The movie and the things it criticizes grow on the same tree. While it makes a gesture of wanting to choke its brothers and sisters to death, it does not show that it really has enough advantages to end its brothers and sisters. We—therefore, the movie itself is merely a display of symbolism.
And what exactly is this symbol? It's nothing more than shooting down those fallen people you hate in the name of moral standards.
The problem is that the seemingly extreme killing is precisely the easiest part of the whole thing. How difficult is it to kill? Especially when you are armed with a gun and the target is unarmed, when you have been grieving for a long time and others are defenseless? The real difficulty is to convince myself and the audience that my murder is reasonable.
Of course Frank and Roxie have always had serious dissatisfaction with many things in this society. Frank hated all the corruptions, while Roxie hated the dull depression and the lack of justice for his intelligence.
But before that, this did not prompt them to kill people-what really pushed Frank across the line was the knowledge that he had a brain tumor and would soon be alive. At the moment of suicide, he was affected by those from his own family and the wealthy families on TV. Negative emotional stimulation.
Frank was very particular about his first murder. First of all, he was because "I'm going to die anyway, let me take a bastard down." This reason is not because this bastard is really a bastard to die and it is not enough to thank the world. To the point-just a spoiled rich girl who has no lower limit on the TV show, to the point of damn it? The point is because Frank's own secular punishment restrictions have been lifted-anyway, I am going to die, how can the world punish me?
But Frank was surrounded by so many damn bastards. He didn't choose to bastard neighbors, bastard bosses, bastard colleagues, but chose the girl Cronie on TV to attack. It was not accidental-Roxy committed suicide after stopping him from killing. The reason is: "If you die now, the whole world will think you are just a middle-aged sex maniac. Because you can't get the beautiful girl on TV, you kill her and commit suicide." Frank denies fiercely, and Roxie also said. That's not the case, you kill her because she is really a bastard.
But in fact, the reason for this dissuasion is closer to the truth than "she is a bastard". Frank killed the girl because he "cannot get her", but not in the sense of sex, but in the sense of the father. . The previous scenes have fully described that the daughter taken away by his own ex-wife has become a willful and materialistic child, leaving Frank forever and the kind of life he thinks is ideal. This situation has dealt a huge blow to Frank. Beyond a certain jerk family that appeared on TV. But he can't get down to kill his wife and daughter, what should he do? So he found a substitute, the bastard daughter of another family, and took her "on the road" with her.
This was Frank's real motive for the first murder, and he would have taken his life after this murder-but at this time Roxie entered his life and prevented his suicide.
Roxie does not have the high moral standard of Frank, and she has not suffered the inhuman abuse in her lies. She is just like all the smart children of this age who are somewhat smart but not recognized by others, eager to deny the ordinary , Eager to find meaning, eager to pursue excitement. This does not mean that she will become a gun killer until she meets Frank, ah, there are people who can kill that nasty bitch so easily and destroy all the centers that idiots are focusing on. It's so fun and exciting. It's fun.
So she can't let Frank die easily and let this opportunity to get rid of mediocrity and boredom disappear, so she urged Frank not to commit suicide now so as not to be misunderstood, but to kill more bastards to prove herself and find meaning.
So Cronie's parents became the first pair of targets on the journey of finding meaning-since they have collapsed their daughters, the parents who cultivated such daughters should naturally die.
Really? When we came into the room with Frank with a gun, we might not have time to think too much, but now think about it carefully? Of course, this family of three belonged to stupid and arrogant rich people who raised bastard children who didn't know what to do, but the only thing they did was to be hysterical in their own house parties. Is this sin to death? Or, the reason why they became unbearable is actually because the production team, who refused to turn off the camera for the audience rating, deliberately transmitted this unpleasant picture to thousands of households through TV channels repeatedly? If this whole thing is really unforgivable, is it the unconsciously making the ugly family of the parties, or the consciously showing the ugly program production team is more sinful — or, is the entire TV entertainment that makes all this possible and necessary? system?
