Hollywood directors: “we are gonna make a show highlighting major issues with teens” “Can teens watch the show?” Directors: “oh no, it’s an r rated show with graphic nudity, it’s a show for adults” “So you’re sexualizing teens?” Directors: “No, the actors are adults tho!” “Why would an adult want to watch a show about teens getting it on and doing drugs when you can just make a show about adults getting it on and doing drugs, and it can also be a social commentary” Directors: “BECAUSE I WANT IT- I mean… teens do stuff like this all the time” 😊
I believe it. Hasn’t it not been tried since the Jeremy Irons one in the 90s? It’s literally called unadaptable, which *some* asshole is gonna take as a challenge. And then they’ll totally misunderstand the tragedy of the story and idolize Humbert Humbert somehow.
As someone who was completely non-sexual through adolescence, it bothers me when people hypersexualize teenagers because "it's realistic". Sure, it is realistic to many, not saying they should't be represented, but teenagerst like me exist in reality too.
But also, acknowledging sexuality doesn’t mean you have to sexualize characters you’re telling us they’re kids! Look at degrassi, the kids there had sex and they’re largely unsexualized by the camera for the audience.
It's not realistic to many, it's a rare occurrence that often involves a lot of trauma and an unhealthy relationship with sexuality, and in my case, many predatory adults because people my age weren't a bunch of sex-hungry nymphomaniacs, they were far more interested in holding hands and playing COD.
@@Jane-oz7pp Exactly this. As a hypersexual teen who was friends with other hypersexual teens, it was trauma. We were all victims of sexualization, if not outright CSA, earlier in our lives. The teens who weren't victims of that did not behave like us at all and looked down on us for it, actually. Adults either fetishized us and took advantage of us for it or looked down on us for it too like we were making a choice to be this way just to upset their sensibilities - when what we really needed was an adult to get us into proper therapy. Levinson's stuff just further normalizes and fetishizes the sexual behavior of teens who likely need help, not... this.
I was incredibly sexualised before I was even a teen and during my teen years and it was genuinely the worst fucking time in my life so far because of it. Some absolutely heinous shit happened to me as a kid, stuff no one should ever go through, but somehow that was more bearable than my teen years because when bad things happened to me, they were just that; bad things, not things that I had to get used to as part of “blossoming into a woman”. If I see one more creepy ass tv show sexualising characters that are supposed to be minors while their little fans defend it cuz “it’s realistic!!!” I’m going to turn into the Joker. We do be living in a society.
Tbh this movie was a warning sign cuz Sam’s earnest insistence that cancel culture and mob mentality is bad is done in exactly the way that someone who is terrified of being cancelled for being a weirdo would do it.
Its hard to believe he's the son of Barry Levinson. But there was one episode of "Euphoria " that was basically a two-fer, set in a diner, and it was really well done. So he's capable of thoughtful, interesting work. He just chooses to do exploitative cr@p, apparently.
those focused mid-season episodes were incredible because they were written by people who knew the perspective: Sam knows addiction and Hunter knows gender. when he stopped listening to the writers and actors who can more deeply understand the other characters, he erased and/or butchered them in favor of humiliating Cassie. it’s become such a clear pattern of prioritizing sexualization and character assassination of young women that there’s no way to look past it
I only had to watch 2 episodes of Euphoria to come to the conclusion a lot of the script is incredibly misogynistic and objectifying to a sadistic degree. I don't think it was that different from The Idol at all, if one pays close attention to what the script has to say. Episode 2 of Season 1 was the one that made me drop it, exactly because I understood what the script was trying to tell me, and HATED it. It basically paints a minor who "falsely accused" an adult man of r@ping her as the villain in a story in which she WAS, in fact, statutory r@ped. The scene in which the poor little adult man gets beaten half to death was shot like a r@pe scene. It told the audience in the most on-the-nose way I've ever seen "He is the true victim of this situation" - and even the man who actually committed crimes against him wasn't to blame. A "young vixen" was, for "tempting him" and "falsely accusing" him (which she didn't even do, bc minors legally can't consent). I don't know how nobody else saw it, but Sam Levinson has been very honest from the get-go. His scripts and style are just misogyny covered in glitter and gloss.
I only watched it because I love Zendaya and heard great things about her performance (and I’m glad I did because she was phenomenal). That said, completely agree with all your points, it was clear from the very beginning what his style is and what all his stories revolve around. I’m just glad people caught up to it when The Idol came out cause that man’s ego was getting out of control, as was his career. And I hope he never makes season 3. Silence, that’s where he belongs.
