A filmmaker when boiled down to his purest form is a visual storyteller, and for my money there is no better story of a visual storyteller then Derek Jarman and his masterpiece “Blue.” Jarmen is truly an anomaly of his time. A mashup of subcultures, influences, and surreal visual stylings. Though to the mainstream Jarmen remains obscure his influence can be seen in the early work of Christopher Nolan, the visual style of Gregg Araki, and the atmosphere of Rick Alverson. Jarman to this day remains an interesting radical who pushed the envelope with his uncompromising, erotic, and honest view of sexuality, specifically homosexuality because Jarmen himself was gay. Being a gay man who has homoerotism featured heavily in his film this lead to Jarmen being one of the …show more content…
faces of the original Queer Cinema Movement. I could go on gushing about Jarman and his boatload of accomplishments, but I’ll keep this article dedicated to his best film. It’s the film where he showed the most “PERSEVERANCE”, I love stories that show “PERSEVERANCE”, it will help me show “PERSEVERANCE.” Narrowing down my favorite Jarman picture was not an easy task, this man makes films that are so unique that all of them are great in one way or another.
From his mashup of punk culture and shakespeare in “Jubilee”, to his psychedelic adaptation of the bard with his version of “The Tempest.” Which if I may just make a quick aside and say that Jarman's Tempest takes the extremely risky move of setting The Tempest inside, it’s brilliant you should watch it. However Jarmans true masterpiece wouldn’t come until 1993, the film in question is simply titled “Blue.” On december 22, 1986 Jarman was diagnosed with HIV. This lead to him contracting AIDS. This lead to complications with Jarman, this resulted in Jarman beginning to lose his vision. The ultimate irony, the visual storyteller losing his vision, his passion swept away by an unfortunate illness. The man who started off creating visuals as a set designer for Ken Russell's “The Devils” then worked his way up using his uncompromising attitude and his cinematic eye is no longer able to do what he loves. Well, at least that should be the case. Jarman loved to write, he published an autobiography, a poetry book, and two volumes of diaries. From this Blue was
born. Jarman being the rebel spirit he was refused to let AIDS stop him from doing what he loved, if he can barely see then he’ll make a movie with barely any visuals. Blue is a film that consists of narration provided by Tilda Swinton, Nigel Terry, John Quentin, and Derek Jarman himself. As for the visual aspect it’s nothing but a blue screen for 79 minutes. This is what Jarman considered his last testament as a filmmaker a film made up entirely of short stories and diary entries that are being told over a single shade of blue. Since Jarman couldn’t see he made a film to show the audience his pain as well as his wisdom as he reaches the end of his life. Jarman died a year after the release of Blue knowing this makes the film even more heartbreaking in context. The most heartbreaking moment in the film is a scene where Jarman lists off all the lovers he’s lost in his life, most of them to the AIDs virus. Blue is a collection of Jarman's last words, his cinematic eulogy. Derek Jarman is an inspiration a who refused to let his passion for visuals die even though his vision did. Though AIDS may have taken his life it didn’t take his passion. So I on behalf of Jarman let’s never let the blue flame die out.
Sexuality of the Frontierswoman in Grey's Riders of the Purple Sage and Doctorow's Welcome to Hard Times
In What ways is Sexuality portrayed as central to the conflicts of the individual-v-society in Ken Kesey's One flew over the cuckoo's nest and Tennessee Williams A street car named desire? In What ways is Sexuality portrayed as central to the conflicts of the individual-v-society in Ken Kesey's 'One flew over the cuckoo's nest' and Tennessee Williams 'A street car named desire'?
For the Bible Tells Me So is a documentary that was made in 2007 by Daniel Karslake. The Film takes a look at the implications and results of raising children in a conservative religious context, and what happens when they are gay, and what the bible actually says about being gay, and how it is being misinterpreted to suit anti-gay rhetoric.
"Coming out of the closet" is an essential for homosexuals to develop their personal identity. Coming out of the closet is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's to tell others about their homosexuality or bisexuality where previously this had been kept secret. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of the closet is described and experienced variously as a psychological process or journey; decision-making or risk-taking (Wikipedia).
Upon reading Baldwin’s theory, I became inspired and motivated because of his background as a Christian and an African American bisexual male figure. As a Christian, Baldwin has faced challenges due to his sexuality, religion, and race. In addition, as a Christian one is being taught that one should not question or challenge the Bible and as a bisexual male figure Western society has it that Baldwin has committed a sin. Both Baldwin and I agree that Jesus loves everyone and that heterosexuality should not be considered the norm. Throughout American history, African American women were constructed as inherently sexual and excessively available. At the same time, African Americans sexuality became an icon of eccentric sexuality in general and
In the French film, Blue, the color blue is used to represent freedom and liberty. Many times throughout the movie there are somewhat obvious examples, but other examples where you have to look into deep into the symbolism to see how they connect with the theme. The director allows us to somewhat use our imagination to figure out what he is trying to portray. By using the color blue, we can interpret how freedom and liberty play a big role in the movie.
