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In Theory Issue 2
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In Theory
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Written by Sarah Grace Stevenson
On July 15th of this year, a film critic named Nathan Rabin published an article titled, “I’m Sorry for Coining the Phrase ‘Manic Pixie Dream Girl.’” The opening tagline captures the lamentable premise: “In 2007, I invented the term in a review. Then I watched in queasy disbelief as it seemed to take over pop culture.” After many months of absorbing myself in this A.V. Club[1] writer’s conception, seeing this article was aggravating. Long before the 15th of July, my investigation had quickly led me to conclude that Rabin’s term is valuable, and he should feel no need to say sorry for presenting the idea of the “Manic Pixie Dream Girl.” The analysis to follow will untangle audience responses to this modern linguistic invention, as well as elucidate the inherent complexity of dialogues about one-dimensionality. From the beginning, an underlying goal of this study was to argue why Rabin’s term is profound despite culture’s deficient assessment; my objective has now intensified, as I take issue with Rabin's compulsion to retract his statements and offer an apology.
On July 15th of this year, a film critic named Nathan Rabin published an article titled, “I’m Sorry for Coining the Phrase ‘Manic Pixie Dream Girl.’” The opening tagline captures the lamentable premise: “In 2007, I invented the term in a review. Then I watched in queasy disbelief as it seemed to take over pop culture.” After many months of absorbing myself in this A.V. Club[1] writer’s conception, seeing this article was aggravating. Long before the 15th of July, my investigation had quickly led me to conclude that Rabin’s term is valuable, and he should feel no need to say sorry for presenting the idea of the “Manic Pixie Dream Girl.” The analysis to follow will untangle audience responses to this modern linguistic invention, as well as elucidate the inherent complexity of dialogues about one-dimensionality. From the beginning, an underlying goal of this study was to argue why Rabin’s term is profound despite culture’s deficient assessment; my objective has now intensified, as I take issue with Rabin's compulsion to retract his statements and offer an apology.
Real Time and New Wave Heritage: Richard Linklater's Before Trilogy
In 2013, director Richard Linklater completed one of the most compelling and innovative trilogies to ever be released, the Before trilogy---consisting of Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004), and Before Midnight (2013). The trilogy, which stars Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, centers around the lives of two strangers, an American man (Jesse, played by Hawke) and a French woman (Celine, played by Delpy), who initially meet on a train bound for Vienna. The trilogy brilliantly follows these two characters through the duration of 18 years, focusing on their relationship, along with their extensive talks about their trials and their Generation X. The trilogy uses Real Time (meaning the plot and story directly follows the length of the actual film) and has direct influences from the French New Wave. See what exactly these influences are and how director Linklater managed to create one of the most aesthetically impressive trilogies in film history.
Edison & Company: A Tribute to Cinematic Magicians
Four groups of Messiah College students in Fabrizio Cilento's Film History class collaborated to produce a series of short films in homage of another early innovator in filmmaking: Thomas Edison. In this collaborative project, students experience the process of crafting a "magic show" using moving images, and discovered the brilliance of the storytelling and editing techniques conceived by the pioneers of the art form.
Still Alive: Phoenixville Remembers The Blob at Blobfest
The Blob is still alive. After fifty five years of attempting to freeze the amorphous monster, The Blob still provokes audiences in Phoenixville, PA to run out of the theater in fright.
Laughter as a Menacing Motif in Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master
By Sarah Stevenson, Jake Dore, Max Sacra, Michael Hoffman, Caroline Phillips, and Noah Sheir
Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams deliver mesmerizing and unnerving performances in The Master, exhibiting the dynamic struggle for control. Under P.T. Anderson’s direction, we find comedic elements within the acting and subject matter while still cognizant of the verbal and behavioral eeriness, and this creates a distinctive uneasiness as we grapple with the complexity of the characters.
Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams deliver mesmerizing and unnerving performances in The Master, exhibiting the dynamic struggle for control. Under P.T. Anderson’s direction, we find comedic elements within the acting and subject matter while still cognizant of the verbal and behavioral eeriness, and this creates a distinctive uneasiness as we grapple with the complexity of the characters.
Ageless: The Film Careers of Amour’s Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva
By Scott Orris
Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva are back. The critically acclaimed actors of Michael Heneke’s 2013 Academy Award winning film Amour have successfully reemerged as stars in their eighties. Trintignant 82, who is best known for roles in films such as; A Man and a Woman, (Claude Lelouch, 1966) The Conformist (Benardo Bertolucci, 1970), and Red (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1994) has not appeared in a film since Janis and John, (Samuel Benchetrit, 2003). Riva 86, (the oldest Academy Award nominee for best actress) who’s role as Elle in Hiroshima, mon amour (Alain Resnais, 1959) won her international recognition, has recently been in Le Skylab (Julie Delpy, 2011) and Can’t Say No (Iliana Lolitch, 2009). Debuting in 1956 and 1959 respectively, Trintignant and Riva’s parallel rise to stardom, was due to their instinctive ability to portray emotionally complex characters in several influential films of the French New Wave.
Argo: Orientalism, Globalization & the Sci-Fi Phenomenon of the 70’s
By Rolando Vega, Serena Dixon, Emma Huntington, and Ashley Wood-Tiner
How did Argo (Affleck, 2012) storm the awards season this year and rise to win Best Film at the Academy Awards? Was it the true to life events it depicted within its scenes? Or was it the unique core of the film that revolved around a sci-fi film within a film wrapped up in a suspense/thriller? One can be sure that it didn’t win because of its adherence to the real events that inspired the film.
