Friday, April 9, 2010

No, I'm Asking.



Which of the following statements do you agree with the most:

A) Ferris Bueller's Day Off is, in the words of the immortal Richard Roeper, "a story about a young man trying to help his friend gain some measure of self-worth. . . to show [him] that the whole world in front of him is passing him by, and that life can be pretty sweet if you wake up and embrace it."

B) Ferris Bueller's Day Off is the story of a privileged narcissistic sociopath who will lie and manipulate just to have a good time. Its story is a complete moral inversion, with Ferris as the "good guy," and dedicated, if exasperated, civil servant principal Rooney as the de jure "bad guy." It's status as a perceived classic of 80's teen comedy only goes to show how cunning a deceiver Ferris really is.

C) Ferris Bueller is not a sociopath because, fundamentally, he is not a character at all-- he is an idea, a cipher onto which the film's teenage audience can graft their own selves. His world is not our world, but the world as we see it as adolescents, one of arbitrary rules imposed on those seeking only to enjoy life to its fullest. To hold Ferris Bueller up to the moral standards of our real world is absurd, and misses the point altogether.

D) It was all in Cameron's head.

E) Bueller?
 
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