More Movies with Values, Please! Part 2

Definition References

Today's post continues examining movies with value, or what makes a movie a 'good' movie. This understanding of movies with value is aided by an understanding of definitions that the values of a good movie.

What is a good movie? Well, generally speaking, it is opposite of a bad movie. A good movie is one that is not only made with quality, but also contains either moral value or artistic value or both.

Artistic value can be judged based on the following question: Does it look good aesthetically, whether it is an animated movie or because of the direction and cinematography? Does the theme say something honest or truthful about the human condition? Does it have a good reason for existing?

Moral value can be evaluated based on these levels: Can this/ should this be seen by families? Is there a sensible reason for it to be made for adults or teens only? If religious, does it present spiritual truths well? Does the movie uphold natural understanding of what is good, true, and beautiful in the world? If there is a focus on a negative subject, does the positive good overcome in the end?

You may notice that these definitions actually involve questions. By looking at questions, we can discuss and discover answers. Below I pose other questions that people may have to determine whether the movies that they or other people watch carry that same value of a good movie.

Do movies need to be intelligent or ‘thinking pieces’? 

Not every movie has to be a thinking piece to be good. There are just as many boring, complicated arthouse movies as there are high quality dramas. Usually these kind of high-brow, thinking man's movies naturally carry some sort of artistic or moral value to it due to the increased detail and dedication devoted to it. At the same time, simplistic movies can be good without being stupid. There are just as many enjoyable blockbuster popcorn flicks as there are crass, rude comedies. Turning off your brain is not automatically settling for a low brow trashy piece unworthy of the name ‘Movie’. Some movies are just meant to visually entertain or are meant to draw us in emotionally without working our brains too hard. These non-thinker movies should still must contain some sort of artistic or moral quality to it though.

Do movies with value include objectionable content like violence, sexuality, and language? 

There are some people who object to a movie due to violent or thematic content. To an extent, that’s good. Some movies take it too far with blood and guts unnecessarily or provide an absurd amount of realistic sex or drug scenes. There are a few cases, however, where realism requires shocking content. In the case of violence, Saving Private Ryan shows us the horrors of warfare, especially at Normandy beach. I cannot think of an acceptable case for sexuality, where we are shown the physical movements and the nakedness involved in the act of intercourse. Only rarely is nudity acceptable for realism’s sake (a la Schindler’s List). 

Language is slightly more complicated, where depending on the type of movie and characters involved determines how much of it to tolerate. A movie like The Sandlot occasionally has a ‘damn’ or a ‘shit’ said by one of the characters, but the overall product makes that occasional slip of a light coarse word tolerable. Anything with more ‘adult’ language, and especially using mature profanities, blasphemous talk, and derogatory names, should not be tolerated and in fact most movies would be better without that kind of language involved. Sure, realistically people may use obscenities now and again, but scripts can be written in creative ways to express the same feeling or mentality without resorting to using the obscenities. 

Now, if a movie has a moment or two of objectionable content, but overall contains artistic or moral merits, can it still be a good movie with value? Depending on the movie, yes, but we also have to acknowledge these objectionable faults or negative aspects of the movie. In my posts about my favorite movies, I would try to point out reasons why I would caution people to not see my movie choices. For example, I explained that The Big Lebowski contains sexual content, a couple moments of nudity, coarse language, and drug use/ references. Yet, there are shining moments of witty humor, great character acting by John Goodman, Jeff Bridges, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, and the ridiculousness of the scenarios makes the movie memorable and quotable.

Shouldn’t movies just be escapist, feel good events? 

I think maybe if you’re a kid or someone suffering trauma and in need of relief, then movies should be limited to light-hearted, feel good entertainment. For others though, I think it puts too many limits or constraints on the value that movies can have in our lives by restricting our viewership to escapism or stuff that only makes us feel good. Movies are meant to entertain, yes, but too much pure entertainment can cause a bread-and-circus kind of environment like professional sports. Movies can help us feel good if we need the occasional pick-me-up, but they can also bring us on an emotional roller coaster and inspire or educate us through perilous, heart breaking journeys. Life is not always feel good, it involves learning, suffering, and growing. Escapism can causes stagnation if overused.

Favorite Movies That Fit Criteria

There are some movies that have been made in the 21st century that still carry the values of morals and arts. Some of them are on my favorite movies list. I will try to briefly explain why I think some of these movies demonstrate good value. I tried to pick ones made since 2000 that were released to the general public (a.k.a wide theatrical release).

