TVM, I have been reading your wonderful posts for the last two months. Due to a pre move, move and post move activities from our home of 43 years, I haven’t had the time to put my thoughts down in a coherent way. Your posts have been a welcome escape from the chaos. I may not have been posting my thoughts, but I just wanted you to know how much your posts have meant to me. I continue to learn things and have really enjoyed the video examples. Keep posting and I’ll keep reading. From a devoted reader, thank you!!
And oh, that's sounds really tough. Moving out of your home of 43 years...I can't even imagine what that's like. Both physically stressful and emotionally difficult. Oh, man. Glad you found a little distraction from that around here.
I've just come home from a brief stint in hospital, was supposed to recuperate at home and have now discovered that I've apparently caught Covid (most likely at the hospital). Great, just great, I can tell you. And of course, I have now infected everyone around me and am feeling pretty crappy myself. Ugh.
So, in a sense, I'm using this blog as a bit of a distraction right now, too. Perhaps I'll get some writing done while home sick. (Or perhaps I'll just sleep through the whole week.XD)
Ooh, this is such an exciting thing to learn about! But first, your examples of theme and rheme made me grin from ear to ear, haha. I dare say we got the beginning of that story we begged for, and how slyly your presented it, just stoking our curiosity even further - touché!
And then, what‘s happening that you brought up both Matt Bomer AND my favourite James Bond film - meaning the only one I ever really cared about, but Lord, did I care a whole lot about it! And I never realized there was a water metaphor, because when I watched it, or other Bond films, I wasn’t aware of its existence at all. And now I‘m thinking of Vesper Lynd drowning in her emotions! As for Matt Bomer, please tell me if you were thinking of Fellow Travellers or this White Collar series he‘s apparently in that I never even heard about until I became a fan just last week since watching that heartwrenching epic that is Fellow Travellers. Oh my heart. It‘s actually what kept me from reading this post for a few days, because I had to grasp at every straw of undisturbed time to keep watching that series. And of course now I jumped back to Hawkins‘ character establishing moment mid-article to see if he, too, was introduced with his back to the camera, and lo and behold, he SO was. That‘s such good stuff, I‘m so amazed! And also, conveniently, so easy to spot, LOL. I feel like I was just handed a magic wand! I‘m not even finished with your lovely article yet, but wanted to write this down before I forget what I wanted to say because too many aspects accumulated that I wanted to comment on. I‘m sure I, like probably every attentive viewer, did feel that distrust when a character is introduced with their back to us viewers, but I was never aware of it, and so it wasn‘t intellectually available knowledge to work with. And now it is:-)!
Speaking of Fellow Travellers, I was too consumed with it to really apply the tools I learned, I must admit to my shame. I guess a rewatch would help, but I don‘t think I can for now😳. But maybe, maybe this would be stuff for this sweet blog here, too?
Tell you what: You watch 'White Collar', and I write you something about it over the summer holidays. Deal?:-)
Because I've once had a really weird and somewhat funny conversation about that show with someone, and I'm kinda really itching to write about that, anyway. I should have some time off in late August, I think, and I will have some time to write it, then. I hope. (After the horrible, awful, no-good July of the term paper flood has come and hopefully gone. Good Lord...)
Which reminds me...I still have a lot of requests that I keep semi-forgetting about and then misremembering: You asked about the crocodile case on 'Harrow' (is that correct?). And somebody asked more specifics about the colour red on 'Young Royals', but I don't remember if that was you or someone else?
Oh, and yeah, Bond has a very, very elaborate 'water' metaphor. Much more than 'Young Royals', and it develops it much further and much better than 'Young Royals', too.
Anyway, thank you for your lovely comment.
P.S. Oh, and yeah, 'White Collar' has a totally ridiculous and funny subtext (mirrors galore, metaphors, the whole thing). Some of it is absurdly in-your-face, some a bit better hidden.
Look here, I think this clip compilation has the infamous 'sculpting scene', for example. I've timestamped it:
We're meant to understand that the protagonist (played by Matt Bomer) is sculpting a sculpture in this scene. But he is doing so shirtless because...well, just because! Shirtless sculpting – that's totally a thing. Yeah! That's how it's done. Every sculptor works shirtless. I sculpt shirtless, don't you know. You probably do. Totally legit.
