The Tortured Talent
The portrayal of artfulness and passion is not anything new in cinema. The pursuit of greatness has always been an incredibly important aspect of storytelling, and one that has many variants in its portrayal. However, in the 21st century, the portrayal of achievement is seen as a divisive factor and looks into its detrimental implications on the main protagonist.
Previous films, including Rocky, Chariots of Fire, etc., all present achievement as a generally positive factor that influences the growth of the protagonist. However, what if achievement were instead enabling the individual to gain more stereotypically negative characteristics? Sacrificing their morality for recognition. This is where films such as Whiplash, black-swan, and even Marty Supreme come in, when an individual prioritizes their perceived success over all else.
The obsession with perfection, the main characters often exhibit a drive that works to harm them in the process. There grows an immense distance between them and their most important relationships, for instance, a mother-and-son relationship.
These stories make us question the validity of obsession and at what point our passion is harming our overall happiness. This trope goes far beyond just modern media. It can be argued that Van Gogh and Virginia Woolf can also be considered tortured geniuses or artists.
The issue with these portrayals in the media and the immortalization of attributes is that individuals feed into these characters’ backbreaking dedication instead of recognizing how their obsession causes their downfall. In Whiplash, our main character is highly stressed throughout the film and deals with abuse daily, but people, instead of viewing him as a cautionary tale, idolize him. This is similar to Marty Supreme, who is a cruel and selfish character. However, what you see on social media are edits of him and admiration of his mindset. This mindset, which serves to distance him from others and put others in harm’s way. This is in no way desirable.
Overall, it is incredibly important to recognize how these movies enable new perspectives on achievement. The media needs to respond in a way that doesn’t diminish the intended impact of these movies. These films should not be glorified, and looking at them in only a positive light does not help us understand the complexities of human success.