Finally watched "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom"

[RussBLib]

on Netflix. Frankly, I didn't think Bozeman's performance was all that outstanding, but I have also not seen Anthony Hopkins in "Father." I don't think I want to watch "Father" because the trailer I saw reminded me so much of my own father's decline into dementia, it would be hard to watch.

"Ma Rainey..." stressed me out bad, my wife too. I have gotten to where I just cannot watch most movies because they are so violent and fast-moving. So much violence in everything these days. Rainey wasn't hyperviolent, but the constant arguments, and the racism underlying the whole movie was tough. The same would probably apply to "Judas and the Black Messiah".

Can't even watch the local news lately. Nothing but bad news. Forget MSNBC and CNN.

Feel really old, at 64. Sorry, just airing it out.

[TxGuitar]

1. same here on violence

I can't watch a lot of popular shows like Game of Thrones or American Gods etc because of the violence.

[Walleye]

2. That's OK. I'm getting so I sometimes can't even watch an episode of Nature all the way through

Too many species endangered and too many habitats disappearing. About the only thing I can really enjoy anymore are BBC murder mysteries. The killing is civilized and fantastical. As Alfred Hitchcock called it, the MacGuffin.

[RussBLib]

15. I hear you

The Nature series on PBS is litle but animal-eat-animal, while reminding us that we humans are destroying this beautiful planet.

I'm reduced to watching stand-up comedians and Texas Country Reporter, which is full of good human interest segments.

And reading, but most fiction is depressing too.

I could probably use some tberapy!

[Walleye]

16. I'm cheering up with the spring flowers and trees.Hoping to see hummingbirds

[RussBLib]

22. Ha! That too!

We had a lush, beautiful garden in a big lot next door that we own, until the February freeze killed 99% of the plants. It still has not recovered. Finding the strength to get out there, pull up dead stuff and start over has been difficult.

[Walleye]

24. Bummer! You will grow more

[Cuthbert Allgood]

3. Probably don't want to watch Judas, then, but man

that movie is spectacular. Still thinking about it months later.

[Goonch]

4. ;-{)

[RussBLib]

27. Nice

I find myself watching Dish Scapes just for the quiet beauty and nature sounds. This current "Cherry Blossom" scene is pretty lame, though, although it is calming.

[Goonch]

33. I'm partial to aquariums

[leftieNanner]

5. I have the same problem with disturbing visual content

Life is difficult enough as it is without watching it on screen.

For TV, I stick to Food Network, HGTV, Big Bang Theory reruns (they still make me laugh), and funny movies.

We saw Ma Rainey's Black Bottom in the theater, and although it was upsetting, it wasn't as violent (until that last bit) as apparently the movie is.

I do watch Rachel at night - but that's mostly the only news show. I can read this stuff, but don't need to see the images.

I beat ya though - I'm 68!

[11 Bravo]

31. I never get tired of The Big Bang Theory!

[Coventina]

6. I also cannot watch movies about dementia. I lived that nightmare for 10 years.

Now I can't do it for 10 minutes.

[hlthe2b]

7. They don't make a lot of movies for me either. The absolute 'no-ways' include gratuitous

violence, the death of a beloved dog (horse, cat, other), and in general those movies that are so dark with non-redeemed sadness that I leave depressed.

[RussBLib]

17. Give me some good rom-coms, please! Nt

[Walleye]

18. Same here. I refuse to watch movies were animals die or even if they might die

[Withywindle]

38. There's a great site calls doesthedogdie.com

It has a ton of popular movies and TV shows, answering just that question. https://www.doesthedogdie.com/

(Not just dogs, and not just animal death either, there are warnings for all sorts of things like sexual assault, child abuse, drug addiction, car crashes, terminal illness, suicide, vomit - pretty much anything that someone might find upsetting or too gross)

[Beaverhausen]

8. I hear ya. I'm desparate for a good comedy

We had a few friends over for the Oscars and to watch two of the nominated films. Minari was really sweet but sad. We started Father and decided not to watch it- same reason as you.

I'm looking forward to some of the upcoming films like In the Heights and the remake of West Side Story.

We need comedies!

Editing to add please watch My Octopus Teacher if you haven't already. It's just amazing.

[Diamond_Dog]

9. I don't feel so bad, now.

I, too, cannot watch films with graphic violence or senseless cruelty to humans or animals. There isn’t much out there that appeals to me. Guess I’m getting old, too.

[Ferryboat]

10. To quote Bill Mahar

" Would it hurt you (Hollywood) to make a movie where when I finish watching I don't feel like taking a bath with my toaster?

