0. INTRODUCTION

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As far as washed up, superhero movie actors come, Birdman is an excellent black comedy and satire piece that masterfully introduces its commentary on society's attitude towards art & social connections, without boring casual audiences by helping them smoothly follow the fast pacing of the film's events with a ‘one-take’ styled cinematography .

 

One can draw multiple conclusions from Birdman based on the viewer's focus on the various ‘hints’ (some more hidden than others) scattered throughout the film.

In this case, it allows its audience to form their own reality surrounding its general premise without straying from the intention of the writer.

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1. RELEVANCE & IGNORANCE

1.1 Ignorance. Valid?

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In an argument with his daughter, Sam, Riggan is slapped with the hard reality of his justification of, "Doing some work that actually means something." as insincere and merely a front to be validated as true acting talent. She goes so far as to ridicule Riggan's paradoxical disdain for modern social media platforms, recognizing that his play was just a vanity project, calling out her father's refusal to accept his desire to be relevant, just like everyone else in society.

 

In a fit of irony, Riggan's ignorance of theatre becomes the very thing that pulls him out of 'Limbo'. He inadvertently creates a new form, 'Super realism' in the final act of his play and he eventually received the recognition he so desperately sacrificed everything for.

This begs the question, is his success valid?

Should his accidental contributions to theatre as a result of his struggles to be relevant, be considered?

 

1.2 Conclusion

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This commentary about our social environment and attitudes towards our yearning for relevance and the lengths of which we'd go for it, is a core part of Birdman that is openly spelled out in its title, The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance, and in the opening quote by Raymond Carver, "And did you get what you wanted from this life, even so?

Yes.

And what did you want?

To call myself beloved, to feel myself beloved on the Earth."

 

The film questions people who perform art, not for the sake of art, but rather, to be given some semblance of importance.

Should ignorance be accepted as virtuous or should it be vilified as an insult to the practice?

 

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2. DUNNING KRUGER & LAZY LABELS

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Birdman does not fail in keeping its premises realistic despite the satirical nature of its exaggerated characters such as Tabitha Dickinson, the film's antagonist and far-fetched representation of a critic that looks like "she licked a homeless guy's ass."

The film paints critics and reviewers in a rather dim light, having Tabitha don a grouchy, sour, 'Batman' gargoyle perch over her notebook in the Midtown Manhattan bar and being openly hostile towards Riggan, appointing herself as guardian of the theatrical world: “You don’t get to come in here and pretend you can write, direct and act in your own propaganda piece without coming through me first.” She alienates Riggan from making an incursion by planning to destroy his play, sight unseen. What kind of person would be so arrogant as to presume the intention of another human being?

 

No critic worth his/her salt would ever plan to critique without seeing the material lest they make a mockery of their profession. Therefore, it is doubtful that critics are being targeted. Instead, the film may be aiming to confront the arrogant attitudes of individuals in communities towards the ignorant and uninformed.

 

2.1 Superiority Complex

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The documentary, Behind The Curve, follows Flat Earthers in their daily lives and documents the stories of how they joined the Flat Earth community. In one section of the documentary, Lamar Glover, physicist, discusses about "dismantling the scientific superiority complex."

Lamar starts by addressing Flat Earthers and their alienation from society and the scientific community, which mirrors the same situation Riggan experiences with his encounter with Tabitha.

Lamar empathizes with the Flat Earthers, calling them “potential scientists gone completely wrong” due to their natural inquisitiveness and rejection of the norms, both of which are important traits of being a scientist. They just lack scientific literacy. He continues to compare Flat Earthers being labeled ‘Crazy’ with the audience (comprised of fellow scientists) and finding a similar standing by which they themselves had been labeled the same.

Lamar then encourages the audience to invite these individuals to explore together, rather than take on the metaphor of ‘argument is war’.
 

2.2 The Dunning Kruger Effect

Birdman would continue to expose the Dunning Kruger Effect (A cognitive bias of illusory superiority in which people mistakenly assess their cognitive ability as greater than it is) in the form of Tabitha’s superiority complex and her misinterpreted review of Riggan’s performance onstage (Which we’ll eventually get to).

