I think you've hit on something very fundamentally missing from the zeitgeist when talking about films like Conclave. I've noticed over the last few years that no matter how well-intentioned, editorial media such as film reviews and video essays about film tend to (for a lack of better term) fetishize the "real" or "hidden" meaning of a given work of art, so much to a point that we forget the validity of personal experience. As a Christian, I similarly related to the faith-adjacent side of the story, but I'm not sure our collective recognition of these themes insist any additional or lessor value toward the piece. No matter how much commentary the artists provide, no matter how much we insist that a piece is "objectively the greatest film ever" or "fundamentally flawed", no matter how much "theory" we apply to understand the intention behind a piece... at the end of the day we have a glowing rectangle to stare at with an auditory accompaniment. I found Conclave to be a riveting thriller with themes that hit a deep, personal root for me. Someone might disagree and see it as Oscar bait fodder. Both takes are valid and no matter how much surrounding context we try to apply to a film, that "its really about the election" or that "this is literally an even more postmodern/meta Mean Girls remake" at the end of the day a glowing rectangle can mean 5 billion different things, and thats okay. There's no mystery or hidden secret, its just language. (also love your stuff btw, found you through your origami yoda vid and stayed for your great work / impressions de france logs lol)
To be fair "reduced to voting for the least worst person?" was 100% a word-for-word saying frequently spoken during the 2016 election too lol But to your larger point, I very much agree about the problem with "looking too much for an allegory that you miss the literal things being said in the story" and it's behavior I've noticed a lot in online discussions around several films/shows/games. It makes me think about Tolkein's distaste for 'allegory' and how he didn't like people comparing the One Ring to the atomic bomb. While the comparison could be made, it just meant Lord of the Rings is a story that can be easily *applicable* to other things, while not being a direct allegory.
It's so funny that you'd bring up the Tolkien/Atomic Bomb comparison because this video originally included an extra 2 minutes specifically talking about that example but I cut it to keep things concise! But yes, exactly; I love the distinction Tolkien draws between allegory and application. Any good artistic work will have universal themes and ideas with some degree of application to other areas of life-but it doesn't mean that's where we should start the conversation about the piece, or that it's what the story is actually "about" in any strict sense. The meaning and value of allegory comes exclusively from the way that the elements in the story correspond to exterior things *other* than what they are on face value-but application maintains the dignity of the work and acknowledges that it can speak into other areas of life organically.
I've really enjoyed these thoughtful videos you've been putting out, Houston. You always do so well to invite us to examine things with humility and an openness to conversation. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and heart. This work matters and is a light.
Not gonna lie Houston, I've jumped off most of your faith-related content, but I was super excited to hear what you had to say about this one. It didn't disappoint.
Not sure how your channel has eluded me. Religious thought manifest in secular art is the plot of land where I stake my flag. Conclave didn’t strike me at all as an allegory for this election, which is good, as I think one of the great flaws in contemporary film criticism is the need to make everything we see about us. I found it an absolutely riveting meditation on how faith and doubt are the paddles in the canoe, steering us toward and away from danger, toward and away from beauty, toward and away from epiphanies about progress, navigation, harbors, etc. Sure, I saw correlations with the American political process, but this felt incidental to me. It’s currently my #1 film of 2024, too, followed by The Dead Don’t Hurt and Wildcat.
Good to see you back, I remember the first video I watched of you when I was in school was when you were talking about Marvel in the middle of a street lmao that won my sub for life
Very thought provoking video Houston. While I’m a huge believer of getting deep into any media one comes across, it’s always a worthwhile experience to engage with the art as it is. Also, love the new look. ❤
Well put and insightful takes as always. This movie might not be a direct, intentional allegory to the US election…but man has it hit on my anxiety on that front.
Definitely agree with everything you said! I watched Conclave this afternoon and while I definitely felt the parallels to recent U.S. elections to be intentional, I never felt it was the film’s main idea. I think its faith based themes are more interesting, and I’m surprised more reviewers aren’t focusing on them. Glad you made a video on this and I liked hearing your thoughts!
God I wanna see this movie, and Houston, your reinforcement of personal insight towards something rather than connections to the outside world is something I personally resonate with a good amount (just had a small chat with a friend about a similar topic heh) great video dude, and I can’t wait to see this movie and form my own opinions and insights (as a fellow Christian, or at least trying to be)
Awesome video, glad the algorithm suggested this one. I highly relate to your sentiments here. I’m always telling my movie club that the text of a movie should work as well as the subtext. If the subtext is there and it’s also profound then great, bonus points, but if the movie seems to focus more about the subtext and the text isn’t quite there then you’ve lost me. And this is why I hate David Lynch lol
Aw man - just as I was gearing up to hear your in-depth thoughts on the movie, the video ended. Couldn’t agree more on what you said and would love to hear a deeper analysis. My half-finished typed-up review of Conclave to go on Letterboxd has been sitting in my notes app for a week because my thoughts on it are very complex and mixed. There was a lot I absolutely loved and some stuff I didn’t jive with so much. I get the impression (maybe wrongly) that you approach from sympathy more with the liberal side presented by the movie; I approach with more understanding and agreement with the conservative side (except the part where they had to go and make the conservative guy racist because we need a clear villain and surely all the conservative Catholics out there are just secretly racist, right?). But clearly both of us are Christians, so I’d love to see a video analyzing and engaging with the movie in more detail - it might help to organize my own thoughts on the movie. Will definitely check out more of your channel!
