I disagree that Blanc has an innate sense of fair play, unless you think vengeance is fair (in the KOU). It seems to me his main motivation for showing up is to use his innate ability to get one step ahead of everyone, in order to help the sheep character get back at the wolves, often by being straight up immoral. In II Blanc enables her to destroy the place (including the Mona Lisa?!) and then lets everyone lie about it just to own Ed Norton. In III Blanc looks the other way as Jud takes the jewel just to keep it away from Cy, against his arc as the pastor trying to be good to sinners. Blanc's monologue against Christianity shows Blanc understands these moral hypocrisies, but he doesn't decide to be morally consistent himself. I think vengeance is used way too often in movies and shown as a totally unproblematic motivation for our heroes. Curious what you think -- is Blanc a hero? Keep up the great work on the substack.
When I saw Blanc and Jud having to make a decision about the jewelry, my thought was, Cy would do so much evil with it. I think Jud's decision for the final location of the jewel is a mirror image of the actions of the grandfather priest but as a blessing rather than a curse.
To me, another polarity the KO movies highlight is Social Darwininisn vs. communitarianism. They also do a good job of showing that SD is both a justification for narcissism and a trap if you subscribe to it, because you're driven relentlessly by your fear that another predator (or society at large) will eat you or - worse? - ignore you. And, of course, the principle that "The privileged *should* keep all their privilege and prevail" seems like just another way of stating the central SD position.
Enjoy the movie knives out ! There is a new one Netflix has! I have a telescope also! I prefer to go vacation and do some Fly Fishing! Thank you for the article though. Happy New Year 🎈🎆🎊!
I disagree the there's a difference between conservatism and the alt right. As a queer woman in her 30s - the only difference I've seen is that the "alt-right" is just conservatism completely unmasked. As opposed to dog whistles with occasional "gay sex summoned Hurricane Katrina" hysteria.
Conservatives are deeply misogynist, deeply racist, anti worker - they hate everyone, even each other. An entire movement of hatred.
Good and thoughtful piece. I must say, though, that I was taken aback by the numerous editorial failures, such as mixed up sentences. The writer needs to check his meaning more carefully, or task an editor to do so. But keep up the good ideas!!
Noah Segan plays the beach bum in Glass Onion. I bet he is the other cast member in all 3 Knives Out movies. I didn't read beyond this question in the article, just guessing here. He is hilarious in Glass Onion, and it would be perfect to have him be the other actor, besides Daniel Craig, in all 3 movies.
Hurrah! I knew it! Reading to the end, I see I guessed right. The character in Glass Onion was so outlier, it had to be him. Rian Johnson is a master story teller, and the third KO Wake Up Dead Man was brilliant in themes, characters, dialogue, humor, and age old questions of human existence and behaviors. Great review, Don Moynihan, thank you.
I like this. I am sorry to what I really dislike being done to me, which is an "I wrote about this too" response, but in this piece I begin with where we overlap, which is that there is something off about the cozy mystery genre. I call it Obama era nostalgia. https://hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/cold-cases-in-the-ai-era
“Social media forms worldviews and not for the better”
It began decades ago with that electronic box sitting in everyone’s home and spewing a fake culture 24/7, where corporate folks try to make you think you must have the latest fashion/plastic toy/ fancy car or boat times 3 or 4, vacation home by the sea. We became a culture of unquenchable thirst to have more opulence than anyone else around us. And who actually profited and became exceedingly powerful from this greedy capitalistic culture? I guarantee it wasn’t the worker bees! It was the greedy few who were taught how to manipulate others for their own benefit from the time they could first walk
Great timing - we just watched KO 3 last night. Really enjoyed your analysis!
I disagree that Blanc has an innate sense of fair play, unless you think vengeance is fair (in the KOU). It seems to me his main motivation for showing up is to use his innate ability to get one step ahead of everyone, in order to help the sheep character get back at the wolves, often by being straight up immoral. In II Blanc enables her to destroy the place (including the Mona Lisa?!) and then lets everyone lie about it just to own Ed Norton. In III Blanc looks the other way as Jud takes the jewel just to keep it away from Cy, against his arc as the pastor trying to be good to sinners. Blanc's monologue against Christianity shows Blanc understands these moral hypocrisies, but he doesn't decide to be morally consistent himself. I think vengeance is used way too often in movies and shown as a totally unproblematic motivation for our heroes. Curious what you think -- is Blanc a hero? Keep up the great work on the substack.
Thank you! I agree he is not by the book, but his sense of fair play comes out when he defends the underdogs
When I saw Blanc and Jud having to make a decision about the jewelry, my thought was, Cy would do so much evil with it. I think Jud's decision for the final location of the jewel is a mirror image of the actions of the grandfather priest but as a blessing rather than a curse.
Just from Don M's post, it sounds like dialog and plot are heavy-handed. Is that standard for entertainment today, or was it done in order to troll?
They certainly were in Glass Onion, but it’s aged well.
To me, another polarity the KO movies highlight is Social Darwininisn vs. communitarianism. They also do a good job of showing that SD is both a justification for narcissism and a trap if you subscribe to it, because you're driven relentlessly by your fear that another predator (or society at large) will eat you or - worse? - ignore you. And, of course, the principle that "The privileged *should* keep all their privilege and prevail" seems like just another way of stating the central SD position.
This was such a fun and fantastic write-up, Don. 👏
thanks!
Enjoy the movie knives out ! There is a new one Netflix has! I have a telescope also! I prefer to go vacation and do some Fly Fishing! Thank you for the article though. Happy New Year 🎈🎆🎊!
I disagree the there's a difference between conservatism and the alt right. As a queer woman in her 30s - the only difference I've seen is that the "alt-right" is just conservatism completely unmasked. As opposed to dog whistles with occasional "gay sex summoned Hurricane Katrina" hysteria.
Conservatives are deeply misogynist, deeply racist, anti worker - they hate everyone, even each other. An entire movement of hatred.
Good and thoughtful piece. I must say, though, that I was taken aback by the numerous editorial failures, such as mixed up sentences. The writer needs to check his meaning more carefully, or task an editor to do so. But keep up the good ideas!!
Noah Segan plays the beach bum in Glass Onion. I bet he is the other cast member in all 3 Knives Out movies. I didn't read beyond this question in the article, just guessing here. He is hilarious in Glass Onion, and it would be perfect to have him be the other actor, besides Daniel Craig, in all 3 movies.
Hurrah! I knew it! Reading to the end, I see I guessed right. The character in Glass Onion was so outlier, it had to be him. Rian Johnson is a master story teller, and the third KO Wake Up Dead Man was brilliant in themes, characters, dialogue, humor, and age old questions of human existence and behaviors. Great review, Don Moynihan, thank you.
V nice piece; loved the detour into Derek Guy-ism and the Magnolia insight... <chef's kiss>
I like this. I am sorry to what I really dislike being done to me, which is an "I wrote about this too" response, but in this piece I begin with where we overlap, which is that there is something off about the cozy mystery genre. I call it Obama era nostalgia. https://hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/cold-cases-in-the-ai-era
“Social media forms worldviews and not for the better”
It began decades ago with that electronic box sitting in everyone’s home and spewing a fake culture 24/7, where corporate folks try to make you think you must have the latest fashion/plastic toy/ fancy car or boat times 3 or 4, vacation home by the sea. We became a culture of unquenchable thirst to have more opulence than anyone else around us. And who actually profited and became exceedingly powerful from this greedy capitalistic culture? I guarantee it wasn’t the worker bees! It was the greedy few who were taught how to manipulate others for their own benefit from the time they could first walk