6070 (6070) wrote, @ 2007-04-10 15:32:00

THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (1971)
This movie from 1971 looks at America that no longer existed. The story is set in the tiny, dying town of Anarene, Texas, where the main-street movie house is about to close for good, and where a pair of high-school football players are coming of age and struggling to define their uncertain futures. There's little to do in Anarene, and while Sonny engages in a passionless fling with his football coach's wife, his best friend Duane enlists for service in the Korean War. Both boys fall for a manipulative high-school beauty Jacy, who's well aware of her sexual allure. But it's not so much what happens in THE LAST PICTURE SHOW as how it happens--the film so effectively capture the melancholy mood of a ghost town in the making. As Hank Williams sings on the film's evocative soundtrack and the film's moody black and white photography appears like a sad but unforgettably precious moment out of time.

The film follows the lives of both the kids and the adults. There's a reason that the movie focuses on the adults in the town, as well: Jacy's mom, coach Popper's wife, Sam the Lion - these people used to be Sonny, Duane, and Jacy at one time, and their hopes and dreams were put on hold just to live comfortably and safely in Anarene.

What did you think of the movie? Did the movie seem honest to you? Were you shocked by what you saw in a black and white movie? How honest was the film about love and sex? What were your thoughts about the film and how did the world of the adults contrast with that of the kids. What do the adults know that the kids do not? What does the future hold for the kids? What happened to the America of the John Wayne movies?

Marthina Cinco (Anonymous) 2007-04-11 23:22 (link)

I think the film is similar to how things are right now. It touches up on love, sex, and alcohol, as well as death. I think the main difference between the adults and of the kids was the silence. The adults, even though they were unhappy with their lives, they had to be discreet about it; secretive. For example, Ruth Popper had to be silent about her unhappiness with the Coach and she wanted the fling to be extremely on the "down low." On the other hand, the kids acted on their unhappiness, taking chances to change their current situation. For Sonny, he broke up with his girlfriend because he knew his feelings have been for Jacy all along. When he wasn't able to get Jacy, he went along with the fling with Ruth. Jacy, was unhappy with Duane, so she lies and goes to the swimming party in hopes of having a better time, since her Duane was only holding her back. All of their actions weren't on the "hush hush," even when Billy had the bloody nose because the boys confessed it. The kids also tend to be more spontaneous than the adults, such as a "spur of the moment. This allowed them to "seize the day" and to not live in doubt or regret. I think due to age, it changes one's perception of what it right and what is wrong. The adults are supposed to know better than the children, so that's the reason why it's easier to forgive the kids, like how Sam forgave the boys. The kids on the other hand, haven't lived enough to make those mistakes and they don't know any better. They're young and what they want to do is to just have fun. The adults know everything that's going on in this town, from the "secret" flings to where's the next party going to be held. They have a feeling of what is going to happen, that things are going to start changing in the town. I think Sam's death is the start of Anarene becoming a ghost town. The adults know this because they lived through change. Sam explains how things used to be way back when he was growing up and how it would never be the same. All of the adults know what's going to happen to the town. It's going to die down and become deserted. For the kids, they will experience the same thing the adults have experienced. They're going to have to leave Anarene because there's nothing there for them any longer. The lives they thought they had, must again start off new. They must relocate, make new friends, get married, and then settle down wherever they decide to live next. America of the John Wayne movies no longer exist due to the fact that now things are actually rolling in history. The Vietnam war is taking place and the American people are now aware of the horrid conditions our soldiers are facing, and that the whole idea of going into Vietnam was a complete mistake. Nothing is sugarcoated anymore. The truth starts coming out. The topics prohibited in films are now being shown, because this is the truth and people should know it. I think this decade changes the films because now nothing can be "perfect." There will always be something wrong, a glitch in the system, or an obstacle one must face. America in John Wayne movies no longer exists because that is no longer America. (Reply to this) (Thread)

Borath Long (Anonymous) 2007-04-12 16:02 (link)

I was surprised to see a black and white movie with all of that drama. The story with Sonny seemed similar to The Graduate film where they offer rides to someone’s else wife then end up having a sexual relationship with them for a while. The movie seemed honest to me because some people lives are not that perfect, not even close to perfect in this movie and that is how reality is sometimes for some people. For example, kids getting pressured to do things like the one scene where the guys forced the retarded kid to have sex with that lady. This happens many times in real life where peer pressure takes place within teenagers, especially about sex. Also, another honest moment is that no matter how old a woman is, guys who are sexually driven enough will go with the flow. If they can’t get it from their girlfriends, some guys would get it else where. The film didn’t show the fairy tale version where guys would usually wait until marriage. This part shocked me because it was a black and white movie, I was expecting to not see anything like this. Especially when there was the nude scene at the pool, I was shocked to see that too and I bet most people of that time were very shocked to see that scene. Another honest moment in the film was when the guy who finally had the chance to have sex with the popular girl, he didn’t know why he couldn’t perform. This was probably the first film I saw that shows this issue of sexual dysfunctions in an old film. Many men probably had this problem during that time and the movie was brave enough to reveal that truth. Today, sexual dysfunctions are more known and many treatments have resulted because men have admitted they had a problem. The adults seemed to be as needy as the kids. It seemed like no matter what age they were, they needed sexual satisfaction. The difference is that the adults knew that after sex, people do not seem as attractive as before they had sex with each other. For example, the mom of the popular girl understood exactly what her daughter was going through because she had probably went through the same thing. She told her daughter that the magic or love she felt for another would be gone if after they had sex for a while. The adults seemed like they were more interested in sex, whereas the kids wanted sex, love, and affection. I missed the ending of the movie because I had to go to another class so I’m not sure what happened at the end, so I can’t comment about the future of those kids. Most likely, they would end up like their parents losing the magical chemistry of sex and love, and fall victim into empty sexual driven individuals. The John Wayne movies, I cannot comment because I only heard of his name but do not know what kind of movies he made. (Reply to this) (Thread)

Brookshield Tran (Anonymous) 2007-04-12 19:37 (link)

I don’t think I really grasp the whole meaning of The Last Picture Show…which affected my overall opinion of the movie. It wasn’t as good as I thought it’ll be, it was…predictable in a way which made it rather dull. I did notice that there was a type of melancholy hovering in the town which proves true when it became a ghost town. At first I was annoyed by the unnecessary long pauses in the film but I can to realize that it was this silence that gave the effect of alienation from one another gave us the ghost town feeling. This strange silence was not to irk the audience but to help one see what the world was before us. The ghost town is a reminder of what was left of the world of the past. No sign of life was left, all that remain was the proof that life once existed there (like how the cowboys killed most of the buffalos and those that were left went into hiding). Once a ghost town always a ghost town. It cannot be fully restore to what it once was, just like how the past can not be truly brought back to the future. It’s spilt milk. I thought that Sonny affair with Coach Pepper’s wife was somewhat gross and sad. Just two lonely people searching for something and somehow got lost and cross one another’s path. Duane was the first to make something out of his life. He found a purpose in life because he always took action with his ideas. Jimmy was a boy that deserved sympathy and it was cruel to put him in that car with that woman. I was shocked when Jimmy died...poor boy. Jacy was a manipulative slut! I wouldn’t be surprise if she slept with more than half the male population of her town. Eww…she did it with that older man on the pool table. You knew she knew what was going to happen and she pretends and say “I didn’t think that would happen” (or something like that). She was a bad example of a woman. Gosh! Have some sense of respect and decency. Who would’ve suspect that Jacy’s mom and Sam the Lion were lovers...no wonder she was crying so much at Sam’s funeral. The adults in this film had a sense of wisdom through experience that the kids did not have. The adults knew how the kids would behave because they once were kids and they knew of the consequences and choices they made had affected their lives and according to how their lives were affected they influence or tried to aid the kids to make proper choices. These days most adults wouldn’t be like “oh when you have sex with so and so, remember to wear condoms, in the same tone that was use when adults said eat your vegetables. Adults these days freak out and grow disappointed in their kids when they found out that their kids had been having sex. The kids have this idea going that they must impress one another and does this through sex. You see that the adults have affairs with one another, just like the kids. The adults see that the town is dying and trying to make the best of the life they have left, whereas the kids were only thinking about fun, sex and appearance. All the kids (the main one) seem to be searching for the meaning of their future existence, each finds it in their own way. Duane becomes a participant in the Korean War, Jacy is a college student and Sonny is all drifting along stuck in his dying hometown, still trying to figure out his own future. He is all alone now, except for Coach Pepper’s wife…By the way who’s John Wayne? (Reply to this) (Thread)

