7 Films That Make Interesting Points On Society

6. Velvet Buzzsaw - The Exploitation Of Creativity & Art

Ingrid Goes West
Netflix

On a first viewing you might be forgiven for thinking the Netflix exclusive Velvet Buzzsaw is just a horror film, but this time the killer is possessed paintings.

But on a second viewing, one has to imagine the possibility that the writer & director, Dan Gilroy, had something of an axe to grind with the taste-making elite.

In the film, an ensemble cast of art critics and dealers find themselves being picked off one-by-one by a collection of haunted paintings. What stands out about the film is the interesting point that only those profiting but never creating are the ones being killed.

Throughout Velvet Buzzsaw, we as an audience are given a glimpse into an elitist world where self-appointed intellectuals cynically judge the creations by artists without any regard for the substance on display. The film makes a very subtle case that those who create and appreciate art for what it is are absolved. Whereas those who judge or exploit the art without a second thought are the true poison that is infecting the art world.

If there is a message to be taken from this, perhaps don't listen to critics as much? They might just be talking out their pretentious arses.

Contributor

I overthink a lot of things. Will talk about pretty much anything for a great length of time. I'm obsessed with General Slocum from the 2002 Spider-Man film. I have questions that were never answered in that entire trilogy!