You know there’s something sick in American society when not one but twomovies are released about vigilantes tracking down and killing the people that hurt them.
To be honest, Jodie Foster blowing the ever-loving crap out of a bunch of highly deserving street slime seems way less sick than the endless procession of serial killer movies that portray thrill-killers in a less than negative light. (Why even bother linking — you know how many of these come out every year.)
And remember, this is notstrictly an American thing, so don’t forget to sprinkle the misanthropy liberally.
But at the same time, does contemporary America have the same lawlessness and anxiety that was in 1970s New York City? I mean, crime is generally down, why the desire for some rough justice?
Yeah, I kind of wondered the same thing myself when I noticed the two films together (“Death Sentence” and “The Brave One”). “Death Wish” and “Taxi Driver” were really signs of their time — out of control crime, a sense of helplessness, urban decay, etc. Obviously the same does not apply now, as crime is the lowest it has been in decades and has generally stayed that way throughout the 2000′s.
Vigilantism as a theme in the American narrative vocabulary (whew, sounding a tad lit-critty there, forgive me) is nothing new; after all, many if not most Westerns are vigilante movies, or at least share some key elements of the archetypical vigilante flick. I wouldn’t necessary expect crime tends to fully dictate the ebb and flow of the genre’s appeal, since it has endured longer than that.
Nonetheless, having two in theaters at once is weird. But maybe it’s just a coincidence. After all, “Deep Impact” and “Armageddon” both came out in 1998 (two asteroid movies!), and “Wyatt Earp” and “Tombstone” both came out in ’93-94 (two movies about the SAME GUY). Kinda hard to find a sociological explanation for something that specific. Then there was that cluster of WWII movies (“Saving Private Ryan” and “The Thin Red Line” both in 1998), but that one, like the ’70s vigilante cluster, has an explanation, i.e., that the 50-year anniversary of the war’s end came right around the time the movies were probably first being written.
Yep, I think that about covers it. And let’s face it, Hollywood isn’t that creative, so I’m sure they’re constantly ripping off each other. In fact, Death Sentence the book was the sequel to Death Proof, which was also made into a 1970s revenge movie.
Well, it wouldn’t be the first time, would it?
To be honest, Jodie Foster blowing the ever-loving crap out of a bunch of highly deserving street slime seems way less sick than the endless procession of serial killer movies that portray thrill-killers in a less than negative light. (Why even bother linking — you know how many of these come out every year.)
And remember, this is not strictly an American thing, so don’t forget to sprinkle the misanthropy liberally.
Touché.
But at the same time, does contemporary America have the same lawlessness and anxiety that was in 1970s New York City? I mean, crime is generally down, why the desire for some rough justice?
Yeah, I kind of wondered the same thing myself when I noticed the two films together (“Death Sentence” and “The Brave One”). “Death Wish” and “Taxi Driver” were really signs of their time — out of control crime, a sense of helplessness, urban decay, etc. Obviously the same does not apply now, as crime is the lowest it has been in decades and has generally stayed that way throughout the 2000′s.
Vigilantism as a theme in the American narrative vocabulary (whew, sounding a tad lit-critty there, forgive me) is nothing new; after all, many if not most Westerns are vigilante movies, or at least share some key elements of the archetypical vigilante flick. I wouldn’t necessary expect crime tends to fully dictate the ebb and flow of the genre’s appeal, since it has endured longer than that.
Nonetheless, having two in theaters at once is weird. But maybe it’s just a coincidence. After all, “Deep Impact” and “Armageddon” both came out in 1998 (two asteroid movies!), and “Wyatt Earp” and “Tombstone” both came out in ’93-94 (two movies about the SAME GUY). Kinda hard to find a sociological explanation for something that specific. Then there was that cluster of WWII movies (“Saving Private Ryan” and “The Thin Red Line” both in 1998), but that one, like the ’70s vigilante cluster, has an explanation, i.e., that the 50-year anniversary of the war’s end came right around the time the movies were probably first being written.
Yep, I think that about covers it. And let’s face it, Hollywood isn’t that creative, so I’m sure they’re constantly ripping off each other. In fact, Death Sentence the book was the sequel to Death Proof, which was also made into a 1970s revenge movie.