Thank you, this is the piece I wish I wrote about all of this! (My highest compliment, I think you understand.) I literally cited Reality Bites the other day while saying "this is good for movies" about these two new things directed by children. I viscerally remember walking home from the movie theater on the campus of Northwestern when I saw Reality Bites and it peered into my soul and Winona and Ethan became guiding figures in my life. I hope that's how the kids feel now!
I am just a couple years older than you and I haven't seen Reality Bytes since I saw it in the theaters. I liked it, and thought it definitely had the correct "vibes" (as the kids say today) for our generation, but I guess it wasn't shown enough on TBS or AMC later for me to give it a re-watch. I did listen to the soundtrack a lot.
All that said, I *do* remember one visceral reaction I had to the movie at the time: that Ben Stiller's character was right. I remember being confused over how he get rejected and was clearly positioned as the bad guy, when I thought...well, Roger Ebert wrote why. I won't try to re-write what he said better.
I don't know what that says about me. Perhaps, in spite of my love for all things grunge and (still ongoing!) suspicion about selling out, I really was not in touch with a true artist spirit. Which might be it -- I went in the corporate world once I graduated from college; I didn't become a writer.
In any case, I definitely do feel your pain about Obsession and Backrooms. I don't get it, but I realized once I had kids, many things are not for me to get. I try and if it doesn't take, on to the next one. Heck, I'm scrambling to see if I need to care about "The Amazing Digital Circus" which I hadn't heard of until two days ago and looks beyond basic to me, but apparently is based (in part) on "If I had a Mouth I Would Scream" (one of my teen daughters' favorites), so I have no idea if I will have to watch that, and likely be baffled, or not.
You write "like Parsons read an Wikipedia entry about Problems Adults Have" and cite that excerpt of Lawson's review without once mentioning the name of Backrooms' screenwriter, who as far as I can tell is much closer to Ejiofor's age than Parsons'. It's clear you knew Parsons didn't write the script because you parenthetically noted it, so I'm confused why you'd lay script issues solely at Parsons' feet. It feels like you knew Soodik's age would puncture your "these kids don't get it" point, which is disappointing for a writer and an essay that tries to be more nuanced than that.
I'm not sure I agree with you here. I mean, sure, maybe the screenwriter is older (I have no idea, but I suspect he probably is), but I don't think it's even slightly relevant? I mean, it's Parsons' movie. Maybe there was more depth of the characters in the screenplay and maybe there wasn't, but there is absolutely zero in the movie, and in a way that sure looks like the person in charge of the movie (the one making the decisions, the one one might call "the director") has no understanding (or even a lot of curiosity about) the inner life of the two people is ostensibly about.
You know full well that not every director is an auteur. There's a good chance a 20-year-old first-time filmmaker but the script duties mostly in his screenwriter's hands. It's fair to place blame on Parsons for script issues, but to completely ignore the screenwriter, claim it doesn't matter and patronize me in the process? Baffling
I, like most younger Gen-X theatre kids, was obsessed with "Rent" in my early college years and its modern-retelling of the bohemian ideals. Nowadays when I think about the crux of Rent's conflict, it kinda boils down to "our successful yet douchey former friend wants to build a new building that allows all of us to work on our art for free, but that wouldn't be 100% me following my ideals."
I did have my poverty bohemian art-making phase after college, and it taught me a million things, but it would have been nice to have a new studio after a while, especially since Benny probably got that property at a much better price than would have been available in this horrid economy.
I'm not as plugged in to the cutting edge of memes, mostly because even though I'm of the forums/BBCode age (turning 40 this year) and remember when 4chan was talked about for the memes and not the right-wing echo chamber that it became... but the backrooms meme still broke through for me. Mainly because I listen to podcasts about internet culture and it was discussed on one maybe 4ish years ago. Honestly, I'm surprised that it originated only in 2019. The *feel* of the meme is much older than that, more mid-late 2000s in the exciting early years of "web 2.0" than in the stagnant doldrums of the post-Cambridge Analytica world. Spiritually, it belongs more to the age of Geocities than the age of the algorithm, and yet...
Even with what you say about the movie, I'm still intrigued enough to kind of want to see it because I like it when obscure weird stuff like that escapes containment and becomes a cultural thing. The movie might suck (the teenager's idea of what adult problems are thing would be... distracting), but the fact that it got made and is popular enough to be talked about is something. And hey, I liked Ejiofor in Serenity, so that might all add up to me seeing it just to see it.
