Why Do We Care if Movies Are "Realistic?"

[@Aquillyne]

YES! Speed Racer is a masterpiece of cinema, horrifically misunderstood and unappreciated. It’s one of my favourite films ever. A work of genius. Thank you for giving it some airtime!

[@wolfhurricane897]

I love that movie.

[@bono9814]

It's poo

[@DragonStar524]

They need to do a limited time re-release of the movie. I'd say it would do so much better today.

[@mytimetravellingdog]

It's ok. Lots to like. But it does drag a bit and the artificiality of the live action stuff looks great but the CGI racing looks pretty bad.

[@ialwayswatchyoutube812]

@@mytimetravellingdog whys the cgi bad? For not looking real?

[@dnightwalker]

"Spider-Man: Into the spiderverse" is the perfect example that formalism works perfectly for superhero movies.

[@mangomariel]

Trudat! Good example. Although it is animated so people have different expectations.

[@kayanomura582]

Iwanna say thor ragnarok is another that really goes for formalism

[@ordalieduvoyageur]

Aquaman too

[@Chan-qk9eh]

The number one difference is that it’s animated. I’ve been thinking about this throughout the whole video. The bright colors are done ASTOUNDINGLY well to capture New York and create probably the greatest animated film in terms of visuals. But the audience expects all this. A comic style works well within a comic. Live action movies set a different tone by virtue of being live action. Weird editing looks terrible, from the few shots I’ve seen because the world isn’t a burst of colors. Live action vs animated sets a completely different tone to a movie that’s realistic vs non realistic. Take my little pony for example. It would be the greatest flop live action. The colors don’t work well together. Back in 2d, it’s a warm and at least aesthetically decent. Take far from home, just making it brighter and it’d look terrible. Make it animated - we’ve already seen what Spider-Man looks like animated. And every second will look stunning. (I’m really curious to the awesome mysterio art!)

[@Berzerkarnus]

Even for an animated movie, it dips heavily into formalism in ways cartoon superhero movies never go into

[@The.Youtuber.with.no.Name.]

Nice to see an analysis on Speed Racer. It's an unappreciated masterpiece. I find it a shame that people can love Pacific Rim but not Speed Racer.

[@Yaarrr]

I totally agree, I let out an audible cheer when he said Speed Racer. I loved that movie!

[@GTXDash]

Speed Racer is in my top 10 most favorite films of all time. This video brought a tear to my eye, because for a very long time, I thought I was the only person that liked this movie.

[@i_dont_know_who_i_am69]

Agreed, i think the same thing could be said for Scott Pilgrim, which he also mentioned.

[@ChutneyCaelyn]

Agreed, though I do feel that the green screen effects can often be distracting. Yes a Speed Racer movie should look over the top but I think I should at least believe the characters are a part of that over the top environment.

[@phothewin6019]

I'm actually working on a video for why Pacific Rim is arguably a masterpiece.

[@miffedmax6775]

I have been fighting for speed racer's honour for actual years now, almost cried when you called it a masterpiece, I love that film

[@kennethfountain6380]

I know right man

[@daniellee2343]

Lol almost cried.

[@umjackd]

I feel like realism is a common excuse to retreat to as a way to say "I like serious things, not child-like things!" which doesn't really make sense when it's basically saying "I want to be able to watch Batman and justify it to normal people that I'm watching a guy put on a costume and ninja attack poor people."

[@DotyFuzz]

he doesn't attack poor people lol

[@umjackd]

Your average street thug is rich, sure.

[@lauraanastasia319]

umjackd If we're talking of the Nolan Batman movies, they always sidestepped that by having Batman go against some kind of terrorists. Some of who might be poor. Also he was fighting organized crime, which involves a lot of rich people.

[@umjackd]

Organised crime might be run by rich people but they employ poor people. Nolan's films have a much bigger focus on the theme of inequality than just about any other Batman movie. It's like, half of Bane's motivation in TDKR. The thing is that Batman is a great character and has great stories, but they don't make a lot of sense in reality because you could also describe them as a billionaire who deals with his long term emotional trauma by dressing up as a bat and trying to punch crime into submission. But in real life, crime doesn't work that way. It's even pointed out a little by Bruce's father who has a better approach to reduce poverty, one of the motivators behind crime, through philanthropy. The point is that it isn't realistic but it's still a good story. I wish people didn't take it all so damn seriously, is all.

[@TaoPhysiques]

umjackd Can I ask what is wrong with taking Batman seriously? Why would anyone want to watch a Joel Shumacher Batman as opposed to Chris Nolan's version?

[@nuberiffic]

"I need more realism in this movie about aliens, gods, and super-heroes!"

[@chris7285]

It gives it a different look then what we’re used to seeing all the time. Your stereotypical alien flys in a spaceship and looks green, oh and does that super hero really have to wear bright colors like he just shopped at the costume shop? Can’t he just be dressed like Blade or Luke cage? Why does he need tights? I don’t mind if he can fly but does he have to smile while he’s destroying buildings with hundreds of people in them. I’m looking at The Avengers when I say this. Are they really having fun while killing living beings. I doubt many war veterans enjoy killing. Some do perhaps but I reckon many dont. Is there really a bad guy? (Joker 2019) I cant really relate to Hawkeye when he’s shooting down alien things from the sky and causing them to crash into civilian buildings and he just celebrates like he got another kill on a video game or something.

[@EveryThingGirl238]

@@chris7285 But that is what comic books are, if you can read a comic book and understand that isn't our world it's there's. Then why does the movie have to be real? Then you'd just say it's not a 'faithful adaptation'.

[@derekskelton4187]

@@chris7285 Sounds more like your just afraid people won't take you seriously if you like kiddy things. Which actually makes you come off more kiddish

[@paladinheadquarters7776]

Ok but there still has to be consistency within the fictional universe.

[@nuberiffic]

@@paladinheadquarters7776 that's not what realism refers to.

[@HowardHoMusic]

Now you're gonna make me watch Speed Racer. Well done.

[@Piterixos]

Totally, some of those night clips looked beautiful

[@brighty-go6nn]

Howard Ho llgrhn

[@brighty-go6nn]

I like stily

[@brighty-go6nn]

My name is run speed

[@donpacificbobcat9er615]

Go Howard, Go Howard Gooooooooooooo!

[@GeahkBurchill]

Ironically for those Marvel Color-Grading defenders, The Dark Knight is filled with crisp, sharp, saturated blacks and rich color. If you were to grade Nolan's Batman the way Marvel graded Civil War, it would lose a tremendous amount of appeal.

[@jacobmacdonagh4070]

Geahk Burchill Exactly so many people seem to think that the flat Marvel colours mean realism but Dark Knight is probably the most realistic superhero movie and has vey rich colours and great depth just not great vibrant colours because it's realistic. People seem to confuse the colour palette with colour depth. Marvel have no depth to their colours so it looks washed out and bland and that had nothing to do with realism

[@jpmthemonk]

Great distinction!

