movie review: zodiac
what i really, really, wanted to be up until my sophmore year in under
graduate was to be a film critic. ha! what a miserable fucking life
that is. i laugh now when i think about it. unless if you're an
independent musician type, it's wholly feasible to record and release
your own record, whereas, if you want to do the same as an independent
filmmaker you need some serious scratch.
my favorite film critic of all time was ucsd's own manny farber.
farber coined the term "termite art" in his famous 1962 essay "Termite
Art v. White Elephant Art."
Here is the wiki quote:
In an essay originally published in 1962, he eloquently champions the
B film and under-appreciated auteurs, which he felt were able,
termite-like, to burrow into a topic. Bloated, pretentious, white
elephant art lacks the economy of expression found in the greatest
works of termite art.
"Termite-tapeworm-fungus-moss art," Farber contends, "goes always
forward eating its own boundaries, and, like as not, leaves nothing in
its path other than the signs of eager, industrious, unkempt
activity."
- Manny Farber Wiki
Sound familiar? His writing kind of influenced my whole attitude
towards the production of art. Anyway- I bring this up in reference to
the new David Fincher movie "Zodiac". It's about the Zodiac killer,
sort of. It's more about the culture of the time (60s, 70s, 80s Bay
Area) and about the obsessions of professionals and amateurs in
pursuit of a cipher.
It struck me (and the Nathan Lee, the film critic for the Village
Voice) as a perfect example of termite art. You should go see it-
ladies- don't worry- it's not that scary. Creepy- yes. But not that
scary. There are no scenes of torture or anything like that.
If you are looking to read a classic text on film criticsm- check out:
Farber, Manny (1998). Negative Space: Manny Farber on the Movies,
Expanded Edition. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80829-3.
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