this post was submitted on 18 Jul 2025
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Me Living In the US (lemmy.ml)
submitted 3 days ago by crankyrebel@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/memes@lemmy.ml
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[–] jerkface@lemmy.ca 8 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (5 children)

Okay but we all get that Douglas was the bad guy, right?

[–] MegaUltraChicken@lemmy.world 18 points 3 days ago

He is bad guy, but he is not bad guy

[–] Glitterbomb@lemmy.world 9 points 3 days ago (1 children)

He was pretty alright when he killed that nazi

[–] Agent641@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago

I didn't see that part ;)

[–] stray@pawb.social 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I'm pretty sure the bad guy was the fucked-up system that tortured him into his behavior. He's a victim as much as any of the people he hurt.

[–] jerkface@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Being a victim doesn't mean you are not also an abuser. Not all victims become abusers. We all live with the same fucked up system, but we don't all fall down. We don't all turn to violence and self-righteousness. Douglas was the fucking bad guy. Try watching it from his wife's point of view.

At the time of its release, Douglas's father, actor Kirk Douglas, declared: "He played it brilliantly. I think it is his best piece of work to date."[26] He also defended the film against critics who claimed that it glorifies lawbreaking: "Michael's character is not the 'hero' or 'newest urban icon'. He is the villain and the victim. Of course, we see many elements of our society that contributed to his madness. We even pity him. But the movie never condones his actions."

If you see something to be emulated or respected, you might just be fucked in the head.

[–] stray@pawb.social 1 points 2 days ago

I didn't say that victims can't be abusers, nor did I say that he was a hero.

People who've done harm need to be prevented from causing further harm, but it's important to acknowledge the root cause of their behavior if you want to stop future iterations.

I think that the OP is entirely a joke, but that it comes from the very real villain of systemic injustice that pressures us all to lash out. I think one could see the film as inspirational insofar as being inspired to take violent action, but I would hope they direct their aggression towards worthy targets.

[–] RedSnt@feddit.dk 2 points 3 days ago

Yeah, originally I was going to say I don't agree at all with his character, but the progression is so great, leading up to the "I'm the bad guy?" moment.