for dealing with depression, death, loyalty, doing what’s right, etc. (Sorry all frozen fans… @kate-flournoy, @bluejay, everyone else…)
@anne-of-lothlorien I loved Ever After! That makes me laugh every time I watch it.
I won’t even start about the Princess Bride.As for a Christian movie, I’d probably go with Beyond the Mask. 🙂
@Jess oh yes, no argument there— Big Hero 6 was awesome. Much better than Frozen. But Frozen was still very enjoyable.
@jess Yes, I really liked Big Hero 6 too, but the handling of themes may be a bit iffy for me. That’s my opinion so. And there’s Beyond the Mask again. 🙁
I blog on story and spiritual things at mkami.weebly.com
@anne-of-lothlorien @jess Oh, I really liked Ever After! Especially with Leonardo. He was great comic relief.
☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀
My favorite movie with an awesome theme . . . this is hard. Wait, let me go through my list of favorite movies.
Okay, it’s gotta be The Dark Knight. Besides, being the (arguably) greatest superhero movie ever, having one of the best villains ever shown on the big screen, and being one of the best movies to watch if you want to learn about pacing, this movie handles themes in a uniquely satisfying way.
There are many themes that are in this movie such as identity (this is, after all, a superhero movie) and truth (lying . . . more on this later), but the main theme is that extreme measures must be taken to preserve order because men aren’t as moral as they think they are.
This theme is so powerful for many of reasons. One thing I noticed is that the terrifying villain, the Joker, actually has the greatest understanding of the main theme. He, like the real live serial killer Ted Bundy, has reached an epiphany concerning humanity and has decided to act on that. Ted Bundy realized that if man truly is as insignificant as evolution and existentialism say he is, then there should be nothing wrong with doing what gives you pleasure. And he acted on that belief. The Joker has realized that men are animals and he wants to expose them for who they truly are. When the Joker knows more truth about than the hero, it forces the audience to hate the truth which makes for a better epiphany when the hero finally does see the truth. You get my drift?
The Dark Knight also manages to infuse the theme in almost every scene. The only way for you to see this is to just watch the movie. Especially notice the major turning points and when you do you’ll see the theme embedded in that turning point. Now that’s a great way to show a theme.
The ironic ending is the single most powerful way to state truth. I’m very fervent about this so don’t even try to argue with me. 🙂 The Dark Knight employs this quite well. Throughout the movie Bruce is going for something, he really really wants it. The sacrifice he makes at the end goes against all that he’s wanted to do for the entire movie . . . ironic ending.
The Noble Lie is used at the end. When you want a character to make a true choice, you don’t choose between good and evil. You must choose between two goods or two evils. That is the law. And that makes for a harder choice. Happened at Eden and it happens today. The moral difficulty makes for a better movie. Moral ambiguity may not be necessary, but it certainly is helpful and brings up many questions. The bottom line is: forcing the hero to make a true choice makes for a better story. And a true choice is . . . I already said what it is.
Sacrifice and Forgiveness. The two greatest values. Use ’em to your own advantage. The Dark Knight used the amazingly well. Do the same.
So now that I’m done fangirling, anybody have any questions, comments, concerns, or consternations?
I blog on story and spiritual things at mkami.weebly.com
@mark-kamibaya Yes, just one concern… You said fangirling, and yet you’re a boy…right? Should I be concerned in the first place? 😛 (I’m just kidding, BTW) I just thought it was funny.
☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀
@dragon-snapper Seriously? 😛
I blog on story and spiritual things at mkami.weebly.com
@Mark-Kamibaya wow, you really like that don’t you. 😀 I haven’t seen it.
One of my absolute favorite movies ever that I always forget to mention is Henry V. It’s an adaptation of Shakespeare’s play by the same name, and since we’re talking about themes this also handles its theme really well, though more subtly than some. The real villain isn’t the antagonist, but the MC’s past. I can’t say much else without giving spoilers, but it’s really, really, really good on a score of different levels and I highly recommend it.
@mark-kamibaya Sorry, sorry…
☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀
@Mark-Kamibaya Wow. Sounds powerful. 🙂
I’m not sure of all you mean by this though— When you want a character to make a true choice, you don’t choose between good and evil. You must choose between two goods or two evils. That is the law. And that makes for a harder choice. Happened at Eden and it happens today. The moral difficulty makes for a better movie. Moral ambiguity may not be necessary, but it certainly is helpful and brings up many questions. The bottom line is: forcing the hero to make a true choice makes for a better story. And a true choice is . . . I already said what it is.How was it a choice between two evils or two goods at Eden?
