Meaning: literally, the contemplation of one's navel, which is an idiom usually meaning complacent self-absorption.
(http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=navel-gazing)
Fresh from the Oscar, Golden Globe, and other glitzy awards affair (where the same movies are nominated, and the same actors and actresses attend) hype, here are some movies that came off better than their peers:
Argo
About the rescue of 6 US diplomats from Iran, during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis.
For more details about the movie, read here.
Zero Dark Thirty
"History's greatest manhunt for the world's most dangerous man". Their words, not mine, This movie chronicles again, US military's hunt for the US public enemy #1: Osama bin Laden. Synopsis here.
And now, as I read the news online I'm being bombarded by advertisements and trailers promoting 'Olympus has Fallen', a soon to be released movie about you guessed it, terrorists attacking the White House.
Now I don't know about all of you, but I've just about had it with US-centric Hollywood produced million dollar blockbuster movies. Why is it that the majority of villians have to speak with a former USSR country type accent? Either that or a supposed Chinese character who speaks Japanese? (Hollywood is not very particular about details as can be seen in many of their historical period dramas and portrayals of non-Anglo people). I've never been to New York, but I've seen it being destroyed so many times on screen that I'm getting familiar with the roads and landmarks there.
It's my opinion that the premise of these foreign (and usually Eastern) dark forces threatening to overturn the balance of the rational West (in this case, the almighty US of A), and consume them with Eastern ideologies (Communism, heaven forbid!), that is shown on the silver screen largely reflects the (ok I'm going to use this word now) navel-gazing, "my country is the best in the world", attitudes of many an American. To put it simply, yes America is a great nation that is still considered one of the main powerhouses that -if I may say it- run the world... however, I think it's time we lifted our eyes and gazed around us to consider other factors too should we become too narrow minded.
All these aside, I just want more movies made that shows more of less America.
Just a thought, would the next supervilian to come to the cinemas be North Korean? Hmm...
(http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=navel-gazing)
Fresh from the Oscar, Golden Globe, and other glitzy awards affair (where the same movies are nominated, and the same actors and actresses attend) hype, here are some movies that came off better than their peers:
Argo
About the rescue of 6 US diplomats from Iran, during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis.
For more details about the movie, read here.
Zero Dark Thirty
"History's greatest manhunt for the world's most dangerous man". Their words, not mine, This movie chronicles again, US military's hunt for the US public enemy #1: Osama bin Laden. Synopsis here.
And now, as I read the news online I'm being bombarded by advertisements and trailers promoting 'Olympus has Fallen', a soon to be released movie about you guessed it, terrorists attacking the White House.
Now I don't know about all of you, but I've just about had it with US-centric Hollywood produced million dollar blockbuster movies. Why is it that the majority of villians have to speak with a former USSR country type accent? Either that or a supposed Chinese character who speaks Japanese? (Hollywood is not very particular about details as can be seen in many of their historical period dramas and portrayals of non-Anglo people). I've never been to New York, but I've seen it being destroyed so many times on screen that I'm getting familiar with the roads and landmarks there.
It's my opinion that the premise of these foreign (and usually Eastern) dark forces threatening to overturn the balance of the rational West (in this case, the almighty US of A), and consume them with Eastern ideologies (Communism, heaven forbid!), that is shown on the silver screen largely reflects the (ok I'm going to use this word now) navel-gazing, "my country is the best in the world", attitudes of many an American. To put it simply, yes America is a great nation that is still considered one of the main powerhouses that -if I may say it- run the world... however, I think it's time we lifted our eyes and gazed around us to consider other factors too should we become too narrow minded.
All these aside, I just want more movies made that shows more of less America.
Just a thought, would the next supervilian to come to the cinemas be North Korean? Hmm...
