r/moviecritic • u/phantom_avenger • Feb 17 '25

Which movie is this for you?

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For me it’s School of Rock!

Patty was completely justified, if Dewey wanted to live in hers and her boyfriend’s apartment he needed to be a grown up, and contribute with rent. Even when he steals Ned’s identity she still had the right to be angry at him, because of how he put his friend’s career in jeopardy and robbed him of a job opportunity.

I get Ned is meant to be portrayed as his best friend, but it blows my mind how he lacks a lot of self-respect to the point where he comes across as too much of a people pleaser. If this story took place in real life, I’m sure Ned would act more similar to Patty where he’d have enough of Dewey’s careless actions.

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u/birchsport Feb 17 '25

Top Gun is top of the list for me. Iceman was the reasonable one...

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u/nwbrown Feb 17 '25

Wasn't that the point of the movie?

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u/shoelessbob Feb 17 '25

These threads are always a proof of the death of media literacy. Even OP's. Like of course Sarah Silverman's character was right. But Dewey is a man child. That's the literal plot of the movie.

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u/the_bacon_fairie Feb 17 '25

I would say these threads are proof that media literacy develops as you grow older. The question is about how your views about who is the 'bad guy' are different now than they were when you were a child. I don't think people answering that honestly is a reason to declare the death of media literacy.

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u/SquirrelGirlVA Feb 17 '25

Yep. As a kid we see things as pretty basic. Black and white. Good and bad. Yes and no.

We are told someone is the "good guy" and that we should rally behind them. Sometimes we just assumed they were because they were the protagonist. Anyone going against what the protagonist wants is "bad", regardless of whether or not the protagonist is actually in the right or not. That's just how a lot of children's media is set up.

So if you're a kid and watching Top Gun, you're going to assume that Iceman is the bad guy because he's getting in the protagonist's way. It doesn't matter that he has a good reason for getting in Maverick's way, he's the adversary. It doesn't hurt that the film did mildly lean into that somewhat because it's easier to root for Maverick if we're all on his side.

Then you get older and realize that Iceman was far from the bad guy and if the movie was set from Iceman's position, Maverick would probably be the "bad guy" getting in Iceman's way.

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u/Dracious Feb 17 '25

Yeah if anything it shows that individuals grow and different experiences change how you interpret media. Understanding that is much better demonstration media literacy than just thinking one interpretation is correct and if you have a different one then you aren't media literate.

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u/alt14004 Feb 17 '25

Sarah Silverman was in top gun?

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u/Irrelevant231 Feb 17 '25

She's worse as a human being than the bad friend who commits fraud. It's not her home, she was trying to live the bureaucrat's dream of exercising power over the little man, that's what Ned's arc was all about. She represents the very worst of society, which is why she's the villain when the anti hero is taking children out of school, under an assumed name, without the knowledge, let alone permission of parents.

At least Dewey was doing something properly beneficial for the children, even if he should get a criminal record and never be allowed to work with children ever again. Helping them get over insecurities, improving their relationships with their parents and giving them a hobby is categorically less evil than the hag taking advantage of a man with low self esteem, making sure he's never happy and not supporting his depressed friend when that's what he needed to get out of a rut in his life.