@@hellsapoppin9326 Oh a great example! Right, the message was clear as day, right there in the text. An extremely good movie too. Held back only by needing a much more aggressive editor IMO.
@ u know god said the longer u wait the more Joyful you’ll be in happiness meaning getting married and having kids .. I think some of u actors in stranger things and cobra Kai should of followed that quote in scripture just saying ..
@ you’re brains haven’t fully developed you all have no idea what true love is you’re still young you’re just thinking what feels right or love or good at the moment but ur brain doesn’t fully develop until late 20s you all are getting married and having kids at like 14 to 19 years old and saying because you feel like “you’ve learned what love truly is” I just laugh at that and also get concerned at that because I know the truth of know this kind of thing is supposed to go..
@ and also you all are rujining ur chances at being able to fully experience life still and ur ruining ur chances at getting parts and being able to be apart of comic cons and etc because of ur undeveloped low iqed brains decisions that you’ve made of you’re lives is going to get in the way of that .. now u gotta say well can’t do this role can’t go to this comic con can’t do this can’t go here etc because I gotta stay home with the wife and kids and you’re still so younggg like .. did u not think of that ??? At all
@@Xanderandkwonfan101 dude these replies are CRAZY i think you're confusing houston with someone else fr. as far as i know he doesn't even have kids but either way super weird and ghoulish thing to be commenting about someone you don't know tbh
Woke is now an *actually* meaningless word that people use singularly to signal their hatred for liberals. Hope you learn some new words and learn to think for yourself.
the new look is slaying af
Feeling something before “jumping to a practical takeaway” is a lost art brother.
Those popcorn earings are so nice
The applicable vs allegorical argument will never get old.
I think you've hit on something very fundamentally missing from the zeitgeist when talking about films like Conclave. I've noticed over the last few years that no matter how well-intentioned, editorial media such as film reviews and video essays about film tend to (for a lack of better term) fetishize the "real" or "hidden" meaning of a given work of art, so much to a point that we forget the validity of personal experience. As a Christian, I similarly related to the faith-adjacent side of the story, but I'm not sure our collective recognition of these themes insist any additional or lessor value toward the piece. No matter how much commentary the artists provide, no matter how much we insist that a piece is "objectively the greatest film ever" or "fundamentally flawed", no matter how much "theory" we apply to understand the intention behind a piece... at the end of the day we have a glowing rectangle to stare at with an auditory accompaniment. I found Conclave to be a riveting thriller with themes that hit a deep, personal root for me. Someone might disagree and see it as Oscar bait fodder. Both takes are valid and no matter how much surrounding context we try to apply to a film, that "its really about the election" or that "this is literally an even more postmodern/meta Mean Girls remake" at the end of the day a glowing rectangle can mean 5 billion different things, and thats okay. There's no mystery or hidden secret, its just language. (also love your stuff btw, found you through your origami yoda vid and stayed for your great work / impressions de france logs lol)
To be fair "reduced to voting for the least worst person?" was 100% a word-for-word saying frequently spoken during the 2016 election too lol
But to your larger point, I very much agree about the problem with "looking too much for an allegory that you miss the literal things being said in the story" and it's behavior I've noticed a lot in online discussions around several films/shows/games. It makes me think about Tolkein's distaste for 'allegory' and how he didn't like people comparing the One Ring to the atomic bomb. While the comparison could be made, it just meant Lord of the Rings is a story that can be easily *applicable* to other things, while not being a direct allegory.
It's so funny that you'd bring up the Tolkien/Atomic Bomb comparison because this video originally included an extra 2 minutes specifically talking about that example but I cut it to keep things concise! But yes, exactly; I love the distinction Tolkien draws between allegory and application. Any good artistic work will have universal themes and ideas with some degree of application to other areas of life-but it doesn't mean that's where we should start the conversation about the piece, or that it's what the story is actually "about" in any strict sense. The meaning and value of allegory comes exclusively from the way that the elements in the story correspond to exterior things *other* than what they are on face value-but application maintains the dignity of the work and acknowledges that it can speak into other areas of life organically.
I've really enjoyed these thoughtful videos you've been putting out, Houston. You always do so well to invite us to examine things with humility and an openness to conversation. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and heart. This work matters and is a light.
Not gonna lie Houston, I've jumped off most of your faith-related content, but I was super excited to hear what you had to say about this one. It didn't disappoint.
went and saw this because of you! super fascinating and sobering
Can't wait to see this! In the UK it's only out at the end of November... man I hate it when the release is so late...
