Welcome to film studies. To start things off, we're going to look at a few short films.
Your task is to watch the three following films and post AT LEAST ONE response in the "comment section" below of each. Be sure to include your name to get credit for your contribution.
What are we looking for in our online discussions? Observations, questions, opinions, interpretations, etc. The more specific, the better. This means you should respond to SPECIFIC moments of the films as well as to the films overall. Feel free to respond to your peers. Remember, our goal here is to have robust, thoughtful, challenging discussions. Also keep in mind that this online component is part of the CLASS EXPECTATIONS. That means that everything you enter on this blog needs to be CLASS APPROPRIATE. The more you contribute, the better your grade. The more thoughtful and curious your contributions, the better your grade.
We're probably not going to have as much formal homework as some of your other classes, so your online participation will certainly impact your grade. Plus, it's fun and interesting and it's about movies. And that's why we're all in the class, right?
Okay. Have at it...
So you guys heard my story about my wife calling me a hipster. It seems to me that this hipster/indie movement is slowly coming to an end. What's next, I don't know. But it does make me wonder: Are hipster/indie films doomed to be dated?
ReplyDeleteLike Juno. Juno is the kind of movie I am talking about.
ReplyDeleteNo, because I think hipsters are too implanted into our society for their movies to become dated or overlooked. One example of this is the amount of hipsters you can see wherever you go here in this country. Also hipster movies are still popular because of how acclaimed and prevalent the new movie Boyhood is.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with the fact that the country is currently overflowing with hipsters, but I always felt like that was only because being a hipster is trendy. Some trends I think can stick around for a very long time, or even prove to be more than trends, but...I mean, mullets were trendy once. I think the hipster trend will die sooner rather than later because it's simply a trend.
DeleteI think "hipster/indie" films will remain popular because they have such a real feel to them. The stories are usually easy to relate to in some way. That style of film may fade, but I do not think it will become dated.
ReplyDeleteI disagree, I think audiences are quickly turning on hipster movies. There's so many now that a lot of them come across as kitschy or affected.
DeleteI agree with Emma on this one. "Hipster/indie" films are popular today and it wouldn't surprise me if they are still popular a year from now, but there are already so many that I can't imagine this style lasting much longer.
DeleteThough the Indie style may navigate itself into obscurity, significant milestones of the genre will prove to last. It goes without saying that arbitrary, brief clips such as these will fail to serve as epitomes of the style and will indeed become dated.
DeleteYes I agree. Indie film will remain popular for a long time because they are very deeply embedded into our culture, and they do have that careless type of film style that people for some reason like to see.
ReplyDeleteThere will always be aspiring filmmakers with lower budgets who will make these to start their career or as a hobby. As long as they provide entertainment, people will keep watching them.
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DeleteI disagree because these indie films do not have enough time to develop their characters and tell a full story. While these films do a tremendous job of getting their point across and sending an overall message, people would rather see a movie that has a plot and has characters that the audience can connect with.
DeleteI don't think people will stop making indie films because of the movie industry. I like to compare indie films to poems in the way that poems send a strong message in a short amount of time and less detail than books. Poems have been around forever and I think that, like poems, indie films are here to stay.
DeleteReferring to Jackie's comment, filmmakers have two key things they have to consider and work with: budget and passion. If you have a flaming passion for a certain genre, you can make it work with a limited budget and truly can revive or create any genre. One example of this concept of passion is evident in the 2011 movie The Artist. It's a silent movie made in a 1920s style and despite this, it still got great reviews and Oscars.
DeleteIndie films are not going to stop being made. People will forever be interested in making films with that type of style, but I don't think a majority of people will be interested in seeing those types of films when there are going to be new genres coming out in the future.
DeleteI am at middle ground on this one. I think that the hipster/indie films can remain popular if they uncover new topics. If the amount of films that all seem similar keep piling up then I believe that the indie style will go down in flames.