And the way they lit the scene is just so ridiculous, too. Like...we're supposed to watch him sculpt the sculpture, but actually we're watching the cameraman and the lighting designer sculpt Matt Bomer's half-naked body. (No complaints from me here.) At the 4:56 minute mark, there's even a subtle little tilt shot up his throat. Here: https://youtu.be/Nc067v1CbNg?t=296
There isn't even another character in that room with him. (That's why I didn't include it in the post about the sexual gaze.) There is no other character gazing at him here. So, this tilt shot up his throat is just the cameraman perving out on Matt Bomer for a bit (again, no complaints from me:P).
I think that 'sculpting scene' about sums it up: That's the show, and that's how ridiculous it is. But I can't say it's not amusing.XD
I think the whole point of the show is to put Matt Bomer's body in a well-tailored Devore suit and have him lecture us about how to forge a Raphael painting or some Egyptian relief with a straight face while the cameraman is salivating over the fact that Bomer just bend over as he picked up a brush or a chisel. In other words, a harmless, lighthearted and rather enjoyable romp.:D
Deal, absolutely - you just confirmed my suspicions about Matt Bomer‘s role in that series, and what can I say, that was a sell😂! I won‘t manage all of those seasons, though. I kind of have some books I want to read, too, alas! Would one season suffice until August? And well, who knows, maybe I‘ll get sucked in anyway and watch more, like, during lunch break while working from home (not that I ever do that, cough cough! But, you know, just in theory).
And yes, I asked about the corocodile case on Harrow, along with some others😀. I‘d still love to read about it, too. The question about the colour red wasn‘t mine, though.
I do hope your August will bring on some free time for you! And now please excuse me, there are apparently some sculpting lessons I need to watch!
Oh my goodness, this is really so absolutely ridiculous! Now I wonder if my suggesting to my husband that we watch this show was a good idea😂😬. It seems kind of transparent, oops! Guess I‘m not gonna repeat that suggestion😂!
Nah, no worries. This show is absolutely husband-worthy, I promise. There's nothing in it that would make him blush or you cringe. He'll think he's watching a perfectly heterosexual show...and I'll tell you why he's wrong later on, if you want.:D
And you'll learn a lot about money-printing, forging paintings, forging signatures, etc. In other words, the really useful stuff in life.XD
So, now I finished your article, and that was such another jewel of information at the end! Now I wonder, are shots from above comparable to shots from the side like the one Wilhelm is introduced with? I also hate to admit this, but I forgot what the scene of Wilhelm throwing up was actually mirroring - oh no! I‘m wracking my brain now… But you summed up that crucial element of an interesting story and character so well with that - the capacity for bad and evil, yes! What an important ingredient for making a character compelling to begin with.
Thank you, loved it as usual. I feel grateful for all the technical parts that I would not know where to learn about otherwise because I was not even aware they were a thing, existed etc.
I knew but am now much more aware of the vast amount of movies I know next to nothing about. I hope I will take the time to watch them one day
About Matt Bomer, I used to not like his acting, to think of him as a superb eye candy but with little presence and on-screen charisma but it's shifting. In his last works, it's getting better and he's growing on me.
As for the partly half-forgotten requests, I also would like to know if apart from the "red" color", there are other colors that are meaningful in YR or elsewhere. And yes, if you wanted to elaborate later (the arts reference etc. being precious), it's a full yes.
About Harrow, I don't particularly want to dive in the crocodile part if time is scarce, I would rather have another post on a meaningful movie like one of the Great Gatsby's movies, or The Talented Mr. Ripley etc. Or the movie you once talked about, you started teasing us about it (the one where two men tangoed together, you linked us some videos). I kind of guessed what movie it was about, due to one comment, but it does not mean I am right (it could be another movie), and, I would really like to have your take or analysis on it. I loved the post on Jongens after all.
And last, welcome back TLC. Happy to see you back !
Oh, I totally agree on Matt Bomer: Superficial, so-so actor. Okay-ish, but certainly not great. (His tiny part in the otherwise meh 'Maestro' movie recently was good, though. He nailed that one. But yeah, otherwise rather superficial.)