Julie-Ann De la Cruz (Anonymous) 2007-04-12 19:46 (link)

this was the "weirdest" movie I have ever seen. it was interesting to watch because there wasn't really a plot it just went along with the charaters lives. to be honest i was expecting another dull movie like the very first one we watched that was black & white. i think the movie was captured in black & white to express the mood. the black & white showed how dull the town is compared to it being in color. the way the camera shots were almost at eye level most of the time i think played a big role in the movie by showing the emotions and comprehending with the character it really captured the mood. the way they shot the pool hall scenes, the pool hall being deserted and almost broken down showed how the city is falling apart. the theater scenes captured that there was nothing else to do. the diner, the theater, & the pool hall all showed the way the town is falling into a ghost town. i was very surprised to find nudity in the film when jacy was getting naked in the pool. i think if i am not mistaken that became a big deal at that time because that is where jacy got famous because playboy but it on the cover or something i remember one of my hs teachers telling me but anyways yaa that was a surprise. the sex scenes were a shock to me. i didnt think that early on that sex scenes were made in that way. they are quite similar to the scenes now in the sense of the arousal. the scene that really surprised me was the one in the pool hall i didnt really see the point in that maybe the way he totally ignored her right after and she was so mad and then somehow her mom told her about sonny anyways yaa.. i didnt think they did scenes like that. the movie follows the lives of the adults & kids for a reason. the kids are not much different from the adults. the way jacy's mom was in love with sam but married jacy's dad was kind of like the way jacy and sonny got married when duane left. the unhappiness of the coach and ruth's marriage was because they got married to young and ruth doesnt really know why she did it besides the fact her parents disliked it was a lot simliar to the way sonny and jacy married. the adults are seen to be the way the kids would grow up. the hopes and dreams were put on hold for ex. the way jacy's mom and sam never got together because she was already married the way the caoch and his wife still married. i think the adults know the life of the kids are going down hill as like the city the way sam died and the theater were being closed down i also feel that the adults know that the kids are becoming replicas of the adults. the adults were very unhappy and so were the kids and i think the movie captured a bit of honesty in the film as like reality. that reality is not picture perfect. the way there is a mentally disabled person in the film made the film a bit more realistic the way the townspeople completely did not care about the well-being of the kid is the same problem we face today. the affair between ruth and sonny is similar to the graduate. the way jacy was stuck up because she was looking at the mirror all the time, the way she seduced every guy, and the way she was mean reminds me of the characters portrayed that way nowadays nothings changed. i think the future holds nothing for these kids because sonny goes to ruth again, the mentally ill kid dies, and duane goes off to korea. i dont know how to explain things very well.. but yaa thats what i think. ohh & duane going off and leaving the town is like sam in someway he left and when he came back the love of his life was with someone else. the way the pool hall was given to sonny seemed like that was all he had and nothing else but the affair he had with ruth. i read whatever i wrote and some of it doesnt make sense, sorrrry. (Reply to this) (Thread)

Ashley Lozano (Anonymous) 2007-04-12 21:11 (link)

the last picture shown The film seemed like a typical one in days. There's a girl who can get anything she wants, and the girl causes trouble between friends. The older women having an affair. The place seemed so lonely, and there weren't that many people, it was like a ghost town. I thought sad how Sunny picked Jacy over the football coach's wife, and I never heard him say "I'm sorry". I liked how the movie allowed you to get to know the adults instead of just the kids. The film was long, and I didn't like the ending it had I wanted it to show what happened to the rest of the town. I wasn't satisfied with the end. The adults already experienced what the kids are going through. Sam the lion was in an affair with Jacy's mom, as did Sunny have one with the Coach's wife. Sam the lion talks about his exprience in love with Sunny when they are at the river supposedly fishing. When Jacy and Sunny get caught after supposedly getting married Jacy's mom said it was best because Jacy would've done bad things. Jacy's mom knew how her daughter was like, she knew how she would act. The kids, aren't going to have such a great future. Jacy is probably going to get pregnant and not know who the baby's daddy is. If by any chance Duane doesn't get killed in the war he could find a new person to love or he would get back together with Jacy. Sunny is going to get back with the coach's wife, but she'a going to die a year later and Sunny won't know what to do. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: Ashley Lozano (Anonymous) 2007-04-12 22:30 (link)
	I forgot to include that the adults know about sex and the life changingconcequences and the kids do not, they are still learning. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: Ashley Lozano (Anonymous) 2007-04-12 23:09 (link)

hahah. Your comment on how those people's future would be is funny. Most of your prediction is negative but it seems that, that would mostly likely happen. I agree, I think Jacy would get pregnant and then she would have to go on a Jerry Springer show, if there even was quite a show back then, to find the father. hah. That's sad how you said that the coach's wife is going to die. haha. she's only like 40 something, right? haha. OR wait, was that JAcy's mom? haha. :) -Robyann Jumaoas :) (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Jeffery Armellino (Anonymous) 2007-04-12 21:47 (link)

I thought this movie was pretty good. It was really unlike any movie I’ve ever seen because of the way the story was told; it reminded me of an old TV show. Unlike the perfect world the television projects, however, the characters in this film were faced with regular problems. The reality of their situations wasn’t stretched out to create some fabricated life. That’s probably what I liked most about The Last Picture Show; I was able to relate my life with Sonny’s and Duane’s. Even though The Last Picture Show was black and white, my perception didn’t change. Nowadays, you see love and sex in a lot of different movies and I don’t think it creepy or strange. All movies are movies; you shouldn’t expect certain things out of a movie because of the colours used. I was surprised at how accurate the film was at depicting love and sex. It’s exactly how teenagers are. July’s strive for sex and Sonny’s secret relationship with his coach’s wife were something I’d expect from this day and age, not from the 70’s. What I see in today’s films are what I think of when I look back at earlier films; the love is so awkward and unrealistic. But The Last Picture Show, it’s exactly lie the real thing. The adult’s lives were so different from the children’s. The kids were constantly concerned about how their lives were going to turn out and the adults were laid back, as if they didn’t have a care in the world. There were two adults, however that fit in with the teenagers; Jacy’s mom and the coach’s wife. Jacy’s mom was constantly depressed due to her love for Sam, the head of the picture show, and the coach’s wife was having an affair with Sonny. To me, all the other adults resembled those in sitcoms. The entirety of the movie was pretty strange, but it was completely normal at the same time. It brought reality into a film unlike any I’ve ever seen in a theatre. It was truly a magnificent movie. Although a couple things still confuse me, I was impressed with what I saw. (Reply to this) (Thread)

