I don't get why so many people have this obsession with morality in films. When I say morality, I'm not talking about violence, sex, etc so much as people applying morality to characters and situations in films. Like people who have to have a 'good guy' to root for and the 'bad guy' always has to be punished, and in films where the hero isn't a traditional 'good guy' they have to be punished for their 'evil' as well.
Maybe it's just me, but I don't approach films that way at all. I don't necessarily need to root for someone, and I don't judge characters as harshly as many people seem to, if at all. In fact, I find that I often like characters that most people find morally repugnent. For one thing, it's just a movie and I can apply completely different standards to it than I would for a real life situation. Maybe it's because I don't agree with most traditional standards of morality, but I think that people who's enjoyment of a film depends on whether or not it enforces their own personal view of morality are missing out on a lot. If I see a character who is a criminal, who steals something or kills someone even, I don't necessarily condemn or judge them for it like many people seem to do. I can still like a character in a film for doing things that I wouldn't like them for in reality. Not to say that I don't some times end up hating a character for other reasons, but I won't see a character do something 'immoral', and automatically pass judgement on them for it.
I once took a writing class where the teacher showed us a clip from the beginning of "Raising Arizona" where the main character is introduced right from the start as a criminal. I remember him saying something like "it's risky to do this because you automatically introduce the main character as unsympathetic and we're not sure if we can even like him". I thought that was pretty ridiculous. I had never even thought of it like that before and I felt like I had no reason not to like the character just because he was arrested. Again, maybe it's just me but I don't look at films in those terms.
Anyone else agree, or at least see what I'm talking about? I just don't see why people would ruin their enjoyment of a film because it didn't necessarily reinforce their sense of morality, it seems stupid to me to deprive yourself of enjoying a film because of that.
Maybe it's just me, but I don't approach films that way at all. I don't necessarily need to root for someone, and I don't judge characters as harshly as many people seem to, if at all. In fact, I find that I often like characters that most people find morally repugnent. For one thing, it's just a movie and I can apply completely different standards to it than I would for a real life situation. Maybe it's because I don't agree with most traditional standards of morality, but I think that people who's enjoyment of a film depends on whether or not it enforces their own personal view of morality are missing out on a lot. If I see a character who is a criminal, who steals something or kills someone even, I don't necessarily condemn or judge them for it like many people seem to do. I can still like a character in a film for doing things that I wouldn't like them for in reality. Not to say that I don't some times end up hating a character for other reasons, but I won't see a character do something 'immoral', and automatically pass judgement on them for it.
I once took a writing class where the teacher showed us a clip from the beginning of "Raising Arizona" where the main character is introduced right from the start as a criminal. I remember him saying something like "it's risky to do this because you automatically introduce the main character as unsympathetic and we're not sure if we can even like him". I thought that was pretty ridiculous. I had never even thought of it like that before and I felt like I had no reason not to like the character just because he was arrested. Again, maybe it's just me but I don't look at films in those terms.
Anyone else agree, or at least see what I'm talking about? I just don't see why people would ruin their enjoyment of a film because it didn't necessarily reinforce their sense of morality, it seems stupid to me to deprive yourself of enjoying a film because of that.
