tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post7967428686892706884..comments2024-03-18T19:46:10.130+05:30Comments on Jabberwock: Shared madness: thoughts on Whiplash as a brilliant non-inspirational filmJabberwockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-11062992821747475372015-04-11T08:08:10.607+05:302015-04-11T08:08:10.607+05:30This movie called me out. I'm not a musician i...This movie called me out. I'm not a musician in any professional sense, but I know a thing or two about being laughed off stage. My "Charlie Parker moment" came during student teaching when I was kicked out of the classroom and prevented from completing my teacher preparation program. It was humiliating, and instead of hunkering down and finding a way to pursue my dream of being a great teacher, I quit.<br /><br />Whiplash is for everyone who ever had their one shot and blew it. We'll spend the rest of our lives in the shadows of others. Like Andrew's father in the film, we'll be watching from the sidelines while our friends and loved ones have all the success they deserve, because they won and we lost.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-51516229131146390612015-03-13T07:23:49.222+05:302015-03-13T07:23:49.222+05:30"... there being a quantifiably perfect pitch..."... there being a quantifiably perfect pitch which, if you reach it, makes you a great musician".<br /><br />Now you've lost me. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-23895856400231836112015-03-12T11:52:15.365+05:302015-03-12T11:52:15.365+05:30We assume the professor's tempo assessment/jud...<i>We assume the professor's tempo assessment/judgement to always be correct</i><br /><br />I didn't assume that at all. Even as someone who doesn't know anything about the inside workings of this world, I know that it isn't so simple as there being a quantifiably <i>perfect</i> pitch which, if you reach it, makes you a great musician. It isn't an exact science - all creative work, to some degree or the other, is enhanced by improvisation or by the crazy, unplanned moment. <br /><br />And even Fletcher repeatedly says "<b>my</b> tempo" - he is playing God and on his own trip, but I don't think the film sees him as someone who is always dead right and holds the single key to musical genius.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-86235991776819514082015-03-12T11:46:07.982+05:302015-03-12T11:46:07.982+05:30Two of the musicians--one, a drummer--cited Fletch...Two of the musicians--one, a drummer--cited Fletcher's excessive tempo complaints (example: "too fast" "not fast enough" etc) to be bogus, and thus the fatal flaw of the film. This is the kind of thing the lay public doesn't consider. We assume the professor's tempo assessment/judgement to always be correct. I liked the film for the performance and JK Simmons' hotness.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-14812066710948213092015-03-08T19:56:54.394+05:302015-03-08T19:56:54.394+05:30Not surprised at all. And I think I implied as muc...Not surprised at all. And I think I implied as much in the review - that I didn't feel like it was meant to echo the general experience of music students, or to be "representative". I can understand people who are part of that world feeling defensive and annoyed about the possibility that viewers will take this film literally. At the same time, saying "but this wasn't my experience" - and therefore, by implication, "this cannot happen" - is very flimsy grounds for judging anything.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-4710189120084859452015-03-08T19:47:30.096+05:302015-03-08T19:47:30.096+05:30I liked the film well enough for a few reasons. Ho...I liked the film well enough for a few reasons. However, when I polled conservatory students (Peabody, Eastman, NE Conservatory of Music, Royal Schools of Music), I found they ALL hated the film. Each said something to the effect that it did not echo their music school experience at all and/or they didn't want the lay public to think it was a fair representation of what went on in conservatories. Just saying.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-2933406652761825202015-03-08T12:44:19.214+05:302015-03-08T12:44:19.214+05:30Thought Miles Teller was brilliantly cast. he'...Thought Miles Teller was brilliantly cast. he's made his space in portraying slightly off centre characters who are either driven to the point of madness of maddeningly self absorbed. His body language seems to just fit in effortlessly with these types of persona. I'm not sure he's a good actor.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-58350430840436691522015-03-07T14:20:09.926+05:302015-03-07T14:20:09.926+05:30Yes, want to read it very much but it may not be p...Yes, want to read it very much but it may not be possible for another month or two...Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-86548575683918256192015-03-05T21:45:24.005+05:302015-03-05T21:45:24.005+05:30Off topic, but are you looking forward to 'The...Off topic, but are you looking forward to 'The Buried Giant'? Would love to know your thoughts on it as and when you get a chance to read it.Nikhilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-56820608982859900042015-03-04T21:11:17.138+05:302015-03-04T21:11:17.138+05:30Thanks Madhav! The Seventh Seal reference was just...Thanks Madhav! The Seventh Seal reference was just an incidental one - didn't mean to harp on it. (Though JK Simmons's wiry baldness does put me in mind of not just the Reaper but also many Devil representations in cinema.)Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-47998179176061958962015-03-04T21:00:21.087+05:302015-03-04T21:00:21.087+05:30Brilliant review, as always. I didn't quite se...Brilliant review, as always. I didn't quite see the Seventh Seal connection, but completely agree that this wasn't meant to be an inspirational movie. I thought Fletcher saw himself in Andrew towards the end, and maybe vice versa.Madhavhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13055110355159071668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-6757995726100813312015-03-04T16:14:42.684+05:302015-03-04T16:14:42.684+05:30Yup. There may well have been some sort of double-...Yup. There may well have been some sort of double-think going on there, with Fletcher having lied to <i>himself</i> first, and convinced himself of an alternate story. And it could be a foreshadowing of what might happen to Andrew, since it is indicated that Casey "made it" on at least some level before his death.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-13187685411396317602015-03-04T16:07:34.355+05:302015-03-04T16:07:34.355+05:30'the scene where Fletcher apparently shows a v...'the scene where Fletcher apparently shows a vulnerable side while talking about his recently deceased student '<br /><br />That for me was the trickiest scene of the film, seems like there was more it to than what appears.<br />Fletcher says Sean casey (deceased) died in a car accident but later we find out that he actually hanged himself to death due to anxiety and depression. <br /><br />Fletcher categorically stating the cause of death and lying through his teeth when he is so vulnerable and emotional makes me wonder what exactly is running through his mind.Thespian Accountanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00224608506340197528noreply@blogger.com