I am late to the whole blogging thing. I can make a parade of excuses here, but instead I'll just emphasize that I've had a different kind of presence: I've been lurking. I say lurking to suggest that I've been fairly quiet in my blog browsing, only commenting infrequently (a type of reader I think most bloggers actually dislike-sorry, folks!). I've been reading and gathering and collecting and mentally synthesizing lots of fabulous information, mostly from film/media blogs, for a few years now.
I join the blogging community now with a couple goals in mind. First, it's a matter of self-discipline: since I'll be a doctoral student in Moving Image Studies at GSU in the fall, I need to develop a daily habit of writing and responding to media, rather than simply thinking about it. Second, I'm fascinated with reception studies, and how a film, TV show, or web site can have so many different responses.
Lately, there have been many discussions regarding how film bloggers, also known as cloggers, should anticipate that their posts will be considered reviews by readers and to write accordingly. However, I think the film blogging community's primary purpose is not to provide prescriptive film information for readers, but to promote those discussions filmgoers love to have after seeing a film, encouraging conversation, examination, and (for those of us who are also academics) serious critical analysis. That's why Cynthia Rockwell's post on Hannah Takes the Stairs was particularly insightful to me. I read it soon after I saw the film, and it detailed a reaction that was similar to my own. Aside from the controversy over how she should write film entries, her post and its related comments/links brought up many other ideas, particularly how film reception is sometimes divided along gender lines.
Ultimately, I would like to point out upfront that my writings on films and other media will often be reactions to what I've seen, not necessarily reviews, as I try to figure out why I'm responding to films in a certain way.
Stay tuned for an entry on Adrienne Shelly's Waitress, coming soon, as well as lists of some of my favorite blogs, books, etc.
5 comments:
Welcome to blogworld. I'm glad that you'll no longer be lurking, and for the record, I am well into Cynthia's camp. I don't consider my blog entries "reviews" as much as I do academic reflections on the films that I see.
Good to see you blogging. Welcome to the grind.
Hear, hear. That "conversation" is what all good film criticism is about.
funny that now everyone needs to start distinguishing off the bat what kind of film commentary they'll be making... :)
at any rate, thanks and welcome.
Thanks for the warm welcome,folks. Chuck,I knew you were in Cynthia's camp--and I've always enjoyed your viewpoints on films. Cynthia,I'm with you in the frustration about film posts. No one should tell someone else how and what to write, especially on the Web.If film bloggers really wanted parameters,or a set of rules, then they could go write for someone else.
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