Music. Technology. Life

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Juno +Indie Film Phenomena

I'm not going to sit here happily typing away and pretend that I am knowledgeable on the subject of film. I've always been more of a music person. Movies just last way too long for me. Maybe I'm just weird, or maybe I just have a messed up attention span. High school culture basically requires that you be a fan of movies, so I've always stuck out a little bit on that matter. I don't particularly enjoy going out with my friends and watching a movie. Kinda strange right? Well, I kinda feel like it's a waste of time, that we could spend some good quality time together just making some casual conversation. However, occasionally there will be a film that has some sort of positive effect on me.

Now, I realize I'm going to sound like some teen-wannabehipster, but quite honestly the new, overly hyped indie-ish film, Juno, had that very effect on me. I'm not sure if it was the fact that I'm sort of supposed to like it, if I just watched it at the right time, or if it was the story itself. Maybe it was just the sheer simplicity and honesty of the whole thing. A cute and somewhat light-hearted story, considering the situation presented, filled with plenty of comedy and a decent soundtrack. It's hard to find so much good in a movie these days. A movie that's enjoyable and so easy to watch.

Hollywood spends millions of dollars trying to create films that are so entertaining, filled with an unimaginable number of effects and stunts. It just becomes so repetitive that something so simple becomes so appealing to a wide audience. Though Juno had plenty of holes within the story, the fact that the creators weren't afraid to leave those holes is what made it so enjoyable. Plus, the witty side comments pretty much made up for where the story fell short.

However, what's truly interesting about these films like Juno, is that they work like a bandwagon. They create controversy of all kinds. In Juno's case it's been the soundtrack to the film. Indie kids everywhere are upset that their beloved Adam Green and Kimya Dawson have been discovered by everyone who's watched the film. It's actually pretty funny. People on message boards fussing about how they've been listening to The Moldy Peaches since 2003, therefore anyone who began listening to them after Juno has no right to listen to them. This is what I call Indie Film Phenomena. Fans becoming extremely angry about a band gaining more fans because of a film their music was featured in. It's happened before in films such as Garden State, Napoleon Dynamite or even the well known television drama,The OC. When people began liking The Shins, Figurine or Death Cab For Cutie after watching these films, old fans tried to defend their undying love for these bands. It's strange how people get so defensive of the music they listen to as it's their own. I must admit, I am a culprit myself. However, I believe that instead of being the selfish listeners that we usually are, we should be kind of happy that our favorite musicians are getting some much deserved attention.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

"Indie Film Phenomena"

I fucking love you.