Wes Anderson, Class & Aesthetics | A Film Analysis
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- Опубликовано: 27 июл 2024
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Join me, Maggie Mae Fish, as I talk about my two favorite Wes Anderson films: The Royal Tenenbaums, and Fantastic Mr Fox!
Content Warning Discussion of self-harm at 7:26 - 9:21
0:17 Intro
2:17 The Royal Tenenbaums
3:50 Anderson's Style
7:26 The Most Heart-Wrenching Scene in the Film
9:22 The End (Of The Royal Tenenbaums)
11:25 Money, Money, Money - ABBA
14:40 Fantastic Mr Fox
20:50 Money Money Money - DMX
25:09 Conclusion
27:49 Brought to you by Curiosity Stream and Nebula
28:59 Credits
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More film analysis from Maggie: • Maggie Does Media Anal...
Jared Gilman: / realjaredgilman
Jeff Loveness: / jeffloveness
Wes Anderson Spider-Man by Jeff Loveness: • Wes Anderson Spider-Man
Articles and videos about diversity in Wes Anderson films:
-- The Eastern Abyss Gazes back at Western hipsters. By Swati Pandey
www.latimes.com/opinion/la-oe...
-- “Black Girl Nerds” SXSW 2018 Review: ‘Isle of Dogs’ by Leonardo Faierman @LeonardoEffect
blackgirlnerds.com/sxsw-2018-...
-- “Vulture” What It’s like to watch Isle of Dogs as a Japanese speaker by EMILY YOSHIDA
www.vulture.com/2018/03/what-...
-- "Wes Anderson: Reality and Representation” by Amandamaryanna
• Wes Anderson: Reality ...
-- “Wes Anderson Films ranked by a 20-year-old Latino male (pt1)" Zelcher Productions @zelcher20
• Wes Anderson films ran...
-- “Wes Anderson and the Follies of Modern Orientalism” by Broey Deschanel @DeschanelBroey
• Wes Anderson and the F...
-- ‘Isle of Dogs’ Backlash: Wes Anderson Criticized for Racial Stereotypes and ‘Marginalizing Japanese Culture’ by Zack Sharf @zsharf
www.indiewire.com/2018/03/isl...
Music and Sound Effects by Epidemic Sound: epidemicsound.com/creator
This video is part of the series Maggie Talks About Movies 
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If you're looking for more Anderson critiques, here are some works I definitely encourage you to check out!
Articles and videos about diversity in Wes Anderson films:
-- The Eastern Abyss Gazes back at Western hipsters. By Swati Pandey
www.latimes.com/opinion/la-oew-pandey10oct10-story.html
-- “Black Girl Nerds” SXSW 2018 Review: ‘Isle of Dogs’ by Leonardo Faierman @LeonardoEffect
blackgirlnerds.com/sxsw-2018-review-isle-of-dogs/
-- “Vulture” What It’s like to watch Isle of Dogs as a Japanese speaker by EMILY YOSHIDA
www.vulture.com/2018/03/what-its-like-to-watch-isle-of-dogs-as-a-japanese-speaker.html
-- "Wes Anderson: Reality and Representation” by Amandamaryanna
ruclips.net/video/w-cYsslZLSI/видео.html.
-- “Wes Anderson Films ranked by a 20-year-old Latino male (pt1)" Zelcher Productions @zelcher20
ruclips.net/video/gRwHZwZj4iQ/видео.html
-- “Wes Anderson and the Follies of Modern Orientalism” by Broey Deschanel @DeschanelBroey
ruclips.net/video/Rw0b4EXgtvs/видео.html
-- ‘Isle of Dogs’ Backlash: Wes Anderson Criticized for Racial Stereotypes and ‘Marginalizing Japanese Culture’ by Zack Sharf @zsharf
www.indiewire.com/2018/03/isle-of-dogs-racism-japanese-stereotypes-wes-anderson-1201942811/
How did yo manage to get Jared Gilman to be in your vid?? lol! That was awesome.
FUN FACT!
When WB flubbed the Batman movie franchise in the 80s (90s?) and had no clue where to go next, I contacted those a-holes and told them a FLAWLESS PLAN:
"YOU HAND BATMAN OVER to.....ALL the most interesting filmmakers, DUH, to do as they see fit, in their own vision!"
WOODY ALLEN'S BATMAN!
