><http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/ht081105.html>
>and another beautiful editing job by Yoshie.
In which we read:
>As we begin to seriously consider our next
>cinematic undertaking, we often find ourselves
>grappling with the two poles of documentary
>filmmaking: the poetical and the political. We
>want to make films that matter, which address
>social problems, educate the audience, and
>inspire action. But we also care about
>technique and value artistry and beauty. Our
>favorite films all have an element of ambiguity,
>leaving room for debate and interpretation.
>We're tired of bland, issue-driven films,
>uninspired camerawork, and didactic messages
>(even ones we agree with). At the same time,
>we're equally suspicious of the tendency to make
>art that suffers from historical amnesia or
>political naiveté, or worse, films that
>aestheticize suffering and devastation. Too
>many documentaries shy away from exposing the
>root causes of social problems by personalizing
>them.
No kidding - and one of the many great things about Zizek! is that it avoids all these pitfalls.
The new Greenwald movie on Wal-Mart kinda blows. It begins with a long lament for the petit bourgeoisie displaced by the monster, a POV I have limited sympathy for. But it just piles detail and factoid upon detail and factoid, with no narrative, no wit, and no charm. The word "hackwork" definitely comes to mind.
Doug