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Posts
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Joined
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Days Won
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Everything posted by Dixon Hill
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I rather enjoy my age anonymity on here. -
Wait, are you really 18, or are you 18 like I'm 16?
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No, he doesn't. Then why doesn't he ask about the whole world and just America? And yes Steef, but it's not just Americans. Humanity lacks those things. By and large I think that's what cinema is for people, escapism. Not everyone sees it or appreciates it as art. I am talking out of my ass here. Which is why I didn't want to get into it, it's not something I have defined ideas on one way or another.
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Yes, see above. Boredom?
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Ok. Average American life is largely vacuous and mediocre. It's not a matter of freedom or lack thereof, but of vision and a definite lack thereof. John Q. Public views cinema as nothing more than an escape from a life that in all likelihood can't be anything more than merely functional. So the appeal of that escapism is massive. The problem I have with that Gavras quote is that he pretends all of that is only true of America.
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I'm tempted to let The Woman answer, as she is a Brit turned American.
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No, just anyone who already has an opinion on why Americans love escapism. Seems like a can of worms I'd rather not open if folks have their minds made up already.
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Don't pretend you'd choose the latter over a distaste for the former rather than a taste for the latter!
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Not just Steef, any of you.
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Would an answer change the answer you already have in your head?
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- 842 replies
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- James Horner
- Spider-man
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Only on Saturday nights.
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The Classical Music Recommendation Thread
Dixon Hill replied to Muad'Dib's topic in General Discussion
No, I'm a thoroughgoing anarchist, I swear! -
Oh yes. Like my defense of Zimmer, the defense only applies to the original concept, not the effect it's had through cheap imitation around it.
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Cute, but I'm still the youngest poster.
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Well, the thing is, if you ignore the context then it doesn't make much sense. Like I said, there's still room and demand for the "older" style, for escapism. I'm just venturing a guess at why, at least personally, tastes have changed in a general sense. These depictions of harsh reality are not without their catharsis, and it seems to me that people prefer that kind of emotional release, the kind they can actually experience in their own lives, than anything more lofty. I can perfectly well suspend my disbelief in a film that calls for that. I just don't want to have to do that as much anymore. I want to truly be able to take something out of the theater into my actual life. Let me further push my luck by offering an example. I find Nolan's Batman films far more comforting, encouraging, hopeful, and stirring, than Donner's Superman. Yes, the latter offers similar ideas, themes. But the presentation is high-flying and it's just not something I can connect to or identify with anymore, if I ever could. It's easy to deride the "gritty, dark, realistic" trend as bleak trash, but I think if it's done right, it's not at all bleak, and far from trash. It's valuable cinema, doing what cinema is meant to do: show us something about our lives, our problems, and our hopes.
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My Very First FSM topic!
Dixon Hill replied to #SnowyVernalSpringsEternal's topic in General Discussion
Ceci n'est pas une pipe -
I'm prepared to be crucified or sent to the Tree of Woe for the sentiment I just shared.
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Let me venture a bit of a guess/explanation/bullshit here. In previous decades, those were all desirable elements in cinema, reflecting the general attitudes and world-views of most people. Now I'm not falling prey to the romantic and stupid notion that the past was much "better" or "happier", but it felt different, and we felt different living in it. There was far more gung-ho, can-do, feel-good in the air. Films of 80's/90's Spielberg, for example, were a reflection of that. The world feels different now. Things genuinely are more grim than they have been over the past 20 years or so. People don't want sugar coated whimsy or escapism, or not as much anyway. They want cinema that reflects harsh reality, and then offers whatever hope it can in that context. People don't want to escape, they don't want to smile in the theater and then walk out into the world and remember it was just fantasy. They want to see this world (or something as close to it as possible with superheroes involved) with the kind of hope and positivity that we can actually expect from this world. Does that make any kind of sense?
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The Classical Music Recommendation Thread
Dixon Hill replied to Muad'Dib's topic in General Discussion
Don't worry comra... I mean, friends. I'm only posting this because it's wonderful music. I am through and through an Amerikan! -
Mostly? I'd say that's quite an exaggeration. Maybe some of the most visible.
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I know there's a good number of Sagan fans on here, as well as those who are unfamiliar with him and/or the original series but looking forward to the upcoming continuation with Neil deGrasse Tyson. It was just announced that Alan Silvestri will continue his association with Sagan's work by scoring the series. I was hoping for a similar approach to the original, where Tyson or MacFarlane would hand pick existing music, but this is certainly as exciting. First episode airs on March 9.
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That is AWESOME.
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The Classical Music Recommendation Thread
Dixon Hill replied to Muad'Dib's topic in General Discussion
Wait, I've just found the series on Youtube. I'll find out for myself. Ehhh, yeah. Can't say I share his assessment of Schoenberg's fall from high-romanticism as "tragic" but... other than that minor quip I think he's very agreeable in this. Muhly is definitely far less tactful and more smug about it all. God, now I want to go see Salome hahaha. -
The Classical Music Recommendation Thread
Dixon Hill replied to Muad'Dib's topic in General Discussion
See, that's really fascinating to me, because I find his music to be extremely painful at times, to the point where I actually have to be careful about listening to it. What did he and Muhly say? I can imagine....