Top 10 Movie Meanings Everyone Gets WRONG

WatchMojo

Think you know these classic films inside and out? Think again! From misunderstood satire to overlooked social commentary, we're diving deep into the true meanings behind some of Hollywood's most misinterpreted masterpieces. These aren't the movies you thought you knew!

Transcript

00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the movies that people

00:10consistently seem to misinterpret.

00:13Since we'll be talking about the overall meaning of these movies, including finales,

00:17expect some spoilers.

00:22Seeking to capitalize on the sex appeal of rising star Megan Fox, Jennifer's Body was

00:40promoted as a shallow, sexy thriller, aimed at titillating teenage boys.

00:45It was soundly rejected by critics as being little more than an exploitative creature feature

00:50that fell flat at the box office.

00:52However, writer Diablo Cody took issue with the film's marketing and overall perception.

01:06Rather than being a fantasy for boys, the film was meant to be a tale of female empowerment,

01:11and has been reclaimed as a feminist classic by some.

01:14Far from being exploitative, they hold the film up as an important part of the queer and bisexual

01:20canon.

01:24In the film, when Neo chooses the red pill over the blue pill, he leaves the false world

01:39of the Matrix behind and finally sees reality.

01:41Today, the term red-pilled has been adopted by those with anti-feminist views, due to the

01:47pill's role in waking people up.

01:49You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you

01:55want to believe.

01:56You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.

02:03What those men's rights groups seem to ignore is that the film, and all of the symbolism

02:07it makes use of, was created by two trans women.

02:10In the years since the Matrix' release, both Lana and Lily Wachowski have spoken about

02:15Neo's awakening being able to be viewed as a metaphor for coming to terms with one's

02:19gender identity.

02:20Likewise, their film Cloud Atlas, which divided critics and audiences, had its trans allegories

02:26completely overlooked.

02:37George Miller's fourth Mad Max film is rightly held up as one of the greatest action films

02:41of all time, thanks to its breakneck pace and practical action set pieces.

02:45The film follows the titular Max in a harsh and unforgiving wasteland, however, he was only

02:50half of the equation.

02:52Max is thrown headfirst into the path of Furiosa, who is on a mission to save a

02:56group of women from the tyrannical warlord Immortan Joe.

03:10Director George Miller even brought in Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues, to

03:14consult on the film.

03:16Fury Road is a story about female empowerment, especially in the face of oppression, as Furiosa

03:21and Max lead the group of former sex slaves to freedom and revolution.

03:42On the surface, The Shining is a story about a man who becomes trapped in a hotel and tries

03:47to murder his family.

03:48But its themes are much deeper than that.

03:50Is it really about a man who loses himself in substance abuse?

03:53Are the ghosts real or imagined?

03:55Is it about Native American genocide?

03:58Or is it really a confession by director Stanley Kubrick about how he faked the moon landing?

04:03Kubrick intentionally left much of the meaning vague and, much to author Stephen King's dismay,

04:08changed much of the book's context.

04:20As evidenced by the documentary Room 237, everybody has a theory as to what was going on in the

04:25film.

04:26Whatever the film's true meaning, it is obvious that much of what we see, including that cryptic

04:31last shot, will remain open to interpretation.

04:48Although beloved, Paul Verhoeven's hyper-violent 80s action flick is often seen as cheesy fun,

04:54with little to no substance.

04:56While the sequels, cartoon show and the Korean KFC commercial certainly were more in that

05:01vein, the original was brimming with political commentary and religious allegory.

05:06Although some of that allegory has been lost on a modern audience, Robocop is a harsh condemnation

05:11of the corporate greed, police brutality, gentrification and Reaganomics that prevailed in the decade.

05:22Verhoeven has also compared Robocop to Jesus, with his death and resurrection intentionally

05:28drawing parallels to the biblical account.

05:30There's even a scene where he appears to walk on water.

05:33However, as he's an American Jesus, the violence is cranked up to unparalleled degrees.

05:38If everything in American Psycho is to be taken at face value, then Patrick Bateman is a self-obsessed,

05:54murderous psychopath with great business cards who never pays for his crimes.

05:58His narcissistic workout routine and philanderous lifestyle have been emulated by some and condemned

06:03by others.

06:06But both misinterpret Bateman.

06:13Many of his actions, and his character in general, should be called into question.

06:16Just as he was depicted in Bret Easton Ellis' original novel, Bateman is intended to be an

06:21unreliable narrator.

06:23I don't think the film gets across with scenes like the cat and the ATM, however, those scenes

06:27coming so near the end meant many miss the social commentary the film was actually providing.

06:46A common complaint levelled against Martin Scorsese is that the Italian-American director glorifies

06:51violence and makes despicable characters, particularly in the mafia, look cool.

06:55Taxi Driver, The Wolf of Wall Street and The Departed are all films that draw ire for having

07:00these types of characters.

07:01However, more than any film from Marty, Goodfellas has gotten significant pushback for its violent

07:07content and amoral characters, particularly the main character, Henry Hill.

07:16Martin Scorsese has admitted that with Hill, there is something attractive about his evil

07:20lifestyle, but that those, quote, film bros, miss the point.

07:24Hill ends the film as having lost his beloved lifestyle, portraying the gangster he idolised

07:28and living life as an average nobody.

07:43Without much question, the paraphrased, quote, greed is good, is the part of Wall Street that

07:47is best remembered in the cultural zeitgeist.

07:50The speech, given by the iconic character Gordon Gekko, was emblematic of the excess of the

07:55ACs and the desire of corporate raiders for more money and power.

08:06Michael Douglas' Academy Award-winning performance would go on to inspire investors and stockbrokers

08:11to take more and more with little thought for others.

08:14Those who idolised Gekko and parroted his quote, miss the point, he's the bad guy.

08:19Gekko is shown to be a despicable person, caring only for himself and ultimately ends the film

08:24behind bars for insider trading.

08:39Robert Heinlein's novel has been criticised for its extremely militaristic ideals that,

08:44according to many, bordered on fascism.

08:47Similarly, the film adaptation was critiqued by critics for featuring a society structured

08:52around the military, with clear parallels with fascist regimes, drawing ire from critics.

09:02What many failed to realise, though, was that while the novel played these themes straight,

09:06the film is purely satirical.

09:09Just like with Robocop, Paul Verhoeven sent up the violent politics he saw taking hold in

09:14the world by cranking that on-screen violence up to ridiculous extremes.

09:18The film's use of propaganda and outfits reminiscent of the Nazis was taken seriously by some, rather

09:24than as the caricature it was intended as.

09:33Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honourable mentions.

09:37500 Days of Summer.

09:38You aren't supposed to agree with Tom.

09:44The Graduate.

09:47The ending is anything but happily ever after.

09:55Watchmen.

09:55The film doesn't celebrate violence, it shows that we've become desensitised to it.

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10:22With posters adorning countless dorm room walls across the country, many young men went on

10:36to idolise Tyler Durden.

10:38Using his nihilistic, macho-driven lifestyle, Tyler encourages these disenfranchised men to

10:43adopt his violent lifestyle, both in the film and the real world.

10:46He offers broken men an escape from an unfair world by taking it back with their own violence,

10:51resting upon the world and each other.

10:59While Tyler's critiques of the modern world ring true, his response addressing it with

11:03toxic masculinity is flawed.

11:05Tragically, many miss that second part, and overlook the narrator's ultimate rejection

11:10of Tyler's ideals, as he ends the film literally killing that part of himself and embracing the

11:15woman he loves.

11:17So, which films do you think people always get wrong?

11:22Let us know in the comments below.

11:28See ya.

11:29See ya !

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