[@Evil_Peter]

I agree that realism has nothing to with less saturated colors. I would however say that a movie that loses "a tremendous amount of appeal" by having such colors must be a pretty shitty movie if color is such a big part of it's appeal (at least when color has nothing to do with the plot, etc). To say that something like the LotR trilogy loses things by not having the color use it does would make far more sense than the TDK trilogy, but even there I wouldn't go anywhere near saying that it would lose a tremendous amount of appeal.

[@jacobmacdonagh4070]

Evil Peter But colour should be a huge part of Marvel's appeal as they are comic book adaptations and are fun summer movies

[@Evil_Peter]

It could be part of it's appeal, but again I strongly dispute that it's a huge part. Characters, story, action, etc are all far, far greater so there's no room to call the part of color huge, or a tremendous amount. To me it's hyperbole on the level that makes the discussion pointless.

[@andyhoov]

The goal of cinema is to make good movies; sometimes it means being realistic and other times it means being bat shit crazy.

[@JBJones66]

andyhoov THANK YOU. Everyone is really hating on realism in these comments it’s driving me nuts.

[@monkgogimasedi5265]

@@JBJones66 To be fair, I can't fully and peacefully enjoy a good movie when it's shat on solely for lack of grim and dark 'realistic' tones. I still agree that both have been and can be amazing.

[@Vincent-ld2bp]

@@JBJones66 well they're not hating so much as expressing their displeasure of how audiences have now started to believe that realism=quality and reject most movies that like to get a little artsy

[@dranoradragonqueen1494]

ameen to that, or rather they should be but peoople seem to be forgetting that. All entertaining media should.

[@Stratmanable]

Golly. Thank you for so generously hipping us to your wisdom. What would we have done without your incredible knack for the obvious?

[@christiancountryboyilovejesus]

A muted color style normally isn't even realistic. Real life is pretty and bright, Well depending on where you live anyway. God bless everyone. :-)

[@umbrolly3725]

Ay thanks mam

[@GillfigGarstang]

Looking at the muddy-yellow colour grading that is being used in films as a shorthand to ‘realism’ reminds me of the brown haze and sickly yellow sunlight I remember from my visit to LA, so it isn’t surprising that people living in Hollywood would decide that dull-yellow makes things look realistic. My idea of ‘realistic’ colour grading for a sunlit scene might look overexposed and far too blue-white from the perspective of someone used to air pollution.

[@TheBeird]

I think some audience members want the realism for their movies because they see it as a validation of watching superheroes. In my opinion, emotional honesty and thematic resonance trump 'realism' in genre fairs. Doesn't mean I'd accept Henry Hill solving his problems at the end of Goodfellas by getting on a spaceship though.

[@patrickhwillems]

Nailed it.

[@TheSchaef47]

I also think, in a broader sense, people don't necessarily want realism so much as they want something to "feel" real. I think that's why classicism has kind of become the order of the day. There are a lot of ways to capture what people perceive as real. If you're doing a gritty war drama, yes, you want heightened realism, washed out tones, shaky cams, the unvarnished horrors of war. But even then, it's not necessarily the realism you're selling, it's still a set of emotions. The flat colors, the lack of contrast, is indicative of being ground down by stress and lack of sleep, perhaps the very blurring of moral clarity by way of lack of color clarity. The shaky cams and scope cams, etc, portray confusion and the fog of war, as well as narrowing the audience's perspective from a wider conflict down to a single skirmish between two groups or even two people (Enemy at the Gates). So I think even the people who say they want visual realism still want the kind of emotional and thematic realism that you're talking about, they just don't realize that they agree with you, because they have fallen into the cinematographer's snare of allowing their reality to be defined for them. And in cases like that, I don't think a little more color saturation would really dampen their investment in an action set piece featuring a fifty-foot tall guy and a red-skinned robot with a laser forehead. Frankly, given the amount of detail work on the various costumes, you'd think they'd want them to stand out a bit more.

[@Gemnist98]

A validation? Why would we need a validation? Maybe if you need to explain it to your ultra-wet blanket grandmother, but the general public knows they are just movies, and will only argue with you if they themselves didn't like the movie (yes, even in the comments section). You don't need to justify why you like superhero movies, especially since most people today already do love superhero movies.

[@Gemnist98]

Patrick (H) Willems Here's how I view the thing with Marvel's color grading. Marvel movies, despite what some people say, vary wildly in verisimilitude from movie to movie. So naturally, some movies feel more realistic than others and others are more formalistic than others, and the color grading should reflect that. You yourself pointed to Spotlight and Sicario, saying that the more muted color grading helped make the movies feel closer to reality, and this should apply to blockbusters as well. It enhances the art, makes the movie better exemplify the verisimilitude. So while movies like The Winter Soldier are better suited for the muted look, others like Guardians 1would benefit from a more vibrant one. In other words, the problem applies to SOME Marvel movies, but not ALL, and that should be the case with EVERY individual movie of EVERY film franchise. I hope that clears things up.

[@aaronolivarez2677]

You need to chill the fuck out, of course its not every marvel movie; he is just asking the commenters and viewers "How can you cannot connect to movies with vibrant color palettes". When some of the marvel movies CAN be improved by them.

[@1080TJ]

The insistence that a movie be realistic limits so much of what's possible. It's like telling an artist they can only make photorealistic drawings, or saying musicians shouldn't take advantage of the enormous range of sounds a studio provides because it wouldn't work in a live setting. Who fucking cares about that shit as long as the end product is interesting? Some of the most original and interesting movies of the last few years are highly formalist: The Lobster, Moonrise Kingdom, Fury Road, Scott Pilgrim, Drive, Black Swan, Under the Skin, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, just name a few... movies with their own distinct world and style. And that goes back decades to clearly unrealistic, stylized stuff like House (1977) and David Lynch movies. Nobody actually talks they way people talk in Tarantino or Sorkin movies, or noir stories like Sunset Blvd. or Brick, but who cares? It's fun to hear people talk in stylized language for 2 hours. Why would I pay money to see a movie if it's going to be indistinguishable from real life? What's the point, then?

[@moonshoestarkid]

Damn...I couldn’t have said it better myself!

[@varun3253]

This is something i tell all my friends. If you want realism, just live your life. This is as realistic as it gets. And a case could be made that formalist movies represent life more accurately than realist ones .

[@kartikadewi3270]

The point is that people in life wanted relatable characters by how they communicate and that should not a bad thing.

