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# what are authors even trying to do?

Rather than saying "bad movie lol",
[Big Joel deconstructs _The Room_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmI5qqIhEtY)
and asks the difficult question: **what are authors even trying to do?**

[![what are snails even trying to do](/snails.jpg)](https://www.reddit.com/r/Showerthoughts/comments/22rzxj/what_are_snails_even_trying_to_do/)

This is a fundamental question that your high-school teachers failed to teach
you. While they quizzed you on Symbolism™ and Metaphor™ and Foreshadowing™, they
fumbled the underlying lesson: _people sometimes make stuff for reasons_.

- [Can they understand the cat in _Stewart Little_?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzThDWTAZYs)
- Dig for
  [authorial intent in _Grown Ups 2_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Worst_Idea_of_All_Time).
- [Overanalyze _Avatar: The Last Airbender_.](https://www.youtube.com/@overanalyzingavatar)
- Why did we watch
  [a 2-hour documentary about a video game we've never heard of](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsNm2YLrk30)?
- Listen for
  [leitmotif in _Lord of the Rings_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7BkmF8CJpQ).
- [Become a film conspiracy theorist.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h67AHvHMtxY)
- Engage in [terrible writing](https://www.youtube.com/@TerribleWritingAdvice).
- Study [idiot plots](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-2NH-NVePw).
- [Is _300_ facist?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEMqTPUWXqw)
- [_Meet the Robinsons_ was underrated.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SlSG8d1oAk)
- Look for
  [inivisible choices in video games](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HZuSzlN2eI).
- Avoid
  [holes that were made for you](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LWF5Oq6668).
- [Skin Theory in _Spongebob Squarepants_.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb-ajY8M6gI)
- Understand the
  [temporal pincer maneuver](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OoLokmqo0A).
- [Soulja Boy provides his thoughts on _Braid_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSXofLK5hFQ).
- Experience [visual comedy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AZ0I6tFvgg).
- Find
  [ludditism and neophilia in _Jurassic Park_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWz1E3oHd8w).