But hey, if he can be a superficial actor, who says I can't be a superficial viewer? :P
I'm in bed with a fever right now, so I'm not really good at catching nuanced performances, anyway. But nice, uhm, visuals are nice visuals – even when you're doped up on meds and staring at the screen all snotty and blurry-eyed.:D
Thank you. You know that's actually a good idea. Will send my better half to buy some. Some vitamins are probably a good idea at this point. Because my glorious explanation that I urgently need to disinfect my throat with a glass of wine didn't exactly fly around here...XD
As someone who had hardly seen him in anything before watching Fellow Travellers, I have to say here that he really did a stellar job in that mini-series. He was definitely not so-so there, he delivered this complex character with depth and grace.
Just back to this excellent post after a two week silent retreat (and someone tested positive for covid) so we were all masked. Damn virus. So sorry to hear you are sick.
Watched all of High Noon. What an astonishing film !!!!! The lighting was surreal, all the actors were sweating heavily (California heat? Deliberate?). And the bad guy with his back to the camera for a long time, a really long time. The whole film felt...ominous; sweating, stark lighting, all the characters disappearing. Altho Grace Kelly comes out a shoots one of the bad guys and then faints, like you do. And clocks everywhere. What a feast. More of this please!
Carry on recovering. Sending you a cool hand on your hot brow.
-a Fan
PS, I've been here a year, according to Substack. Wow.
Oh, wow. A silent retreat. I could never do that. (Personality-wise. Ahem.XD) Wow!
And yeah, 'High Noon' is great for learning all things cinematography. Though the next movie we're going to briefly touch upon is a bit more...colourful, shall we say? Like literally.
And here's to a full twelve months on here. *clinks glasses with you* Did substack actually tell you that? Because substack did not alert me at all to my own blog anniversary. No idea why not. It came and went in May, and I barely even noticed it. Substack didn't take note of it at all. Not even in one of those 'You've been with us for a year...' type of emails. How weird.
Yes, Substack told me my subscription was due to roll over...happy to renew. I think you started publishing before I discovered you but a year of your wonderful tutelage has gone by. What a cinematic year it has been. Interested to see what you bring us next. Still here for YR content and anything else...
Mildly random thought about why they specifically asked for the PE teacher’s actor to be Middle Eastern, could it be a reference to Captain Ahab from Moby Dick? Since there’s already subtext comparing Person X to him it might not be a massive stretch?
To continue the discussion of the PE teacher with you Molly, we once talked in our study group about how Ayub and Rosh were both probably of Middle Eastern descent (Inti who plays Ayub is actually Latino/Hispanic). We lamented that if X was likely of Middle Eastern descent how quite sad that Simons’s heart and mind characters were both represented by that ethnicity.
We have no actual problem against people of Middle Eastern descent to be sure.
However, the connection is too close. His heart and mind were both so consumed by that trauma that they were played by people representing that ethnicity. We could be totally wrong and we want to be for sure. It’s so awful to think about X having that much of an influence on Simon. 😖
It's certainly possible. But then, wouldn't we expect this to come up in connection with a direct reference to Moby Dick. Is the P.E. teacher perhaps wearing a t-shirt with a white whale on it in some scene or something? Otherwise it would be too vague, right?
I've finished writing the next post today, but it sits in my draft folder now, so far unedited. Proofreading and editing will take a few days (especially since I have to go back to work half-sick to a very angry dean and a true avalanche of work, ugh!).
Anyway...art is what awaits you. Also, a lovely other film that I'm sure most of you know (or at least a brief discussion thereof). But mainly 'Young Royals' and a lot of art.
Now, I only need some magic device that stretches time, so I can do everything at once. Oh, well...I'm sure we're all in dire need of that sometimes.XD
Isn't Simon's establishing scene done in two halves- the choir scene and then the locker stuff? Does this also tell us something about his character- morally ambiguous?
Yeah, I personally wouldn't categorize his first appearance on screen (at the church as he's singing) as a proper character establishing scene. (First appearances don't have to be character establishing scenes. A character can be established later on, for example.) Simon's character establishing scene is definitely split into several parts. At the church, his character isn't established properly. We just see him through Wilhelm's eyes.
Oh, what an excellent article! And it took me so long to sit down and read it.
