“These stories tell us we cannot be dispensed with, that it’s wrong when we’re discarded, that we’ll have one last chance to win. A dear friend of mine was visiting her parents, at a remote American farm, for their big annual party. All their friends turned up, friends made through a lifetime at various levels of law enforcement. Cops, spooks, military types. And my friend was delighted to tell me that they talked for ages about wanting to see Red. Not so much because I’m an immortal genius or because they know we’re friends, but because it’s that rare thing: a movie that’s about their generations not being done yet. It’s also about the actors they matured with continuing their own narratives, which shouldn’t be dismissed – Hollywood film is so pervasive that their narratives weave around ours, and the meta-story of “Bruce Willis, action hero” is at least as real to us as the freaks paraded around on reality television…”
— Warren Ellis
It’s a thoughtful and excellent essay. Read it in The Guardian.
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