[@adams13245]

I remember reading A Song of Ice and Fire (what Game of Thrones is based off of) and thinking it was true to medieval life. Then I learned that it isn't. It only looks that way to uninformed outsiders. For example, Bret Devereaux, a historian, has a four part series on how Martin utterly misunderstands steppe nomad culture and the many blunders he makes with the (supposedly) based on steppe people, the Dothraki. Like what they eat. According to Devereaux, the steppe people ate mainly sheep milk and dairy, and their main meat was mutton.(1) This is for a simple reason; sheep grow a lot faster to sexual maturity than horses; according to Devereaux sheep would take eleven months including gestation, while horses could take more than three years.(1) If you're going to be killing an animal for meat, you want them to grow up fast so you can easily regrow your herd. Sheep work for this, while horses don't. That series of articles really helped me see how often cries of "realism" are utterly self absorbed. People take a look at a work and if it seems realistic on first inspection, then they say it must be a paean to actuality. This applies to so many things. I know there's the idea that Star Trek is "realistic" because it doesn't have a mystical force as central to most of its plots. Never mind that they still have aliens speaking English on first contact and all the crazy Q stuff, it's a little more realistic than the other big space opera work, Star Wars. Or the idea that depressing settings where people are either assholes, or well meaning, and therefore, will utterly fail in their well meaning goals. It's dumb and childish, and I'm sick of it. I'm sick of the egotistical Star Wars nerds proclaiming the original trilogy a physics textbook, even when it had space dogfights, and sound in space and whatever the Death Star's powered by. It's not realism, but ego stroking these people want. (1)acoup.blog/2020/12/11/collections-that-dothraki-horde-part-ii-subsistence-on-the-hoof/

[@adams13245]

@@kartikadewi3270 Do they? Last I checked my speech is filled with pauses and filler words. Also, when did Star Wars with its space dogfights, and TIEs screaming through space need to be a physics text. Cause that's what these realism nuts claim they want.

[@Javicandraw]

When watching the Black Panther trailer for the first time I came to the conclusion that marvel slowly drove us from the "realism" of iron man towards crazy incredible worlds like the ones in GOTG2 and we didn't even notice. I mean, the Black Panther trailer has an african king descending to his coronation in the middle of a waterfall on a spaceship and no one even flinched. I thought to myself "this belongs to something out of Speed Racer". Speed racer shocked viewers because it was so different from what other movies did and that caused a negative reaction. Marvel movies gave us something "realistic" and slowly opened the viewers mind to weird concepts and imagery like the ones in GOTG or Dr Strange. It took them a while, but now we can watch movies with scenes like the one in the black panther trailer and accept it as a part of a "realism based" fictional universe that has evolved in a way where a coronation in a middle of a waterfall with a king descending on a spaceship can happen and it is seen as something natural.

[@LincolnPower27]

Wow never thought of it like that! Great point!

[@goji253]

Thinking about it, that is actually pretty genius on a filmmaking level. Slowly easing your audience from realism into weirder territories but doing it so slowly that they just accept it as realistic. Never really noticed that! Which basically means it worked like a charm.

[@MakiPcr]

And then there's Thor Ragnarok

[@lw3646]

Thats one reason i think it worked that they changed Terrence Howard. He was a realistic plausible military character in Iron Man. Not sure I could have pictured him flying around in infinity wars fighting aliens. At least with Tony Stark the character is already kind of fantastical and larger than life, so becoming an Avenger was a smoother transition.

[@Mokkari77]

It's like how the who show LOST didn't immediately start with crazy time-travel. It's first season had plane crash survivors on an an island dealing with a smoke monster in and a polar bear in the jungle. Then season by season it introduced more and more weird stuff like a hatch to an old underground bunker where you had to press a button until by season 5 you had people jumping into time periods.

[@MyssBlewm]

I actually said, "Oh my gosh yes!" when you brought up Speed Racer. It's really honestly a favorite film of mine, and have always wished this movie got the love it deserves.

[@kennethfountain6380]

I know right

[@drymeee]

I might be 2 years lat but here’s a fun fact about this movie. Keanu Reeves was asked to play Racer X but turned down the offer.

[@TenDropChris]

I remember an interview with comic book - writer Garth Ennis I read years ago whenever I hear about people complain about realism in certain works of fiction. He said people tend to confuse "Realism" with "Believably." Christopher Nolon's Batman films aren't realistic-their believable. You believe that given enough time, special training and money- an man could move about the city in a costume fighting crime. If it was realistic- the first time Bruce Wayne would have tried any of this he would have fallen off a building and broken his neck, or been shot, or run into the thousand and one reasons why being Batman doesn't really work in the real world. That kind of goes to into your saying about a film sticking to its truth and own world.

[@tomlion0116]

I'm not the only ONE who liked Speed Racer??? :O My Life is Complete!!! :D

[@thepermman]

Some movies become Cult Hits. I enjoyed Speed Racer. Just because a movie is not popular at the time doesn't mean it won't have a long term popularity.

[@rodrigodiaz218]

YO THIS WAS MY FAVORITE MOVIE FOR THE LONGEST TIME. IM SO HAPPY OTHER HUMANS APPRECIATE IT

[@baronhdl5861]

I also love this movie, it’s pretty great and the visuals are really fun to look at

[@linternamagica100]

TomLion I like that movie too

[@Jaydavid25.]

Yeah, I liked it too cause I realized what it was, and enjoyed it.. Lol..

[@VarunSingh-vf5qq]

This whole obsession with "Realism" is fucking juvenile and puts more value in style than substance. Realism is not absolute, it exists within a context. Heath Ledger's anarchic, joyless version of The Joker is realistic in the context of the grounded reality of The Dark Knight. Mark Hamill's gleeful clown is realistic and terrifying in the context of the hypernoir BTAS. The only reality that matters is the one that exists in your film. All stylistic choices have to be made according to the established rules of your story and the effect you want to have on the audience. Everything else is noise.

[@drewwaits6221]

Yeah, we watched the video too

[@VarunSingh-vf5qq]

I'm just salty, man. It's an old gripe.

[@ЛюбоМанолов-ь9о]

Well ledger's joker is realistic universally, it's just heightened reality. It could happen that madmen would terrorize the world, as it is happening right now. However the Joker is being overly dramatic and dark - hense the term heightened reality. What we want is things that seam plausable and yet they are very unusuall and thus - interesting. For example - Breaking bad is extremely realistic in the sense of how a character as smart as the fictional Walter White would act and how circumstances around such a person would develop. Yet such a person and such circumstances are very unusual and overly dramatic - and this is why it's interesting. But it's still realistic.

[@VarunSingh-vf5qq]

Любо Манолов I agree. Interesting yet relatable.

[@jrotela]

You speak truth dude

[@supersoftfloormat]

YAAAAASSSSSSSS! Speed Racer IS a masterpiece. I got goosebumps at 4:58 when I realized which movie you were talking about!

[@abes9818]

HAhaha same here! I was almost yelling SPEED RAAAACER on my chair!

[@lawrencecalablaster568]

supersoftfloormat I knew from the thumbnail I recognised that swirling colour tunnel from something but I couldn't remember what it was.

