Throughout the decades, movies have evolved, changed, and reshaped our society. Their importance of pop culture, societal archetypes, general expectations cannot be overstated. Below are a few of mine and Abby’s, favorites, as well as being important cultural landmarks for their time periods.
60s
ABBY – Les Yeux Sans Visage
A black-and-white French film, Les Yeux Sans Visage was initially met with major criticism when it first came out. However, nowadays it is often praised for its poeticism. It even went on to inspire a Billy Idol song by the name of “Eyes Without a Face,” which is the title of the movie translated into English.
In the movie, we follow a doctor, Dr. Génessier, who was responsible for an accident that deformed the face of his daughter, Christiane. With the help of his secretary, Louise, Dr. Génessier kidnaps women and knocks them unconscious. Then, they perform a surgery that takes off the skin of the woman’s face before putting it on Christiane’s. All the while, the police are investigating this case and trying to catch whoevers behind the disappearances of various women.
The movie discusses loss of identity, and the societal pressures of being beautiful. It also covers guilt, as Dr. Génessier is fine torturing women just to help his daughter recover from something he caused.
70s
FIONA – Rocky Horror Picture Show
Infamously a flop as soon as it came out, Rocky Horror is a musical, comedic, and horrific masterpiece of the 70s. It has a massive cult following for over-the-top, campy, and weird sets, characters, and plot lines.
It follows Brad and Janet after getting engaged at a friend’s wedding (with two musical numbers before the plot even starts) and becoming stranded on their way to meet the professor that introduced them. They enter Dr. Frank-n-Furter’s terrifying castle of scientific exploration and sexual exploration.
The movie, in its fame, has become either a nuisance or a hallmark for LGBTQ+ people. Its themes of gender expression, queerness, and self expression have come under scrutiny as language becomes more modern. The gender non-conformity and anti-cisheterosexuality is present especially in the main “antagonist” Dr. Frank-n-Furter (played by the fantastic Tim Curry), who has a song dedicated to it entirely (“Sweet Transvestite”).
The ideas of creating oneself– something held closely by the trans community– are present in the Dr.’s creation of his own perfect man, Rocky. The movie’s discussion of conformity in the era it was created, exploration, and absurdity all lead it to be a novel highlight of an era of some of the best movies.
80s
ABBY – Heathers
Starring Christian Slater and Winona Ryder, Heathers is one of the most influential movies of the modern time. Even though Heathers inspired movies like Mean Girls, it was not an immediate hit at the box office. People thought it was too crude, and were upset it was breaking their image of high school life often shown in teen flicks.
Heathers was something new for its time, from its dark and witty humor, to its serious discussions about teenage suicide and bullying. Although it masks everything with sarcasm, the message about the school system is apparent. We follow Veronica Sawyer, a girl who’s a part of a clique of popular girls. The other girls in the clique are Heather Duke, Heather McNamara, and the ferocious queen bee, Heather Chandler. Early on in the movie, we’re also introduced to J.D, Veronica’s love interest, who is quickly revealed to have murderous tendencies.
Throughout the movie, we learn about the true darkness of the film. Bulimia, murder, teenage drinking, etc. A common theme throughout it is the fact that none of the adults seem to care, or even truly notice the severity of everything happening in the first place.
90s
FIONA – Smoke Signals
Smoke Signals is a story of family, abuse, and reconciling with what you know about someone and who they really are. The film explores the different avenues of personhood, and how your loved ones see you and what you do. Victor Joseph and Thomas Builds-the-Fire, two childhood friends living on Coeur d’Alene Indian reservation, go on a roadtrip to Arizona to recover Victor’s deadbeat father’s ashes. Throughout the journey, and after making it to their destination, they adapt to their image of Victor’s father in different ways, especially after meeting his friend Suzy Song.
The impact this film had on me is monumental. I am not one to cry, but from the beginning to end, this film was so beautiful and moving that by the time it was over, I was sobbing. Its use of the original story and the thoughts of the characters is tasteful and refined, while the rest of it feels a little under-produced, the roughness adds to the passion felt for the film by everyone involved in making it. There is something deeply human about the entire story. The characters are flawed and disadvantaged but become empowered from their own abilities.
