tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13294573.post8895832550844179144..comments2024-03-28T11:52:29.432-04:00Comments on Cockeyed Caravan: The Ultimate Story Checklist: ChinatownMatt Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319984238456281734noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13294573.post-10060436143635527642016-09-08T12:47:56.996-04:002016-09-08T12:47:56.996-04:00I think I like yours better. Mine felt a little f...I think I like yours better. Mine felt a little false to me. Maybe it's evil vs. evil: Do nothing in a horrible world vs. act to make things better knowing that you'll probably make things worse (because it's a horrible world). In the end, the story tips toward doing nothing. Matt Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07319984238456281734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13294573.post-31461798660246562542016-09-08T12:11:30.542-04:002016-09-08T12:11:30.542-04:00I'm working this out as I type, so inconsisten...I'm working this out as I type, so inconsistencies may follow...<br /><br /><i>Can the overall theme be stated in the form of an irreconcilable good vs. good (or evil vs. evil) dilemma?: Honor the past or build the future</i><br /><br />I don't think that's quite it. I read <i>Chinatown</i> as asking whether it's better to dig up the horrors of the past in the slim hopes of a better future or keeping your head down and tending to your own narrow life, letting the horrors alone. The through-line of the movie is Gittes pursuing answers not just because he's curious but because he wants to do the right thing, even if he won't admit it to anyone, including himself. <br /><br />The movie is a lament that heroism is both admirable and a bad idea. Their world is an irredeemable sack of crap, and perhaps it would have been better had Gittes never tried at all. At least then Evelyn would still be alive and might be able to protect Catherine from their father. Is it better to fight against an unfair, evil world, knowing that your efforts will probably only make it worse, or pretend you don't see and hope that your non-interference is the right choice?<br /><br />What makes the movie so affecting is we see Gittes morally rise, and we love it -- he goes from sleaze to "offended at having been fooled" to "outraged over malfeasance" to "hero protecting women and children from predator" over the story, and we see hope for ourselves in it. We too could be stirred to great action in the face of horror. Then it all goes horribly wrong and we're left shattered. Was heroism ever a good idea? Can we do anything about the great wrongs? Deep down we suspect and fear that the answer is "no," and very few stories say that to us. It feels true in a way we don't like but have difficulty arguing against.<br /><br />So maybe the question is "is heroism worth it?" We desperately want the answer to be yes but we're afraid that it's no. We should forget it, it's Chinatown.<br /><br />Harvey Jerkwaterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07118848012122050416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13294573.post-75920321256681876042016-09-07T21:00:07.020-04:002016-09-07T21:00:07.020-04:00A comment! Yay! But we should probably hold off ...A comment! Yay! But we should probably hold off until Sunday, when I'll make my case in depth that Jake is far more selfless than he lets on. Matt Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07319984238456281734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13294573.post-74282470748421464382016-09-07T15:40:48.690-04:002016-09-07T15:40:48.690-04:00"Gittes comes off as cynical and self-interes..."Gittes comes off as cynical and self-interested, but if you actually try to track his motivations in the movie, he’s actually acting in the public interest most of the time, against his own self-interest or the interests of his clients. More about this later. "<br /><br />This is interesting, and I'll be happy to read what more you have to say about it, but on its face, I think it's more complicated. It has always seemed to me that Jake's "public interest" motivations are opaque to him--in fact that he has purposely hidden them from himself, so that if at any point before the finale you asked Jake himself, "are you prioritizing your own wants, rather than the wants of others?" he would (honestly) answer yes, citing his desire to clear his name and not be taken for a sucker.<br /><br />I, of course, agree that he would be wrong, but I think his motivations as stated by him are strong enough for the viewer to go along with.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15295138520775220050noreply@blogger.com