@@stutter_box That's true, the show was skilfully produced, and Zendaya's character was the most human and palpable. She's incredibly talented. There were other interesting characters that I wanted to see developed, but I couldn't get past Levinson's writing. Great video essay, thanks for the polite reply.
To the best of my understanding Ru is somewhat of a self insert grounded in Sam Levinson's own experience with addiction, which would explain why she feels the most fleshed out.
Famously a reviewer who is saying much of the same things you have said about his fake exploitative "feminism" in Assassination Nation got stuck in his craw so bad he put a gigantic monologue in Malcolm & Marie about it and how she used his identity as a (white) man (through the mouthpiece of a Black man, mind you) to deligitimize his perspective. I also think he continued to bitch about this in the Idol through those characters, as well as other critics of his work on Euphoria.
Malcolm & Marie is the last one I need to watch. I thought for some reason it had gotten great reviews, but have seen recently how he used a black actor to air his “artistic grievances” and it came out so tone deaf. Definitely not surprising considering his other work (The Idol in particular).
I watched Euphoria and was sucked in...but after a while, it felt weird. Why are we watching what are supposed to be teens in these situations? I understand that teens get into some adult situations sometimes, but why do we have to watch it play out, especially so explicitly? As a 30 something year old it started to feel uncomfortable & disturbing. It's a constant theme of his & I'm not interested in watching any more his work tbh, not if it's like this. It feels wrong.
Honestly, my problem with it isn't that it depicts teens getting into adult situations. My problem is how it's framed. When teens experiment with adult things like sex, drugs, alcohol, etc. it isn't as sexy or cool in real life as Sam Levinson likes to film it as; it's awkward at best and dangerous at worst because teenagers are still kids who don't always know how to practice safe sex or drug use or drink responsibly.
@spookyspice596 oh yeah definitely, there's so much wrong with it. I feel like it could've had a college setting, but he chose for it to be children..which is weird imo
I like to think it's unintentional or that Sam was in conflict with writers but what's up with these men using sexual trauma to send some pseudo intellectual message? I don't think these directors realize how hard it is to create satire or thoughtful allegories. It seems like these men have a thinly veiled obsession with trying to experience SA or trauma in general, but it's done in such a convoluted and poųrnographic way.
I think he’s lost the “plausible deniability” option. I gave him the benefit of the doubt after this movie because, again, first movie, maybe he was experimenting with some “edgy” choices but not quite set in his own style. That all went down the toilet after his other projects 😅 his obsession with s3xual violence cannot be understated or justified anymore. It’s sick and exploitative
@@stutter_box Yeah, I think you're right. It's just so hard for me to wrap my mind around people who think like that. Especially grown ass people, lol.
assassination nation and malcom and marie are still the only sam levinson projects i’ve seen. i didn’t completely hate assassination nation, but malcom and marie was torturous and offered no reward at the end. i actually had no idea assassination nation was directed by him until the credits. the visuals are cool, the acting is decent, the soundtrack is okay, but sam’s projects always feel a bit hollow. like yes, you did all of that, but for what??? his message always gets muddied in the process of being aesthetically pleasing and visually striking.
I really wanted to watch The Idol not only to support Lily Rose Depp, but the original concept sounded pretty interesting. I’ve said it many times and will say it again, release the Seimetz cut!
@@theaawalker I thought that The Idol was her acting debut (not knowing that she’d been in other stuff when she was younger) and just knew of her as a model and of course being the daughter of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis. Because of how The Idol started off, I looked forward to seeing how she would do as the lead. Then the project turned into…well, what we got, and it’s just a shame really what could’ve been. She did alright with the material she had to work with, but I was rooting for The Idol and her to do well.
I get the feeling that this movie is about to start getting popular because i just saw the very first reaction to this movie about four days back. Really interested to see what other people think of it because when i first watched it i was very conflicted and confused.
I haven’t watched any of this guy’s work mainly because I’m 42 and I always got the feeling this dude is just watched “Kids” too many times when he was younger. But that’s just a theory.
You really bless us with all your recent uploads! I really love hearing you talk about films I would never watch myself. (Just for context, I am Aro/Ace) I am/was so far removed from what he considers teenagers and I find his portrayal truly disgusting. I know we talk about the diversity and reality he is portraying - but no. He is the maker of the film - there is no reason to make the 'realism' always happen to teenage girls. He could easily set the age higher, but no. Long Comment for Engagement ✨
Completely agree! I have a lot of thoughts on Euphoria and The Idol that really hammer that point in, because this “style” he’s made himself known for is like, actually diabolical
I tried watching Euphoria and maybe I'm just too old for it, but I couldn't even make it halfway through the first episode because it was the most obnoxious show I'd ever seen.
