Radiohead – Bloom: Generative Criticism

The shown clip is taken from Radiohead’s “The King of Limbs: Live From the Basement” recording from last year, which was the first live demonstration of the material off of their newest album to a wide audience of fans.

Open your mouth wide
The universal sigh
And while the ocean blooms
It’s what keeps me alive
So why does it still hurt?
Don’t blow your mind with why

I’m moving out of orbit
Turning in somersaults
I dive into those eyes
Jellyfish swim by

The first thing I thought when listening is how perfectly it built itself up. It starts with a simple beat on the electric drums, followed by a small, repeating riff from Thom Yorke that becomes looped, which he follows up with a series of simple two note riffs that last through the song. Slowly, each musician adds their own element to the song, building up a strong foundation with Colin Greenwood’s bass, and even sacrificing lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood to the large, three-person percussion section. When Yorke’s vocals come into the mix, every note is made to last, each one starting low then building, until trail off, lost in the surrounding music. When the brass section finally comes in, this song(built on simple riffs and lacking any real flourishes or musician dominance) has become so much greater than the sum of its parts.

One thing that came to me as I listened to the live version of the song is how far apart it stood from the original. This is not to say that it is necessarily better, but that it almost felt like a new song. The King of Limbs is seen as a particularly electronic album, making similarities between it and Radiohead’s 2001 album “Amnesiac”. In the live version, the most electronic aspects of the performance are subtle, such as  Portishead drummer Clive Deamer on electric drums, Yorke’s loop pedal and Ed O’Brien’s guitar pedal. Over this we can hear Phil Selway and Jonny Greenwood pumping out a more natural percussion sound, with an added brass section who had been orchestrated by Greenwood beforehand. While having many electronic elements, the song feels natural, and builds into a soaring epic, mirroring its lyrics “I’m moving out of orbit, turning in somersaults”.

Radiohead have been playing together for around 20 years, and have attempted to recreate their sound with each album, each one as interesting and moving as the last(aside from Pablo Honey). This performance shows that their new playlist is no different, making a must have for fans.

Run Lola Run – Pentadic Criticism

Run Lola Run is a German film that revolves the main character’s attempts to find 100, 000 DM for her boyfriend, that he needs to pay off a local crime boss. The movie shows Lola’s many different attempts at raising the money for Manni within twenty minutes,  starting from the beginning after each failure learning from her previous mistakes.

The agents, or actors, in the movie are important to the story, but in terms of pentadic criticism, they are overshadowed by the other aspects, including purpose and agency. Many of the main characters are never properly introduced, and we are only shown the impact that Lola’s actions have on their lives. The scenes of the movie take place in a German city, taking place in a bank owned by Lola’s father, a casino, and most notably the streets of the city that Lola must run through constantly throughout the movie. Once again, this term is important, but overshadowed. The final term that is less important in respect to pentadic critique is the act; Lola must obtain 100, 000 DM within 20 minutes. This is the end goal for Lola, but the film is more concerned with how she reaches her goal, and why she must reach it.

As previously noted, one of the dominating terms in Run Lola Run is the purpose. The story is built around the urgency of the situation, where if the money is not raised, there will be deadly consequences. You are able to see the frantic desperation in every stride, and the fueled determination even after each failed attempt to reach her goal.  This ties in neatly to the agency, of how Lola must raise the money. This movie is called Run Lola Run for a reason. It is because there is running…lots of its. When she isn’t running to her target, she is holding up a bank, chasing down ambulances and screaming her way to massive gambling wins. She is constantly pushing herself to her physical limits, only to have to redo them over and over again.

Double Fine Kickstarter Video – Ideological Criticism

Earlier this year, Double Fine productions released a video asking fans of their work to pledge money to fund the production of a new point-and-click adventure game. The video starred the head of Double Fine Productions, Tim Schafer, asking for $400,000 from viewers, arguing that it is a project the company had been hoping to do, but no publisher would pay to create it.$300,000 would be spent towards the game, while $100,000 would be used towards a documentary of the production of the game, filmed by Two-Player Productions. Within the month that this video was released, fans have pledged almost $2.5 million in support of the game, 612% of what was asked for.

