“The words are not good for the secret meaning, everything always becomes a bit different, as soon as it is put into words, gets distorted a bit, a bit silly—yes, and this is also very good, and I like it a lot, I also very much agree with this, that this what is one man’s treasure and wisdom always sounds like foolishness to another person.” ― Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha
FILM AS ART OR AS SOCIAL PRACTICE When I was in graduate film school, I had a long-running discussion with the dean on whether Film should be viewed as Art or as Social Practice. In that college, the “politically correct” view was the Film-As-Social-Practice school of thought. I, on the other hand, stuck… Continue reading Parasite (2019): Film as Art or Social Practice?
Yesterday, with typhoon Ompong (Mangkhut) wrecking havoc in the northern parts of the island (Luzon), and after a 12-hour blackout, I just turned on the TV and looked for a nice movie to watch on cable TV. One channel was showing Stardust (2007) and I decided it was just the right film to watch --… Continue reading DVD Pick: Stardust (2007), a pocketful of starlight
I wrote this piece in 1998/1999. The low-budget film Slums of Beverly Hills (1998) is now considered a cult film. Although the film is 20 years old, the message of the film still rings true. It's a very refreshing film to watch, and is highly recommended. The "Rotten Tomatoes" critics gave the film a… Continue reading DVD Pick: Slums of Beverly Hills, a Sundance cult film
I have a number of free-hosted blogs that vanished into thin cyber air, for whatever reasons. Fortunately, I found out that some people or organizations re-published or archived some of my blogposts. Three nights ago, I browsed the web for my lost blogposts. Almost miraculously, I found many of my posts from my blog, Reflections… Continue reading Da Vinci Code: Review of film and book
(These Film Studies Notes are my one-page notes on various articles or books on Film Studies / Media Studies which might interest students and teachers of Film or Media Studies.) In his academic article The Power of a Research Tradition: Prospects for Progress in the Study of Film Style, David Bordwell reviewed the historical study… Continue reading The Power of a Research Tradition
Marxism has profoundly affected Film Studies and even film-making. Some of the earliest film theorists and filmmakers like Sergei Eisenstein were Communists. The Russian formalists like Dziga Vertov and Vsevolod Pudovkin pushed for “innovative forms matching revolutionary content”. The rise of mass society coupled with advances in technology gave thinkers like Kracauer, Benjamin and Brecht… Continue reading Film Studies Notes: MARXISM and FILM
Postprandial Musings, 2.0 