QUENTIN TARANTINO's BATMAN!
SCORCESE's BATMAN!
WES ANDERSON'S BATMAN!
GUY MADDIN's BATMAN!!
And so on. (And you'd have to do SOME hovering, to make sure they don't all show the origin story etc.)
They could put out 3 or 4 of these PER YEAR, and ppl will pay to see EACH ONE, as there will be no diminishing returns, duh! (No matter how bad the last one is, the next one is by a totally different creative team!)
WB DIDN'T LISTEN TO ME....and lost a few billion cash.
But now with the MCU MULTI-VERSE.....they should really exploit this idea of taking iconic superheroes and giving them to MULTIPLE creative teams.
I really enjoyed your analysis! Liked and subscribed! Looking forward to watching more of your content 🙂
😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
Its a crying shame that Anderson never directed A Series of Unfortunate Events film
my younger self’s mind is blown
Lol I’ve been rewatching the Netflix series and had this exact thought.
well, if u watch the netflix show its pretty clear that it takes a lot of visual cues from his movies' filmmaking style and art direction
@@casir.7407 Tim Burton as well
@@casir.7407 I know but it would be good to see if Wes was at the helm as a whole
"Can we read [your suicide note]?"
"I don't think so."
"Is it dark?"
"Of course it's dark. It's a suicide note."
Ben Stiller really brings something special to that role that I don't know other actors could quite replicate.
an even funnier detail- instead of asking if they can read it, ben stiller actually asks luke wilson to PARAPHRASE his suicide note.
As a black teenage girl, I couldn't relate to the affluence of Wes' characters, but I related to their isolation and the pressure of living in the shadow of your accomplishments
Lol as a white girl born in a Mediterranean town to a working class family I COULDNT relate either (and still cant, in my 30s)
It's not all about can you relate or not
@@dnlmrkhvsk well, sometimes it is.
@@dnlmrkhvsk "WELL AHK-CHOO-ALLY"
As a white girl born to two working class parents who wanted to have some wealth and a farther who certainly tried with his security business, I can more closely relate to Fantastc Mr. Fox over any of Wes’ other films, but I wouldn’t say I needed that affluence to understand the characters. Admittedly, I’ve only seen Fantastic Mr. Fox and watched it as a child, but based on what I’ve seen of the other films there are fascists I can relate to. However, that’s in part because of my father’s aforementioned security business that both my parents helped out with when I was younger - leading to them being something absent in those earlier years of my childhood. The better the business was doing, the less they were around - even if my mother and sometimes my farther still worked at home. They still have the security business going - which has been beneficial in some cases - but they also have other jobs. Even with this “family” business, we’re still working class because the business never did well and even if it did, it’s become harder and harder to be middle class - let alone upper class. Now the big thing to note in Wes’ films is a lot of people won’t understand the upper class families represented in his films in regards to wealth because so little of the world is upper or even middle class now, but they can still relate to the turmoil that may come with money and the difficult family dynamics because there’s lower class people trying to pretend they aren’t lower class and ruining their life and the lives of those that rely on them, there’s lower class people who are genuinely horrible people who think they’re everything and wealth isn’t the only thing that can inflate that ego, and there’s families that have been torn apart because of neglectful parenting and financial struggles. While none of us can relate to the affluence of Wes’ characters I think that’s part of the reason he makes them have some high level of affluence. By initially making them unrelatable in a very basic sense - class - we can focus in on the factors that are actually important, are relatable, and can objectively be looked at because that initial bias has been removed. We can also understand how this affluence has impacted the characters lives through looking at what we can relate to.
Huh. Apologies for that whole rant. My initial point was going to be that most people won’t be able to relate to the affluence of Wes’ characters because most people aren’t upper class or even middle class, so you don’t necessarily have to be part of a minority to be lower class, but I’m so glad it wasn’t because this turned into a somewhat cohesive breakdown of why that level of unrelatability is important, and I felt a lot better by the end of it. Also apologies if any of my statements come off as rude. I’ve just sort of gotten tired of the narrative that race=class because that isn’t really true anymore. I’m not going to pretend it’s not true for upper and middle class - in part because I genuinely don’t know - but I do know it’s not true - at least not entirely - for lower class.
I will forever argue that Mr. Fox is the most Clooney character Clooney ever had the opportunity to Clooney.