Delete"Hipster/Indie" have been used so much and encompassed so much as terms that they seem to have lost their meaning. I heard a news story covering this year's Sundance film festival on NPR (Which seems appropriate for this topic) about Netflix producing a documentary and showing it at Sundance. This surprised me as I think of Sundance as a festival where indie producers and lesser known production companies make films. Netflix's arrival at the festival seems like a shot at the stability of "Hipster/Indie" films' future. To my knowledge Sundance, in the past, has supported Independent production companies and solo artists resulting in awareness and recognition for them which could lead to success for their careers. If Sundance allows these bigger companies that are not familiar with film production, but have the resources to produce a film, that seems unfair for independent producers. This gives me the feeling that these films might be "doomed".
ReplyDeleteI also wonder if audiences of all movies would rather support underdog and Indie film-makers or continue to watch the mostly formulated series of movies that come out every year?
ReplyDeleteI think that truly depends on the viewer. I believe that many people do like to watch movies that have high grossing and have been waiting to see for a long time. But I feel many people also choose to sometimes support those underdog films and help it to even become a more famous and popular film.
DeleteSo not related to the hipster indie question but I want to know what others would do when receiving the black hole. I know personally if I had his job and lived his type of life, money would probably be an option. But I definitely feel that I would use it for my own benefit only. I know for a fact that I wouldn't think of helping others using the black hole. I kind of feel like when we receive a gift or a prize or anything, our main reaction isn't to share or give to the ones that need it most, but more of individual reasons.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you jonathan, I would most likely use this for my own personal benefit as well, especially if I was in that person's situation. I think that often times we look to see what we can do for ourselves before looking to see what we can do for others.
DeleteYeah, I feel kind of terrible when I admit this, but I totally would not use it to help mankind in any way at all. I would totally find a way to use it to get money or clothes, or something I would normally have to do actual work for. I feel like personally, maybe I'm just lazy and prefer shortcuts, but maybe that's sort of a general quality most people have.
DeleteI think "Blood and Chips" is a good example of an innate flaw - or at least complication - in the genre of short films. In the limited amount of time, there's a limited amount of techniques one can use to make the audience interested. There's no time for character development, or even for relaying much information. So, like in this one, they used a controversial topic and a twist ending to elicit some response. Personally, I don't fault them at all, and even enjoy some of the overdone thrill-factor stuff. But obviously, many would disagree and say it's distracting and excessive.
ReplyDeleteI one hundo percent agree. I thought this was the worst of the three indie films we watched in class because it didn't have that overall message that these indie films usually have. Unlike "What do we have in our pockets" which gives off a great point that you always need to have hope and be optimistic, "Blood and Chips'" was unable to convey a message that the audience could learn from.
DeleteLike Dk said, the first two successfully conveyed moral-esque messages. However, I disagree with the statement that the third one didn't have a message: it was that if you are going to make controversial or racist remarks- you should always scan who and what is around you.
DeleteI liked the "Blood and Chips" film the most because of the unpredictability. The other two films slowly worked you into understanding who the character was, and in "Blood and Chips", the characters were all unknown. We had no clue what was coming, and this is what made the film great to me.
DeleteEven though I found the "Blood and Chips" confusing a bit, I also liked how we had no idea what was coming and who the characters were. Like we didn't expect that one character reading the news paper to be the father of those two kids.
DeleteChris Andrew
ReplyDeleteI do not necessarily think that indie movies will become outdated but they will not become more popular. This is because they lack the big audience that movies with great special effects and exciting plots have.
I agree with your view because despite the individuality expressed in this film, a majority of people in this society will go more for films that have a common theme.
DeleteMy favorite video would have to be "What do we have in our pockets".I believed that the whole video in general was different. Visually, with the stop motion I thought it was a great way to show the audience, a different way to film. A main idea I liked was how even though people were criticizing the man with all that stuff in his pockets, he didn't choose to be like others and follow society but chose to be different and that was what made him happy.
ReplyDelete