Also, thanks for putting into words the feeling of knowing that "an old" was wrong about something huge, even if that person was someone you looked up to or admired for what they were doing as a whole.
Two things, Will. One, if you're going to list your WaPo pieces, make them free. I'm not paying Bezos $4 just to read your piece. Two, Roger Ebert was great. Siskel was (mostly) above average. The two of them, separately, were not friends, but for 22 minutes on TV for 25 years, they were your movie reviewers. Elevated reviews from the back page to it's own section.
Well written! Without sounding like an old crusty man (but knowing I will anyway), today's generation doesn't like to think about anything for very long. They don't have to, thinking takes too long. They were raised in the era of constant communication, the world's knowledge at their fingertips immediately, and entertainment packaged in 10 second video clips. Make your point in 10 seconds, or go away, iow. And you better look amazing while doing it, btw, even if the look is completely AI fake. And the world is not like that. Yet. However, the adults in the room are unfortunately also beginning to swing that way too. Thinking is underrated, and that's why I watch movies. Make me think, and if your whole premise doesn't fall apart in 5 seconds after I do, then you've won.
Fascinating stuff. A lot of "Reality Bites" stayed with me. I actually saw it in a youth hostel when I was at some Gen X conference, which was fitting. Yes, our heroes can be wrong, or they can just come to something from a different place, with a different knowledge base. Your writing was so rich and thoughtful. Thank you. You know. there have been very few (relatively) writers documenting the pop culture of our generation in a book or memoir, probably because the Boomers have had a lock on that for at least 50 years. I hope to see books and memoirs placing pop culture in our life stories someday (I'm working on a memoir like that, but there's so much room for more!!)
PS "Singles" strikes me in the same vein as "Reality Bites." I remember the Campbell Scott character wanting his transportation project to be approved so badly, and the devastating rejection - I went through a lot of that in the '90s, and maybe a bit today. ;)
Maaaannnnnn, I feel this. I’m two years ahead of you in age, Mr Leitch, although my love tends to go to music more than movies (but I adore movies). The kids will play the latest band or singer or whatnot, and my reaction tends to be, “oh, yeah, I’ve heard this before - sounds like someone is playing a Doobie Bros song as if it was written by the Beatles.” But, they swear by the relevance of the music in the same way that I believed Men At Work and Journey were completely original and new sounds.
1. I hate horror. Refuse to watch it. Life is scary enough. But I listen and read a lot about movies so have a basic understanding of these two and others in the genre. The main failing from my admittedly limited perspective is that they sometimes lean on "because ee can" logic rather than "because this is what should/could happen "
2. I hate any discussion on "does this hold up" because art - especially narrative art - should not be made to appeal to unknown tastes and mores 20 years in the future. That isn't the point.
I’m also a huge Ebert fan, and am about 5 years older than you. When I saw “Reality Bites” in the theater, I think I was already too old for it - I hated the main characters and the choices they were making with their lives. Haven’t seen it in all the years since, but it would be interesting to take a look back at it from a distance.
You wouldn't happen to be coming to Minneapolis for the Cardinals series next weekend, would you? If so, I'd love to say hi at some point. I am a freelance sportswriter and will be covering the Cardinals for MLB.com. It would be great to grab a couple Tony O's Cuban sandwiches and talk baseball with a fellow fanatic at some point.
I'm 75 and long ago realized I am no longer the target audience for most art and entertainment. I will still check out music that Pitchfork recommends, but much of it leaves me scratching my head. (I did, however, see Barker's short "The Chair" a while back and thought it was interesting.)
As for the actual movie Boyhood, I think it’s terrific but it continues to annoy me that the kid ended up doing an arty type thing to get into college and we’re led to believe, likely his career. I get why a successful filmmaker thinks this is normal but it isn’t and if the whole point of your movie is showing a pretty standard suburban childhood then I think the movie makes more sense if the kid ends up doing accountancy or something at college rather than the 1 in a million shot of a career on the arts
I know nobody agrees with me on this, they either violently disagree or for most people wonder why I care, but I’m right, the photography thing takes something away from the movie
Gads, I was on the cusp of thirty when I saw Reality Bites and thought it was the phoniest representation of my generation ever, #WinonaForever notwithstanding. Never thought to look up Ebert’s review.
Thank you, this is the piece I wish I wrote about all of this! (My highest compliment, I think you understand.) I literally cited Reality Bites the other day while saying "this is good for movies" about these two new things directed by children. I viscerally remember walking home from the movie theater on the campus of Northwestern when I saw Reality Bites and it peered into my soul and Winona and Ethan became guiding figures in my life. I hope that's how the kids feel now!
