I'm becoming sick of the giant poster of Fame glaring at me whenever I come to Joo Jup, so I've decided it's time for a new post.
To do a bit of shameless advertising first, I'm currently on standby before I depart to Tanzania to be a government volunteer. The program is a substitute to my military service, and I've been blogging about it in the tomzanian (tomzanian.blogspot.com). Last month, I was in a month long training program. Think of it as an urban camp for grown up volunteers. And like any other camp, there's a fair share of male-female courtship that become the foundation to camp gossip. Anyways, this one cute girl and I ended up watching a movie together one weekend. Of course, I got a bit excited and even more when no one else decided to join us in the TV lounge. But this didn't last too long as she began to fall asleep forty minutes into the movie. She tried to stay awake out of politeness, but soon enough, she was passed out on the coach. On the other hand, I found the movie to be entertaining and in line with my taste as well. But after moments of short thought, I've realized that this all could have had a better result only if we watched a different movie. After all, we watched Million Dollar Baby.
I wonder if other avid film watchers share this experience. While I was browsing through the rather impressive selection of DVDs available at the training center HQ, I've noticed a couple that I've wanted to watch for a while (in this case, Persepolis, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and Atonement). During these moments I feel a sense of mission to watch all the movies I want to before I die. And sometimes, I begin to remember all the missed timings that prevented me from watching the particular film. So when these thoughts kick in, which happens more often than not, I get carried away, maybe even a bit selfish, and become blind to other people's taste. Of course this lady and I chose the movie together, and I kept asking her opinion, but being a casual movie goer, she delegated the responsibility to me, only to realize what a terrible mistake I've made a bit too late.
Million Dollar Baby is quite an enjoyable film in my opinion. But I forgot that it could be rather difficult to stay awake for those not acquainted with Clint Eastwood's style. Eastwood spends so much time in exposing the details that his films seem to take about an hour to start gaining pace. I found this to be particularly evident in Mystic River. I first watched Mystic River without knowing the synopsis. After an hour depicting who's who, and who's in what kind of relationship with who, did I realize that oh, this movie's about a murder and accusations. This characteristic of Eastwood films, although a little less so, was apparent in Million Dollar Baby, and was potent enough to induce my friend into a deep afternoon nap.
I think back to the number of occasions when I've made recommendations to my friends. To a rather serious friend who wanted to watch something with his girlfriend, I recommended Stardust. His girlfriend really liked it, but it almost damaged my friendship with him, and at one point, he began to doubt my sanity (or sexuality, I don't know). I think he was actually angry at me. The next occasion, I stepped up the intensity and offered Blackbook. Both of him and his girlfriend liked it, but some of the nudity was too shocking for the girlfriend's little sister (she was 20 in my defense). Tasting the success, I then recommended Lust, Caution, which was only shown in Edina because of its NC-17 rating. Later on, both responded with high acclaim, but an hour after the two came out of the theater, the girlfriend called to tell me how she's still trembling from the shock.
I'm trying to remember some of the DVDs that were available and they all seem fine to me, but I can see how they could produce adverse effects on my friend. She would have completely freaked out at the scenes with limbs falling off in Let Me In. She would have responded likewise to some of the gory parts in No Country for Old Men. I wonder how she would have taken the homosexual love in Brokeback Mountain, especially the scene of the sudden first love. That could be awkward. Gran Torino's also by Clint Eastwood so she would have fallen asleep as well. Pixar movies could have been a good choice, but it's rare that someone hasn't seen them when they first come out in theaters.
Whatever the challenges there may be in choosing what to watch, I just wish I had done better. This post, thus, is a post of regret.
2009년 11월 10일 화요일
2009년 9월 26일 토요일
Fame
If it were the usually critical me, I would have given Fame a pretty violent review. I obviously am a big fan of films in general, but I’ve been always been a bit selective with what I enjoyed. I value depth a lot in the films I watch. Films like the Hours and City of
Yet, I am deeply humbled by what Fame has offered me. For long I had an arrogant attitude towards film. I’ve definitely watched a lot more than my peers, and thought that I perhaps have a more refined taste of film than them. But I admit that I have been quite judgmental over the years, and I’ve been thinking about the value of a superficial, yet enjoyable, film. I feel that going to Macalester and feeling pseudo-Aristotelian has made me lose my touch on simple pleasantry and joy in films, no matter how superficial.
