In 1967, French literary theorist Roland Barthes published The Death of the Author, an essay that brought a brand new school of literary analysis to the forefront, forgoing attempts to determine the author’s intent behind the piece and instead putting the weight on the individual’s interpretation of the text.
Similarly, in 1999, the film Fight Club graced cinemas, expanding the storied feminist work to an even wider audience, many of whom, unfortunately, would go on to worship Tyler Durden.
It’s rare that widespread misinterpretation of a film ends up being anything but exhausting for those in the know. So, in honor of Fight Club, the gang over at r/movies have delved into debate over the films that everyone seems to get wrong.
The initiator took the opportunity to mourn American Psycho, which they hilariously, cynically dub the “sigma grindset movie,” as it’s come to be understood by some of the film’s more ignorant viewers.
One user suggested a popular interpretation that often gets falsely applied to movies instead, namely the glorification of war and the military, listing Apocalypse Now as an example.
Other responders followed suit with this idea.
Another finger was pointed at films involving the mob, with an extra special nod to Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas, where so often, the life is meant to be shown as a miserable one and is taken to be something to aspire to, almost.
Sticking with the Scorsese theme, several folks pointed to The Wolf of Wall Street, which, of course, has spawned many a painful mockup of Gordon Gecko in some viewers.
Admittedly, art’s fluidity in the realms of escapism and interpretive indulgence has never been truly harmful in and of itself. Still, with that in mind, we recommend some ground rules such as “Don’t be Gordon Gecko” or “Don’t be Tyler Durden” be affixed to the forefront of filmgoers’ consciousness.