Not sure how your channel has eluded me. Religious thought manifest in secular art is the plot of land where I stake my flag. Conclave didn’t strike me at all as an allegory for this election, which is good, as I think one of the great flaws in contemporary film criticism is the need to make everything we see about us. I found it an absolutely riveting meditation on how faith and doubt are the paddles in the canoe, steering us toward and away from danger, toward and away from beauty, toward and away from epiphanies about progress, navigation, harbors, etc. Sure, I saw correlations with the American political process, but this felt incidental to me. It’s currently my #1 film of 2024, too, followed by The Dead Don’t Hurt and Wildcat.
I’m thrilled to find another Wildcat enjoyer out there!
Good to see you back, I remember the first video I watched of you when I was in school was when you were talking about Marvel in the middle of a street lmao that won my sub for life
Very thought provoking video Houston. While I’m a huge believer of getting deep into any media one comes across, it’s always a worthwhile experience to engage with the art as it is.
Also, love the new look. ❤
Well put and insightful takes as always. This movie might not be a direct, intentional allegory to the US election…but man has it hit on my anxiety on that front.
Definitely agree with everything you said! I watched Conclave this afternoon and while I definitely felt the parallels to recent U.S. elections to be intentional, I never felt it was the film’s main idea. I think its faith based themes are more interesting, and I’m surprised more reviewers aren’t focusing on them. Glad you made a video on this and I liked hearing your thoughts!
God I wanna see this movie, and Houston, your reinforcement of personal insight towards something rather than connections to the outside world is something I personally resonate with a good amount (just had a small chat with a friend about a similar topic heh) great video dude, and I can’t wait to see this movie and form my own opinions and insights (as a fellow Christian, or at least trying to be)
Another well articulated slice of wisdom. You're on fire.
i'm enjoying this new chapter of Houston production 1
Awesome video, glad the algorithm suggested this one. I highly relate to your sentiments here. I’m always telling my movie club that the text of a movie should work as well as the subtext. If the subtext is there and it’s also profound then great, bonus points, but if the movie seems to focus more about the subtext and the text isn’t quite there then you’ve lost me.
And this is why I hate David Lynch lol
Would love to hear your thoughts on Scorsese's Silence one day.
EDIT: Also, like, wow, you look amazing
Aw man - just as I was gearing up to hear your in-depth thoughts on the movie, the video ended. Couldn’t agree more on what you said and would love to hear a deeper analysis. My half-finished typed-up review of Conclave to go on Letterboxd has been sitting in my notes app for a week because my thoughts on it are very complex and mixed. There was a lot I absolutely loved and some stuff I didn’t jive with so much. I get the impression (maybe wrongly) that you approach from sympathy more with the liberal side presented by the movie; I approach with more understanding and agreement with the conservative side (except the part where they had to go and make the conservative guy racist because we need a clear villain and surely all the conservative Catholics out there are just secretly racist, right?).
But clearly both of us are Christians, so I’d love to see a video analyzing and engaging with the movie in more detail - it might help to organize my own thoughts on the movie. Will definitely check out more of your channel!
Love when arts themes are solid and sound but also blunt and make the author go "no duh i couldn't be more clear"
Im being dead serious
Do you have an example of this? I’m thinking Mad Max Fury Road
@foxsake6634 A recent example is the substance
@@hellsapoppin9326 Oh a great example! Right, the message was clear as day, right there in the text. An extremely good movie too. Held back only by needing a much more aggressive editor IMO.
Hate from north Carolina
big fan
bro?? whats up with the lesbian look
Who cares
U got married and had kids to young just saying
I have kids?? wow this is news to me
@ u know god said the longer u wait the more Joyful you’ll be in happiness meaning getting married and having kids .. I think some of u actors in stranger things and cobra Kai should of followed that quote in scripture just saying ..
@ you’re brains haven’t fully developed you all have no idea what true love is you’re still young you’re just thinking what feels right or love or good at the moment but ur brain doesn’t fully develop until late 20s you all are getting married and having kids at like 14 to 19 years old and saying because you feel like “you’ve learned what love truly is” I just laugh at that and also get concerned at that because I know the truth of know this kind of thing is supposed to go..
@ and also you all are rujining ur chances at being able to fully experience life still and ur ruining ur chances at getting parts and being able to be apart of comic cons and etc because of ur undeveloped low iqed brains decisions that you’ve made of you’re lives is going to get in the way of that .. now u gotta say well can’t do this role can’t go to this comic con can’t do this can’t go here etc because I gotta stay home with the wife and kids and you’re still so younggg like .. did u not think of that ??? At all
@@Xanderandkwonfan101 dude these replies are CRAZY i think you're confusing houston with someone else fr. as far as i know he doesn't even have kids but either way super weird and ghoulish thing to be commenting about someone you don't know tbh
So this is woke culture? Cancel it
Woke is now an *actually* meaningless word that people use singularly to signal their hatred for liberals. Hope you learn some new words and learn to think for yourself.