So after watching Fame, I’m humbled, because I simply enjoyed the story and all the sentimental parts to it. It definitely lacks development and concreteness, but today I’m going to say it’s okay. Although overly exaggerated, Fame does touch on a lot of dilemmas young people have, even those who are in tweens. And perhaps more importantly, it not only rekindled a romantic in me, who not only had a deep appreciation of arts and was heavily involved in it, but also made me contemplate whether I could and would have gone further in the arts field. I know that this difficult question is not exclusive to me, and that several romantics and former artists, musicians, dancers, etc. all ask that.
2009년 9월 11일 금요일
Top 10 IR Movies
As many of you may know, I studied a fair share of International Relations in College. So I did a bit of brainstorming, and chose what I consider to be my top 10 IR movies. By an IR movie, I refer to a film that discusses central themes of IR directly, including war, identity, state, democracy, etc. Therefore, the Lord of the Rings may have certain elements that many IR students can relate to, but would not be considered an IR movie by my definition. Of course, every movie's classification as an IR movie would be up for debate, so feel free to discuss your thoughts. War movies are not IR movies because although the two are related, the scope of intersection is not large enough.
10. Children of Men (2006)
Children of Men is A fantastic film that depicts the chaos in a society where people are no longer fertile. In an era where circumstances are grim and nasty (perhaps quite similar to many parts of the world today), every actor has an interest of its own, and utilizes deception and violence to meet its ends. This runs parallel to societies without a legitimate state dominating the rule of law, showing a dog-eat-dog view of the world. The movie shows a modern, or even a futuristic Hobbesian world, but this should not be confused with the Hobbesian solution to such society.
9. Jarhead (2005)
How has war changed in the post Cold War setting? Well, this is indeed a difficult question, and the case of the Gulf War is by no means a prime example. Yet, I was struck by the agony of the soldiers not facing the warfare they were trained for. Instead of a head to head battle with the Iraqis, they were a secondary unit behind the air force, which did most of the bombings. I was constantly reminded of Jarhead when I was in the Korea Army Training Center. What's the use of all this training and physical exercise when thousands of bullets would only slightly wound one soldier while a F-16 jet would do most the work? Or to put it more bluntly, am I just a human shield with a purpose of receiving a flying bomb so that the same bomb would not cause civilian casualties? Jarhead poses questions that few IR scholars touch, the individual psychology in times of war.
8. Traffic (2000)
Traffic is a relevant film today even 9 years after its making. In fact, it would have been a relevant film 10 years ago, and would be 10 years later if status quo is maintained. The North American drug problem is a international issue that is much wider in scope that it seems to be, and Traffic shows this. The many facets of the drug problem show how a web of actors are stretched throughout the society, and are in fact more linked than they seem on surface. Traffic shows that the drug problem exists not only because of supply, but demand as well, and the demand side is not doing its share of the work. Much like the Jarhead, the investigation of individuals involved in this IR mess adds a bit of urgency and weight to the North American drug problem.
7. Charlie Wilson's War (2007)
As one IR scholar wrote on his blog (sorry but I forgot who it was), Charlie Wilson's War shows how things get done, and how they don't get done in Washington. Of the various subfields of IR, this film most closely resonates to the field of Foreign Policy. As a main foreign policy actor, the Charlie Wilson shows how he works with his domestic constituents (interest groups, millionaire, the Congress), as well as his foriegn constituents (foreign heads of states, militia leaders). Charlie Wilson's War also shows the irony of the War on Terror. The same weapons the US government provided, coupled with its lack of attention in the region, eventually became a significant support of Taliban.
6. Star Wars (various years)
Although the first set of Star Wars is far superior to the second set, the latter definately has a stronger IR taste. Star Wars shows a possible scenario of today's IR, except stars take place of states. I was particularly struck by the subplots on regime types: the rise of an Empire in a democratic setting, the evil nature of the Empire contrasted with a slow and inefficient democracy. Episode III, in particular, has several political overtones, as George Lucas is a well-known Democrat, and mocks the Bush administration by adopting its rhetoric to Anakin Skywalker ("if you're not with me, then you're my enemy").