Although the overwhelming support can be attributed to the loyal fans of the production company, their donations were fueled by by the ideology that even though point-and-click adventure games are relatively unpopular, it is a game that fans would want to fund. They start by bringing up the fact that no gaming publishers would fund their project, in the light that these games are no longer popular to consumers. This appeals to the many gamers who have fond and nostalgic memories of games such as “The Secret of Monkey Island” or “The Day of the Tentacle”, both of which Schafer was directly involved with. It makes theses gamers want to challenge these publishers, and bring these games back into popularity. At the very least, they would want one made by a some well known names in the field, including Schafer and Ron Gilbert, the “inventor of the genre”. This is reinforced with a skit involving Shafer and a “fan”, with the fan basically throwing his money at Schafer.

The video is very humorous, presenting the comedy that is present in their previous games, and that would be in the this new game once completed. At one point, Schafer attempts to take a drink out of his mug in the style of a classic point-and-click game. As he continually fails, he not only shows his sense of humor, but also demonstrates the pitfalls of previous point-and-click games. This implies that a new game, with the major advancement in technology over the years, will be a smoother and more enjoyable experience. It simultaneously creates a sense of nostalgia in the viewer, but also shows that creating this type of game now would have something new to offer.

Fantasy Theme Criticism – Doctor Who

Doctor Who is a British science-fiction show that has been airing for nearly 50 years, beginning its run in 1963 and continues to this day. The show revolves around a time-traveling alien from the planet Gallifrey known only as “The Doctor” who, with the help of various Earthly companions, saves the Earth and the universe over and over again. When the Doctor is close to death, he can “regenerate” and become an almost entirely different person. This has allowed for the show to maintain production for such a long period of time, and has allowed for the show to change drastically in tone and theme between each incarnation of its main character. It is currently on the eleventh Doctor.

The first fantasy element within the show are the Doctor’s many alien tools. This includes his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor’s tool of choice which allows him to interact with various types of machinery from all over the universe, psychic paper, which shows the viewer false identification that allows the Doctor to keep from revealing his identity, and finally his most iconic tool of all. This is the Tardis (time and relative dimensions in space), which is a machine he stole from his people before they were all sealed away. It a machine shaped like a mid-twentieth-century British police box that allows him to travel through time and space. All of these tools are reused constantly throughout the show, the Tardis making an appearance in every show, and although confusing as to their specific function to new viewers, they are well known and beloved by fans, leading to the sale of sonic screwdrivers, and people attempting to recreate their own personal Tardis.

One of the most important fantasy elements created by the show is the fact that the Doctor can regenerate. This allows for the main character to stay the same yet become completely different, save for a few quirks. This would be unsuccessful in others shows, as fans would be angered that someone else is trying to play a character that they have come to like, but Doctor Who has been able to keep its fan base with viewers readily accepting of the changes, as they know it leads to new adventures and a more expanded television show. Each fan is allowed to have their own favorite Doctor, and are happy to show it, with the various incarnations of the Doctor being some of the most popular costumes at conventions like Comic-con, where it is hard not to see at least one of each version of the Doctor.

The show has created a large following that call themselves “Whovians” that is based mainly in the UK, but is has a constantly growing cult following in North America and all around the world. This rhetorical community has a deep knowledge of series, with an enthusiasm towards it similar to that of Star Wars fans or Trekkies.a

Breaking Bad Methaphor Criticism

Breaking Bad is a television show on AMC that has been airing for four seasons. It follows a middle-aged chemistry teacher named Walter White, who develops lung cancer. He believes he will die and that the only way he will be able to make enough money to support his family is to start cooking crystal meth with a former student of his. Breaking Bad is unique, in that when it begins with a character the audience can feel empathy for. For a while it almost justifies his actions but as the story progresses we see Walter become more and more nihilistic, taking unnecessary risks and becoming a danger to the people he is trying to protect.