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Moral Value: The Harry Potter series has always been concerned with friendship, loyalty, and love, and this movie demonstrates the struggle to maintain these three qualities in the midst of a dark hour. The three lead actors, especially Rupert Grint, give adult performances that realistically live out these traits and the struggles with them. Plus there are a few moments involved where good is about to lose to evil when right at the last minute good is saved.

Artistic Value: The animation involved in the Tale of The Three Brothers.

Hot Fuzz

Artistic Value: Part of the entertainment of this movie is how dramatic it presents itself while still being one of the funniest comedies in this century thus far. This movie is a stealthy parody and it truly understands what it is parodying. Since it is a send-up of the ludicrous action movies of the 90s, all of the loony action scenes and goofy circumstances from those cliche movies are there. Unlike other parody films, like Mel Brooks' style of movie, this movie is able to provide a few winks and nods to what it is teasing while still maintaining a sense of independence in its storytelling and characterization.

The Last Samurai

Moral Value: This movie is a story of forgiveness and redemption. Tom Cruise’s Nathan Algren is haunted by evil violence he inflicted upon a tribe of Native Americans and at first becomes enslaved by alcoholism and lack of care for his life. Then, through the time spent with the samurai village, Algren finds internal peace, asks for forgiveness, and finds value in his life by protecting the lives of those who helped him. His redemption comes from a second chance opportunity. Instead of passively allowing this clan to be massacred, he stands up to fight for the clan, even if it costs his life. In a way, the Emperor Meiji also goes through forgiveness and redemption. At first, driven by a desire for a powerfully modern Japan, the Emperor allows Omura to take over governing powers (in essence), also allowing the samurai communities to be desolated. In the end, after the climactic battle, the Emperor is driven by grief over his former mentor’s death that he stands up for the first time, to drive back Omura’s ambitions and halt the cultural implosion of Japan.

The Prestige

Moral Value: The moral value of this movie comes from watching the downfall of two men driven by revenge and pride. The main characters played by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale are not necessarily meant to be despised, but they are not to be held up as models of honor and righteousness. Because of the desire to be the best, they are willing to sacrifice people, whether it is Bale with his family or Jackman with himself and his Scarlet Johanssen girlfriend. While the value comes from a negative examination of events, it still has value by showing us how prideful ambition can hurt not only other people but ourselves as well.

The Dark Knight

Artistic Value: The gritty realism of Christopher Nolan’s Gotham City. Before Christopher Nolan took on the Batman movies, Gotham City always had a cartoonish look to it, whether it was Adam West's 60s Batman, the animated series, or the 90s movies of Joel Schumacher. Tim Burton was probably at that point closest to making Gotham City look like a real place, but it still had unrealistic, bloated interpretations of metropolis cities. Christopher Nolan's version of Gotham City looks like a real place, and the characters inhabiting the city look and act like real people.

Moral Value: The battle of chaos-fueled evil Joker vs. rule-abiding good guy Batman. Seeing Batman struggle with trying to stop evil while holding on to the last remains of his ethics shows how dangerous and challenging the fight against evil can be, though the choice to do good in the end wins. Even Harvey Dent, until he went crazy over Rachel, shows confidence and trust in the good of law overcoming the evil of crime, even if he began to use questionable techniques to do good. Overall, this movie shows that while evil appears to be all powerful, the choice to do good is more powerful. 

Master and Commander (The Far Side of the World)

Artistic Value: The artistry comes through with a realistic sense of life on a 19^th century naval ship. There are small cramped spaces inside the ship and there is the vast ocean surrounding it. With the background music establishing the period and tone and the scenes of the ship steering through the vast ocean waters, even the slow times are enjoyable. The action scenes do not go over the top, but continue to add to the realism of the movie. Everyone acts like they belong on a naval ship commanded by the British Empire in the 19th century.

Now

In the year 2015, there were some movies that show that not all is lost, that there are still movies of good moral and artistic value out there.  Movies from 2015 that I saw with these values include Inside Out, Star Wars: The Force Awakens (artistic wise only), Mad Max: Fury Road, Sicario, and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. Movies from 2015 that I have not seen but I have heard show good value include The Martian, The Peanuts Movie, Creed, and Cinderella.

In the end, movies with value rightfully maintain a presence in our consciousness and are worthy of even more attention. What are the movies that we really remember over the years? What movies do we want in our DVD/ Blu-Ray collections? Wouldn’t Netflix be so much better if there weren’t as many duds as there were award winning pieces? Just think of the movies that are listed and remembered from the first 100+ years of film. We only remember and hold on to the good ones and their ‘classic’ standard is something that our modern movies should be held up to.