Can't thank you enough for this methodical analysis. In terms of narrative structure, the second half simply falls apart. It lacks the drama, pacing, conflict, and ensemble -- the thematics too -- that made the first half a breakthrough vision of 1932 Mississippi. The vampire metaphor bloody dies on the vine, while the Irish are misplaced and ill-served. I had to read several rave reviews just to understand what people were seeing that I wasn't. Hat's off.
My read was … vampirism as unification process for oppressed people’s , helping fortify against the real WASP enemy . The WASPs were never offered eternal life , just a violent, raging death by machine gun fire . The Irish and blues music were still stylistically different , but functionally the same . I thought that was the point . But I’m a romantic .
I can see that but vampirism is a weird metaphor if it's not taking something away as well? Like, this unification process does involve dying. I suppose you could look at it as a fight between an integrationist anti-racism (at the expense of the separate but unified Black community) versus a Black nationalism, which is the debate Coogler's staged before in Black Panther between Black characters. It just felt like it would have needed a couple of other beats for that to really come across here.
I saw the whole film through the prism of the opening animatic . That the film is about shamanic music practice , drawing equivalence across many cultures . I totally agree , the metaphor of vampirism is unclear . There’s probably a clue when the two vampires turn up to talk to Buddy Guy at then end , saying they liked the real stuff , the acoustic blues , showing nothing but love for transcendent , ritualised music . And when I can check it at home , there was a lot of detail in the head vampires speech in the water , before he was destroyed . I just don’t remember it as well as I’d like to . It’s messy . Like me . 😊
Agree that the first half is great, the second half much less so for many of the reasons you cite. I enjoyed it despite the flaws, though, and that first half is so strong that even when things become formulaic and less coherent in the second, I did ache for the community that's destroyed (and a few of the individuals) even if the Irish as the tip of the focal point didn't make a ton of sense. Though I have always thought that Riverdance was evil, so...
I think many Irish people would agree with you about Riverdance - though maybe not say it out loud, the way that people in Québec hesitate to talk trash about the Cirque du Soleil -- everybody's got a cousin who's got a job there!
Thanks. I had many of the same thoughts and feelings especially about the fast and loose Irish connection. Also I couldn’t tell the twins apart so I lost the importance of their relationship.
I can imagine that - I think they were always wearing signature colours (red v blue), but it did feel like the contrasts in their personalities could have come out stronger.
I agree, and I’m afraid I have an even more cynical take - even though I very much wanted to like the movie. In the big time-traveling dance floor scene, connecting the blues to hip-hop, Coogler throws in Asian performers as if they’re all part of the same cultural flow. But he leaves the white Irish vampires outside, as if white music has no influence on Black music except as a parasitic one. So Coltrane never recorded “My Favorite Things” and so forth. Makes no sense (to me).
Can't thank you enough for this methodical analysis. In terms of narrative structure, the second half simply falls apart. It lacks the drama, pacing, conflict, and ensemble -- the thematics too -- that made the first half a breakthrough vision of 1932 Mississippi. The vampire metaphor bloody dies on the vine, while the Irish are misplaced and ill-served. I had to read several rave reviews just to understand what people were seeing that I wasn't. Hat's off.
My read was … vampirism as unification process for oppressed people’s , helping fortify against the real WASP enemy . The WASPs were never offered eternal life , just a violent, raging death by machine gun fire . The Irish and blues music were still stylistically different , but functionally the same . I thought that was the point . But I’m a romantic .
I can see that but vampirism is a weird metaphor if it's not taking something away as well? Like, this unification process does involve dying. I suppose you could look at it as a fight between an integrationist anti-racism (at the expense of the separate but unified Black community) versus a Black nationalism, which is the debate Coogler's staged before in Black Panther between Black characters. It just felt like it would have needed a couple of other beats for that to really come across here.
I saw the whole film through the prism of the opening animatic . That the film is about shamanic music practice , drawing equivalence across many cultures . I totally agree , the metaphor of vampirism is unclear . There’s probably a clue when the two vampires turn up to talk to Buddy Guy at then end , saying they liked the real stuff , the acoustic blues , showing nothing but love for transcendent , ritualised music . And when I can check it at home , there was a lot of detail in the head vampires speech in the water , before he was destroyed . I just don’t remember it as well as I’d like to . It’s messy . Like me . 😊
Agree that the first half is great, the second half much less so for many of the reasons you cite. I enjoyed it despite the flaws, though, and that first half is so strong that even when things become formulaic and less coherent in the second, I did ache for the community that's destroyed (and a few of the individuals) even if the Irish as the tip of the focal point didn't make a ton of sense. Though I have always thought that Riverdance was evil, so...
I think many Irish people would agree with you about Riverdance - though maybe not say it out loud, the way that people in Québec hesitate to talk trash about the Cirque du Soleil -- everybody's got a cousin who's got a job there!
Thanks. I had many of the same thoughts and feelings especially about the fast and loose Irish connection. Also I couldn’t tell the twins apart so I lost the importance of their relationship.
I can imagine that - I think they were always wearing signature colours (red v blue), but it did feel like the contrasts in their personalities could have come out stronger.
Very thoughtful.
I agree, and I’m afraid I have an even more cynical take - even though I very much wanted to like the movie. In the big time-traveling dance floor scene, connecting the blues to hip-hop, Coogler throws in Asian performers as if they’re all part of the same cultural flow. But he leaves the white Irish vampires outside, as if white music has no influence on Black music except as a parasitic one. So Coltrane never recorded “My Favorite Things” and so forth. Makes no sense (to me).
GREAT point about Coogler overdoing it with the voice-over exposition and Ludwig's middling score