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ajvenigalla
[–]ratthing10 points11 points12 points 12 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
The entire notion of "coming of age" has been killed by post-modernism and radical feminism. Coming of age implies that one goes from boyhood to manhood, and in a world where men are viewed with suspicion and derision, it isn't hard to understand why coming of age is no longer a celebrated point in a young man's life.
[–]Endorsed Contributorgekkozorz9 points10 points11 points 12 years ago (2 children) | Copy Link
More people need to watch "The Way, Way Back." It was one of my favorite movies from last year, and it didn't make any of the mistakes that this article talks about.
[–][deleted] 2 points3 points4 points 12 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
"Where were you all day?" "Nowhere." "That's a lot of time to be 'nowhere'." "Well that's where I was."
Bravo, man. An amazing movie for sure.
[–]tipofmywang2 points3 points4 points 12 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
Yeah, it was the best small film I saw last year. Sam Rockwell stole that film.
[–]the_rippers16 points17 points18 points 12 years ago (3 children) | Copy Link
I completely agree with the general thought to this article, but goddamn dude. A little long winded? The length of the article and obvious extensive effort to fit as many big words as possible turned me off. Stand By Me is my favorite movie by the way.
[–]abutterfly7 points8 points9 points 12 years ago (1 child) | Copy Link
RoK is like that. Some articles are fantastic or spot on. Others are a stretch. Most are hasty adbait. I hate to say that about them, since the articles that are good are really good, but damn. The inconsistency in quality is unreal.
[–]lightfire4092 points3 points4 points 12 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
Agreed. The articles are either really well thought out and edited, or hastily written nonsense, filled with logical fallacies.
[–]HalfwySandwch7 points8 points9 points 12 years ago (1 child) | Copy Link
Mud was a coming of age story.
[–][deleted] 1 point2 points3 points 12 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
Came here to say Mud.
Mud.
[–]mechakingghidorah4 points5 points6 points 12 years ago (1 child) | Copy Link
The Last American Virgin is the most visceral,brutal coming of age movie you'll ever experience.
[–]captshady0 points1 point2 points 12 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
And the best example of AFBB
[–]Xein4 points5 points6 points 12 years ago (2 children) | Copy Link
WHAT ABOUT LIFE OF PI?!?! Is the author living under a goddamn rock? Seriously.. this BOY is stranded in the middle of the fucking ocean and tames a TIGER. Yep... a boy asserts himself as the alpha animal over a huge tiger by rewarding and punishing the tiger's behavior.
There are still a lot of really positive male movies out there.
The latest Batman trilogy was pretty amazing too, even though this isn't really "coming of age realism": self-discipline, stoicism, unwavering convictions, self-sacrifice, surviving adversity. Super hero movies are great for that shit and we still have an abundance of them.
[–]ajvenigalla[S] 1 point2 points3 points 12 years ago (1 child) | Copy Link
That was not only a great film and they are masterpieces. But still, while superhero movies do have good values (usually), one must be careful not to have too much of them, and just like too much of anything can be bad for the soul, superhero movies in excess can be bad for moviegoers, and I guess you recognize this too.
But then again, the real issue is not so much with abundance of superhero films as it is with Hollywood laziness and cliched-ness, not really with superhero movies per se. Man of Steel, while a pretty decent reboot of the Superman franchise, showed examples of this, particularly in the last few minutes, where we received an abundance of destruction porn. And Michael Bay's Transformers films are high evidence that Hollywood has become lazy, with good films being few and average films being many.
But still, The Dark Knight movies are excellent.
[–]Planner_Hammish0 points1 point2 points 12 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
But still, while superhero movies do have good values (usually), one must be careful not to have too much of them, and just like too much of anything can be bad for the soul, superhero movies in excess can be bad for moviegoers
The thing about superhero movies though is that they are usually one man rising up and saving the world. There is usually not a lot in terms of community, working towards the common good, teamwork, self improvement, etc. It sends the message that you have to be born special to achieve great things and overcome adversity. It is really selfish, actually.
[–]cynwrig10 points11 points12 points 12 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
I personally don't feel "American Pie" would be a coming of age movie unless the main character at least made his family a pie to replace the one he ruined. The fact that his dad kinda took it all in stride might make it a movie that falls in that genre of "Failure to Come of Age" .
Porky's is a coming of age movie because it starts with one of the characters getting his ass kicked by his loser dad for not being racist enough. It ends with him beating his dad's ass because he has decided that he doesn't want to be a racist loser like his dad. He has grown beyond his father's vision for him. Coming of age.
