{"id":14,"date":"2015-03-12T17:45:33","date_gmt":"2015-03-12T17:45:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=14"},"modified":"2016-02-03T21:51:05","modified_gmt":"2016-02-03T21:51:05","slug":"on-birdman-the-movie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=14","title":{"rendered":"On “Birdman,” the movie"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Birdman<\/div>\n
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It’s not often – after spending 63 summers here on this earth – that I leave a movie and say: \u00a0“What the [expletive deleted<\/a>] was that all about?!?<\/em><\/strong>“<\/span><\/p>\n

Which is being interpreted<\/em>:\u00a0 This is a review of Birdman\u00a0<\/a><\/em>, the movie.\u00a0 It\u2019s also the first post on my new blog, the “Georgia Wasp. ” \u00a0(Georgiawasp.com<\/em>.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Which leads up to an interesting story: \u00a0A story about me not<\/em> <\/strong>being a “dating psycho.”<\/span><\/p>\n

It all started when I signed up for the domain name, \u201cGeorgia Wasp.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u00a0was supposed<\/em> to be a clever take-off on the\u00a0Carolina Israelite<\/a>. \u00a0 The Israelite<\/em><\/strong> was a pre-Internet blog of sorts. \u00a0A newspaper, published in Charlotte, North Carolina, from 1944 to 1968, by “journalist, social critic, and humorist Harry Golden.”\u00a0 See also: \u00a0Harry Golden \u2013 Wikipedia<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

I bought a copy of his book, \u201cOnly in America\u201d – as shown below – and it\u2019s been an inspiration ever since. \u00a0I\u2019ve always wanted to do an\u00a0homage<\/a><\/em>\u00a0to him and his style of writing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Harry Golden was Jewish, and he lived in North Carolina.\u00a0 That\u2019s<\/em> how he came up with the name \u201cCarolina Israelite.\u201d\u00a0 I on the other hand am a classic WASP<\/em><\/strong> (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant<\/a>), and I live in Georgia.\u00a0 So I figured it would would be perfectly natural \u2013 not to mention, an\u00a0homage<\/em>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0 to have the\u00a0nom de plume<\/em>\u00a0(pen name)<\/a>\u00a0of \u201cthe Georgia Wasp.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a problem\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Apparently there\u2019s a website, \u201cdating psychos.\u201d \u00a0(Or “words to that effect.”<\/em>) \u00a0One of the bulletins tells of a crazy guy \u2013 \u201cAlias \u2018Georgia Wasp\u2019\u201d \u2013 who is said to be a \u201cpathological liar\u2026\u00a0\u00a0 married many times and has cheated on each wife with multiple partners!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

So here\u2019s a heads up:\u00a0 I\u2019m not that guy!!!<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Now, about that Birdman<\/em>.\u00a0 First a brief summary from Birdman (film) – Wikipedia<\/a>:\u00a0 The movie is a “2014 American black comedy<\/a>–drama film<\/a>.”\u00a0 That’s an important note:\u00a0 Black comedy<\/em> “employs farce<\/a> and morbid humor<\/a>,” and takes on “subject matter usually considered taboo<\/a>.”\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"It’s sometimes called “gallows humor<\/a>” – as in the image at right of “Major ‘King’ Kong riding a nuclear bomb to oblivion, [in] Dr. Strangelove<\/a><\/span>.” \u00a0And<\/em><\/strong> it’s\u00a0often controversial.<\/span><\/p>\n

So Birdman<\/em>\u00a0stars Michael Keaton<\/a>\u00a0– as Riggan Thomson – “a faded Hollywood actor famous for his role as superhero Birdman, as he struggles to mount a Broadway<\/a> adaptation of a short story by Raymond Carver<\/a>.”\u00a0\u00a0 What follows are some expanded notes I made about the film, the day after viewing. \u00a0(<\/em>In the manner of\u00a0Hunter Thompson<\/a> and his Gonzo journalism<\/a>.)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Basically,\u00a0Birdman<\/em><\/strong> is to the world of Broadway actors what A Few Good Men<\/a><\/em> was to the Marine Corps and the military justice system.\u00a0 It gives a fascinating, inside view of the world of Broadway actors, and that alone made it well worth while. \u00a0(Worth the $10.68 “we” paid to get the tickets, but not<\/strong> worth the extra $13.29 for the one large soda and large popcorn…<\/em>) \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In doing so, the film focuses on one, slightly-demented\u00a0caricature<\/a><\/em> of a main character.\u00a0 (If not a\u00a0poseur<\/em><\/a>, as was the case with Jack Nicholson’s Colonel Jessup in AFGM<\/em><\/strong>.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Riggan (Keaton) is a washed-up actor who used<\/em> to be famous for his role in a blockbuster series of hack films. \u00a0(That is, as “Birdman.”) \u00a0He’s trying to make a come-back on Broadway, and one person stands in his way. \u00a0That’s the “evil” Broadway critic, “Tabitha Dickinson (Lindsay Duncan<\/a>), who tells him she hates Hollywood celebrities [who] ‘pretend’ to be actors.” \u00a0(I on the other hand, I found her to be the most sympathetic character in the whole movie.\u00a0 She alone made sense, and was an island of sanity in an otherwise loony bin<\/a> of a film.<\/em>)\u00a0 Then this happens:<\/span><\/p>\n

