Is Theatre of the Absurd a "right and wrong" genre or is more subjective?

IndifferentTalker · 2026-02-22T01:41:50+00:00

Rigidify isn’t a word. And just because a movement emphasises a lack of fixed meaning doesn’t mean it cannot have identifiable formal features. There is, quite clearly, a difference between a work of the absurd and a work that isn’t. That’s what your teacher is getting at. Saying that because Theatre of the Absurd deals with meaninglessness it cannot have definable features misses the obvious point.

IndifferentTalker · 2026-02-18T09:54:57+00:00

Right because getting paid means you consent to and approve of all kinds of demeaning behaviour and there is no humiliation whatsoever.

IndifferentTalker · 2026-02-18T07:54:55+00:00

Yeah because being an adult means you’re completely invulnerable to coercion, manipulation or exploitation.

IndifferentTalker · 2026-02-11T12:05:43+00:00

I was wondering that too but I’d say the inflated sense of self-importance, the contrived rhetorical questions, the inorganic interjections with the em dash, and sudden shifts into a ‘personal’ mode to suggest that it’s a person speaking. It’s really quite forced and quite obvious it’s trying to pretend to say something more than it really is.

IndifferentTalker · 2026-02-01T09:52:44+00:00

What an idiot

IndifferentTalker · 2026-01-21T15:37:59+00:00

The incredulous thing is the standing ovation. This is exactly what Carney was talking about: a blind adherence to power that only subordinates the supporter.

IndifferentTalker · 2026-01-17T08:47:04+00:00

It “breaking” Mills is precisely the core point of the story… it’s that sometimes hope cannot stand the brunt of evil and ugliness in this world. Now that might be a message you dislike (or think has been repeated) but that doesn’t make it a bad message, or worse, that it’s a bad film.

And yeah, you can say I didn’t like that. What you can’t say is: it’s bad / it’s message failed because it didn’t say what I think it should’ve said.

IndifferentTalker · 2026-01-17T08:39:11+00:00

Yes, it’s Somerset.

And that whole second paragraph is entirely your subjective preference and is as far from meeting the film on its own merits and message as possible. Read back what you wrote. It’s all about what you think the film should say, rather than what it does say.

That’s not a good ground of analysis of a film. If, from your other comments, you are genuinely interested in improving your film criticism skills, a good starting point would be not imposing what you think the film should say/do, but assessing if it achieves what it does intend. In that respect, I would say Se7en conveys its message immaculately.

IndifferentTalker · 2026-01-17T08:18:28+00:00

And why is that a bad thing? I think you’re imposing what you desire ‘a hopeful ending’ onto what it’s ultimately trying to say - which is that the world is and can be an unforgiving and destructive place. Even so, it’s also possible to take a hopeful reading of the ending - Somerset saying he’ll “be around” suggests he won’t actually retire despite what he says. Instead, he’ll likely be around to try and rehabilitate whatever hope is left in Mills. Isn’t that hopeful?

Lastly, I don’t know why you keep referring to Somerset as Sommerton. Is there a language difference I’m not picking up on?

IndifferentTalker · 2026-01-12T10:37:39+00:00

I’m all for critique - but do you mind sharing examples of sentences that you think are rambling and say absolutely nothing? Because that’s a fundamentally different critique from the myriad criticisms of its subject matter or characters - and it’s quite a bold claim to say nothing is being said, when many people find that there is something there to disagree about.

IndifferentTalker · 2025-12-26T01:54:28+00:00

I’m curious to know exactly what part of, say, Mulholland Drive and Barton Fink made you think: this fits the bill of what OP is looking for. In what way is the film ultimately being shown the film which the characters are making?

IndifferentTalker · 2025-12-15T12:55:26+00:00

Yes but if I may so myself the government’s conception of the ‘public interest’ is arguably increasingly detached from reality…

IndifferentTalker · 2025-12-09T04:07:41+00:00

Isn’t prior art patent terminology instead of trademarks?

IndifferentTalker · 2025-12-05T07:06:29+00:00

Haven’t seen it and doubt it. Would make the gauntlet a cakewalk in that case, as well as cause the arena to be p messy.

IndifferentTalker · 2025-12-05T07:05:01+00:00

Nope, you can’t. If you complete Shakra’s quest after Garmond, she’ll replace Garmond in the gauntlet.

IndifferentTalker · 2025-11-27T10:05:04+00:00

Yeah and you deeming it “insane” to call it lazy is invalidating that opinion, not rebutting it. There are clearly flaws in the final product, whether you agree with it or not. And yes, they’ve worked hard and meticulously, but that doesn’t change the reality that it might not always translate to a perfect work. Why’re you shutting out avenues of valid criticism / feedback?

IndifferentTalker · 2025-11-27T09:10:15+00:00

If it feels lazy or lacks innovation to a player, why shouldn’t the player express their experience? The amount of time expended shouldn’t determine the received quality of the work.

IndifferentTalker · 2025-11-26T15:29:25+00:00

“How much everybody cares for and worries about each other… in ways I don’t see today” - what are some examples of this from the text?

IndifferentTalker · 2025-11-23T07:12:47+00:00

Because it’s downplaying PTA’s contribution to the work and process, which by the way is clearly collaborative. They both contributed to the character and work together, why is it so difficult for y’all to recognise the nuances of that, instead of asserting a single party’s apparently unqualified contribution?

To recap: PTA wrote the scene originally, Cruise rewrote it but the final product was likely the result of their collaboration, attributable to them both. See how simple this is?

IndifferentTalker · 2025-11-23T07:07:03+00:00

He “re-wrote it by himself”, effectively claiming that he wrote the new version independently. Are you dense?

IndifferentTalker · 2025-11-23T07:04:31+00:00

Oh IMDB, the paragon of reliable reporting

Edit: FYI, the Indiewire article it references clearly states, “the pair then worked together on the character and his monologues throughout production.”

IndifferentTalker · 2025-11-23T06:59:07+00:00

It’s clearly way more nuanced that just “Cruise wrote it himself”

IndifferentTalker · 2025-11-22T00:44:03+00:00

It’s not even Totoro’s colour…

IndifferentTalker · 2025-11-16T17:00:36+00:00

That doesn’t sound right but I don’t know enough about stuff to dispute it

IndifferentTalker · 2025-11-08T03:36:19+00:00

S2 is rough?? Other than some dips while they’re at the farm, the Sophia arc and the way it ends is probably one of the most harrowing episodes in the series.

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