5. JSA (2000)
JSA is a Korean film about four soldiers, two South Korean and two North Korean, who work as border patrol. Though law severely prohibits the interaction between the two sides, the four eventually becomes friends, crossing the "bridge of no return" to share snacks and jokes with each other deep in the night. Although the image of the four is indeed rosy, showing how people from two very different states can enjoy harmony, what is good does not last long. The fatal truth of the state's identity vis-a-vis the other not only separates them, but pushes them to the edge of their lives. Much like other select films in this list, humanity is the victim of state interests.
4. Battle in Seattle (2007)
A real minor film with a surprisingly well known cast, Battle in Seattle details of the 1997 protest against the WTO convention, and stretches it to the extremes. Battle in Seattle is an impressive IR film for two reasons. First, it shows a real possibility of Hardt and Negri's Multitude. Is this a truly democratic movement that counters what they call the Empire (state-corporate partnership dominated by the West)? At the same time, it poses several questions back to Hardt and Negri. The Multitude does not seem to be perfect, as they lack coherence and an organized set of rules on governance. The second reason is that it questions the validity of the End of History argument. If liberal democracy is the desired end state, then what explains the wide gap between the public and the government? This distance is a giant hurdle that all liberal democracies must be prepared to manage.
3. Lives of Others (2006)
One of the highlights of Lives of Others is the social decay that follows political decay. In the film, the audience sees a political system about to collapse. And in the midst of the collapse, we see a variety of human reactions. Some try to withhold it to the last minute, while some try to take full advantage of it. Some only care about love and wish to remain mostly outside of the political mess. Whatever his or her decision may be, the reality is that politics influences individual lives, and bigger the political mess, the people suffer.
2. Watchmen (2009)
My personal credits on Watchmen is more directed to the orginial writers of the graphic novel than the film itself, as the film is merely a parsimonious representation of the original work. I cannot say why Watchmen is #2 without giving away the ending so here it goes. In Watchmen, Veidt devises the perfect solution to the Cold War: the creation of the other. Although the Cold War is over, the question of overcoming differences between any two actirs in world politics is still an extremely relevant and significant issue. In IR, do actors intentionally otherize each other to gather support for certain ideals? Would actors create an imaginary other, just like Veidt did in Watchmen, to create harmony? Or, would the existence of aliens support the case of a world state?
1. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worry and Love the Bomb (1964)
To put it simply, Dr. Strangelove mocks the notion of mutually assured destruction (MAD), which was not only dominant throughout the Cold War, but was treated as a norm and mechanism of peace. Theorists and politicians both have claimed that the increated tension and the posibility of retaliation caused by nuclear weapons have prevented both the US and the Soviet Union from an all out war against each other. People's basic instinct toward such idea maybe one of confusement and disbelief, but after hearing a couple of these arguments, they may be persuaded. Dr. Strangelove, however, takes us back to this basic instinct, and questions the reliability, and even the sanity of the Cold War military doctrine.
10. Children of Men (2006)
Children of Men is A fantastic film that depicts the chaos in a society where people are no longer fertile. In an era where circumstances are grim and nasty (perhaps quite similar to many parts of the world today), every actor has an interest of its own, and utilizes deception and violence to meet its ends. This runs parallel to societies without a legitimate state dominating the rule of law, showing a dog-eat-dog view of the world. The movie shows a modern, or even a futuristic Hobbesian world, but this should not be confused with the Hobbesian solution to such society.
9. Jarhead (2005)
How has war changed in the post Cold War setting? Well, this is indeed a difficult question, and the case of the Gulf War is by no means a prime example. Yet, I was struck by the agony of the soldiers not facing the warfare they were trained for. Instead of a head to head battle with the Iraqis, they were a secondary unit behind the air force, which did most of the bombings. I was constantly reminded of Jarhead when I was in the Korea Army Training Center. What's the use of all this training and physical exercise when thousands of bullets would only slightly wound one soldier while a F-16 jet would do most the work? Or to put it more bluntly, am I just a human shield with a purpose of receiving a flying bomb so that the same bomb would not cause civilian casualties? Jarhead poses questions that few IR scholars touch, the individual psychology in times of war.
