A movie review

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Over the break, I decided to check out a movie from a wildly anti-competitive streaming company that’s been all over the news lately. 

In the first two minutes we see a hot couple kissing, followed by some obvious emotional manipulation. The plot was thin, and the scenarios wildly implausible. But that’s fine. It’s not what we’re here for. 

High art, this isn’t. The characters don’t progress. We know nothing of their inner lives. They’re presented as much like machines as people, lurching from scene to scene with little dialog but lots of physicality. 

It’s wildly misogynistic. There’s so much unnecessary roughness. The actors throw around epithets like “bitch” with abandon. 

We see men asserting their masculinity by normalizing violence, betraying a stunningly obvious fragile masculinity on the part of the director. It’s actually quite repulsive. The actors physically dominate creatures smaller and weaker than them on screen for our pleasure. 

There is one nod at gender equality. We see surgically enhanced female bodies also getting to display wildly implausible feats of strength, agility, and endurance. One woman in particular is, for all intents and purposes, actually a man inside a female body. But that body is clearly highly contorted to satisfy the male gaze.  

Most of what the film displays is absolutely disgusting and depraved immoral acts. It’s honestly amazing that anyone with an internet connection, kids included, can see this. I’m thinking in particular of the orgiastic, Dionisyan nightclub scene. It’s obvious how this constant stream of adrenaline and dopamine hits could be incredibly addictive. Considering how children raised on this material are going out and trying to navigate adulthood is quite frightening. 

What are we doing to American society by allowing this kind of material to be easily accessible online? Will children not learn that it’s okay to treat human beings as disposable objects? That we can think of people as mere nameless, faceless bodies? Are we giving up our soul for mere momentary entertainment? 

Maybe. But, at the end of the day, I give John Wick 3.5/5 stars. Now streaming on Amazon Prime.