[@MyssBlewm]

SAME! I knew right away! I've watched it so many times.

[@kennethfountain6380]

The hecking last race is incredible so so incredible

[@marguskiis7711]

no, its not

[@cervgiovanni]

I remember when Speed Racer came out on trailers, I was so excited to watch it. I grew up with the cartoon, Gundam, other mechanical ones, and Pokemon. The colors excited me. I had a crush on Christina Ricci. When I found out ppl didn't watch it, I knew immediately it was by unfair and biased treatment. You have surprised and I thank you. Not how I explain why i like it but those 3 words need to become a norm in society's vocabulary. Clearly much educated in film than I, listen to this feller. A strong applause closing remark. Years after not seeing it, and knowing more of art, that climatic swirl with special effect physics is awe inspiring. God dam, that was visually beautiful

[@kennethfountain6380]

Such an amazing scene

[@Datadog]

Great video essay! Love how you brought Speed Racer into the study. When it comes to "suspension of disbelief" in films, one of my teachers told me the trick is to imagine every movie has a secret narrator who's retelling their story. So a dark, gritty, "realistic" film would be told from a traumatized perspective, omitting the more colourful aspects. Meanwhile, a feel-good adventure would be remembered more fondly and vividly, often with exaggerated action and viewed through a brighter lens. In a lot of ways, that helps me look past things like "bat credit card" and "nuking the fridge" (though the monkeys are still a stretch.)

[@doronpaz]

watching speed racer is now my top priority

[@joesatmoes]

Doron Paz It is truly an amazingly fun ride.

[@Olderaccount17]

Don't miss it! At the very least, you have to watch it just because of how unique it is; you've never seen a movie quite like it and you probably never will see another one. On top of that, it's very emotionally engaging, it's got a lot of heart; the first sequence is masterfully crafted and, by the the time it's finished, you have a perfect idea of what the characters have gone through and what drives them (pun absolutely intended)

[@zhuneshai3066]

Doron Paz yep, going to watch this weekend. then maybe rewatch this video

[@ImVeryOriginal]

Watch it. At first, I was put off by its garish color palette and weird transitions, but after a while I was 100% into it. It's a great ride with some major feels at the end.

[@Olderaccount17]

Lol, my only problem with the movie are shots when Rex picks up little Speed from school; those shots of the town look too fake (the movie is not supposed to look realistic, but those particular shots, which depict only daily life, should look more real, as opposed to other daily life scenes shot on-set like the Racer House which look great). Once you get past those, the movie looks gorgeous And I actually think the acting is pretty good throughout all the movie! A couple of badly-delivered lines from Emile Hirsch here and there, for sure, but all in all I think he does a decent job (though it's possible that he's better at delivering emotion when silent). Other than that I don't really have many problems with it (I mean you get John Goodman and Susan Sarandon in there!)

[@merrja]

One of the things that I enjoyed about Speed Racer was how dark it was under the bright colours and exaggerated characters. If you remove the monkey and the kid, maybe add some more of the acid-trip visuals, I think it could have had a more positive critical reception, but probably at the cost of mass-market appeal

[@sam124816]

You should try watching the UK TV series 'Utopia'. It's a conspiracy drama/thriller with some dark comedy elements. The show is very dark & violent, but still has the bright, saturated colour palette. Unfortunately series 3 (and the HBO remake with David Fincher directing and Gillian Flynn writing) was cancelled. The soundtrack was also great, done by Cristobal Tapia de Veer (also scored the BBC America Dirk Gently adaption).

[@merrja]

sam124816 I have seen it. Feel in love from the first scene in the comicshop.

[@ImVeryOriginal]

I started watching Utopia and it was pretty great, but the torture scene in Episode 1 really put me off. It's not that it was bad or shouldn't be there, it was just so fucking brutal and physically intense I'm kind of hesitant to continue (I'm a wuss like that). So, I guess my question is, is there a lot of similar stuff later on? I really liked the characters and the unpredictable, merciless writing and want to know what I'm potentially in for (no spoilers please, obviously).

[@brown9671]

dont you fucking dare remove that monkey.

[@RadishAcceptable]

Surprised you didn't mention Sin City and Watchmen. I guess the color palettes aren't exactly vibrant, but they definitely don't go for realism.

[@Canalbiruta]

Apple Cider sin city captured me with the visuals in the first time i looked at it

[@johnfrancisespiritu533]

Sin city was like a comic book came to life

[@robsonwaterkemper]

Watchmen went for realism. In their reality people really wondered around in bright color tights.

[@vektheartist]

One thing I loved about what Robert Rodriguez said to Frank Miller was “we’re not adapting your book to film. We’re adapting film to your book.” Snyder’s take on “Watchmen” was definitely a sight too!

[@FREE-lw4lb]

Watchmen goes for realism and sacrifices the colors of the book. A truly bad adaption

[@MegamaXX500]

Thank you for giving love to speed racer, the opening sequence is jaw dropping, from the beautiful psychedelic opening titles to the moment when speed almost beats his brother, racing his own shadow, only to let him keep the record, title and glory, and finally passing through his ghost like hologram and becoming the next generation, even in this goofy colorful world I shed a tear at that scene

[@ordo3297]

When I saw the swirls and the colors.. I just thought to myself: “No.. He’s not gonna.. He ain’t going to talk about..” *SPEEED RAACER* AYYY

[@kennethfountain6380]

Ayyyy

[@lobachevscki]

By the end of the year when this video was published, Taika Waititi came and just validated everything Patrick said.

[@lobachevscki]

@Mike Macman he did. Ragnarok is the third best ranked movie in RT both by critics and audience. People like colors

[@lobachevscki]

@Snehil Shrey Yes, it was amazing (at least for Marvel standards).

[@lobachevscki]

@Snehil Shrey It is saying a lot, means that people like color and weirdness even tho we both know that movie was toned down quite a lot from the source material, and you and anyone can have valid criticism of it and there is nothing wrong with that either.

[@kartikadewi3270]

@@lobachevscki and sadly, taika took ot too far with love and thunder.

[@SheanWalsh46]

​@@kartikadewi3270and even with that, it's at least more enjoyable than The Dark World.

[@fightingirish5755]

Speed Racer was such an amazing film. Glad to see you mention it here. It's one of the top 5 films I'd recommend a person get on blu-ray. Simply amazing. Also has one of my favourite climaxes in a film because it's unapologetically exuberant.

[@kennethfountain6380]

Definitely

[@mau_victorino]

YES! Speed Racer is one of my all time favorites and I consider it a god damn brilliant film! Thanks Patrick, for appreciating it too

[@keyman6689]

Escapism. That's what it's all about for me. I like the old "that can only happen in the movies" cliche. Realism has its place, especially in true stories, etc. But I love seeing fantastical creativity and imagination on the screen. Striking visuals of Inception, La la Land, or The Greatest Showman. Storytelling concepts like Dead Again, Pleasantville or even Last Action Hero. Or masterful visual storytelling like A Quiet Place. Something to transport me from reality to escapism. Only in the movies.

