Just a Movie

Is anything just anything?  It is human nature to analyze things but there isn't always meaning there.  A great example is the show Lost, which often uses plot devices episodes back to lead on the the next arc, and at the same time will throw in red hearings and seemingly significant details for nothing.

The difference is that movies are only on average two hours long.  Each detail is combed over for effect. I recently watched the film Source Code.

   
Without giving away too much of the plot there are several details that are specifically put in place to help tell the story.  There is a capsule, which malfunctions and helps show the frame of mind of the main character.  As a movie that goes back to the same point in time, every detail and event is repeated dozens of times in several takes.  It is amazing when you think about it how how the continuity is kept in tact while still progressing the story.  Small details are later investigated, leading to the crux of the plot.


One thing that being "just a movie" is about are moral implications.  Many an action hero has gone on essentially murderous rampages yet because this person is a "hero" it's somehow OK.  There is one controversial decision made in Source Code that has received media attention fairly recently.  A character is found in a vegetative state, and a decision is made whether to pull the life support.  This is a case where a moral argument, where some thing is  a little more than a movie is present.


There is no such thing as an uncontroversial thing.  Every decision, every action is a choice, and for each there is a moral statement made.  Movies portray characters making choices, and often there is a reason for it all, there is almost always a point, some obvious, some buried.  From the stories of the bible to Aesop's fables storytelling has always had a moral component.  Morals commentary and connotations are simply the nature of the beast in movies, or anything else.