My dad took me to see assassination nation in theatres and it was a really uncomfortable experience. I hated it for most the run time but then the ending gave me this strong feeling of catharsis. Because of that I felt the experience was worth it. Like it built to something. I don’t know if I agree with that now. I think I could have gotten that same feeling without some of the worst parts of this movie
i’ve watched this movie once 3 years ago…. a lot of people overhype this movie & i think it’s just decent. it has a LOT of issues, but it’s a sam levinson film so no surprise there.
I grew up in the 80s. I was curious about "Euphoria". I found it "abusive". Sexy, glittery, vibrant, yes. But he was constantly on the cross streets of reductive n redundant. Started off like a pretentious high society gossip sesh in the water closet, then fell into a hard tailspin of obvious stereotyping, then just got confused on how to bring back reality n respect to the characters, so he pooted out the last season, muttered "excuse me" n scuttled out of the room. Watching it felt like a bad fever dream. Misogynistic, absolutely, with a dash of self serving justification of "but isn't she/he/they sexy while their worlds are spiralling apart? aren't they just silly? tee-hee!" I felt gross and angry for the generation he was portraying---n livid for the acting talent that believed in his vision enuff to use their star power to give these characters the dignity n grace they deserved.
Hollywood directors: “we are gonna make a show highlighting major issues with teens”
“Can teens watch the show?”
Directors: “oh no, it’s an r rated show with graphic nudity, it’s a show for adults”
“So you’re sexualizing teens?”
Directors: “No, the actors are adults tho!”
“Why would an adult want to watch a show about teens getting it on and doing drugs when you can just make a show about adults getting it on and doing drugs, and it can also be a social commentary”
Directors: “BECAUSE I WANT IT- I mean… teens do stuff like this all the time” 😊
This should be in Sam’s biography. In fact, make the biography just this, because it honestly says it all 😂
He's gonna be the next man to adapt Lolita to film I'm calling it here
NO GOD PLEASE NO. NO. NOOOOOOO
Ew 🤢
I believe it. Hasn’t it not been tried since the Jeremy Irons one in the 90s? It’s literally called unadaptable, which *some* asshole is gonna take as a challenge. And then they’ll totally misunderstand the tragedy of the story and idolize Humbert Humbert somehow.
Hahahah please dont jinx it
I hate that you're right.
As someone who was completely non-sexual through adolescence, it bothers me when people hypersexualize teenagers because "it's realistic". Sure, it is realistic to many, not saying they should't be represented, but teenagerst like me exist in reality too.
But also, acknowledging sexuality doesn’t mean you have to sexualize characters you’re telling us they’re kids! Look at degrassi, the kids there had sex and they’re largely unsexualized by the camera for the audience.
Actually, having been a hypersexual teenager- IT'S NOT NORMAL
It's not realistic to many, it's a rare occurrence that often involves a lot of trauma and an unhealthy relationship with sexuality, and in my case, many predatory adults because people my age weren't a bunch of sex-hungry nymphomaniacs, they were far more interested in holding hands and playing COD.
@@Jane-oz7pp Exactly this. As a hypersexual teen who was friends with other hypersexual teens, it was trauma. We were all victims of sexualization, if not outright CSA, earlier in our lives. The teens who weren't victims of that did not behave like us at all and looked down on us for it, actually. Adults either fetishized us and took advantage of us for it or looked down on us for it too like we were making a choice to be this way just to upset their sensibilities - when what we really needed was an adult to get us into proper therapy.
Levinson's stuff just further normalizes and fetishizes the sexual behavior of teens who likely need help, not... this.
I was incredibly sexualised before I was even a teen and during my teen years and it was genuinely the worst fucking time in my life so far because of it.
Some absolutely heinous shit happened to me as a kid, stuff no one should ever go through, but somehow that was more bearable than my teen years because when bad things happened to me, they were just that; bad things, not things that I had to get used to as part of “blossoming into a woman”.
If I see one more creepy ass tv show sexualising characters that are supposed to be minors while their little fans defend it cuz “it’s realistic!!!” I’m going to turn into the Joker. We do be living in a society.
Tbh this movie was a warning sign cuz Sam’s earnest insistence that cancel culture and mob mentality is bad is done in exactly the way that someone who is terrified of being cancelled for being a weirdo would do it.
