The Problem with (500) Days of Summer |Video Essay|

The Problem with (500) Days of Summer |Video Essay|
I love (500) Days of Summer, but I've always felt like there was something missing from the movie. So in this video essay, I analyze/ discuss the problem with the film, and talk about why this issue may not even be an issue at all.
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Music (Through the video) : Court and Page by Silent Partner
• Sad Dramatic Dark Back...
Music (At the end of the video): Fun Time by Dj Quads (Royalty Free Music)
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[@maybenotserious]

You are right. Summer is supposed to be kinda bland, I think thats kinda the whole point of the movie. Tom doesnt get to know her before he "falls in love" and thats why he is never in love with summer, but with the idea of her that he createt in his head. She is the perfect canvas to project on.

[@spookiedooks]

The whole point is that Tom doesn't fall in love with summer. he falls in love with the idea of her. Summer is arguably extremely realistic, she is not keen with the idea of love due to experiences in her childhood and is like a person, summer isn't a bubbly person, she was cynical and actually not quirky like the woman tom saw in her. The issue is that tom doesn't see that, he is wearing rose colored glasses and tries to see a manic pixie dream girl in summer when she isn't like that, she's a person.

[@laurie8857]

Summer being a low-energy character isn't an issue in my mind, in fact, I see it as another layer of realism. I have met so many beautiful, cool people with boring personalities that others make allowances for because of their good looks and style. I've met many Summers in real life - she is the first one I have seen in a movie.

[@CristianNicolae]

Good video, but I disagree with the fact she’s bland. I mean, she’s mysterious and has cool interests. That’s what most people fall for. Just from the start she’s not boring. Plus, the story is told from Tom’s perspective, many things about her are left out and we’re shown what Tom sees at her.

[@g.u.m9776]

Summer is boring because she’s an immature version of a woman, she’s Tom’s version of a woman. He doesn’t see her complexity and the consequence for him is heartbreak. In Tom’s eyes she’s perfect and perfect has no depth.

[@AzjatyckiCukier]

500 Days of Summer is a spoof of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope. Of course Summer is personality-less and shallow - because the movie pokes fun at this tired old movie schematic of a quirky adorkable girl coming into a guys life and dragging him out of his shell. I think your reading of the movie is a bit to literal... It's not meant to be taken as an actual story, but a parody and cinematic critique.

[@claireriley1252]

there's something so upsetting about the director talking about how she looks on the dvd commentary... i can't articulate it but hearing him call zooey sexy really made me sad for some reason... of course she's beautiful but that shouldn't be all you can describe her as, especially when you had a professional relationship with her :/

[@LPempty]

Yeah she is boring but I’m m pretty sure that’s the point, they literally say it, and I never thought she was the worst part about the movie, Tom was. That’s what makes it great. Instead of thinking that she is boring we are left with the feeling that that’s not who she really is.

[@taniar2739]

Think it about she married a man who wanted to get to know her. It first started as asking about "The Picture of Dorian Grey".

[@savannahs3524]

Super gross and hypocritical of the director to say those things in the commentary. I can’t believe he actually did that while trying to admonish those exact type of people in his own film. Unbelievable.

[@annah8724]

I think the problem with Summer is that she was supposed to be wrong for Tom since the beginning. And we were supposed to feel that 'wrongness', if that makes sense.

[@SuperTanjaBjelic]

Hate to burst your bubble - but Summer is a very realistic portrait of a romantic interest for many men in their twenties. She has exactly all the traits that make men fall in love - she's pretty, she's mysterious, she plays the game of seduction with the main character and they obviously have a good time together. That's more than enough for many many men (and many women, in fact, as well). No character traits, no noble values are needed. If you're in love with someone you want to make the relationship work, no matter how hopeless it is and how shallow are the basis for your infatuation. And that's Tom's story arc - he has to let go of that unrealistic youthful love based mostly on sexual attraction, mature and move to more realistic relationships based on deeper connection.

[@xXxbiia14xXx]

I agree. We don't like Summer because we feel like she betrayed Tom but it was just an image that Tom saw and he fell in love with her and didn't see clearly. Basically we don't even know who Summer is because we just see her as Tom sees her. But this video is really good. I feel so sad when I think about the truth that we see a version of people that we want to see and maybe don't see who they are. It's true when you hate someone too. Because you want to see the bad all the time because you want to continue hating on them and don't see that maybe they are more similar to you than you thought.

[@pdzombie1906]

Well, someone didn't get the movie... Summer is no a 'manical pixie dream girl', but Tom is trying to turn her into that cute weird girl so he can project his romantic fantasies in order to be inspired and regain the joy of life. Summer is not boring, the film is from Tom's point of view and he's got her on a pedestal idealized so we just don't know who's really her. This is not a RomCom, is a comedy about the wrong ideas of love. Thanx!!!

[@mace8704]

Not to be too critical here, but the scene right before reality/expectations scene doesn’t illustrate that Tom’s friends or men in general know the traits they want in a partner. Quite the opposite, and I’m surprised you didn’t catch it.

[@msvideos234]

The only reason why summer is the worst is because we see her through Tom's eyes and we know he's an unreliable narrator and doesn't respect her.

[@josefinebliss2801]

It's just the classic projecting onto someone. I think we've all done it at some point... We meet someone, fall at first sight because they're physically attractive and we have something in common like Summer and Tom both loving The Smiths and then we think they have to be our soulmature because of that. Love goes deeper, just because we have things in common with someone they may not even be compatible with us at all because compatability goes deeper than common interests or music groups but we often fail to see that... That's why this movie is so realistic. Love at first sight is usually built on projecting I think because you can't know someone whom they really are deep down from seeing them or having one conversation with them.

[@spookyjinglebells8265]

He (the actor who plays Tom) says he is the worse of the movie because he fell in love with the image of her, not as her personality.

[@bebebbyboi3082]

I never thought tom was in love with her, just infatuated with her