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Owlofcreamcheese posted:It just feels weird how confused people are. The movie doesn't give every single specific answer to how every single specific thing works, but like, we have seen enough supernatural twisted mirror underworlds that people should be able to figure out the general ideas on how things work. My central question is "are the tethered autonomous, or are they not?" If they are as literally bound to their counterparts as we see in the flashbacks, then how have they managed to come to the surface? And if Red has already freed them (or taught them how to free themselves), then is killing their above ground doppelgangers just a symbolic act?
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Apr 5, 2019 17:16
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Needing a movie to explain everything because it explains some things is probably one of the most neurotic and miserable ways to watch a movie ever.
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Apr 5, 2019 17:35
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colachute posted:Needing a movie to explain everything because it explains some things is probably one of the most neurotic and miserable ways to watch a movie ever. I'm all for letting a movie set the terms for how I should engage with it, but the movie gives mixed messages when it establishes rules for its universe but then appears to ignore them at its convenience. I don't need an explanation for everything- or for anything for that matter- but I really wish the movie needs would make up its mind whether or not I'm supposed to think about how its world literally works.
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Apr 5, 2019 17:53
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I don’t think it’s so much that I feel the need to have more explained. It’s more that I understand that with any story the storyteller is in control of how much information is explicitly given and I felt like that was handed a little clumsily. I don’t want to be an armchair filmmaker and say I could’ve done such and such to fix things, because I know that’s unfair. But imagining the same movie without the big expository speech at the end feels to me like it would’ve been a stronger film.
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Apr 5, 2019 17:54
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Yeah that's kind of a better way of putting it. Maybe subsequent watches will make me feel differently (I do like this movie a lot), but in my opinion the long exposition toward the end is neither a good diagetic explanation of the film's events, nor does it really clarify the larger allegory. Failing both of those, it just kind of amounts to clutter. It without a doubt delivers some striking, meaningful imagery (the underground mimicry), but can't really figure out how to fit it in the bigger context of the film.
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Apr 5, 2019 18:26
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Want a rewatch for in particular the meal - I think Adelaide was eating only strawberries while the rest had meat? Not surprised that a shadow would not want to eat meat again at all after escaping.
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Apr 5, 2019 20:01
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General Dog posted:My central question is "are the tethered autonomous, or are they not?" If they are as literally bound to their counterparts as we see in the flashbacks, then how have they managed to come to the surface? And if Red has already freed them (or taught them how to free themselves), then is killing their above ground doppelgangers just a symbolic act? Did you watch literally any of the movie? The main character is a tethered and acts like a regular person and the entire movie is the tethered acting on their own, how could this possibly be a question? They mirror their above ground counterparts and pantomime stuff, but literally 90% of the scenes in this movie is footage of them not doing that all the time and the actual main character of the movie spends the entire runtime of the film not struggling with it.
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Apr 5, 2019 22:14
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Owlofcreamcheese posted:Did you watch literally any of the movie? The main character is a tethered and acts like a regular person and the entire movie is the tethered acting on their own, how could this possibly be a question? They mirror their above ground counterparts and pantomime stuff, but literally 90% of the scenes in this movie is footage of them not doing that all the time and the actual main character of the movie spends the entire runtime of the film not struggling with it. I understand that they behave autonomously for the entire movie, but how and when did they become autonomous? And if they were always autonomous, then what was the meaning of the pantomime stuff? Is it just instinct they have to break? Did they only mirror the actions of their counterparts because they never realized they could do anything else? General Dog fucked around with this message at 22:28 on Apr 5, 2019 |
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Apr 5, 2019 22:25
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I'm just kind of confused as to what the movie is trying to say with the twist ending reveal. Why does it matter that they switched? The main character doesn't seem to be psychopathic other than the grins that she gives in the end. Its not like the doppelgangers aren't victims too, alongside their above ground counterparts that they kill.
