Good evening, fellow bloggers! I could spend my moments filling you in on the boring events of my life... or, I could could divulge your minds with some of my life philosophy. However, I choose neither of those. Instead, I will critique a movie I recently saw with two of my best friends.
The film was "Hostel Part II."
*SPOILER ALERT (NOT MANY - I WON'T RUIN THE ENDING)*
The film opens with a gut-wrenching and head spinning surprise, which establishes the mood of the last film and really gets the viewer expecting more excitement... only to be let down by a surprisingly slow-paced sequence following the antics of three art student vacationers persuaded by a model to travel to Slovakia to discover the natural beauty and relaxing atmosphere. The let down in action proves to be less of a let down and more of a realistic feeling set of ordeals that sincerely establish these three characters as actual people we may have encountered over the course of our lives. So, after convincing ourselves that we are in for a roller-coaster ride of a movie, we find ourselves relaxed and really getting into the personalities and romantic interests of these three ladies... at times, I really felt that I could empathize with them. Then, gradually, the puzzle fills in piece by piece and the adventure truly begins.
I will not ruin the ending, but I will say that there were major role reversals and that the physical violence pales in comparison to the psychological intrigue at the banality of evil displayed in the film. I found myself asking the essential question here... "Could I ever do this?" In an age where we find ourselves surprised to hear of the events at Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo Bay, this film offers a heartfelt (though, slightly exaggerrated) answer. Yet, in all of the discussions of responsibility and punishment, we seem to have forgotten the results of the controversial study that the brilliant Stanley Milgram performed... or the unexpected turn that the Stanford Prison Experiment took. Evil is not something that a person either is or is not... it is a continuum that runs down the middle of every living thing (and arguably non-living things at times as well - but, that's a discussion for another day).
This movie proved to be exciting, full of adventure, and extremely thought provoking. Throughout the blood and gore is an interesting social commentary, not necessarily a critique. After all... it is those who refuse to admit their innate potential for becoming evil that perform the most depraved acts upon society. Perhaps, unlike the childhood lessons of self-esteem which are pounded into our heads throughout our youth, a strong sense of self-worth needs to be coupled with the constant reminder that we all have the potential for causing terrible harm on the world through our words and actions.
*END OF SPOILERS*That's all for now.Man, I missed my calling as a movie critic. Perhaps I could write articles in sociological journals that analyze films using sociological and social-psychological theory. I could also compare and contrast the events in the film to those occurring in real life to try to decipher the intentions of the creative team to analyze why this particular picture was made... to start to really understand what it is in our minds and in our culture that desires specific genres of movies. Why do we really like romances where love does not come easily? Why do we like to be scared out of our minds in horror films? Why do we always love to cheer when a person supposedly "gets what is coming to them" and what criteria determines their deserval of vengeance? To really begin to understand the social and psychological purpose of creating (and attending) films in modern society would be a dream of mine. Oh, if only that were my job instead of sitting here watching a grown adult sleep to assure their lack of self harm behaviors.
Well, that'll be the day...
Well, until we meet again.
Love,
David
