THE IDEAL INTRODUCTORY SCENE TO WHIPLASH

*spoiler warning for movie Whiplash*

If someone were to ask me to show them a scene to convince them to watch Whiplash (2014), I wouldn’t choose the scene where Neiman, the main character, gets into a car accident, and still hobbles his way to a performance. Nor when Fletcher, the music instructor, begins berating his students on-screen for the first time. While these scenes paralyze the viewer into the intensity of the cost of greatness, the scene that I believe encapsulates the full message of the movie is one of the most tranquil scenes of the film. 

I would say that the best monologues are those in the form of conversation, but aren’t monologues typically conversations? That is, someone explaining to someone what their motives were? What makes the “good job” scene from Whiplash gravitate towards a chilling conversation, instead of a cliche monologue, is the monologue’s dedication to fit the film outside the scene. Fletcher, by the end, is an undefeated antagonist. He’s both what pushes Neiman to achieve greatness and the one that enables Neiman’s self-destruction. 

Furthermore, Fletcher hardly speaks about himself in this scene, instead resorting to retelling the story of Charlie Parker: appealing to Neiman about the dull future of jazz that lies ahead if there isn’t anyone to push musicians into greatness. If someone were to watch this scene before watching the full film, they’d be completely taken aback by Fletcher’s gruesome insults and abusive tactics in other parts of the film. However, one could understand that however violent Fletcher is, the viewer understands how Fletcher has self-justified his treatment towards students. 

Fletcher speaks of Charlie Parker gently, similar to how he speaks about one of his past students that passed away (a student that actually committed suicide). Fletcher, as we notice, only sees people’s worth as equivalent to their musical greatness. It is the calmness he exhibits in this scene that demonstrates his manipulativeness, later giving us an unexpected ending that makes perfect sense. He can come across as sincere, only to sabotage Neiman later in the film. 

Fletcher may be right in believing that applauding ourselves from doing well bars us from achieving greatness. On days that I have completed my to-do list and done nothing more, I find myself reciting, “There are no two words more harmful in the English language than ‘good job.’” 

Whiplash is an effective catalyst for the viewers to reflect on sacrifice and the relationship it has to self-destruction. It’s important to remember that discouragement isn’t the same thing as failure.

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