How To Achieve Greatness, According To Whiplash

Whiplash says some pretty strange things about achieving greatness, like the importance of giving yourself to the dark side and sacrificing everything, and also how everyone on the path is a jerk. It all adds up to an extremely bleak portrayal of artistic achievement. But where does this all come from, and what can we learn from it? What does Whiplash actually tell us about greatness, and more interestingly, what does it tell us about the filmmaker who achieved greatness by making it?

Movies Under The Surface is a series of video essays that explores what makes great films great. The videos are about understanding movies at a deeper level, beneath plot and story, at their heart.

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Footage from:
Whiplash (2014), Dir. Damien Chazelle
Fight Club (1999), Dir. David Fincher
Boogie Nights (1996), Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
The Simpsons (1989- ), Cre. Matt Groening

Music from:
Whiplash Soundtrack - Justin Hurwitz and Tim Simonec
Whiplash - Hank Levy
Caravan - Jual Tizol and Duke Ellington

For educational purposes only.