Obviously, neither Frank nor Roxy did not think deeply about this issue. They did not sanction the true main culprit in the incident, nor did they directly attack the evil heart of the radio and television system, a system that confuses the world, like V wearing a smiling face mask. The thing is just to kill the unpleasant people in front of him.
Then they killed the people who were making noise and calling in the movie theater. Of course, these two kinds of people are very bastards, but the problem is still the damn point? In fact, it is enough for them to learn to be quiet and respectful for the rest of their lives. It is enough to shoot them in the leg, kick a few ribs, and smash their heads. Why do they have to kill them? It's not that these people really deserve to die, but that Frank and Roxie have already crossed the normal line. And not only did Frank and Roxie cross that line, in fact, under the director's ingenious plot and meticulous music, we also crossed that line as the audience. The director used melodious music to induce us, right? The forbearance and anger of the arrogant who observe public order vented out, and collectively joined the happy bullying and lynching trial of the majority (the audience) against the minority (the wrongdoers).
Of course director Boka Goldthwaite’s methods are much more than that. After a break with Zhang Youchi, the fake Bonnie and Clyde then killed the host who advocated hatred on the TV show. This is the first official murder of Roxie. While pulling the trigger, she read out the host’s guilt. I have to say that her sentence was quite powerful, and I quite agree with the guilt. Damn—the problem is that Roxie reads this guilt to people who are about to die, and at the same time the director reads it to our audience—but in the story, there is no guilt and guilt prepared for the people in the story world. Declaration-So the smashed hostess became a martyr in the media. Roxie was irritated by this, but Frank handled it indifferently. He was just happy that the mean hostess who was making noise on the TV program every day hung up.
This is precisely where their problem lies. In fact, clues have already been given in the camera. The fake Bonnie and Clyde spent more time practicing how to shoot teddy bears happily, rather than thinking about who should die and how to promote it. Own proposition. Because they didn't really care what the world would become, all the actions they took were just to regain control of their lives.
Then they shot the politicians who blatantly insulted the poor, the men who took up two parking spaces and were playing sideways (because the guy was not dead, so the world finally knew what his guilt was), and then a group of religious fools who preached hatred, and even sects The leader left the cliff. Personally, I am quite in favor of the last paragraph. I can hardly imagine any way better than such a public class to let this kind of religious stupid people who promote hatred in a free speech country understand what their actions will bring. Consequences, and there is nothing more suitable as a punishment for this kind of sect leader than being tied up and thrown off a cliff — of course, it may also be purely because I was confused by the good songs in this shot.
It’s just that there is no declaration on the same issue, so the public opinion effect created by their shooting is too limited, far from being worthy of the influence that such extreme behavior should have. At the same time it is really a waste.
But Frank and Roxie in the play didn’t think so much. This is the culmination of their pride. The gun is in hand, the destiny is in hand, expelling evil, the world will let me go, it’s ballroom dancing, and it’s about emigrating to other countries. Imagine a happy life, even Frank’s doctor called and told him that his brain tumor was only misdiagnosed and the doctor had made a mistake in the file. The policemen who have been beating soy sauce have not caused any trouble at all, and the bright future is almost within reach.
Of course, according to industry practice, this is the time for the plot to take a turn for the worse. Frank discovered that Roxie’s tragic family story was fabricated. This not only undermined his trust in her, but also undermined his actions along the way. The meaning of-is it possible for a liar to provide true meaning? Frank didn't believe this.
So in the sad background song, the two parted ways, Roxie returned to his dull ordinary family amidst the cheers of the audience, and Frank did not have an "ordinary" life to go back, so he could only act more hysterically , Carrying the AK47 to the "American Superstar" finals scene, to the end of the "search for meaning" journey that had actually been falsified (lied to the children away from home and desperate middle-aged uncles).
However, when he walked onto the stage with the AK, Roxie also came. She knew he would come here. They were a good partner after all, but this was only between them. Frank tried to defend the dignity of the out-of-tune singer, but the singer didn’t need him. Having the opportunity to stand on this stage and being ridiculed was the pinnacle of his career. This recognition ruined all the generous statements Frank had just made in front of the camera. It made him feel completely desperate, and the objects he tried to defend were so dignified and ugly. That's why he turned to Roxie and said, you are indeed a beautiful girl. Roxy finally got the recognition she wanted-although it was not the same as the opposite-sex level of praise she wanted in the front of the film, what he praised was the beauty of her soul.
