Every so often, a film will come to theaters and for one reason or another, will take off and become a cultural phenomenon, sparking debate and creating memes online. This is what happened when Three Ways made its theatrical debut. It wasn’t view as a large budgeted blockbuster film, nor did they have an illustrious cast. In just a few weeks, the film seemed to dominate online opinion and cultural conversation. It interconnected ideas and concepts about memes, personal freedom, family awkwardness, and the film’s political commentary. Even political commentary and a few fashion references were made about the film. It seamlessly made its way into the daily lives of viewers.
What was it about the film? About the journey of one film and the entangled and messy impulses of the characters developed into a cultural phenomenon. Let’s dive into the film’s cultural impact.
A Story That Was Like Today’s Conversations Rather than Yesterday’s Scripts
The most basic essence of Three Ways is about a connection. The immediate connection, the entangled connection, and the unsaid connections. The film revolves around three main characters trying to fit in a box that society has created, the characters pursue desires, and the plot does not focus around shock; rather, the plot focuses around realism. The writing in the film is grounded, and, at times, brutally honest. They were not characters to be put in a glamorous hotel. They were not characters who would be competent in society and lead a glamorous hotel life; they were characters who were flawed, awkward, relatable, impulsive, and at times painfully so.
The film gave us vibes of late night real talk we often have at a cafe. The film participants overheard were a big audience, they were unclear about late night real talks.
The audience began the cultural creation of the film. College students enjoyed the remix of the film with a joke about a “three-way situationship.” Dialogue from the film that was tense but comedic was the focus of creation as users of the film began to use a real remix of the film. The depicting of screenshots of the film about social media lit on fire. Debates about the office and the politics were posted through the social media creation of the film that we used in modern society.
This film was not an audience. It created language. It created humor. It created commentary. It created a film.
The Performers Behind the Characters: Real-Life Experiences that Shape Reel Life
The connectedness audiences felt with the productions was a result of authenticity. None of the leads perceived this film as just an “indie experiment.’’ Every actor intertwined themselves with the roles that were required.
An actor who usually had roles that drew laughter considered this script an opportunity to escape the typecasting. For weeks, this actor spent time with their acting coach, but not for the typical dramatic monologue. There was an interest in the nuances of body language: the nervous laughter, the lag in speech, the long pauses, the way people hesitate to cross a boundary that they know they shouldn’t. A later interview revealed that this actor drew from their own experiences of being misunderstood within circumstances in a relationship to create a character that was just as charming as they were insecure.
Mimicking the character, one of the other actors kept the difficulties in their personal life to themselves. This actor claimed that the filming process of the movie was therapeutic. Just like the actor, the movie focused on openness and vulnerability. It was about a character who had lost trust and was trying to restore it following a public breakup. Instead of hiding from their struggles, they incorporated their emotions to the monologue and performance. Co-stars described these scenes in detail when the emotions shown felt as though they were lived and not as though they were acting.
These quirks weren’t made up. They were built with real life injuries and real hard earned scars made from pivoting in life with real joy and fragile bravery.
Memes, Accidental Icons, & Fashion Statements
People did not anticipate the film impacting the styles and trends. It was not heavily influenced by high fashion looks and designer pieces, even the complete opposite really. It purposefully leaned into and showcased mundane everyday pieces, like oversized tees and jackets, and careless patterns. It was chaos, but the aesthetic was the right kind of aesthetic for the moment and time in the world.
All of a sudden everyone was sporting the thrifted chaos of the “three ways look.” Messy hair and chaotic thrifted outfits. It was defintely a new kind of style, the kind of comfort and soft rebelliousness everyone was seeking for in fashion.
And the memes.
People’s Favorite Mood Template. They captioned it anything from “when group project partner does nothing” to “when relatives ask about marriages.” It became a students’ favorite ringtone and a comedians punchline. The kinda line that was delivered with resigned comical timing.
A culture film. A film that not many stories can pull off.The Ways in Which the Media, Pop Culture, and Imoved Social Commentary Debate the Film
The film sparked social commentary debates well beyond the study of cinema. Some social commentators and critics viewed the film as the reflection of an evolving urban relationship dynamic and the way modern intimacy breaks regulatory behavioral frameworks. Others viewed the film as social commentary on the mainstreaming of topics and issue areas that are often constructed and treated as taboo, and at times, even judged or critiqued.
Political commentators and politicians skipped referencing the film, however, the film crept in as a metaphor for politics in a way. Political journalists incorporated the film “Three Ways” into their panel discussions. One column that gained popularity compared the politics of coalitions to the film as a way of stressing “three people, one equation” as the central conflict of the story. Many social media users even jokingly assumed that certain political alliances were risking a fuel of “Three Ways” energy
When a film becomes a metaphor for politics, you know it has penetrated into the public mind to a different level
The Back Stage Stories, for Example Improv, the Chaos, and Creative Risk the Film
While the final cut of the film almost looks spontaneous and smooth, the set was apparently a delightful mix of chaos, bonding, and creative experimentation.
The director recounted one powerful moment, later discussed in a podcast, where a major emotional confrontation was not included in the script. During filming, the director gave the actors the liberty to improvise dialogue in accordance to their characters, leading to a shocking 12 minutes of unfiltered, chaotic dialogue that stunned the crew and left them in silence. Only 3 of those minutes were so powerful that they wound up included in a film and became the heartbeat of the film and its emotional resonance.
Another behind-the-scenes story included a scene where the actors were required to keep a serious expression while maintaining tension in the scene. However, the studio cat who was brought in as comic relief kept wandering in and out of the frame. The scene was supposed to be a pivotal moment in the film, but the actors kept breaking character and started laughing. Save for that moment of levity, the actors maintained a serious character and were able to establish a natural rhythm for the scene.
The behind-the-scenes footage showed something that some in the audience expected to be a glamorous display of a film set. However, the set was not glamorous, but human. And that humanity came across in the final product beutifully.
How a film becomes a feeling
Three Ways was not a cultural phenomenon for its shocking content. It was a cultural phenomenon because it allowed its audience to identify and recognize themselves in the story. It acknowledged the complexities of life in all its chaotic glory. And it told the story of so many who battle emotional adversities.
It has evolved into the creation of fads, memes, jokes, parodies, critiques, discussions — but above all else, it has evolved into a reflection of ourselves.
While some movies want to be universal, Three Ways fell into it by accident, earning its way into not just the year’s movies but also the year’s dictionaries.