Moving combined with a start in a new job in a field I never worked before was much more than I anticipated. So in between cleaning, organizing and work training I only managed to procrastinate on other things and observing the ceiling hoping that those other things will miraculously solve themselves. Not to mention that when the temperature rises above 25°C my body starts a hibernation process.
Anyway… This article was so informative and useful. I watched a show called Supacell the other day. Although it seemed to me as a bad variation on Misfits and you could tell from the start who is the uber evil in the show, I liked how she was introduced. We shortly see her face first through a window in a door as she walks in a room. Then we see her back as she shakes her hand with the patient. Then we see her smiling face in full for the first time as she is introduced to the patient. Then she sits on the hospital bed facing the patient and with back to the camera. Other 2 people are standing at each side of the bed, but we can see only her back. As they are talking the camera shifts from a close-up to her face to a wider shot with her back as if they want to say to us: Look she is so kind and nice but don’t be fooled by her appearance!
They even used this trope in a true crime documentaryI shortly checked if I wanted to watch it or not. Or maybe they showed the culprit’s back (impersonated by an actor) just because they wanted to point out how beautifully long and wavy his blond hair was? They talked about that damn hair way too long.
As someone who was never tested positive to covid I can’t imagine how bad you must have felt but I hope you are healthy by now.
Thank you. And yeah, it really is a very, very common film trope. (Obviously not every director chooses to do it in this way. Both 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' and the new 'Ripley' series on Netflix do not introduce Tom Ripley with his back to the camera, for example. So, it's not everywhere, but it's still fairly common.)
And thank you, I'm feeling a bit better now. But the neighbours across the street say they can still hear my better half coughing; that's how bad (and how loud) it is. It really isn't very pleasant.
TVM, I have been reading your wonderful posts for the last two months. Due to a pre move, move and post move activities from our home of 43 years, I haven’t had the time to put my thoughts down in a coherent way. Your posts have been a welcome escape from the chaos. I may not have been posting my thoughts, but I just wanted you to know how much your posts have meant to me. I continue to learn things and have really enjoyed the video examples. Keep posting and I’ll keep reading. From a devoted reader, thank you!!
Thank you. That's lovely to hear.
And oh, that's sounds really tough. Moving out of your home of 43 years...I can't even imagine what that's like. Both physically stressful and emotionally difficult. Oh, man. Glad you found a little distraction from that around here.
I've just come home from a brief stint in hospital, was supposed to recuperate at home and have now discovered that I've apparently caught Covid (most likely at the hospital). Great, just great, I can tell you. And of course, I have now infected everyone around me and am feeling pretty crappy myself. Ugh.
So, in a sense, I'm using this blog as a bit of a distraction right now, too. Perhaps I'll get some writing done while home sick. (Or perhaps I'll just sleep through the whole week.XD)
Oh no! That sucks. Get well soon!
Oh no!
Ooh, this is such an exciting thing to learn about! But first, your examples of theme and rheme made me grin from ear to ear, haha. I dare say we got the beginning of that story we begged for, and how slyly your presented it, just stoking our curiosity even further - touché!
And then, what‘s happening that you brought up both Matt Bomer AND my favourite James Bond film - meaning the only one I ever really cared about, but Lord, did I care a whole lot about it! And I never realized there was a water metaphor, because when I watched it, or other Bond films, I wasn’t aware of its existence at all. And now I‘m thinking of Vesper Lynd drowning in her emotions! As for Matt Bomer, please tell me if you were thinking of Fellow Travellers or this White Collar series he‘s apparently in that I never even heard about until I became a fan just last week since watching that heartwrenching epic that is Fellow Travellers. Oh my heart. It‘s actually what kept me from reading this post for a few days, because I had to grasp at every straw of undisturbed time to keep watching that series. And of course now I jumped back to Hawkins‘ character establishing moment mid-article to see if he, too, was introduced with his back to the camera, and lo and behold, he SO was. That‘s such good stuff, I‘m so amazed! And also, conveniently, so easy to spot, LOL. I feel like I was just handed a magic wand! I‘m not even finished with your lovely article yet, but wanted to write this down before I forget what I wanted to say because too many aspects accumulated that I wanted to comment on. I‘m sure I, like probably every attentive viewer, did feel that distrust when a character is introduced with their back to us viewers, but I was never aware of it, and so it wasn‘t intellectually available knowledge to work with. And now it is:-)!
