That's not film making!
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
I'm working at the moment on a contract in Canary Wharf. At lunchtimes I pay a visit to the closest branch of the chain of newsagents that permeate the retail areas. They're called News on the Wharf. It is a peculiarity of the Canary Wharf Estate management that they offer retail space only to outlets of well-know stores or to start-ups willing to create a localised chain.
Anyway, today while I was buying my copy of The Scotsman (to keep up to speed on all the news about Hearts and the Scottish rugby and football teams) and the Morning Star (to get a daily dose of left-wing outrage at Blair and Bush) I browsed the music and film sections. Now, I'm a lapsed Sight & Sound subscriber and ex-BFI member so I'm not new to film magazines or the peculiar aura of self-importance that can surround film critics and film criticism. However, I was astonished to see just how many magazines are out there to cater to, well, to whom? As films continue to shed credibility and expertise in everything but technical proficiency it would appear that the market for talking about film has grown in parallel. The only swathe of magazines on the shelves to match the film glossies in number are those so-called men's magazines which differentiate themselves one from the other only by the colour of hair and the pose of the naked woman on the front cover. The pose in question, needless to say, involves the placing of hands or knees or some sports implement or item of food in such a way as to hide nipples or pubic hair. God forbid we should mistake these magazines for pornography. At least the top shelf magazines don't pretend to be anything other than manuals for the one-handed.
Back to films. Is it a coincidence that as technology plays an increasing part in the making of mainstream cinema that it is animated films that seem to garner the most plaudits? Is it a coincidence that it precisely because those films - like Shrek, The Incredibles, and Wallace and Gromit - create characters and decent storylines which mask the technology that their appeal is so widespread?
That's my Wednesday afternoon rant complete. Do I feel better? No. It makes me want to go and watch a great film. Like Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Look out for the special effects.
Anyway, today while I was buying my copy of The Scotsman (to keep up to speed on all the news about Hearts and the Scottish rugby and football teams) and the Morning Star (to get a daily dose of left-wing outrage at Blair and Bush) I browsed the music and film sections. Now, I'm a lapsed Sight & Sound subscriber and ex-BFI member so I'm not new to film magazines or the peculiar aura of self-importance that can surround film critics and film criticism. However, I was astonished to see just how many magazines are out there to cater to, well, to whom? As films continue to shed credibility and expertise in everything but technical proficiency it would appear that the market for talking about film has grown in parallel. The only swathe of magazines on the shelves to match the film glossies in number are those so-called men's magazines which differentiate themselves one from the other only by the colour of hair and the pose of the naked woman on the front cover. The pose in question, needless to say, involves the placing of hands or knees or some sports implement or item of food in such a way as to hide nipples or pubic hair. God forbid we should mistake these magazines for pornography. At least the top shelf magazines don't pretend to be anything other than manuals for the one-handed.
Back to films. Is it a coincidence that as technology plays an increasing part in the making of mainstream cinema that it is animated films that seem to garner the most plaudits? Is it a coincidence that it precisely because those films - like Shrek, The Incredibles, and Wallace and Gromit - create characters and decent storylines which mask the technology that their appeal is so widespread?
That's my Wednesday afternoon rant complete. Do I feel better? No. It makes me want to go and watch a great film. Like Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Look out for the special effects.
