Category: Media Studies

A Comparison between Human Sex by LaLaLa Human Steps & Smoke by Mats Ek

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Human Sex by LaLaLa Human Steps is a wonderfully choreographed and precisely executed dance performance. The piece is a celebration of love with all the interdependencies between the lovers. It brims with optimism and energy, colorfully portraying the physicality of love and ecstasy. The two dancers largely conform to gender stereotypes, whereby, the male dancer exhibits more energy and strength, while the female dancer excels in grace and swiftness. But the performance is punctuated with deliberate role reversals which serve to abstract the concept of gender from biological identification. There are women-on-top maneuvers that suggest female sexual prowess. In one movement, the entire weight of the male performer is borne by the female dancer’s back.

The other notable feature of this LaLaLa classic is how punk-rock music was adapted to a modern dance genre. This is a bold and novel innovation by the group, consistent with their reputation for originality and unique style. . . . Read More

Avatar: Story telling in the tradition of the legend

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Avatar is a multi-faceted film with rich scope for interpretation and analysis. It could also be fitted into various story-telling traditions like oral, folk tale, legend, etc. While the plot development and cinematic exposition lend themselves to association with any story-telling format, it is most easily related to the traditions of legend. The rest of this essay will elaborate on this view.

One of the remarkable qualities of Avatar is its grand narrative scale. The story and the numerous participant characters combine to make it quite an epic. Oral traditions normally convey supernatural beliefs and anecdotes. Likewise, folk tales are most conducive to short moral or humorous tales. But for epic battles and profound victories, the format of the legend is the most similar. Avatar’s celebration of heroism makes it equal to the tradition of legendary tales.

And there is plenty of elements and events in the film that support claims of its legendary status. For . . . Read More

Shutter Island (2009): Relevance to Nursing

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The film Shutter Islands holds value for students of psychology, psychiatry and nursing for its portrayal of complex mental illness. The film should be evaluated separately on two counts – first, its entertainment value and second, its relevance to the medical profession. Obviously, the parameters used for the respective evaluations are different. In my view, the film is highly impressive in both these counts. But this essay will focus on the second aspect, and argue that the film is full of key insights into the pathology of delusion and the range of therapeutic approaches in dealing with it.

Firstly, director Scorsese intertwines war-induced mental trauma of Teddy Daniels with personal tragedy of Andrew Laeddis. This compounds the confusion for the audience, but also adds a political dimension to what is an exposition on psychiatric illness. Toward the end of the film it is unveiled how the whole of the Shutter Island is a set up to play along the illusions of Andrew . . . Read More

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Elements of Film Thinking: Touch of Evil (1958)

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Despite the film not being Welles’ best work, one could see his trademark style throughout. At the same time Welles’ forte is his experimentation and spontaneous innovation. As a result, the film retains Welles’ fingerprints without adopting previously tried techniques. This is true of both the narrative and cinematographic styles. This essay will argue that Touch of Evil is a triumph of style and technique.

Touch of Evil was promoted as a crime-thriller. However, viewing it in its entirety, it is fair to claim that the film overlaps several genres. For example, there are obvious film noir characteristics, most notably in the visualization of shots. Long shadows, angled lighting on characters, dingy settings, the suggestions of secrecy through mise-en-scene all testify to the film noir spirit. Moreover, the pivotal plot element of a murder (through bomb detonation) is consistent with the genre. While the cinematography is novel in this fashion, the core themes of the . . . Read More

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Critical Review: James Bond film Golden Eye

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James Bond movies are a total entertainment package. They contain action, suspense and an element of romance. In the film Golden Eye, all these elements are very well integrated into a cohesive and coherent plot. Two features have particularly caught my attention. These are its charismatic hero and well laid out plot.

Pierce Brosnan fits perfectly as the lead character. He is charming, handsome and carries himself with a sense of style.

Brosnan’s acting too deserves credit, for playing James Bond is a unique challenge. Not since Sean Connery has a Bond actor captured the imagination of the audience in this fashion. Brosnan brings his own natural personality to bear upon the role of the savvy sophisticated spy.

