Introduction of Methods

If film dazzles in order to dampen the voice of its audience, then we wish to demur. Although the filters of “the culture industry” might—at least to some extent—already determine what we can see and how we can see, here we hope to examine the properties of those very filters themselves. Our method will be to engage in a kind of close reading of specific films that strike or stun us; we intend to discover how they mean what they mean, or rather, how they mean what they mean to us.[1] We will evaluate each film with a five-star system:

Star 1: Ability to play with generic conventions in order to undo them[2]

Star 2: Cinematography

Star 3: Illumination or subversion of the social dynamics of Western
       culture[3]

Star 4: Psychologically compelling characters

Star 5: “Originality”

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[1] Admittedly, we tend to focus on matters that concern class, race, and gender.

[2] We call this star “The Two Noble Kinsmen Star” after William Shakespeare and John Fletcher’s drama, The Two Noble Kinsmen. The drama concludes with an epilogue that implicitly invites its audience to rehearse or rewrite it if its ending has proved less than satisfactory. Thus, this play’s epilogue—which makes recourse to a great many generic conventions—ultimately asks its viewers to assess those conventions and their implications more critically.

[3] Whereas Cleary prefers films that “subvert,” Linwick tends to prefer films that self-consciously “illuminate.” Nevertheless, films that subvert and films that illuminate impress both of us.