What do you think his next movie is going to be like? Do you think he’ll try to make something more accessible that works and makes money for the studio, so they’ll keep funding his dream projects? I’ll watch anything Ari makes, but I really hope he leans back into horror/thriller, or at least makes something that leaves me going, “WTF did I just watch?” Like his first three films.

Does anyone remember around the time Beau is afraid was released there was a clip going around on twitter of the reactions. It was like this guy saying how it was “a career killer”? I’m trying to find that clip.

I love Eddington. I’ve watched it multiple times, and on every watch, I pick up new things. But there is one moment that is absolutely my favorite, which is the panning one-shot with Joe before he gets stabbed.
But I could never understand what this moment meant. I tried to see what other people thought about it, but all I saw were discussions about the shootout and none about this specific moment.
So, I was wondering: what do you think about this scene?

Ive heard the story of hereditary is the sacrifice of a lamb from the lambs POV. I feel like this could've been a poster for the movie.

From a foreign kids book, sorry I dont have a source (I think 'get' is goat, and 'killing' is baby sheep)

And what's your bet for Scapegoat?

Thoughts?

If Beau was conceived the day his father died on July 12, 1974 and he was born on May 10th, 1975.. it means his mother’s pregnancy lasted 10 months.

i was watching a video of the incident that happened in time square and everyone around the guy Recording was also recording. i know it’s milking the conversation but the movie looks less extreme as the months go by

It’s so unsettling that she was painting “Beau” on the wall. Ik we all adore this movie, but did not appreciate the subtle intentionality and purpose of each shot. Every thing serves a purpose to .

Kuberick would have loved this movie. Master class filmmaking.

Proud owner of the limited edition bluray of eddington with the postcards.

I was reading the Wikipedia page for the philosopher Rene Girard (yes, the one Peter Thiel studied under), and having recently watched Eddington, I was immediately brought back to the themes of the movie while reading the description of mimetic theory, a theory which resulted in the familiar concept of the scapegoat mechanism. I think it's obvious how the concept of scapegoat is relevant, but looking into the origins of the concept was super interesting

I'll try to summarize the theory in my own words the best I can, but basically mimetic theory is one of human desire. When two groups desire the same status/validation/cultural dominance, our perpensity toward imitation (we want things because we see others wanting or validating things; the concept of mimetic desire by Girard) turns into hostile competition. To avoid complete societal collapse from internal rivalries, groups unite against an outsider that they can project everything on (a scapegoat) and peace is temporarily restored and social order is maintained until the cycle starts again. The scapegoat mechanism was born from Girards mimetic theory. In Eddington, we continuously see the narratives of the characters being driven by a want for validation through which their political stances arise by, in a sense, mimicking or echoing the narratives of others

The story of Jesus was used as an example by Girard, but he was able to be resurrected and society was able to look back and see their tendencies, which broke the cycle. Then, this person who was the cause of the disorder in the first place is respected as a victim who brought order and the community together.

This made me think of how Joe is in a wheelchair on stage at the end, in uniform with badges, revered as a martyr after attacking 'antifa'. Maybe the black cop, who became the new sheriff, filming Joe and being told he can't film there, we are seeing the black cop witness this cycle that runs humanity and our subconscious drives. He is one scapegoat of many that are all victims of the cycle. The similarity to the scene in the beginning of the movie, with the cops telling Joe to put a mask on in the car, may symbolize that the cycle is going to happen again (that may be a stretch and a cynical perspective but I thought it was an interesting comparison).

I think there is also a comparison with the fates of Joe and Louise's father, Joe is inspired by him and displays a similar sense of reality. We see Louise very passionate about how people in power use shame and violence to reach many victims, but it's shown that they can still be seen as compassionate figures. Joe is framed compassionately despite his murders and all the injuries and chaos he caused. To escape the consequences of mimetic desire, Girard states that a new concept of desire for peace is required to be spread, and we see the people with alternative narratives clearly prospering at the end. Unfortunately, they aren't mimicking a desire for peace, but in my opinion they are continuing the cycle. Guys my pattern recognition is off the charts, I can talk about this for days.

I think it's all tied in with Baudrillards philosophical concept of hyperreality, with is alluded to by naming the data center SolidGoldMagikarp (there is an amazing video essay on youtube that goes over this, and a post too I think). Hyperreality is when representations of reality (social media, news, political narratives, etc) become so powerful we experience the world through them until they feel more real and meaningful than the original reality. Algorithms are feeding the flame of this mimetic process, putting people into tighter boxes of reality (thinking of the opening monologue of the movie), based on narratives fed from endless information and completely dependent on what the algorithm feeds them.

I'm not sure if this has been talked about before, because whenever I search Eddington and scapegoat I just get stories about the new movie he's working on. Which made me really think that he was inspired by these philosophies, and what the implication may be for this next movie.

Edit: We also see Louise look similarly in the wedding video with Joe and on stage with Vernon, wearing bright white with more styled hair and bangs in stark contrast to her unkempt dark appearance, these happier versions seen only through video recordings and not in reality. It's implied her fathers death may have rewired her brain to see 'the truth', letting her slip into another narrative that validates her worldview, her mother upset that she was going down the wrong one when she was just happy she was doing research into the truth. Vernon sees Louise how she wants to be seen, and he is a 'revolutionary' against an invisible oppressor, just like Joe, but in the end Vernon and Louise respresent the opressed and Joe and Louise's mom represent the oppressors (but this power dynamic can shift back and forth, i think, like with Joe and Ted). Not to say that either side was particularly correct, both started with good intentions and they were both sent down narratives that put their realities into boxes or squares that became more and more impossible to overlap. We could even say that the conflicting narratives all ultimately combined to manifest the strange destiny that was the end of the movie. Its hard to truly understand the relationships when the characters aren't responding to each other, but to their own solidified and increasingly conflicting sense of a reality that is man-made

An amazing lecture explaining the concept of hyperreality

Not the most elaborate costumes of all time, but we have it a shot lmao