Lily I. (Anonymous) 2007-04-12 21:50 (link)

I really liked this film. It had its happy moments, and its sad moments, and I think that this is why it seemed like it could have happened in real life (with its ups and downs). There was plenty of nudity in this film. I'm guessing that when it was released, it was very controversial, especially in the eyes of the general public. What the teenagers only really care about is "love" and sex. Near the beginning of the film, Sonny was with his girlfriend, and neither he nor she liked each other very much. They just wanted to have a boyfriend or girlfriend so that they could touch each other here and there...sex. The lives of adults in the film also revolve around love and sex. The adults act like teenagers, themselves. This might be because when they were growing up, they did not really have time to "fool around" and have "fun", and so now when an opportunity comes at them, they take it, even if it is completely wrong. It seemed a little to outrageus to watch and hear how a mother approved of her daughter having sex, no matter with who it was (especially since this is an "old" film) . I thought this was too extreme. At least I have in mind that in the old days, everyone was much more conservative about their sexuality, and if a mother found out about her teenage daughter sleeping around, she would, maybe, slap her and kick her out of the house, or some kind of "horrible" punishment. In Jacy's case, her mother was just telling her who it was better to sleep around with, etc. Everyone just wants to feel "loved". Another thing I noticed about the characters in this film was that the people that loved each other were not together, for one obstacle or another. Jacy's mom, Sam the Lion, the coach's wife, Sonny's friend, Sonny, Jacy-- these are just a few of the characters that were not with the people they truely loved but were rather alone or with people whom they did not have feelings for. People did not care about other people's feelings and if they were beeing hurt. Sonny hurt the coach's wife by "ditching" her with Jacy without telling her what was going on, or anything at all. He also went out with Jacy, knowing that although his best friend and her had broken up, he still had strong feelings of love for her. Jacy liked having all the attention to herself and didn't care about hurting people in the process. She lied to her boyfrined, to Sonny, and just let an old man have her just so that she could "feel like a woman", even if she didn't like it.People only cared about their own happiness, and now that the town was falling apart or "dying", they didn't care how they received happiness, even if it meant stepping on other people. It made me sad when Sonny and his best friend got into a fight for a rich girl that was not worth them fighting, orany of their time. I also felt sorry when Sonny's friend had to go fight in the war at the end, when they had become friends again. Since there was a war going on and people were being drafted to fight, adolescents didn't care about what they did, and just wanted to have a good time and to accomplish their goals. They were unsure of what could happen to them, with the town dying. Everyone in general felt this way. That's why they wanted to do things for themselves, no matter how nasty or wrong they were. (Reply to this) (Thread)

evette gonzalez (Anonymous) 2007-04-12 22:47 (link)

So I want to say that I liked the movie but I found no point to it. It was all about sex and nothing else, well actually the lives about the people back then. I think the movie was honest, it seemed very realistic and I was paying attention the whole time because it faces realistic situations, small town, everyone knows everything, death, sex everything. It was a good film but I really found no point to it, and I didn’t like the ending. I know I’m being redundant but like the guys seemed so dull, well sonny at least even when he had sex with the coaches wife. He just did it like if he had to but didn’t want to. He seemed very neutral, as if we was “hitting it and quitting it”. I was extremely shocked by what I saw in this black and white movie, it was like a porn movie without any images! That could have turned someone on! Omg! I can only imagine a theatre full of high school kids watching that film with their boyfriend/ girlfriend. Wow! But everyone was way more liberal about everything, now rated R movies have nothing but kissing, it’s insane. The film was right to the point about sex because back then everyone did everyone in small towns and everyone knew about it a but no one would say anything, which I think is hilarious. The adults and he kids were exactly the same just married; everyone cheated on everyone but still stayed with the same person. This reminds me of the movie the Notebook, just that this is one is truer, or so I believe so and the notebook took place before. The adults know everything and that they will never get out of that town, that they are stuck there forever because it is true, none of them are ready for the city. The future of the kids is screwed; they will never forget that town and what happened there probably become bums there because they can’t leave it. Born and die there and watch the town get populated by McDonalds and KFC. America is now screwed, pollution, obesity its way different! We fucked it up :| (Reply to this) (Thread)

	"MoNiiKaY" ZaVala (Anonymous) 2007-04-12 22:50 (link)
	Hi Mr Leibner! im sorry i didnt come to class wednesday, but i have an eye infection! so if i could borrow the movie "the last picture show" that would be great! :] thanks! (Reply to this) (Thread)

Robyann Jumaoas (Anonymous) 2007-04-12 23:03 (link)

First of all, to be honest, I did not quite enjoy the movie, I thought it was “okay”. There were a lot of boring scenes; this exaggerated the loneliness and isolation of the ghost town, Anarene. But there were also some good, eye-opener scenes. I wouldn’t want to live in Anarene. It’s because like what Jacy’s mom said, it’s boring there. It looks like there’s not much to do other than make-out, eat cheeseburgers, and then screw up some more. I think that’s why Sonny and his friends rebelled even more because they felt that they were limited in this little town. When watching some parts of the movie, I forgot that it was shown in black and white. For example, like the parts where Jacy was undressing to go into the pool and the part where Sonny and his first girlfriend were making out in the car. I think it was the boldness that made me forget. I guess this did shock me in a black and white film. You wouldn’t normally see this in a black and white film, so that was sort of out of the ordinary. I think this movie was honest because everything that happened, just happened. Like the deaths of Sam and Sonny’s brother.(that was his brother right?) Also, how bold the sexual scenes were made the movie honest. There was no hesitation in filming those scenes, I noticed. They just got right on it and filmed. The relationship between the kids and the grownups is that, the kids actually have an opportunity—an opportunity to get out of Anarene and not live like their parents. All the parents seemed to be lonely and bored and unhappy. The kids were a lively bunch yet still unhappy. The adults know what they could have done to be happy, to escape this melancholy. Like in that scene with Sam telling I think, Sonny, about a happy memory he had at that place where they went fishing, he seemed regretful and sad talking about it. Also, Jacy’s mom advice to marry a rich man, made her miserable but she thought that it would make Jacy have a better life. Looking at the decisions that the kids made, it seemed that their lives were going no where. For instance, Jacy—she wanted to get married to Duane and to Sonny, it was like she just wanted to get with anyone. That’s not a good direction to start with. For Duane, it’s unpredictable because he went off to war and we don’t know if he’s coming back or not. If he does come back, I think that he would have a good future because veterans are always treated with respect and they’re also paid more. By making the decision to go to war, it was a good thought. Sonny’s life also seems unpredictable because we didn’t really know what was going on with him. All we knew was that he played basketball. I think once these kids grow up, they’ll be supporting theirs kids and making sure that they live a better life just like how their parents tried to. I think that this cycle of parents trying to give their children better lives will never change because my mom also wants me to have a better life and I’m sure when I grow older, I’d also work hard for my kids. So this relationship between parents and their children will never end. (Reply to this) (Thread)

Luis Tamayo (Anonymous) 2007-04-13 00:33 (link)

