Some Sort of Introduction

Perhaps someday I'll have readers beyond friends who occasionally check my blog out of politeness, who'll look back and wonder: who is this guy trying to write about movies? They'll probably be telling themselves that I contradict myself; that my occasional insights are marred by over thinking, under thinking, radicalism, traditionalism, poor writing, misinterpretation, and a sort of reckless zeal; that my voice is just another in an overwhelming cacophony that threatens to drown out any that will actually "advance" the art. Perhaps, though, they'll also have found some nugget, sentence, or even entire post that enhances their experience of watching TV, going to the movies, or (even better) thinking about what they saw.

As of 2:24 in the A.M. on November 10, 2009, I am a recent college graduate who studied Math and Philosophy. I didn't become seriously interested in film until after I had passed the point of no return on my two majors, so my study is mostly through self-education. That education mostly consists of watching, no, devouring anything that sounds interesting. I cannot remember the last day I did not watch at least one film.

I'm impressed everyday by the quality of criticism which has found its way onto the internet and unless I suddenly decide to return to school for a more formal foray into the discipline, I'm stuck with what I discover myself. I like to think that this is not merely a limitation but also a sort of freedom from conventional thinking. That isn't to say that I consider the vast majority of what I write anything more than regurgitation, but I hope there is room for something more personal.

Being at heart a philosopher, it's difficult for me to write without descending into some never ending cycle of explanation. Most people learn when they are children that sometimes "Why?" simply needs to be ignored out of simple pragmatism. Well, I've never really felt right about this and I've always felt more than a little disingenuous finishing some paper or some thought. My fear is that I will allow this blog to descend into some sort of meta-film blog where I allow my worst philosophical neuroses to run rampant. That isn't to say some exploration of why isn't important but I'll draw the line.

I can't specify what I'll write about because I expect that whatever I say will change. I could specify favorite genres (film noir and screwball) or directors (Hitchcock, Dreyer, Kieslowski, Preston Sturgis) but they'll change too. Issues which are currently on my mind are the continuing disappearance of independent cinemas, decreasing ticket sales everywhere, decreasing DVD sales, the inadequacy of the auteur theory and why people cling to it (why they worship the director), and the seeming battle between the studios to see who can turn out the action movie with the worst cgi and editing, the comedy with the least wit, the horror film with the most gore and least horror, and the romantic comedy which thumbs its nose at female empowerment. I guess I can sum up my intentions simply; that I hope to join the conversation which has been raging since before the Lumière brothers showed L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat in whatever form it takes.