This praise is just like Faust's dying "Time, you are so beautiful, please stay." However, what we are watching is a more realistic story. There will be no infinitely benevolent God sending angels down. Retake the soul of the long lost son from the devil. Frank and Roxy, who entered the doomsday stage, could only shoot at all those who participated in the farce. The only response to them was the bullets fired by the police on the second floor.
So they fell on the stage and the story ended.
Someone wishfully complained that the director deconstructed for the sake of deconstruction and denied their favorite conservative moral benchmark. I have to say that the director is indeed expressing conservative morality. This film does provide a benchmark, but the benchmark has been from the beginning. It is not based on the two protagonists.
Frank and Roxie’s problem was not only because they killed the wrong people and chose the wrong strategy, but because they were killing people for themselves from the beginning, not for the world. They are just two fringe figures who are left in despair, and they don't even take changing the world seriously as an excuse. Regardless of their behavior, their methods, or even their thinking abilities, from the very beginning, they were simply not enough to carry the falling flag of conservative morality.
If you understand the details of the director's apparent intentional arrangement, you will understand that the film actually slapped two loud slaps on those who advocated violence to uphold justice. Fortunately, these people can still feel that this film is supporting their own feelings.
The director dug obvious moral pits one after another in the film to test, just to see how many fools who think that they occupy the commanding heights of morality can't wait to jump off, and how many people can keep the benchmark to the end-judging from the results , Many people watching this film are more than jumping. There are always some bastards in life that make you itch your teeth and want to kill them, and this pair of fake Bonnie and Blake provide such super-moral and refreshing services. How considerate of us to pull out the gun and eliminate evil in the melodious music On the dark side, how hard is it to refuse?
I have to raise my hand and admit that I was surrendering and throwing the benchmark in the scene where I was shooting at the second cultists. Although I knew it was a trap, it was because the action in this scene was so handsome and the singing voice was so moving that I completely lost my mind. .
But killing is evil. There is no doubt that under any circumstances-this does not mean that I am opposed to killing under any circumstances. If a bit of evil can prevent greater evil, or in exchange for greater good, this The exchange may be worthwhile-but even in this case, the evil of murder will not be eliminated. How many people can still move forward even though they are aware of this heavy situation? How many people can hear the death knell for everyone when they pull the trigger?
Too little, we would rather forget ourselves in the handsome shots and melodious music, put aside the weight to enjoy this immoral romance.
However, there are countless ways to live better in this disgusting world. Frank and Roxie did not choose the best one; there are countless ways to make this disgusting world better, Frank and Roxie Kexi did not choose the best one-even if they chose to shoot and kill people as the precondition, they did not implement the optimal strategy, because at the beginning they did not intend to change the world, they just killed for themselves. That's it.
The virtue labels that all audiences put on them are nothing but a whitewash for themselves. We have been tempted by the director to participate in another collective bullying in front of the screen.
Many people hate the director's deconstruction behavior, and feel that they are not allowed to watch a scene of eliminating evil and promoting good, and they have to deconstruct all these things-but this is exactly the director's intention, deconstruction Behavior, exploration of motives, and analysis of results are the only way to seek morality.
The handsome shots and melodious music in the film are not explaining morality, but being a touchstone of morality. If one can’t break through this wonderful illusion and stop at enjoying this illusion-then it’s a pity, in a very big sense. , Such a person is essentially the same as the first deceased Cronie. Whether he likes the utopia in the future or the Eldorado in the past, such people have three questions about the basic elements that constitute their ideal world, the basic principles of maintaining its operation, and the effective way to realize this world. They can only be used to that. Like the bad and stupid rich girl, she yelled hysterically in the face of the unsatisfactory world, and passed all the problems and responsibilities to others.
And can this make the world better even a little bit? can not.
How can it be done? The director's meaning is very clear. It is our own responsibility to think clearly about this matter.
View more about God Bless America reviews
