I am going to speak on a few films I enjoyed, but say some things that might seem a bit harsh. This is my warning. Thank you.
I saw the Matrix 4, and have been thinking about it for some time. Also this year I saw Spider-Man: No Way Home and Dune. I saw Spider-Man in theaters and Dune at home. People told me I missed out on the “experience” of seeing Dune in theaters. It was a similar logic that led me to watch Spider-Man in theaters, despite both being released during a pandemic I’d rather not get involved with. The Matrix and Nightmare Alley were the two actual films I wanted to see in theaters but did not. NA is not available in Spain yet (I am currently in Spain for those that didn’t know, more on that when the trip is over, I think) and the Matrix I figured I’d watch it streaming since I already went to the theater and its best not to play with too much risk since it is available for home viewing.
Anyways, the logic of experience is what I am getting at with both movies. I’ve said before that Spider-Man was fun! It was a spectacle etc. but it’s not a very good story (unless you’re solely following Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin character storyline. If you do this it’s good but you’ll wonder why the other people are there. I wrote about this in my last post.) And then there’s Dune. By all accounts, it’s not a particularly great story. You can hardly fault it cause it’s only half a story with part 2…coming sometime in the future. The Future being, at least a year out. As a result, it’s mostly setting up stuff and aesthetics. Which again is “Fun!” but it’s mostly aesthetics. This means it too in a way is just an experience.
This is not me lamenting “WHAT HAPPENED TO STORIES” handwringing if Dune 2 comes out and neatly ties up the plot it left hanging. Paul becomes a messiah, leads a jihad, and conquers the universe happens and this is supposed to be an ending that is “happy”’ but bittersweet because Paul has essentially sacrificed his humanity for “divinity” to gain power. So if the film does all this, great! I am skeptical. The movie does very little to set up thoughts and/or deeper thinking. There are hints of a prophecy that Paul will ascend but gone are the colonial discussions, gone is the lamentably inevitable future, gone is the moral quandary of Empire…at least in the first film. So in a way, I do have to wonder what happened to stories. Many would be more than happy if they address all this even if it’s in an obscene monologue that nearly breaks the 4th wall and puts the plot on hold as the filmmakers shove “depth” down the throats of viewers. I can’t say I will be, but I’m not going to lie and say I won’t watch to see what happens.
ENTER THE MATRIX:
I liked Matrix 4. Just as I liked Dune. I think it’s important to say this because what I want to point out is the Matrix did something really interesting within itself that some people hated, but I think was quite clever. The Matrix 4 allowed itself to be a weirdly flawed film and have disruptions to its pacing. It allowed itself to have bad obscene bits of dialogue that winked at the audience saying “You don’t know know what the fuck you want, don’t lie.” Because in a world of franchises, it’s true. Nobody knows what story they want. People want to be surprised but see what is familiar. People want to be able to think, but not think critically. People want memorable “moments” but not particularly memorable images that disturb or haunt you long after your eyes adjust to the lighting after you exit a theater. People want an experience they can no longer name or understand.
People want stories.
This isn’t to say the artist/storyteller/auteur is the only one who can deliver. What I am saying is we are at a point in our time where we are capable of telling stories as wild as our imaginations will let us dream. Trouble is, our imaginations are to be reluctant to turn wild. This isn’t to say there aren’t feral visionaries out there delivering the good shit. There are. There are more interesting books, movies, songs whatever at our fingertips than ever before. The issue is we are having difficulty, collectively, parsing it out, and until we do…the movies we embrace as the narratives of our times, the lessons we derive from them, and the worlds that we see in our sleeping moments will be hampered by this.
By all means, go and enjoy Dune, Spider-Man…this isn’t even to suggest Nightmare Alley is the solution. This is just me thinking, we are at an age where we can consume anything, and while some of those things will pretend to be filling and daring. They are as easy to obtain as a meal from McDonald’s or a drink from Starbucks. Readily available, without struggle, and only able to sate us till its time for the next thing to consume.