Dissertation: Research

"Even though these films are secular (save The Rapture) in their depiction of the End, their reactionary, often hysterical vision of moral dissolution ironically makes Hollywood's version not far from the dire predictions contained in a 1958 World Wide Church of God tract: "Science, technology and industry are producing more and more frightful weapons of mass destruction. Already they have produced the means to erase human life from the earth! Meanwhile, immorality, crime, violence, poverty, sickness and disease, famine and starvation stalk the earth, in fast-increasing acceleration.""


"While the notion of world's end figured in a thousand-year span is rooted in Biblical record, which prophesies a future epoch of a thousand years ending in a battle and final judgement, the moral landscape of these films is indebted to a similar Christian fundamentalist thinking. The end of the world in many of these films of the literal apocalypse is a chance for reaffirming family values and pitting America as promised land, against a threatening, but ultimately impotent foreign assassin."
---- 2012 - reaffirms family values. Jackson Curtis saves his wife, her husband and his children from the apocalypse and regains their respect and trust, winning them back (after the new husband has died) and they look to the future as a family once again.
---- Independence day, America is the promised land, other countries wait for America to do something to save the world. They show british army men exclaiming 'at last' when it is announced that America are forming a plan. The aliens are the foreign assassin and are proved impotent.

" In films of the moral apocalypse, society's crumbling is so absolute and inescapable, so ingrained in the modern psyche, the idea of transcendence seems ludicrous."
---- Very much true of Melancholia. The idea of attempting to stop the apocalypse isn't even mentioned or touched upon. It is merely accepted that it will happen and Justine welcomes it. To her, the end of the world is her transcendence.

Dissertation: Independence Day

Independence Day keeps cropping up in my research. For me, it isn't the best representation of the apocalyptic sublime in film and is more of a America is great film.

In this film the threat of the End of the World is an alien invasion. They have come to 'exterminate' the human race and drain the earth of it's natural resources before moving on to the next planet. They successfully wipe out a few cities.

As with a lot of these films, the threat is discovered by a scientist who does his best to infiltrate the white house and let everyone know (2012, Day After Tomorrow)... Perhaps it just Roland Emmerich...

I don't know if I would be able to write much about this film in my dissertation, there's no direct comparison to art work of the 17/1800's to discuss the apocalyptic sublime with.

Even now I am struggling to find something to say about it. I will read a bit more about it and update this blog later.


" In films of the moral and psychological apocalypse, there is no one enemy--an asteroid or, in Cronenberg's eXistenZ, an army of bad guys to escape, because the enemy is us. Many of these films have a clinical, aloof approach to their material that often hides deep angst and longing. But their failure to offer remedies, or even the typical, soothing Hollywood panacea of "closure" often make them seem nastier and more heartless than they are. By the same token, it's the triumphant victories of man over nature in the literal apocalypse film which give them a veneer of positive, redemptive values. "

Melancholia is a psychological apocalypse film where as Independence day is literal.

Dissertation: Melancholia

Melancholia is a weird film about... Melancholia by Lars Von Trier.
It follows the melancholia of Justine and her sister and at the same time a planet called Melancholia is threatening the planet.

The film starts with an arty slow motion prologue which is meant to reflect Justine's melancholic thoughts and visions of what will happen. The first half is named after Justine as it is dedicated to her. It begins with her wedding where she suddenly falls into depression. She wants so desperately to be normal and have a happy married life but her melancholia holds her back. Her family try to help her and it is hinted at that her melancholic state is learnt from her mother.
I got a bit confused here because she had sex with a young intern on the lawn, in her wedding dress, and argues with her boss and decides against marriage... after she is married... And her husband and all the guests leave...

And clearly depressed she begs her father to stay, which he agrees to do but then leaves anyway having left her a note.............
Confused!

In the beginning Justine is scared and expresses it but as the film develops and the planet draws closer, she calms and her fear subsides while claire's fear increases and she panics when she knows the world will end.

Claire wants to save justine but Justine doesn't want to be saved. Claire gets more and more desperate because she can't save her sister from depression and she can't change that Melancholia will hit earth. She has no control.

The sisters change roles as they get closer to the apocalypse. Claire is not used to having anxieties so breaks down. The catastrophe makes the melancholic happy because when it's over it will be ok.

These are some notes I made when watching the special features about the film.

"Melancholy is not only an illness.. She is also the patronness of creativity. Alone and desperate amongst all those discrete objects.. she will discover an order." Frank Kermode.
This is about the durer painting Melancholia.

Dissertation: Research Tip

Hello all

I have 2 books from the Short Cuts series for my dissertation. I also read a review on Art Full Text about one "Disaster Movies: The cinema of catastrophe". In the review it said the bibliography was very useful and annotated so I went to the back of the book and oh my is this useful!

If you need to expand your reading on your subject, check out a book's bibliography. Not only does it provide useful books completely relevant to your subject but there will be books that are on topics around your subject that you can draw ideas and quotes from. It has journals and articles as well as books.

I now have 3 post its full of books and articles to find. Not only on film but on nature and art and philosophy, all of which will be very useful to my dissertation and the subject I am covering!

Dissertation: Trying to get a move on

So I have been reading... Slowly. but not taking notes.

I didn't really understand how... or what to note. But I have spoken to friend who has already handed hers in and she gave me some tips on note taking. I need a dissertation note book. My notes so far are getting lost among Pre-production notes.

So the note taking begins! And I am hoping to get lots done in preparation for our next tutorials. I really want to do well on this and I was very excited about my subject after our last tutorial.

I think I will need to re-learn how to write academically.

Dissertation: Slow start

So since the last Dissertation tutorial I haven't really made any headway as I have been pre-occupied with the pitch preparation. I have however started reading and I now know what the Sublime is.

I feel confident that I will get enough work done for the next tutorial, now that the pitch is out of the way I think I will be able to balance the two units better.

I am also really looking forward to getting started.

Dissertation: Subject decisions

So during the christmas holidays I was stuck for ideas until I saw a documentary about teenage nudists. Then I thought I might explore how body image is represented in the media and how it influences our ideas of the perfect body.

During the past week I have been trying to read up on this subject to narrow down my focus but I found that I didn't understand the theory. And after trying to work out some potential questions, realised I didn't find it very interesting.

So after a tutorial with Chris today, we focussed on my interests. I had found a book called "Film Art" by David Bordwell/ Kristin Thompson. Which focuses more on the aesthetic qualities of film rather than the heavy theory side (which I have always found difficult to understand). I think looking through this book will help me move my idea more towards the art side. I have always enjoyed art theory and writing art essays so I am going to try and veer my dissertation that way. So I will be look at aesthetics of film and after discussing with Chris my future ambitions to work on massive blockbuster action movies with loads of special effects (even if just once) he mentioned the Sublime and Romanticism. And we discussed disaster movies. So I will be researching these things, looking through my old art history notes to find what I learnt about the sublime or romanticism and applying theory to disaster movies. Once I have a read a bit more about each aspect I think I will be able to word what I am doing much better so you (and I) actually understand it!