Whiplash by Damien Chazelle http://realini.blogspot.com/2017/09/note-on-whiplash-writer-director-damien.html - 10 out of 10

 

Whiplash by Damien Chazelle http://realini.blogspot.com/2017/09/note-on-whiplash-writer-director-damien.html

10 out of 10

 

 

For some strange reason, when I first saw this excellent motion picture, I was not taken aback, exhilarated, but last night, when it was aired again on Film Now, it has been such a delight that I am putting this note down

 

Critics and audiences have been jubilant, indeed, it has won many prizes, including three Oscars, it was also nominated for Best Motion Picture, Best Writing Adapted Screenplay in 2015, and it is placed at Forty-One in one chart

If you check this and other data on the IMDB site https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2582802/awards/?ref_=tt_awd you find that the public thinks this is one of the best 100

 

The narrative, cast, director, production team are all fabulous, and albeit I think I have heard that Miles Teller aka Andrew, the main character in the movie, is somewhat difficult (may obnoxious) the film is mesmerizing.

Andrew wants to be ‘one of the great’, one of the memorable scenes take place at the table, and other young men boast and are praised for their achievements, which Andrew – who is at times quite difficult and unlikeable, as when he breaks up with a girl – dismisses, one of the other men at the table plays in the third league, whereas the hero is a student at the best music teaching institution, Shaffer Conservatory of Music, in the land and he wants to have a legacy, to be remembered long into the future

 

It is often an overwhelming fight, Andrew explores his limitations – Harvard Professor Tal Ben Shahar http://realini.blogspot.com/2016/04/choose-life-you-want-by-tal-ben-shahar.html has a few mantras which he uses in his lectures (the most popular in the history of Harvard) and one of them is ‘learn to fail, or fail to learn’, giving the example of a very successful individual, who rises to the top, to work in an important position at the White House, only to commit suicide, when he is faced with the first crises of his life

Terence Fletcher is the professor at Shaffer who has a jazz band that represents the prestigious conservatory at competitions, he is portrayed by spectacular JK Simmons, who has won the Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, and indeed, this is a tour de force, an extremely challenging role, which combines under the same skin the monster, abuser, sadist homophobe (though now that I put this down, I wonder if the mentor is not really using all kinds of insults, just to provoke a reaction, defiance, to hurt feelings and then make the students rise to prove him dead wrong) and the winning competitor

 

Andrew is accepted into the band, but only to turn pages for the ‘lead drummer’, his role is limited, and he might get a chance, in an emergency, which arrives, as the pack of papers with the score is missing – I may have missed this, but I suspect that Fletcher would have taken the papers, to give Andrew a chance, without undermining his image as the obnoxious, monstrous sadist – but the he is pushed down again

The protagonist believes in himself, seems to apply the rules from The Six Pillars of Self Esteem http://realini.blogspot.com/2013/06/six-pillars-of-self-esteem-by-nathaniel.html a classic of psychology by the glorious Nathaniel Branden…the musician believes in himself, he is ready to sacrifice for his goals, at stages, he is so devoted to his aspirations that he exercises his drums to the point where he is wounded, his fingers have blood, and he has to put his hands in an ice bucket to be able to continue

 

If we refer to another classic, Outliers http://realini.blogspot.com/2013/05/outliers-by-malcolm-gladwell.html by Malcolm Gladwell, one of the most influential psychologists of our age, then we can see the principle advanced there in action – the author says that if people exercise, study for ten thousand hours, over a period of ten years, which means an average of three hours per day, then one is almost destined to reach the top, unless of course, one that is not in shape, hopes to break the marathon records…

We find quite a few Character Strengths in the hero, who is brave, resilient, has vitality, he shows curiosity, creativity (especially in the grand finale), wisdom, self-control, love of learning, appreciation of excellence and beauty and there is more, in so many ways this is a role model, with some caveats that have to do with his behavior – it is in fact worse than misbehavior – towards the young woman he dates…

 

He is the one that invites her out, and then suddenly, he gives an incredible speech, insisting on the lack of perspective, the fact that he will dedicate his time, efforts to his practice, the music, and she will be frustrated, upset that he does not give her enough, or any attention, and hence they will be unhappy and fight, which could be taken as honesty, and a correct assessment of possibilities, but shows quite a bit of insensitivity, to say the least…in fact, part of the huge appeal of this wondrous work is that we have complex characters and situations, Fletcher is a bully and abuser, but at the same time, he is one that dedicates his life to finding the future great musician, and in his way (flawed) he tries to offer ‘support’

 

Now for a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/unique-in-world.html?q=unique+in+the+world – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

 

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html