this post was submitted on 24 Aug 2023
50 points (76.0% liked)
Movies and TV Shows
3 readers
2 users here now
General discussion about movies and TV shows.
Spoilers are strictly forbidden in post titles.
Posts soliciting spoilers (endings, plot elements, twists, etc.) should contain
[spoilers]in their title. Comments in these posts do not need to be hidden in spoiler MarkDown if they pertain to the title's subject matter.
Otherwise, spoilers but must be contained in MarkDown as follows:
::: your spoiler warning
the crazy movie ending that no one saw coming!
:::
Your mods are here to help if you need any clarification!
Subcommunities: The Bear (FX) - [[email protected]](/c/thebear @lemmy.film)
Related communities: [email protected] [email protected]
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Not really to the point I was trying to make here.
I understand your point, but a movie that is itself a 2-hour advertisement doesn't lose any of its value by showing other brands.
What's bleak is that a movie about a toy grosses over a billion at the box office. Not that BMW or Samsung want you to look at their stuff.
This critique irks me for some reason. Consider this: Imagine the latest Top Gun had some scene where Tom Cruise literally high fives Uncle Sam, then slowly whispers "Freedom" and winks into the camera. You'd rightfully find this jarring, a poor aesthetic choice, weird.
But then someone online tells you why you'd expect anything else from a franchise that's heavily subsidized and supported by the military industrial complex, and demanding a sort of artistic consistency from such a franchise is pointless to begin with.
Tldr: I think you can critique the art even if you're aware of it's ideological confines.
(This reply hinges on such a scene not being in the latest Top Gun movie, which I haven't see yet to be honest)
A fair point, but in your original example we're talking about a cell phone. That's a significantly more subtle inclusion than Tom draping himself in an American flag and riding off on the back of an eagle.
I don't remember the scene we're talking about, so if it was a cell phone in the real world I see no issue. If it was in Barbie's world then it should've been plastic. That would be my only complaint.
It might not be as obvious as literally winking into the camera, but Top Gun had substantial monetary investment from the U.S. military, and they definitely tried to make being in the military look cool and fun and attractive.
They definitely don’t show what it’s really like to be a service member, and that’s for good reason.
Yeah that's kind of my point. Even knowing it's partial propaganda, you'd know when something is "off". Just like even knowing that Barbie is partially a branding campaign, You know how the car comercial scene is "off".
I guess what I’m saying is I don’t see either top gun or Barbie movie as “partial propaganda”, I see them as entirely propaganda. So, at least for me, having some additional propaganda for Samsung phones or car brands doesn’t seem out of place or jarring for me.
It’s honestly more jarring for me to see how the military is portrayed compared to what it’s actually like.