Speaking of Fellow Travellers, I was too consumed with it to really apply the tools I learned, I must admit to my shame. I guess a rewatch would help, but I don‘t think I can for now😳. But maybe, maybe this would be stuff for this sweet blog here, too?
Tell you what: You watch 'White Collar', and I write you something about it over the summer holidays. Deal?:-)
Because I've once had a really weird and somewhat funny conversation about that show with someone, and I'm kinda really itching to write about that, anyway. I should have some time off in late August, I think, and I will have some time to write it, then. I hope. (After the horrible, awful, no-good July of the term paper flood has come and hopefully gone. Good Lord...)
Which reminds me...I still have a lot of requests that I keep semi-forgetting about and then misremembering: You asked about the crocodile case on 'Harrow' (is that correct?). And somebody asked more specifics about the colour red on 'Young Royals', but I don't remember if that was you or someone else?
Oh, and yeah, Bond has a very, very elaborate 'water' metaphor. Much more than 'Young Royals', and it develops it much further and much better than 'Young Royals', too.
Anyway, thank you for your lovely comment.
P.S. Oh, and yeah, 'White Collar' has a totally ridiculous and funny subtext (mirrors galore, metaphors, the whole thing). Some of it is absurdly in-your-face, some a bit better hidden.
Look here, I think this clip compilation has the infamous 'sculpting scene', for example. I've timestamped it:
https://youtu.be/Nc067v1CbNg?t=272
We're meant to understand that the protagonist (played by Matt Bomer) is sculpting a sculpture in this scene. But he is doing so shirtless because...well, just because! Shirtless sculpting – that's totally a thing. Yeah! That's how it's done. Every sculptor works shirtless. I sculpt shirtless, don't you know. You probably do. Totally legit.
And the way they lit the scene is just so ridiculous, too. Like...we're supposed to watch him sculpt the sculpture, but actually we're watching the cameraman and the lighting designer sculpt Matt Bomer's half-naked body. (No complaints from me here.) At the 4:56 minute mark, there's even a subtle little tilt shot up his throat. Here: https://youtu.be/Nc067v1CbNg?t=296
There isn't even another character in that room with him. (That's why I didn't include it in the post about the sexual gaze.) There is no other character gazing at him here. So, this tilt shot up his throat is just the cameraman perving out on Matt Bomer for a bit (again, no complaints from me:P).
I think that 'sculpting scene' about sums it up: That's the show, and that's how ridiculous it is. But I can't say it's not amusing.XD
I think the whole point of the show is to put Matt Bomer's body in a well-tailored Devore suit and have him lecture us about how to forge a Raphael painting or some Egyptian relief with a straight face while the cameraman is salivating over the fact that Bomer just bend over as he picked up a brush or a chisel. In other words, a harmless, lighthearted and rather enjoyable romp.:D
Deal, absolutely - you just confirmed my suspicions about Matt Bomer‘s role in that series, and what can I say, that was a sell😂! I won‘t manage all of those seasons, though. I kind of have some books I want to read, too, alas! Would one season suffice until August? And well, who knows, maybe I‘ll get sucked in anyway and watch more, like, during lunch break while working from home (not that I ever do that, cough cough! But, you know, just in theory).
And yes, I asked about the corocodile case on Harrow, along with some others😀. I‘d still love to read about it, too. The question about the colour red wasn‘t mine, though.
I do hope your August will bring on some free time for you! And now please excuse me, there are apparently some sculpting lessons I need to watch!
Oh my goodness, this is really so absolutely ridiculous! Now I wonder if my suggesting to my husband that we watch this show was a good idea😂😬. It seems kind of transparent, oops! Guess I‘m not gonna repeat that suggestion😂!
Nah, no worries. This show is absolutely husband-worthy, I promise. There's nothing in it that would make him blush or you cringe. He'll think he's watching a perfectly heterosexual show...and I'll tell you why he's wrong later on, if you want.:D
And you'll learn a lot about money-printing, forging paintings, forging signatures, etc. In other words, the really useful stuff in life.XD
Oh, I would love that😀!