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Apr 6, 2019 00:37
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General Dog posted:I understand that they behave autonomously for the entire movie, but how and when did they become autonomous? And if they were always autonomous, then what was the meaning of the pantomime stuff? Is it just instinct they have to break? Did they only mirror the actions of their counterparts because they never realized they could do anything else? I just can not imagine this movie going that far into making sure you knew they were flesh and blood americans same as you, making the point over and over that they were same as us, naming the movie US and making the main character one of them and showing the upbringing is all that mattered if you were a human or a monster. And then coming away wondering if they were people. They have the exact amount of autonomy as the cleaning lady that you never learned the name of that cleans your office building who will have their son die of a tooth infection because she gets paid 3 dollars an hour under the table and has a 2nd grade education because she grew up partially homeless. Ie: they have as much inner life as you do but you get to pick your destiny in ways they don't and constantly bare the brunt of any decisions you make as an invisible underclass but live like that every day because hands across america was about vague platitudes and raising a few thousand dollars instead of tearing you to shreds and taking your house.
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Apr 6, 2019 00:52
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Owlofcreamcheese posted:I just can not imagine this movie going that far into making sure you knew they were flesh and blood americans same as you, making the point over and over that they were same as us, naming the movie US and making the main character one of them and showing the upbringing is all that mattered if you were a human or a monster. And then coming away wondering if they were people. By “autonomy” I’m talking about their physical ability to function independently of their counterparts, I’m not questioning their personhood, and I’m frankly a little offended that you’d think I was that dense. They’re clearly people with their own hopes and dreams, I’m just asking how they can walk left when their counterpart walks right when it seems that there was a time that it wasn’t the case.
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Apr 6, 2019 01:55
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As soon as the escalator appeared, a guy in my theatre nudged his buddies and said, "wouldn't the escalator be going up, though?" It's easy to imagine how a less expository cut might have played poorly with test audiences. At least the monologue, hastily written though it must have been, is carefully unreliable.
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Apr 6, 2019 02:06
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General Dog posted:By “autonomy” I’m talking about their physical ability to function independently of their counterparts, I’m not questioning their personhood, and I’m frankly a little offended that you’d think I was that dense. They’re clearly people with their own hopes and dreams, I’m just asking how they can walk left when their counterpart walks right when it seems that there was a time that it wasn’t the case. You can't have American capitalist society without an underclass. The tethering (the economy) was created to control the sum of us. Somewhere in this country, a person your exact equivalent got hosed by circumstance and grimly envies your comfort. In this movie, children and adults play-act against the bare walls of a sparse underground housing project, imagining the experiences they don't get to have because they're down there and you're up here. If they close their eyes, they can almost feel it. And to the people upstairs, the system seems to work just fine. So far, anyway. This is all to say that yes, the underclass has always had the power to "move left" while those above "move right," and in this movie they eventually do! It's just that the only logical next step is to make their way up the down escalator and 
emgeejay fucked around with this message at 20:35 on Apr 6, 2019 |
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Apr 6, 2019 02:28
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Settle down Beavis
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Apr 6, 2019 03:35
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General Dog posted:Settle down Beavis He literally is stating the very very spelled out and obvious point of the movie instead of acting all faked confused because the movie didn't show a lingering shot of a character sheet that shows how many hit dice they have and what their thac0 or whatever exact numerical mechanic to this monster. The monster is us, it's even the title of the movie! The people in the underground and the normal people are the same people!
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Apr 6, 2019 03:48
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DeadFatDuckFat posted:I'm just kind of confused as to what the movie is trying to say with the twist ending reveal. Why does it matter that they switched? The main character doesn't seem to be psychopathic other than the grins that she gives in the end. Its not like the doppelgangers aren't victims too, alongside their above ground counterparts that they kill. to illustrate that the doppelgangers are products of the environment they've been forced into. BeanpolePeckerwood posted:It doesn't. Movie dumb. lmao it obviously aint the movie. Groovelord Neato fucked around with this message at 04:18 on Apr 6, 2019 |
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Apr 6, 2019 04:14
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DeadFatDuckFat posted:I'm just kind of confused as to what the movie is trying to say with the twist ending reveal. Why does it matter that they switched? It doesn't. Movie dumb.
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Apr 6, 2019 04:15
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The fact that it doesnt change much is kinda the point.
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Apr 6, 2019 04:18
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It fucks with our sympathies.
