Memoirs of a Geisha

The film Memoirs of a Geisha, is my all time favorite film. It attempts to portray the mentality of a different society, different mentality, as well as a different culture.

Although the director did a wonderful job with the formalist persepective of the film, many were quick to criticize the fact that Chinese actresses and actors portrayed a Japanese fairytale.

''Any doubts about three Chinese actresses speaking English with Japanese accents vanish in the face of their deeply felt performances and the world Marshall conjures with magical finesse,'' said Peter Travers.

This essay dives into stereotypes, nationalism and the acting in the film among other things.

Memoirs of a Geisha

The Quentin Tarantino Effect

Samuel Jackson and John Travolta in Pulp Fiction

In this article by Stanley Crouch, Quentin Tarantino is viewed as the leading young filmmakers of his time. Tarantino's movies, such as Natural Born Killers, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, True Romance, and Jackie Brown, hard-edged, ultra violence with shots of absurd and unexpected humor. Crouch sees Quentin as adding new energy, cool, comedy, and irony, to a low age in movies.

Some of Quentin's use of irony is discussed my Crouch, who sees Quentin discussing our ethnic identity through many of his movies. Examples are given from Pulp Ficton, Jackie Brown, and Reservoir Dogs. Crouch notices that in Reservoir Dogs, blacks are referred as inferiors by the Caucasian cast, but they talk about how attractive Pam Grier (a famous black actor) is. This ironic racism Tarantino adds continues when the undercover cop's mentor turns out to be a black man.

Those alterations reach far beyond the customary racial cliches that thud upon us frame by frame and the hostile or maudlin soap box oratory that washes all possible eloquence out of dialogue.

Crouch finishes by stating Quentin's film making is recognizable yet unfamiliar: "we feel we've seen it and not seen it before."

Science fiction films and religion

In this article by Anton Karl Kozlovic he discusses how he believes that there are religous ties intertwined in four science fiction films. Those films are The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Blade Runner (1982), The Terminator (1984), and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). He argues that "SF films have frequently been the vehicles for hidden biblical characters, particularly Christ-figures." One example of this can be seen in Terminator 2: Judgment Day with the Terminator character. He is sent to save humanity. There are many more examples but it is interesting to see the similarities that he presents and how closely they are related they are to the bible itself.