[Weekly Update] August 15, 2022

Currently behind schedule. Coming back from the vacation, having multiple on going projects, and having a lot of my favourite games being released in close proximity is not a good combo for my productivity.

CHANNEL UPDATE

We started working on our video on the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy. Progress has been slow, because the films are not as good as I remembered as a kid... It has moments, but so far, everything I've seen are fairly monotonous.

Still, the Kaiju actions are impressive and has a lot of weight to it, which is saying a lot for a Kaiju film featuring a flying moth. Our current idea is to compare its visual effects with some of the MCU stuff, and explained why despite having outdated computer effects, the Mothra films still feel more tangible than a lot of the MCU action scenes.

Originally we planned a video on a recent Donnie Yen action flick, Raging Fire. After watching it, I realized I don't have a lot to say about it.The film is decent, but very by the book. I supposed I can talk about the glorification of police brutality in police action flicks. Part of this film portrays police as a legal gang who seeks revenge for personal vendetta, which just feels really wrong in this day and age. But this topic will have to wait.

So, we'll be skipping Raging Fire, and talk about RRR instead. I feel like everything that needs to be said has been said by other essayists, but I'll see if I have any personal thoughts about it.

MEDIA TALK

I'm nearly complete with Xenoblade 3, and have started watching other people's play through while I work. It's rather amusing to see streamers crying so much that they just stopped talking.

Yep, the game is a rather emotional experience. And it makes me realize that this sort of strong emotion, happiness, sadness, content, joy, fear, are often absent from mainstream films.

Sure, the world of animations seem to do that better than live action. The magical charm of Ghibli is a classic example. Golden Age Pixar films also often elicits strong reactions from the audience, too. Who doesn't love that famous scene from Up.

But think about live action films. When was the last time you've seen a movie that makes you feel strong and complex emotions? And no, the anger you felt when watching the Last Jedi does not count.

Rise of Skywalker doesn't exist, shut up.

For me, one of the prime examples of a strongly emotional film is Good Will Hunting. It feels both joyful and sad, comfortable and yet unsatisfactory. I feel the film the same way Will Hunting feels about his life. And this complexity of emotions remains with me whenever I remember the movie.

The same can be said about One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, a film that is both hopeful and depressing. I grew to love and care about the characters in a short span of time, and it feels like I was hanging out with these characters, rather than just watching them from a distance.

Compare that to a blockbuster, Avengers Endgame. When I remember Tony Stark's sacrifice, it remember it being a cool moment, but I don't feel it from my memory. The emotion of that scene did not last. It feels I'm merely observing a cool event from a distance, and did not participate in its story.

But it's not just blockbusters, too. Manchester By the Sea is supposed to be a very emotional movie, yet ever moment I feel like I'm being told what the character feels, rather than feel it alongside the characters.

On the other end, Jurassic Park is a blockbuster, and it still manages to elicits an amazing sense of wonder and awe in me. The movie is a thrill ride, as in, I feel like I'm actually on the ride, rather than watching on the side.

And it is definitely not exclusively a nostalgia thing. Jojo Rabbit, while not meant to be a tearjerker, offers a sense of sincerity that makes its emotional core very infectious. The satisfaction of Jojo kicks Hitler in the nuts is earned, and it sticks with you after the film is over.

Admittedly, I'm talking about something very vague, here. And it is entirely my personal and subjective experience. I have no idea if anyone knows what I'm talking about. But to me, it feels like a lot of films are just afraid of making you feel vulnerable.

From the creator perspective, it's easy to make you like a character, but it's very difficult to make you care about it, enough that their death will devastate you. 

And for the audience side... There's a non-insignificant portion of the population hates it when a movie makes them cry or feel sad. People get make fun of for tearing up while watching movies. This is especially worse if you are seen as a man.

And I guess that's the reason why a lot of mainstream film is so afraid, or unable to stir up emotions from their audience. And creators who lives in this culture, in turn, became unable to express and bring out emotions in films beyond the mainstream.

But that's just my guess. And I can to totally speaking out of my butt. What do you think about this? What's the latest film you've seen that elicits complex and sustained emotions from you? And I'm talking about films that you feel, not films that tells you how to feel. Also, horror movies that make you scare do not count. That's just cheating.

I'd love to say our Mothra video will be out this week, but it's looking unlikely. I'll keep you updated.