I'm surprised Hollywood liked Whiplash

K.

Is this movie basically the first part of Full Metal Jacket with JK Simmons as Sgt Hartman and Miles Teller as Pvt Pyle?

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Is this movie basically the first part of Full Metal Jacket with JK Simmons as Sgt Hartman and Miles Teller as Pvt Pyle?

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I had this thought as well.

The difference is that Miles was a prodigy and Pyle was a numbnut that should have been sectioned 8.

I said it before and will say it again, JK's character was NOT a mentor, he was a psychopath. How many students need to go off the deep end? Why when you were fired do you intentionally rope in your former protege with intent to destroy him?

As for the OP. Hollywood is a fickle bunch, they have no idea what they're doing year to year. Because it was "artsy" they overlook everything the normally despise content-wise.

I wouldn't say that verbal and physical abuse is "promoted." Can there be some benefit? Perhaps, as in Miles's case. He clearly had the kind of personality and drive that fed off that teaching style. But look at what cost to his quality of life. In the end, it seemed more of a cautionary tale.

I think what made this a good movie was its ambivalence. On one hand, Simmons' character is portrayed as a monster, and the point is driven home by the news of the suicide. Then he managed to evoke some sympathy near the end when he explained was he was trying to do. Then he's a monster again when his real motivation for recruiting Teller is revealed. And then in the end, he changes his attitude when he realizes that Teller may be The One. So yeah, to the OP's point, it does ultimately appear to condone Simmons' abusive ways.

This story actually just reminded me of the M Night Shamalamalamalan movie Unbreakable. By some convoluted logic, Sam Jackson's character figured that because he was extra fragile, there must be someone unbreakable, and he did monstrous things to find that person. Likewise, Simmons was willing to destroy everyone else in his quest to find the one young musician who could achieve greatness.