Does ‘Cloverfield’ Actually Mean Something?

1/25/08

Does ‘Cloverfield’ Actually Mean Something?

1/25/2008 |

Posted by Dave and Thomas

Cloverfield destroys New York City

(via The Vulture) So far, most of Cloverfield's reviews tend to write it off — or praise it — as a simple movie about a giant monster biting a hole through greater Manhattan (and lots of Manhattanites). But could it be something more? Maybe!

The Voice's Nathan Lee reads deep, positing that Cloverfield is a "death-to-New-York saga" and a comment on the accelerated yuppification of New York following 9/11. The movie, he says, "enacts its deft simulation of that infamous September morning in order to brutalize the society that flourished from its ruin like some tacky, tenacious, condo-dwelling fungus." Times economist Tyler Cowen thinks along similar lines but suggests it's more a slap at the social-networking generation, writing on his personal blog, "[T]his is a movie about how the young'uns have no tools for moral discourse and that all they can do is utter banalities and take endless pictures of each other and record their lives for no apparent purpose. I can't recall any other movie that so completely devastates its intended demographic." (more)

Labels: 1-18-08, 9/11, cloverfield, cloverfield debate, cloverfield monster, Cloverfield Monsters, Cloverfield movie review, cloverfield spoilers, new york

2 comments:

Unknown said...: you know im getting tired of people acusing that cloverfield, exploids 9/11, in a offending way, and a) if 9/11 really has any influence it woulld be that is a point of reference to how people would really react to certain circunstances, and now all this peple from magazines and newspaper that have to review it and dont really research, jj and reves have said it so many times!!!! there is no real meaning.; January 25, 2008 at 11:51 PM
Unknown said...: JJ has said himself that Cloverfield is basically one big 9/11 reference - you can't deny it. (His quote was something like "we live in a time of great fear, and to be able to experience that fear through safe fantasy is blah blah blah." What "fear" do you think he was talking about? Fear of giant monsters?) Even if he didn't say it, and even if he didn't mean it, it's *obvious*. It would have been subconscious if it wasn't conscious.

I wish some of the film's fans would stop denying the obvious, which even Abrams himself has copped to. It's just as tiring for those of us who *don't* have our heads in the sand to hear that as it apparently is for you to hear the opposite.

Anyway, this post isn't about "exploiting 9/11", this post is about destroying the post-9/11 city that has become even more yuppified since then than it was before.

You can't have it both ways - either the film's about something or it's about nothing. If it's about nothing, then it's just a disposable piece of crap Hollywood filmmaking. If it's about something, then what is it about? These are critics trying to come up with some ideas; in my opinion they're trying to make something out of nothing, but in their own way they are trying to legitimize the film. You should be happy about that.; January 28, 2008 at 1:19 PM

What is Cloverfield?

Welcome to 1-18-08 Project Cloverfield Blog.

Cloverfield is the J.J. Abrams (Lost, Alias) produced monster flick directed by Matt Reeves. Get caught up on all the Cloverfield news including the viral world of Tagruato, TIDOwave, and Slusho!? And now Aladygma?

However, I love viral campaigns. Cloverfield taught me the fun of being involved with the viral world of movies and TV. That's why I'd like to branch out this site to cover some of the major viral campaigns as they are developing. Feel free to drop me a line or tip on any you find interesting.

Welcome to Cloverfield

Very few facts emerged from the viral campaign that was Cloverfield. It all started after a short, teaser trailer for Cloverfield appeared with the Transformers movie in early July of 2007. Since then, speculation surrounded what the title of the movie would be (Monstrous, Overnight, etc...) and what the monster really is and why it is tearing up New York City.

A few pictures and covert videos from the film showed up online and there were only a few core facts we knew of including the poster, the teaser trailer, and a few websites at 1-18-08, Tagruato Corp, and Slusho .

In November, the official full-length Cloverfield trailer was released that helped open up the story as well as cement the "Cloverfield" name for the movie. A short glimpse of the Cloverfield Monster was seen but for most people they still had little or no clue as to what it was.

The movie centered around five young New Yorkers throwing their friend a going-away party the night that a monster the size of a skyscraper descends upon the city. Told from the point of view of their video camera, the film is a document of their attempt to survive the most surreal, horrifying event of their lives. Cloverfield opened the weekend of 1-18-08 and set box office records for a movie in January with a monster take of over $40M. Continue to check back here for updates on the mystery and viral campaigns of Cloverfield.

Get Started with the Cloverfield Viral Marketing

If you're new to the Cloverfield viral world than let's get started. First off, for the beginners let's look at what we're talking about.

What does viral marketing mean? Click here.

1-18-08.com Updates with pictures randomly. Each picture is layered onto of the previous update and all can be dragged and moved around the screen. Click and hold the mouse to 'grab' an image and move it around. While holding the image, shake it back and forth quickly and it will flip over. Some images have writing on the back.

Slusho This is the Japanese frozen drink made from a secret ingredient gathered from the bottom of the ocean. Slusho gives you a kick and makes you extremely happy. Prior to 1-18-08 Slusho was not sold in the US. However, recent FDA approval gave Slusho clearance to come to the states. Rob Hawkins, the lead character, was recently promoted to vice-president of Slusho and was on his way to Japan the night of the attack. Slusho is owned by the Tagruato Corp. of Japan. Slusho also first made an appearance on J.J. Abrams Alias during a scene where characters buy the drink at a store.

Tagruato This ficticious Japanese company is the parent company of Slusho as well as the Yoshida Medical Research, Bold Futura, and ParafFUN! Wax Distributors. Besides drilling the oceans for Slusho ingredients, Tagruato builds everything from space satellites to medical gear.

T.I.D.O wave An activist group set out to bring to light all the damage Tagruato has done to the envirnoment.

Jamie and Teddy A minor character from the movie, Jamie popped up on a 1-18-08.com picture and the MySpace profiles for the movies characters before getting famous for her "Jamie and Teddy" website. The site is comprised of video journals from Jamie. The site is password protected but can be accessed by the password "jllovesth"

1-18-08 Project Cloverfield - Warning! Spoilers