I am just a couple years older than you and I haven't seen Reality Bytes since I saw it in the theaters. I liked it, and thought it definitely had the correct "vibes" (as the kids say today) for our generation, but I guess it wasn't shown enough on TBS or AMC later for me to give it a re-watch. I did listen to the soundtrack a lot.
All that said, I *do* remember one visceral reaction I had to the movie at the time: that Ben Stiller's character was right. I remember being confused over how he get rejected and was clearly positioned as the bad guy, when I thought...well, Roger Ebert wrote why. I won't try to re-write what he said better.
I don't know what that says about me. Perhaps, in spite of my love for all things grunge and (still ongoing!) suspicion about selling out, I really was not in touch with a true artist spirit. Which might be it -- I went in the corporate world once I graduated from college; I didn't become a writer.
In any case, I definitely do feel your pain about Obsession and Backrooms. I don't get it, but I realized once I had kids, many things are not for me to get. I try and if it doesn't take, on to the next one. Heck, I'm scrambling to see if I need to care about "The Amazing Digital Circus" which I hadn't heard of until two days ago and looks beyond basic to me, but apparently is based (in part) on "If I had a Mouth I Would Scream" (one of my teen daughters' favorites), so I have no idea if I will have to watch that, and likely be baffled, or not.
Enjoy your work.
You write "like Parsons read an Wikipedia entry about Problems Adults Have" and cite that excerpt of Lawson's review without once mentioning the name of Backrooms' screenwriter, who as far as I can tell is much closer to Ejiofor's age than Parsons'. It's clear you knew Parsons didn't write the script because you parenthetically noted it, so I'm confused why you'd lay script issues solely at Parsons' feet. It feels like you knew Soodik's age would puncture your "these kids don't get it" point, which is disappointing for a writer and an essay that tries to be more nuanced than that.
I'm not sure I agree with you here. I mean, sure, maybe the screenwriter is older (I have no idea, but I suspect he probably is), but I don't think it's even slightly relevant? I mean, it's Parsons' movie. Maybe there was more depth of the characters in the screenplay and maybe there wasn't, but there is absolutely zero in the movie, and in a way that sure looks like the person in charge of the movie (the one making the decisions, the one one might call "the director") has no understanding (or even a lot of curiosity about) the inner life of the two people is ostensibly about.
You know full well that not every director is an auteur. There's a good chance a 20-year-old first-time filmmaker but the script duties mostly in his screenwriter's hands. It's fair to place blame on Parsons for script issues, but to completely ignore the screenwriter, claim it doesn't matter and patronize me in the process? Baffling
I was just trying to engage your comment in good faith, which I now realize was a mistake.
I, like most younger Gen-X theatre kids, was obsessed with "Rent" in my early college years and its modern-retelling of the bohemian ideals. Nowadays when I think about the crux of Rent's conflict, it kinda boils down to "our successful yet douchey former friend wants to build a new building that allows all of us to work on our art for free, but that wouldn't be 100% me following my ideals."
I did have my poverty bohemian art-making phase after college, and it taught me a million things, but it would have been nice to have a new studio after a while, especially since Benny probably got that property at a much better price than would have been available in this horrid economy.
Juuuust in case you didn't end up on the Wikipedia page for the backrooms meme: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Backrooms
I'm not as plugged in to the cutting edge of memes, mostly because even though I'm of the forums/BBCode age (turning 40 this year) and remember when 4chan was talked about for the memes and not the right-wing echo chamber that it became... but the backrooms meme still broke through for me. Mainly because I listen to podcasts about internet culture and it was discussed on one maybe 4ish years ago. Honestly, I'm surprised that it originated only in 2019. The *feel* of the meme is much older than that, more mid-late 2000s in the exciting early years of "web 2.0" than in the stagnant doldrums of the post-Cambridge Analytica world. Spiritually, it belongs more to the age of Geocities than the age of the algorithm, and yet...
Even with what you say about the movie, I'm still intrigued enough to kind of want to see it because I like it when obscure weird stuff like that escapes containment and becomes a cultural thing. The movie might suck (the teenager's idea of what adult problems are thing would be... distracting), but the fact that it got made and is popular enough to be talked about is something. And hey, I liked Ejiofor in Serenity, so that might all add up to me seeing it just to see it.
