No time for intros. America is probably the country with the biggest fascination with the biggest fascination with the devil, ghosts, and paranormal activity. (An argument can be made for Japan being the most ghost-interested, but thats not the assignment) So its not surprising that hollywood has been able to churn out Paranormal Activity sequels to the future and beyond. (Disclaimer: I haven't seen any of these movies so this is based of trailers and what I've heard my friends say)
Anyways, the reason movies about ghosts and devils have been around for ever is that, well, stories about ghosts and devils have been around forever. from Dante's Inferno to The Exorcist. (Which is surprisingly not about exercising) But what makes Paranormal Activity such a success? This is probably because the horrors in that series happen to everyday American families, and it creates the feeling that it could happen to the viewer. I'm not scared if, say, i watch Alien, because I'm not on some mining rig lightyears away from earth. but the idea that the Devil could blight anyone and everyone is what makes the Devil a celebrity in america.
Oh and heres a picture of this proposed public statue in Oklahoma. The Devil is a pretty cool guy, I mean just look how happy that kid is.
Ichabod Crane, the protagonist of Sleepy Hollow, Americas first fable. he was a coward, a gold digging, manipulative, scheming coward, in a story where the antagonist is exponentially more likable than the Protagonist. Possessing only negative traits and being scared out of his wits by a head-lacking, vegetable -smashing cavalier, Ichabod Crane was the first character to be shamefully inducted into the anti-hero hall of fame.
Anywas, because don't want to put thought into transitioning between paragraphs, I'm here to talk about the similarities between Crane and a modern anti hero. So let me introduce Mark Renton, from the scotish film Trainspotting. A heroin addict who's only hope in life is to get his next fix, Renton manages to make bad decision after bad decision. heres just an example of the shithole he's in.
So, spoiler warning from here on out, although I don't know why anyone would be reading this besides Mr. T. back to the assignment. The three major faults that put Renton in the same catagory as Crane? He's greedy. He's lazy. And he's a coward too.
So the big spoiler here, towards the end of the film, he and his, well not friends, more of moochers, make a huge drug deal, and promise to split the money. He walks away with all of it in the middle of the night. Yes his friends might have been scumbags, but he steals 4,000 pounds from each one of them, lets just assume this is a lot, cause I'm to lazy to convert.
Also, his laziness. While he's staying in his distributors flat, his friend and fellow addict's baby dies from neglect. The entire flat was so consumed by their addiction that they didn't even notice that a baby was DEAD.
And finally the trait that makes him most like Ichabod. He's a coward, he ditches his best friend when being chased by bobbies (or whatever british police are called). He doesn't stop his psychopathic friend anytime he violently assaults some one. Yea its not as bad as being chased by a ghost, but there aren't many phantoms in downtown Glasgow.
So thats it, its not great, probably best described as adequate, but its better than a zero.