Its hard to believe he's the son of Barry Levinson.
But there was one episode of "Euphoria " that was basically a two-fer, set in a diner, and it was really well done. So he's capable of thoughtful, interesting work. He just chooses to do exploitative cr@p, apparently.
those focused mid-season episodes were incredible because they were written by people who knew the perspective: Sam knows addiction and Hunter knows gender. when he stopped listening to the writers and actors who can more deeply understand the other characters, he erased and/or butchered them in favor of humiliating Cassie. it’s become such a clear pattern of prioritizing sexualization and character assassination of young women that there’s no way to look past it
I only had to watch 2 episodes of Euphoria to come to the conclusion a lot of the script is incredibly misogynistic and objectifying to a sadistic degree. I don't think it was that different from The Idol at all, if one pays close attention to what the script has to say.
Episode 2 of Season 1 was the one that made me drop it, exactly because I understood what the script was trying to tell me, and HATED it. It basically paints a minor who "falsely accused" an adult man of r@ping her as the villain in a story in which she WAS, in fact, statutory r@ped.
The scene in which the poor little adult man gets beaten half to death was shot like a r@pe scene. It told the audience in the most on-the-nose way I've ever seen "He is the true victim of this situation" - and even the man who actually committed crimes against him wasn't to blame. A "young vixen" was, for "tempting him" and "falsely accusing" him (which she didn't even do, bc minors legally can't consent).
I don't know how nobody else saw it, but Sam Levinson has been very honest from the get-go. His scripts and style are just misogyny covered in glitter and gloss.
I only watched it because I love Zendaya and heard great things about her performance (and I’m glad I did because she was phenomenal). That said, completely agree with all your points, it was clear from the very beginning what his style is and what all his stories revolve around. I’m just glad people caught up to it when The Idol came out cause that man’s ego was getting out of control, as was his career. And I hope he never makes season 3.
Silence, that’s where he belongs.
@@stutter_box That's true, the show was skilfully produced, and Zendaya's character was the most human and palpable. She's incredibly talented. There were other interesting characters that I wanted to see developed, but I couldn't get past Levinson's writing. Great video essay, thanks for the polite reply.
To the best of my understanding Ru is somewhat of a self insert grounded in Sam Levinson's own experience with addiction, which would explain why she feels the most fleshed out.
I couldn't even get through the first episode but at the end of the day, I was a super sensitive 16yr back then
Famously a reviewer who is saying much of the same things you have said about his fake exploitative "feminism" in Assassination Nation got stuck in his craw so bad he put a gigantic monologue in Malcolm & Marie about it and how she used his identity as a (white) man (through the mouthpiece of a Black man, mind you) to deligitimize his perspective. I also think he continued to bitch about this in the Idol through those characters, as well as other critics of his work on Euphoria.
Malcolm & Marie is the last one I need to watch. I thought for some reason it had gotten great reviews, but have seen recently how he used a black actor to air his “artistic grievances” and it came out so tone deaf. Definitely not surprising considering his other work (The Idol in particular).
That's embarrassing 😂
I think assassination nation benefits from the fact that it’s only like 90 minutes long versus a whole season or two lol
I watched Euphoria and was sucked in...but after a while, it felt weird. Why are we watching what are supposed to be teens in these situations? I understand that teens get into some adult situations sometimes, but why do we have to watch it play out, especially so explicitly? As a 30 something year old it started to feel uncomfortable & disturbing. It's a constant theme of his & I'm not interested in watching any more his work tbh, not if it's like this. It feels wrong.
Honestly, my problem with it isn't that it depicts teens getting into adult situations. My problem is how it's framed. When teens experiment with adult things like sex, drugs, alcohol, etc. it isn't as sexy or cool in real life as Sam Levinson likes to film it as; it's awkward at best and dangerous at worst because teenagers are still kids who don't always know how to practice safe sex or drug use or drink responsibly.
@spookyspice596 oh yeah definitely, there's so much wrong with it. I feel like it could've had a college setting, but he chose for it to be children..which is weird imo
I like to think it's unintentional or that Sam was in conflict with writers but what's up with these men using sexual trauma to send some pseudo intellectual message? I don't think these directors realize how hard it is to create satire or thoughtful allegories. It seems like these men have a thinly veiled obsession with trying to experience SA or trauma in general, but it's done in such a convoluted and poųrnographic way.
