[cestuneblague]

Hey thought it would be an interesting idea to try the point-of-discussion threads but with film topics, knowing we have a lot of big movie fans here and should be interesting to hear different thoughts and opinions about specific issues in the film world, since often most "discussion" here often just seems to be about the diary-like entries of films we watched. So if people are interested in trying this for movies, I guess just state what particular issues/ideas you're interested in discussing and I'll log it here, and we'll do the same and post a new topic each week.


Topics]

Film Adaptations from Other Artistic Mediums
The Value of "Bad Movies"
Foreign-language films and watching movies from outside your native country
How do you watch movies?
Autist Theory in Cinema (aka the Freddy Got Fingered thread)
Experimental Cinema
How democratic is the field medium and the role of studio influence in making movies
The relationship between the direction and the screenplay in film
Pornography and explicit sex in the arthouse
Male and Female Gaze in the movies
Semiotics and political meanings in movies
Pet Peeves in movies
Generational contrasts in filmmaking styles, types of stories told on screen and audience reactions to movies past & present
Blockbusters, Bombs and Cult favorites
Your favorite films, and why

[Applerill]

Is auteur theory autist theory?
Is three-act structure a lie?
Should genre movies be appreciated as much as flagship ones?
Should we ever hate a movie?
Are TV shows movies?
Are five-minute paysite clips movies?
Are Hobbits movies?
Are dreams movies?
Why do we watch movies anyway?

...Sorry, I can't think of too many others. I've often thought of music the same way as movies the past couple years (possibly to my detriment), so it's hard to think of something that would apply to film and not to music.

[Satie]

[Applerill]

[Satie]

You don't need to pedantically explain auteur theory to me for the fifth or sixth time, Charlie. I've been aware of it for quite some time. I like it quite a bit. The dichotomy your author sets up is completely silly, by the way. Both Joe Johnston and Kevin Smith make horrible movies.

[Applerill]

[Satie]

Uh-huh.

Um, as far as topics...

Should we hold narrative films responsible for their politics?
If we accept that premise, should films seek to "retcon" the past for contemporary political attitudes? I'm thinking of what Adolph Reed has to say here about the contemporary outcry over white saviorism in historical fiction and how it distorts what some are wanting out of film.
How democratic of a medium is film? Should it be more or less democratic? This can be thought of in terms of accessibility to industry machinery to get a film made or in the lengths studios go to appeal to broad bases of critics and audiences or in other ways.

[benpaco]

Is something inherently lost watching a foreign film if you don't speak the language it was made in, or even if you aren't from the country it was made in?

While the ideal is obviously to have a balance of both, which is more important to a movie in the end, the directing or the writing?

There are sort of two classes of "good" comedies - ones that are critically acclaimed and dumb ones that are good to put on at a party. The same sort of goes for horror movies. In the end, what sets these two apart? Is it simply quality or is there something inherent with the presentation/subject matters?

Is there any value to movies that are intentionally bad? Is there any value to movies that are unintentionally bad that get into the "so bad it's good" range?

Can a movie do a poor job of representing its source material and still be a good movie?
_________________

. . . 2016 . . . 2015 . . .

"While I'm alive, I'll make tiny changes to Earth" - Frightened Rabbit

[cestuneblague]

Okay so I "paraphrased" a few topics that seem to show some interest, so it should get us started. Ill hopefully have the first topic up the beginning of this week.

[SquishypuffDave]

I want to respond to nearly all of these, which is a good sign I suppose. I think the question of film adaptation interests me most. Also:

Do films automatically carry more semiotic meaning than music? Is it harder to make a politically neutral movie than a politically neutral piece of music?

The male gaze: which movies fall into it, which ones don't?

Which filmmaking techniques do it for you? Which ones don't? What is good or bad cinematography?

How important is it to identify with a character? To what extent do you need to identify with them?

Filmmaking pet hates.