It's exactly like Bojack Horseman
And I think Hernan from Rushmore is Bill Murray’s most Bill Murray-est character ever. Anderson brings out the best in his actors.
one of these days we’ll have an actual phone conversation
Oh it's moonrise kingdom kid! U were great in that movie btw. (Are u and Maggie siblings forreal?)
@@tai9705 Gilman: Fish-- must be some kind of connection.
Yooo u fr fr??
@@tai9705 I mean their last names are Fish and Gilman they have to be at the very least cousins.
Just to make the waters clearer, Ms. Fish is not the girl from MRK - it's Kara Hayward
That being said, all you fishes look the same to me. Sincerely, a cat.
"They're visually alone and also alone alone." I have never heard a line describe my mood then that.
Glad to see you have also excellent taste in other essayists. Yet another great quality you have amongst many other talents.
Oh hey a content creator I like commenting on a video of a content creator I like. Yay!!!
It’s always fun to hear your thoughts on movies. A small nitpick, that bears no weight really, Fantastic Mr Fox is not a claymation film. It’s a stop motion film. Claymation is a subgenre of stop motion animation where everything/the characters are made of clay. (Like Wallace and Gromit). The techniuqe is the same, so the motion feels the same. Since the puppets of Mr Fox are not made of clay, it’s not a claymation.
God damn it I love Wes Anderson.
I'm starting to think I may be white.
Loll
As a black teenager who'd grown up in predominantly white suburbs, The Royal Tenenbaums made it clear to me that Wes Anderson wasn't talking to me and likely wouldn't have anything interesting to say even if he was. I decided to watch Fantastic Mr. Fox because it was based on a Roald Dahl work and I love stop motion animation, and I walked away thoroughly in love. But as someone who most closely identified with Kristofferson, it was obvious that Anderson still wasn't talking to me.
Hi, Jenn. Can't you relate to films without blacks? I'm hispanic and working class, my parents divorced when I was 5 and he left town so I can relate to Wes' movies despite the lack of latinos in it. It's an honest question, I'm from Argentina and there are barely any black folks around here. I feel that we can share class/family struggles irrespective of race.
I can relate to Kristofferson and Ash
To sebastians point, can you really not relate with a character unless they are the same race and financial status as you? Cant you relate to a character through the story, their arc, and the emotions they feel rather than feeling excluded because the actor happens to be a different color than you? Just seems wild to dismiss a work as “not talking to you” because you want the actors to be black. That is, dare I say, kinda racist
@@yungoldman2823 no it isn't racist to want to see our stories, we have experiences worth seeing.
you assumed that it's just 'wanting the actors to be black' or that this person 'can't relate to someone who isn't the same race or financial status' are really disingenuous and uncharitable takes on what they said. like, they clearly didn't say either of those things. they are clearly talking about stories and narratives which is a fair thing to want.
centering your own pov on poc wanting self-actualized narratives when Hollywood and media are saturated with the white perspective or saying that that should be enough - I dare say racist. color blindness doesn't make you not racist, it means you're ignoring the fact that others move through the world differently.
@@Lisa-dv1xn that is fair, but frankly, is any Marvel movie speaking to you either? Were you bitten by a radioactive spider and can now shoot web from your hands? No? Then why watch Spiderman? Should I ignore any movie about the class struggle of POC because it doesn't speak to me and my experiences personally? It seems incredibly shortsighted to dismiss a movie because of preconceptions based on race and social status of the protagonists.
I know other Anderson films get more critical attention, but my favorites are Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel. I just find them so delightful, while still conveying melancholy underneath the farcical antics.
Moonrise Kingdom is so genuine in a lot of ways.
Moonrise Kingdom was actually my first Wes Anderson film and it made me fall in love with him.
I love both of those movies too! Moonrise Kingdom is my favorite.
Grand Budapest is one of my favourite films of all time, the visuals are stunning and its humour is so deliciously dry.
I feel like TGBH is the most lauded after TRT -- it definitely seems to be the one most non-hipsters have seen
Okay, was that actually Jared Gilman from Moonrise Kingdom popping in??
Why is no one talking about it in the comments??
It is him! His Twitter is linked in the description box.
It's so nice when an exacting director is also not a Kubrick-ian type
I love Wes Anderson because he's not a prick to his cast and crew.