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Apr 6, 2019 04:24
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DeadFatDuckFat posted:I'm just kind of confused as to what the movie is trying to say with the twist ending reveal. Why does it matter that they switched? The main character doesn't seem to be psychopathic other than the grins that she gives in the end. Its not like the doppelgangers aren't victims too, alongside their above ground counterparts that they kill. The point is the difference between the two isn’t inborn or essential- that the people down below are screwed up from being kept below, they’re not inherently different. This has certain implications for similar social divisions in American history, such as, well, slavery (it was once posited that slaves who attempted to escape were suffering some mental illness, forget what they called it.) For more recent examples, well, “superpredators”. Maxwell Lord fucked around with this message at 07:42 on Apr 6, 2019 |
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Apr 6, 2019 04:26
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Tired Moritz posted:The fact that it doesnt change much is kinda the point. And the fact that that notion doesn't work as a twist is also the point.
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Apr 6, 2019 07:25
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Not really. Not every story twist has to blow your mind.
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Apr 6, 2019 07:37
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BeanpolePeckerwood posted:And the fact that that notion doesn't work as a twist is also the point. a lot of americans think people are poor or rich because of something inherent or because of "culture". Maxwell Lord posted:The point is the difference between the two isn’t inborn or essential- that the people down below are screwed up from being kept below, they’re not inherently different. This has certain implications for similar social divisions in American history, such as, well, slavery (it was once posited that slaves who attempted to escape were suffering some mental illness, forget what they called it.) For more recent examples, well, “superpredators”. drapetomania.
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Apr 6, 2019 14:51
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Way late to the party, but if you liked this movie you should probably watch The People Under the Stairs since it's also a movie with classism based horror.
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Apr 7, 2019 09:01
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Space Cadet Omoly posted:Way late to the party, but if you liked this movie you should probably watch The People Under the Stairs since it's also a movie with classism based horror. And, it ties together a lot better.
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Apr 7, 2019 12:31
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Space Cadet Omoly posted:Way late to the party, but if you liked this movie you should probably watch The People Under the Stairs since it's also a movie with classism based horror. If at all possible you need to watch the TBS cut.
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Apr 7, 2019 14:10
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Rhyno posted:If at all possible you need to watch the TBS cut. I'm not familiar with this.
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Apr 7, 2019 14:11
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HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:I'm not familiar with this. It's the heavily edited version that used to air on TBS and TNT. It's loving incredible.
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Apr 7, 2019 14:14
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People Under the Stairs is really corny and poorly aged.
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Apr 7, 2019 14:51
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and yet it’s awesome
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Apr 7, 2019 14:59
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Hell's gate is an escalator because hell is a mall.
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Apr 7, 2019 23:58
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Babysitter Super Sleuth posted:Hell's gate is an escalator because hell is a mall. 
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Apr 8, 2019 00:03
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Henchman of Santa posted:People Under the Stairs is really corny and poorly aged. The film's simple message, "all landlords are scum", is timeless. Therefore you're wrong 
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Apr 8, 2019 01:53
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I liked People Under The Stairs when I rewatched it like two years ago. Also the landlords in the movie are the actors who played Big Ed and Nadine in Twin Peaks, which makes the movie weirder
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Apr 8, 2019 02:03
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People Under The Stairs whips, and I have fond memories of it because it was basically TNT's "we got an hour and a half to kill on a Saturday night" go-to when I was young. I cannot even tell you how many times I've seen it.
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Apr 8, 2019 03:16
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Also good: the hip-hop group People Under the Stairs.
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Apr 8, 2019 04:11
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The Vosgian Beast posted:I liked People Under The Stairs when I rewatched it like two years ago. Also, pre-Pulp Fiction Ving Rhames.
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Apr 8, 2019 15:20
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SHUT THE FAITH UP TV edits are a magical thing.
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Apr 8, 2019 15:27
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one thing that People Under the Stairs has going for it over Us is that the oppressed underclass in the former film isn’t comprised of mass-murdering psychotics; rather, the irredeemable psychotics in that movie are Ronald and Nancy Reagan
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Apr 8, 2019 16:02
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Dumb question, but was the dance “awakening” before or after they switched? I thought it was pretty specific in being afterwards, but some friends are saying it could be interpreted either way. I think they’re dumb, but I’m dumb often too.
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Apr 9, 2019 00:24
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