PAREREA BUNA A ALTCUIVA

Cautand material pentru licenta am gasit aici pe cineva in asentimentul meu si am facut celebrul copy/paste, dupa cum urmeaza:

Film analysis is a long and complicated process that deserves our most thoughtful and deliberate consideration. When popular culture reviewers resort to easy tricks of symbolism as "thumbs up, way up" or a rating of "9 out of 10" they cheat their audiences of the revelations that can occur when an in-depth analysis is undertaken. Unfortunately, in a forum such as this one, a serious analysis of the film chosen for this discussion cannot hope to be accomplished.

But we will, of course, all do our best.

In my textbook, Visual Communication Images with Messages (1995, Wadsworth) I advocate the use of six perspectives when discussing any visual message--a motion picture included. These six perspectives are:

PERSONAL: A gut reaction to the work based on subjective opinions.

Upon first viewing any image, everyone draws a quick, gut-level conclusion about the picture based entirely on a personal response. Words and phrases such as "good," "bad," "I like it," or "I hate it" indicate that a person initially analyzes an image on a superficial, cursory level. Personal perspectives are important because they reveal much about the person making the comments. However, such opinions have limited use simply because they are so personal. These comments cannot be generalized beyond the individual, nor do they reveal much in the way of how a culture would view the image. A memorable image always solicits strong personal reactions, either negative or positive. A viewer who rests a conclusion about a visual message on personal perspective denies the chance of perceiving the image in a meaningful way.

HISTORICAL: A determination of the importance of the work based on the medium's time line.

Motion pictures have a unique history of circumstances that were set in motion and fostered by individuals interested in promoting them. A knowledge of movie history allows one to understand current trends in terms of their roots in techniques and philosophies of the past. Creative visual message production always comes from an awareness of what has come before, so present applications also will influence future uses.

TECHNICAL: The relationship between light, the recording medium used to produce the work, and the means for presentation of the work.

A film critic must know something about how movies work. A thorough critique of motion pictures requires a knowledge of how the director generated the images shown. With an understanding of the techniques involved in producing an image, one is in a better position to know when production values are high or low, when great or little care has been taken, or when much or little money was spent to make the movie.

ETHICAL: The moral and ethical responsibilities that the producer, the subject, and the viewer have of the work.

Six principle ethical philosophies can and should be used to analyze a motion picture. By considering these ethical philosophies when analyzing a film one becomes much more aware of meanings and motives that may lie hidden below the surface of any production. The six philosophies are:

* categorical imperative. A rule is absolute and must never be broken.

Directors use this philosophy when deciding to make a movie about a theme they are intensely interested in exploring visually.

* utilitarianism. The greater good for the greater number.

The telling of a person's life story might not be appreciated by that person's family and friends, but a greater number of viewers are benefited by the telling.

* hedonism. Eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.

Whenever there is a purely personal reason for making a motion picture--money, fame, relationships, power, and so on--the hedonistic philosophy is at work.

* golden mean. Look to the middle way.

Between two extreme points of view--not making the movie and telling all aspects of a person's life--is a compromise position that is best achieved through the editing process.

* golden rule. Do not add grief to anyone's life.

This philosophy states that gratuitous acts of violence in many action films must be avoided because they contribute to negative stereotypes of certain cultural groups and damage the soul of society.

* veil of ignorance. Walk a mile in my shoes.

By imagining what it must feel like to be portrayed as a cultural stereotype in a major motion picture, a film critic empathizes and learns about he meaning of negative stereotyping that is so prevalent in the mass media.

CULTURAL: An analysis of the symbols and aesthetics used in the work that convey meaning within a particular society at a particular time.

Cultural analysis of a picture involves identifying the symbols used in the image and the aesthetic qualities that give the work a sense of artistic style. Symbolism and aesthetic style may be analyzed by the movie's use of heroes and villains, by the form of its narrative structure, by the graphic choices, by the use of words, and by the attitudes about the subjects and the culture communicated by the director.

CRITICAL: A reasoned and objective personal perspective after a film critic has considered all of the previous perspectives.

A viewer uses the critical perspective to learn about a medium, its practitioners, and the images produced to make more general comments about society that accepts or rejects the motion picture. As such, a critical perspective redefines a person's initial personal perspective in terms of universal conclusions about human nature.