And I’m just throwing this out for another opinion—I watched Beyond the Mask, and I did like it but I didn’t totally wow over it. I don’t feel the awesomeness lots of people do about it. I haven’t seen Fireproof or any of the other movies like that though (that people fuss about 😛 ), so maybe BtM is just really good compared to those.
It had a great theme, but everyone who had character arcs (which wasn’t many people cuz there weren’t tons of characters, but still) had them too fast, which was annoying and also made the theme less powerful than it could’ve been. The acting could’ve been better too, and lots of the action was veeeery unrealistic. (Though not so bad as the stuff in the last Hobbit movie. 😛 )
The characterization could have been much better too.It has been several months since I saw it but that’s what I remember. 😀
I’ve also seen Beyond the Mask— I would watch it again, and there were quite a few positive aspects of it, but it wasn’t just wow for me either. The theme was consistent and fairly subtle, but pretty generic. The best part about it was the MC’s arc, which though a little rushed in places was fairly well constructed otherwise. I really enjoyed it, and like I said I would watch it again. But it wasn’t just incredibly powerful for me.
@dragon-snapper Lol. Yeah, it was a totally big deal (jokingly, okay?). BTW cool profile pic.
@emma-flournoy Okay, I see what you mean. When I said that it was a choice between two goods and two evils, I meant in the person’s mind. The choice may actually be a choice between good and evil but in the person’s mind it isn’t. So to Eve it was a choice between two goods: obey God and enjoy being in the center of his will or disobey God and be like gods. They are two goods. When you obey God then there was satisfaction and true happiness. When you disobey God then you can rise to be on his level. Understand it now? Just please don’t take those sentences out of contextAs for Beyond the Mask I did some research and critics say it isn’t that good. Now they’re biased because it’s Christian. And I don’t always agree with critics. But when I realized that the movie was made by the same company that made Pendragon? I’m expecting a slick movie but a thin story on all levels.
@kate-flournoy I guess the above is an answer to you too. Have I already mentioned my system of rating movies? 1 star is won’t watch it even if I was paid (Fant4stic). 2 stars is a bad movie but I can get by with it (The Fault in Our Stars). 3 stars is a generally good movie that I’d enjoy watching (Facing the Giants–most movies I watch fit this category). 4 stars is a great movie that is thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish (The Dark Knight and the Martian). 5 stars is like the best movie that I’ve ever seen because its awesomeness never fades with another viewing.Beyond the Mask, based on the things I’ve heard, might actually fit in the 2 star category. And that’s sad. Because I really was looking forward to an awesome Christian movie.
I blog on story and spiritual things at mkami.weebly.com
@kate-flournoy Now for Henry V. I’ve heard it was a good movie, but I’m not too keen on Shakespeare’s works in film. That being said I actually haven’t seen any of Henry V. Not even as a play. So I might give it a chance. Your recommendation certainly makes me want to see it.
I blog on story and spiritual things at mkami.weebly.com
@Mark-Kamibaya that’s actually the only film adaptation of any Shakespeare I’ve ever seen (actually take that back— Taming of the Shrew, which was great, though in a totally different way as its a different genre 😛 ) but I really, really loved it. Best thing is, I read the play first, and though the movie cut a lot of really long dialogue passages (play, you know— gotta fill it up with something 😉 ) otherwise it was completely true to the story, which is just stunning because no one ever does that. I was very, very impressed. I definitely recommend you at least try it out— it’s a 5 for me on your scale, though tastes do vary. Might be 3 or 4 for more action-oriented viewers, which I think you are. 😉 It is action, but the theme and the characters are definitely its strongest assets. But do give it a try, and tell me what you think.
@emma-flournoy I have to agree with you. Even though I do like BTM, would recommend it, and would watch it again, it’s certainly not a true classic.
@Mark-Kamibaya At the same time, I read some of those critics when the movie came out, and they are certainly exaggerating. Yes, you’ll find stuff to critique all over the place, but I’d still recommend trying it out. And if for no other reason, watch it to see the Ben Franklin character. He was great.Now, I just remembered one movie that blew me away with its theme. When you first asked for movies with a great theme, I was like, “Movies with a great theme? Isn’t that an oxymoron?” Well, forget that, because Chariots of fire aces its theme. I seriously could not have asked for it to change one single tiny thing to improve its theme. It was perfect.
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