5) It celebrates the pursuit of making great art
As Mike tells Riggan, in one of the film’s most memorable lines, “popularity is the slutty little cousin of prestige.” This quote felt particularly well suited to awards season, especially at an Academy Awards that began with a diatribe from Jack Black criticizing the movie business for craving more for what audiences wanted than what they needed. “Opening with lots of zeroes, all we get are superheroes,” Black sang. Thus, it was rather fortuitous for the night’s grand winner to be a film about a man trying to leave his superhero roots behind for something meaningful.
If the recent Best Picture wins of The Artist, Argo and Birdman have taught filmgoers anything, it is how much the film industry craves intriguing movies about the movies. In many ways, Birdman is a movie about the creative process and one man’s self-destruction as he risks his career and reputation on a Broadway musical. (Like Hollywood, the New York theater scene is now inundated with adaptations and sequels.)
By centering the story on Riggan and his passion to revitalize his career through a risky venture – even if it’s not always for the right reasons – the film celebrates the madness and the passion behind trying to make something amazing. One of the reasons we root for his Raymond Carver play to succeed is because of the personal investment he has in making it all work. Any artistic accomplishment requires a lot of balls to make it work. He gives the play tears, sweat and, ultimately, blood. As the film’s protagonist (and, now, Birdman’s director) knows, the benefits of a resonating work of prestigious art can be worth grievous risk.
