I've always loved film. My favorites include "War Horse", "The Shape of Water" and "District 9." Those three films sort of make me up as a person. These movies are the ones I show my friends. The ones that mean the most to me. If someone hates them- I accept that. I don't take it personally, but I doubt these movies will change anytime soon for me.
War Horse taught me that kindness can exist in the darkest places. Everywhere Joey (the horse) went, people in time of war and violence found love and peace. Joey as a character is truly amazing. It's truly 'an old fashioned' type of movie, with a sweeping score and its time setting. I plan on re-watching it at some point, I've seen it countless times. But seeing it on my 4k theater room screen might be worth it.
The Shape of Water While the movie didn't really teach me anything new-it certainly emphasized my feeling of 'love whoever you want.' Granted, it was set in a fairy tale world and featured a woman falling in love with an anthropomorphic fish, but the plot did still talk of love and prejudice and had some very powerful characters. The unique setting and story make this a magical movie. Also the camera work is gorgeous.
District 9 A movie I saw when I was about 16 years old. And I didn't know much about modern day racism, I certainly had no idea of Johannesburg history. I thought I was in for another typical alien invasion movie. I thought it was going to be "Independence Day", the R-rated version. As the film starts-I realize it's about us. How we react to people crossing the boarder. How we treat POC and people who are homeless. How we have systems within government meant to make people's lives harder. Never had I really thought about that until after I saw D9. The alien designs were amazing-and scenes with Chris and his son pulled my heartstrings. I'm going to re-watch this one with my friend soon. I'm really excited.
So, when people say "Oh, I enjoyed War Horse, Shape of Water or District 9' and I know they're a bigot or I know they root for war or I know they voted for Trump or they're a quote 'Karen'-I can only imagine they either fell asleep during these films or they weren't pay attention.
How does someone's politics come into play when liking a movie? Well, normally it doesn't. But these three films hold pretty distinct messages. War Horse is about how war destroys and how we need less of it. It's about loyalty and doing the right thing and fighting oppression. Joey did all of that really. All without speaking a single word. I don't think Joey would be pro-war. War Horse is anti-war and show how many lives it can ruin.
Shape of Water is a pro-gay romance film that speaks of loving who you want and being who you truly are. It's about opening your mind to the fact that not everyone is the same. It's about looking into the face of a boss and rebelling. It's about totally opening your mind.
District 9 is about the evils of government oppression, about how we treat our fellow humans and how we need to fight against harmful systems that conservatives over and over again are 'okay with'. Like not wanting black people to vote or for being against the Black Lives Matter movement. Come on, if Christopher the alien saw the BLM movement-he'd join right in. He'd see how oppressed POC are in America.
Unless of course in the case of all these movies-you're on the side of the villain. If that's the case...I don't even have time to go over that.
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