 

2.2.1 The Cowardly Critic

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In their confrontation, Riggan calls Tabitha’s profession cowardly: “None of this costs you fuckin’ anything! You risk nothing!” He continues to lambaste her, “‘Callow’? Callow is a label. ‘Lacklustre’. That is just a label. That’s a label too. These are all just labels. You just label everything.” Riggan mentions the lack of structure, intention and technique in her critique, just a “bunch of crappy opinions, backed up by even crappier comparisons.” He adds that she lacks actual understanding of theatre, telling her, “You mistake all those little noises in your head for true knowledge.”
As if to prove his point in the last act of the film, Tabitha would later misinterpret and praise Riggan’s suicide attempt onstage. She assumes this extreme act was performed for the sake of art and welcomes it as a new form of theatre, coining the term ‘Super realism’, when the fact of the matter was, Riggan simply wanted to die.
 

2.2.2 Velvet Buzzsaw

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Tabitha’s lack of understanding in her craft could be compared to another film of similar genre, the satirical horror comedy, Velvet Buzzsaw. Velvet Buzzsaw is an expose of the world of high dollar contemporary art with its similarly exaggerated characters and situations, one notable character being Morf Vandewalt, a highly respected art critic who can make or break exhibitions in an instant with his reviews.

Morf is seen at an art convention, observing a painting as he is joined by Gretchen, a curator for a local museum seeking his opinion on the piece. Morf cleverly remarks that sobriety hasn’t been good for the artist, at which point Gretchen corrects him that it was actually painted years before, during the painter’s alcoholism. Morf merely agrees with “Exactly!” before scooting off, making an incredibly humiliating mistake but he remains unfazed, being completely full of himself.

 

Both Morf and Tabitha have jarring similarities in that they are not only a projection of the insecurities of artists and performers alike, but an accurate albeit exaggerated, gross representation of some individuals within communities.

 

2.3 Conclusion

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In an effort to preserve the integrity and sincerity of artworks produced by the community, it is understandable that the most passionate of individuals would take up the duty of gate-keeping the community. However, as a result of this gate-keeping, said individuals would develop a sense of self-importance from their positions of power and fall trap to the Dunning Kruger Effect and thus, alienate potential contributors to the community.

Are these individuals’ intentions justifiable? Or is it detrimental to risk the integrity and sincerity of artworks in exchange for an inclusive community?

 

3. ACCEPTANCE & DEATH

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An important part of any good storytelling involves growth in characters. This might come in the form of maturity or difference in behaviour. Riggan’s growth is bittersweet to say the least. His quest to regain some form of fame and love was initially misguided. Eventually finding its way back to where his priorities lie, in his family. However, Riggan suffers from a continuously deteriorating mental state that could be observed through his worsening hallucinations and his frequent mental breakdowns, leading to his suicide.

 

3.1 Broken Family

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There have been several instances throughout the film where it was hinted that Riggan was the cause of his fragmented family. The film mentions his troubles with alcohol, when Jake questions if he had been drunk (After confessing to causing the ‘Ralph incident’), or when Sylvia snarkily remarks, “you’re drinking?” upon Riggan retrieving a bottle of beer after the preview.

 

This obsession for relevancy in the film was mentioned to have existed in Riggan’s marriage that resulted in a violent confrontation with his wife, a catalyst to their divorce and a strained relationship with Sam.

 

Riggan’s acts of selfishness only served to deteriorate the relationship between Sylvia and himself, stating that he was, “thinking of refinancing the Malibu house.” which had been set aside for his daughter to live in. Planning to use the money instead to fund the play.

 

3.2 Realization

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Through these broken relationships however, Riggan would experience three points of realization in his interactions with Sylvia, Sam and Tabitha. With the theatre critic making the most impact, breaking his spirit and worsening his mental condition in the process but allowing him to reach a sort of ‘epiphany’ by the end of the film.