[–]drallcom32 points3 points4 points 12 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
I'm sure that there are plenty of coming of age movies. They just simply aren't advertised as big as American Pie or Superbad, if there even is advertising. There are tons of smaller movies, indie movies or European movies about relationships or characters, because they're quite cheap to make.
Lazy article.
[–][deleted] 2 points3 points4 points 12 years ago (1 child) | Copy Link
I think we need a new "Arnie"
[–]ajvenigalla[S] 1 point2 points3 points 12 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
Maybe Liam Neeson will become the next action hero, maybe the last one. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sly Stallone are now leaving the set, and their movies aren't doing as well as what was before. The classics are still there for future generations to enjoy, but now Arnie and Sly won't be as fresh as they were once. But Arnie does have some hope, and maybe he can make a brief comeback with Conan, Terminator, and that new movie (Sabotage) with him as the main star.
[–]ihavespellingproblem2 points3 points4 points 12 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
This must be the best film on that topic I ever seen. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0376968/
[–]identicalgamer2 points3 points4 points 12 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
Isn't this a result of supply and demand? There were many of these movies in the 1960's and 1990's because that is when the baby boomers and their kids were having children respectively.
[–]Wish_I_Was_Savvy1 point2 points3 points 12 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
Maybe the author shoulda watched Mud.
[–]KentuckyFriedColonel1 point2 points3 points 12 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
Coming of age movies pretty much just follow the typical monomyth pattern described by joseph campbell.
I think if you want to really wake a boy up to the realities of the world through a film show him movies that disillusion him from the disney-goggles that media tries to force on him, "Paths to Glory" is a good one for showing how justice is a comforting illusion and "Au Hasard Balthazar" is good for showing the generic arc of people's lives with halcyon childhoods followed by grueling labor and cruelty until they die.
My own personal life-altering film was Koyaanisqatsi, while it is on the surface an environmentalist film if you take it in as a whole you realize that it's showing you the complexity, vastness and mercurial nature of humanity. It was kind of like my own 2001:Space Odyssey David going through the wormhole moment, because it showed me change is the only constant and that the lives of so many people just a short time ago have changed and ended and the roots of the human tapestry extend so far back in time and yet it's nothing to the earth and universe. It showed me a world full of ants and busy bees scurrying to and fro, and how much you do not want to be stuck in that because all of those beleaguered creatures are old and gray or dead by now.
Also, Baraka is a pretty good examination of human belief and how it is a part of us; shaping us, our lives and society.
[–]bam2_891 point2 points3 points 12 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
Like almost all cultural commentary, this article is comparing apples to oranges and honing in on his examples selectively. Comparing Stand By Me to Superbad is like comparing Animal House to The Social Network.
[–]jgj091 point2 points3 points 12 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
Thought Super 8 was pretty good
I'd say that these modern movies reflect today's men far than they influence them. Fat guys playing video games or watching porn all day while whining about how high girl's standards are IS the new normal and I love it. As a short guy who works his ass off to maintain muscle and keep trim, with a good job with a good salary that I also worked and worked for, I have send out a sincere thank you to all the lazy shit bags out there. Please stay home boys, keep smoking weed, eating ho-hos and Doritos by the bag, playing call of duty day and night, and bitching about everything but doing nothing about it. All you do is make me and my two hard working trim sons look better and better with time. Thanks so much.
[–]lightfire4090 points1 point2 points 12 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
When boys are shunted into nothing more than pursuing their base, deeply-rooted biological impulses, they exist as nothing more than caricatures of men – an all too easily mocked segment of society.
Its a shame society doesn't teach boys anything better. The role models in the music industry are all about booze and sex.
[–]Redpillc0re0 points1 point2 points 12 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
Women want their men to be like themselves: forever children.
[–]TheD_0 points1 point2 points 12 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
Men deal with existential angst through comedy. If you want a serious treament on coming of age, the world of literature has many fascinating 100+ year old treatise on the matter.
[–]Endorsed ContributorCrimsonCapsule0 points1 point2 points 12 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
Moonrise Kingdom is a great coming-of-age movie with plenty of RP truth.
[–]Senior Contributor: "The Court Jester"GayLubeOil0 points1 point2 points 12 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link
They stopped being profitable
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[–]Senior Contributor: "The Court Jester"GayLubeOil0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy Link