Oh, then that‘s a green light! Let‘s see if he even takes me up on it. And who knows what the other stuff might be good for later in life😉!
So, now I finished your article, and that was such another jewel of information at the end! Now I wonder, are shots from above comparable to shots from the side like the one Wilhelm is introduced with? I also hate to admit this, but I forgot what the scene of Wilhelm throwing up was actually mirroring - oh no! I‘m wracking my brain now… But you summed up that crucial element of an interesting story and character so well with that - the capacity for bad and evil, yes! What an important ingredient for making a character compelling to begin with.
Lastly, I hope you‘re well again, not just hanging on with your fingernails, and thank you for this essay!
Thank you, loved it as usual. I feel grateful for all the technical parts that I would not know where to learn about otherwise because I was not even aware they were a thing, existed etc.
I knew but am now much more aware of the vast amount of movies I know next to nothing about. I hope I will take the time to watch them one day
About Matt Bomer, I used to not like his acting, to think of him as a superb eye candy but with little presence and on-screen charisma but it's shifting. In his last works, it's getting better and he's growing on me.
As for the partly half-forgotten requests, I also would like to know if apart from the "red" color", there are other colors that are meaningful in YR or elsewhere. And yes, if you wanted to elaborate later (the arts reference etc. being precious), it's a full yes.
About Harrow, I don't particularly want to dive in the crocodile part if time is scarce, I would rather have another post on a meaningful movie like one of the Great Gatsby's movies, or The Talented Mr. Ripley etc. Or the movie you once talked about, you started teasing us about it (the one where two men tangoed together, you linked us some videos). I kind of guessed what movie it was about, due to one comment, but it does not mean I am right (it could be another movie), and, I would really like to have your take or analysis on it. I loved the post on Jongens after all.
And last, welcome back TLC. Happy to see you back !
Oh, I totally agree on Matt Bomer: Superficial, so-so actor. Okay-ish, but certainly not great. (His tiny part in the otherwise meh 'Maestro' movie recently was good, though. He nailed that one. But yeah, otherwise rather superficial.)
But hey, if he can be a superficial actor, who says I can't be a superficial viewer? :P
I'm in bed with a fever right now, so I'm not really good at catching nuanced performances, anyway. But nice, uhm, visuals are nice visuals – even when you're doped up on meds and staring at the screen all snotty and blurry-eyed.:D
I send you virtual clementines to get better.
Thank you. You know that's actually a good idea. Will send my better half to buy some. Some vitamins are probably a good idea at this point. Because my glorious explanation that I urgently need to disinfect my throat with a glass of wine didn't exactly fly around here...XD
As someone who had hardly seen him in anything before watching Fellow Travellers, I have to say here that he really did a stellar job in that mini-series. He was definitely not so-so there, he delivered this complex character with depth and grace.
Just back to this excellent post after a two week silent retreat (and someone tested positive for covid) so we were all masked. Damn virus. So sorry to hear you are sick.
Watched all of High Noon. What an astonishing film !!!!! The lighting was surreal, all the actors were sweating heavily (California heat? Deliberate?). And the bad guy with his back to the camera for a long time, a really long time. The whole film felt...ominous; sweating, stark lighting, all the characters disappearing. Altho Grace Kelly comes out a shoots one of the bad guys and then faints, like you do. And clocks everywhere. What a feast. More of this please!
Carry on recovering. Sending you a cool hand on your hot brow.
-a Fan
PS, I've been here a year, according to Substack. Wow.
Oh, wow. A silent retreat. I could never do that. (Personality-wise. Ahem.XD) Wow!
And yeah, 'High Noon' is great for learning all things cinematography. Though the next movie we're going to briefly touch upon is a bit more...colourful, shall we say? Like literally.
And here's to a full twelve months on here. *clinks glasses with you* Did substack actually tell you that? Because substack did not alert me at all to my own blog anniversary. No idea why not. It came and went in May, and I barely even noticed it. Substack didn't take note of it at all. Not even in one of those 'You've been with us for a year...' type of emails. How weird.
Yes, Substack told me my subscription was due to roll over...happy to renew. I think you started publishing before I discovered you but a year of your wonderful tutelage has gone by. What a cinematic year it has been. Interested to see what you bring us next. Still here for YR content and anything else...