I think he’s lost the “plausible deniability” option. I gave him the benefit of the doubt after this movie because, again, first movie, maybe he was experimenting with some “edgy” choices but not quite set in his own style. That all went down the toilet after his other projects 😅 his obsession with s3xual violence cannot be understated or justified anymore. It’s sick and exploitative
@@stutter_box Yeah, I think you're right. It's just so hard for me to wrap my mind around people who think like that. Especially grown ass people, lol.
assassination nation and malcom and marie are still the only sam levinson projects i’ve seen.
i didn’t completely hate assassination nation, but malcom and marie was torturous and offered no reward at the end. i actually had no idea assassination nation was directed by him until the credits.
the visuals are cool, the acting is decent, the soundtrack is okay, but sam’s projects always feel a bit hollow. like yes, you did all of that, but for what??? his message always gets muddied in the process of being aesthetically pleasing and visually striking.
Sam Levinson seems like the kind of guy who thinks Lolita is a romantic love story
Don’t bring JK Rowling into this 😂
Levinson gives me extreme ick with ALL of his work. Just creepy and gross with everything for zero reason
I really wanted to watch The Idol not only to support Lily Rose Depp, but the original concept sounded pretty interesting. I’ve said it many times and will say it again, release the Seimetz cut!
Genuine q: why did you want to support Lilly Rose Depp?
@@theaawalker I thought that The Idol was her acting debut (not knowing that she’d been in other stuff when she was younger) and just knew of her as a model and of course being the daughter of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis. Because of how The Idol started off, I looked forward to seeing how she would do as the lead. Then the project turned into…well, what we got, and it’s just a shame really what could’ve been. She did alright with the material she had to work with, but I was rooting for The Idol and her to do well.
Eric!!! Having a ton of work at the office!!! Watching this later to give my undivided attention to the only Portuguese Queen!!!
I get the feeling that this movie is about to start getting popular because i just saw the very first reaction to this movie about four days back.
Really interested to see what other people think of it because when i first watched it i was very conflicted and confused.
I haven’t watched any of this guy’s work mainly because I’m 42 and I always got the feeling this dude is just watched “Kids” too many times when he was younger. But that’s just a theory.
Boosting for support
this movie was such a hot mess. thanks for covering it. i didn't even know it was made by mr euphoria idol
You really bless us with all your recent uploads!
I really love hearing you talk about films I would never watch myself.
(Just for context, I am Aro/Ace) I am/was so far removed from what he considers teenagers and I find his portrayal truly disgusting. I know we talk about the diversity and reality he is portraying - but no.
He is the maker of the film - there is no reason to make the 'realism' always happen to teenage girls. He could easily set the age higher, but no.
Long Comment for Engagement ✨
Completely agree! I have a lot of thoughts on Euphoria and The Idol that really hammer that point in, because this “style” he’s made himself known for is like, actually diabolical
Don't mind me, this comment is for the algorithm. ❤
I tried watching Euphoria and maybe I'm just too old for it, but I couldn't even make it halfway through the first episode because it was the most obnoxious show I'd ever seen.
My dad took me to see assassination nation in theatres and it was a really uncomfortable experience. I hated it for most the run time but then the ending gave me this strong feeling of catharsis. Because of that I felt the experience was worth it. Like it built to something.
I don’t know if I agree with that now. I think I could have gotten that same feeling without some of the worst parts of this movie
i’ve watched this movie once 3 years ago…. a lot of people overhype this movie & i think it’s just decent. it has a LOT of issues, but it’s a sam levinson film so no surprise there.
Stutterbox!!!
Your synopses are stellar. Siskel & Ebert have nothing on you:) No disrespect to them and their "Kool-Aid" synopses. A different time was theirs.
No, that’s not what anarchists do.
It’s not
I grew up in the 80s. I was curious about "Euphoria". I found it "abusive". Sexy, glittery, vibrant, yes. But he was constantly on the cross streets of reductive n redundant. Started off like a pretentious high society gossip sesh in the water closet, then fell into a hard tailspin of obvious stereotyping, then just got confused on how to bring back reality n respect to the characters, so he pooted out the last season, muttered "excuse me" n scuttled out of the room. Watching it felt like a bad fever dream. Misogynistic, absolutely, with a dash of self serving justification of "but isn't she/he/they sexy while their worlds are spiralling apart? aren't they just silly? tee-hee!" I felt gross and angry for the generation he was portraying---n livid for the acting talent that believed in his vision enuff to use their star power to give these characters the dignity n grace they deserved.
Sam's middle name is Gratuitous.