[Demovictory9]

11. IMDB has "parental advisory" section, sometimes spoils the film but they give a warning

right before the description that will spoil the film

parental advisory describes every violent scene:

such as "woman gets stabbed, we see blood" or general 'zombie violence".

[ananda]

37. I'm watching Warehouse 13 on IMDb.

There are commercials, but they are not overwhelming.

And it's FREE.

[northoftheborder]

12. I watched My Fair Lady the other night

It was gloriously beautiful - staging, costumes, funny; I had only seen it done as a play, somehow missed the movie! Recommended for times when reality is too depressing!

[USALiberal]

13. Singing in the rain is great too!

[RussBLib]

26. So many great old movies

....interspersed with 30 second commercials for this or that hyper-violent action flicks.

It's a little unnerving to see so much violence and mayhem packed into a 30 second commercial.

Hollywood!? What the fuck are you doing!?

[maxsolomon]

36. LOL, last time that was on we got a lecture about creepy old men

from my Stepdaughter.

Sad to say, she wasn't wrong. Everything is RUINED now.

[OAITW r.2.0]

14. I think those of us that grew up in the 60's largely share your views.

60 years of increasing violent TV has made me less inclined to watch graphic violence/horror. But, for others my age, they might still be immersed in it and may, sub-consciously, have made them more susceptible to condoning or even committing violent acts themselves. I also think that the sheer volume of 60 years of cops/crime TV shows and movies have further helped polarize our viewpoints on law and order as a society.

[RussBLib]

19. I knew I was not alone.....

...but it's still good to hear others expressing somewhat similar emotions.

[llmart]

32. Oh, you are most definitely not alone.

I do believe that the more violence people see in movies and TV makes them become immune to it all instead of appalled by it. I just don't see the allure of wallowing in it and calling it "entertainment". If someone finds that entertaining then I most definitely have the wrong definition of what entertainment is.

It's the reason I watch more British TV these days. I get Acorn through my library card and they have some very good shows. I will say that something like Masterpiece Theater on PBS - currently they are showing a series about WWII and Norway's involvement and yes, of course there's some violence but it isn't gratuitous. It's war. I've learned some things I didn't know about FDR. It's called "Atlantic Crossing".

Since we finally got rid of that abomination that squatted in our White House, I've found I'm backing away from spending too much time on politics and I only watch my local news, basically to catch the weather. I also don't need to hear about the pandemic 24/7.

[GumboYaYa]

20. On the Father, my wife sobbed for almost an hour after watching it.

It hit very close to home with our current situation with her parents

[RussBLib]

25. I can't. It's still too raw.

.....and now I think I am following in his footsteps.

[mopinko]

21. it was written a long time ago now.

it's august wilson's play.
while i was watching it i was very aware of this aspect of it. the edge it has is very raw.
the whole story was very raw back then. i think if it were written today, it would have a very tired feeling.

[Walleye]

23. I immediately switch if a girl is taken hostage. I call it blondage

[joetheman]

28. I agree with you. Bozeman was a super nice guy and good actor. This was not his best performance,

nor was it Oscar worthy. Hopkins deserved his Best Actor Oscar. I agreed with all but the Best Song. i thought it should have been Hear My Voice.

[jalan48]

29. It seems movies these days like to wallow in the violence and cruelty. In the old days a lot of the

violence was suggested but not shown. Unfortunately, I think a lot of people enjoy seeing it.

[kskiska]

30. I won't watch movies involving farms and farm animals

There's most likely to be a butchering scene, and I just can't.

I also didn't enjoy "Hillbilly Elegy," with constant bickering and fighting among the hillbillies.

I'm old and am mostly enjoying watching older movies on TV. Netflix has very few I'm interested in.

Even the foreign films, which I've loved, are changing.

[FakeNoose]

34. Here's what is amazing about "The Father" and Anthony Hopkins' performance

The way the story is told, the viewer isn't sure what's happening at first. You aren't sure who the daughter is, whether she's married or divorced, or other important facts. They present the story in a way that shows how confused the Hopkins character is, not recognizing his own daughter, imagining that he's not in his own flat, etc. You experience the dementia that he's going through, because you're just as confused as he is at first.

However you start to understand things that make the story real, and at the same time you can see that Hopkins' mental faculties are weakening. It is a sad story but it also helps to create sympathy for the victims of dementia. Anthony Hopkins is amazing and so is Olivia Colman who plays his daughter.

[New Breed Leader]

35. We've all been through a tough year.

So watching stressful dramatic movies can be too much for some of us.

But movies like "Ma Rainey" are necessary, and I'm glad they exist. We need to see those true stories told, America needs to know. Same with US v. Billie Holliday