I think Wes Anderson’s visual-style (especially symmetrical shots) and stoic characters are very Kubrickian LOL
Cégalo yeah but he (as far as we know) isn’t a piece of shot to work with, like Kubrick is
It also helps him work because a lot more people are willing to work for him, and trust his often-unusual directions on the basis that it will end up working once you see the edit.
@@UnreasonableOpinions Yeah, there’s generally two ways that an unconventional director can get across their more confusing ideas.
It’s either a “trust me, you’ll like it” situation or a “you’ll do what I tell you” situation. And Anderson, fortunately, is more often the former than the latter.
The unsung genius of the suicide scene is the sound design. You don't actually see the cut, but the sound of it puts you on edge before you even see the blood.
> References Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest"
> Uses clip from Spiderman 2
Classic Fish.
Honestly
*chefs kiss*
I really appreciate the ending note touching on Anderson's lack of diversity. As a black dude; the stylistically imposed distance and picture-perfect staging/framing, when combined with the lack of demographic representation had made me feel like his movies were just another "blissfully ignorant caucasian adventure", and I found myself rather uninterested to give them a try - although after watching this I definitely will! Thanks, Maggie
Oh good, yes I really did not want this to come off as straight praise bc that narrow POV is such a part of his work (Sophia Coppola is similar) -- worth discussing as filmmakers but not to be consumed uncritically in this regard !!!
@@MaggieMaeFish and linking the other critiques was really cool too, I watched Amandamaryanna's video and realized half way through that I have watched and loved her videos at least once before! Had to drop a sub :)
You should learn to allow yourself to like things because you like them and to watch movies even if people like you aren’t in it, tbh I’ll rather no diversity than forced diversity
@@fufydelu1678 hahaha ok
Wes Anderson is such a great director
The title of The Royal Tenenbaums is also a perfect portrayal of the theme. The patriarch's name is Royal, so all the other family members are Royal's Tenenbaums, but in the way you would name a sports team like the Oakland Raiders. Love that.
With the stillness-representing-wealth motif, I think it’s a wonderful detail that FMF’s long tracking shots showing the other animals working together are also still. Almost a wealth of a different kind, the worth of being part of a community even when they’re struggling.
I do appreciate the last part about being unable to engage with his films when you're not in the primary presented demographic in his films. The closest I got was a character whose name and personality were summed up by the film as "Zero", which isn't exactly grounds for automatic attachment.
people who like style more than substance and have no sense of style is his primary demographic
The first Wes Anderson movie I had ever seen was Fantastic Mr. Fox. I was like 12 years old and I saw the trailer for it on TV. I was already super into animated films - Nightmare Before Christmas was my favorite movie. The commercials made no sense, I didn't read the book or Roald Dahl growing up. I didn't know what the movie was about but it looked weird so I wanted to watch it. I loved it because I loved weird movies. But I watched it with my cousins and they didn't get it. I'm so used to watching characters that have nothing to do with me or my life and enjoying the film for the story telling. But I can't watch many of Wes Anderson's movies because of how different they are to my life. It's more like walking through an art museum than relating to a person
as a working class white teen, i watched the RT on repeat. it was an aesthetic and a lifestyle i romanticized at the time and seeing the characters depicted as isolated and depressed as i was helped reframe my ideas of wealth and what is enviable.
Having 2 siblings and a dead dad who casts a long shadow over my life, Darjeeling limited is by far my favourite Wes Anderson
As someone who watched the Royal Tenenbaums like, 100 times during high school, I am excited for this!
This was very nice, I enjoyed it. Thank you!
I was buying Ginger ale and Werthers at the grocery store and realized what I was becoming; thank you for the dark mirror
One thing I always felt about his work. The stillness, the surreal and highly stylised way these stories are framed I never took literally but as an illustration about how we tend to mythologize certain events in our lives. They have the quality of fables. So it feels like unreliable narration in a way, and seeing it with that lens makes the characters more relatable even if I can't directly relate to their experiences.
I feel like The Darjeeling Limited always gets short shrift, though I understand why not that many people like it. The same way that Maggie first saw Fantastic Mr. Fox at a formative and impactful time in her life, I first saw Darjeeling during a very tense period in my relationships with my two brothers and my dad. I think, as many (including many here) have pointed out, Wes Anderson's work reaches me because I'm in (or at least on the periphery of) his narrow demographic.