 

3.2.1 Sylvia

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In his initial conversation with Sylvia, the viewer is given a better idea of their tumultuous marriage. Riggan recounts a near-death experience during a flight to New York and how he cared more for how George Clooney, who was seated about two seats away, would make the front-lines of the paper instead of him had they perished. He continues to mention how both Micheal Jackson and Farrah Fawcett shared the same death dates, with Micheal completely overshadowing Farrah.

This reveals a significant fear of irrelevance even in his early days that paved the way to obsession.

 

This obsession ultimately resulted in a violent outburst when Sylvia remarked disliking the comedy gig Riggan was involved in with Goldie Hawn. With a kitchen knife being thrown in her direction. She ends the conversation, saying, “That’s what you always do, you confuse love for admiration.”

 

3.2.2 Sam

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Riggan’s argument with Sam reaches a boiling point as soon as he begins to justify his hypocrisy by saying the play is his, “chance at to finally do work that means something.” Sam retaliates, saying that the play only meant something to him, and was inconsequential to the, “thousand rich, old, white people whose only real concern is gonna be where to have cake and coffee when it’s over!”

 

She continues to berate him, stating that the only reason why he had even done the play wasn’t for the sake of art, but rather, to feel relevant again because he is terrified that he doesn’t matter. Then blaming his ignorance and arrogant contemptuousness of social media being a major contributing factor in his fall into irrelevancy.

 

Riggan is relatively affected, though seemingly clueless what Sam really meant by saying, “It's not important, okay? You’re not important--get used to it!”

 

3.2.3 Tabitha

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In between these interactions, Riggan’s mental state worsens. He breaks down into more violent outbursts and suffers from paranoia.The voice in his head, Birdman, a manifestation of his egotistical past self begins to appear more frequently to him as well. The presence of these experiences that he struggles with in the movie are emerging symptoms of schizophrenia.

However, his confrontation with Tabitha would prove to make the most impact to both his already rickety mental state and his selfishness towards the people around him.

 

Despite her self-important and hostile approach to Riggan, Tabitha’s reasonings for her dislike towards the washed-up actor was not unfounded.

She saw through his facade and understood Riggan for his intentions that were purely selfish. Tabitha knew his desperate attempt to regain some form of popularity by dipping his “blissfully untrained, unversed, unprepared” hands into theatre was going to threaten her idea of what it meant to her . No one was going to stain the ‘purity’ of theatre. Not without her permission. Well aware of the influence she carries in her reviews, Tabitha decided to deal with Riggan the only way she knew how, by telling him, “I’m going to destroy your play.”

 

3.3 A Depressing Epiphany & Death

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The sudden realisation that all his efforts and sacrifices going down the drain from a single review throws Riggan into a downward spiral of depression and despair. He proceeds to buy a pint of whiskey and drown himself in it. Later passing out on a stoop.

He is awakened the following morning by Birdman, who has now taken on a physical appearance, a hint at Riggan’s worsened mental state. During his return to the theatre, Riggan visualises himself flying and soaring through the streets of Manhattan (His ‘leap’ from the roof of an apartment building a foreshadowing to his eventual suicide). This alludes to a new found freedom he has attained from the burdens of keeping his play successful.

 

Riggan has reached an epiphany.

 

On opening night, the play is going exceedingly well, Sylvia visits an abnormally calm Riggan, who was seated by the dressing room. He confesses to a failed suicide attempt several years ago, after he was caught having an affair. Riggan continues, lamenting his absence from Sylvia and Sam in his pursuit for public adoration. He mentions how he wished he “hadn’t videotaped her (Sam) birth.” Riggan has recognised the cost of his pursuits, losing the ones that really mattered and himself (The first half of his epiphany). He also casually mentions, “this little voice (Birdman)...talks to me sometimes”, to which Sylvia ignores.

 

Riggan retrieves a real gun after Sylvia leaves the room, rather than a prop, for the final scene in which his character commits suicide. At the climax, he faces the audience, declaring, “I don’t exist. I’m not even here!” A statement from Riggan having finally realised the futility of his efforts. That in the end, the adoration he seeks for from the public only went as far as his characters and interactions in a movie screen, not himself. He never truly existed to them. He didn’t matter.

 

Riggan puts the gun to his head and shoots himself.

