What was The King’s Speech about? King George VI’s reputation was on the line, only to be saved by his wife who takes him to a speech therapist. Titanic? A penniless artist struggling with himself, only to be bedazzled by a rich, young lady. In Gone With The Wind, Ashley Wilkes is supposed to be married to his cousin but changes his ways after seeing Scarlett O’Hara and her 18-inch waistline.
How many movies have we seen which focus on a male protagonist battling his problems, only to be rescued by the heroine who shows him the better side of life? A Twitter user pointed out that movies always rely on this repetitive plots and netizens seemed to agree with her opinion. She wrote about how many Oscar-nominated movies revolved around the story of an unhappy man who hurt everyone in pursuit of his dream.
The parent tweet read:
— howitzer of mercy (@girlziplocked) January 10, 2018
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And the reactions it received:
Let’s do best film Oscar winners which fit this brief. All Quiet on the Western Front; Cimarron; Grand Hotel; Cavalcade; Mutiny on the Bounty; Ziegfeld; Zola; You Can’t take it with you; Gone with the Wind. Every winner in the 30s except It Happened One Night.
— Dr. Matt Lodder (@mattlodder) January 9, 2018
40s: Rebecca; How Green…; Mrs Miniver; Casablanca; Going My Way; Lost Weekend; Best Years; Gentleman’s Agreement; Hamlet and All the King’s Men. A full house for the decade.
— Dr. Matt Lodder (@mattlodder) January 9, 2018
50s: All about Eve escapes this theme. But American in Paris; Greatest Show…; Here to Eternity; On the Waterfront; Marty; Around the World in 80 Days (obviously!); Kwai (obviously!); Gigi and Ben Hur all fit the mould.
— Dr. Matt Lodder (@mattlodder) January 9, 2018
60s: Apartment; West Side Story; Lawrence of Arabia; Tom Jones; My Fair Lady all work, as does Sound of Music if we take the Captain to be the unhappy man. Man for all seasons; Heat of the Night; and Midnight Cowboy fit. Oliver! is excused.
— Dr. Matt Lodder (@mattlodder) January 9, 2018
70s: Patton; French Connection; both Godfathers; The Sting; Cuckoo’s Nest; Rocky; Kramer v Kramer; Deer Hunter. Annie Hall a particularly egregious example. Another full house decade
— Dr. Matt Lodder (@mattlodder) January 9, 2018
80s: Ordinary People; Chariots of Fire; Gandhi (absolutely!); Amadeus; Out of Africa; Platoon; The Last Emperor; and Rain Man. I think Terms of Endearment and Driving Miss Daisy are excused. 8/10
— Dr. Matt Lodder (@mattlodder) January 9, 2018
90s: Every single one, very clearly, though in various ways. Dances with Wolves; Silence of the Lambs; Unforgiven; Schindler’s list; Forrest Gump; Braveheart; English Patient; Titanic; Shakespeare in Love and American Beauty all fit this outline.
— Dr. Matt Lodder (@mattlodder) January 9, 2018
00s: Gladiator; Beautiful Mind; Lord of the Rings; Million Dollar Baby; Crash; The Departed; No Country; Slumdog and Hurt Locker all feature unhappy men wth big dreams. Chicago escapes, even though an unhappy man drives the early plot.
— Dr. Matt Lodder (@mattlodder) January 9, 2018
10s: King’s Speech; The Artist; Argo and especially Birdman play this trope. 12 Years is excused. Spotlight and Moonlight also both fit, albeit admirably.
— Dr. Matt Lodder (@mattlodder) January 9, 2018
So out of every Oscar winner for best picture since 1930, only maybe six don’t feature an unhappy man hurting those around him in the pursuit of an impossible dream. @girlziplocked is on to something.
— Dr. Matt Lodder (@mattlodder) January 9, 2018
I am sick to death of the poor male protagonist losing his wife/child and spending the rest of the film chasing revenge/boozing/depressed etc (e.g. Shutter Island, Manchester by the Sea). DULL. Couldn’t care less
— Claire Jones (@Claire_L_Jones) January 9, 2018
I’m ready for A: anything else and B: a movie about a guy embracing the work he actually needs to do and whatever journey that takes him on. https://t.co/qEEna1Cv0I
— Spiderverse 2018 (no Nazis!) (@Brasspistol) January 10, 2018
While the user was talking about Hollywood movies, it is hard to miss that many Bollywood movies follow the same pattern. These examples further proof the point:
Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani:
“Main udna chahta hoon, daudna chahta hoon, girna bhi chahta hoon … bus rukna nahi chahta,” said Bunny (Ranbir Kapoor) and almost everyone thought of him as a millennial idol. A closer look reveals, he was far from that. His selfishness to achieve his dreams hurt everyone close to him including his father, childhood friend and the girl who loved her.
Aashiqui 2:
Rahul Jaykar (Aditya Roy Kapur) had alcohol issues long before he met Arohi (Shraddha Kapoor). After ‘falling in love’ with her and unable to seek help for his problem, Rahul found it easier to end his life. So much for romance!
Jab Harry Met Sejal:
After being heartbroken, Harry (Shah Rukh Khan) left his family in a Punjab village and took the job of a tour guide in Europe. But changing continents, did little to change his behaviour and he hurt everyone on the way.
About time we changed the plot.
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