Yeah, I love The Darjeeling Limited. I think it really speaks to the relationship between brothers in such a real way. If you don't have that sort of relationship you probably won't appreciate it as much.
i have a soft spot for it, and i love the soundtrack.
Incredible as always!
Indeed
I know you!
There was a great interview with Luke Wilson that came with the Criterion where he said his mom didn’t like his look of sunglasses and heavy hair because you couldn’t see his face, and Luke Wilson said that that was kind of the point. It makes that scene where he takes off all these disguises so much more impactful.
Also yes Fantasic Mr, Fox is the best Wes Anderson and every time I watch it I love it more. The film is so packed full of these tiny moments that don’t affect the plot so much but mean so much for the characters like the scene where Ash plays with the toy train with Kristofferson after realizing how cruel he’d been or the scene where Mrs. Fox says she should’ve never married Mr. Fox, which in any other movie would be the scene where the characters split up but here it’s just a statement of fact and they remain together anyway. This doesn’t have so much to do with what you’re talking about but I can’t help it when talking about this movie.
Also for a film about an affluent family having your main character be named Royal Tenenbaum and having the title refer to all the characters as THE Royal Tenenbaums would seem on the nose but it somehow doesn’t seem so obvious when watching. The film as a whole is interesting because it recognizes the dysfunction found within these families which seem like old fashioned ideas like the Thomas Sutpens or Compsons found in William Faulkner, even though they’re still very much around.
The Royal Tenenbaums: The most Wes Anderson movie before Wes Anderson made Wes Anderson movies.
😂
Goddammit, I love Wes Anderson. My first film of his was The Life Aquatic and it remains my favorite movie of all time to this day. It hit me at the perfect time with a sense of humor I had never encountered before and I've been laughing differently ever since.
Rated
There's something I just noticed. Might not be enough to think of it as a pattern, but it caught my eye:
Stillness is unnatural to you. It's also a marker of privilege. There was also a diatribe against stillness in your Cats video. Stillness as a side effect of oppression.
I don't know what to make of this. I'm just savoring the spoonful of endorphins I got from finding a pattern.
why is the maggie/brother b plot so good?? 11/10, would watch as a mini series
Great video... and I must be some kind of oddball for The Darjeeling Limited to be one of my favourite Anderson flicks. I only learned that it was most people's least favourite in the last few years.
The Darjeeling Limited is not only my favorite Wes Anderson movie but one of my favorite movies hands down. It's beautiful and devastating and empowering. I don't understand the hate.
The Royal Tennenbaums has to be one of my top 5 movies of all time. I can listen to you talk about Wes Anderson films allllll day long
One thing I always appreciate about your reviews are how honest you are about your likes and dislikes while still providing excellent analysis without the bias. I know you love the Royal Tenenbaums but your study of Anderson's choices when it comes to montage/tracking shots is incredibly well-informed and gives me a deeper appreciation for the artistry as well.
On a similar note, I'm also someone who's paying out of my ass for college rn and this video was the perfect break from tuition stress. Thank you!
I like the quirk. But I’m a working class person of color and don’t relate to anything so I attach myself to the aesthetic.
I can't get over how much you sound like an 80's fairy-tale narrator. It's uncanny, and perfectly suited to a Wes Anderson discudsion.
Oh Wow! like a librarian reading a story for a first grade class. Yes, her voice is lovely :)
I wonder how Kubrick would feel knowing a director expanded “Barry Lyndon” into an entire career arc.
And managed to make his movies waaaaaaay less boring than Barry Lyndon was.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on Taika Waititi's filmography. I find it both consistent and all over the place lol.
Color me surprised when you were describing going to Chicago on the Amtrak as a kid - I lived in Elgin years ago and my family did this all the time. We would get sodas at the store and a book of crosswords and logic puzzles to pass the time on the train. We even had a “favorite” patron of the Amtrak train as, although he seemed harmless and kept to himself, he also *only* wore men’s one-piece thermal long underwear. All the time.
Wait so the dude was shirtless and shoeless while riding on the train? I didn't know that was allowed... I admire his confidence
@@guy-sl3kr Not shirtless, he was rocking the full button up front onesie game. I cannot remember if he accessorized, but I think he had shoes….
