“Meta” is an internet term that is an abbreviation for “most effective tactic available.”
Picture it as the symbol of the ouroboros; the snake eating its own tail.
So does it utilize a struggling screenwriter?
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No, of course not.
It was written by the director,Billy Wilder, his close friend and frequent collaboratorCharles Brackett, andD.
M. Marshman Jr., who only ever wrote this one film.
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It doesn’t get much more meta than that, does it?
His life is one huge reality show, causing him to question everyone and everything around him.
Who exactly is an actor?
Which buildings are just setpieces?
Yet, in some ways, it’s actually kind of pointing the finger at the audience, too.
So how does the writer make this point?
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It’s one of the most common parameters for a horror flick to take place.
But that doesn’t stop the movie from being made, now does it?
4’Spaceballs' (1987)
DirectorMel Brooksseems to have a thing for making meta movies.
Exhibit B:Spaceballs, released in 1987 as a response to theStar Warscraze and other space opera films.
So how did Brooks craft this response?
By making a space opera with a ridiculous amount of merchandise.
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So, right off the bat, it’s a movie about making movies.
NEXT:Ridiculous Action Movies That Are Self-Aware of Their Ridiculousness
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