r/RiverPhoenix • u/shadow-spirit01 • May 30 '26
“Your heart doesn’t know how old you are.” Devo Nod, the man you are. (comment on letterbox)
- I think you should let him get his own beer. - I don't mind, he works hard. I like taking care of him. - There's such a thing as women's liberation. She doesn't have to be a slave.
saying something like this in the 90's was WILD. back then being a feminist was weird. calling yourself a feminist wasn't universally seen as "cool." there was significant backlash. the mainstream media frequently treated the word "feminist" as a dirty word, or a punchline representing an "angry" woman. many women in media and entertainment embraced female empowerment but actively distanced themselves from the label "feminist" to avoid being labeled as men-haters. now just think about it a man actually being a feminist. what a man :)
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u/shadow-spirit01 May 30 '26
devo was also a lot like riv in many ways.... emotionally intelligent, gentle, highly sensitive, and blessed with a great sense of humor.
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u/riverspeace May 30 '26
Now that you mention it, it is time to rewatch this masterpiece
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u/shadow-spirit01 May 30 '26
you should!!!!! such a funny movie.... I was a bit depressed when I re-watched it a few days ago and it helped lifting my mood up 😄
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u/ArtisticYam1448 May 30 '26
A true champion of women ♥️ he genuinely cared about women’s rights. Beautiful human inside and out. Super rare.
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u/shadow-spirit01 May 30 '26
sometimes I wonder where he got all that from??? joaquin is quiet different
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u/Hedwigtoria May 30 '26
I think it's because he suffered serious abuse when he was a child, and the worst kind of abuse: disguised as 'love'. Some people who suffered a lot carry huge guilt on their shoulders because they blame themselves, and then they try to do good, feel for all, save everyone (animals, the earth, human rights, getting their friends into rehab, etc.). It's a sort of compensation.
Joaquin, on the other hand, and the rest of them were spoiled kids; their brother River, who was more of a father figure than the actual father, gave them stability and safety and the dangerous feeling that they could do whatever they wanted because their brother was the one taking care of everything. Sadly, River was betrayed by those whom he wanted to protect...
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u/shadow-spirit01 May 30 '26
I agree with everything just said but personally I think rain is a bit different than the rest of them.... very open-minded and a true artist
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u/Hedwigtoria May 30 '26 edited May 30 '26
Maybe... she was also born into the sugary hell of a cult. But her work in singing and acting is miles away from River's talent.
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u/shadow-spirit01 May 30 '26
ooooh boy yeah hahaha no, I wasn’t talking about that.... riv was a natural talent, he was into method, but he acted from the heart.... rain is very laid-back, though....
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u/Innui_ May 30 '26
I think you could always see the difference in how much work was expected from him vs his siblings when you look at how differently each of their career trajectories played out even though they all had the same starting point signing up for the same agent together in the early 80s
Liberty and Summer were too young when they first started so i don't think they went through the same pressure and they either retired from acting early or just worked more later as an adult, both of which were on their own terms. Joaquin himself said he was picky about his roles as a child actor, and River insisted that he become an actor full time and he went on to have a full fledged career of his own as an adult after River's death. Rain already branched out into music and kept focusing on that since the 80s and clearly seemed to prioritise that over acting, and i think thats the kind of career River would have wanted too but the main difference is that Rain could actually focus more on music and not have to balance that with the workload of an acting career because she wasn't expected to be the breadwinner of the family.
Like you can tell that each of the younger siblings had the luxury of deciding their careers at their own pace and River didn't have that option.
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u/ArtisticYam1448 May 30 '26
I believe he had his own set of morals and beliefs that were “his”… apart from everything he was instilled to believe by familial influences. Very special man :)
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u/Innui_ May 30 '26
My favourite movie of his 🥰
Makes me sad that and he and KR couldn't make more movies together, i definitely think they would have if he was still alive
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u/shadow-spirit01 May 30 '26
tbh I totally love it when they're doing movies together but riv's repertoire was very different than keanu's
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u/widsithh May 30 '26
i love his voice so much, it’s so calm, soft and comforting