Top 10 Movie Meanings Everyone Gets WRONG

Seeking to capitalize on the sex appeal of rising star Megan Fox, Jennifers Body was promoted as a shallow, sexy thriller, aimed at titillating teenage boys. It was soundly rejected by critics as being little more than an exploitative creature feature that fell flat at the box office. However, writer Diablo Cody took issue with the films marketing and overall perception. Rather than being a fantasy for boys, the film was meant to be a tale of female empowerment and has been reclaimed as a feminist classic by some. Far from being exploitative, they hold the film up as an important part of the queer and bisexual canon.

In the film, when Neo chooses the red pill over the blue pill, he leaves the false world of the Matrix behind and finally sees reality. Today, the term red-pilled has been adopted by those with anti-feminist views due to the pills role in waking people up. What those mens rights groups seem to ignore is that the film, and all of the symbolism it makes use of, was created by two trans women. In the years since The Matrixs release, both Lana and Lily Wachowski have spoken about Neos awakening being able to be viewed as a metaphor for coming to terms with ones gender identity. Likewise, their film Cloud Atlas, which divided critics and audiences, had its trans allegories completely overlooked.

George Millers fourth Mad Max film is rightly held up as one of the greatest action films of all time, thanks to its breakneck pace and practical action setpieces. The film follows the titular Max in a harsh and unforgiving wasteland, however, he was only half of the equation. Max is thrown headfirst into the path of Furiosa, who is on a mission to save a group of women from the tyrannical warlord Immortan Joe. Director Geroge Miller even brought in Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues, to consult on the film. Fury Road is a story about female empowerment, especially in the face of oppression, as Furiosa and Max lead the group of former sex slaves to freedom and revolution.

On the surface, The Shining is a story about a man who becomes trapped in a hotel and tries to murder his family, but its themes are much deeper than that. Is it really about a man who loses himself in substance abuse? Are the ghosts real or imagined? Is it about Native American genocide? Or is it really a confession by director Stanley Kubrick about how he faked the moon landing? Kubrick intentionally left much of the meaning vague and, much to author Stephen Kings dismay, changed much of the books subtext. As evidenced by the documentary Room 237, everybody has a theory as to what was going on in the film. Whatever the films true meaning, it is obvious that much of what we see, including that cryptic last shot, will remain open to interpretation.

Although beloved, Paul Verhoevens hyper-violent 80s action flick is often seen as cheesy fun, with little to no substance. While the sequels, cartoon show, and the Korean KFC commercial certainly were more in that vein, the original was brimming with political commentary and religious allegory. Although some of that allegory has been lost on a modern audience, RoboCop is a harsh condemnation of the corporate greed, police brutality, gentrification, and Reaganomics that prevailed in the decade. Verhoven has also compared RoboCop to Jesus, with his death and resurrection intentionally drawing parallels to the biblical account. Theres even a scene where he appears to walk on water. However, as hes an American Jesus, the violence is cranked up to unparalleled degrees.

If everything in American Psycho is to be taken at face value then Patrick Bateman is a self-obsessed, murderous psychopath with great business cards who never pays for his crimes. His narcissistic workout routine and philanderous lifestyle have been emulated by some and condemned by others, but both misinterpret Bateman. Many of his actions, and his character in general, should be called into question. Just as he was depicted in Bret Easton Ellis original novel, Bateman is intended to be an unreliable narrator, something the film gets across with scenes like the cat and the ATM. However, those scenes coming so near the end meant many missed the social commentary the film was actually providing.

A common complaint levelled against Martin Scorsese is that the Italian American director glorifies violence and makes despicable characters, particularly in the mafia, look cool. Taxi Driver, The Wolf of Wall Street, and The Departed are all films that draw ire for having these types of characters. However, more than any film from Marty, Goodfellas has gotten significant pushback for its violent content and amoral characters, particularly the main character Henry Hill. Even Scorsese has admitted that with Hill, there is something attractive about his evil lifestyle, but that those film bros miss the point. Hill ends the film as having lost his beloved lifestyle, betraying the gangster he idolized, and living life as an average nobody.

Without much question, the paraphrased quote, Greed is good, is the part of Wall Street that is best remembered in the cultural zeitgeist. The speech, given by the iconic character Gordon Gekko, was emblematic of the excess of the eighties and the desire of corporate raiders for more money and power. Michael Douglas Academy Award-winning performance would go on to inspire investors and stock brokers to take more and more with little thought for others. Those who idolized Gekko and parroted his quote missed the point; hes the bad guy. Gekko is shown to be a despicable person, caring only for himself, and ultimately ends the film behind bars for insider trading.

Robert Heinleins novel has been criticized for its extremely militaristic ideals that, according to many, bordered on fascism. Similarly, the film adaptation was critiqued by critics for featuring a society structured around the military, with clear parallels with fascist regimes, drawing ire from critics. What many failed to realize, though, was that while the novel played these themes straight, the film is purely satirical. Like with RoboCop, Paul Verhoeven sent up the violent politics he saw taking hold in the world by cranking that on-screen violence up to ridiculous extremes. The films use of propaganda and outfits reminiscent of the Nazis was taken seriously by some rather than as the caricature it was intended as.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

You Arent Supposed to Agree With Tom

The Ending Is Anything But Happily Ever After

The Film Doesnt Celebrate Violence, It Shows That Weve Become Desensitized to It

With posters adorning countless dorm room walls across the country, many young men went on to idolize Tyler Durden. Using his nihilistic, macho-driven lifestyle, Tyler encourages these disenfranchised men to adopt his violent lifestyle, both in the film and the real world. He offers broken men an escape from an unfair world by taking it back with their own violence, acting upon the world and each other. While Tylers critiques of the modern world ring true, his response addressing it with toxic masculinity is flawed. Tragically, many missed that second part, and overlook the narrators ultimate rejection of Tyler's ideals, as he ends the film literally killing that part of himself and embracing the woman he loves.

Which films do you think people always get wrong? Let us know in the comments below.