Whiplash

CREDIT

Title: Whiplash

Year of Production: 2004

Genre: Drama

Director: Damien Chazelle

Actors: Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons

STORY

Whiplash follows the story of Andrew Neiman, a young drummer who gets accepted into the prestigious Shaffer Conservatory. There, he meets Terence Fletcher, a teacher with a harsh demeanor who serves as the conductor of a jazz orchestra. After Fletcher brings him into the orchestra, events unfold as Fletcher uses psychological and physical abuse to push his students towards a pursuit of musical perfectionism. Over time, Andrew begins to be affected by Fletcher's extreme methods and begins to use the same techniques himself. This negatively impacts both his music career and personal life. In short, the film portrays Andrew's struggle to develop his musical talent despite the exhausting training by Fletcher.

The Perfectionist Tyrant

Fletcher is an incredibly perfectionist character and equally ruthless tyrant. What is perfectionism? In short, perfectionism is often defined as setting difficult standards for oneself or others, striving constantly to meet these standards, and avoiding mistakes. Perfectionism can lead to positive results in many areas, such as helping to produce high-quality work. However, excessive perfectionism can also have negative consequences. For example, individuals can become overly critical of themselves and others or experience constant stress in various areas. Fletcher tries to reach his own definition of perfectionism, using violence, insults, and hours of hard work on his students. He tries to create high-quality work, but this leads to negative results for himself and his students.

The Perfectionist Drummer

Andrew's involvement in Fletcher's orchestra creates a chance to be the best in his field. Fletcher's bullying behavior drives Andrew to reach the highest level of perfectionism. Andrew also desires to be the best of himself, just like Fletcher. He breaks up with his girlfriend to focus on his drumming and practices until his fingers bleed. He even goes to the concert with injuries from a car accident. Because he refuses to give up his place in the orchestra. All these efforts eventually pay off. Andrew's fantastic drum solo at the end of the film is proof that their unconventional pursuit of perfectionism has led to a high-quality work.