Analyse how Richard Linklater's debut film Slacker reflects the attitudes of slacker culture (e.g. lack of motivation, the attitude of detachment, disregard for authority and traditional attitudes). Use that as the springboard for a larger discussion of how Gen-X slacker attitudes influenced independent filmmaking from the 90s (Clerks is a good example of a 90s slacker film) to the present day.
More details and context coulp be helpful. – Beatrix Kondo1 year ago
With the rising discontent with the MCU as seen on many social networking apps and film and television critics, a revisiting of the last truly dominant Genre of Westerns which held control of the box office landscape never before seen and only really eclipsed by the current superhero/comic adaptation market.
What in particular made the western so popular and what in specific lead to the box office death of the genre? What were the politics behind the genre, the economics, and actors both in a gamesmanship context and a performative context.
This is an awesome topic, and definitely very relevant in the current progression of entertainment demands today. One small suggestion I might recommend is providing some examples of current Westerns facing this trend to help jumpstart potential writers. Another angle that might be interesting to take could lie in the Western's influence outside of the box office too. The Mandalorian is just one example of a current and well loved show that has repurposed the Western for its own benefit beyond the big screen-also standing as a stark contrast to the ebb and flow of a traditional theater style Western. Has the role of the Western begun to change in society-now valued more heavily as an allusion rather than an outright genre of itself? – mmclaughlin1021 year ago
If you were interested in considering literature as well as film, "Green Grass, Running Water" by Thomas King might offer some useful insight into a critique of Westerns in the context of colonialism and narratives of indigenous peoples in settler media. It may also suggest that though the Western is not as popular in mainstream media today as in the past, it remains a dominant, internalized cultural form. The tropes and ideas put forth by the genre haven't gone away, they've merely transformed over time. – clairegranum1 year ago
While AI scientists and technology specialists are signalling AI's ambiguous and unpredictable consequences, they constantly stress that we should not be anxious about AI. However, movies and media narratives sometimes promote AI phobia. The embedded messages of many films are how human flaws destroy civilizations through AI. But the collective focus of the audience may see AI as an entity causing massive anxiety and fear. We can discuss how AI is portrayed in films and media, especially now that AI tools like ChatGPT are causing interesting discussions worldwide.
Examine the vein in various film media (especially Black Swan and Whiplash) suggesting pronounced suffering to produce great art. Both films, to this writer, state or otherwise imply that our protagonists must suffer under harsh instructors (especially in the case of Whiplash) to be successful in their respective fields. This ideology comes off as very unsettling, especially in an era where mental health and personal agency (especially for women) are becoming more recognized. A potential goal for the topic is to examine how movies of this sort condition young artists to burn themselves out in the pursuit of making art. Another film to examine could be “Lust For Life,” on the life of infamous tortured artist Van Gogh.
The goal in proposing this topic is not to condemn any movie mentioned wholesale, but to, instead, offer examination of less than wholesome implications in media that have not been fully explored for those purposes.
It will be necessary to explore mental health expertise to give structure to the topic. An important video to the formulation of this topic was the YouTube video “‘Rise and Grind’ Film Culture: A Rant” from content creator coldcrashpictures. Potential writers may find material for additional definition for this topic in said video.
