For the first project of semester we will each choose a film that deals with authorship. The paper should explain the general storyline of the film and describe the way in which the author is portrayed. The goal, of course, is to compare this representation with the philosophical and academic probing of authorship which we have been exploring in class. Having looked at Barthes, Foucault, and Benjamin we should have ample material to draw on.
After considering several options I am now more or less set on using the 2005 film "Capote." The movie follows a popular writer from the "New Yorker" to Kansas and the scene of grisly murders. Capote becomes deeply involved in the small town of Holcomb and, through extensive interviews, begins to feel a sort of compassion for the prisoners. He faces several unique situations, including a conflict between his own feelings and the desire for the proper ending to his book--an execution. The unusual position of feeling for his subjects as he does and being actively involved in their unfolding stories, a sort of new character himself, is a strange blurring of the author-subject relationship. In short I believe "Capote" will prove both entertaining in preparation for the paper as well as the source of excellent material. Any thoughts?
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3 comments:
Capote sounds very intruguing in terms of a cimematic work. I feel like I should try to watch it now. It appears that there are several interesting paths of conceptual flow that would arise from interpreting the films depiction of authors and their relation to the works they create. I am, at the moment, considering basing my paper on The Fountain.
I think that this will make for a very intersting paper. I recently decided on a topic for my paper and did so by chosing to focus on a movie that I like. I think you will enjoy writting your paper much more and will be able to get a much deeper analysis than if you simply picked a topic that you care little about.
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