[@Germania9]

Audiences, mostly the most hardcore fanboys, want 'realism' because these formalistic, or 'unrealistic' films didn't touch on 'serious' themes like violence, abuse, death and war. To them, these formalistic films seemed artificial and manufactured. You can see these complaints by Western anime fans in regards to why they prefer anime over Western animation - it because anime touches on themes further than Western animation. The same goes for those EXTREME comics fans from the 90's. The problem is that viewers conflate these 'grimdark' themes with realism. What they really need is, yes, heroes that are aware of these dark themes, but it is possible to wrap them in unicorn rainbow-colored candy coated absurdity and still deliver a good, sincere story at the same time. They should look up to 'happy' songs with dark lyrics like 99 Luftballons, Lily Allen's LDN or Foster The People's 'Pumped Up Kicks' as brilliant examples of this. You should look up Film Crit Hulk's essay on why people prefer Batman over Superman, and what does it say about fans preferring the 'grimdark realism' of Batman over Superman's optimism.

[@patrickhwillems]

That FCH essay is great.

[@bfish89ryuhayabusa]

99 years of war Leaves no place for victors No war ministers anymore Also no jet engines either Today I was doing my rounds See the world in ruins lie I have one balloon I found Think of you and let it fly Love the original lyrics, and the transition out of the first verse, with the clapping on "kommt" leading into the riff.

[@xxxaragon]

also unfortunately a significant portion of people tends to associate optimist, happy etc. with being "shallow" or "less complex" (which of course is ridiculous, still this is a very popular idea). (resulting in things like dramas etc. often being perceived as being "better" than comedies or other more "upbeat" genres) another example could be the shift of how much lesser pop songs now are in minor keys (compared to just a few decades ago).

[@Germania9]

+xxxaragon Also, 'optimism = insincere'. If according to FCH's essay on Batman & Superman, fans' slow gravitation to dark Batman away from '60s Batman maybe because '60s Batman allegedly didn't addressed the 'real world' shit that happens around that era: Cold War, Vietnam, Nixon etc. Even though, as Moviebob pointed out in his recent video tribute to Adam West, that '60's Batman did have subversive elements hiding underneath it's camp. The association of 'optimism = insincere' became underlined when dealing with children's shows like Barney or mass manufactured pop artists and boy bands from the 80's onward. Viewers crave realism not just because of verisimilitude, but they want their most optimistic heroes to acknowledge (and wallow through) the real world shit they've been they've been through. But didn't we have that already? Not just the 'happy songs, dark lyrics', but also children's shows like Sesame Street or Arthur the Aardvark. They do deal with death, violence etc. but their presentation means we can face the these dark themes with defiant optimism.

[@darlalathan6143]

It says that 'grimdark' fans are probably cynical from growing up with Watergate, Vietnam War, Columbine and 9/11. They probably can't relate to a cheerful, omnipotent alien country boy like Superman, because they are depressed, anxious city people, who grew up living in fear of gangbangers, terrorists and mass shooters on the 6 O'clock news every day. Batman is "one of us," they think, because his parents were murdered in an alley, like they fear they will be someday.

[@nowaymyname]

I've been waiting years for someone to defend Speed Racer. I thought I was the only one that loved this movie.

[@kennethfountain6380]

I know right

[@ethanwright66]

I've been looking for someone to talk about speed racer for so long on KZbin. Thank you so much! I know this video is kind of old, but I wanted to thank you still!

[@brutaljuiceboxproductions7345]

On the topic of colour, i really like the way the marvel films seem to be going with GOTG2 AND dr strange. even spider man and black panther look much more colourful and interesting

[@unfabulouslyfabulous]

Brutal Juicebox Productions the teaser trailer for black panther has me so hype wakanda looks BEAUTIFUL

[@rolanddeschain6089]

What i saw, Gotg and Black Panther go in this direction. Spidy looks very much like Civil War.

[@jacobmacdonagh4070]

Brutal Juicebox Productions Dr Strange had no colour grading improvement it is the exact same but Spider-Man they have changed the colour grading if you compare the very first trailer to the most recent one

[@goodjobeli]

I think Thor Ragnarok is going in that direction too

[@jonnemesis11]

Homecoming looks like shit but Black Panther does look stunning.

[@MalloryMovies]

Thank you so much for talking about Speed Racer -- I love that movie and it's one of the most underappreciated films of the century imo.

[@kennethfountain6380]

Exactly

[@Phyzicalarts]

I loved Speed Racer! That movie made me feel like I was experiencing the cartoon if it were reincarnated as live action ... ... But then again, I grew up loving Speed Racer so it would have been hard for me to not like it! Of course, I kind of said something similar just before I walked into the theater to see the 1998 "Lost In Space" film, so, there's that! LOL!!!

[@jestonrademaker2430]

Speed Racer has been my guilty pleasure movie for years thanks for the validation!

[@NarcoticCasseroleProductions]

I approve of this with the utmost love and sincerity, I absolutely adored Speed Racer

[@kennethfountain6380]

Same here man, good to see people know and like the movie

[@NarcoticCasseroleProductions]

Kenneth Fountain oh I just recently posted a video where the missus and I shower praise unto it

[@kennethfountain6380]

@Narcotic Casserole Productions great video love to see people talk about this movie, you guys are a good pair love the pokemon references as well hope u guys get more recognition much like speedracer

[@Olderaccount17]

05:00 aw man, you made me SO happy! I could spend hours talking about Speed Racer's many good qualities and it's one of my 3 favorite movies of all time, not just because I really like it or because I find it very emotionally investing, but because I honestly think -nay, know-, it's a very well crafted movie.

[@kennethfountain6380]

Agreed

[@centurionmk.1365]

Dark knight - good real but 1 time is enough Speed racer -fun and climax that got me everytime

[@caylya7869]

This is probably where the phrase, “You can’t stylize live action”. When history has shown, you absolute can.

[@KimbloMakes]

Thank you so much. I had been a huge Speed Racer fan before the movie, and I absolutely loved it. Glad to know there are others who did as well.

[@rolanbollinger9730]

THE GREATEST FUCKING INTRODUCTION TO A MOVIE ESSAY. Over 5 minutes explaining realism v. formalism to reveal the greatest example, Speed Racer. Love it

[@zed_anarchist5208]

The most underated movie is Speed Racer. From once it came out, it was hated, 11 years later, it is a masterpiece.

[@kennethfountain6380]

Underated as heck

[@getbeats255]

I showed my best friend Speed Racer for the first time just a little while ago. He couldn't get over how bright the movie actually is, but he fell in love with it enough to want to share it with his kids. To this day it's one of my favourite Blu Rays I own

[@shaneford5296]

I knew staying up till five in the morning listening to Kids Table would pay off.