An obvious metaphor in the show that represents this, strangely enough, his facial hair. As Walter “breaks bad” throughout the show, his facial hair becomes more pronounced, growing from a small, goofy mustache, into a bushy goatee. This makes him look more intense and more threatening as the story progresses. It a visual representaion him becoming more dangerous.

A second, more chilling, metaphor is the eye of a teddy bear. At the end of season two, Walter is indirectly the cause of a terrible accident, that he feels he is responsible for. After the accident, he finds this eye in his pool and decides to keep it. It can be seen every once in a while, reminding Walter and the audience of all the horrible things he has done. It acts almost as Walter’s conscience, which he shuts away in a drawer. A subtly clever moment in the show is when his wife Skylar discovers the eye. She sees it, but she doesn’t understand what it is, so she ignores it. She is oblivious to the horrible crimes Walt has committed, so of course it would mean nothing to her.

There Will be Blood Narrative Criticism

There will be spoilers.

“I look at people and see nothing worth liking”

There Will be Blood is the 2007 film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and starring Daniel Day-Lewis and featuring a score by Radiohead lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood. The film focuses on the life of Daniel Plainsview(Day-Lewis) and his rise to power at the turn of the 20th century; he begins poor and quickly becomes a rich and successful prospector, willing to stop at nothing to reach his goals.

The objective of this movie is to present the flaws of a capitalistic society, through the birth of capitalism in North America, through the oil business and through Daniel Plainsview. For this post, I will focus on the character Plainsview. It is shown early on in the movie that Plainsview is a hard-working man, certainly worthy of wealth, from a capitalistic view. It begins with him striking oil, but simultaneously falling down into his mineshaft, breaking his leg. It is not shown, but Plainsview must drag himself miles, across the surrounding hills and mountains to the nearest town, where he seeks brief medical attention and claims the reward for his findings. Even while lying on the ground, he is making sure he makes all of his earnings.

The film then jumps ahead a few years, where he now has a work force working for him and has more advanced mining technology. It should be noted that he is still working hard with his fellow men. It should also be noted that up to this point there has been little to no dialogue. When another worker is killed in a mining accident, he adopts his son. After another leap ahead, we see that he has become somewhat of a successful “oil man” with multiple wells and the appearance of a “family man”, offering the services that no other oil-man can. To this point he is shown only as hard working and shrewd but that quickly changes.

Plainsview is then shown taking steps to assure himself the best. It starts small, paying a poor family minimal “quail prices” for land that is rich in oil, but quickly escalates.He threatens the lives of his competitors, e abandons his son when he becomes useless to him and he murders a man pretending to be his estranged brother. He makes it clear that others are worthless to him, and though there are sparks of compassion shown for his son and brother, he ultimately hides from humanity in a mansion, where he had long dreamed of being.

Daniel Plainsview shows how a capitalistic system leads to only the most ruthless and self-indulgent people gain power, throwing others aside and treating them as less worth than money.

Generic Criticism of The Wire

The Wire is an HBO television show that aired between 2002 – 2008, for a total of five seasons, each season revolving around a new case for the police to solve in the city of Baltimore. Although it, at first, seems to be your run-of-the-mill crime drama, creator of the show, David Simon persists that it is “really about the American city, and about how we live together.” In the following post, I will explain how this makes the show fit more into the genre of historical fiction, than a crime drama.

According to Wikipedia, a historical fiction “tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the main characters tend to be fictional. Writers of stories in this genre, while penning fiction, attempt to capture the manners and social conditions of the persons or time(s) presented in the story, with due attention paid to period detail and fidelity.”

The main thing to know about The Wire is that it is based very closely of the lives of writers David Simon and Ed Burns. David Simon is a former reporter, and had a clear view of the city through the eyes of someone with all the information. He knew what happened, and when, why, who, where and how. His knowledge of the paper business became integral in the final season of The Wire, which explored corruption in journalism. In the late 80’s, he had the opportunity to be the first person to follow an entire homicide unit, where much of the material for the show came from.

