Watching





return at the end of






got me misty eyed again when I watched it tonight.

It got me thinking, what other cinematic moments have been enhanced in some way due to real life.

The obvious one is River Phoenix's last scene in Stand By Me. The way Dreyfuss describes his death and how his character just disappears from screen. After River's premature death, that scene hits me even harder.

Thats one example. What are some others? They don't have to surround death or tragedy, it could just be something that happens in a film that mirrors or relates strongly to some aspect of real life. Something that by coincidence or on purpose, alters the viewing experience.

Trump in Home Alone 2 is another one. His appearance itself is pretty innocuous, but because it is a relatively fun movie that now has a cameo by a man who nearly killed democracy for an entire country, it sticks out like a sore thumb upon subsequent rewatches.

Right off the bat, Night of the Living Dead, where a young black man is antagonized by an older white man. 1968. George A. Romero swore up and down that he was not making any racial commentary in that movie, and that Duane Jones was simply the best actor available to him so he got the most lines as Ben. But c'mon. If you can't see that as a metaphor for 1968 race relations, you're intentionally trying not to. Also, the assassination of Martin Luther King factors in, but the film was finished before April 4.

Also, one you may not consider, but The World is Not Enough. It was the last Bond film made before 9/11. It did not get good reviews upon release, not just for Denise Richards' "acting", but the plot itself was considered too far-fetched for a Bond film and that's saying something. But after 9/11 it was obvious that a terrorist attack could happen outside of the usual suicide bombings in Israel. Suddenly, the movie has a much darker tone, and in my opinion has helped age the film better than you think.

And the opposite of that is The Living Daylights, which for a long time was one of my favorite Bond films. But now that Bond spends the last third of the film helping the Taliban, it's kind of lost its luster for me.

The Dark Knight Rises was a pretty obvious one. Innocent people murdered during an entertainment event.

Not quite the same, but I finally got around to watching The Hunger Games: Mockingjay 1&2 last week and the scenes of war and people huddling in bunkers during a bombing made me think of Ukraine.

I’m sure a lot of movies can be seen in a different light after 9/11. True Lies and Rambo III come to mind.


On a personal note, after my dad died, Field of Dreams hit a very different note for me and really changed my appreciation for the movie.

Very true

For me, it is Communion and Fire In The Sky.

Right?! I'm in a Dawn of The Dead group and whenever this aspect of NOTLD is mentioned, there is such denial about this.

This is TV, not movies, but on the ABC sitcom Growing Pains they often made fun of Carol's weight, I think at one point she was jumping on the bed or something and caused it to collapse.

These jokes take on a different meaning when later on Tracey Gold admitted to an eating disorder, either anorexia or bulimia not sure which.

Any scene where a Father and Son bond, show respect to each other, show love and affection for each other, when tragedy occurs to one of them and their feelings are showing, etc. truly get me. As a Father of a Son, scenes like the ones mentioned just deeply affect me in many ways.

To be fair to the members of that group, Romero did say on several occasions he did not intend to comment on race relations with his film. I believe him, but I think it still comes through regardless of intent.

Going further with Night, I also see a definite parallel with lynch mobs and the closing scenes of the film.

I mean, in NOTLD the cops mistakenly shoot a black man. Even if Romero didn't mean it, it cannot be ignored through today's lens.

I was really disturbed by the latest Matrix movie and the use of body bombs in a city setting due to 9/11, even though its 20 years ago it really bothered me and was the first thing I thought of in that scene.

Relatedly, the idea of a "digital self image" being your idealized self, Agent Smith repeatedly deadnaming Neo, and rejecting your former life to realize your true self all take on renewed meaning after the sisters came out as transgender.

The original Matrix got a lot of scrutiny after Columbine.

Unfortunately Trump is going to come up in a lot of cases when a president is depicted as a buffoon or corrupt puppet, or it’s a fluke election. I watched Air Force One a couple years ago and couldn’t stop thinking about Trump, and not just in a “Harrison Ford would be a better president than Trump” kind of way. I don’t even remember the reasons why, but it almost coaxed me into breaking into the never-used Political Film forum.

Citizen Kane specifically has a ton of uncanny parallels.

I think in the last two examples you're citing intentional instances of filmmakers attempting to showcase real people and events but without specifically naming them. Perhaps the OP can clarify but I think he's referring to unintended connections to real life.

Sort of like (and again, apologies, not a film reference) when comedian Mitch Hedberg says "I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too" and you think of how he died of a drug overdose, the joke takes on a vastly different meaning.

Same here but for the opposite reason. I always wanted to be a dad and it never happened. I’ll regret that until the day I die.
I know it’s marvel and there are far better examples, but GOG 2 really hits me. Especially the funeral and the scenes that preceded it.

Oh for fucks sakes. Yeah add any former President to that. Include the current one. Johnny Carson used to joke about how much of a crook our current one is.

Have you done a Big Brother type thing or thought of fostering, or something of that nature? Being a biological parent is, for sure, a thing, but the bond formed through guidance, being a role model, etc. is where the gold is, and that doesn't have to come from siring a child or even being a full-time parent.

Yeah i get that. i dont believe Romero sat down and wrote this then cast it with a Black Lead with intentions of making a Social Statement.

But i also don't buy that he, in 1960's America... was blissfully unaware of the risks in the casting. I also have a hard time believing no one pulled him aside to see if he was aware of the shit the casting might stir.

Without any knowledge, I'd speculate he was well aware of the implications, agreed with the statement, and appreciated the extra resonance.

If anyone pulled him aside to raise it as an issue I can imagine his cackle as he said something like "I know, ain't it grreat?!"

I've read in more than one place Duane Jones brought up his concern to Romero about the effect the scene where Ben slaps Barbara will have because a black man is playing the part. So it sounds like at least one person was asking Romero to think about Ben outside the idea of being "colourblind".

I love the movie, but I think Romero not wanting to deal with racial issues is why the movie winds up with awkward stuff like the "bigot" character being 100% right. If everyone had listened to him and locked themselves in the basement instead of listening to Ben, they would have survived. Ben only survives the night because he finally went into the basement

Exactly. Whether or not he intended to make a statement, he was literally living through the times and that had to seep into the filmmaking. Like, say you wrote a script in 2017 about a worldwide pandemic, totally finished it, it's done. But you don't get to film it until now. You gonna tell me that the events of the last two years still wouldn't influence your filmmaking?

Haha, a while ago we had a thread here about movies where the villain was right, and I cited NOTLD for the exact reasons you mention.

Actually no I haven’t. I was so focused on finding a partner for many years. My marriage ended for a lot of reasons one of which was if we were going to have children. Since then I pretty much threw in the towel. Maybe it’s something I should re-evaluate.