I have very personal relationships to Rushmore and Moonrise Kingdom, for similar reasons. I always feel awkward talking about sincere analysis and love for Wes Anderson, whose criticisms and satires are oft deserved and justified, but there’s always also a lot of good stuff to unpack.
I would also recommend listening to bechdalcast's royal tenenbaums episode. It's a feminist podcast about the bechdal test and I think it has a great discussion about the movie and wes Anderson's world.
Jamie and Caitlin are amazing!!!
@@MaggieMaeFish ❤️❤️
Anderson's films shaped my adolescence, too. So much so that I've got almost a full sleeve of tattoos from his films. My Margot Tenenbaum tattoo is my favorite. 😆 But seriously, are you and Jared really siblings!? I must know!
Haha nope, just twitter pals 😅
The Grand Budapest Hotel just eclipses all of his previous work in my mind. I do love the Fantastic Mr. Fox and the Royal Tenenbaums though.
2:10 - what a lovely little cameo
I'm procrastinating going to buy a milkshake just to watch this video
As The Grand Archpriest of The Church of the Algorithm, I bless this video with a comment.
Just when I thought I couldn't possibly stand watching another Wes Anderson essay, you go and pull this. Well cussing done.
I love how much I agree with you here, even when I disagree on what my favorite Pre- and Post- Roald Dahl Anderson films are (Darjeeling and Moonrise Kingdom). He has such a rich catalogue of films which seem to speak to and answer each other.
I love it when camerawork complements the storytelling well. I'm not all into auteur theory but it can distinguish good from bad direction or editing. And thus be the mark of certain geniuses who are especially good at that.
Don't know if you seen it, but The Mysterious Benedict Society has got some decent Wes Anderson and Tim Burton vibes. There's also a mini-Maggie in Emmy DeOliveira
Up there as a personal favorite of the essays you've done. I'm still in that teenage mindset of escape onto bigger things personally. I don't know if it's entirely comparable to your teen years, but I definitely sympathize with watching movies in the basement quite a bit. Even if that's not all the details.
Also, Fantastic Mr. Fox is a childhood classic for me. I still remember seeing those trailers in the 2nd grade making me excited to watch it. Still consider it a close personal favorite of mine.
I love the Fantastic Mr. Fox! The soundtrack was brilliant! I love the little details, like the fact that the toast eating scene was George Clooney actually devouring a plate of toast!
I’ve always loved the general movement (or stillness) of Wes Anderson films, but your analysis has made me want to go back and have a movie marathon! I almost forgot how much I enjoyed The Grand Budapest Hotel!!
This video really helped to point out to me why I engage with Anderson’s work so well. Thank you
Like so many others, this was helped me understand the appeal of Wes Anderson when I’ve never been able to finish one of his movies myself! It also made me realize, “I heart Huckabees” was probably the equivalent for me at an impressionable crossroads in my life?
another great video as always, I always feel like they help me see each film and/or director in new ways and really make me feel like rewatching them
Yes! Wes's "breakout" moments are my favorites - I love when the characters finally stop talking and decieving and get physcial. Cops chasing Dignan through Hinkley Cold Storage, Richie Bathroom scene, the fight with mace on the Darjeeling Limited, Chas trying to fight Eli Cash after the car crash, the helicopter crash in The Life Aquatic. I love the dialouge, but the most important moments for me are when they stop talking.
Mags, I am almost certain I didn't know you in high school, and I still could have guessed you loved Spider-Man and Wes Anderson films
One thing I wanna say because I'm so sick of people fighting for something that doesn't make sense and in the wrong context, As a black individual I never once focused on the "diversity" of his cast or not because its not about that. Its about the characters not their skin color. Trying to force diversity into everything isn't how we are going to get diversity instead, we should be finding those diverse voices ourselves and supporting them. Throwing a black character or 2 into a story isn't going to make it diverse, especially if the person directing doesn't share those same experiences anyway. Diversity isn't just anybody's story to tell
100% agree
Yeah, the thing I find off-putting about so many comments along those lines is, like, do you only engage with art that's "for you?" Is it only art if it shows you your reflection? More people need to make an effort to see themselves in someone's work; that's where you find the sublime -- they were talking to you the whole time.
Edit: And yeah, the point of diversity shouldn't be that Wes Anderson starts making all his characters black, it should be to get people to know who people like Terence Nance or Dee Rees even are, and then find the next one.
