Framework

    I plan on being critical of cinema on this blog. In order to do that without the world wanting my anonymous body dead, there's a going to be framework in which I instill whenever I do my analysis or criticism. Film is a complex medium and without a framework for criticism my writing would be impartial and inconsistent. Sontag once said in her essay Against Interpretation, "From now to the end of consciousness, we are stuck with the task of defending art. We can only quarrel with one or another means of defense.". This is exact idea is why film criticism is complex, it's all biased in one way or another and arguing is more about the individual then about the art itself. I am not here to defend my words just give an idea of how I view things when writing. 

    The first principle I want to focus on is this idea of showing and not telling. How this is applied is thinking how the work uses the medium. In a painting it is entirely visual, in a podcast it auditory, and in a film it is both. This is why it is essential to use both the visual elements effectively, as well as not have the film move forward entirely via dialogue. This is why I am very frustrated by certain large box office films, because once you apply this theory they completely fall apart. Frequently they fail to use the shots effectively or worse they use two shots the entire movie. The visual elements do nothing to understand the universe at hand or barely enhance what is there begin with. The sound design can be poor and isn't full. This principle is where many films fail from my perspective. 

    The second thing is does each scene consider what happens before or after. This isn't to say all films need a plot in order to be good or that filler isn't essential in portraying the films artistic ideas. The goal of this understanding is the length justified in the way the filler is. An example of this would be if a film is 3 hours long, does it get it's ideas out and do the shots relate to the previous ones or the message the film is trying to get across. Basically if there is irrelevant scenes or shots what do they add to the film or how do they contribute to the film's ethos. I personally love when a film uses every shot and scene and references everything they give you. I think it is difficult do and is an uncommon practice in this golden age of cinema. 

The third principle is film is art and everything I say is going to be subjective even with these constraints. This means when I am critical of a film, I will try my best to stick to these more formal elements, however I am only human. My lens will always color my perspective intentionally or not.

There will be times I will ignore said framework, in order to praise a film that is not considered high art, but it's important to acknowledge the importance of a framework with criticism and analysis. My taste in cinema is not always consistent and I appreciate when a movie doesn't use formal elements but is still wildly entertaining. When discussing these films I will focus less on language of film and more on what was enjoyable about them.