Cannes Film Festival View of America

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by The Templar
Bush would never file a lawsuit ...

Unless he wanted to steal an election.

[Lefty Scaevola]

Originally posted by Stefu
. A gun, and preferably three of them at a same time.

3 huh. Well a few of us can handle that, and lots of girlfriends.

[Pekka]

Well I have enjoyed von Trier films, so I don't know what this thread is about? von Tried having critical views of the US, meaning he's evil and bad, communist spreading propaganda to the minds of all Euros who are semi-commies anyway with their sissy-attitudes to begin with? Where's the beef?

Besides, every damn time our country is presented in small way in a movie, they film it in Moscow or something, plus they got all the facts wrong, like we're not commies etc. So.. where's the beef?

Is von Triers movie automatically anti-US because it's not about praising something we all like? Has anyone actually seen the movie yet? What's wrong with the movie anyway? Does this movie actually state the official view of America in Cannes Film Festival , if there even is one? Why should they even care about the US, and just enjoy the film? I just don't get this, I don't see what the problem is.

[JohnT]

Well, Hell, Adam, even when they are here they still don't get it. It's revealed on the DVD that Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers was meant to be a serious commentary on American life by the director.

[Tingkai]

Those goddam Euro trash. This is outrageous!!! I can't believe that bastard made a movie based on stereotypes of Americans. And those commies in Cannes are no better.

You would never ever see a Hollywood movie using sterotypical foreigners.

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Monk
Spiffor, "Festen" is directed by Thomas Vinterberg and not Lars von Trier. You confuse the two because they're both part of the Danish film wave and the first two who made Dogme 95 films. Festen" was great, though. Nobody thought a movie about incest would ever achieve that degree of public approval.

Thanks for the correction

[GePap]

Yeah, what is the point?

So a European director makes a movie that uses steryotypes of the US: oh my GOd!! Its the end of the world! Come on.

As long as it isn;t blatant anti-US propaganda (which it ain't), the only questions are is the movie good (cinematically worthwhile, or fun to see), or not.

[Adam Smith]

Originally posted by GePap
Yeah, what is the point?

The point is not that von Trier has never been to the US. The point is that the movie is highly critical of the US without von Trier's even having been here.

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.
Mark Twain, Innocents Abroad

For all the times Euros have made this point with regard to Americans, one would think that it would apply with equal force in the opposite direction.

[Imran Siddiqui]

For all the times Euros have made this point with regard to Americans, one would think that it would apply with equal force in the opposite direction.

You give them too much credit, my friend.

[The Templar]

Originally posted by Stefu


NoNOnoNOnoNOno! We're talking about American stereotypes here, and lawsuit-happiness is an integral part of the American stereotype! You might as well have a German-stereotype not spitting in your face while speaking or a French-stereotype not eating frog legs!

We introduced widespread litigation in our society in an effort to redude the amount of gun violence.

Whoops, Tingkai's right! There is one law suit he filed ...

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by Adam Smith
The point is not that von Trier has never been to the US. The point is that the movie is highly critical of the US without von Trier's even having been here.

Honest question (not a provocation): have you ever lived abroad (and I mean really lived abroad, not lived on a military base or some other "Little America")? I hadn't until I moved to Turkey 3 years ago, and I was honestly shocked by the extent to which the US makes its present felt here. Every country I've been to, it's been the same -- wherever you go, there's the US: its stores, its news (CNN International should really just be called America for Foreigners), its popular culture images, its very language ("English" in name only; it's our version of English, not the Queen's). Beyond that, it seems very clear that, for most of the world, America acts and everyone else reacts -- and some countries, like Turkey, can scarcely pass a law without wondering what America will think.

My point is that, at this moment in history, not everyone has lived in America. But everyone has had to live with America, and I think that does give them some license to comment. I should have to visit Denmark before I write about the place. But we've spent the last 50 years promoting ourselves to the whole world, asking (if not forcing) the world to Think About America. It would be foolish to think that everyone who took us up on the offer would flatter us.

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by Adam Smith
The point is that the movie is highly critical of the US without von Trier's even having been here.

No, the point is that you are highly critical of a movie that you have not seen.

How do you know it is critical of the US?

[monolith94]

"Why not? If you're going to set a film in an actual location, wouldn't you think it would be wise to at least get a feel for the place?"

I don't hear you complaining about the constant hollywood use of American made sets to depict foreign locations.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by monolith94
I don't hear you complaining about the constant hollywood use of American made sets to depict foreign locations.

What does that have to do with this subject?

[monolith94]

It makes you a hypocrite to say that it's ok for hollywood to depict foreign territories on american soil but terrible for foreign movies to depict America on their soil.