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We Made It Director’s Cut and The Great Gatsby parallels: a thread that exists bc I see Gatsby everywhere
disclaimer: I’m a larrie, and this is v gay. also there will be some mentions of death/closeting/homophobia, so be wary if those things trigger u. (Feel free to dm me if you have concerns!!) book summary (I recommend reading but I do a tldr next): https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Gatsby">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_...
what is important for this thread: Nick Carraway is the narrator & he tells it as if he is writing the book. He considers himself a bystander, watching the events of the story play out. Gatsby is the “true mc.” He wastes his money trying to get the attention of his old love+
Daisy, who is married. basically, everyone sucks, Daisy chooses her cheating husband after accidentally killing his mistress by car, & Gatsby gets shot and dies. Nick participated in the story but only to support Gatsby. Nick is also very gay, and is purposefully coded as such.
There are two major things that I’m going to be comparing: 1) the similarity in the position of the narrators (Louis vs. Nick) and 2) the stories they are overseeing.
1. Louis as narrator
Though the mv starts with narration by Joe, Louis is the one who really tells the story. It’s pretty consistent throughout the songs: storyline, then cut away to L singing. In wmi, he’s in the same area as them (both at the dock and in the arcade) but he+
Though the mv starts with narration by Joe, Louis is the one who really tells the story. It’s pretty consistent throughout the songs: storyline, then cut away to L singing. In wmi, he’s in the same area as them (both at the dock and in the arcade) but he+
isn’t directly involved yet. Then, in dlibyh, his involvement increases drastically. It’s established he is a part of this group, playing footie with them, being involved in the heist. He’s seen sitting with him at the bar, looking concerned at Joe. He’s sitting at the table+
when they’re planning, he’s the getaway driver. He is an active participant, though it always pans back to him singing away from the action once again. it all comes to a head when he actively helps Joe escape with the money to get away from the head guy. he is still not+
technically the main character of the video, merely the story teller. in KMM, his involvement decreases again- he’s the singer at the venue the lovers reunite in, and he’s present in a car during their reunion, but he’s doesn’t actively participate except for singing. It ends+
with him taking the money, and this is his last action of the film. His role is very similar to Nick Carraway. Nick goes to Gatsby’s parties, he gets himself a fling, he sees Daisy’s husband’s double life. He even hard core third wheels with Gatsby and Daisy when they finally+
reunite. Nick is still not the main character, just the storyteller- Gatsby is, story-line speaking, the main character. This leads us right into the next topic which is:
2) the stories they’re telling
They each tell the stories of “forbidden” loves (though L’s has a much happier ending, and involves less shitty people). They each involve so-called gods above, except in Gatsby it’s the eyes of TJ Eckelberg in a rather heavy-handed comparison to+
They each tell the stories of “forbidden” loves (though L’s has a much happier ending, and involves less shitty people). They each involve so-called gods above, except in Gatsby it’s the eyes of TJ Eckelberg in a rather heavy-handed comparison to+
God/a higher power. The timeline and set ups are also fairly similar. WMI fades in and out of showing Joe in the water. We know the ending before it really starts. Similarly to Gatsby, nick tells us right away what happens, and makes references to it throughout. I also think+
It’s interesting that Louis, though he is primarily the narrator, is the one to take the final action of the mv. He takes the money away, and that’s the end. Nick is also the last to take action by arranging for Gatsby’s funeral and yelling at all of the people involved in his+
death. Though they both remain side characters, they both, in the end, close out the story.
The significance:
The most glaring thing is that Nick is queer-coded in the book. There are several scenes in the book that make this fairly obvious to anyone looking for it, and the number of times Nick talks abt Gatsby’s smile per page+
The most glaring thing is that Nick is queer-coded in the book. There are several scenes in the book that make this fairly obvious to anyone looking for it, and the number of times Nick talks abt Gatsby’s smile per page+
alone should be a tip off. obviously people in the ‘20s (and even to now) would not be ok with that, and so mainstream media doesn’t seem to talk abt this (I think fairly obvious and significant) part of the book. Similarly, Louis has indicated through his clothing, tattoos,+
and above all his art that he’s not exactly straight. And yet, people will defend his apparent straightness like their life depends on it. They refuse to see what he might be saying, just like lit analysts, historians, even casual readers do with Nick. You have to actively look+
at their actions, but once you do, it cannot be missed. I also think it’s interesting that Gatsby, Nick’s crush (for lack of a better term) ends up being a completely different person than the public knows about. In fact the only person who really knew Gatsby’s entire+
background was Nick. Remind you of anyone? It certainly does for me. Beyond all that (which I think is a lot), idk how much comparison there is bc everyone in Gatsby is morally bankrupt and much of storyline isn’t too similar to WMI. Regardless, intentionally done or not, it+
certainly adds a whole other layer to the mv.
That’s that, hope it was interesting. This was fun to make, tell me what you think, feel free to ask questions :)
That’s that, hope it was interesting. This was fun to make, tell me what you think, feel free to ask questions :)
