on whiplash

A text conversation with my friend after watching Whiplash for the first time.

J: Whiplash was beautiful thanks for the rec

S: Did you seriously watch the whole thing tonight?

J: Haha yeah

S: Thats fantastic So what's your takeaway Who was correct Fletcher or Neiman

J: I lean towards fletcher being wrong but i also very much see that it's clearly gray. To do wrong to someone because you believe in their resilience and antifragile nature doesn't make what you did right but maybe the final intention can justify the means

I think thats probably asking the wrong question though because imo the core lesson is about perspective — esp your personal ability to shape your perception of circumstance.

But i also just loved just the representation of obsession. Capturing strong passion is in itself something that I think is so appealing and intriguing and they did that well

Hbu whatd u think when u watched it

S: Your take on obsession is right I can't really go through and feel the emotions of Neiman Fletcher was a touch too extreme But it's a very real character

J: yeah idk like i personally want to respect fletcher despite how extreme he was at times bc i think i'm j a very devout believer in the whole antifragility thing but haven't done enough thinking on what's right and what isn't from a moral perspective

S: I think moral is too hard to decipher And everyone has their own compass Sometimes I find that fletcher is the outside voice of the way the world wants you to be Molding you into thinking what you want is truly what you want In reality you're following someone else's love I wouldn't make the analogy that I'm neiman though

J: yeah i mean i think the alternative viewpoint of the ending isn't niemann's triumph but his forced absorption of fletcher's ideology

reminds me a lot of addressing inequality in politics — how it's a bit of a paradox because the fact that as a marginalized individual you are genuinely subject to significant hardships and want to speak out against those systematic wrongdoings (e.g. fletcher being too extreme and hurting his students), but as an individual internalizing and admitting the existence of those wrongdoings results in a damaged locus of control so you're in some ways forced to either allow that marginalization to define and subjugate you or you have to disregard its existence and allow it to continue its abuse (and in this film niemann chooses both options which i think is actual a beautiful depiction of the best solution which is some amorphous philosophy that's half and half between both)