[@patrickhwillems]

Oh man, was it the episode with Jake and me? That was a hell of a time.

[@shaneford5296]

It was, that episode got me hooked on the podcast.

[@WCPRICE2]

Jake's sign off made me laugh uncontrollably

[@patrickhwillems]

Honestly one of the funniest things I've witnessed all year.

[@lankyjuggler]

This was a great essay but also I love speed racer so much, and it was so, so heartening to find someone talk about it so positively and then have the comments be just as positive. It's my favorite movie. The earnestness, the silliness, the Wachoski's one-of-a-kind conception of how physics works. It's all so good.

[@Titleknown]

I feel like I must say, THANK YOU FOR THIS! I HATE the idea of realism as the acme of cinema, and I'd love to see you do a follow up on how it impacts cinematic creature design; as it's ESPECIALLY one of the ways I feel is the worst affected by that sort of realism-fetish. Like, I want more stuff like JRPGs or the works of Paul Blaisdell or Screaming Mad George in film monster design, I want more whimsy and fun, not Generic Grey Reptomammal Product and Bitey The Butt-Naked Voldemort.

[@adams13245]

Bitey the buttnaked Voldemort is my favorite! Just kidding, though I do find the idea that realism is the highest goal of media incredibly offputting. Especially since so much of it is utterly self absorbed. People just look at a creature design and declare it "unrealistic" because it isn't brown or grey. Have they seen the living dinosaurs- birds? They have tons of colors to them. Lets give a velociraptor a peacock make over with eyespots and iridescent blue! That and how space battles are always too close and have dog fighting. Realistically, given the vast size of space and the lack of any atmosphere to slow things down, ships would fight beyond visual range. But that isn't fun, so audiences act as thought the outer space equivalent of getting so close you can see the enemy's nostril hairs is how it would really go down. It's so utterly self absorbed and stupid!

[@trinitysxxi]

Hey Patrick. I wrote to you a while ago ranting about my frustration as an artist, I just wanted to get it out. I just wanted to thank you for your videos, even when you're not doing feel good projects about filmaking you always focus on stuff that is very interesting to listen as an artist trying to find my place in this world. I learned today that I'm much more into formalism than I thought and it kinda helps me realize a lot of stuff about my passions as an artist.

[@Shadowmask8]

Spot on, spot on. Great analysis. PS I'm probably the first person to whine about realism in any film, but even I loved Speed Racer, probably because what I'm really after is verisimilitude and I just didn't have the vocabulary.

[@aolson5795]

OMG a Speed Racer video essay! It really is one of my all-time favorite movies, thanks for helping me to appreciate why.

[@kennethfountain6380]

I know right

[@TheDelinear]

The "realism" argument is what gave us the black leather X-Men movies. Of course "real" superheroes wouldn't wear yellow spandex. And yet, superhero movies really started to take off when they started to play to the more fantastical elements of the comics. See the massive success of the MCU as it is now, versus the more gritty "realism" of the DCEU. Audiences aren't always the best at knowing what they want.

[@sentimeter233]

Amazing breakdown. I especially love the idea of movies keeping within the reality in which it sets up. It reminds me of people stupidly arguing whether "Dark, gritty, serious tone movies are better" or "Bright, Comedic, fun tone movies are better," when the question that should really be asked is, "What tone works best for the story I'm trying to tell?" and maintaining that tone throughout.

[@IvellScarlett]

Calling a desaturated color pallet "realistic" is odd. The last time I looked out the window I could see colors other than grey, black, and muted blue.

[@AnthonyScibelli]

I think the subtext behind "muted colors = realism" is "sadness = realism"

[@mattiasalegro]

Love because Speed Racer is one of my favorite films. Also really well done on explaining your points.

[@rayn0577]

The Speed Racer movie fully embraced its origins as a Japanese manga, something the MCU has been terrified of doing.

[@EvenFlow406]

I'm so glad someone else appreciates Speed Racer. I love that movie. That said, I have never been bothered by color in Marvel's films and I don't think they would work on the insane level Speed Racer does. Everything about the way that movie operates is crazy but it's still about family, growing up and driving cars; pretty normal things that the film-making then presents in an unreal fashion. Super heroes on the other hand start at root with metaphysically different abilities and fight evil in more direct, lofty ways than any audience member will ever encounter. I think for that reason the film-making needs to lean closer to realism or they won't seem to have any meaningful connection to reality. That can definitely be taken too far, especially when people start to equate grit and sadness with realism (Syder DC movies) but I think Marvel usually strikes a good balance. You mentioned GotG 2 which I think moves more into formalism and it usually works but then you have a scene like 'Rocket, Yondu and Groot warp through space' and it's to the film's detriment.

[@campbellgildersleeve5243]

The smile on my face when you broke out saying "speed racer" couldn't be imitated.

[@hansenriquez1810]

People who complained about 'Speed Racer' obviously never saw an episode of the show.

[@krombopulos_michael]

Hans Enriquez you shouldn't have to see a show first to enjoy a movie.

[@hansenriquez1810]

Like Patrick said, people complained that 'Speed Racer' was "too cartoony." If the people who complained saw an episode of the OG Speed Racer show, they would know how good of an adaptation this was.

[@HelloAmz]

i never thought it was too cartoony i just didn't care enough about it

[@VicenteTorresAliasVits]

But that's like saying that if a movie isn't exactly like the source material then it's bad. It's not true, considering that every single adaptation has been followed by complains about changes. While being faithful is important, what matters is the overall quality.

[@ImVeryOriginal]

You don't have to (and shouldn't have to) bring the cartoon into the argument. I never watched or cared about the cartoon and I loved the movie. I think it's good enough to stand on its own merits.

[@DwRockett]

Speed racer rules! I remember loving it when I first saw it, and being legitimately surprised when I heard people didn't like it

[@MrNinjaHub]

Thankyou I’ve always thought Speed Racer was great and wondered why no one else does. Also Scott Pilgrim is the best and should have won awards.

[@fufu5068]

Speed Racer transitions need to be a whole another video man. They are a delight to look at.

[@franciskoolman]

I just watched Speed Racer for the first time because of this video. I freaking loved it. Great vid!

[@vanderan]

Loved Speed Racer, it was very aware of what it was and it stuck to it. While there are moments in Marvel that give me that feeling, it’s never been nearly as concentrated as Speed Racer. I feel as though the color palette issue sometimes represents a larger issue in those movies, but I’ve never been able to put my finger on it.

[@OmarTafur75]

Thank God i'm not the only one who loved Speed Racer

[@AMPProf]

It's awesome! everyone else can go bleepbloop off

[@sanitorz232]

You know someone doesn't know what they're talking about when they complain about a film not being realistic

[@sjsamphex]

I'm deaf. Can you upload captions to this video?

