David Lowery's re-imagining of the classic Arthurian poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" is one of the more interesting films that I've seen in recent years. After its initial release, there was a flurry of video essays all attempting to suss out the underlying message of the film. For many of those creators, the point that ultimately landed on was the idea that the film was a deconstruction of greatness and masculinity themselves, typically centering around Essel's line "Why is goodness not enough?" However, having listened to many of these readings over the years, I have found myself grossly dissatisfied with all of them, generally coming away with the feeling that for the most part, they are distorting the subject matter in order to make it fit into this mold. This essay is largely a response to those readings intended to show that (maybe even against the intent of its creator -- don't make me tap my Death of the Author sign again) this film is anything but a deconstruction or de-romanticization of greatness. Rather, it is one of the purest expressions that I have seen in some time of its true nature. I had originally thought about making the essay focused on masculinity, but I believe that the values I'm expressing are equally applicable to women. In examining this work, I will be referring to the work of Lawrence Kohlberg, the original poem, and an early version of the script that Lowery has made available on The Script Lab.
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#videoessay #morality #movie #greenknight #masculinity #heroes