gregor
@mothwater.bsky.social
For me, it's an irritant that I think keeps people from reflecting on some larger notions of art that are badly needed again. So I guess I end up becoming a bit of an irritant myself in trying to push for different aesthetic considerations. Like going beyond 'great' artists to ideas of art itself.
November 16, 2025 at 1:07 AM
For me, it's an irritant that I think keeps people from reflecting on some larger notions of art that are badly needed again. So I guess I end up becoming a bit of an irritant myself in trying to push for different aesthetic considerations. Like going beyond 'great' artists to ideas of art itself.
Yes, there was a useful element in the very basic claims of the politique that was understood as responding to the situation of French cinema, but they aware of the limitations as well, to varying degrees. Bazin never took much to the grander auteur concept & Godard saw it via production practices.
November 16, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Yes, there was a useful element in the very basic claims of the politique that was understood as responding to the situation of French cinema, but they aware of the limitations as well, to varying degrees. Bazin never took much to the grander auteur concept & Godard saw it via production practices.
Essentially, once an artist's work is recognizable by name, to whatever group, they are effectively understood as an 'author' of sorts, but in films, people want to have authors and favored authors (auteurs) without added effort in differentiation beyond liked/disliked, so it's mostly a naming game.
November 16, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Essentially, once an artist's work is recognizable by name, to whatever group, they are effectively understood as an 'author' of sorts, but in films, people want to have authors and favored authors (auteurs) without added effort in differentiation beyond liked/disliked, so it's mostly a naming game.
It's self evident in the way it is self evident Eggers, say, is clearly seen as the author of his films in a way Chris Columbus is not, yet anyway. Give it time. Popular awareness of a 'signature' is one thing, but for most artists it's still there, just not recognized as such for lack of interest.
November 16, 2025 at 12:33 AM
It's self evident in the way it is self evident Eggers, say, is clearly seen as the author of his films in a way Chris Columbus is not, yet anyway. Give it time. Popular awareness of a 'signature' is one thing, but for most artists it's still there, just not recognized as such for lack of interest.
I mean, like, c'mon, Cahiers bros picked some of the most famous directors of the time & claimed them as authors. Hawks, Hitch & Ford already had their names above the titles as possessives, Hitchcock had a TV show by name, this was obvious stuff noted for career gains not theory. Sarris f'ed it up
November 16, 2025 at 12:29 AM
I mean, like, c'mon, Cahiers bros picked some of the most famous directors of the time & claimed them as authors. Hawks, Hitch & Ford already had their names above the titles as possessives, Hitchcock had a TV show by name, this was obvious stuff noted for career gains not theory. Sarris f'ed it up
I don't like auteurism because it is largely self evident, that is something clear in all the arts, redundant, ignores that history, and it rewards, in Berlin's terms, the repetitions of hedgehogs over the variations of foxes, & repetition celebrates commercial success rather than unique outsiders.
November 16, 2025 at 12:19 AM
I don't like auteurism because it is largely self evident, that is something clear in all the arts, redundant, ignores that history, and it rewards, in Berlin's terms, the repetitions of hedgehogs over the variations of foxes, & repetition celebrates commercial success rather than unique outsiders.
I think that's where the idea of the "auteur" gets unwieldy and, for me, ultimately not of much use, as it becomes a circular argument or simply an honorific.Absent a standard for merit other than taste, 'authorship' is met by many, Eggers, del Toro, & Waititi as readily as Eastwood, Mann, or Lynch.
November 15, 2025 at 11:50 PM
I think that's where the idea of the "auteur" gets unwieldy and, for me, ultimately not of much use, as it becomes a circular argument or simply an honorific.Absent a standard for merit other than taste, 'authorship' is met by many, Eggers, del Toro, & Waititi as readily as Eastwood, Mann, or Lynch.
in some of his little foibles to keep even the films of his I really dislike, Death Becomes Her, for example, still part of getting to know his thematic & formal concerns but also why I am dubious about his attitude & contradictions in his sensibility/work, like the latent misogyny & superiority.
November 15, 2025 at 7:48 PM
in some of his little foibles to keep even the films of his I really dislike, Death Becomes Her, for example, still part of getting to know his thematic & formal concerns but also why I am dubious about his attitude & contradictions in his sensibility/work, like the latent misogyny & superiority.
Thanks. Just to be clear, some of my favorite moots really like Here, so don't take my word on it alone. I have mild respect for Zemeckis, thought Gump was worth seeing because it isn't what it seems, really enjoy Used Cars. Flight & Contact are solid, Beowolf interesting enough & Zemeckis' stubborn
November 15, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Thanks. Just to be clear, some of my favorite moots really like Here, so don't take my word on it alone. I have mild respect for Zemeckis, thought Gump was worth seeing because it isn't what it seems, really enjoy Used Cars. Flight & Contact are solid, Beowolf interesting enough & Zemeckis' stubborn
Greatest hits of the living room structure suggests a representative concept, something universal to a group, likely boomers, but Wright/Hanksing warps that as they're 'special' & his use of real events is distorted to serve that end in ways that deny the representative structure. Clever but false.
November 15, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Greatest hits of the living room structure suggests a representative concept, something universal to a group, likely boomers, but Wright/Hanksing warps that as they're 'special' & his use of real events is distorted to serve that end in ways that deny the representative structure. Clever but false.
