The Hangover is a movie that takes place in Sin City, Las Vegas. Three groomsmen of the groom, Doug, organize a bachelor party in the wild city to say goodbye to their friend’s bachelorhood. After a wild night of partying, the boys wake up to a foggy memory of what happened the night before and to top things off, Doug is missing. Stu, Alan and Phil must race against the clock to find out what happened the night before so they can find the groom. The movie unravels the hilarious but reckless adventure of their Sin City night.
This story is of men being irresponsible and reckless all in the pursuit of having the best time possible. It shows that no matter what, having fun IS the most important thing in life. Especially before a wedding, the goal is to have the craziest and most pleasurable time possible, because after all, life ends after you get married, right? Hedonism is what drives these men. That is actually what causes all these problems. Alan just wants everyone to have a good time, so much as to put drugs into the guy’s drinks to make sure they let loose. This causes their memory to be limited and their actions to be ridiculous. Life in the empire is portrayed as the winner is the one who has the most fun, without getting caught. The wedding is a day away when they realize they can’t find Doug. In the end, since they stumble into the wedding right before it starts, they are successful. It’s not a coincidence that Las Vegas is called the Sin city, the object is to get as wild as possible, gamble, drink, do drugs. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas is the mind set which is reinforced by Tracy’s father in the movie. People don’t have to be in Vegas in order to act like this. This is the mindset of the Empire all over the place. Do what feels right, when you want to.
1. What can we do to be aware of these actions and restrain from them?
2. We obviously don’t have to avoid places like Vegas like the plague, but what are some ways we can be responsible?
I think we can go to places, like Las Vegas, and still have fun. God does not condemn drinking, in excess amounts yes, but in moderations it is okay. As for gambling, as long as we are not gambling our life savings or college fund away I think it is okay to bet a bit of cash here and there.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this movie, but it shows, like you said, that the goal of many people is to just have fun. I believe as Christians, we have the stereotype that we never have fun. We should not get involved in drugs and crazy trips to Vegas, because we are not honoring the bodies God has given us, and we are tempted to sin. I agree, that we don't have to avoid places like Vegas like a plague, but we must be extremely cautious. Every person is different, and for some, going to Vegas would be a huge temptation and they would get themselves in trouble. Gambling can be extremely dangerous, and I think it should be avoided. As Christians, we are to live as Jesus would, and the men in the movie clearly are not doing this.
ReplyDeleteNice analysis, Katie. This film definitely seems to reinforce gender stereotypes and portray irresponsibility as hilarious--"aw shucks, aren't those guys silly"--while fidelity is boring, symbolized by "the old ball and chain."
ReplyDeleteI love the last few sentences of this blog. We shouldn't treat Las Vegas as "out there," as if avoiding Nevada would save us from Sin City's ideals. Rather, Las Vegas is just the Mecca of a hedonistic culture. We need to be cautious of how self-gratification and irresponsibilty are exposited by advertising all around us. The Hangover seized the box office by storm this year, which should be no surprise when we recognize it as expressing values held all over America. It's success certainly wasn't limited to Las Vegas.
ReplyDeleteMy first reaction upon completion of watching the film, was to split myself into, oh, about five different people, and have a single emotion attached to each of those people. Okay, what I am trying to say is, I felt many, many different emotions. On one hand, I thought it was one of the most hilarious movies I had watched. On the other hand, I felt disgusted with not only myself, but with the movie. On the third hand, I felt I had wasted my time.
ReplyDeleteI think we must exercise great caution when it comes to movies, books, video-games, etc. like the "Hangover". Whilst it is entertaining on a very shallow and base level, it does permeate us in a much deeper level. We have to be careful with what images we burn into our minds, because the more images we burn into our minds, the more used to these images we become.
Now, I do not intend to convey the message that anything that is has language, sex, and violence, cannot be condoned. Far from it. I believe often times one must resort to the stereo type of "unsavoury action" in order to more fully realise an issue and come to terms with it. What I mean by this is that we should not shy away from displaying or portraying violence, sex, and strong language when it comes to illustrating an issue, but at the same time, we should not become so used to it that we ourselves become numb to the issues at hand.
I watched this movie when I was over in Wisconsin with my brother. I thought it was an alright movie. I have trouble really analyzing movies while I watch them, but then I take time like now to think about them. I agree that the movies humor is shallow, but that doesn't necessarily mean that should stop us from enjoying a movie. I don't think we should go follow in their footsteps and learn for ourselves and I don't think gambling is completely wrong either. We have to be careful while doing these things to not fall into belief that every hand we win is luck. I have always wondered what God thinks of people gambling for the game. I don't think it would be wrong, especially for those who know the games and are good at them (like Texas Hold 'em) as long as we don't rely on 'luck' to save us.
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