Movie morals we need

[Asita]

I remember the Nostalgia Critic's "Top 11 Simpson's episodes" actually making a good case for the moral of "Bart Gets an F". Really, we're practically inundated with the message that "if you put your mind to it, you can do anything", extolling our supposedly limitless potential and the value of hard work. Both are worthy morals in and of themselves, don't get me wrong, but I agree with Walker that the converse, that "sometimes even with hard work you will fail" is also something we need to see from time to time.

Also, the ending to Mrs. Doubtfire. Stories centered on divorced characters have a strong tendency to have the divorcees get back together (or are put on the fast track to it) for some reason or another. Mrs. Doubtfire, by contrast, actually heavily implies that Robin Williams and Sally Field's characters do indeed have irreconcilable differences (their penultimate scene together quickly devolves into them yelling at one another again before they catch themselves), and while they do come to an understanding there's very little in the way of implication that they'll ever get back together, and a small monologue at the end punctuating the point and elaborating on it quite beautifully.

 

[Skatologist]

Honestly, I would love more movies with morals along the line of asking "Are you okay with the pleasures of your life coming at the expense of making someone else miserable?"

 

[DefunctTheory]

We need a movie that's moral is that you should stop looking for moral and life advice from movies.

Or perhaps a film in which a motley group of film makers discover that the people who watch their films don't need to be told what to think.

So what you're saying is that you want a blank screen with no sound or images. The entire point of film is to inspire people to think or feel a certain way. That's what it's there for.

Or not?

Some of the best movies of all time have had zero messages. Others brought up questions, but didn't answer them. Did Alien have a moral? Terminator? Did Dirty Harry actually advocate a police state, where you have no rights if the police think you've done wrong, or did it just show you two sides of the same coin and ask you whats up?

Movies certainly are helpful when it comes to bringing up issues. But bringing up issues and ideas and offering them to you is a far cry from actually telling you what to do and think.

And if you need Hollywood to tell you whats right and wrong, then lord help you.

All that being said, it's not terrible to have morals in movies, but that shouldn't be a primary point of the movie. Ultimately, most movies are one thing - entertainment. That should come first, before anything else. If the ending of a movie is made more entertaining because of a moral, even a less popular one (All kids can't be astronauts, etc), then do so. But its down right stupid and unnecessary to add that in some ham fisted attempt to teach something, especially if it bums everyone out and makes the film less enjoyable.

 

[Winnosh]

We need a movie that's moral is that you should stop looking for moral and life advice from movies.

Or perhaps a film in which a motley group of film makers discover that the people who watch their films don't need to be told what to think.

So what you're saying is that you want a blank screen with no sound or images. The entire point of film is to inspire people to think or feel a certain way. That's what it's there for.

Or not?

Some of the best movies of all time have had zero messages. Others brought up questions, but didn't answer them. Did Alien have a moral? Terminator? Did Dirty Harry actually advocate a police state, where you have no rights if the police think you've done wrong, or did it just show you two sides of the same coin and ask you whats up?

Movies certainly are helpful when it comes to bringing up issues. But bringing up issues and ideas and offering them to you is a far cry from actually telling you what to do and think.

And if you need Hollywood to tell you whats right and wrong, then lord help you.

All that being said, it's not terrible to have morals in movies, but that shouldn't be a primary point of the movie. Ultimately, most movies are one thing - entertainment. That should come first, before anything else. If the ending of a movie is made more entertaining because of a moral, even a less popular one (All kids can't be astronauts, etc), then do so. But its down right stupid and unnecessary to add that in some ham fisted attempt to teach something, especially if it bums everyone out and makes the film less enjoyable.

Did you come away thinking anything after watching those films or did you just sit there slack jawed and forget them the moment you left. If they left any impact if they made you discuss or think about the themes and situations. How you would respond in them, How you agree or disagree then those movies did their job. They did the same job storytellers have been doing since people huddled in caves around a fire. They made you think, they taught a lesson.

 

[visiblenoise]

Some of the best movies of all time have had zero messages. Others brought up questions, but didn't answer them. Did Alien have a moral? Terminator? Did Dirty Harry actually advocate a police state, where you have no rights if the police think you've done wrong, or did it just show you two sides of the same coin and ask you whats up?