XO
Mildly random thought about why they specifically asked for the PE teacher’s actor to be Middle Eastern, could it be a reference to Captain Ahab from Moby Dick? Since there’s already subtext comparing Person X to him it might not be a massive stretch?
To continue the discussion of the PE teacher with you Molly, we once talked in our study group about how Ayub and Rosh were both probably of Middle Eastern descent (Inti who plays Ayub is actually Latino/Hispanic). We lamented that if X was likely of Middle Eastern descent how quite sad that Simons’s heart and mind characters were both represented by that ethnicity.
We have no actual problem against people of Middle Eastern descent to be sure.
However, the connection is too close. His heart and mind were both so consumed by that trauma that they were played by people representing that ethnicity. We could be totally wrong and we want to be for sure. It’s so awful to think about X having that much of an influence on Simon. 😖
It's certainly possible. But then, wouldn't we expect this to come up in connection with a direct reference to Moby Dick. Is the P.E. teacher perhaps wearing a t-shirt with a white whale on it in some scene or something? Otherwise it would be too vague, right?
Dear all,
Thank you all for your well-wishes!
I've finished writing the next post today, but it sits in my draft folder now, so far unedited. Proofreading and editing will take a few days (especially since I have to go back to work half-sick to a very angry dean and a true avalanche of work, ugh!).
Anyway...art is what awaits you. Also, a lovely other film that I'm sure most of you know (or at least a brief discussion thereof). But mainly 'Young Royals' and a lot of art.
Now, I only need some magic device that stretches time, so I can do everything at once. Oh, well...I'm sure we're all in dire need of that sometimes.XD
See you soon.
Yours,
tvmicroscope
Isn't Simon's establishing scene done in two halves- the choir scene and then the locker stuff? Does this also tell us something about his character- morally ambiguous?
Yeah, I personally wouldn't categorize his first appearance on screen (at the church as he's singing) as a proper character establishing scene. (First appearances don't have to be character establishing scenes. A character can be established later on, for example.) Simon's character establishing scene is definitely split into several parts. At the church, his character isn't established properly. We just see him through Wilhelm's eyes.
Oh, what an excellent article! And it took me so long to sit down and read it.
Moving combined with a start in a new job in a field I never worked before was much more than I anticipated. So in between cleaning, organizing and work training I only managed to procrastinate on other things and observing the ceiling hoping that those other things will miraculously solve themselves. Not to mention that when the temperature rises above 25°C my body starts a hibernation process.
Anyway… This article was so informative and useful. I watched a show called Supacell the other day. Although it seemed to me as a bad variation on Misfits and you could tell from the start who is the uber evil in the show, I liked how she was introduced. We shortly see her face first through a window in a door as she walks in a room. Then we see her back as she shakes her hand with the patient. Then we see her smiling face in full for the first time as she is introduced to the patient. Then she sits on the hospital bed facing the patient and with back to the camera. Other 2 people are standing at each side of the bed, but we can see only her back. As they are talking the camera shifts from a close-up to her face to a wider shot with her back as if they want to say to us: Look she is so kind and nice but don’t be fooled by her appearance!
They even used this trope in a true crime documentaryI shortly checked if I wanted to watch it or not. Or maybe they showed the culprit’s back (impersonated by an actor) just because they wanted to point out how beautifully long and wavy his blond hair was? They talked about that damn hair way too long.
As someone who was never tested positive to covid I can’t imagine how bad you must have felt but I hope you are healthy by now.
Thank you for this exciting post.
Thank you. And yeah, it really is a very, very common film trope. (Obviously not every director chooses to do it in this way. Both 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' and the new 'Ripley' series on Netflix do not introduce Tom Ripley with his back to the camera, for example. So, it's not everywhere, but it's still fairly common.)
And thank you, I'm feeling a bit better now. But the neighbours across the street say they can still hear my better half coughing; that's how bad (and how loud) it is. It really isn't very pleasant.
Oof, proofreading and editing finally done. Check. (And I'm officially dead now.)
I'll start the whole uploading process tomorrow, so you finally get a little bite around here. (Okay, a big bite, but still...took me far too long.)
The post is a trip of sorts. A trip we will take together, you and I.
See you soon, guys!