will arch for hits
anyone out there interested in having an arch enemy? and i don’t mean like, a rival. i mean, is there someone basically decent, whom i can torment for fun. and page hits. i think it’s time i transition into an arch enemy/villain type. you guys knew that’s where this was leading, right? i will be accepting submissions immediately. if you’re the kind of person who says stuff like ‘everything happens for a reason’, or ‘i guess it wasn’t meant to be’, that would put you at the top of the stack.
cause not everything happens for a reason. the greater good is some sort of false concept forced down our first world throats when we’re young. so yeah, happy endings don’t sit right with me. and why should they? that ain’t how life works, and we all know it. that’s the draw of noir, as i see it.
though we expect happy endings, and infallible heroes who achieve by sticking to a moral code. but goodness is boring, and evil is sexy as hell. ok, no, but you get my point. it’s more fun to watch at the very least. i think that’s why in other genres, it’s why the antagonists seem more interesting than the protagonists, and also why we’re seeing more ‘anti heroes’ lately. but someone who strives towards a moral goal while being kind of a dick isn’t really the same thing as an anti-hero. the intent is to create a character with inner conflict, but really just comes off as confused. maybe even rudderless. at best, it’s a character who accidentally does some good, while actually being selfish.
i don’t mean we can’t follow a character that unfolds the story, film noir has certainly had some great protagonists over the years. but for as much as the style relied on the high black and white contrast visually, it’s characters and their development enjoyed many shades of grey. and a hero might just be the villian in someone elses story.
kiss kiss, bang gnag
anyone see ‘kiss kiss bang bang (2005)’?
i was aware of this movie for years, but never go around to watching it. i think it’s a good example of what i was talking about earlier. yeah, there’s bad guys, but the protagonists aren’t paragons of moral virtue themselves. one of the things i really like about this movie is that it’s indicative of a type of narrative found in pulp fiction, where a normal, possibly dim person, gets involved in a situation much bigger than him. he becomes our narrator, and we see things unfold as he does. as you can imagine, i like this type of plot device.
robert downey jr plays a down on his luck thief, who goes to LA to achieve success in acting. he runs into an old flame, and gets sucked into her drama. he doesn’t try to help her cause he’s a great guy, and that’s established well. if he did, would it seem more relatable to the audience as it would if he was just trying to get into her pants? i feel like i’m outing myself here as a real piece of garbage here…
if you’re still reading, you might be too. busted. val kilmer plays the actual private detective ‘gay perry’. nicknamed so for being a homosexual, which all the other characters seem to note, but doesn’t play heavily in his character. which is an interesting choice, i think, as a bit of throw away character development. not as much for him, but for everyone around him who seem a little hung up on it. i also appreciate the fact that they went there, and didn’t go ‘full stereotype’ with it. i’d elaborate, but, i think i’ve self identified as terrible enough for one post.
so, apply within for an arch enemy. i think i would be a fine villian for someone who gets offended easily. it would be nice if you were local, but, i’m wiling to commute if i need to.
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yep. seeems legit. totally how a human would speak.
“i read an article a bit ago that proposed the concept that all art is contextual.”
Context does have an influence. I thought that Mozart’s “Requiem” was good, until I read an English translation of the Latin text. Now I think of it like Milli Vanilli singing Revelation. I still like Mozart, but knowing the meaning of the Latin, the whole thing falls a bit flat. Styx’s “Renegade” comes much closer to being what a requiem really should be.
It’s not the viewer who takes something out of context, it’s the composer. The artist. The artist redefines the context. After all, art is all about abstraction, a distillation of essence.
well, in a way, an old dead language is the ultimate ‘context’. but i know what you mean. then again, maybe at the time, the lyrics were fresh and innovative. who knows? we can’t relate, so it’s a good example. thanks!
The “Requiem” is/was a traditional Catholic Mass; some parts of it date back as far as the 2nd century. Comparing it to Milli Vanilli and Styx… That just gets funnier every time I look at it. “Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem.” *thwack*
Not the “Requiem Aeternam” itself, but Mozart’s interpretation of it. Verdi practically breaks into 19th century pop music in part of his composition. The fellow who runs RequiemSurvey.org counts over 5,000 compositions, from over 3,000 composers. Each composer takes the same set of words or at least general concept, and then riffs on it in their own way. It’s like a musical Rorschach test, but on a large scale, with over 600 years of collected data. Seems like good fodder for someone’s doctoral thesis.
Now THAT is a plan I can get behind!
It sounds like a great gig, but I’m afraid I’d have to phone the role in. I am next to impossible to offend, haven’t blushed in a couple of decades, and though I am the kind of person who will never lie, cheat, or steal, I have no qualms about beating wholesale ass on the street. Plus, you are too relatable for me to be your enemy. And you show me great movies I’ve missed.
Besides, aren’t you married? I’m pretty sure your spouse is always supposed to be your arch enemy. Or at least arch nemesis?
I am, and she is, but she’s sorta Harley Quinn to my joker. she tried to figure me out, and it drove her insane. now she does my bidding.
until she read this, and stabs me a bunch.
alright, the search continues. maybe I can keep you on deck in case there’s a legion of doom scenario.