Category: Drama

Drama, Friday Feature Films, Uncategorized

Hamlet: Metadrama, Hamlet’s Mid-Terms, and SP’s Final

Writing a blog post about Hamlet (1990) reminds me of a story a professor of mine told me quite some time ago. The story was in service of helping us–his students–to prepare for an essay portion of an exam. Apparently, my professor as an undergraduate took several classes with the same professor. (We’ll call my professor SP, for student professor, to keep things clear.] The professor … Continue reading Hamlet: Metadrama, Hamlet’s Mid-Terms, and SP’s Final

QV 2019Leave a comment
Drama, Friday Feature Films, Genre, Period Piece

Mimesis, The Mission, and the World We Have Made

A period film is mysticism masquerading as empiricism–it’s sorcery posing as a telescope and a microscope. It’s the sublime adorned in the devious costume of verisimilitude. A period film is like a hall of mirrors, reflecting back reality so many times that the viewer doesn’t necessarily know what is mirroring what. The further the viewer dives into the film, the more dizzy that viewer might … Continue reading Mimesis, The Mission, and the World We Have Made

QV 2019Leave a comment
Drama, Friday Feature Films, Genre

Who’s Your Brother, and Where’s Your Church?: On the Waterfront and Social Obligation

Warning: mild spoilers below: Are you your brother’s keeper? Is there a value beyond looking out for one’s self? Is life basically about putting your own needs first, or is there something more to life, to spirituality, to solidarity, to citizenry than looking out for number one? Or are people who think so just playing a mug’s game? These are some of the questions that … Continue reading Who’s Your Brother, and Where’s Your Church?: On the Waterfront and Social Obligation

QV 2019Leave a comment