Taika Waititi has a very peculiar grasp of absurdist comedy, and all of his films reflect that to one degree or another. In a lot of ways, this isn’t so much about a master filmmaker putting all the pieces of the puzzle together in a long production as it is an eccentric creative flailing about and grasping at a maelstrom of ideas to weave together something bordering on a cohesive narrative. For years, that frenzied approach has baffled us when it didn’t work (e.g. Thor: Love and Thunder) and prodded us to praise when it did (Jojo Rabbit), but now, we might finally have a clue as to the “why” behind it all.
Waititi recently sat down for an interview with The Hollywood Reporter and explained that he doesn’t take this process too seriously. At least, not when he knows that no one is even going to remember who he is in a decade or two. He even seems to think that already, people have forgotten all about Michael Curtiz and his contributions to cinema.
“I’m 47. My God, take the pressure off. People are so obsessed with likes or leaving behind a legacy, being remembered. Here’s the thing: No one’s going to remember us. What’s the name of the director of Casablanca? Arguably one of the greatest films of all time. No one knows his name. How the fuck do I expect to be remembered? So who cares? Let’s just live, make some movies. They’ll be obsolete and irrelevant in 15 or 20 years. And so will I, and then I’ll die and someone else can do it. This whole idea of chasing, chasing, chasing this life. It’s like, do we have to actually work this hard? Maybe not.”
From one side, this might be a healthy approach to the gruesome creative process and the need to excel at it in the fierce competition of the entertainment industry. On the other hand, this carefree viewpoint also explains why Waititi simply can’t take his stories seriously. It certainly puts all the overbearing puns in Thor: Love and Thunder in a completely new light.
As expected, most people don’t seem to agree with Taika’s sentiments, neither about cinema nor Michael Curtiz.
Some understand Waititi’s outlook and can’t help but agree. Maybe the more avid cinemagoers will remember directors and the influence they had on the medium as a whole, but to most people, Casablanca is just another classic film.
Maybe none of this matters. And maybe no one will remember Casablanca a few decades from now. But I think we can say for certain that Thor: Love and Thunder is already brushing up on that fate less than a year after its release. In fact, for most MCU fans, it’d be more convenient to pretend that movie never existed.