This film has been rendered a classic by several critics, most likely because it goes above and beyond. In the sense that this film defies expectations, it gives us insight into what was happening, and in some cases opens the eyes of the American audience. Never in some people’s lifetime have they seen so much sex being shown on screen. You would not expect things of that nature (so explicit) to be shown during that time, especially in a black and white movie. The majority of the time I was confused about what was going on, not until I read the synopsis did I fully understand. The film did seem honest because it shows how people go on living their “daily” lives, and sooner or later they simply get tired. The characters live in a boring town, and they need thrill, thus the affairs happen. Sonny and the coaches wife, also Jacy’s mom depicts how unhappy people have become. I think the movie focuses on the adults as well as the kids, to show the audience how the kids might end up if they stay in that town. This might have been new to some people, only because in this era the whole purpose of life was to do what your parents did. You start to notice throughout the whole movie, how Aranene is undergoing a transformation and that it’s becoming a ghost town. Personally, I think it becomes a ghost town because it’s resident realize that there is no opportunity there, everything has been left and deserted, and the life of the town just dries up. The characters find themselves bored and fed up with their mangy lives, and discover that they do the exact same things over and over again. For example the coaches’ wife is so bored with her homemaker life, that she becomes attracted to Sonny because he’s the only interaction she has. Overall this film pushed the whole JOHN WAYNE era to the side, because things weren’t perfect anymore. America had sex, war, drugs, and so much more, that it needed new films to depict the time. (Reply to this) (Thread)

angie gonzalez (Anonymous) 2007-04-13 00:46 (link)

i must say, "the last picture show" was a pretty good film. i thought it was interesting and intense. (intense only because of the relationsips that were formed by the kids and adults and how the two best friends were fighting over a woman who wasn't really worth fighting for.) it covered topics (ie. death, relationships, sex, love, alcohol, hate, etc...) that most of which are still portratyed in many, many films today. i think this film was honest. it had many situations which are still faced today. as i was watching this film, all of the topics that were covered, death, sex, love, hate, and even the fact that there was nudity in this film surprised me because you'd think that since this is a black and white film made way back, everything would be "happy-go-lucky" and "goodie-to-shoes", and nothing like these everyday, controversial topics would be even be discussed. as if everyone was so innocent, so pure, and never rebeled. i didn't expect there to be nudity in this film at all. everything in this film was so realistic and nothing was sugar-coated. this film was very honest about both love and sex. sex because, well because sex was everywhere in this film. still today, sex is very "out there." sex sells. and the love part of the film were all so realistic as well. this whole film was a trip because it is so weird how this black and white film, made in the early 70's is so real and accurate to society today. it's as if this film wasn't made back then, but made recently because it had its ups and downs.. it's, i guess, "normal" to today's society because we see all of this everywhere and experience all of it, but to see people experience it and see it all BACK THEN, it's odd. i don't know, but this fim tripped me outttt. the world of the adults is much different from the world of the kids. the adults have different views on things, they are much older, wiser, and experienced, so i guess you can say, "they know what they are doing." the kids in this film were so naive and so inexperienced. all that mattered to them was sex, sex, and more sex. they did any person they could whenever given the chance. everyone had to know what was goingon between the adults and the kids because since it was such a small town, and it was isolated as well, so people had to know the gossip. what the future holds for the kids is nothing good, or at least i think. they will probably experience more sex, but maybe even babies will come into their lives, they will experience more death, and what they call, "love." they are all going to be messed up after doing what they did. especially that one guy gettign with that old lady.... sickkk! for a black and white film, this was pretty fucking interesting. (Reply to this) (Thread)

Cilla!! (Anonymous) 2007-04-13 00:50 (link)

I really didn't get the whole point of the movie, but it was still interesting and funny. For some reason, the movie reminded me of American Pie. I had no idea what movie we were watching, and since i was a little late to class yesterday, the first thing that caught my eye was the old lady and the young man making out in a black and white movie. I'm use to watching black and white movies that are all corny and innocent. I bet this movie had a lot of controversy back then with adults. I don't think adults back then would want their children to watch that kid of movie that might corrupt their innocent little minds.The movie might not have had a good storyline to it, but everything that was going on with these people was real. Even today, young men have seem to have a sexual kind of relationship with women to have a sense of an adventure and feel more manly. Older women tend to have sex with younger guys so they can feel young again. In the end, I felt bad for the old lady because I knew the young football player was messing around and sooner or later he was going to leave her. The football player just had to leave the old lady for his best friend's girlfriend. That was also predictable. I already knew that was going to happen for some reason. The girl knew she can get whatever guy she pleased and she did. I really don't understand why her boyfriend didn't have sex with her first though. Both the adults and the kids in the town were committing things they shouldn't have been doing and they soon intertwined with one another to make the matter of things worse than they were already are. One example that shows the contrast between the two worlds (adults and kids) was with coach Popper's wife and Sonny. Adults take it more seriously than kids do because they have already experienced it before when they were once kids. Sonny considered it more as a fling type of thing, since he couldn't have Jacy, he needed someone to take her place. Popper's wife was also more emotional about the outcome and Sonny was more like whatever about it. In the end, Sonny sees his coach's wife upset and devastated so he comforts her, and right when she gets his comfort, she takes him back like nothing. Adults already lived the "wild" life when they used to be young, they already experienced everything the kids are barely experienced, but sometimes adults want to go back to those days and live the stress free days one more time. The whole movie showed how much America has changed and how drugs, love, sex, war has corrupted and taken over our society. Adults see their children grow up day by day and it must be really traumatic for them because they know whats out there in the REAL world. America in the John Wayne movies was like doom. There was no more hope and life to it, death completely took over. Now that i think about it, this movie was really depressing and very true. As the years go by, things get worse and worse and kids have their eyes closed living their innocent happy world while the adults open their eyes and see how corrupted their world is and what their kids soon have to face. (Reply to this) (Thread)

Diana Munoz (Anonymous) 2007-04-13 01:00 (link)

I thought the movie was strange, but in a good way, it was pretty good in my opinion. I liked how they were able to incoorporate the lives of the adults along with the kid's, it is usually only the lives of the adults, or only the lives of the kids with the completely clueless parents. The movie seemed "too" honest to me, well, some of it. The part about how teens, or any person of any age or gender, do things on the rebound because they are heartbroken, like when Sonny has that affair with the coach's wife and Duane enlists and goes of to the Korean war, and the meanness of young people and the impulsive decisions they make, and the need for attention like Jacy and the need of attention of Sonny just because she wants to feel wanted. The film was, actually pretty honest, I think, because before this film I thought that people were a little more conservative than this, and then I saw this film and there were the fights and rivalries and meanness, the naked pool partys, the promiscuous teens & adults and all the affairs etc... and now I see that it isn't that different from todays society where anything goes, they don't portray anything in this film that does not happen in real life. The film seemed pretty old school at first, but then it seemed that it was way ahead of its time, even for the seventies. The world of the adults is different from the kids world because maybe when they were growing up the town wasn't dying and they probably have more of a childhood, therefore have more time to develop their emotional sides and preferances. The world of the adults is like less risk taking, like when they went to Mexico, I don't think the a lot of the adults could do that because they have responisibilities. That is another difference, the responsibilities of the adults were more than those of the teens, the teenagers didn't seem like they had much to worry about, they just did what they wanted when they wanted, how they wanted, and where they wanted, like when Jacy decided to just up and go to that swimming party. The adults know that that what seems so right, right now is not necessarily what will be right in the long run, they know that they are going to have to make sacrifices in order to be "safe" in society, for example the affair between Jacy's mom and Sam the lion. I predict that Sonny is going to end up just drifting, having countless affairs because he will not be able to trust women and he won't feel whole with the coach'swife. I think that Jacy is going to end up in the porn, industry just searching for that rush, she's going to go back to that guy she met at the swimming party and catch some STD or get pregnant and she's going to end up in the care of her parents, either that or she is going to end up just like her mom. I think don't think Duane is gonna be kille in war, he is going to look for Jacy, she is going to reject him and in his trying to becoming the perfect man he is going to become a super rich guy that invests in like apple and he is going to meet the love of his life. The America in John Wayne movies was gone when pure towns like that were gone, when the rivers became surrounded with McDonalds and Wal Marts citys and skyscrapers and became poluted, just like the hearts of the american teenagers, with war and uncertainty. (Reply to this) (Thread)