Ed Burns was a former member of the Baltimore Homicide and Narcotics Units, where his knowledge of the streets and the people that walked them. Although this was a huge contribution to the show, Burns’ major contribution to the show was through his experience as a public school teacher. Through his experience, they could show the failings of the education system in Baltimore, and where kids are sent off the right path.

This world may seem ridiculous and unbelievable to some viewers. Take the following clip, for example.

It may seem unbelievable that someone would fall for this kind of interrogation, but this is a real technique used by Baltimore police, as seen in David’s non-fiction book Homicide: Life in the Killing Streets. The characters of the show are (almost all) based off of real people. Even the way each of the characters talks is true to the city. The Wire is absolutely drawn upon real events, and the writers capture the manners and social conditions of the the characters perfectly.

The Wire is, therefore, historical fiction.

Twin Peaks Intro

Twin Peaks was a television horror drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost, that became a global phenomenon in the early 90’s. It followed the investigation of a local girl’s murder in a small American town, focusing on many of the town’s residents and their relationship with the girl. The show quickly turns into a labyrinth of symbolism, surrealism and quirky characters, leaving viewers questioning what the had just watched every week.

Lynch and Frost use the quaint and familiar backdrop of a small town to their advantage in many aspects of the show. They could start by showing the beauty of the surrounding nature, and then terrorize you with the horrors that lurk within. That is what the intro attempts to do every week, it calms you with its soothing synthesizers and sends you floating down a stream, bringing you into its simple world.

One recurring theme that all viewers must be aware of in Twin Peaks is the battle between good and evil, many times represented by fire and water. Fire is displayed early in the opening theme as the sparks flying as grinders sharpen manufactured saw blades. A factory is being shown, centered in the middle of a forest, an obtrusive machine in the midst of a bounty of Douglas Firs. As we enter Twin Peaks, though, we see a towering waterfall, an overwhelming force of good that leads into slow moving river. There is evil here, but there is also good.

While Twin Peaks is based around its characters, the intro is meant to set the location and the mood. In this sense, it is certainly successful.

Stanley Kubrick’s Final Speech

Stanley Kubrick is an American director, who over the span of 1953 – 1999, wrote, produced, and directed thirteen films. Although his filmography is small in size, it is the birth of many classics, including 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining, Paths of Glory and Dr. Strangelove: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. In 1997, he was awarded the D.W. Griffith Lifetime achievement award, where he gave the following pre-recorded speech.

Presenting to his  fellow Director’s Guild of America members, Kubrick gives a humbled, but rousing speech about the importance of perseverance and dedication when directing film. He states the difficulties of making a film, comparing it to “trying to write War and Peace in a bumper car,while at an amusement park,” and brings up the fact that even D.W. Griffith, a man who started off a success became a commercial failure, had a career reminiscent of the Icarus myth. But of course, he would not end his speech on such a sour note. As a director who was constantly finding and conquering new challenges in his work, whether it be mastering the steadycam in The Shining, using the zoom lens in Barry Lyndon to create incredible moving paintings, or practically redefining cinema with 2001: A Space Odyssey, he had a hard time following the Icarus myth. Instead of believing in the common interpretation of, that says that people should fly too close to the sun, he states, “Forget the wax and feathers and do a better job on the wings.”

Although Kubrick’s voice is somewhat monotonous as he speaks into the camera, it is strong, and you can hear the belief behind his words. He begins his speech talking to his fellow directors, referencing directors and talking about the craft of making a film, but he ends on a much more topic, the tale of a man who created a way of escape and soar above everyone else, only to plummet into the sea. Kubrick is able to take a story that we all know and have had our beliefs of all through life, and turns those beliefs on their heads. It is an evocative and powerful speech, from a usually reclusive and hidden man.