8. Traffic (2000)
Traffic is a relevant film today even 9 years after its making. In fact, it would have been a relevant film 10 years ago, and would be 10 years later if status quo is maintained. The North American drug problem is a international issue that is much wider in scope that it seems to be, and Traffic shows this. The many facets of the drug problem show how a web of actors are stretched throughout the society, and are in fact more linked than they seem on surface. Traffic shows that the drug problem exists not only because of supply, but demand as well, and the demand side is not doing its share of the work. Much like the Jarhead, the investigation of individuals involved in this IR mess adds a bit of urgency and weight to the North American drug problem.
7. Charlie Wilson's War (2007)
As one IR scholar wrote on his blog (sorry but I forgot who it was), Charlie Wilson's War shows how things get done, and how they don't get done in Washington. Of the various subfields of IR, this film most closely resonates to the field of Foreign Policy. As a main foreign policy actor, the Charlie Wilson shows how he works with his domestic constituents (interest groups, millionaire, the Congress), as well as his foriegn constituents (foreign heads of states, militia leaders). Charlie Wilson's War also shows the irony of the War on Terror. The same weapons the US government provided, coupled with its lack of attention in the region, eventually became a significant support of Taliban.
6. Star Wars (various years)
Although the first set of Star Wars is far superior to the second set, the latter definately has a stronger IR taste. Star Wars shows a possible scenario of today's IR, except stars take place of states. I was particularly struck by the subplots on regime types: the rise of an Empire in a democratic setting, the evil nature of the Empire contrasted with a slow and inefficient democracy. Episode III, in particular, has several political overtones, as George Lucas is a well-known Democrat, and mocks the Bush administration by adopting its rhetoric to Anakin Skywalker ("if you're not with me, then you're my enemy").
5. JSA (2000)
JSA is a Korean film about four soldiers, two South Korean and two North Korean, who work as border patrol. Though law severely prohibits the interaction between the two sides, the four eventually becomes friends, crossing the "bridge of no return" to share snacks and jokes with each other deep in the night. Although the image of the four is indeed rosy, showing how people from two very different states can enjoy harmony, what is good does not last long. The fatal truth of the state's identity vis-a-vis the other not only separates them, but pushes them to the edge of their lives. Much like other select films in this list, humanity is the victim of state interests.
4. Battle in Seattle (2007)
A real minor film with a surprisingly well known cast, Battle in Seattle details of the 1997 protest against the WTO convention, and stretches it to the extremes. Battle in Seattle is an impressive IR film for two reasons. First, it shows a real possibility of Hardt and Negri's Multitude. Is this a truly democratic movement that counters what they call the Empire (state-corporate partnership dominated by the West)? At the same time, it poses several questions back to Hardt and Negri. The Multitude does not seem to be perfect, as they lack coherence and an organized set of rules on governance. The second reason is that it questions the validity of the End of History argument. If liberal democracy is the desired end state, then what explains the wide gap between the public and the government? This distance is a giant hurdle that all liberal democracies must be prepared to manage.
3. Lives of Others (2006)
One of the highlights of Lives of Others is the social decay that follows political decay. In the film, the audience sees a political system about to collapse. And in the midst of the collapse, we see a variety of human reactions. Some try to withhold it to the last minute, while some try to take full advantage of it. Some only care about love and wish to remain mostly outside of the political mess. Whatever his or her decision may be, the reality is that politics influences individual lives, and bigger the political mess, the people suffer.
2. Watchmen (2009)
My personal credits on Watchmen is more directed to the orginial writers of the graphic novel than the film itself, as the film is merely a parsimonious representation of the original work. I cannot say why Watchmen is #2 without giving away the ending so here it goes. In Watchmen, Veidt devises the perfect solution to the Cold War: the creation of the other. Although the Cold War is over, the question of overcoming differences between any two actirs in world politics is still an extremely relevant and significant issue. In IR, do actors intentionally otherize each other to gather support for certain ideals? Would actors create an imaginary other, just like Veidt did in Watchmen, to create harmony? Or, would the existence of aliens support the case of a world state?
1. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worry and Love the Bomb (1964)
To put it simply, Dr. Strangelove mocks the notion of mutually assured destruction (MAD), which was not only dominant throughout the Cold War, but was treated as a norm and mechanism of peace. Theorists and politicians both have claimed that the increated tension and the posibility of retaliation caused by nuclear weapons have prevented both the US and the Soviet Union from an all out war against each other. People's basic instinct toward such idea maybe one of confusement and disbelief, but after hearing a couple of these arguments, they may be persuaded. Dr. Strangelove, however, takes us back to this basic instinct, and questions the reliability, and even the sanity of the Cold War military doctrine.
2009년 7월 29일 수요일
Movie Poster Mash-ups
Recently, I came across a number of movie poster mash-ups, and picked a couple of my favorites from the pile to share.
2009년 7월 19일 일요일
Orientalism, not Lost in Translation
One of the most thought provoking books I have read in college is Orientalism, by Edward Said. I must admit that while I did understand the general arguments of Said, I had difficulty following some parts, and am unable to explain many of them. Yet, the book did teach me an important lesson: the West has historically imagined and constructed an image of the Orient (or the Middle East) and continually does so today. In an interview, Said mentions the reaction to the Oklahoma City bombing in the mid 90s as a prime example of this. Although the terrorist attacks were conducted by two Americans, the media and the government at first speculated that the terrorists must have been of Arab origin.
Today afternoon, I was flipping channels on the tv and found a case of Orientalism, Korean style. OCN, a popular cable movie channel was showing Spielberg's "War of the Worlds," and a short scence in that terrible movie caught my attention. In the scence, Tom Cruise's character just found about the aliens, and was fleeing the city with his family.
Tom Cruise: we have to get out of here
Son: what's going on? who's doing all this? the terrorists?
And at that moment when the son said "the terrorists," the Korean subtitle showed "the Arab people." I had a sudden wtf moment, and was shocked by the Orientalism moment. I have no doubt that translating the terrorists literally would have been just fine for the Korean audience. While I do not know whether this translation was the same one in the theaters, this translation is disgusting.
The improper association of the Arab people and terrorists are rife in the entertainment industry (think 24), yet by no means does this justify it. I am sure there are other cases of Orientalism, perhaps even more flagrant than this, but they have got to stop.
Today afternoon, I was flipping channels on the tv and found a case of Orientalism, Korean style. OCN, a popular cable movie channel was showing Spielberg's "War of the Worlds," and a short scence in that terrible movie caught my attention. In the scence, Tom Cruise's character just found about the aliens, and was fleeing the city with his family.
Tom Cruise: we have to get out of here
Son: what's going on? who's doing all this? the terrorists?
And at that moment when the son said "the terrorists," the Korean subtitle showed "the Arab people." I had a sudden wtf moment, and was shocked by the Orientalism moment. I have no doubt that translating the terrorists literally would have been just fine for the Korean audience. While I do not know whether this translation was the same one in the theaters, this translation is disgusting.
The improper association of the Arab people and terrorists are rife in the entertainment industry (think 24), yet by no means does this justify it. I am sure there are other cases of Orientalism, perhaps even more flagrant than this, but they have got to stop.
2009년 7월 10일 금요일
Pan's Labyrinth: Rediscovering the Inner Child
This entry has a spoiler
Whenever someone asks me what my favorite movie is, I first have a short moment of hesitation. "The Hours, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, the Lives of Others..." My mind begins an inner journey of deciding the one favorite movie. As I realize that answering this question would take forever, I wake myself up from this daydreaming, and notice that I have to answer the question. Nine out of ten I say Pan's Labyrinth, and I say this out of convenience, for the sake of the conversation. But at the same time, it's indeed not too far from being my favorite. And to answer the obvious follow up question "why?" I say that it made me rediscover my inner child. Although it sounds cliched, I did say this out of sincerety, and spontaneously as well.
In Pan's Labyrinth, there is a distinct clash between the child and the adults. The two, although living in the same world, see it very differently. The first includes a faun, a labyrinth, a toad that lives under a tree, and countless other mystic creatures. This world, of course, has the usual elements of the adult world, including family, war, and male chauvanism.
