Why All Movies Are The Same

There are countless movies about countless topics, but there is one thing that they all have in common. Let's take a look at some classics to explore the obvious yet overlooked similarity between them all.

[NowYouSeeIt]

Anybody have other fun examples of movies that are a metaphor for filmmaking?

[thrillhousevanhouten]

"Movies are made by people who make movies"

Tommy Wiseau would like to have a word...

[sohndustin]

The alien window barrier in Arrival also has a wide screen aspect ratio

[uberminseok]

Why all critiques of cinema are the same: They see things through what they know and can only explain by what they know.

[SanderVermeer]

The most intriguing observation of 2001: A Space Oddyssey is that the screen is black in the first few minutes, essentially creating a monolith from which the viewer "enters" the movie.

[MrLukeod]

The man in the Goodfellas painting is real. His name is John Weaving, and the dogs are Brocky and Twiggy. The painting is based on a picture from a 1978 National Geographic feature on Ireland's longest river, the Shannon. This was researched by Alex Godfrey.

[timborowiec]

You made some good points but I think your argument about "the characters directing things" is really farfetched. This would seem to apply to pretty much any character who controls the actions of any other character somehow being a metaphor for filmmaking, when in reality people telling each other what to do is just a really common part of life, and I don't think it reflects this bias.

[artphone]

You're only saying this because you're most probably a member of cinema industry. Some of these films might easily be allegories for conducting an orchestra. Or for organizing a riot, or the kids of the neighborhood for a game of soccer. Also a game of soccer. You know what Daniel Plainview was acting like? A coach of a soccer team. He was sitting on the bench and commanding his men or players againts the fire... And Eli was like a rival coach too. He had his own local team. ... this could go on and on.

[Remiel_Plainview]

Meanwhile in a parallel universe,
" All movies are different "

[charleshanson]

This really boils down to: Humans require a hierarchy structure to accomplish larger projects, usually with a clear leader. Making a film is exactly that, so it drilling for oil, so is organizing a heist. The connection is teamwork with leadership, not necessarily films are made because of the way films are made.

[FreakStyler]

Here's a thought:
I think you have also fallen into the bias interpreting everything in film as being an analogy to film. Only a film critic who spends most of his time analyzing movies will see it that way. You are seeing the metaverse of movies in every movie.

Whereas other people will see it completely differently. They will see a film as an analogy to their life. Our perception is shaped by our existence. You see things through your lense, and I see things through my lense. But it is not just a physical process of light transmission into my eyes. My conscious and subconscious manipulate the objective reality into a subjective experience.

2 people seeing the same film, or the same thing in reality, can come out with fundamentally different perspectives of what happened.

[drynnbavis]

This feels like a stretch lol.

I agree with you on some parts but I don't think this "film within a film" concept is as ubiquitous as you're making it out to be. Your literal examples are good, but once you get to Parasite, TWBB, and 2001 I think it's stretched thin.

Are all of these "in charge" characters really metaphors for directors? Or is it simply that directors are another example of "in charge" characters? If you switch "director" for "orchestra conductor" or "circus ring leader" your metaphor still makes sense, so I don't think these movies are strictly making metaphors for "a film within a film" (or at least not all of them).

Or could it be that your observation here is clouded in your own bias for film? The same bias you're saying these directors may hold with their constant use of "film within a film" props? Because perhaps you too are more familiar with the concept of a "director" and naturally made that comparison before considering the aforementioned "conductor" or "circus ring leader".

Not trying to spark a fight, just sharing my thoughts. Great video again as always man!

[m.wasiqwasim]

Starts talking about seinfeld's airplane food joke.
Shows someone at the laugh factory stage.
Veitnam flashbacks....

[mopslikvonstein]

"HAL is the shape of a camera"... uhm that is literally HAL's camera that the computer uses to "watch" the ship

[TheCoachZed]

Ever wonder why every Stephen King protagonist in his first three decades of work is either a writer or teacher?

[ze_rubenator]

There are so many dull books about writers with writer's block, and I will never understand who it's written for.

[pheemer]

This video is not just a breath of fresh air, it's air filled with vitamins and caffeine!! I'd been in a deep depression after watching the trailer for the new Netflix show: "Cooking With Paris", but this one "Now You See It" video has cheered me up! Please, please will all of the intelligent and creative people of the world speak up and share your thoughts and ideas so that we know you're out there!

[aakelbo]

Im glad a doodle of Trisha is considered "contemporary art"

[theonlymegumegu]

The way you bring everything back to your beginning insight was amazing, bravo. I love that sentiment too; movies (and art in general) can be enjoyed all the way from the over analyzing cinephile to the "see a thing, like a thing" viewer. I suppose perhaps like good CG, good filmmaking is "unnoticable" and you can just enjoy the finished product without needing to get metatextual.

[juxe]

they forgot the big one - Inception, a team of characters take a subject on a journey, an illusion to plant an idea in their head the same way a movie does, each team member is a role on a film set, Cobbs the director, Arthurs the producer, Eames is the actor, Ariadnes the production designer, Saitos the studiohead keeping an eye and Fischer is the audience member