Movies certainly are helpful when it comes to bringing up issues. But bringing up issues and ideas and offering them to you is a far cry from actually telling you what to do and think.

And if you need Hollywood to tell you whats right and wrong, then lord help you.

All that being said, it's not terrible to have morals in movies, but that shouldn't be a primary point of the movie. Ultimately, most movies are one thing - entertainment. That should come first, before anything else. If the ending of a movie is made more entertaining because of a moral, even a less popular one (All kids can't be astronauts, etc), then do so. But its down right stupid and unnecessary to add that in some ham fisted attempt to teach something, especially if it bums everyone out and makes the film less enjoyable.

Absolutely agree. And if said movies are to go beyond simply being entertaining, they should be sources of inspiration, not things to learn directly from.

However, I have a feeling that this thread was meant to be purely for laughs...although some people sound like they are taking it quite seriously...

 

[MrFalconfly]

If you behave like an arse then it doesn't matter if you're a member of a majority OR a minority demographic. People are still going to call you an arse.

 

[DefunctTheory]

Spoiler

We need a movie that's moral is that you should stop looking for moral and life advice from movies.

Or perhaps a film in which a motley group of film makers discover that the people who watch their films don't need to be told what to think.

So what you're saying is that you want a blank screen with no sound or images. The entire point of film is to inspire people to think or feel a certain way. That's what it's there for.

Or not?

Some of the best movies of all time have had zero messages. Others brought up questions, but didn't answer them. Did Alien have a moral? Terminator? Did Dirty Harry actually advocate a police state, where you have no rights if the police think you've done wrong, or did it just show you two sides of the same coin and ask you whats up?

Movies certainly are helpful when it comes to bringing up issues. But bringing up issues and ideas and offering them to you is a far cry from actually telling you what to do and think.

And if you need Hollywood to tell you whats right and wrong, then lord help you.

All that being said, it's not terrible to have morals in movies, but that shouldn't be a primary point of the movie. Ultimately, most movies are one thing - entertainment. That should come first, before anything else. If the ending of a movie is made more entertaining because of a moral, even a less popular one (All kids can't be astronauts, etc), then do so. But its down right stupid and unnecessary to add that in some ham fisted attempt to teach something, especially if it bums everyone out and makes the film less enjoyable.

Did you come away thinking anything after watching those films or did you just sit there slack jawed and forget them the moment you left. If they left any impact if they made you discuss or think about the themes and situations. How you would respond in them, How you agree or disagree then those movies did their job. They did the same job storytellers have been doing since people huddled in caves around a fire. They made you think, they taught a lesson.

You are seriously asking me if Alien, a movie about an impossible organism that invades a ship in the far future and kills the crew off one by one, taught me a lesson.

les·son noun \ˈle-sən\
: an activity that you do in order to learn something; also : something that is taught

: a single class or part of a course of instruction

: something learned through experience

mor·al adjective \ˈmȯr-əl, ˈmär-\
: concerning or relating to what is right and wrong in human behavior

: based on what you think is right and good

: considered right and good by most people : agreeing with a standard of right behavior

This is what this thread is about. I haven't the slightest idea what you are trying to point out, besides the point that movies have to have some impact, which is completely unrelated to the original OP, and what anyone has said thus far, except for you.

 

[Queen Michael]

-You WILL die

Only if you diss Osamu Tezuka when I'm around.

 

[Lilani]

-You WILL die

There's a film called Mister Magorium's Wonder Emporium starring Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman, and Jason Bateman that I think really addresses this well. It is a kid's movie, but it was written as a story to acclimate children with the idea of death. The story centers around Hoffman as Mister Magorium, a man who owns a magical toystore. The movie rather runs with the idea that it is, indeed, magical but that's never used as a way to dance around the issue. Rather, it's used as a way to address the subject of death without all the typical baggage and imagery we associate with death that keeps us from addressing its simple inevitability in a healthy way. Natalie Portman plays Mahoney, the head manager of the store and a great personal friend of Magorium.

