I'm not a cynical fellow, and I welcome creative descriptions of things. I am tired, though, of filmmakers and reviewers referring to things that are not actors as "characters". Locations get called this a lot. "The city is like a character unto itself," they say. Props can get this treatment, too; from furniture to cigarettes. It's the same kind of sideways hyperbole that leads otherwise good men and women to use the word "literally" when they mean "figuratively".
Also, there are a lot of Law and Order spin-offs. Too many, maybe.
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16 comments:
Mr. Pony: Did anything in particular prompt you to say this? I'm curious what examples especially peeve you.
I've seen/heard people say Tokyo is a major character in "Lost in Translation." I can't help but think that is absurd, mostly because 80 percent of the Tokyo scenes were shot inside a Hyatt hotel. What kind of Tokyo is that? The film could have just as well been shot in Omaha.
I'm not sure if that's the kind of problem you're pointing to, though, Mr. Pony...
I for one enjoyed this post. I felt it presented an interesting nuance to the character that is Pieces of Things.
I think the Law & Order ref was the hint. But this whole thing may have been a pretense to bring up the subject of people using the word "literally" when they really mean "figuratively".
I think that as a character, Pieces of Things is either a slut of the first order, being serviced by multiple users, or a schizophrenic issuing forth myriad statements with dark, interconnected undertones.
As a character this would be one I'd watch on Law & Order. you know they'd be the one at the end where when Sam Waterson brings up his damning evidence the character would freeze, looking shocked that they got caught in their own lie.
Odori, you don't believe that the idea of Tokyo can mean both the city, or it's citizens?
Odori, that's pretty much exactly the sort of thing I was talking about. Heard it in a review of "The Dark Knight" and it struck me as a very predictable and worse, canned thing to say. I'm not entirely clear on why it made me so angry, but I bow to the record.
Ruby--Listen to Galspanic. The Blong made me say it.
Galspanic. I am glad to bring up the "Literally" versus "Figuratively" argument. I will continue our vow to try to slip in the word "Figuratively" whenever using a metaphor or hyperbole, in order to differentiate ourselves from the drama queens who find themselves saying things like "She literally cried her eyes out;" and "He was so mad, he literally exploded."
I leave you all with this illustration, from my hero Brandon Bird.
Galspanic,
I love your analysis of Pieces of Things' character!
I guess one reason I got so bothered by people saying Tokyo was a major character in "Lost in Translation" is that the movie could have been shot in any non-English speaking environment foreign to Americans and the effect would have been the same.
There's of course the fact it's mostly filmed in an international hotel chain.
But it's also because, if I recall correctly (and it's been some years since I saw the movie,) the only Japanese with speaking roles were the directors and crew filming the Suntory whiskey commercial and some grinning giddy people at a late night party. Every other Japanese person, and the city itself, is really just a hazy backdrop for two Americans hitting it off in a foreign country. They could have easily filmed it anywhere else where few people speak English and captured the same sense of disorientation and confusion for the two main characters. (So in that sense Omaha is not a good suggestion. But substitute an inability to speak Japanese with the trouble New York-L.A. coastal culture people may have understanding life in flyover country, and I think the concept could still work.)
So, I'd argue if Tokyo is a character in the movie, it is a poorly developed one-dimensional character.
It would have helped if Bill Murray's character had a drink with the whiskey commercial director later at a bar - and the two could have figured out some way to have a conversation.
Or Scarlett Johansson's character could have... -- I don't know. Something.
Oops. I've gone on far too long!!!!
I wish I understood the Law & Order references. Do I need to start watching reruns on cable?
Goodnight.
Oh yeah, I forgot to ask Mr. Pony: what non-actor in "The Dark Knight" did the reviewer say was a character?
Aaah, sorry. I lost my original post, which was kind enough to mention that the reviewer said that Gotham City was like a character unto itself.
That's a really good point about Lost in Translation. The suggestion that the movie is even sort of about Tokyo seems a little strange. I've never lived there, so it's hard to say; but the other memorable encounter Bill Murray's character has, with the Japanese prostitute ("lip my stockingu") seemed a little surface and easy to this guy. Like you said, that could happen anywhere.
I do think it's fair to say that the prostitute was like a character unto herself, though.
You know the lost in translation: Omaha metaphor really fits in relation to The Dark Knight, as Gotham City could have been, and kind of is Chicago,Detroit and New York. Possibly even (San Francisco?) It depends on who is writing it, and how they want their characters to look and sound.
Gotham was in my understanding supposed to represent the grittier aspects of any major metropolitan center as opposed to say Metropolis which was to represent the more uptown/merchant district part of a major city. Do I have these analogies correct, Pone?
I'm reminded of that book Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino.
Possibly a film/comic that uses the city as a character most effectively would be Sin City.
I thought that was sort of a weird amalgam of several major cities to make a nice frankenstein.
I know Pony really wants to have Dark City brought up at this point. I can feel his telekinetic waves...
Odori...as far as Law & Order is concerned. If you started watching Law & Order episodes front to back, it would take three thousand years to see all of them. I saw that on the slide reel before The Dark Knight began. Pony can vouch for this.
I think you're right on about the Gotham and Metropolis, although I don't think they were developed as contrasts to each other. The differences between the two cities probably got amplified as people started writing more Superman/Batman team-up stories.
Anyway, the only city I can think of that is truly a character unto itself is Metroplex. Did you know that he can lift 70,000 tons?
Pleh. I bet his pelvic area was the red-light district.
Hasbro, the bajillion dollar toy company just said this in regards to a new toy that's coming out in teh next year;
"The MILLENNIUM FALCON has become one of the most recognizable “characters” in movie history"
More fat for the fire.
At least they put it in quotes. Say, that new Millennium Falcon they're announcing looks pretty sweet. For some reason, though, the Chewbacca that comes with it feels a bit Cookie Monster-esque.
I am easily distracted!
And yet, where are the turrets for having battles with tie fighters?
It's an epidemic!!! Last night I heard John Stewart on "The Daily Show" call Alaska the "star" of the History Channel series "Tougher in Alaska."
It's an epidemic!!! Last night I heard John Stewart on "The Daily Show" call Alaska the "star" of the History Channel series "Tougher in Alaska."
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