The Pillars of Paulettism I & II; or, Who needs theory? I do
Jeremiah Kipp's interview with blog-hater Charles Taylor on Matt Zoller Seitz's blog has sparked yet more hee-hawing about Mission to Mars, as well as giving me somewhat more interesting things to think about. For now let me sketch two of the Pillars of Paulettism: "pop" and "culture".
"Pop" is taken as much much better than "not pop", because it's democratic and because it's fun. It can be kiss-kiss or bang-bang, as long as it isn't at odds with secular humanism (the ground beneath the Pillars, a given.)
"Culture" means artists and critics have a responsibility to relate the artwork to the wider world. It's not just a horror film, it's a horror film about what it means to be alive at a particular point in time and space! Kael, though, would never have put it so pretentiously.
In summary, there's more to life than movies! I just wish the rest of it was as exciting as Band of Outsiders!
***
I don't get the whole "death of film culture" vibe at all. Maybe it's youth. But I have no problem finding a hundred new releases to see every year, and I like half of them. And there's no shortage of good writing on these movies if you know where to look (hint: the sidebar). The complaints seem to be a chorus of "Oh, why can't I find a soulmate who appreciates the genius of Apichatpong Weerasethakul as much as I do?" (Don't look at me, I think he's merely extremely gifted.)
***
Other news: Wellspring is ending its distribution business. Fuck. And the Voice is falling apart. (I'm less worried about the NY Press falling apart because they've been doing so forever.)
"Pop" is taken as much much better than "not pop", because it's democratic and because it's fun. It can be kiss-kiss or bang-bang, as long as it isn't at odds with secular humanism (the ground beneath the Pillars, a given.)
"Culture" means artists and critics have a responsibility to relate the artwork to the wider world. It's not just a horror film, it's a horror film about what it means to be alive at a particular point in time and space! Kael, though, would never have put it so pretentiously.
In summary, there's more to life than movies! I just wish the rest of it was as exciting as Band of Outsiders!
***
I don't get the whole "death of film culture" vibe at all. Maybe it's youth. But I have no problem finding a hundred new releases to see every year, and I like half of them. And there's no shortage of good writing on these movies if you know where to look (hint: the sidebar). The complaints seem to be a chorus of "Oh, why can't I find a soulmate who appreciates the genius of Apichatpong Weerasethakul as much as I do?" (Don't look at me, I think he's merely extremely gifted.)
***
Other news: Wellspring is ending its distribution business. Fuck. And the Voice is falling apart. (I'm less worried about the NY Press falling apart because they've been doing so forever.)
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