Me or Us?

We're in that season now.  Some think of it as the holidays, and others, as the six week stretch when most of the year's decent movies finally come out (i.e. Oscar contender time).  In fact, so many movies worth seeing come out at once, that people who write about movies tend to bunch a bunch of them together in their reviews, and in some cases, develop Deep Thoughts about what these movies do or don't have in common.

Guilty as self-charged.  I recently saw three movies, two with a lock on Best Actor nominations and a third dark horse, all of them featuring compelling male protagonists: Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln, Denzel Washington as pilot Whip Whitacker (Flight), and Richard Gere as hedge fund magnate Robert Miller (Arbitrage).  What struck me was how all three movies focused on a moral dilemma which, however timeless, seems particularly timely in our current historical moment.

In Arbitrage, the Gere character has embezzled funds, ostensibly to save his company, his family, and his wealthy lifestyle.  The tension in the story arises from what happens when he commits another crime that threatens to expose the first.

Flight is about how airliner pilot Denzel heroically turns what could have been a total crash disaster into much less of one, saving most of the lives (referred to in the movie, tellingly, as "souls") onboard.  Problem is, Denzel is an alcoholic who happened to be drunk at the time.

Lincoln focuses on a key moment in this beloved historical figure's life: his fight to get the 13th amendment, constitutionally abolishing slavery, passed - which may involve his having to keep the Civil War going, as opposed to ending it.

At their cores, each of these movies hinges on the same particular conflict, which could simply be stated as: Me or them?

Arbitrage's Gere, in ways too spoiler to elucidate, ends up having to choose between owning up to what he's done, or selling someone close to him down the river.  In truth, while he claims company and family as his rationale, his dilemma is really about maintaining his own power.

The alcoholism of Denzel in Flight creates a similar dichotomy: obviously Whip's disease threatens the lives of everyone he encounters on his job, and ultimately he, too, finds that his only way out of what could be a hefty prison sentence is to sell out someone near and dear.

Lincoln is a bit of a special case.  As President, the "them" Lincoln is dealing with is the nation he's been chosen to lead.  Nonetheless, he's ultimately faced with either compromising his own beliefs and principles in order to serve "their" immediate needs (i.e. by ending the bloodshed), or answering to what he believes is, besides his own legacy, the higher call of history.

The pattern's obvious, but it struck me that, in the context of our recent election and its consequences, this particular conflict - caring about the betterment of others vs. what's best for oneself - is with us now, more than ever.  It framed the philosophies behind the presidential race's politics, and it's the framework of where we are in the current tax dispute.  Are we willing to make sacrifices for the greater good, or is it going to be every man for himself?

Most of us aren't millionaire financial execs, ace airline pilots, or Daniel Day Lewis (he is Lincoln now, don't you know).  But this particular struggle - which we could more accurately define as "me or us?" - is apparently really saying hello to the audience now, even in what's usually our hallowed hall of escapism.  

Maybe I'm only reaching, and pissing on my head, as an old musician friend used to put it, so I'm curious to hear from those of you who've seen some of the other high profile end-of-2012 releases.  Is this focus actually a trend?  Living RomCom wants to know.

Comments

[jamy]

I've see precious few movies recently, but one was "Argo." It definitely had this aspect! In the end the hero (Affleck) ultimately breaks the rules to rescue the folks stuck in Iran--but doesn't he do it more to serve himself than them? I dunno.

[mernitman]

Jamy: Yeah, interesting that - the ego is always at the wheel. You could say he's serving both, I guess... Good, well-made movie, regardless.

[jamy]

I did like Argo--and I was pleased with the way Affleck comported himself. I've always liked him and this was a nice, low-key piece of filmmaking.

[Judith Duncan]

Hi Billy,
I haven't seen any films this month,I took up the NaNoWriMo challenge.So when I'm not at work or swimming,I'm writing.Which has been great,though I'll never get to 50,000 words by next week,If I'm lucky,I'll get to half.It's been a great exercise. I've found that literary agents are more open to receiving things from newbies than anyone in the screenwriting biz.I remember you did a post ages ago about George R.R.Martin moving from screenwriting to prose and it made me think,that perhaps there were other avenues to get my ideas out there.
So,to your question,though I haven't see the movies,I think the 'me or us'focus is very much the zeitgeist in 1st world countries now and the kind of question that's being asked by politicians and the everyman/woman. It's a natural flow on effect that we should be seeing that in film.We sit there in the cinema looking up at ourselves sorting through our moral dilemmas.
:)Judith

[Simon Tael]

Well I am glad I am not the only one who thinks all recent Hollywood movies seem to be fundamentally the same or just a remake of another movie that was already made a year ago.

Ya moral dilemna seems to be a big theme recently.

Just can't hold it back anymore...that new spiderman movie "the Amazing Spiderman" OMG it was such a blatant cash grab - so bad. Who thinks "hey lets remake a global hit into something lame."

[mernitman]

Judith: Good luck with your word productivity! And we'll keep looking up at ourselves...

Simon: It's hard not to be cynical at this point in the game. Ironically, the better "same but different" variations that come out this time of year actually do give one hope. Seen "Silver Linings Playbook?" It's a same-old that was new enough to make me chortle and tear up.

[Joanna Farnsworth]

Is this focus actually a trend?

Maybe. At lease it's an attempt at the "personality metaphor" story structure we used to get in most popular movies.

You know, like "Selfist vs Teamist" - "Solo" in Star Wars and "Maverick" in Top Gun, and lots of lesser hits too.

I suppose the good news is that Hollywood may have figured out this structure works with the audience.

The bad news is these newer movies just don't have the same story depth as the older ones.

I know I harp on and on about this apparently lost attitudinal structure - but I, for one, want it back.

Moving "story visuals" are no substitute for "moving story" visuals.

[mernitman]

Joanna, let's hope it's a trend and that as always, the good will out. Anything that encourages better, deeper writing in Hollywood!