Patricia Silva (Anonymous) 2007-04-13 01:22 (link)

This was one of those films that you have to wait for it to get interesting. The beginning of the film had a slow start and if it wasn't for the fact that I had to watch it for this class I probably wouldn't have finished it. Once it got a little further into the story my attention was caught. Despite the fact that I ended up liking it I would never watch it again because it is what I consider a depressing movie. This is the type of movie that makes me feel a whole lot better about my life. I can't imagine living in a very small town where everybody nows what you do and having no opportunity to get out of there. At some points the movie seemed honest but at other points it didn't. Scenes concerning peer pressure like the pool scene where Jacy undressed or when all the boys forced the retarded kid to get into the car to have sex seemed honest to me because they protrayed how teenagers act. I thought that for the most part it also showed an honest view of how sex affected the teenagers. But then there were also scenes that didn't seem honest like the one were Jacy has sex with that man in the pool hall and then comes home and doesn't even seem affected by it, instead she starts to cry about the other boy that got married and left her. I was a little shocked that a black and white film was pretty explicit about sex. Most black and white films that I've seen are very careful about what they show but I knew this one was going to be different from as soon as I saw that scene when Sonny and his girlfriend as well as Duane and Jacy started making out in the theater. This movie wasn't afraid to show how sex and its consequences were back then. Like I have already said I thought sex as well as love were honestly protrayed in this film. I think these themes were better protrayed by Sonny then anyone else. At the beginning he gets with his coach's wife because she is willing to have sex with him. Then later when Jacy decided to persue him he didn't think twice about the coach's wife. I think that that shows exactly how most people are, they take what is avaliable to them at the moment and if they find something better they forget what they had before. The love affair between Sam and Jacy's mom also seemed honest. Jacy's mom realized that although she loved Sam if she wanted a better future she would get it through Jacy's dad. Many people espically back in the 50s would give up love as long as they didn't live poor or live a life full of gossip. Life isn't like Romeo and Juliet and this film does a good job of showing that. The adults in this film have gone through most of the things the teenagers are experiencing at this time so now they have settled down into the life they choose. Since most of the adults choose lifes that gave them a safe future but not a happy one they are now suffering the consequences espically the coach's wife and Jacy's mom. The adults seem to be reflections of what the kids are going to end up becoming no matter how different they may seem from each other at the beginning. The adults know that no matter how much you dream or plan for your future in the end you are only going to end up settling for a life that keeps you safe. In the future Duane will probably end up dieing in the war or at least getting so badly wounded that he will end up incapacitated. Sonny will live but he will know be dead inside while Jacy will probably end up like her mom in a loveless marriage. Basically they are all going to end up dead in one way or another. (Reply to this) (Thread)

Davis Tran (Anonymous) 2007-04-13 01:28 (link)

I thought the film was disgusting and pretty much ok. The nasty part about the movie is when Jacy had sexual intercourse with the old man, ewww!!! It’s funny how Jacy flirts with the old man (something about not ever seeing a pool hall) and then after “that”, the old man act like nothing had ever happened, treating Jacy with no respect. Throughout the whole movie my favorite part in The Last Picture Show is when Jacy said “I didn’t except that to happen!” It was hilarious. I expect Jacy to say something else, but from her face expression and body posture, she seemed happy and satisfies. Another nasty part that happened in the movie is when Sonny had an affair in the middle of the movie with an old lady. They acted like two happy couple with nothing to worry about. They were just two loving couples regardless of age. Sony left the old lady, when he was dating/going out with Jacy. But after Jacy left to Dallas, Duane went to war, and all his other friends didn’t hang out with him, he decided to go back to the old lady that he once had an affair with. First, the lady was surprised that Sony came back, then she got angry, but at the end I think that she forgive him. The teenagers had experience what the adults once had. Therefore the adults know what will happen in the future and they tried to stop them, but it didn’t work. The adults know that everything will turn out to be bad and their future they will find was not the future they had envision and it’s going to haunt them one day. (Reply to this) (Thread)

shivani narayan (Anonymous) 2007-04-13 02:47 (link)

I think this movie is kind of interesting because it just showed what people would do in certain situations. This movie wasn’t all bad, it just took me a while to understand what was going on. This movie was kind of showing what each person was doing in their life. I can kind of expect these things to happen in real life but I don’t think that the teenagers would want to follow in their parents footsteps nowadays. This movie is similar to Graduate because when the characters were having sex it didn’t seem like they did it for love. They just wanted to have sex, not caring about who they were having sex with. There were so many different types of relationship in its movie but no one was able to maintain it. I was really surprised that Jacy’s mom told her to sleep with Duane. I think she also said to sleep with other men to find out who was the right person for her. I didn’t expect Jacy to listen to her mom. I was surprised that she would actually go to the party. I didn’t actually think that she would be able to be nude in front of everyone. She didn’t have sex with anyone so how would she know if Duane was doing it right or not. She wanted to have sex with him because she didn’t want people to call her a virgin and she wanted to have sex with the guy in the kitchen. But he had told her he would sleep with her only if she’s not a virgin. Duane should have figured out that Jacy didn’t want to have sex because she loved him but because she wanted to tell everyone else that she’s not a virgin. I was so surprised knowing that she was having sex with an old man. I guess Jacy married the right person because Sonny was sleeping with an old woman. Sonny and Jacy are so sick sleeping with old people. Jacy wanted someone to come and get her when she was in the car with Sonny. I can’t believe that Sonny didn’t realize that Jacy didn’t want to go with him, she was just pretending to like him. She even told him that she left a note to her parents saying where she was going. Yet he couldn’t understand what she was up to. One thing that is unique in this movie is that the parents or the kids were very open. As I said before Jacy’s mom had told her to have sex with different men to find the right one. I forgot which guy told the guy that they were making the crazy kid loose his virginity. I can’t imagine some one say that to an adult out in the open. I wouldn’t even imagine them to talk about sex in the open. The teenagers are actually doing what what their parents had done. When Jacy’s mom was young she had sleeps with different men (I’m guessing) so now Jacy kind of got that trait from her mom because she too does the same thing. (Reply to this) (Thread)

Richard Rodriguez (Anonymous) 2007-04-13 12:37 (link)

I think the movie was intresting with a few twists in it that came surprising to me. It was intresting how kids would behave in that time era and how the town looked as it was fading away. I liked how the movie produced the feeling of old america and its old ways. The movie did look honest to me in sense that they showed everything that went on in the town like the young students affair with his coaches wife or the crazy pool party that went on. The honesty between love and sex in the movie is a bit hard for me to decide on because love was shown a couple of times but fake love was also in the presence. The sex scenes were a bit strange and i think they were mostly not honest and the sex was just for reputation wise and not for real love. I think the adults had lived a life the kids were living in and they knew what their futures were if they stayed in the town or not. I guess that the kids represent like a younger version of an adult in that town. I believe that the adults know what kind of future will fall on the kids if they stay in the town or if they leave. Either way in that town u either stay and never leave or you leave and never come back. In duanes case it was diffrent because he still loved jacy and came back to see what she was up to but once he went to the korean war i dont think he will return to that town. (Reply to this) (Thread)

