- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
Film criticism journals and books you recommend?
Posted on 9/10/11 at 8:08 am
Posted on 9/10/11 at 8:08 am
I believe the more you know about something, the more you are able to love and appreciate it. Several years ago, because I enjoyed watching movies at the theater, not just for the social value of watching in groups but also for the spiritual and intellectual value of the heightened attention possible at a theater, I decided to read a couple of books on film criticism. These books opened my eyes to a new way of looking at film: not as escapist entertainment but as art capable of elevating and changing us as individuals and society. The first book I read was Jonathan Rosenbaum's Placing Movies. Those who have also read it can probably see the book's influence on my reviews, notably the political bent, which is translated in me as a religious bent, since the line between the politic and religious is never solid in my eyes. Another influential book was a gift from a friend who had read it in a film class: Robert Skylar's Movie-Made America. It falls more on the side of history of film than criticism, but it is a good read too. I haven't read it yet, but I am looking forward to reading The Routledge Companion to Religion and Film. Not explicitly linked to film, but a great read that gives a Christian foundation for art criticism is H. Richard Niebuhr's Christ and Culture.
I also read two online film journals. My favorite is The Journal of Religion and Film. When I have access to a computer on campus, I enjoy Journal of Film and Video.
Which books and journals do you recommend?
I also read two online film journals. My favorite is The Journal of Religion and Film. When I have access to a computer on campus, I enjoy Journal of Film and Video.
Which books and journals do you recommend?
This post was edited on 9/10/11 at 8:16 am
1
Posted on 9/13/11 at 9:26 am to TulaneLSU
Bump for some suggestions. Anyone?
Posted on 9/13/11 at 9:29 am to TulaneLSU
quote:
Bump for some suggestions. Anyone?
I'd suggest paragraphs.
Posted on 9/13/11 at 9:43 am to constant cough
Thanks. I liked what they had to say about the use of immoral content in movies:
Does the Filmmaker have a Moral Responsibility?
At Paragraph Film Reviews we firmly believe that the filmmaker / auteur / director should have the artistic freedom to put whatever he or she likes into the movie. And by ‘whatever’ I would include nasty stuff like abduction, rape, butchery, incest, murder, nudity, sex, violence, cannibalism, gore… I’m not endorsing (all of!) these acts, but when they’re used correctly, they can push almost any story on to – and even beyond – the next level. A quick run-through a mental list of my favourite films, and almost everything mentioned appears in at least one of them; although I’m not sure what that says about me…
Where the morality issue lies is the use (/context) of these elements. The nasty stuff listed above has appeared in thousands of films, but for plenty different reasons, a lot of which I believe aren’t justifiable. if it enhances the story, a character or setting sufficiently then I don’t see the problem – and it’s the role of the BBFC / MPAA etc to restrict the audience appropriately. However, if nasty elements are thrown in there purely for shock, gratuity, sexing/hyping the film up a little or just to make the trailer look better, then it’s nothing more than a tasteless insult to the viewer. That my friends, is the moral line that I feel filmmakers need to stay on the right side of, and stray from far too readily these days.
Does the Filmmaker have a Moral Responsibility?
At Paragraph Film Reviews we firmly believe that the filmmaker / auteur / director should have the artistic freedom to put whatever he or she likes into the movie. And by ‘whatever’ I would include nasty stuff like abduction, rape, butchery, incest, murder, nudity, sex, violence, cannibalism, gore… I’m not endorsing (all of!) these acts, but when they’re used correctly, they can push almost any story on to – and even beyond – the next level. A quick run-through a mental list of my favourite films, and almost everything mentioned appears in at least one of them; although I’m not sure what that says about me…
Where the morality issue lies is the use (/context) of these elements. The nasty stuff listed above has appeared in thousands of films, but for plenty different reasons, a lot of which I believe aren’t justifiable. if it enhances the story, a character or setting sufficiently then I don’t see the problem – and it’s the role of the BBFC / MPAA etc to restrict the audience appropriately. However, if nasty elements are thrown in there purely for shock, gratuity, sexing/hyping the film up a little or just to make the trailer look better, then it’s nothing more than a tasteless insult to the viewer. That my friends, is the moral line that I feel filmmakers need to stay on the right side of, and stray from far too readily these days.
This post was edited on 9/13/11 at 9:44 am
Posted on 9/13/11 at 9:44 am to TulaneLSU
quote:
Thanks. I liked what they had to say about the use of immoral content in movies:
No, I meant for you.
But seriously 
Posted on 9/13/11 at 9:49 am to TulaneLSU
The Bible
Herodotus' Histories
Michel Foucault's Discipline & Punish
Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex
The I Ching
The Tao Te Ching
Machiavelli's ouvre
Darwin's Origin of Species
Richard Dawkins' The Selfish Gene
Aquinas' Confessions
C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters
I have more if you need more source material to substantiate the first 2 paragraphs of your self indulgences, making a high-falutin, roundabout, allusion-stuffed introduction that loses everyone within 3 sentences. I figure you don't need much by way of form and technique criticism of film since you so rarely focus on those things.
Herodotus' Histories
Michel Foucault's Discipline & Punish
Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex
The I Ching
The Tao Te Ching
Machiavelli's ouvre
Darwin's Origin of Species
Richard Dawkins' The Selfish Gene
Aquinas' Confessions
C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters
I have more if you need more source material to substantiate the first 2 paragraphs of your self indulgences, making a high-falutin, roundabout, allusion-stuffed introduction that loses everyone within 3 sentences. I figure you don't need much by way of form and technique criticism of film since you so rarely focus on those things.
This post was edited on 9/13/11 at 9:51 am
Posted on 9/13/11 at 9:52 am to Leauxgan
From reading all your posts about me, you seem threatened by my writing. Would you like me to grovel at the temple of your intelligence and wit?
Here, here, Arts Board readers, Logan is far more intelligent and more read than I am. Will that appease your ego?
FTR, Thomas of Aquinas can be abbreviated as Thomas, but it is wrong to call him Aquinas. Thomas did not write Confessions either.
Here, here, Arts Board readers, Logan is far more intelligent and more read than I am. Will that appease your ego?
FTR, Thomas of Aquinas can be abbreviated as Thomas, but it is wrong to call him Aquinas. Thomas did not write Confessions either.
This post was edited on 9/13/11 at 9:54 am
Posted on 9/13/11 at 9:59 am to TulaneLSU
Augustine? one of those christian f@ggots.
Posted on 9/13/11 at 10:12 am to Leauxgan
Second only to the Bible in overall historical readership, to comment on literature without having read Confessions is akin to a 1990s sitcom critic writing on 90s sitcoms without having ever seen Seinfeld. As I would have expected you to have learned by now, the more we read, the more our eyes are opened and the more our mind is able to flourish. If you don't like my reviews because they threaten your position as self-appointed brain trust of the Arts Board, enter into dialogue about why my references are absurd and made only for self-aggrandizing. If you cannot do that, please stop hating.
Page 1 of 1
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News