DevilsInterval: Dissonant Musings

I’m actually irritated that Disney fumbled the bag so hard on the marketing for this movie. It’s got some of the best spec-evo creature design I’ve seen in recent memory, one of the most committed, radical pro-environmental messages I think I’ve ever seen in a non-documentary wide-release, plus overtly queer characters in the first 20 minutes of the movie where both of them aren’t WHITE?!? EXCUSE ME?? Plus a clever repurposing of a central theme of ‘legacy’ from an individual perspective to a collectivist perspective, about relinquishing control and instead focusing on cultivating a world where future generations are free to self-define their own futures. Just... GUH. I had a delightful fucking time with this movie and I hope people don’t accidentally let it fly under the radar. Very very much worth your time.

Pet peeve, YMMV: I’d really like for media analysis stuff I see on YouTube to stop referring to X or Y game, movie, TV show, whatever, as “unique”, “one-of-a-kind”, “genius”, etc. I get that part of why titles like this exist is partially because of the algorithm and spurring click-throughs via hyperbole, but I feel like glittering generalities like this  1) are almost always not true, and 2) Replace appreciation for what makes those seminal works amazing with pseudo-religious worship, whether for the property or the creator. If a thing makes you go wow, or makes your cry, or makes you wanna pump your fist in the air to the point where you want to make a whole video on it, I feel like being specific about identifying and understanding the aspects of it that are remarkable is the way to go. At least in my experience, I feel like it leads to a greater appreciation of both the creator and the piece in question when you know the choices and techniques they used to bring about a piece of work that’s very powerful. As opposed to this weird, “This game is a MacGuffin-esque High Artifact of great power, or this writer/designer/composer is this deific figure who is fundamentally Built Different(TM) or can do no wrong.  I also think it’s more educative for your audience than the kind of waxing poetic I often see in video essays, as well. Art is a human thing, made by humans. Ironically, I almost feel as though it’s diminished by the viewing of either the art or the artist as divinely gifted or inspired.