Ralph Mallari (Anonymous) 2007-04-13 13:37 (link)

I thought this movie was great, i mean there were a lot of unexpected events that we didn't see coming but thats what made the movie so great and exciting. The use of the ghost town was great, it really gave the views "us" that they were isolated from the modern world. The movie seem kinda honest to me. There were some scene i weren't honest like the whole time Sonny had an affair with the coach is wife and coach had never walked in, while they were having sex. What was so honest about the film was that most of them didn't know much about having sex and how not cool it was to have sex with someone older then you , a lot older then you. I would have never expected to see so many naked bodies in a black and white movies, knowing that the movie was rated R? But then again we know what goes own with the human mind when we see naked bodies every were. The movie was pretty honest with love, and sex. Many didn't know how to have sex and not plenty got far. Knowing that love wasn't built with trust cause everyone seem to be fucking someone else other then there girlfriend or boyfriend. What was interesting was that the rich guy at the club didn't want to take away that girls virginity since she was still a virgin i thought he would of like to take her virginity while she was tight down there. But then i guess thats just are generation who looks forward to virgins. I guess. Ever since the town was becoming so deserted the adults now were experiencing the same events the teens were going through. What the adults know is that the town is slowly dieing and cause the people who live in the town to do some crazy things. Adults can see that they want the teens to having a better future so they should try moving out of town and see were that leads them to other then living in a town that was near its end of existence. What happened to the teens future was nothing big, they began to start moving out of town, see whats out there and disobeying many rules that were built with the town. Another is that they found there self helpless with out the ones they called friends,and family (Reply to this) (Thread)

Darline Jimenez (Anonymous) 2007-04-13 15:25 (link)

The movie was very provocative of the sex scenes I was shocked that it was in black and white. The movie does seem honest because of how there are temptations that drive relationships to have affairs and betrayal. I didn't realize how the young teenagers being portrayed were of the adults when they were teenagers back then. I believe its history repeating itself. The world that the young teenagers are living in seems like a perfect world of young love and innocence but once the betrayal, deciet, and lies come up its not a perfect society anymore. The adults know that back then the town was more pleasant and simple and during the time of the film it has already been tainted. The future these kids hold is of nothing unless you get out of that town to be something staying in that town will ruin themselves inside. John Wayne movies in America became extinct because technology was changing and as years passed by the whole concept of simplicity died and so did the town. (Reply to this) (Thread)

Van Ardon (Anonymous) 2007-04-13 17:28 (link)

I think this movie is probably one of the most provocative movie we will see in this class, i mean c'mon all the sex and nudity and its a black and white film at that. Not only just because of the nudity, its also the story line of the film, which is very real and nonsugar coated. For example its telling a real life story such as the coach, who coaches bball, football, etc. who doesn't have time for his family, and his wife ends up sleepin with his player Sonny. The wife needed attention, obviously, but what im tryin to say is that this kind of stuff happened. And still happens in our society today, you hear about big time pro sport coache's family on drugs, or commits suicide, is it a coincidence, i don't think so! Its more of a reality because the fact of the matter is, they dont have enough time for their family. Its also ironic that the parents (adults) lived their lives to be safe in ANarene to raise their kids but when the kids grew up, they really didn't appreciate it because it seemed like the town was dying and there's nothing better to do that sleep around, shoot pool or go to mexico. Its also sad that when they try to leave town, they seem to always find their way back. Since Sam the Lion died, it kind of opened Sonny's eyes to things, i don't know what his future would be but he needs to get out of that town, i know for sure! But that Jacy, she's such a you know what! Pretty weird though, i thought she had a mental illness during watching the movie, one moment she's happy one moment she's crazy! But pretty much it can't get any more honest than that because the things that happened to those people, kids and adults is probably what happened in the real 1950's, small town stuff! The adults pretty much knew everything around them, but they were being hypocrites because maybe they didn't want to move from that town and they didn't have the courage to change, so they just move in dysfunction. The ones that had a chance ran away such as Duane, hoping to better himself in the war. But overall its a movie about a place that once was happy and undercontrol, and then lost and forgotten because of the people around it. (Reply to this) (Thread)

Cristina Marquez (Anonymous) 2007-04-13 17:37 (link)

I found the movie to be very cute and innocent because as a teenage I felt I could really identify with the kinds from personal experience. Seeing that the kids bullied the retarded boy reminded of the classical teasing that goes around school whether its because our your intelligence, race, or beauty. I also connected to the adults from the movie because I saw characteristics in them that my parents themselves possess. The fact is that the adults were mirror images of themselves when they were kids. The movie was very honest to me, more honest then I expected. The truth is the film exposed true life situations on the big screen. I was glad to see that even the late 60’s people weren’t afraid to expose reality. Death, sex, affairs, and depressing are all factors of life. The way love and sex was particularly portrayed seemed pretty accurate. Some people have sex because they are in love and others simply because they are horny or fall for peer pressure like the character of Jacy. I had a great interest for the character of Jacy because it seemed that as the popular girl she could have it all. She was beautiful and wealthy and yet she had this huge desire to get screwed. What seemed ironic was that the guys she wanted to screw didn’t want to be her first. What guy would pass up the chance to get some?? Instead of screwing her boyfriend she goes and screws the old man that even her mother had slept with once or twice. The fact is that with people who have everything at their finger tips its hard to find something that will provide them with pleasure. Jacy sadly also wanted to have sex because her mother stuck it in her head that it wasn’t no magical thing. Okay yes there are no fireworks literally but damn she didn’t have to ruin her daughters virginity because her sexual experiences weren’t so magical. The kids and the adults were evidently living in the same town but in a sense they were in different worlds. As children you never have anything to worry about as you would as an adult. The adults knew what it was to reach a point in their lives were you look back and think what could have I done different. They knew that living in a small town wasn’t going to get them no where. Its like when you’re a child and they as you what you want to be when you grow up, children say a lawyer or a doctor off the top of their heads. The truth is that as a child your in your own world were you don’t realize all the things you have to do to achieve your goal like college and money. In a small town like that there really is no future for anyone because it isn’t like more people want to come and live in a ghost town on the contrary people more to the big city. The only thing that the future holds for someone living in a small town is gossip. People feed off gossip especially when there is nothing better to do. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	JDelaCruz (Anonymous) 2007-04-13 21:09 (link)
	today friday.. you mentioned kurt russell of grindhouse was duane but it wasn't or thats what it said on every website about the last picture show... it was Jeffrey Leon Bridges. i dont know maybe im wrong but yaa.. i just wanted to share that with ya. (Reply to this) (Thread)

(Anonymous) 2007-04-15 19:56 (link)