The important question for his art is whether that adds up to anything other than being aloofly superior while serving commercial entertainment to the same society he criticizes. I'm not sure it does. Here, for example, is interesting enough in its way, but is contradictory/doesn't really parse.
November 15, 2025 at 7:28 PM
The important question for his art is whether that adds up to anything other than being aloofly superior while serving commercial entertainment to the same society he criticizes. I'm not sure it does. Here, for example, is interesting enough in its way, but is contradictory/doesn't really parse.
Zemeckis, like most directors really, is an auteur in that his films do tend to carry a notable sensibility that appears to be his because of its consistency across projects. That is different than claiming merit however. His films have a fairly strong misanthropic or anti-social US perspective.
November 15, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Zemeckis, like most directors really, is an auteur in that his films do tend to carry a notable sensibility that appears to be his because of its consistency across projects. That is different than claiming merit however. His films have a fairly strong misanthropic or anti-social US perspective.
I know I certainly can't, but tend to annoy by my continual attempts to that. Heh.
Immediate pleasure, or strong feeling vs deliberated engagement, the idea of the artist being 'in' their work and our attachment to them vs the work speaking for, & us valuing it for itself, are fraught questions.
Immediate pleasure, or strong feeling vs deliberated engagement, the idea of the artist being 'in' their work and our attachment to them vs the work speaking for, & us valuing it for itself, are fraught questions.
November 9, 2025 at 9:21 PM
I know I certainly can't, but tend to annoy by my continual attempts to that. Heh.
Immediate pleasure, or strong feeling vs deliberated engagement, the idea of the artist being 'in' their work and our attachment to them vs the work speaking for, & us valuing it for itself, are fraught questions.
Immediate pleasure, or strong feeling vs deliberated engagement, the idea of the artist being 'in' their work and our attachment to them vs the work speaking for, & us valuing it for itself, are fraught questions.
Funny, I was also just reading some Greenberg today and sort of marveling at his influence, in part because he fought so convincingly for and against certain avenues of culture. Here he asks the right question, but he, like Adorno & some other major theorist/critics, is the wrong person to answer it
November 9, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Funny, I was also just reading some Greenberg today and sort of marveling at his influence, in part because he fought so convincingly for and against certain avenues of culture. Here he asks the right question, but he, like Adorno & some other major theorist/critics, is the wrong person to answer it
Unsurprisingly impostering isn't only fun for "public intellectuals" but everywhere in the arts & humanities, or would be if anyone still had any meaningful standards.
www.designboom.com/art/art-hoax...
And in completely unrelated news, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is starting its 15th season.
www.designboom.com/art/art-hoax...
And in completely unrelated news, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is starting its 15th season.
the art hoax that fooled everyone: manfredi lucibello unravels the tirana biennial's deception
www.designboom.com
November 6, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Unsurprisingly impostering isn't only fun for "public intellectuals" but everywhere in the arts & humanities, or would be if anyone still had any meaningful standards.
www.designboom.com/art/art-hoax...
And in completely unrelated news, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is starting its 15th season.
www.designboom.com/art/art-hoax...
And in completely unrelated news, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is starting its 15th season.
Round Midnight got noticed here during a time when French films had some cachet and he stayed on the edge of importance up through In the Electric Mist, but once he stopped working the mentions stopped. His films don't tend towards a strong narrative center or summation, but that's a plus for me.
November 3, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Round Midnight got noticed here during a time when French films had some cachet and he stayed on the edge of importance up through In the Electric Mist, but once he stopped working the mentions stopped. His films don't tend towards a strong narrative center or summation, but that's a plus for me.
I knew he was of some importance in France given he's done some Scorsese-esque docs on films & so on, which speaks to a certain stature and his films up through the early part of the century were well regarded, but didn't make a big impact in the US, more a muted acknowledgement that's fading a bit?
November 3, 2025 at 11:44 PM
I knew he was of some importance in France given he's done some Scorsese-esque docs on films & so on, which speaks to a certain stature and his films up through the early part of the century were well regarded, but didn't make a big impact in the US, more a muted acknowledgement that's fading a bit?
Do people even know who Tavernier is anymore? Been awhile since I've heard his name mentioned.
November 3, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Do people even know who Tavernier is anymore? Been awhile since I've heard his name mentioned.
Damn, still getting gifts? You're a lucky fellow! Good family and partner obviously.
October 22, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Damn, still getting gifts? You're a lucky fellow! Good family and partner obviously.
I'm playing it so I can claim Gilmore as deserving all the awards, as far as I know, and be truthful about it. Sandler needs his Oscar.
October 16, 2025 at 12:37 AM
I'm playing it so I can claim Gilmore as deserving all the awards, as far as I know, and be truthful about it. Sandler needs his Oscar.
My 2025 list so far.
I might be falling behind just a wee bit...
I might be falling behind just a wee bit...
October 16, 2025 at 12:30 AM
My 2025 list so far.
I might be falling behind just a wee bit...
I might be falling behind just a wee bit...
@ngrl.bsky.social did you post this before? It seems like I recognized it, but it didn't fully stick until I heard it on earphones.
bsky.app
October 15, 2025 at 7:36 PM
@ngrl.bsky.social did you post this before? It seems like I recognized it, but it didn't fully stick until I heard it on earphones.
Ooh, how was the production? I mean any chance to see a Beckett is worth taking, so it's a relative thing.
October 12, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Ooh, how was the production? I mean any chance to see a Beckett is worth taking, so it's a relative thing.