portland, sufjan and movies
I will be in Portland this weekend. I am very excited about that as well as everything that being in Portland includes such as hanging out with friends and family, Sufjan Stevens concert, and Portland restaurants. It will be a great weekend.
I recently decided that over the course of the next several months (or longer) I want to try and watch every Oscar winning movie for Best Picture from the 70's until now. I'm just interested to see what made a movie "Best Picture" in different era's. Surprisingly, the decade that I've seen the most from is the 70's, already seeing 7 of the 10. I may not watch all of them however, because some just don't interest me at all.
I recently decided that over the course of the next several months (or longer) I want to try and watch every Oscar winning movie for Best Picture from the 70's until now. I'm just interested to see what made a movie "Best Picture" in different era's. Surprisingly, the decade that I've seen the most from is the 70's, already seeing 7 of the 10. I may not watch all of them however, because some just don't interest me at all.
posted by adam at 4:55 PM
14 Comments:
which mood is which? tap dancing = ...? ; breakdancing ...
=)
If you haven't already, don't bother watching 'Crash.' How that movie even got into consideration for Best Picture is astounding. It's incredibly dramatized; that movie has all the subtly and grace as a punch in the face. Ugh.
It was a painful movie to watch, but I disagree--most people should see it and it was one of the best pictures of that year.
Talk about opening up a new can of worms! =)
I guess if you haven't had much exposure to movies or other media that deal with the issue of race in a more realistic, artful, and honest way, then it might be valuable. (for examples, I'll have to get Bob in on this, I can't remember the names of movies like that)
I just had a problem with the sensationalims in this film. It's great that a movie is broaching the subject of race, but to do it in such and overdramatic, emotion-jerking way seemed to me to do a disservice to the issue and to the film.
I'll concede that the melodrama and extremism in the film could have been to serve the purpose of taking the subject so far out of reality that it has to be looked at in an over-arching, idea sort of realm, but even if that was the intent I don't think it served the movie's purpose very well.
No one else that I know has had anything positive to say about the movie, so I'm really interested to hear what is you think made it good, what I might be missing.
p.s. I think that came out harsher and more "I'm right and you're not" than I feel or think. Really, it's just how I think and other people can like whatever they want.
There was one good thing about 'Crash' and that was Matt Dillon's performance as the idiot racist cop.
Otherwise, it was a cloying, poorly written, and even worse acted piece of Hollywood fluff that supposedly is looking at the "tough issues of race in America" when all it does is exacerbate stereotypes and make the white man who wrote and directed seem even more holier than thou than his pathetic acceptance speech at the Oscars did.
You want to see a movie about race that is gritty, real and not sensationalist at all, go rent 'Do The Right Thing'. It (for some reason) didn't win Best Picture, but it sure as heck should have.
Just out of curiosity, Adam, which movies did you watch?
Yes, please give me some examples of the movies or literature you're referring to.
Personally, I don't see the point of movies or literature that aren't emotional/jarring when it comes to being heard and wanting to make a point. And I know you're not saying they should be blase, but for lack of a better phrase, something that's "hard to hear" should be "hard to hear," right?
And what are you saying to people who have personal experience to say that Crash is not an exageration? That you don't believe them?
Can you expound on the idea of the movie being a disservice to the issue? Tell me what is the negative result.
This is quite funny that we are coming from such opposite positions. I have only heard GOOD responses to the movie, so hearing your negative one was a real shock!
I think the best way to sum up the positive in this movie is that it serves as a reminder and an awakening for some, summed up by this quote, which I have up in my office (as Cherise will greatly remember...) "Be kinder than necessary for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."
THis reiforces what I've learned working retail and in service industries.... I can either add to making someone's day snowballing to be worse and worse OR stop it in it's tracks and even reverse it. In this way, having a positive interaction can keep someone from feeling the need to "crash" into another just so they get some kind emotional interation. I'm not assuming that you don't understand this concept. It's very similar to kids wanting attention and sometimes if they are so deprived they don't care whether it's negative of positive.
So, though I already knew this before watching the movie, I really appreciated the way it was depicted, so that everyone could identify. and as a result reflect on their own lives and see how and where it's applicable.
I hope that was the point of the movie.
timing.
I guess you guys posted those comments while I was writing my long-winded one =)
Thank you for the movie recommendation.
Look at all these emails that Adam has to look forward to when he wakes up! =)
Now to the real reason I opened up this blog... I looked up the "Best Picture" listings and was also plesantly surprised at how many of these movies I've seen. 24 out of 36!
So how many do you have left to see? ANd you've mostly seen the ones from the 70's? really?!
My feeling is that there is no real way that a white man could have any idea whatsoever what it is like to be a black, Hispanic, Asian, or Middle Eastern person living in America today. And I think it is absolutely derogatory for him to think that he has any insight into the experience. And I think it just makes the problem worse by writing these characters in such a cartoonish fashion.
I have no argument with you about movies or literature needing to be emotional or jarring, but you'll have to excuse me if the only jarring moment I got out of the movie was watching Matt Dillon trying to pull Thandie Newton out of the car. Everything else wasn't jarring and was overblown emotionally. It was overwritten and overacted to the nth degree. If you want to see what I mean, compare Brendan Fraser's scenes in "Gods and Monsters" to those that he had in "Crash". The former is filled with nuance and depth whereas in the latter, he might as well have been holding up a sign that said "I'm filled with righteous indignation."
And, for me, out of ALL the films that have won Best Picture, I have seen 36 of them.
So, I got that goin' for me. Which is nice.
Well, there's a good quote! It's one of my Dad's favorites.
I didn't know that a white man wrote it. THat really changes my perspective. weird.
I think your perspective is extra unique. and i like it.
Thank you for sharing!
Speaking of... have you heard any reviews of Crash by minorities? (professional or non) Now that you've enlightened me, I would be curious to hear more of their perspectives. My friend Joey August introduced me to the movie and he knows it to be true and a very close parallel to his life experience as a middle-aged Latino who has lived all over the country and without any affluence.
My best friend and I are working on a screenplay for our own emotional/jarring movie. It too is a bit of a paradox and I'm sure we would get a lot of flack for it. I'll keep you in mind if we make any serious headway on "making it a reality." As I said, I appreciate your insight and analysis.
confession: I can be an emotional junky.
So that's why this movie played me.
I watched "Crash" last night. It was interesting in that I think it did address a lot of issues that are barely under the surface in a diverse community and hopefully it caused some people to think about their attitudes toward other races. That being said, I personally feel that the biggest problem with race is fear of other races, which leads to rushed assumptions about other races and then defensiveness and then violence. Unfortunately, this type of movie, in many ways, feeds that fear. For every one person that is bigoted in this world, there are probably many who are not, and yet we are judged by the ugliest people in our race. And that is unfortunate no matter what way you look at it.
There were just too many negative conclusions that could be drawn from that movie. You could conclude that different races can not coincide with out extreme controversy; you could conclude that white people should be feared by black people, or vise versa; you could conclude that races always interact with eachother defensively or violently; etc,etc, etc.
I think this movie is especially disturbing when you have lived fairly peaceable amongst a diverse population. While there is a small amount of caution and distrust amongst people when they are getting to know eachother, I'm happy to say that most Portlanders are able to get past the sterio-types and get to know eachother on a personal level. I know this is not always the case - especially in the south. But hopefully, people will watch this movie and veiw it as something to do something about rather than something to endure.
Unfortunately, I can also see it being fuel on the fire that was nearly stomped out.
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