The Culture Enthusiast

The phoenix of all flower painters: Jan Van Huysum

Art 8:21 AM

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How to be creative without being original: the case of Batman movies

Analysis 10:34 AM

One of the problems with contemporary culture is the importance placed on originality. Many writers and artists strive to create something deemed original and when they can’t they take the easy way out, the pessimistic: “there’s nothing left to create, everything has been done already”.

Now, of course there’s nothing new to create. But that shouldn’t be an excuse for lame art, should it?

Take Batman Forever for example.

I never noticed this before but there’s a scene in Batman Forever which is incredibly similar to one in The Dark Knight. The general outline of both scenes is this: the villain wants to destroy Batman by playing with his real identity. The villain takes the woman Bruce Wayne loves and the man Batman depends on and puts them in mortal danger. One of them will die, it's up to Batman (or Bruce Wayne) to decide who to save.

Now, look at the different results achieved but Joel Schumacher and Christopher Nolan.

Click on the image to view to scene or click here. You'll go to Youtube, but I'll be here waiting ;)

The initial predicament is practically the same and yet the two scenes are completely different. For one, the tone is much different.

The Riddler wears a shiny body suit and acts as if he’s a game show host, offering some comic relief to a tense moment. The scene is also made lighter by the fact that Batman doesn't lose his temper and doesn't threat the villains physically, he actually defeats the Riddler in his own game: with a riddle.

Plus, I love the little joke about Jim Carrey when The Riddler says “Was that over the top? I can never tell.”

The Joker's scene, on the other hand, is much more serious and realistic. The setting is a police station and the witnesses are detectives and not other weird villains. The Joker doesn't use surreal traps like those cylindrical cages, he pragmatically puts the victims on "250 52nd street and Avenue X at Cicero".

The scene is much more tense: not only Batman gets really angry and violent but that doesn't seem to have any effect on the Joker, who says his strength won't get him anywhere. What can he do, then?

But there's an interesting similarity. In both cases it is said that Batman is a "freak".

We could debate over which scene is better but I would say both of them are incredibly successful in the sense they achieved what they set out to do. Moreover, these are my two favorite Batman movies and I could never choose between them.

The thing is: the story is more or less the same but the results are different. The solutions didn't involve a parody or ironic references.

Movies like these tell me that it is still possible to be creative without necessarily being original. The throwing of the towel that is “there are no more stories to tell” might be just an excuse for bad movies. The scope of human experience may be limited but our ability to explore it is not.

How important is originality? Are both scenes are well made or is Batman Forever over the top?

Image via Tumblr

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The end has no end

Books 9:31 AM

One of the most enjoyable experiences to me is finishing a book. For some, is buying a book, for others is starting it, for some crazies is beginning Chapter 5. I like all those things too, but nothing beats that final page rush.

I'd say I have more or less three common but different reactions when I finish a book.

The "I'm not ready to leave yet" reaction: this is how I feel every time I finish a Jane Austen novel. I am like: “I am staying right here. No one is taking me from this lovely Victorian style beige chair.”

The "my mind is blown" reaction: this is how I feel when I finish Shakespeare's plays. It's like the silence in the end of a real play presentation where you can only look to the person next to you, say "wow", stand up and clap.

The "I made it" reaction: this is how I feel when I finish difficult books. It's a mixed sense of relief and accomplishment. When I got to the last page of Practical Criticism, which took me three months to finish, it was like Rocky I: arms up, little imaginary jumps, "I finished Practical Criticism!"

After my overreaction I went back to the first page of this book and saw it written: “P.B. Peters ’08”. That’s how I used to sign my name. I thought it sounded like a writer’s name, similar to D. H. Lawrence, J.D. Salinger or even I. A. Richards, the author of Practical Criticism.

I also used to write down my names in books. And used to date them. I do none of these things now.

So, I guess part of the experience of finishing a book is realizing you’re not the same. And as you’re saying goodbye to all those book characters and authors you’re also saying goodbye to the person that you were before beginning that book. Every great book leaves an impression on us and, ideally, changes us in some way. We were one person when we started reading that book and we are another now we finished it.

In general, though, I am much more immature when it comes to finishing books. I set up goals, I look forward to finishing them, I begin my daily reading by checking how many pages are left. But it's the same approach I have towards beauty products. I use them every day eagerly but deep down I want them to finish fast so I can buy others.

How do you feel about finishing books? What book were you excited or sad to finish?

Image via FreeHDWall

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Ecce Homo by Antonio Ciseri

Art 9:02 AM

Ecce Hommo by Antonio Ciseri

A little bit of history

Date: 1871

Located in the Gallery of Modern Art, Florence.

The title of the painting "Ecce Hommo" is Latin for "Behold the Man": Pontius Pilate's words as he shows Jesus after His flagellation and the coronation of thorns to the crowd. Pilates is trying to convince the people that Jesus has suffered enough and needn't be crucified.