On opening night, Riggan uses a real loaded gun for the final scene in which his character kills himself, and shoots his nose off onstage.\u00a0 He earns a standing ovation from all but Tabitha [the critic], who leaves during the applause.\u00a0 In the hospital, Jake tells Riggan that Tabitha gave the play a rave review, dubbing his suicide attempt “super-realism,”, a new form of method acting.\u00a0 After Samantha visits Riggan, he dismisses Birdman and, seeing birds outside, climbs onto the window ledge.\u00a0 When Samantha returns, Riggan has disappeared.\u00a0 She looks down at the street, then up at the sky, and smiles.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Incidentally, “Emma Stone<\/a> [plays] Samantha Thomson, Riggan’s daughter and assistant, a recovering drug addict.”\u00a0 That may explain some alternate theories about<\/em> that ending.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"BirdmanThe best alternate theories come from the site: Let\u2019s Talk About the Birdman Ending \u2013 Film<\/a>. \u00a0(Which included “Samantha,” at left, watching her father “take off.”<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

But first, here\u2019s that writer’s take on the film in general:<\/span><\/p>\n

This movie doesn\u2019t just want to make you feel<\/strong> something, it wants to say<\/strong> something about humanity and stardom and the inner lives of celebrities and the \u201ccultural genocide<\/a>\u201d that superhero films have wrought upon us.<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mmmmm-m-okay<\/em>!\u00a0\u00a0 And here\u2019s his first thought on the ending:<\/span><\/p>\n

Every time in the film Riggan does something \u201csupernatural,\u201d there\u2019s always some natural explanation for it, but this time, when he flies away [at the end], his daughter looks up, not down\u2026 \u00a0\u00a0 Thus, I posit that the very last shot of the film is Innaritu\u2019s way of joining the metaphorical\/imagined with the real.\u00a0 Riggan still can\u2019t fly, nor does he actually jump out a window in that last scene.\u00a0 The movie is just conveying that for the first time, Sam is seeing her father the way he sees himself.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong> (E.A.)<\/em>
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But then the reviewer gave an alternate theory: \u00a0Essentially that\u00a0Samantha\u00a0went wacko after seeing her father\u2019s body on the pavement.\u00a0 (Remember, she’s a recovering addict):<\/span><\/p>\n

Riggan, in a bout of self-delusion, does actually jump out the window.\u00a0 When his daughter looks down, she sees his dead body and experiences a psychotic break<\/em><\/strong>, resulting in her look upwards at the end.\u00a0 (E.A.)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But then this guy came up with yet another theory, about Riggan.\u00a0 The theory is that this Riggan guy is actually<\/em>\u00a0the real jerk that he seems. \u00a0That he has a noble cause, but an unhealthy obsession. \u00a0I<\/span>n addition, he\u2019s \u201cdestroying relationships left and right (not to mention his face).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And this even though he manages to get a measure of \u201cTwitter\u201d fame, but still isn\u2019t respected as an artist.\u00a0 (And this even though he did manage to fool that theater-critic babe.)<\/span><\/p>\n

He\u2019s still a freak show.\u00a0 And perhaps that\u2019s really what the ending is trying to say: \u00a0no matter what we try, no matter what drastic measures we take, we will always remain prisoners to ourselves.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Which all adds up to this:\u00a0 This movie was way<\/span> too whacked for me!!!<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

That’s another way of saying this:\u00a0 If you<\/em> feel like a “prisoner to yourself,” this movie may make sense.\u00a0 On the other hand, if you happen to like<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0yourself, then the script comes off as having been written by some pompous, self-absorbed, left-wing, pointy-headed bleeding-heart Hollywood hack.\u00a0 (See also\u00a0personification<\/a><\/em>.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So other than an inside look at the often never-never land<\/a> of actors – Broadway or otherwise – this film might<\/em> be a waste of time.\u00a0 Like I said, the movie was well worth the $10.68 “bargain”\u00a0price of admission<\/a>, but not the extra $13.29 for popcorn and a drink.<\/span><\/p>\n

(On the other hand, I do agree about that \u201ccultural genocide\u201d remark about super-hero films\u2026<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s probably not how Harry Golden would put it, but it\u2019ll do for a first post.<\/span>
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The upper image is courtesy of\u00a0 Birdman (film) \u2013 Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia<\/a><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The lower image is courtesy of Harry Golden – Wikipedia<\/a>.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Other full internet references are available by clicking on the icon or link.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    It’s not often – after spending 63 summers here on this earth – that I leave a movie and say: \u00a0“What the [expletive deleted] was that all about?!?“ Which is being interpreted:\u00a0 This is a review of Birdman\u00a0, the movie.\u00a0 It\u2019s also the first post on my new blog, the “Georgia Wasp. ” […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3463,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14\/revisions\/3463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}