Also, thanks for putting into words the feeling of knowing that "an old" was wrong about something huge, even if that person was someone you looked up to or admired for what they were doing as a whole.
Two things, Will. One, if you're going to list your WaPo pieces, make them free. I'm not paying Bezos $4 just to read your piece. Two, Roger Ebert was great. Siskel was (mostly) above average. The two of them, separately, were not friends, but for 22 minutes on TV for 25 years, they were your movie reviewers. Elevated reviews from the back page to it's own section.
(The WaPo newsletter is free, that's why I keep linking to it.)
Thanks. I'll check it out.
Well written! Without sounding like an old crusty man (but knowing I will anyway), today's generation doesn't like to think about anything for very long. They don't have to, thinking takes too long. They were raised in the era of constant communication, the world's knowledge at their fingertips immediately, and entertainment packaged in 10 second video clips. Make your point in 10 seconds, or go away, iow. And you better look amazing while doing it, btw, even if the look is completely AI fake. And the world is not like that. Yet. However, the adults in the room are unfortunately also beginning to swing that way too. Thinking is underrated, and that's why I watch movies. Make me think, and if your whole premise doesn't fall apart in 5 seconds after I do, then you've won.
Fascinating stuff. A lot of "Reality Bites" stayed with me. I actually saw it in a youth hostel when I was at some Gen X conference, which was fitting. Yes, our heroes can be wrong, or they can just come to something from a different place, with a different knowledge base. Your writing was so rich and thoughtful. Thank you. You know. there have been very few (relatively) writers documenting the pop culture of our generation in a book or memoir, probably because the Boomers have had a lock on that for at least 50 years. I hope to see books and memoirs placing pop culture in our life stories someday (I'm working on a memoir like that, but there's so much room for more!!)
PS "Singles" strikes me in the same vein as "Reality Bites." I remember the Campbell Scott character wanting his transportation project to be approved so badly, and the devastating rejection - I went through a lot of that in the '90s, and maybe a bit today. ;)
Maaaannnnnn, I feel this. I’m two years ahead of you in age, Mr Leitch, although my love tends to go to music more than movies (but I adore movies). The kids will play the latest band or singer or whatnot, and my reaction tends to be, “oh, yeah, I’ve heard this before - sounds like someone is playing a Doobie Bros song as if it was written by the Beatles.” But, they swear by the relevance of the music in the same way that I believed Men At Work and Journey were completely original and new sounds.
Great, as always. Two things jumped out to me:
1. I hate horror. Refuse to watch it. Life is scary enough. But I listen and read a lot about movies so have a basic understanding of these two and others in the genre. The main failing from my admittedly limited perspective is that they sometimes lean on "because ee can" logic rather than "because this is what should/could happen "
2. I hate any discussion on "does this hold up" because art - especially narrative art - should not be made to appeal to unknown tastes and mores 20 years in the future. That isn't the point.
I’m also a huge Ebert fan, and am about 5 years older than you. When I saw “Reality Bites” in the theater, I think I was already too old for it - I hated the main characters and the choices they were making with their lives. Haven’t seen it in all the years since, but it would be interesting to take a look back at it from a distance.
I saw Reality Bites when I was 15 and loved it. I brought it up again on Netflix in my 30’s and realized it wasn’t that good.
You wouldn't happen to be coming to Minneapolis for the Cardinals series next weekend, would you? If so, I'd love to say hi at some point. I am a freelance sportswriter and will be covering the Cardinals for MLB.com. It would be great to grab a couple Tony O's Cuban sandwiches and talk baseball with a fellow fanatic at some point.
I'm 75 and long ago realized I am no longer the target audience for most art and entertainment. I will still check out music that Pitchfork recommends, but much of it leaves me scratching my head. (I did, however, see Barker's short "The Chair" a while back and thought it was interesting.)
As for the actual movie Boyhood, I think it’s terrific but it continues to annoy me that the kid ended up doing an arty type thing to get into college and we’re led to believe, likely his career. I get why a successful filmmaker thinks this is normal but it isn’t and if the whole point of your movie is showing a pretty standard suburban childhood then I think the movie makes more sense if the kid ends up doing accountancy or something at college rather than the 1 in a million shot of a career on the arts
I know nobody agrees with me on this, they either violently disagree or for most people wonder why I care, but I’m right, the photography thing takes something away from the movie
Gads, I was on the cusp of thirty when I saw Reality Bites and thought it was the phoniest representation of my generation ever, #WinonaForever notwithstanding. Never thought to look up Ebert’s review.