Where the Wild Things Are

Although I went to see Where the Wild Things Are when it premiered on Friday afternoon, I have been putting off writing a review about it.

Why?

Because I really, really wanted to like it...But it turned out that I didn't like it at all. I wanted to refrain from going on a huge "anti-hipster" rant, although the obvious bent toward young adults, rather than children, is a big part of why this movie was so disappointing. I didn't want to complain about how the film didn't seem true to the spirit of the Maurice Sendak book, or about how the trendy Karen O. soundtrack was more distracting/annoying than refreshing, or even about how this movie didn't have any real point. However, I think that it's not really about the movie by itself, but rather about the turn that American "Counterculture" has taken in the past five years, which I think is important to consider, debate and change to become more individual again.

I think the reason why the "hipster" movement (and all that it has colored in the media, fashion, music, etc.) bothers me so much is because it has become so void of originality. I was thinking about it on the way home from the movie theater, and wondering if this is how "Hippies" felt in the mid 1970's after the culture and fashion of "hippie" became commodified, and void of the core values that started the movement.

I feel that before hipster was "Hipster," there were some cool stuff going on. I think that the point was kind of a return to the basics; do-it-yourself fashion, indie music, recycling, celebrating intelligence and geekiness, rather than standards of beauty and status that many of us grew up with. These are things that I really got behind and thought to be positive.

Now, however, I feel like this isn't even what "Hipster" means. It seems more synonymous with buying expensive clothing that LOOKS vintage or beat up (which, I believe, leads to the perpetuation of high prices and over-production of retail stores.) It's also about fetishizing everything that has to do with childhood and the unwillingness to grow up (while not being able to honestly emote or be vulnerable.) Essentially, "hipster" is all about an image, without any core beliefs or responsibilities needed to back up an honest movement. It's just an aesthetic façade, and that's disappointing to me.

Instead of going on further about how this relates to Where the Wild Things Are, I will just post an audio clip from NPR that condenses my main ideas about why the movie was so odd and uncuddly.

Sorry about the rant, guys--If you liked the film, all the more reason for you to comment! Let me know what you liked about it, I'm always open to debate.