 

3.4 Conclusion: A Second Chance?

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The following day, Riggan wakes up in a hospital. His face is covered in bandages where his face had been surgically reconstructed after it had been blown clean off from the botched suicide attempt. Unable to contain his excitement, Jake reveals that Tabitha had written a review that praised the play highly, calling his suicide attempt a new art, ‘Super-realism’. Jake then declares that his play will forever be immortalised in history, much to Sylvia’s ire. Jake defends himself, turning to Riggan for back up by asking, “This is what you wanted wasn’t it? Riggan this is what you wanted.” Riggan, seemingly in a daze, merely responds with, “Yeah this is…this is what I wanted.” His reply sounds almost defeated in nature.

 

Sam visits with flowers, taking a photo of her father for the Twitter account she created for him, one that was skyrocketing with followers. Sam later excuses herself from the room to retrieve a vase. While Riggan heads for the bathroom to examine the swollen new nose, a metaphor for his second chance at life with his family. He spots Birdman seated by the toilet bowl, watching him from the mirror and bowing his head in defeat. He bids his ‘demon’ an obscene farewell, saying, “Bye-bye…and fuck you.” Alluding to having finally shed his obsession for fame and overcoming his fears with a clean slate. A second chance.

 

Fascinated at the sight of the birds flying outside his room, Riggan opens his window, peering up at them and climbing out onto the ledge. The camera pans to Sam returning at the same time, noticing his absence from the bed and bathroom then frantically running to the window at the sight of it being opened. She scans the ground below the window before slowly looking up into the sky and smiling.

 

4. BIRDMAN

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One thing this film does extremely well is portraying the ambiguity behind Riggan’s fate at the end of the film. Conclusions can be drawn that vary from one another in their interpretations, but each offer valid evidence as to what concepts the film aimed to explore.

 

This is not a look into Riggan’s fate at the end of the movie however. It is a deeper study into his journey of growth. His desires evolving, from seeking the public’s adoration, to his need to reconnect the family he had lost.

 

The first half of the film displays Riggan’s surface level desire. In an attempt to experience love, he looks to public approval. This proved to be misguided, evidently when Sylvia reveals how often he confuses love for adoration, being the main cause of their broken marriage.

 

This surface level desire evolves as the film progresses to a point where Riggan fully understands who the targets of his search for love truly were in his dressing room during opening night. Riggan speaks through his character’s dialogue and expresses his disdain towards his previous efforts at public approval, “What’s wrong with me? Why do I end up having to beg people to love me? I just wanted to be what you wanted. Now I spend every fucking minute praying to be someone else. Someone I’m not.”

He further emphasizes how the public truly didn’t care about him, a celebrity, much less anyone else who’s a ‘nobody’ by facing the audience, declaring, “I don’t exist. I’m not even here. I don’t exist. None of this matters.”

 

Riggan wished to be loved by the family he had forsaken, that wish being fulfilled in the end. Birdman isn’t just a commentary behind art and its pretentiousness & hypocrisies, but a cautionary tale. In many ways, viewers can relate to Riggan’s efforts and insecurities that lead them to secure recognition of their own. To be ‘somebody’ to someone, to hold some sort of value in the eyes of someone else. To matter. These attempts at fame reveal an underlying need for love and left unchecked, could turn desperate and develop into a narcissistic obsession that is endless or could lead one down a road of paranoia, anxiety and destruction.

Riggan had lost his sense of self, his individuality and his family. Eventually, it consumed him and he lost his mind too (Perhaps even his life, at the end of the film). He had paid too high a price for his obsession.

 

In the end, within this life, we all just want to call ourselves beloved and to feel ourselves beloved on Earth. Even so, at what cost?

How much are we willing to sacrifice, just for a taste of recognition, a taste of love and adoration? Even if it were false? How far are we willing to go? Would we be able to resist the temptation to let go of our identities and lose ourselves?.

This film follows a man in his journey towards his idealized and ‘true’ redemption. It depicts a story of reconciliation and freedom, yet serves as a cautionary tale for those who allow what they seek to be twisted into an obsession.