@@andrewteague114 I completely agree
@@andrewteague114 I think the argument often comes from a more complicated place than that. It isn’t so much a matter of only being able to engage with something if it’s a reflection of yourself as it is not wanting to be left out.
Marginalized audiences have, more often or not, either been FORCED to engage with art that wasn’t “for them” all their lives, or have been forced to ONLY engage with art that’s “for them”.
Marginalized voices are, well, marginalized, and it’s very troubling to have to either squint at a work to see yourself in it, or reside yourself to pigeonholing your cinematic palate.
Take the infamous Bechdel Test for one. It wasn’t created as a means of determining whether a movie was “feminist” or not, or even as a test with infallible parameters. (If that were the case, Debbie Does Dallas and Attack of the 50 ft. Cheerleader would be hailed as high feminist art). Rather, it was an indictment of how auxiliary women are still treated in the film industry.
Similarly, there’s already a litany of examples historically of communities of color very deeply engaging with works that maybe weren’t made with them in mind as audiences. A good example is the large role that eastern art, like kung fu movies or anime have played in poor black communities. Who’s to say that they can’t also hope or expect similar verisimilitude in a Wes Anderson movie, and be disappointed when it isn’t there?
And while, yeah, maybe just putting a bunch of characters of color into a work isn’t the same thing as representing them properly, (hello Darjeeling Limited) I also don’t think that it’s healthy to respond to such calls for diversity with hostility.
10:10 Holy guacamole! _The Royal Tannenbaums_ is literally one of my all-time favorite movies (and may actually be the very first "artistic" films I ever saw - like, the first time I saw a movie that was more a work of art than a commercial product - totally by chance when it came on Comedy Central of all channels back in the late-mid 2000s), and yet somehow I never noticed - I guess my brain just never made the connection - that Ben Stiller's Chas Tannenbaum & his sons are wearing all black tracksuits at Royal Tannenbaum's funeral! Lololol that's so perfect, I love it! How tf have I never noticed that at any point over the last like ~15 years ffs?!
[Also, holy gosh darn shit, 2006 was 15 years ago....]
Honestly I think you're my favorite video essayist, and I've watched... Christ, probably Too Many video essays lmao
They always have an incredibly earnest and intimate quality to the performance and script, and are always very concise and well-phrased. I never get lost or feel left out or disconnected while watching them. Excellent work, looking forward to more stuff!
Love Wes’ work! Excited to catch this premiere!
Aw man this is a really neat look at Wes Anderson's filmography and how it deepens/reinforces the movies' themes and how they've subtly changed through the years and WAIT THAT WAS JARED GILMAN??
I love wes anderson, hes my favorite director, his style is so unique, its hard not to love
Probably my new favorite video essay. Spectacular.
This was a treat. Thank you Maggie!
Your videos are always so entertaining, informative, and well put-together. You are VERY good at this sort of thing!
just found this channel and this is every thing the video essay community is missing love this channel so fucking much
Hey Maggie it’s so nice to see you in a new video !
Wait, he IS the kid from moonrise kingdom! He is handsome.
I loved this essay so much. Thank you for putting it in the world.
--I just realized putting really is spelled with two t's and I don't know why this disconcerts me.
I digress...
The style behind Darjeeling LImited was what really got me into Wes Anderson - probably due to my frayed relation with my younger brother, but the Royal Tenenbaums really drove it home. I feel like rewatching every one of his movies now
This is utterly brilliant and incredibly well put together.
Just as Wes Anderson does, you have a very distinct and unique style! Love your videos!
Easily my favorite film analysis channel on RUclips. Proud Patron!!!
Great video as always, Maggie!
YES! A new video of what's exciting for you while I'm on my free day!
Thank you for encapsulating why I love Wes Anderson so perfectly haha. Also didn't realize I wasn't the only one who doesn't like Darjeeling that much. Asteroid City is by far my favorite and my favorite film of all time.
This is an amazing video wow, really glad that RUclips recommended this piece to me
it's nice to watch an analysis of a director that doesn't have an obvious problem with women
That Panasonic phone hung in our kitchen for decades. Seeing it, along with the critique of a depiction of an unhappy family, has made me remember why I enjoy my hermitage.
