Remembering Roger Ebert (1942 - 2013)

I’ve been very sick for the last week, so I’m way behind on a few things I want to cover on this blog. Yet it would be remiss for me not to put in a few words about the recent passing of legendary movie critic Roger Ebert. While this blog is not exclusively devoted to movie reviews, I see Ebert’s influence in my writing and my approach to horror and sci-fi pop culture, much of which is driven by cinema.

It’s been said that through his books, TV shows, and other efforts, Ebert brought the practice of movie criticism into a more personal, less formalized perspective. It is likewise impressive that he did this at a time when the production and distribution of movies have changed so drastically, from something that could only be experienced in the movie theater to something that can be accessed almost anywhere at any time and on demand. I discovered Ebert the same way many people did: during the mid-80s on his syndicated TV show At the Movies with fellow film critic Gene Siskel. The VHS rental industry was coming into its own at that time, and I noticed how even that show soon made some changes to make room for new releases on VHS. (It should also be said that last week saw the passing of Eurotrash master Jesus “Jess” Franco. Even though there are many more popular and accomplished film directors in Europe, Franco developed an American fan base through distribution into VHS rental shops across America. Click here for more thoughts about that.)

If Ebert did anything, he showed how the critical analysis of movies has the potential to enhance one’s enjoyment of movies--that actually thinking about what you watch makes you appreciate it more than if you did not. I’m certain that many people still don’t understand this concept, since many (including quite a few professional film critics) appear to equate criticism with open hostility and snide insults. Yet because of his approach to criticism, Ebert didn’t just review films; he championed them. He provided commentary tracks for DVD and Blu-ray releases of movies (including a track for one of my personal favorites, Dark City) and would draw attention to limited-released movies that would otherwise be forgotten.

While I’m not even close to the kind of film buff that Ebert was, I’d like to think that my blog adheres to the standard of film criticism that Ebert himself endorsed. If anything I’ve written here has encouraged readers to think a little more about the films they are watching or choose to see an obscure movie instead of a hyper-promoted blockbuster, then I think Ebert would be proud.

Victoria F. Gaitán and Leslie Nolan: Different Shades of Fear

While many kinds of narrative and visual art are grouped together into the genre of horror, fear comes in many different forms. Some horror is very explicit, shocking the audience with unrelenting, unpredictable bursts of violence and gore. Other horror takes a more subtle approach, getting under the skin through repeated suggestions, unexplained events, and pervasive atmospheres of dread and uncertainty. Covering both ends of this sinister spectrum are photographer Victoria F. Gaitán and painter Leslie Nolan, both of whom have exhibits that are currently on display in the Washington DC area.

Gaitán's still life photos are on display at the Artisphere in Arlington, VA in an exhibit entitled "Sweet-Meat Cherry-Whip Flip". In terms of horror, Gaitán's work is of a more shocking, overtly visceral nature. According to the Artisphere, "Victoria F. Gaitán's photographic series of flesh-and-blood still lifes visualize human subjects as meat puppets. The images are calling cards from the artist's explorations of internal worlds, illness, in-between states, shared delusions and hells, stillness, memory, interpretations of pain, private and public intimacies, trauma, beauty and conditioned responses." While Gaitán's photos (as seen in the example above) at first seem like snapshots of zombies running amok at the Food Network, her overall work is somewhat suggestive of the subgenre of "body horror", echoing the themes and visuals of David Cronenberg and Frank Henenlotter--albeit with food, not blood and guts. Gaitán will be at the Artisphere to discuss her work on February 25, and the "Sweet-Meat Cherry-Whip Flip" exhibit will be on display until March 12.

In contrast to Gaitán is Nolan's paintings at the Touchstone Gallery in Washington DC in an exhibit entitled "Off-Kilter". Unlike Gaitán's explicit visual approach, Nolan is all about mood. According to the Touchstone Gallery, "Leslie Nolan's color drenched figurative paintings capture the uncertainties of our world. ... There is nothing tentative about these paintings: Nolan's bold brush strokes and vivid colors create a blur between the real and the imagined, resulting in an impression of physical solidity threatened by emotional disintegration. These strong works convey a sense of society on the edge." Nolan's subtext of uncertainty and alienation (as seen in the example above) is similar to that found in the more symbolic, visually abstract films in the horror genre, such as Dark City and The Broken. It is also evocative of some of Edward Hooper's work, although with a much, much greater degree of expressionism. The "Off-Kilter" exhibit will be on display until January 30.

Write of the Living Dead

It's official: I'm now a published author. Centipede Press has published a large book of essays about Night of the Living Dead as part of their "Studies in the Horror Film" series of books and my essay, "Cannibalizing Consumers", is in it. You can read more about the book here.

"Cannibalizing Consumers" was originally part of a series of essays that was included in a 40th anniversary retrospective of Night of the Living Dead on the PopMatters site back in 2008, and it was picked up to be part of the book. If you are so inclined, you can read my original essay here. I'm giddy that my first shot at recognition in an academic publication happens to revolve around the genre-defining film that introduced the world to unstoppable, epidemic, undead cannibalism. Then again, this is isn't just an article publication for me: 1) It's an article published in a series of books about studying horror films, 2) it's an article largely devoted to Night of the Living Dead, and 3) it's an article where I was also able to spend some time discussing Invasion of the Body Snatchers. That's triple nerd score for me!

In case you're interested in reading more of my written works, which are nerd-devotion-thinly-disguised-as-academic-thinking, check out these articles:

• A Look at Iconic Versus: The Post-9/11 Significance of the Freddy vs. Jason and Alien vs. Predator Movies
• Pictures of Insect Men: A Retrospective Analysis of the “Mimic” Trilogy
• Man, Machine, Memory and Movies: A Critical Look at “Dark City”