I'm sorry to say Leibner.. but I really think that "The Last Picture Show" bites, and it didn't exactly catch my attention. It was so boring with too much drama. Even the music was boring. Wait.. or was that the point? That the lives of these small town people are so lame and dull that they have to create drama for themselves to liven things up? Eh.. I don't know. I think I just thought the movie was that lame. (Sorry Liebner.. not your fault). Well, I do think that the movie seemed honest enough though. The film seems to have portrayed the sneaky and manipulative lives of teenagers, involving love/puppy love and sex. I guess I was a little surprised of the incidents that happened in the film, considering it was a black and white one. I didn't know that even in a black and white film there would be quite an exposure. It wasn't like a typical black and white film--innocent and plastic issues. I think that the film was honest enough about love and sex. People do stupid things because of love or puppy love. The world of the adults is different compared to the kids because I think the adults know everything the kids do. However, because they were once kids and pulled the same shananigans, they just allow them to make their own mistakes and hopefully learn from them. I think what the future holds for the kids is that only a few of them will actually leave the town and pursue their dreams and goals while the rest end up like the adults who are still at the ghost town. The America of the John Wayne movies became more concerned about nation-wide issues such as war, etc. -- Sorry Joel Pollack and I had to leave a bit early Liebner. I had a test that day for my Physiology class at Harbor College and Joel was my only ride there. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Rainelee Bernardino (Anonymous) 2007-04-15 19:58 (link)
	Sorry Liebner. I forgot to put my name on my blog. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Rainelee Bernardino (Anonymous) 2007-04-15 20:00 (link)
	but yeah.. that one's my blog Leibner. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Jose Abad (Anonymous) 2007-04-15 23:09 (link)

Personally, i thought the movie was okay, it had its good moments, and moments that i found really boring. But over all it was nothign i expected. the setting was a small town where everyone knew everyone, pretty much secluded from the outside world. I thought it would be like one of those movies with the perfect family parents still together, and faithful to each other, children saving there virginities till marriage and the parents advocating that. But when i saw the kids talking about sex, going to naked pool parties, and breasts actually being shown in the film i stopped prejudging i was really suprised. I think the movie was pretty honest about love and sex, how the first time around people dont know what the hell they're doing and everything being awkward. what i think the adults knew that the kids didn't was that life is full of heartaches and there are more important things than what they were going through. For example, jacy's mom adviced jacy to put out before getting marriage. I think she did that because she knew that when she grew older she'd get bored of her husband and probably cheat, so might as well have fun without the huge commitment of marriage. Also, i think the parents know that the times are changing, and that thier kids lives won't be the same as thiers, with all the technological advances the simple things they enjoyed mostlikely wouldnt appeal to thier children. Like you said, the 60's changedd alot in america, including culture, and entertainment. The first man landed on the moon in the 60's so i suppose people were more interested in what future things would happen, cowboys were dying. I think that's why the last film showed at the theatre in that town was a western movie. It was the last time that those types of movies would be shown. and it is true. it's been a while since i've seen a western movie make it big in theatres. (Reply to this) (Thread)

MoNiiKaY ZaVaLa (Anonymous) 2007-04-17 21:05 (link)

Wow! I actually enjoyed this movie! When I envision a movie or television in black and white, I think of "I Love Lucy" and "Leave it To Beaver". Black and white movies about the '50s are typically calm and exaggerative and unrelated to real life. However, this movie was totally unlike any other black and white film about the '50s that I have ever seen! As soon as Sonny's girlfriend took off her top, I knew that this film was going to be different. I can't believe how much the characters cursed, and I thought it was hilarious when Jacy's mom flipped off a man. I know that I witness events like these in everyday life, but it is very surprising to see it in a film in this era. As far as love and sex, I thought that this film portrayed it acurately. Sex is glamourized in other movies, but in this movie, the sex scenes were totally akward. I felt bad for the coach's wife when Sonny was having sex with her, because they both weren't very into what they were doing, and the mattress springs were squeking the entire time, which of course is entirely unromantic. I think in this movie, the characters were having sex just to have sex, with no emotions attached at all to what they were doing. I dont think any of these characters loved eachother, i think they just had sex so that they would have something to do to pass the time. However, when you live in a sleepy town like theirs, there is nothing to do but have sex, watch a movie, or drink. I thought it was so gross how jacy slept with the same guy that her mom was having an affair with, talk about keeping it in the family! Jacy was the best character though, because she knew how to control men and it was so interesting to see how the men would jump at the chance to even spend a moment with her. I felt bad for so many of the adults in this movie. The waitress told Sonny that she would be making burgers for his grandkids by the time she finished paying off the 4,000 dollars in medical bills for her husband. So she was stuck having to be a waitress for the rest of her life. The adults are not happy with their lives, yet they do little to make it better. I think the coach was gay, and maybe that's why his wife had to sleep with Sonny, because she was unable to have an intimate relationship with her husband. Jacy's mother is screwing around with another man although she's married, and i think she gets away with it because she is so pretty. I think it's funny how everyone knows that Sonny is having an affair with Ruth Popper, yet they all joke about it. Does her husband not know? I think the adults know that their life is set, and they don't feel the need to bring about excitement or change to it. When Sonny asks the waitress if she wishes that she wouldve made it, she replies that she's fine with where she's at. I think that the kids in the town want to get away and make something of themselves. They know that they don't want to spend the rest of their lives in this town like their parents, so they get married young, enlist in the army, or go to college so that they can breakaway. (Reply to this) (Thread)

jason dieguez (Anonymous) 2007-04-18 04:36 (link)

i found the move to be very slow and drawn out, although the sex in the movie kind of surprised me but at the same time i can see how unglamorous sex can be and the movie shows that, the movie seems to be very honest for some modern small towns today and it's not replicated the same way like the movie but it has its circles in some group of friends that i know the more i think about it. i don't think the sex would happen that often as it did in the movie but what would i know? i think the adults was an indication of what the children's future if they were to stay at home and i think the adults knew the future of the kids if they didn't move out of town, the future seemed grim for the adults because of the rough transition for adjustment because of technology for the small towns, but for the kids it was an opportunity that they had to find on their own because the adults can't or couldn't guide them to the future, industrialization for the future was on it's way and its impact is going to be huge weither the people liked it or not. progression was coming and the America of the John Wayne movies will become a thing of the past because of the progression. (Reply to this) (Thread)

Joel Pollack (Anonymous) 2007-04-18 23:31 (link)

The Last Picture Show was irritating, it was not interesting at all. I could not wait until the boring movie was finally over. The movie had no point of excitement for me, it was not one of those fun movies but rather a very dull one. The movie seemed incredibly honest to me. I noticed that the people in town are just outwardly telling the truth of events that nowadays most people would like to keep to themselves. Like the encounter with the mentally challenged boy and the prostitute was just bluntly declared and passed around in town. Just the same way the affair with the coach’s wife was. There were other instances like when Jacy tried to loose her virginity at the motel. It seems like everyone in town knows the truth and what is going on. I was shocked to see so much sex and nudity in black and white films, it seems kind of odd to see. I feel like the film was very honest about sex and love because it was realistic. People often associate the more older and conservative generation as innocent but in fact they are just the same compared to modern day teenagers. Both generations have their sexual urges and expression, however there is a question on why the older generation got married a lot sooner then teenagers nowadays. The answer I think is the development of more reliable birth control and the fact that perhaps teenagers learned from their parents how hard it is to be young parents. I think that the world of the adults were that much different from the kids. I mean they all seem to be going through repetitive cycles in the community they live in, not much or any change. Since the adults seem to know exactly what the kids have gone through they think that they are going to turn out like them, and the future for the kids are a sad repeat of their parents. The America of the John Wayne movies never existed, it is a fantasy made up by the government to portray an ideal society for America. The world doesn’t just exist in black and white, but in different shades as well. (Reply to this) (Thread)

michelle jara (Anonymous) 2007-04-19 23:44 (link)

