feeling kinda Moody

There are numerous directions one could take in discussing this film, the least of which seems to be the story. Thus, narrative...The almost invisible shifts (particularly in the filmic tradition) in time often confuses the story in some manner. We cannot always tell when time has changed or when the characters change (as when they are "playing" the roles of their spouses). The camera (and costumes) provide only discrete clues to such shifts. How do these affect the story and the viewer's relationship with such?

Borges and Varda

Oh. My. What? Post away.

of Prufrock and Sam

I suspect that the poem for this week might present some challenge. That's OK. In class, we will spend some time breaking it down; that is, we will work through much of the poem to discover how it makes meaning (which is similar to the ways we perform cinematic analysis: breaking down scenes in terms of cinematography, editing, etc. to find out how meaning is made). Do be sure to read the poem and try to work through some of it on your own. 

I put it together with Brazil because at some level they both concern the breakdown of society and the individual's attempt to balance his reality and his perceived reality. Whence the (unrealized) expectations in these characters (Prufrock and Sam)? What is it about their societies that prompts such (seemingly disconnected) expectations? Additionally, can you discuss the forces at work on thee characters that prompt such? We know that Brazil is visually rich. Does Gilliam use this texture toward anything more than baroque excess?

my best Bavarian accent here

Whereas Waldo may not be dynamic fodder for intellectual investigation, the existential question of the bearded man who follows him in every scene not withstanding, Werner Herzog's general approach to documentary should well be (fodder, that is) here. Post like my best fiend!

documentary narration

So, I heard roundly positive reviews of The True Meaning of Pictures. Now, it's time to make critical (rather than merely evaluative) claims about it. Do so with an awesome comment of your own.

We could start by noting that The True Meaning... is a film of "social representation" in that it gives tangible representation to aspects of the world we already inhabit and share. Such films make the stuff of social reality visible and audible in distinctive ways according to the acts of selection and arrangement carried out by the filmmaker. They also contain truths, if we decide they do. The viewer assesses the claims and assertions, perspectives and arguments in relation to the world we know and decide or believability. 

women, virginia, and mabel

As for A Woman Under the Influence and "A Room of One's Own": notes are now online. However, I want to encourage you to strike out on your own in terms of analysis, particularly connecting the two texts. Obviously they are both focused on "woman." How (as film specifically) deal with Mabel, her house, and her marriage? How does the camera function? What is the relationship between camera and its subject/object? Don't write merely about story here but about elements that are particular to cinema. How might the ideas that Woolf highlights be seen in the film? How does Woolf see history and the future for woman?

Odyssey and Godard

Alright, so what's going on with these things? Man oh man.