I know this site has been experiencing some “down time” in regards to posts, updates, etc. Well, there’s a few things I’d lke to bring up and let you in on.
1) Why am I late on posting more often? Well, one word: College. Second word: Essays. So I’ll start by posting something for you all by the end of the post.
2) Go to the films page. Now. You’ll see that we haven’t abandoned ship on producing content. I have recently put up a new film, CONFLICT NOW, that will show you what we were made of two years ago. Official post to come soon.
3) Go to the Essays section. Thanks to Ryan, we’ve got a lot of them posting on a regular basis, from my resevoir of nearly 50 critical film essays (not reviews). Read em, love em, learn something.
Here’s an example of one, and what I’ve been working on right now. Its just an abstract, really, but what it will communicate is the basic idea of a Feminism/Realism article I’m writing comparing Leon the Professional to Thelma and Louise.
A dark, brooding figure is sitting at a table, cleaning out his pistol. A little girl approaches him and begins an argument. She tells the man that she wishes to be a “cleaner” a hitman, or in this case, hit-girl. The older man, not wanting to assume any responsibility, offering her the goodbye gift of a gun, and clearly knowing this girl cannot possibly handle the job, tells her “Go away, I work alone.” Her immediate response is childish, unrealistic, and most importantly: full of conviction and accuracy. “Bonnie and Clyde didn’t work alone. Thelma and Louise didn’t work alone. And they were the best.” Even though her argument is based on works of fiction (let us assume she has no idea about the real lives of Bonnie and Clyde), it speaks of her aspirations, and of a worldly, referential knowledge that could produce such an attitude. Matilda, the little girl, tells him that if he doesn’t help her to become like these fantastic figures (through his training, no less), that she will surely die, almost immediately. The man, Léon, tells her “You’re just a little girl, don’t take it badly but, I just don’t think you could do it.” The scene is capped off by Matilda taking the gun offered at the start of the argument, standing up blankly, and firing it out the window in random directions without any concern for the safety of the world. “How’s that?” Matilda says, rhetorically, as Léon gazes upon her, unable to respond. There is an air of terrifying awe, as this little girl, motivated by revenge and guided by the media, has proven that a little girl may be able to play with the big boys.
So, here’s an idea, would readers like more of this style of writing on the site? If, over the summer, I could produce maybe 3 updates like this a week, and make it something called, “FAVORITE SCENES” would you be interested? Lemme know in the comments. Also- we can turn this into a competition: readers can write in examples of their own “Favorite scenes” up to…eh let’s say 300 words, and at the end of each week, maybe, I’ll try and get them posted. Winners will recieve bragging rights and at the end of the month a special prize from me. Let’s try that out…starting…NOW. (End of the month being June, duh).
Back to writing this paper. See you out there in internet land.