Throughout this paper the word 'queer ' will be used as an umbrella catch all term for any individual who is not heterosexual or cisgender, and anyone in the LGBTQ spectrum. Queer will also be used as part of the methodology, it will represent "a moment of fissure when that which is normal is thrown into question...[and] set out the notion of queer as a way of denormalizing gendered heterosexuality." ( Li-Vollmer and LaPointe 92) Using queer examination of film, this paper will discuss and explore the struggle between normalcy and deviance. Queer coding occurs when a character is given common traits associated with queer people, whether that is stereotypical or not depends on the character and the creator themselves. This paper will explore
Although homosexuality is not a mental disorder in and of itself, gay men and other men who have sex with men can present with poorer mental health outcomes as a result of social discrimination, rejection, isolation and marginalization.3 4, 5 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, gay men and other MSM are at increased risk for major depression, bipolar disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder, the common basis of which is likely homophobia.6 Sustained stress from this can also lead MSM to contemplate suicide or cope through substance use.7 Although providing appropriate mental health support for gay men and other MSM from a clinical perspective is similar to treating anyone else with mental challenges, it is critical to recognize the role that structural and social barriers play in exacerbating negative mental health outcomes among these individuals.
Film scholar and gender theorist Linda Williams begins her article “Film Bodies: Genre, Gender and Excess,” with an anecdote about a dispute between herself and her son, regarding what is considered “gross,” (727) in films. It is this anecdote that invites her readers to understand the motivations and implications of films that fall under the category of “body” genre, namely, horror films, melodramas, (henceforth referred to as “weepies”) and pornography. Williams explains that, in regards to excess, the constant attempts at “determining where to draw the line,” (727) has inspired her and other theorists alike to question the inspirations, motivations, and implications of these “body genre” films. After her own research and consideration, Williams explains that she believes there is “value in thinking about the form, function, and system of seemingly gratuitous excesses in these three genres,” (728) and she will attempt to prove that these films are excessive on purpose, in order to inspire a collective physical effect on the audience that cannot be experienced when watching other genres.
After reading Terrence McNally’s play Andre’s mother, quality over quantity comes to mind. Andre’s mother is a short and simple play that carries a powerful message. The story unfolds at Andre’s memorial service and it’s attended by Andre’s boyfriend Cal, Andre’s Mother, Cal’s father, and Cal’s sister Penny. Andre’s mother is a story about accepting and letting go, sometimes we have to accept things for what they are even if one is not ready. Andre died of HIV, this was a common occurrence for homosexuals in the early 80’s, late 90’s and even today it happens frequently. Andre’s mother was more than a play about a gay male afraid of facing his family. It was a play that brought forth two imperative subjects in the early 90’s; Homosexuality and AIDS. Beyond that, the play taught us to accept and let go.
To this day Rope, Alfred Hitchcock’s first color film, remains one of the most original motion picture dramas. With the exception of the opening credits, Rope was shot on one individual set located within a soundstage, similar to as if a play was being performed on stage. Despite the confined space the film occupied, the atmospheric anxiety carried on up until the very end. Furthermore, Hitchcock successfully created a deception, of the same repetitive shot. Nonetheless, during the one hundred and eight minute film, it’s hard not to notice the closeness Phillip and Brandon shared sexually together, making them homosexuals.
Homosexuality is a sensitive topic and often avoided in conversation. For centuries the human race has oppressed and persecuted others strictly because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual etc. Although it is disturbing to most of us, these actions still occur in our society today, as many believe that homosexuality is abnormal and disgraceful. One supporter of this belief is Michael Levin, who strongly believes that homosexuality is highly abnormal and thus, undesirable. Although his beliefs and theories supporting this claim are subjective, there is evidence that can support his stance on this topic; we will analyze this claim in further detail and how it relates to his other views mentioned in this essay.
When adapting a play for the screen, a director’s primary responsibility is to visualize an enactment that remains true to the original work’s perception. In addition to this task, the director must also build upon the foundations laid by the script; without this goal, (s)he would have no reason to have undertaken the project in the first place. Providing an innovative reading of a well-known play is undoubtedly a challenging task, but few directors have met the challenge so successfully as Peter Greenaway in Prospero’s Books, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s play The Tempest. Greenway’s most compelling accomplishment in the film is his elegant rendering of the play’s theme of the artist as a creator. Prospero’s Books, as well as the original The Tempest, is an exercise in artificiality, genesis, and performance.
“Entertainment has to come hand in hand with a little bit of medicine, some people go to the movies to be reminded that everything’s okay. I don’t make those kinds of movies. That, to me, is a lie. Everything’s not okay.” - David Fincher. David Fincher is the director that I am choosing to homage for a number of reasons. I personally find his movies to be some of the deepest, most well made, and beautiful films in recent memory. However it is Fincher’s take on story telling and filmmaking in general that causes me to admire his films so much. This quote exemplifies that, and is something that I whole-heartedly agree with. I am and have always been extremely opinionated and open about my views on the world and I believe that artists have a responsibility to do what they can with their art to help improve the culture that they are helping to create. In this paper I will try to outline exactly how Fincher creates the masterpieces that he does and what I can take from that and apply to my films.
When one thinks of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual community, a person identifying with the term bisexual is thought to have the same amount of respect and safety to live out their life as any other person in the modern world. “… Bisexuality is a phase… and they can’t make up their minds…”(Eady 378). Unfortunately it is common to simply brush off the identity as nothing more than a phase, or that the person is on their way to becoming attracted to only one sex not both the opposite and the same.“Bisexuality: 2.sexual attraction to persons of both sexes; exhibition of both homosexual and heterosexual behavior”(Dorland).