[@TheSchaef47]

My brother is also deaf, and also studied film in college. I think he would appreciate your videos immensely, if he had an avenue to consume them.

[@wassolldasdenn]

The captions are already finished, he just has to approve them I think. And btw. there's an option where you can already watch it with subtitles, just click "Subtitles/CC" right here ( gyazo.com/c9c46221f7aae802d0ae7ac9000ddb41 ) and then click on "Add Subtitles/CC". Then you should be able to watch the whole video with CC. :)

[@sjsamphex]

It looks like he recently turned off the auto captions for this video. Auto captions are ok, but not the most accessible. Right now I don't see any caption option at all

[@wassolldasdenn]

Proper captions are there now :)

[@sjsamphex]

thanks so much!

[@HeadRush-yj4fy]

Enter The Void is a great example of formalism that was pretty well received.

[@LeoFieTv]

Guys be demanding "realism" while watching superhero movies and anime. They are just not in touch with their own sensibilities. It's such a shame. Also shame on Warner for fucking up the marketing for Speed Racer so bad.

[@danielrowson3379]

Your essays are some of the most engaging on KZbin. They make me a better watcher of movies.

[@pedrodeeg3893]

For the life of me I don’t know why you didn’t use space odyssey as an example. That move blends both realism and formalism so well that it actually suits the movies philosophical questions

[@vincentknight27]

This is one of the best video essays I've seen all year. Great job.

[@montywolfe8900]

The holy trinity of cinema - Kracauer, Eisenstein, and Bazin.

[@Blankford777]

Dude, I’ve watched about 10 of your video essays already today and LOVE what you’re doing. You’re one of the best on YT. Great, great stuff. Keep up the good work my man.

[@ackmandesu8538]

This is why I enjoy anime (films, mostly). If I'm looking to get completely immersed in a different world, anime movies tend to create their own realities quite quickly and you don't question it at all. I wonder if it's because it doesn't look realistic at all, it's a fucking cartoon. Point is... I might watch this movie were a girl suddenly travels in time, or where a giant cat walks around kidnapping children, or where ghosts turn a kid's parents into pigs... And I just instantly accept it. Most of the time, in regular movies, those things would break my suspension of disbelief way way faster. The amount of bullshit you accept as normal is insane in anime. I specially love movies where the world makes no sense and the movie doesn't even care to explain it. It's just a tiny drop in a sea of stories happening in that world. You get to experience it and it ends with no satisfactory ending. What I get out of it is the experience of completely forgetting about the real world for 2 hours, to immerse yourself in this whimsical, happy atmosphere.

[@DestroyedArkana]

I love anime as well, but I don't think it's strengths are because of what this video calls formalism. The reasons that Lord of the Rings works well and the reasons Dragonball work are similar. It draws far more on fantasy elements rather than absurdist ones. They both need internal consistency, with logical and understood rules. I think a "realist" a piece of media is how much it takes those rules seriously. In Dragonball Z you have characters who shoot lazers out of their hands and have superpowers, they can die and come back to life, but all of those things are grounded into the reality of that world. One of the reasons anime, and more specifically manga is as popular as it is was due to Astro Boy. Tezuka tried to basically make a Disney animated movie into a book and he succeeded I think. The elements that make movies like Bambi or The Lion King feel impactful is because of how realistically and human it depicts its characters. We don't care that they're animals because they don't act like animals.

[@javier.alvarez764]

Personally, I would argue that there a lot of great anime materials than hollywood movies and tv shows. Especially how american tv shows are generic and episodic at best, and lacking that impact, consequences, and genuineness. If we look at most american tv shows, most of their episodes are equivalent to fillers in anime. Now we see great tv shows this days follow that similar approach to Marvel's Netflix shows. Although marvel movies are mediocre at best, they are similar to the Transformers and Fast and Furious franchise that has perfected their movie formula for mindless entertainment and quick cash grab, they are play safe movies that doesn't push the limit and actually pull a great and compelling story, and challenge the writer, the franchise, and the audience as a whole. Logan does that, Deadpool, Watchmen, The Dark Knight, all did that. They tell their own story and didn't follow a specific formula. Point is, all this video essay only focused on hollywood movies and tv shows in general, when these people that dissect the philosophy and concept of the entertainment medium would uncover a lot more on Anime. Because Anime doesn't follow the typical formula that hollywood movies and tv shows does, and instead does its own story, pacing, and also have it unique world altogether.

[@antihinduismisbased]

AckmanDESU may I suggest Eraserhead to you? The world makes no sense but you will still love it.

[@Kimikachu22]

7Nexus21 I honestly heavily disagree with you in regards to comparing Marvel with franchises such as everything Michael Bay does and Fast and the Furious. Take note that I do agree that a large amount of Marvel movies are indeed mediocre and follows a specific formula, like the earlier films in Phase 1, and they do indeed still follow a formula somewhat, yet I would argue that since Winter Soldier onward they are getting better (besides Thor Dark World since I'll admit that that film is, while not horrible, is very bellow average). They had been finding ways to spice up the formula, Thor Ragnarok has 2 villains (with the Collector being the most interesting one) and has a style that honestly reminds me of anime and well, Speed Racer, Civil War dealt with the consequences of Age of Ultron and does indeed have an interesting villain while nicely developing the characters further (though I shall admit that that airport scene, while fun, has some thematic inconcistencies with the movie as a whole, though War Machine getting a permanent injury through that fight, I'll argue, salvaged that scene from being too lighthearted), and heck Dr Strange's visual effects is unparalleled (yes, even compared to later films), also do not forget the fact that Infinity War is the first film of its kind that is on this large scale (an event), do you not think that those benefitted hollywood cinema in some way? Of course you are free to disagree cause you know, we still have duds like Thor: Dark World and well most recently, Ant Man and the Wasp (although that is more so cause I thought the film is above average and is mostly a downgrade from the first Antman besides the script, which is improved upon a little by having better characters at least).

[@goji253]

Well depends. Anime can still break your immersion if things come out of left field in a world that previously had clearly established rules. Same goes for cartoons and other animated works of art. Of course, the rules can be very carefully broken, but there is a limit.

[@LeePresson]

This movie is so damned authentic that had it been made ten years later they would have used CG to make everyone's eyes bigger.

[@Sunwakka]

How to make a video essay: 1.Find big words 2.Explain those big words. 3:Get back to original point after endless rambling about big words 4:Win

[@ErmenBlankenberg]

How to write a comment on KZbin: 1. Oversimplify the content of a video to such an extent that your summary has no longer little to nothing in common with the original content of the video. 2. Win.