It treats Magorium's death as an inevitable, but natural part of life. Every life must have an end, just as every good story. Jason Bateman's character is an accountant who Magorium hires to evaluate the toy store's worth, and when Magorium, who is a bit eccentric but appears to be in perfect health, tells him he's leaving, the accountant asks why. Magorium gestures to his shoes and says he bought them in a little store in Tuscany and fell in love with them, so he bought enough to last his entire lifetime. Then he says, "This is my last pair." But he isn't sad or trying to run away from it. It's that simple to him--and he is completely at peace with it.

The conflict of the story isn't Magorium coming to terms with his life ending, it's Mahoney and all the other characters coming to terms with their lives going on. And the resolution isn't Magorium living, or him appearing happy in some afterlife, or anything like that. He does die, or perhaps more appropriately "leave," as he said he would. The resolution is the rest of the characters learning how to live. Mahoney and Magorium's last goodbye is a wonderful scene that rather encapsulates how the movie is trying to portray death.

 

[lord.jeff]

Be a nice guy for a month doesn't make up for a life time of being a douche. Trying hard and being the good guy isn't gonna guarantee your victory.

 

[Vault101]

Usually, in movies, there's a moral to the story. Something like "Spend more time with your family and less time at work," or "that new immigrant neighbour you've got is probaby a perfectly decent dude," "follow your dreams and believe in yourself, and you're sure to succeed," and so on.

god I HATED this one as a kid....I didn't get what the kid/wifes problem was, I loved it when my parents weren't around...

I think it's time for some harsh truths.

I think we need movies where the kids learn that Daddy has to be at work a lot of the time in order to make a living. We need movies where being devoted to your dream of being a writer or something doesn't automatically make you good at it, and the protagonist learns that devotion isn't the same thing as skill.

Any other family unfriendly morals we need?

I don't think this means you have to be nihlistic/depressing

I WOULD however like it if they stopped bring out those tired "morals" that not even hollywood belives

on opic though

I good comparison would be the parent Trap and mrs Doubtfire

in the parent trap your parents can get back together with wishful thinking and hijinks! oh your step mum? irredeemable *****...no question....christ Dennis Quaids charachter seems to be self aware of this, he does not give a fuck at all

Mrs Doubtfire on the other hands has a more realistic message, yes divroce happens, no your mum and dad don't get back together...but you can still get through it

Or not?

Some of the best movies of all time have had zero messages. Others brought up questions, but didn't answer them. Did Alien have a moral? Terminator? Did Dirty Harry actually advocate a police state, where you have no rights if the police think you've done wrong, or did it just show you two sides of the same coin and ask you whats up?


All that being said, it's not terrible to have morals in movies, but that shouldn't be a primary point of the movie. Ultimately, most movies are one thing - entertainment. That should come first, before anything else. If the ending of a movie is made more entertaining because of a moral, even a less popular one (All kids can't be astronauts, etc), then do so. But its down right stupid and unnecessary to add that in some ham fisted attempt to teach something, especially if it bums everyone out and makes the film less enjoyable.

to think that all movies have an obvious "moral" is inacurate bcause when they start doing that people pick up on it and get annoyed (for example Happy Feet or AVATAR)

its all in the framing


some definetly do more than others but EVERY story is going to frame something a certain way

Aliens for example could be a comment on sending gung ho but ill prepared solders into situations they aren't prepared for, and that unprofessionalism on their part is dangerous (FUCKIN BADASSES MAN) actually wasn't it some comment on Vietnam? it could also be making a statment on corporate greed and corruption, int he first one Ripley is the only one doing her job correctly but the bad orders to retrive the face hugger result in disaster

Terminator could be usuing the very old "science is dangerous" trope we see time and time again, where as in star trek we see that "science is good" because its framed as a good thing

how something is framed can conflict with what we the veiwer think....Jurassic Park seems to spew the "science should not tamper with nature" rhetoric....except under examination Jeff Goldblums charachter (the personification of this idea) is full of shit

same with my parent trap example, this is all framed as good and fun (and it IS a kids movie) but to an adult it comes across as unrealsticly hopeful

I think people tend to underestimate the effects storys have on us....