Looper: Closing the Loop
By Heidi Sheppard, Nathaniel Nene Mendoza, Rebecca George, Robert Strimboulis, and William Martel
At first glance Looper (Rian Johnson, 2012) appears to be a typical science fiction film. Whether it be the floating motorbikes or the time travel, it would be easy to assume that the main purpose and drive behind Looper is merely the spectacle of the extraordinary. However, unlike many science fiction films Looper uses the genre as a vehicle allowing the audience to explore deeper psychological messages, which address what it means to be an original, and how our actions affect our future.
At first glance Looper (Rian Johnson, 2012) appears to be a typical science fiction film. Whether it be the floating motorbikes or the time travel, it would be easy to assume that the main purpose and drive behind Looper is merely the spectacle of the extraordinary. However, unlike many science fiction films Looper uses the genre as a vehicle allowing the audience to explore deeper psychological messages, which address what it means to be an original, and how our actions affect our future.
Moon: Reevaluating Reality
By Kyle Kull
Reality is not easy to explain, yet Duncan Jones created Moon (Duncan Jones, 2009) to try to define the term. The story takes us through the short life of a clone named Sam Bell and the conflict he faces when his identical clone appears on the space station that was previously only inhabited by Sam. Both clones deal with the question of reality by evaluating the world in which they reside. This plotline, along with the time setting of the film and Jones’ use of the miniatures, help answer the problem of actuality. In the end, we understand that reality lies in the beliefs of the people involved.
The Fear of Disappearing
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Children of Men:
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WALL-E: For All Ages, For the Ages
By Huy Nguyen
Imagine yourself being in a group of friends who organize movie nights every weekend. It's your turn to host this week and, being the hardcore animation fan that you are, without any hesitation you decide to pick WALL-E (Andrew Stanton, 2008) for the movie night. Your friends arrive at your place with excitement, until they learn of what they're in for. The boys laugh at you and tell you to grow up; the ladies are a little bit nicer, but you can tell they definitely aren't impressed. The show must go on, however, so your friends reluctantly honor your decision and begin to watch the TV screen as a trash-collecting robot appears. Ninety-eight minutes later, you have successfully added new members toyour animation fan group.
District 9:
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Minority Report:
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Changing the Magic Trick:
The Prestige and its Roots in Steampunk
By David Wingert
The Prestige (Christopher Nolan, 2006) is a clear example of the steampunk genre in films. The story takes place during the Victorian era and deals with matters of the machine, both its usage and what it could mean for the individual artist or the “magician” who uses it. As the careers of Robert Angier and Alfred Borden progress, these matters of the steam-powered machine remain at the forefront. This is a time where originality is weakening and steam powered machines are growing.
Exit Through the Gift Shop:
How the Existence of New Media Affects the ‘Existencilism’ of Street Art
In Banksy’s 2010 film, Exit Through the Gift Shop, the renowned street artist allows the audience to experience the interworking of the underground street art culture. Part of the allure of film is the visibility it gives to the underground street art culture: the mysteriousness, the shadows, the secrecy, the illegality, and the pseudonyms. Audiences tap into a realm that is unknown or, at most, only whispered about. Exit Through the Gift Shop not only explores the draw of the underground culture but also how easily it can be tainted with fame and exposure in the mainstream. It takes very little for an underground movement to be spoiled and, like photos being processed in a darkroom, the art of the underground is damaged once it is brought into the light.
Digital Storytelling Project: This is Italy.
At the heart of every journey, there are foods, landscapes, art and lifestyles. Follow our journey into the warm and beautiful culture of Italy as we explore the Tuscan life through these four distinct aspects. All footage was taken from students in Messiah College's May 2012 Italy Cross-Cultural course: Italian Cityscapes.
Catfish: The Untold Story of Facebook
Social networks are changing human interactions in a way that was previously inconceivable. Our ideas of friendships, romantic relationships, privacy, and even our own identities are transforming through our use of New Media technology. In the film Catfish (2010, Joosh and Schulman), the protagonists are faced with such issues as they traverse the frontier of online relationships. They quickly learn that people often aren’t how they portray themselves on Facebook, something that I have also found to be true. The film raises questions about the importance of an ethical use of social networks and the implications that can follow when used for other intentions. Catfish reveals the complicated nature of Internet relations and gives us a glimpse into our increasingly computer-mediated futures.
"Come and Dream with Me"
Hugo: Nostalgia for the Origins of Cinema
Hugo (2011) is a modern yet nostalgic Martin Scorsese (1942 - ) adventure film, following a young boy and girl in early 1930s Paris as they try to solve the mystery of George Méliès (1861-1938), the innovative film genius. Before displaying his surviving fantastical films, the French filmmaker tells his audience, “My friends, I address you all tonight as you truly are; wizards, mermaids, travelers, adventurers, magicians... Come and dream with me.” The 84th Academy Awards ceremony seemed to beckon its audience to do the same; it invited us to savor the magic of cinema, for it was a festival of nostalgia, honoring films that pay tribute to the early days of movie making and spectatorship.
A Legacy Intertwined:
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Explosive Beginnings:
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Pixar: Bringing the Pixel to Life
Pixar Animation Studios has a short history compared to most other Hollywood motion picture studios. Despite its short existence, Pixar has established itself as an industry leader in CGI and completely digital animated feature films. We’ve decided to take a deeper look at the impact that Pixar has had on the industrial and economic history of animated film.
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a Digital Humanities Initiative
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