Birdman - Are we all superheroes?
"Birdman" is a film well worth watching. Fantastic performances, writing, cinematography, editing and direction surely make any cinephile happy and send film students all over into a tizzy. You can find reviews all over about what the film does technically to wow the audience, but I wanted to talk a bit about how the film makes us feel and what it made me think.
The film follows Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton), a washed-up former blockbuster superhero star from twenty years ago, as he tries to jump-start his career on Broadway and come to terms with his own ego. Is he a real actor? Is he relevant at all anymore?
Because the film centers around his own egotistical dilemma, the film making itself becomes very self-centered. The showy, one-take style makes the film feel like a stage play, but also wants us to recognize it and talk about it. It's almost as if the direction, cinematography, and editing are Riggan himself, begging us to look at it and make it part of the viral discussion.
Riggan's personal demon takes the form of his Birdman blockbuster character. It prods him into going back to what was comfortable. The series that made him rich and famous. Selling out, so to speak, to become relevant once more in an increasingly digital world that he doesn't understand. But he wants more than that. He wants self-validation that, he believes, will come from some kind of success away from Hollywood, on the stages of Broadway. It is a fight that struck a chord with me.
I constantly feel threatened by my place in society and wonder if I will ever be relevant. Should I work toward the unknown, pushing myself to be something I think society will like? Or, should I stick to what I know and settle into a life of mediocrity and obscurity? The answer may seem obvious, but after watching "Birdman" I'm not so sure.
The reasons behind letting go of the "superhero" we are all comfortable with must be right. Is it self-validation and simple ego-stroking? Or are we pushing ourselves into something greater or more relevant because we hope to help people, grow and learn, or expand our world view? Riggan's motives are his greatest fault. At its most basic, he just wants to be cool again. His journey lets him see just how far he needs to go to achieve that. How far would we go to be "cool again'?
While the film making is fantastic and the characters are all engaging, I can't help but wonder if the film and Riggan are too similar. Begging the audience and media to love them and pay attention to them. I don't know if I can call it "brilliant" because it wants to be called exactly that so badly. I worry that if give in to this film, I'm somehow endorsing its form of attention-whoring and self-obsession. But, at the same time, I was thoroughly entertained by it and was engaged from start to finish.
Perhaps it's a simple question: How far will we go to achieve the attention and fame that we desire? And, what if that attention and fame is never enough to satiate our own ego? Then what?
Go see the movie and let me know what you think.
The film follows Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton), a washed-up former blockbuster superhero star from twenty years ago, as he tries to jump-start his career on Broadway and come to terms with his own ego. Is he a real actor? Is he relevant at all anymore?
Because the film centers around his own egotistical dilemma, the film making itself becomes very self-centered. The showy, one-take style makes the film feel like a stage play, but also wants us to recognize it and talk about it. It's almost as if the direction, cinematography, and editing are Riggan himself, begging us to look at it and make it part of the viral discussion.
Riggan's personal demon takes the form of his Birdman blockbuster character. It prods him into going back to what was comfortable. The series that made him rich and famous. Selling out, so to speak, to become relevant once more in an increasingly digital world that he doesn't understand. But he wants more than that. He wants self-validation that, he believes, will come from some kind of success away from Hollywood, on the stages of Broadway. It is a fight that struck a chord with me.
I constantly feel threatened by my place in society and wonder if I will ever be relevant. Should I work toward the unknown, pushing myself to be something I think society will like? Or, should I stick to what I know and settle into a life of mediocrity and obscurity? The answer may seem obvious, but after watching "Birdman" I'm not so sure.
The reasons behind letting go of the "superhero" we are all comfortable with must be right. Is it self-validation and simple ego-stroking? Or are we pushing ourselves into something greater or more relevant because we hope to help people, grow and learn, or expand our world view? Riggan's motives are his greatest fault. At its most basic, he just wants to be cool again. His journey lets him see just how far he needs to go to achieve that. How far would we go to be "cool again'?
While the film making is fantastic and the characters are all engaging, I can't help but wonder if the film and Riggan are too similar. Begging the audience and media to love them and pay attention to them. I don't know if I can call it "brilliant" because it wants to be called exactly that so badly. I worry that if give in to this film, I'm somehow endorsing its form of attention-whoring and self-obsession. But, at the same time, I was thoroughly entertained by it and was engaged from start to finish.
Perhaps it's a simple question: How far will we go to achieve the attention and fame that we desire? And, what if that attention and fame is never enough to satiate our own ego? Then what?
Go see the movie and let me know what you think.
Wierd movie.
ReplyDeleteWierd is challenging.
Challeng is smart.
I can go on non stop labeling this brilliance