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The Great Gatsby

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I definitely plan on seeing it, since I have yet to be disappointed with Leonardo DiCaprio. Never read the book, have no idea what it's about. Something about rich people and parties from what I gather (Is there some kind of message?). But honestly I could watch Leo plant a garden and it would be a delight.

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I really wouldn't do that.

 

I haven't read the book; my wife and I watched the old movie together (way old) and I then looked up the synopsis online, just to be sure that what I saw was really what the author meant to say.

 

There is a message in it.  The message is that love, wealth and happiness are worthless, that nothing good ever lasts, that happiness is a shallow sort of illusion and that human life is ultimately futile.

The message, in a word, is suicide.

 

It may be a good movie; I haven't seen the new one for myself, but I wouldn't recommend it.

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It's a great book, one of my favorites. The message is a lot to do with how money *alone* won't make you happy. It's not a happy book to be sure, but overall it is told from the perspective of Gatsby's friend showing how Gatsby ultimately ruined himself. If you live like Gatsby does, no, nothing good will last.

Edited by Eiuol
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I'm with Eioul on this one.
The point was that Gatsby, with his intelligence, talents and charm and everything that made him capable of being so successful kept looking for happiness outside himself.
His values were screwed up and irrational and that is what led him to ruin.

I see nothing nihilistic in a work of literature that points that out.

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I definitely plan on seeing it, since I have yet to be disappointed with Leonardo DiCaprio. Never read the book, have no idea what it's about. Something about rich people and parties from what I gather (Is there some kind of message?). But honestly I could watch Leo plant a garden and it would be a delight.

 

He is one of my favorite actors which is why I tried to watch him play Arthur Rimbaud in Total Eclipse.  I got about half way through and had to stop.  His acting wasn't the problem, but the character he played was so annoying and pointless.  I read on his wikipedia page that he is going on vacation from acting to save the planet, so you might get to watch him plant a garden some day soon.

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He is one of my favorite actors which is why I tried to watch him play Arthur Rimbaud in Total Eclipse.  I got about half way through and had to stop.  His acting wasn't the problem, but the character he played was so annoying and pointless.  I read on his wikipedia page that he is going on vacation from acting to save the planet, so you might get to watch him plant a garden some day soon.

I did watched a documentary about global warming. Or more accurately, a documentary where he asked lots of questions that were supposed to imply global warming like: "Could the increase in average rainfall in this area of the world be due to global warming?" "Is the frequency of tornados related to global warming?" "Will my eyes get squintier in intense scenes if there is global warming?"

 

Not sure about the accuracy of the first two "quotes" but the last one is definitely made up.

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  • 1 month later...

I definitely plan on seeing it, since I have yet to be disappointed with Leonardo DiCaprio. Never read the book, have no idea what it's about. Something about rich people and parties from what I gather (Is there some kind of message?). But honestly I could watch Leo plant a garden and it would be a delight.

Have you seen him in Romeo and Juliet? I saw a clip and it was enough for me not to want to see anymore. The 1968 film is like the standard for me, especially in regards to Juliet.

I did like him in Titanic and The Beach.

Edited by intellectualammo
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  • 5 months later...

There is a message in it.  The message is that love, wealth and happiness are worthless, that nothing good ever lasts, that happiness is a shallow sort of illusion and that human life is ultimately futile.

The message, in a word, is suicide.

 

It may be a good movie; I haven't seen the new one for myself, but I wouldn't recommend it.

 

*spoilers below*

 

Not sure how you got that from the story! I took from it that Gatsby's ambition, vision, wealth, and love were basically wasted on the wretches surrounding him. The rest of the characters (apart from Nick) were leading careless lives having been born into wealth. Gatsby earned his wealth and so it can be seen as promoting the idea that people who earn their wealth are better than spoilt frivolous people with inherited wealth. The fact that Gatsby loses in the end, while the wretches walk off to more carelessness, is a sad ending but renders a powerful emotion at the injustice of it all. This serves to reinforce the worthlessness of everyone else and the worthiness of Gatsby.

 

One thing that may interest people here is the Art Deco style of the movie which I have noticed feature in a lot of Ayn Rand literature eg the covers of FH and AS etc. Also I loved that the party music was modern pop and rap interspersed with jazz which conveyed some of the "bling" culture of the 1920s to a modern audience.

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Is it immoral to make a fortune from bootlegging illegal alcohol? Surely the immorality lies with the government for making it illegal.

 

He definitely values the wrong thing, ie Daisy. That's the tragedy of the story. But it still affirms Gatsby as being a great man. As Nick says "You are worth 10 of them" (paraphrase)

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The laws against bootlegging were immoral, but I think there's some suggestion that Gatsby's parties are a way for the mobsters to engage in corruption and scams with high society.

 

Anyway, when Nick says 'you're worth the whole damn lot of them' it's never quite washed with me. Some readers think Nick is infatuated with Gatsby so that is one possible explanation.

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I really wouldn't do that.

 

I haven't read the book; my wife and I watched the old movie together (way old) and I then looked up the synopsis online, just to be sure that what I saw was really what the author meant to say.

 

There is a message in it.  The message is that love, wealth and happiness are worthless, that nothing good ever lasts, that happiness is a shallow sort of illusion and that human life is ultimately futile.

The message, in a word, is suicide.

 

It may be a good movie; I haven't seen the new one for myself, but I wouldn't recommend it.

I agree. I can't say it any better than you did. All his books are like that.

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