The Nougties In Film PART 1

Is that even how you spell noughties? My spell check certainly doesn't think so.

Anywho, this post is the first of I don't know how many that deals with how film is being defined this century - which I just realized is coming to a close. G-diddy damn, only a year and a half left and then we're in the teenies and I'm turning 25.

Terrifying.

We are in a scary time. Hope is a figment of our imaginations. There is no light at the end of the tunnel. All is NOT good in the world. Good can't always defeat evil. We are powerless against oppression. And yes, we are all terrified.

And if you're wondering what brought this all on, I have three words that should be very familiar to you by now.

The...



...dark...



...knight.

If you have not seen this [very slightly flawed] masterpiece, get off your fat butt right now and skedaddle to your nearest theater pronto. There may even be a ticket left for you. I won't repeat what countless reviews have already articulated, except to say that darkness is imbedded within this Batman film, and it is here to stay. Batman is no longer Gotham's hero. He is the outcast, and we love him for it, even if Gotham's citizens don't. And while we impatiently wait for the third film to deal with the moral quandary left in the Joker and the Great Heath Ledger's wake, let us consider what this film means to us and to film in general.

The main point at hand to remember is that Christopher Nolan's film is not arthouse, but a mainstream Hollywood blockbuster, that nonetheless is able to tackle themes that are usually more at home in a Coen Brothers noir film. And even that film won the Oscar.

Badness and evil are the new hip. It is "in" because we as a society can no longer deny its ungodly presence everywhere we go.

There is a pivotal moment in the film involving 2 ferries, and I won't go into further details just to say that WHAT HAPPENS here has been one of the few things in the film that left some people cold. They think it seemed like a stretch, because what happens presumes that mankind as a whole is good and unselfish.

People I have discussed the film with say that this moment, or CHOICE, was unrealistic, and "Hollywood". What they really mean to say is that it was not credible.

They didn't buy it. Mankind ISN'T good. We're NOT selfless.

Are we all pawns of madmen like The Joker?

Does evil ultimately triumph?

Does fear reign supreme?

All to be discussed in parts 2, 3 and beyond...

Rip Heath Ledger.

A wonderous actor in two of my favourite films of the noughties.

But yes, neither the most hopeful or positive experiences (which is not say that Brokeback isn't

transcendantly inspiring and thought provoking, just that it's final message is a bit depressing for everyone).