I always found The Darjeeling Limited to be one of my favorites, maybe because of train travel, i grew up riding the Amtrak from Portland to Minot every summer by myself, i rode other routes as well that were long distance, i think if you traveled by train a lot, one might appreciate the movie more, maybe its just bringing back nostalgia for me.
I appreciate your loving critique of Anderson.
I adore Wes Anderson. Royal Tenenbaums has always been one of my absolutely favorite movies, as well as GBH and Moonrise.
I think a lot of people are put off by his style, but I love that his films never let you forget that you are watching a film. The obviously skewed/forced perspectives when he pans to something in the distance, or scenes like the janky and almost low-effort chase scene in GBH. The practical effects often charmingly perfunctory, and combined with his character writing, his films just illustrate the joy of making movies while also producing incredible results.
His work has aged well, and I can't really say that about a lot of writer/directors I've liked throughout my life.
Amazing video as always so awesome seeing Jared Gilman in this.
Gonna be real, this video convinced me to watch The Fantastic Mr. Fox and uh... that movie is not only stunningly visually beautiful, it's full of heart and love and warmth and silliness and I love it. It's phenomenal. Thanks Maggie!
Really enjoyed this! You caught a ton of stuff that I never picked up even after multiple viewings. I saw the premiere of The French Dispatch at Cannes and will be excited to hear what you think of it when it’s released in the US.
Maggie, I love you. Thank you for this.
What a lovely coincidence for this video to be uploaded as I'm a bit more than halfway through Wes Anderson's filmography
Excited for this!
Love it! Will have to watch Fantastic Mr Fox and get back to the second half soon
quite enjoy your film breakdowns, they're fun!
I decided to subscribe to your YT channel, Ms Fish, not only because of your intelligent clever comments, but definitely because of your taste (and respect) for a good Swiss Army knife. That particular detail, when you opened the letter is just fabulous! 😂 besides, I agree with all existential issues portrayed in “Mr. Fox”. Brilliant.
I love this channel. Ty Maggie
This is the first video you've made that I find myself unable to relate to, on account of finding everything about Wes Anderson's movies incredibly off-putting. That being said, you're just so good at what you do that I still found it an informative and highly entertaining watch. I guess what I'm saying is...I heard commenting is good for analytics, so I figured I should express my enjoyment in one. Thanks for all the work you share with us!
I don't have anything interesting to add, I just thoroughly enjoyed this.
Super awesome-great video. Your thoughts and expressions are were very unique and really stood out against other discussions about these 2 films. I'd love to hear more of your thoughts on Rushmore
(also the Jared Gilman cameo was very sweet and well done)
Love it. Though I will say for me as a huge Wes fan, Darjeeling Limited is in my top 3 where as FMF is in my bottom 3. I think Wes is great at showing that people don't really change. We are who we are, but realistically we can all find an understanding of each other's differences and hopefully that appreciation will make us better people. Fantastic Mr Fox is a bit to story by numbers character arc and feels like the style is parodying his previous movies cinematography(which it is because he didn't direct the scenes as much as just approve them afterwards).
For some reason I've never been able to get into Wes Anderson films, and as you were talking about it, I realised that the exact same reasons why they resonated with you are the exact same reasons that put me off, even though I really do like a lot of the visuals presented (a youtuber I watch who does lookbooks did one for Wes Anderson films, and it was such a treat to watch! Her channel name is StealTheSpotlight). The concept that someone could love what you don't has always been an obvious one, but to really see it in action was fascinating ☺️☺️
Oh, and since I was bingeing all your videos (I can never watch just one), I watched the Snyder ones and noticed you said Iraq a certain way, and just wanted to say that if you pronounced the "I" as if you were going to say "if", it would be much appreciated ❤️❤️❤️
Woot woot, it's Maggie Mae time!
Wes Anderson is my favourite Filmmaker too. I was first fascinated by his visual style, and then further drawn in by all the rest. My favourite movie of his is "Life Aquatic". A movie about a person with many flaws but one great passion which redeems him... his fascination with aquatic life which he can so brilliantly convey. This homage to Jacques Cousteau hit home for me. I grew up watching his documentaries, which awoke a love for exploration and science.
I have to admit that the "The Royal Tenenbaums", and "Fantastic Mr Fox!" are not at the top of my list of Wes Anderson's movies, but your presentation about them has moved me to give them another look.