Today: film studies day!
I'm gonna try and get through a topic an hour - yes, I've not really done any work for it yet, but I do have an excuse. While revision is surely better than no revision, well, if I do no work for Entertainment Cultures I'm screwed. Whereas talking about film - that's what I do. I could pass and do OK if you'd asked me to sit this three weeks ago. So it's not exactly top priority compared to Entertainment Cultures which I could concieviably fail. Take a look at my schedule:
10.30 - genre
11.30 - stardom
12.30 - performance
1.30 - gender and sexuality
2.30 - women's cinema
3.30 - national/transnational cinema
Then I break to actually watch a film. I'm tossing up between L.A. Confidential, Morocco (Marlene Dietrich, for stardom), La Haine (for realism), Watermelon Woman (from women's cinema, but also cos the premise is fascinating) or All about my Mother (Spanish cinema, but I've been meaning to watch it for years). Swiss Cottage library will probably determine this.
I'm cutting auteur theory. We have to answer on two subjects, so I figure I can safely ignore one of the modules entirely. Our auteur was Lars Von Trier, and I don't really feel like studying him.
So tune in every few HOURS for an updated rant on each of the topics above.
Last night, I dreamed about Apocalypse Now and The A-Team, which was pleasanter than you'd expect. There's a damn great piece of scholarship which needs to be written about The A-Team...for now, I'm going to note three observations. 1) B.A.'s fear of flying is surely a post 'Nam thing? 2) Murdoch IS nuts. But not quite as nuts as he pretends to be. Some of his comments are rather Hamlet-esque. 3) You know, dumping Face and Amy together every single week is not going to work, because it's a Boys On A Mission/Buddy Movie show where women have no value, and romance does not exist except in a manly-platonic way within the team. So stop it!!
Any more comments before the hard slog begins? Not really, except Steve Hackett is causing me trouble. I've been listening to Please Don't Touch, which many regard as his finest album. I certainly like it a lot. The problem is "Icarus Ascending" and the title track. The album notes suggest:
Which is something I do, everytime I play the album and everyone is out of the house. But we've got a loud sound system, so generally I do have to sit in another room, which isn't so hardcore. This leaves me with problems listening to it in Hamstead Gaol, with us all packed in room by room by cell by cell by two by two, because I can't go up to 11. I can't even go to 5. But I'm only used to it played SO LOUD YOU CAN'T THINK ANYTHING; quietly, it's like a different song. Maybe I should start listening to a different Hackett album...interesting trivia, my guitar - Steve - is named after Mr Hackett. So now you know.
I'm gonna try and get through a topic an hour - yes, I've not really done any work for it yet, but I do have an excuse. While revision is surely better than no revision, well, if I do no work for Entertainment Cultures I'm screwed. Whereas talking about film - that's what I do. I could pass and do OK if you'd asked me to sit this three weeks ago. So it's not exactly top priority compared to Entertainment Cultures which I could concieviably fail. Take a look at my schedule:
10.30 - genre
11.30 - stardom
12.30 - performance
1.30 - gender and sexuality
2.30 - women's cinema
3.30 - national/transnational cinema
Then I break to actually watch a film. I'm tossing up between L.A. Confidential, Morocco (Marlene Dietrich, for stardom), La Haine (for realism), Watermelon Woman (from women's cinema, but also cos the premise is fascinating) or All about my Mother (Spanish cinema, but I've been meaning to watch it for years). Swiss Cottage library will probably determine this.
I'm cutting auteur theory. We have to answer on two subjects, so I figure I can safely ignore one of the modules entirely. Our auteur was Lars Von Trier, and I don't really feel like studying him.
So tune in every few HOURS for an updated rant on each of the topics above.
Last night, I dreamed about Apocalypse Now and The A-Team, which was pleasanter than you'd expect. There's a damn great piece of scholarship which needs to be written about The A-Team...for now, I'm going to note three observations. 1) B.A.'s fear of flying is surely a post 'Nam thing? 2) Murdoch IS nuts. But not quite as nuts as he pretends to be. Some of his comments are rather Hamlet-esque. 3) You know, dumping Face and Amy together every single week is not going to work, because it's a Boys On A Mission/Buddy Movie show where women have no value, and romance does not exist except in a manly-platonic way within the team. So stop it!!
Any more comments before the hard slog begins? Not really, except Steve Hackett is causing me trouble. I've been listening to Please Don't Touch, which many regard as his finest album. I certainly like it a lot. The problem is "Icarus Ascending" and the title track. The album notes suggest:
'For maximum effect, this track should be listened to as loudly as possible with
as much treble and bass as your system can muster - not to be played to people
with heart conditions or those in severely hallucinogenous states of mind'.
Which is something I do, everytime I play the album and everyone is out of the house. But we've got a loud sound system, so generally I do have to sit in another room, which isn't so hardcore. This leaves me with problems listening to it in Hamstead Gaol, with us all packed in room by room by cell by cell by two by two, because I can't go up to 11. I can't even go to 5. But I'm only used to it played SO LOUD YOU CAN'T THINK ANYTHING; quietly, it's like a different song. Maybe I should start listening to a different Hackett album...interesting trivia, my guitar - Steve - is named after Mr Hackett. So now you know.
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