Extra Credit - Bradley Strickland

I really enjoy films that lean towards realism. I really enjoy first person narration, voyeurism, and “art that conceals art.” Jean Renior’s films are particularly great because he evokes realism to use film as a critique – a mirror of sorts. These films force deep questions on the audience because of how real the film and the characters appear to be. Often the subject hits close to home, leaving a lasting impact. Classical paradigm films are great escapes for me, but often they do not leave lasting impacts or force me to think about a particular question. Thus, I am not as likely to pay to see this on the big screen. I feel that I watch them and a few weeks later forget them (but I really enjoy older Walt Disney animation and Pixar films). I do enjoy films with particular political ideologies and intense emotional situations. The film, Sicko by Michael Moore, is one that exemplifies this. I also love nature documentaries. We can see real life things on the screen that we normally never would be able to. Often these are rare images that make me feel privileged and enlightened. However, I also enjoy more formalist movies as well. The film Hero directed by Yimou Zhang comes to mind. I marvel at the martial arts acrobatics that appear to be dances and the beautiful battles (hint of perversity) that are full of colors. This film emphasizes the visual rhetoric to tell the story (which has a very complex and convoluted plot line). Though you can see it in Realism, distortion, exaggeration, and blending of illusion and reality is much more common in Formalism. For some reason I really enjoy this. I value each type of film in different situations and I feel each is necessary for a particular subject.

In summary, Realism is useful to critique society and systems (though it can be very discrete and quite about it). Often Formalism can do the same critique but is more convoluted and confusing in its approach, which can lead to misinterpretation or an overlook. Classical films can provide us with sometimes needed escapes from the pressures of real world and reality.

However, there are certain types of films I cannot stand, particularly pure avant-garde films. They do not provide an escape for me and often lead me feeling like I have wasted time. I cannot stand watching Belson's films or swirling images and computer graphics. I also do not enjoy films that are overly gory horror films.

There are certain stars that I would go see a movie for like Anthony Hopkins (personality star) and Tom Hanks (actor star). I must admit that often I do not even know the director of a particular movie. However, I really enjoy Tarantino and Clint Eastwood as directors and would go see a film solely because they directed it. Often for me it is the subject that will convince me to go see a movie. I enjoy gangster movies particularly (American Gangster and Road to Perdition). I know it is weird, but I think, as a society, as individuals, we enjoy a hint of seeing things we would not do or people we could not become (1930s and 1980s gangsters). I also really enjoy musicals (Chicago and The Producers). I think this is because I enjoy music so much.