Monday, March 20, 2006
How many times have we come across reviews in the press, and on television, for the weeks big film release. The film world is vast, though the media and the marketing power of the major studios create the impression that it is only the major films, regardless of quality, that are worthy of attention. The criticisms themselves make little impression, but the collective impact on society is that these are the films you should be watching. Ergo, weekend after weekend the masses flock to pack out the screenings of these films.
Film reviewers are merely another marketing tool, and much criticism lacks heart. The blockbusters steal attention away from the millions of other films waiting to be discovered, while reviewers rarely approach these films from a unique perspective. This is something I am going to attempt to rectify in these blogs. To consider alternative perspectives of mainstream products and shining the light on less well known fare.
In doing this I hope to arouse the reader’s interest in the film industry as a whole and give a degree of focus to the many qualities often overlooked. ‘The Inane Ramblings of a Film Junkie’ represents a middle ground between chat room banter and academic theory, with the intention to divert attention from the familiar, to have fun.
In all aspects of society, the populace is guided to whatever film will have the broadest appeal. People are generally unlikely to question the fact that their decisions are being guided. It’s a Top Ten mentality; people very rarely assess the variety of their options. Free will is limited severely by our susceptibility to marketing, hence the popularity of star vehicles and franchise titles. Films which build upon the already accepted reputations acquired. The remake of The Pink Panther (2005) - nuff said.
Many films which fail to live up to expectation are discarded or ignored. Straight-To-Video, for example, is an expression which derides a film, immediately coding it as inferior. The public are conditioned to accept only a specific type of film. There are millions of films deemed inferior purely by their lack of mass market viability; subtitled films are perhaps the most obvious example of this. Few ever think to follow the road less travelled.
To continue the allegory of a journey, in the coming weeks and months I will take you on a scenic route rather than follow the familiar, featureless motorway. Taking in familiar sights, I will guide you past the main streets, country lanes and back alleys and into the underworld. My hope is that you will take some of these routes, perhaps stay over night in a quaint little B & B, as an alternative to your initial conditioned inclination merely to get from A to B as quickly as possible.
Film critics often seem to be going through the motions, to have nothing of value to offer our culture. The intellectual readings of the broadsheet press can often compare interestingly with the more basic tabloid observations, but the constant remains that they all remain essentially the same. As a film junkie, more than just a fan, I believe it is the critics job to constantly refocus a viewers priorities. In our throwaway culture there are very few films which resonate with us. Therefore I feel a tremendous drive to critique films and to share my opinions with my generally bewildered, or irritated friends.
The intention is to publish my inane ramblings on a regular basis, according to the severity and necessity of my thoughts. My hope is that you find my words entertaining and enlightening. I will blog reviews, short features and essays, discuss important figures in the film industry, make comparisons in the application of certain themes and look closely at genres or film series.
And so begin The Inane Ramblings of a Film Junkie. I hope that this brief introduction has piqued your interest and sufficiently placed what will follow in context. I’d be grateful for any comments you make, recommendations or directions to suppliers. Thanks for reading.
Film reviewers are merely another marketing tool, and much criticism lacks heart. The blockbusters steal attention away from the millions of other films waiting to be discovered, while reviewers rarely approach these films from a unique perspective. This is something I am going to attempt to rectify in these blogs. To consider alternative perspectives of mainstream products and shining the light on less well known fare.
In doing this I hope to arouse the reader’s interest in the film industry as a whole and give a degree of focus to the many qualities often overlooked. ‘The Inane Ramblings of a Film Junkie’ represents a middle ground between chat room banter and academic theory, with the intention to divert attention from the familiar, to have fun.
In all aspects of society, the populace is guided to whatever film will have the broadest appeal. People are generally unlikely to question the fact that their decisions are being guided. It’s a Top Ten mentality; people very rarely assess the variety of their options. Free will is limited severely by our susceptibility to marketing, hence the popularity of star vehicles and franchise titles. Films which build upon the already accepted reputations acquired. The remake of The Pink Panther (2005) - nuff said.
Many films which fail to live up to expectation are discarded or ignored. Straight-To-Video, for example, is an expression which derides a film, immediately coding it as inferior. The public are conditioned to accept only a specific type of film. There are millions of films deemed inferior purely by their lack of mass market viability; subtitled films are perhaps the most obvious example of this. Few ever think to follow the road less travelled.
To continue the allegory of a journey, in the coming weeks and months I will take you on a scenic route rather than follow the familiar, featureless motorway. Taking in familiar sights, I will guide you past the main streets, country lanes and back alleys and into the underworld. My hope is that you will take some of these routes, perhaps stay over night in a quaint little B & B, as an alternative to your initial conditioned inclination merely to get from A to B as quickly as possible.
Film critics often seem to be going through the motions, to have nothing of value to offer our culture. The intellectual readings of the broadsheet press can often compare interestingly with the more basic tabloid observations, but the constant remains that they all remain essentially the same. As a film junkie, more than just a fan, I believe it is the critics job to constantly refocus a viewers priorities. In our throwaway culture there are very few films which resonate with us. Therefore I feel a tremendous drive to critique films and to share my opinions with my generally bewildered, or irritated friends.
The intention is to publish my inane ramblings on a regular basis, according to the severity and necessity of my thoughts. My hope is that you find my words entertaining and enlightening. I will blog reviews, short features and essays, discuss important figures in the film industry, make comparisons in the application of certain themes and look closely at genres or film series.
And so begin The Inane Ramblings of a Film Junkie. I hope that this brief introduction has piqued your interest and sufficiently placed what will follow in context. I’d be grateful for any comments you make, recommendations or directions to suppliers. Thanks for reading.
# posted by Richard Hawes @ 12:37 AM 
