Several undisputed masterpieces. A critically acclaimed comic book trilogy from a modern-day auteur. Four separate Martin Scorsese pictures. Nearly 100 Oscar nominations between them all—and 34 winners, including four for best picture. And a cult classic. What does that all add up to? As one photo now going viral among Film Twitter demonstrates, it really depends on who you ask.
That photo was posted on Twitter Sunday night by @ReverendDrDash, which featured 21 DVDs and Blu-rays stacked on top of one another (including two trilogy boxed sets) with a simple question: “If someone listed these as their favorite movies, what would you think of them?”
Those films, from top to bottom, are The Wolf of Wall Street, Reservoir Dogs, The Godfather Trilogy, American Gangster, The Dark Knight Trilogy, No Country For Old Men, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Deer Hunter, Heat, American Psycho, The Boondock Saints, Gangs of New York, Scarface (1983), Mystic River, The Departed, Training Day, and Goodfellas.
The photo sparked thousands of responses, and the types of responses fell into a few categories. You had those who used to date people whose taste in films were almost exactly like this. The stack of movies gave some the impression that they belonged to the worst kind of dudebro or toxic man. You had people want to get to know the kind of person who owns all of these films. (Chances are, you might even like some of these movies.)
The vast range of reactions demonstrates a few things. Those movies, which include both critically and commercially acclaimed works, are something akin to a Rorschach test; your experiences with the types of people who like those movies might affect your opinion of someone who likes said films. Or, because you watched a certain film in your early 20s on repeat, you associate it with a certain period in your life.
You can argue that some of the prevailing views of movies like American Psycho are commentaries on the toxic ideals some people believe they portray; liking American Psycho doesn’t necessarily mean you’re rooting for Patrick Bateman. Likewise, people who like Mad Max: Fury Road among these movies don’t all think that Max is the protagonist of it.
But if you want to get an idea of what a movie is trying to convey for yourself, you’re probably better off diving into them yourself than reading a Twitter thread about them.