The common trope of suffering as an obligatory driving force of creativity is purposeful implication by gatekeepers of media to ensure creative production remains under-compensated and under-appreciated. This becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when creatives/artists feel a creative writer's block and can only be escaped by artistic success which is further aided by capitalism and ends in eventual demise and consequent 'fetishization' of pain. It's why mental health is becoming an increasingly discussed, but not acted upon, topic. – gemstokes5 years ago
Great topic. I really want to read this. It would interesting if you could find examples of "healthy" creatives who are able to create/follow their passions successfully and without a mentality of no-pain, no-gain. If you have access, I highly recommend the Netflix original series Abstract: The Art of Design, which highlights creators/artists and their creative process, and showcases both healthy and toxic relationships with the creative process and productivity. – Eden5 years ago
This is a topic that I've had in the back of my head. There's a lot to dissect here. You can go into the psychology of art, the philosophy of art, art theory,and art history. One can also write their opinion from a shared experience being an artist themselves. The fetishizing of pain might be an exaggerated form of representing how passionate people are about their art medium. This would be a great read, there's so many possibilities to go about this. – lfmejia5 years ago
I’d like to write this. Regarding the pain of others by Susan Sontag and on Photography analysed the imagery of pain and suffering. They would both be a good text to use for this article should someone snap it up 😬 – Lousands5 years ago
This topic has a lot of potential to impact the lives of younger musicians (my daughter is a percussionist) in a positive way if written from the standpoint of a "compare/contrast." Looking at artists who "kill" themselves to become the best, vs. those who become the best without the personal torture. – mjwright5 years ago
Great topic!! Examining the conditioning of young artists to burn themselves out in the pursuit of making art is something really interesting, I would love to read it. – allan reis1 year ago
Great topic and lots to explore in several different mediums. – Anna Samson1 year ago
Denis Villeneuve's Enemy ends with Adam being confronted by a giant spider in the bedroom. In a film that otherwise adheres to realism–despite its occasionally surreal quality–the scene stands out. Like most viewers, Adam is initially shocked, but then he lets out what can be best described as a smirk-sigh. Does he know something about the spider that viewers do not? The spider motif is not something that comes abruptly at the end; it exists throughout. So, what does the spider represent?
Villeneuve has his own interpretation of this issue, during the film there are several references to different types of spiders but also about their webs. This symbolism at first speaks about women but has an effect on the feelings of the protagonist. If there is a right answer, it is interesting to think why he leaves this question to the audience. – EllenPastorino1 year ago
The movie Annihilation (2018) has a pretty confusing ending with lots of interpretations. What happened to Lena? What was the significance of the mirroring alien? How does the ending tie in to the themes seen throughout the rest of the movie? Who is the Kane we see at the end of the movie?
"We Need to Talk About Kevin" has been praised for its insightful portrayal of a mother's complex emotions and colour is an essential element in cinema, used by filmmakers to create emotion, convey meaning and evoke historical context. For example, the color red is often associated with passion, love, and danger. Analyze the importance of color in the movie and how it influences the way we perceive and interpret the film.
This is a super interesting idea because colors change the entire vibe of the scene! – cjgirly1 year ago
Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and Spider-Man: No Way Home deal with the multiverse in various ways. Multiverse stories can be interesting and also complicated. How did these movies handle this complicated plot? Was it done well or could it have been done better? It might also be good to compare it to other stories with a multiverse plot (ex. Everything Everywhere All at Once, Bioshock: Infinite, Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, or Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse if you want an all Marvel article). Explore the pros and cons of a multiverse plot and how these stories fit into it.
(My Opinion): I believe that Dr. Strange and Spider-Man used the multiverse mainly for nostalgia, to varying degrees of success, and the stories ignore the other strengths of the plot (especially Multiverse of Madness). I think these stories are flawed but enjoyable. Feel free to disagree with me, agree with me, or bring up more talking points!
I agree with your opinion on this matter. Multiverses were a cool idea in the MCU before it became just another fluff tool for their infrastructure of storytelling. – gbarreto2 years ago
Both Marvel and DC approach multiverse to create new plots but rebrand the same story of Western society's "nostalgia" (as mentioned) of the triumph of the white man and/or the masculine concept of strength that consumer culture celebrates. The strength of superheroes celebrated across multiverses means white men and Western societies love to see their superiority not only in one universe but also in all of them. The concept of multiverse is not new, it is mentioned in Indian myths (Mahabharat) and ancient songs of Bangladesh. For example, the songs of Duddu Shah, a 19th-century Baul poet from Bangladesh, refer to the word "digontikar" which means multiverse. There are several songs about the multiverse that celebrate a spiritual force that connects all humans of the multiverse through black holes in space. He uses the words "pingolo trosto jota" and "kuar dale dhandomaan" signalling the black holes in the space connecting multiverses like tree branches. The inclusive and spiritual thoughts of inclusive humanity that these references of multiverse portray are rarely visible in graphic-narrative-based multiverse stories in Marvel or DC. The obsessive focus on having binary oppositions of powerful heroes and villains might be problematic for young minds. – Golam Rabbani1 year ago