It speaks to both a universal human experience, and an intrinsically Native American experience, as the story discusses living on a rez, being abandoned by family, alcoholism, and the community built off of trauma survivors in a way that doesn’t alienate non-native/indigenous audiences. It paints a humanistic and non-pretentious picture of differences, growth, change, and most importantly, John Wayne’s teeth.
2000s
FIONA – Juno
Starring Elliot Page, Michael Cera, J.K. Simmons, and Jason Batemen (among others), Juno is the only movie I have ever refused to watch. My mom was aware of how much I would enjoy it, and, in a silly act of defiance, I told her we would never watch it. It became a household joke, up until I finally relented, and fell in love with the film.
The story is equally heartfelt and hilarious, and the characters are beautiful, flawed, and real. By far, the dialogue is one of the best parts of the movie. Every character has their own idiosyncrasies, and intentionally speaks like adults failing to grasp teenager lingo.
The beauty of it is in its duality between light-hearted humor, and genuine moments. The topic is difficult, especially considering Juno (played by Elliot Page) has her own problems besides the main issue of the movie, teen pregnancy. Nearly everything in this film is calculated to be absolutely perfect, from the sets to the humor to the soundtrack, it all combines into a heartfelt and amusing movie. The soundtrack is especially notable, featuring Kimya Dawson, Sonic Youth, The Velvet Underground, The Kinks, and Buddy Holly. The feeling generated by the film is unlike any other coming-of-age or comedy. It is unique to all the love put into the project.
ABBY – Little Miss Sunshine
Little Miss Sunshine is a comedic movie that follows a dysfunctional family on their drive to California. It stars Paul Dano, Steve Carnell, Toni Collete, and many other faces you’re sure to recognize.
In this movie, we are introduced to a small family, who seem to never get along. A success-obsessed father, Richard, an overworked mother, Sheryl, an angry son, Dwayne, an addict grandfather, Edwin, a terminally depressed uncle, Frank, and a little girl who wants to be a star, Olive. We find out that the uncle of the family, Frank, had lost his job recently and needs to move in with his sister, Sheryl. We then discover that the youngest daughter, Olive, has been accepted into a beauty pageant in California. The family, despite being busy, decides to take Olive, as she’s incredibly excited and they don’t want to let her down. Over the trip, it seems like nonstop chaos. From the old car they’re driving breaking down, to Dwayne lashing out at everyone, it seems like this family cannot get a break.
The movie deals with depression, and how it can manifest in someone, and it also speaks on the nature of competition in this world, and how cruel it often can be. Although at some points it is an incredibly heavy and depressing movie, it still has a feel-good ending that wraps everything up with a satisfying end.
2010s-20s
ABBY – Murder on the Orient Express
A movie based off of an older movie, which is based off an even older book, Murder on the Orient Express (2017) is a must-see movie if you enjoy murder mysteries. It has famous faces such as Johnny Depp, William Dafoe, and Leslie Odom Jr, who all do a wonderful job in playing their roles.
Our protagonist, Hercule Poirot, is considered the best detective in the world. He is obviously very famous, as multiple people recognized him immediately upon meeting him. The plot of the movie involves Poirot traveling on a luxurious train throughout Europe with a group of other wealthy people, when tragedy strikes. Everyone seems to be doing fine, until a small avalanche blocks the tracks the train was going on. Shortly after this incident, Poirot discovers that one of the passengers has been killed. He must now figure out who the murderer was before they get the chance to act again.
With many unpredictable twists, this movie will keep you on the edge of your seat up until the very end. If you enjoy other murder mysteries, you’re sure to enjoy this one as well.
FIONA – The Lighthouse
As one of the most defining horror movies of this decade, The Lighthouse has a grit to it unreplicated by other modern movies. It’s set entirely on one island, and with only three characters ever shown present, it utilizes its feature to create a feeling of isolation, madness, and confusion in the inhabitants and audience. The two main characters remain unnamed throughout the film, only being referred to by aliases, and the third is a siren-like creature that appears to haunt and terrorize one of the main characters.
As the horror genre progressed over the years, the general audience’s focus shifted towards slasher and quick-scare films; this comes as a drastic change in the genre overall. Other directors’ works, like Ari Aster’s Hereditary, had revolutionized the modern genre by having a looming sense of dread instead of instant spooks, but no movie has done it quite like The Lighthouse. The constant atmosphere of dreariness, melancholy, terror, and puzzlement pervades the film so much it leaves watchers feeling the aftertaste for days.
