Meh it's ok, the default white-man-bad trope is indeed tiresome and unimaginative but a slight fail in the context of a clever article is really not a big deal. It's also ok to poke fun at us now and then as well.
I chuckled out loud at that interpretation of Hereditary. It's a good point that the matriarch was horrifyingly evil but come on... that guy was by far the most boring character in that story. Also it's hilarious to think of anybody as coming out "on top" in that situation.
And let's be open to the possibility that it feeling like a trope might be an indicator of the situation being truly widespread. When you hear lots of people saying the same thing there's basically two responses: "oh, they're all infected by the same meme" or "hmm... maybe they all really have gone through similar situations..."
Most disturbing movie I've ever seen, by the way. Gave me nightmares for a solid week or two. For about 2 years after I would randomly flash onto a couple vivid scenes and it noticeably affect the rest of my day.
I have the same feeling with other horror movies. Which is why I stopped watching them around age 10. Is this the reaction you are going for? Or do you find them otherwise so enjoyable that this is the price you’re willing to pay?
Horror’s a wide genre. There are tons of sub-genres that can be anything from cheer-at-the-impressively-gruesome-practical-FX over-the-top-kills slasher, to Star Trek levels of symbolism and metaphor that aren’t meant to be “read” literally, to art film stuff that uses horror tropes and elements but may not even be scary, to cringe-to-your-bones body horror, to deep existential horror that makes all but the most jaded kinda wish they hadn’t watched it. And more.
Also, outright comedy horror, which works so well because scares are often adjacent to laughter. Similar tension release, which is what a lot of fans are there for.
You should spend ten minutes on Gab and see what tropes they have there. Hopefully they won't make you go "hmmm..." like the contemptible white male trope does.
I see your point, thanks for bringing it up. I guess what you're saying is that my position could be basicaly be interpreted as the old "well, maybe there's truth to the stereotype" line of reasoning, which is obviously very problematic. I guess the difference boils down to me believing that we white men are indeed privileged and you perhaps not believing that? Because that single belief really changes everything about the discussion. It's one thing to make this comment about myself from an assumed position of privilege, another to make it about others who are not usually bucketed into a position of privilege. Also, it seems to change the meaning when you quote me as "hmm..." versus the full quote, which was "hmm... maybe they all really have gone through similar situations..." There's a lot to unpack here but I've gotta get my day going and will have to leave it at that.
Hereditary’s one of the few widely-beloved horror films I’ve thought was kinda bad (I watch lots of horror). Most of it was really boring, except the last 15 minutes or so, which were laugh-out-loud hilarious, which I don’t think is what they were going for.
I loved the concept and a lot of the imagery but yeah the ending skewed towards funny for me rather than scary. in the same vein, i loved annihilation for the same reasons but that ending was funnier than it was disturbing.
Annihilation didn’t do that to me, but I can definitely see how it might if your head-space slips outside just the right range near the end. A lot of that could certainly read as funny, in that case.
I think Hereditary would be a great movie if the ending were completely different. I was never sure exactly what was real and I really enjoyed that. Then that ending pops up like it was spliced from something else. I'm not sure if "jumping the shark" or "showed the monster" fits better.
At this point I just chuckle through my moustache and recall the times it happened to me as I swirl some brandy and admire my hunting trophies from my studded leather armchair. Harrumph!