From spinning around in his favourite Aston Martin to ordering his drink in the inimitable style, Brosnan carries out trademark Bond sequences with grace. The inevitable ‘Bond…James Bond’ dialogue was delivered to great effect.
Ever since Ian . . . Read More

Propaganda Analysis: Apparatus of Lies – Saddam’s Disinformation and Propaganda (1990-2003)

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Almost every theoretical type of propaganda was employed by Saddam Hussein. Some of the prominent types are agitation, white, black and vertical propaganda. As the example of mass funeral of dead babies illustrates, Saddam intended to appeal to the emotions of the audience, circumventing deliberation on fact and logic. It served to agitate the minds of sympathizers and rally them behind his cause.

Vertical propaganda is identified with government missives given to international press, which were full of exaggeration and fabrication of facts and events. For example, Saddam perpetrated misinformation about how American missiles targeted hospitals and civilian areas. This was dictated to journalists in a top-down fashion. After the media carried these dubious official stories without cross-checking facts, it was disseminated horizontally among Iraqi citizens as well as abroad.

There are also instances of misattribution of sources (black) as well as intended ambiguity with . . . Read More

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History of Art through its major exponents: Matisse, Wassily Kandinsy, Otto Dix, Marcel Duchamp, Salvador Dali and Max Ernst

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1. BBC Matisse
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APaXLXAVkmQ
Matisse was an artist who followed a rigorous work ethic. This is true even toward the fag-end of his career, when he conceived and created his monumental chapel. It is ironic that his architecture should garner such popularity, when for most part of his career he gained fame as a painter. He was not a believer in Christianity, or any other religion, for that matter. Yet, as a token of gratitude for a Christian nun who took care of him during his convalescence, Matisse set upon this final artistic work. The chapel he built was unconventional in many ways. Symbolic scultures were preferred over regular iconography. Instead of murals and frescos, huge translucent sheets of window panes were chosen as mediums of art. In these, using brilliant combination of colors and patterns, Matisse was able to invoke an atmosphere of optimism and regeneration within the enclosed space.

2. Wassily . . . Read More

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Serotonin by Michel Houellebecq: A brief review

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Michel Houellebecq has the distinction of being the best known contemporary French litterateur across the globe. Houellebecq had never hesitated to call a spade a spade in his works of art, be it his novels or poems. The latest offering Serotonin is almost prophetic in that it deals with a phenomenon in France that is topical at the time of release of the book. We are talking about the Yellow Vest protests that have rocked France towards the end of 2018. Houellebecq could not have anticipated such events unfolding so as to coincide with the release of the book. But the fact of this coincidence nevertheless gives more context and urgency to the central themes of the book. The decision by the author to not give interviews or have media interactions in the lead up to the publication has heightened intrigue among French literature aficionados as well as followers across the rest of the world. The French government’s bestowing of Legion d’honneur (the . . . Read More

How do Amélie and Ikiru glean the meaning of life from within?

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Both the films, Amelie and Ikiru, are in essence about individuals. The characters of Amélie Poulain and Kanji Watanabe negotiate and overcome their share of life’s travails. But there is great variation with respect to the nature and complexion of their challenges. Amélie’s life was not as precarious and grave as Watanabe’s was poised toward the end of his life. Hence the standards applied to evaluating their qualities will have to be adjusted accordingly. Watanabe finds himself in an imposing and impossible situation, where he feels betrayed by his family, his work as well as his failing health. Amélie’s issues are that of loneliness and longing for love. Both the protagonists eventually succeed in overcoming the hurdles and finding meaning in their lives. They do so by looking within and unearthing solutions from the depths of their souls. This essay will elaborate on this thesis.

In Amélie, we have a fresh-faced young woman who finds joys in small pleasures of . . . Read More

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Reflection on Slingshot! An American Hot Rod Foundation Film

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The 30 minute documentary film on the early years of drag racing is concise and yet informative. The film begins by proclaiming how men have always competed for feats of speed, starting with horse-back races to later automobiles. It shows how drag racing came into being on the back of advancements in automobile technology and a booming American economy. I learnt there are many aspects to drag racing, prominently the commercial and technological facets to the sport. What follows is my response to the short documentary.

I learnt the reasons why Hotroders in the 40s and early 50s acquired a negative image. This is due to the twin hazard posed by them – that toward pedestrian passersby and that toward themselves. Indeed, statistics of Hotrod accidents during this time bears out the high number of casualties (some of which fatal) that the sport engendered. In my view, the documentary underplays this dark side of drag racing. If the annals of the sport’s history are anything to . . . Read More