I thought the movie was interesting but then at the same time. It lost its touch in a few scenes. It like lost my attention, but then again in grabbed my attention in some scenes. I thought the movie was good in overall. It wasn’t one of my favorites compare to the others. The movie seem very honest to me. In the way it was filmed and how the actors were. You have this small town with not much of excitement & life, yet this teenager bring it all out in the open and make it happen. That changes all of their lives and moved them. I was shock, in some of the scenes of the movies. I have several examples, one would be when you see the mom, telling the daughter to go ahead and have sex but to use protection and their is no mystery to it! Another scene is when you have the girl get undressed(jacy) in front of everyone and also when sonny is in the car with his girlfriend in the beginning of the movie and she gets topless. I was shocked to see scenes like this. This ere seemed very conservative and sexuality seem to be at the rise of teenagers life and a concern for parents to come in the future. I would never picture watching scenes like this. These scenes are nothing compare to the exotic and vulgar one we have in today’s film. This film kept the scenes real and with touch of what peoples morals and values really were. An how youth yearned for the desire of sin and adventure. The movie was very honest about love in sex in the point that it showed how all this 3 different situations really were. An how nothing was really what it seemed like in this small town. Where things seem normal, but in reality where causing changes in their own life’s and permantly. My thoughts about the film and how did the world of the adults contrast with that of the kids is that they were a reflection. You have this adults with their life already and then you have this kids that are in the stage of creating the road for their destiny. These adults were once the kids in this movie and went through it! they seem concern for the children but at the same let them be. The adults know what life is headed for them if they continue that way, with their immatureness and actions. They were kids once and had that live. Just like sonny dad told him once at the restaurant. What the future holded for these kids are what they got in the end of their actions. Everyone seem to be in a state of confusion, indecision and searching for truth! What happened to the America of the John Wayne movies was just a taste of what the future holded for today society. Expanded as youth grew and music evolved and the era was its companion. The love and the sex were here to stay change and bring out challenges and truth. (Reply to this) (Thread)

Shannon "BB" Page (Anonymous) 2007-04-20 00:47 (link)

I thought that the movie was awkward and somewhat surreal because of how awkward many of the relationships were between Sonny with coach Popper's wife, and Duane altogether. Jacy seemed to half too much sexual allure and I can't begin to get my thoughts out about her and her personality. I just can't relate to any of these kids because I don't know a single person like these characters. The movie did in fact seem honest but it was just overexagerated situations. I find it a little funny because it seems like the generations now, are alot different than the one's back then just by the severity of it all but the types of scenerios are the same. Teenagers have to go through this crazy environment filled with the pressures of sex and drugs and relationships now just like then. I was shocked at what I saw in a black and white movie but I had to stop and think that this movie was made in 71 so it wasn't as bad. When people are young, there isn't much going for them as with love and sex. Most of the time, love isn't always tied in with sex. Teens aren't going to be in a relationship to hastely love, it's just "puppy" love and hormones are raging. America of the John Wayne movies had already died before. The town had already changed so much and it seemed like the kids didn't even realize it until the end when the town was all boarded up and closed. The world was beginning to change. The characters of the movie I noticed only a little contrast. They just seemed like they were mirror images but with age difference. Everyone starts out young and ends old but like i said before, people will always have to go through the same types of problems and scenerios, with life and all aspects of it. (Reply to this) (Thread)

lizzay casillas (Anonymous) 2007-04-25 02:14 (link)

This movie really caught my attention, I didn’t expect so much nudity from a black and white film. in general I really enjoyed this movie, I guess in today society we can relate to their life styles, values and traditions. The film showed the other side of what a small town has to offer. Today we’re used to discussing a small town in the form of a Pleasantville type setting. Yet that wasn’t the case for the small town of anarene. Since im so accustom to the Pleasantville model, discussing the ararene community seems so fake. Its ironic how so much is going on in such a small town without having everyone aware of the situations. The film had some truths on how the love and sex life is portrayed in society. Today the topics on love and sex are discussed freely among the people, and it wasn’t until the mid 60’s that people began to follow that path of rebelling towards what is accepted in love and sex. That is demonstrated with the numerous relationships that grow throughout the film. one great example for this is sonnys relationship with his coachs wife. That was very unexpected because of their age difference, yet the audience excepts their relationship because in comparison to what the other people from the town are facing with love and sex, sonnys relationship just adds on. I found it funny how much I was able to connect the adults from the town with the kids. In the film we come to that conclusion that the children were the adult replicas. in the end most of the characters never really prosper out of the small town, they just continue to live the next chapter of their life in the same small town of anarene. (Reply to this) (Thread)

stephanie bertulano (Anonymous) 2007-04-30 12:46 (link)

This movie portrayed things that I wouldn’t expect to see in a black and white movie. But in my opinion, I believe the aspects that the film touched upon were true, especially regarding sex and love. For example, most of the teenagers were betraying one another just for lust. In a way, this is true because some teenagers are not able to control their hormones. They tend to forget the consequences of losing their virginity to one person, yet alone many people. The teenagers just try to do anything they can to fit in with the rest of the other people, regardless of its consequences. For example, one of the girls wanted to stay a virgin until marriage, but her mother changed her mind about it. So then she learned how to forget about her boyfriend and find someone who will have sex with her so that she fits in with the rest of the other girls. She also does things to get the attention of other people, like marrying a guy than leaving him without saying anything. The life of adults in this film is somewhat similar to that of the teenagers. But the only difference is that the parents know the consequences. The adults know that in time, things will be different. They know that they won’t be able to mess around for long before someone finds out and things get more complicated than they already are. For the kids, the future doesn’t look as bright because they are too interested in sex. They think that sex is the “in” thing just because everyone else is experienced. They fail to realize that college is just around the corner, and that there won’t be a bright future for them if they do get pregnant. The American of the John Wayne movies slowly ceased to exist. (Reply to this) (Thread)

matthew spears (Anonymous) 2007-05-23 18:48 (link)

i really didn't like this movie. It just seem sooo boring. There were a lot of interesting things that happened though. That time period was just so different than ours. For them, especially the girls, it was "cool" to not be a virgin. Losing your virginity was what made you popular. Other than that kids were just looking for a good time. For the kids, their whole lives revolved around sex. And their town seemed to revolve entirely around Sam and everything he owned. Their town was dying and there was nothing to do. For instance they had nothing better to do than try to get the retarded kid some action. The adults in the movie didn't really get involved in the kids lives. It didn't even seem liked they agreed with anything that they did. As far as being honest, the movie was too honest. It reminded me of modern movies like "Kids". It just showed the everyday lives of the people in the town there wasn't really like a story line or and antagonist. Just whatever happened, happened. And when Sam's kid died by getting hit by a big rig no one cared except for sonny. The adults were there and probably saw it happen but they didn't care to even move his dead body. All they had to say was "what was he even doing way out here" they didn't seem to be sad in anyway. That seen really showed me the distance between the old and newer generation in that movie. I still didn't like this movie. (Reply to this) (Thread)

crystal yescas (Anonymous) 2007-06-05 07:42 (link)

throught the film, the adults all know that America is changing. No longer will America be the simple innocent, home they grew up in, and things such as causal sex, affairs and coorporate take over are evident in the future. to the kids, life in America can only get better and they welcome the change because it makes living entertaining. because the town that they live in is so small, their way of life is so simple, they become bored with it, and thats why affairs and sex become the "thing to do" because it's such a thrill. as they live their daily, routine life, the desire for something excited and rebellious is significant. the spontaneous marriage between the two kidds also shows that the spontienty of the kidds was just somehting to get excited about because the thrill of running away and getting married behind their parents back was exiciting. as the kidds strayed away from the fate of living and doing what their parents did died, so did the town. (Reply to this) (Thread)