Media Artists Studio (Journal Entry #1)

I am currently enrolled in a program called Media Artist's Studio at The Evergreen State College. We have been given the option of choosing what kind of writing assignments we will do, and have also been asked to keep a research journal. I am going to write film critiques, notes, and ideas as well as keep my research journal on my blog, here. The films I am choosing to critique are those which I feel have a theme similar to that which I am interested in exploring in film and literature this quarter.

The themes I intend to explore this quarter are humanity, the complexity of human relationships, and our difficulty with communication. We Americans live in a society where we have been trained and rewarded to conceal our emotions, taught to feel shameful or embarrassed when we make mistakes, and as technology has improved we have increased our isolation from one another. Many people already find communication difficult, regardless of these factors, primarily because words have a tendency to fail us. Words are concrete, specific and relatively unchanging while our emotions and thoughts are fluid, murky, uneasily quantified, and difficult to mold into verbs and nouns.

These are some of the factors that contribute to our difficulty expressing ourselves, our ability to act authentically in the face of judgment, and have made our relationships with one another even more challenging and complex. Additionally, we are living in a time when the mores of our society are shifting. As our isolation increases, so does our independence. Women are no longer expected to marry and raise children as a necessity. Both sexes are increasingly gaining more freedom to live as they please and explore happiness independently and in different ways than before. The "marriage-kids-house-with-a-white-picket-fence" ideology is still present, but it is no longer all encompassing, and this is changing how we interact and live with one another.

This quarter, I would like to make films concerning the following topics:

Modern Love Landscapes:
Polyamoury, "Free Love", open relationships. What do they mean? What do they represent to those who believe in them? How is jealousy (or lack of jealousy) a contributing factor to a relationship? How does our society compare to others? How do we treat each other? What biases do we have towards individuals who choose not to partake in a "traditional" relationship?

Loneliness:
How do different people deal with loneliness? What makes people lonely? What makes people interact in different ways? Can loneliness be a good thing, and how?

Communication as Art/ Art as Communication:
What role does art (in all its forms) hold for us in terms of communication, of relating to one another, gaining a deeper understanding of one another and bringing us together as humans?

The films I will critique this quarter:

500 Days of Summer
Directed by Marc Webb
@OFS 10/4

Morvern Callar
Directed by Lynne Ramsay

Revanche
Directed by Gotz Spielmann
@OFS 10/14

Cries & Whispers
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
@OFS 10/17

Humpday
Directed by Lynn Shelton
@OFS 10/21

It is Fine! EVERYTHING IS FINE
Directed by Crispin Glover
@OFS 10/23

A Woman Under the Influence
Directed by John Cassavettes

Other potential films to critique:
Performance
The Dreamers
Y Tu Mama Tambien
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
December Bride
French Twist
Farinelli
Threesome
Small Circle of Friends
(this list will continually be updated...)

The books I will read this quarter:
Loneliness and Love Clark E. Moustakas
We The Media: Grassroots Journalism By The People, For the People by Dan Gilmor
Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee
(list incomplete)