J is even in front of K, doesn't he have to be a clown first before he can be king?
Why are you watching this...?
"New Hollywood" representative director Martin Scorsese's work. After a general understanding of this history, I became interested and planned to find one of the films to watch. But let's choose one. I wanted to choose "Dr. Strangelove" (it is said to be the film that expresses Lao Ku's style the most), all the films have been opened, but after eating, I chose "The King of Comedy" "Look at it: Maybe I have seen "Taxi Driver" before, I have a familiarity with and a good impression of De Niro, and want to see his other works (two men, one play [cross out]).
Rupa Pugin is obsessed with TV talk shows and dreams of one day performing on stage and becoming famous. To that end, he found ways to introduce himself to talk show celebrity Jerry Langdon. Because of too much personal entanglement, Jerry always perfunctory to it. After being kicked out of his private residence, a helpless Rupa kidnaps him with Jerry's mad fangirls, threatening him with a hostage, and ends up on a TV talk show. He was immediately sentenced to imprisonment. But the kidnapping and performance made it an overnight success and shortened the prison term. After his release from prison, he became a veritable "King of Comedy".
As it says: The only way I got into this business was to kidnap Jerry Langdon.
light-headed
The first part of the storyline (before the kidnapping is carried out) is smooth, but not very bright. It was not until the talk show monologue at the end that the protagonist's life experience was revealed, which raised the theme a lot. It can only be said that the previous routine is too normal and serious.
The overall sense of narrative is strong, in line with the traditional Hollywood narrative, and the causal connection is also very sufficient. In contrast, it is the way of moving the lens and the style of live-action shooting in documentaries. Scorsese's personal style, in addition to strong narrative content and documentary image style, also uses specific character research to present the general social situation, and likes to see the big from the small.
Rupa Pugin
Perhaps the most direct feeling most people have of Rupa is that he is thick-skinned. Even, due to his various "self-directed and self-acted" behaviors, it will make people wonder if these are all conjectures. And the intertwining of fantasy and reality in the play also shows that this guy seems to be a little mentally ill.
Of course, his cheeky behavior is also a manifestation of "admirable courage" in a sense: being thrown out of the company by the guards, being chased out of his private villa by Jerry's policeman, disgraced in front of his crush (Rita) and his accomplices... …a neurotic air underscored by the tragic situation.
When it comes to character setup, Rupa's motives are especially general—the desire to be famous, to stand out, to be proud in front of the people he likes. Therefore, apart from the specific character traits, the "dream" of this character can reflect the reality of that era in the United States.
But for me, the more interesting thing about the film is a foreshadowing in the plot and the two-sided problem reflected in the talk show at the end.
"I can wait"
The highlight of the story is a line: "I can wait." This sentence appeared many times in the confrontation between Rupa and the outside world, which not only showed his resigned and resigned character on the surface, but also a foreshadowing of his later kidnapping behavior.
personal sorrow
In the end, the monologue on the talk show brought Mr. Putin's life to the fore. In a way of self-mockery and scorn, he turned his scars into a public joke—a kind of mentally suppressed clown image.
Laugh, everyone laughs; cry, weeping alone. --"old boys"
In fact, what he cared about was only Rita's "right look" at himself, the sentence "How did you do it?!". It's like a child doing his best to do things, just for the proud face and praise of the parents. This reflects the influence of the behavior habits developed in the native family. In the play, exaggerated and self-destructive behaviors are used to cater to the outside world and win the favor of others. When I was a child, I used to vomit, imitating my father's vomiting after drinking (thinking it was a sign of maturity); as an adult, I committed crimes after being helpless, in order to win the eyes of my sweetheart.
This reminds me of likable characters such as "The Disgusted Matsuko". No matter how their lives are rehearsed in comedy, the background and quality are tragedies. Because the raw materials are already so bad, they are forced to be the laughing stock of everyone. Their self-worth has no solid foundation and is therefore prone to collapse.
satirical age of entertainment
At the same time, it's no wonder what the protagonist said: "The only way for me to enter this industry is to kidnap Jerry Langdon." Fake name, false name, in this entertainment age, fame can cover up and monopolize too many things. Not only does everything pay attention to "first come, first come", but as long as there is a name and someone supports it, the dead can be said to survive.
So, this seems to be an endless loop with no solution?
In the previous episode, Rupa's performance recording was rejected by Jerry's female secretary. It must be such a strange contrast that there is no "elegance" on stage. But the laughter of the audience later showed that it has nothing to do with "content" at all, and the talk show is not a "graceful hall", the key is whether there is a "form" problem.
In the final analysis, what makes him the "king of comedy" is the gimmicks, the crime and jail time, the audience's consumption of fun, the packaging of the entertainment world. It's not that his "lining" is full or not, or even has it or not. At the end of the film, Rupa took the stage again after being released from prison, and the host began to agitate the atmosphere: "... Next please - Rupa Pugin!". After shouting 3 times in a row, he just laughed without saying a word.
Because, as long as one mouth, as long as time stretches, all bubbles will burst.
The so-called "laughing is uglier than crying", and constantly laughing is actually pathological.
"King" is nothing more than "Joker", a very sad and ironic name.
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