This painting was commissioned by the government of Italy in 1870 and Ciseri finished it a few days before his own death.1

A little bit of technique

The use of light and shadow is amazing. Pilate's clothes are transparent and there's great contrast between the hot sun of the background and the cooling marble of the foreground.

Many famous artists, like Caravaggio and Titian, portrayed this scene. What's unique about Ciseri's portrayal is that Jesus and Pilate are not facing the viewer. They have their backs to us and it is as if we are in the backstage of the scene. We are a character, maybe a servant or a centurion who was just passing by, heard all the screaming and stopped to see what's happening.

Because we can't see their faces, body posture is incredibly important. Pilate bends his body and puts his foot towards the crowd to get closer to them, arms pointing to the "man of pains" as if saying: "Isn't this enough?".

Christ's body posture is completely different. He looks down, motionless, patiently suffering.

A little bit of enthusiasm

What calls my attention, other than the extreme beauty of the painting, are the two "supporting" characters: the faceless crowd standing in the balconies at the top of the painting and Pontius Pilate's wife in the right corner of the painting.2

We can't see the faces in the crowd, but some figures at the roof tops have their arms raised. In their euphoria wouldn't they be screaming "Crucify Him!"?

Pilate's wife, on the other hand, is holding another woman for support. She can't even bear to look at what's happening. Before this all began she told her husband not to harm Jesus because she had dreamed about Him.

Maybe these two characters, Pilate's wife and (part of) the crowd, weren't Jesus' followers. Not everybody knew and believed He is the Son of God. I've always wondered how non-believers would react being witnesses to the Passion.

The painting shows these different, opposite reactions of people that weren't Jesus' disciples. The crowd's reaction was excitement in face of cruelty. At best they were just going with the flow, with what the majority wanted. Pilate's wife' reaction was sadness and compassion.

What do you think about this painting? Do you like its different perspective?

Image via Wikipedia

1 Treccani, the Italian Encyclopedia
2 Restored Traditions

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The Fall

Movies 9:11 AM

An epic tale of love and revenge

Why do we watch movies? I mean, isn't it amazing that we pay to go in a dark room filled with strangers to watch representations of made up stories? A while ago we were talking about the importance of literature and, if you think about it, people have been telling stories since the beginning of time. Why? Is it escapism, a past-time, or something more?

Last week I was looking for a movie to watch. I wanted something good, I was sick of watching lame movies that I couldn't talk about here. So I looked for a recommendation in IMDB’s users' "best movies" lists. The Fall appeared in many of those lists. I hadn't heard of this movie before, but the trailer sold it to me.

As you can gather from the trailer, a man and a little girl are both in a hospital. She has a big imagination and he is depressed – a dangerous combination. He starts telling her this incredible story and she is hooked. But he’ll only continue telling her the story if she steals morphine for him.

The Fall makes you feel like a child again and few movies can do that - even among kids' movies. Suddenly you're on the edge of your seat because you want to know what's going to happen next. And there will come a point where you have no idea what's going to happen next. That's exactly what kids (and I) want: a story to care about.

Plus, the movie answers those questions above. In two different ways, actually. First off, we like stories (whether they're movies, books or the ones we tell ourselves using our imagination), because they are better than reality. And by better, I mean more attractive, more exciting and more stimulating.

Just by the trailer you get a sense of how beautiful the movie is. Every shot is as perfect as a painting. I cannot even imagine what it must have been like seeing The Fall in the movies and not from my small notebook screen. Everything from the costumes, to the soundtrack, to the locations, to the names, to the characters' back stories is... grandiose.

Alexandria and Roy would rather be on an exciting quest in a desert island than in a hospital ward with people coughing, crying and dying all around you.

However, it's not like they are involved in the story just to escape their lives. The Bandit's story isn't all fiction. Roy’s story works like a dream, it's almost as if he's daydreaming. In the same way that happens in dreams, every character in his story is a part of his own self. And of Alexandria’s self too, because she sneaks into the story.

They come up with the story using elements of their real lives, nothing is made up from nowhere. Every character is represented by a person they now. Aspects of their experiences are part of the fictional story (the licking of the ice, for example).

This is where the line between reality and fiction gets blurry. Their being absorbed in the story is not totally escapism. Through their stories they are figuring out their own lives and feelings. In the story, they re-enact previous (real) experiences, invent the ones they wished happened in real life, and ultimately define their future. Remember I said that the story is better than reality? It's also because Roy has total control of the story whereas he only has some control over his reality.

It’s even funny how incoherent the story can get, because it changes all the time to adapt their particular psychological needs of the moment. In a very funny dialogue, the Masked Bandit swears to destroy Governor Odious and "every Spanish thing". Alexandria asks: "Wasn't he Spanish?". Roy, momentarily confused, answers: "Noooo. He was French". And the story goes on as if nothing had happened. There's no mistakes in the story. He calls the shots. Depending on what he needs, the story changes and this is why it goes from revenge, to love, to sadness.

The ending is truly brilliant and I won’t even say anything so you can have a big surprise when you watch it. See how the movie is compelling towards storytelling? It’s even making me writing a review without spoilers