PLEASE CRITICIZE RIP ME A NEW ONE
A short video essay on the theme of masculinity in the Big Lebowski and Pulp Fiction. WATCH UNTIL THE BIG LEBOWSKI. I wanted to do these films because I wanted to do a similar film with seemingly funny dialogue but some serious themes. I made a few mistakes (such as calling it The "Great" Lebwoski) and broad statements during the documentary, but that's what I take from the film.
First off, I really liked your documentary. It was really thoughtful and intricate in your analysis. It was especially impressive at how you were able to stand on point that these two films play largely on masculinity and the importance of dominance, success, and wealth to the male culture. I have already seen several articles on the topic of masculinity in these two films (mostly off of cracked.com) but I love how you you had mentioned the scene with Marcellus and Bruce (something that I had forgotten) was gave that large impact on the movie with this faceless power figure being raped and stripped of every piece of power he had and then how Bruce had chosen the sword over the other weapons because of honor. Your film language was spot on. It was great that you had been able to point out the importance of lines during the scene between The Dude and the millionaire. That really gave insight to the director's reason for comparing the two and how the costumes and setting complimented the main theme on masculinity. The only problem I felt was that it seemed like you still had more to say but weren't able to fully discuss everything you wanted to. At least inside your video and the way you had inefficiently cut certain pieces of dialogue, it felt as if you were going to continue on a certain topic but diverged. Maybe that was more of an organizational issue or just an issue on your ability to condense your words into a way to fully express your main points. The topic was going into great detail and it was in depth and intricate, but there was just that issue that took away from the overall product.
ReplyDeleteVery insightful documentary for starters, to start the visuals and scenes you used in your project were just about always related to what you were saying at the time. A good example of this sort of match up is when you were describing the angles used in the scene where Jackson is leaning over the man he is interrogating while playing the scene. Your voice-over is well done, it was slightly humorous while also being insightful and entertaining, I was not bored by the piece, although the skipping was far more noticeable in some parts then others it's well done;props.
ReplyDeleteLastly the research question on masculinity relates perfectly to these two films as the characters are written to be the classic masculine dominant men that quite a lot of films portray, but as you stated they aren't perfect, and not only do they know it, it makes them insecure. Very nice piece.
The scope of your documentary was specifically focused on the recurring theme of masculinity in reference to two classic films, Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction and Joel and Ethan Coen’s The Big Lebowski. You definitely made it clear by breaking down your research question through the analyzation of certain scenes from the films that truly emulate this theme and additionally going in depth on the elements that demonstrate the concept of masculinity. For example, I found it interesting how you could find small items and elements of Pulp Fiction such as the hamburgers and the suits, which represent one’s manhood and how, when eaten or taken off, it could symbolize the deterioration of masculinity. The way you structured your documentary was very organized and easy to follow due to the way it flowed. You separately analyzed each film and the way they demonstrate your research question as well as explaining how they reflect and compliment each other. Not only did you use proper and correct film language, but your delivery in terms of tone made the documentary much more intriguing. I enjoyed how you used a wide range of clips from each movie which allows your audience to stay focused and made it easy to follow your commentary in each film.
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