[@Moovieluvr]

Patrick, this is so on the money. And I can't agree more about the cinematic merit of Speed Racer. Relating back to color is also an interesting point. I was an advertising creative director for a while and now and directing commercials. So I've seen the color conversation from a couple perspectives. I've always wondered about how TV commercials went from the saturated tones of the 80s and 90s to a more desaturated, "realistic" look. Some to the point of looking completely washed out. But this look to some jaded people seems to better represent the world. I don't know about you, but the real world that I live in is full of wonderful color. Hopefully we see more features embrace that formalistic approach to tone and grade. Keep those essays coming.

[@thatvirgo]

I’ve always felt that not every piece of art, be it a painting or a film, dosent have to grounded in reality. My fathers art, which is mostly political, isn’t as appealing to me as an abstract painting. If I’m going to see a movie, I want to see something outside of my reality, which is why speed racer, in anime and film form, are some of my favorite pieces of art to date

[@camcabbas]

Great video! I was just reading Kracauer's essay "The Redemption of Physical Reality" before watching it. I think this is the first time I've seen someone here on KZbin mention Kracauer and Bazin. Keep up the good work!

[@HawkOfLight1]

What is this? VSAUCE? Awesome video. 100/10

[@sanjaykurian8972]

Absolutely love how you spoke about Speed Racer, I couldn't agree more, especially about the sincerity. Great video, interesting and informative.

[@adriancarmody8942]

Great analysis, and great to see Speed Racer getting a little over due love.

[@kennethfountain6380]

I know right

[@karahanscomb7008]

Honestly, I've always loved this movie. The surrealist style, the score, the acting it's all top notch and I love it.

[@spacelizbian3237]

Sometimes realism is just boring. Like, I already live in the real world, can't I try to escape it for just a second?

[@chris7285]

Yeah, it's called video games and comic books. You might as well watch video game cutscenes to escape reality. Sense that's what most moviegoers seem to want from their movies nowadays. The problem is that you've got a CGI character in a real world. So it looks cheesy and doesn't blend in very well. Almost like someone poorly photoshopped it into the film. Movies like The Dark Knight Rises tries to find a middle ground. How fake should we make it? How real should we make it? Unfortunately the "middle ground" or "sweet spot" is different for everybody so it's hard to decide where to draw the line. Movies can also go to opposite extremes as well. I mean that's why cartoons exist.

[@EveryThingGirl238]

Ignore the other guy, Movies are also a way to escape, I mean Disney is based on that after all. All movies that are good to people aren't even based in real life.

[@TotallyRadicalShow]

Great video! I recently saw Speed Racer for my Film History class and it just blew me away, possibly my new favorite movie of all time. It really shows the power of doing things more over the top and taking influence from mediums like anime, something I wish to embody with all the things I make.

[@patrickhwillems]

That's an amazing film history class if they're making you watch Speed Racer!

[@TotallyRadicalShow]

Patrick (H) Willems Yeah the professor's pretty unique. We watched Speed Racer as the last film of the class and he chose it because he felt it best showed off the new era of digital technology in film and it certainly does.

[@Gravastars1]

I'll disagree with this slightly: Verisimilitude can be broken in effective ways, especially in cases such as magical realism or epic theatre. David Lynch movies break their own "rules" and are all the better for it.

[@starkingbiker]

exactly. i dont even believe “verisimilitude” applies to say, experimental films. and often it doesn’t even matter.

[@nunodias3791]

Great video!!! Ive never liked speed racer that much, but then a friend of mine told me it was a really underrated movie and I when I saw it again I completely understood it. Keep up the great work!!!

[@josephmullen4553]

I loved the video. please talk more about Scott Pilgrim

[@matthewsawczyn6592]

Edgar Wright, Wes Anderson, and Tarantino keep formalism alive. They know how to wield the language of cinema

[@TalysAlankil]

Damn it, now i have to watch a movie called "speed racer" just out of curiosity. (But seriously, awesome essay. I think you made a great point and made it well; realism is NOT a necessity.)

[@kennethfountain6380]

Speed racer truly is a masterpiece

[@MaxMarriner]

From my experience, it seems the most beloved films are those that stay consistent in their goals. They don't always carry the same pulse for the entire runtime, but they do have a clear sense of focus on their mission statements. Dark Knight, Speed Racer, Avengers; these movies aren't trying to convey an external set of thematic and emotional bullet points, but instead are 100% committed to convey their own individual aesthetic. Avengers is awesome because every part is aiming for the same finish line, and it isn't saddled with a false sense of competition; same with Dark Knight and Speed Racer. These movies are very focused on being the best version of themselves. *pushes up glasses cinematically*

[@Jombo1]

Realism is just the go-to word people use when they can't describe why they don't like something. Usually its something else besides realism that is the problem, like no believably, a conflicting storyline, weird character motivations, etc. These things are all indeed unrealistic but just calling it unrealistic isn't really describing anything.

[@Ajisnotherhere]

Thank you for talking about Speed Racer! It's seriously one of the most underrated movies.

[@leonardopuehler4899]

Enter the Void!

[@11jokerchen11]

This is a fantastic essay, thank you so much for explaining this the way you did. I really wish there was more diversity in style because I don't mind realism at all but I wish there was more than that. Especially in animation, like Disney and Pixar and their use of CGI, it's taking them further away from interesting stylisation and the easy opportunity to play around with reality with each movie they make.

[@Dokimon]

Speed Racer is a Masterpiece

[@kennethfountain6380]

Agreed

[@DeadlyDie]

Yes yes yes, I love Speed Racer, and always have! I saw it on opening day and it was the most fun movie going experience I had ever had! I was so bitter when Iron Man was released the next weekend and just crushed my hopes that anyone would give Speed Racer a chance. I'm so happy there are actually people out there that appreciate this movie for how wonderful it really is!

[@FrazThe]

I feel like Speed Racer should have been fully animated, cuz seeing live actors over obvious green screen is just unpleasant (think Robert Rodriguez's Spy Kids 3D or Shark Boy and Lava Girl). It wasn't formalist enough i guess? If animation is peak formalism. I may be alone in thinking this.

[@arkham137.]

Zac Frazier I don't think I would like it as much if it was anime. Fucking hate anime.

[@darlalathan6143]

Animation would be the logical extreme. Perhaps the Watchowskis considered adapting an animated series faithfully to live-action film with CGI effects a tempting challenge to their directing skills.

[@kylehill6636]

@Ur Waifu is Shit Why does it not make sense?

[@helloofthebeach]

@Cyberdemon Mike Which anime genius is Speed Racer based on?

[@tomstonemale]

@@arkham137. The hell? is based on an anime...with anime tropes and anime logic of time and space

[@ianthesilverfire5224]

Speed Racer is among my favorite movies. I love how wild it is and the emotions totally get to me. It's a total example of having to suspend your disbelief and just let the movie take you along. Now, some movies try and take you down shady alleys of poor storytelling. But you have to trust yourself to either say "Ok, I'll bite." or "Naw dawg. I'm turn you off, movie, and go read a book."

[@kennethfountain6380]

Speedracer is a great movie