The audience's adult initial inclination (the movie, afterall, is rated R), is to reject Ofelia's world as pure fantasy. The child is reading too many books. She's imagining too much. She is doing all the adventures by herself, and no one can stand witness to her endeavors. Yet, this dies down, because it is the same attitude of the adults in the movie. It is the same frame of mind that is portrayed as insensitive, ignorant, and even sinister. And with the death of the general, the audience sees the demise of the adult arrogance. Instead, the inner child awakens inside the audience, or at least it happened to me. I began to remember how it felt to be a child, what it meant to believe in, or at least imagine, a fantasy. And although this spark of emotion did not last very long, it was a truly an amazing feeling.
So to the main question: is Ofelia's fantasy a reality or an imagination? Some clues definately show that it definately is an imagination. Towards the end, we see that only Ofelia can see the faun, and no one else. Also, in the final scene where Ofelia meets the queen and the king, we see that the queen is in fact Ofelia's dead mother. Only in Ofelia's mind could the queen in her novel turn into her own mother.
Yet, I am inclined to say that it is reality. Although rational thinking or an attempt of objective thinking says otherwise, the inner child inside me keeps saying that it is. Perhaps it's my somewhat desperate and unreasonable attempt to keep my child-like characters, but I'm going to let my inner child speak on this matter. Every adult was once a child, and that child believed in fantasies. The fantasies may have been a companion to a lonely child who did not fit in with his peers. They may have been a source of comfort to a child suffering from her violent family members. Or, they may have just been exciting daydreams that are just so natural for and so common to any child. In the moment of intense fantasizing, it is difficult to separate reality and fantasy, and the fantasy is in many ways a continuation of life. Although it has fictional elements, the its role in the child's life is indeed non-fictional.
There are indeed other notable themes of the film, but I find this to be the most noticeable and worthy of discussion.
Without a doubt, 4 out of 4.
2009년 1월 29일 목요일
Top Ten of 2008
Unfortunately, my job is not a film critic, and I was unable to see all the movies that I wanted to in 2008. Nevertheless, here is my top 10 movies of 2008. This isn't what I consider to be the ten "best" movies are. The critics do that plenty. This is the list of my favorite movies of 2008, based on my memory of how much I enjoyed the movie. Please feel to comment on the list, and I will read it a couple of times and mostly disagree with you.
1. The Class (Entre les Murs)
2. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
3. Be Kind Rewind
4. Dark Knight
5. Slumdog Millionaire
6. In Bruges
7. JCVD
8. Iron Man
9. Milk
10. Gran Torino
Here are some of the movies that did not make the cut:
We own the night
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
The Reader
The Wrestler
Wall E
Penelope
Frost/Nixon
Tropic Thunder
Smart People
Get Smart
vicky christina barcelona
Ghost Town
Quantun of Solace
Wanted
Australia
Pineapple Express
Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull
Hancock
Cronicles of Narnia
Vantage Point
Burn after Reading
The Other Boleyn Girl
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
revolutionary road
man on wire
Che
I wish I had seen the following movies:
let the right one in
synedoche, new york
Waltz with Bashir
4months, 3 weeks, 2 days
Changeling
W.
And lastly, the worst movie of the year:
Vantage Point, by far.
An absolute trash. Perhaps garbage has more use in the world than this film. I feel guilty of even feeling curious about the movie before I watched it.
1. The Class (Entre les Murs)
2. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
3. Be Kind Rewind
4. Dark Knight
5. Slumdog Millionaire
6. In Bruges
7. JCVD
8. Iron Man
9. Milk
10. Gran Torino
Here are some of the movies that did not make the cut:
We own the night
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
The Reader
The Wrestler
Wall E
Penelope
Frost/Nixon
Tropic Thunder
Smart People
Get Smart
vicky christina barcelona
Ghost Town
Quantun of Solace
Wanted
Australia
Pineapple Express
Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull
Hancock
Cronicles of Narnia
Vantage Point
Burn after Reading
The Other Boleyn Girl
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
revolutionary road
man on wire
Che
I wish I had seen the following movies:
let the right one in
synedoche, new york
Waltz with Bashir
4months, 3 weeks, 2 days
Changeling
W.
And lastly, the worst movie of the year:
Vantage Point, by far.
An absolute trash. Perhaps garbage has more use in the world than this film. I feel guilty of even feeling curious about the movie before I watched it.
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