The perplexing art/ life dichotomy manifested in the work of Woody Allen is continually revisited with complex and often paradoxical results. Sweet and Lowdown (1999) is certainly no exception. The film’s narrative/ documentary hybridization focuses on little-known jazz guitarist Emmet Ray (Sean Penn) and his relationships with two different women- Hattie and Blanche. These charactersContinue reading ““To Love is to Live:” Allegorical relationships in Woody Allen’s Sweet & Lowdown”
Category Archives: Film Analysis
“21st Century Distractions for Capital’s Golden Child: ” America’s prefigured contrivance of coalesced art and news media in the work of Walter Benjamin
The first few decades of the 19th century brought about the emergence of modern photographic processes that augmented reproduction innovation first made viable by the lithograph. Inevitably- precipitated in its powers of mass assemblage only by newsprint- came the advent of filmmaking. Possibilities of a new cohesive culture placed an incredible emphasis on “exhibition value”Continue reading ““21st Century Distractions for Capital’s Golden Child: ” America’s prefigured contrivance of coalesced art and news media in the work of Walter Benjamin”
“Who Needs Conventions?:” Blow-Up’s existential departure from classical Hollywood narrative
Michelangelo Antonioni’s first English language film Blow-Up (1966) is a definitive piece of work that pushed the boundaries of cinematic sexuality and diverged significantly from conventions of the classical Hollywood narrative. Thomas (David Hemmings) wanders through his day as a prestigious London Fashion photographer until he stumbles upon and accidentally photographs what he comes toContinue reading ““Who Needs Conventions?:” Blow-Up’s existential departure from classical Hollywood narrative”
Godard to Wong: An Examination of Influence and Independence within Chungking Express
Every piece of art is grounded and conceived as a result of predating influence and inspiration- cinema is no exception. The Lumiere brothers were inspired by photography, by painting, and immensely through properties of their environmental surroundings. As film began to evolve from simply a new technology into an artistic facilitator, and eventually a superlativeContinue reading “Godard to Wong: An Examination of Influence and Independence within Chungking Express”
“The Coded and the Clothes:” Transitioning dualities in a scene from L’Avventura
Dual personalities and alter egos are devices used relatively often within the cinematic realm. With L’Avventura (1960) Michelangelo Antonioni constructs an existentialist world predicated on the metaphorical transitioning from one character to another, doing so in a subversive manner the dualities and the “replacement” of a central figure thrive under a narrative guise. AnnaContinue reading ““The Coded and the Clothes:” Transitioning dualities in a scene from L’Avventura”
Fourth Wall Writing 