Cinerant

Aren't I Postmodern?

Since it's come and gone, I really don't feel like debating the cinematic unmerits (if there were such a word) of Sin City. I will say a year that has produced Hide and Seek, Elektra, and Sin City, doesn't give me much hope. The only thing going for this year so far is that there have been two Joan Allen films (The Upside of Anger & Off the Map) and a really charming family film in Millions.

Nevertheless, I read this article by Ron Rosenbaum of the New York Observer and found it spot on. Everything that Rosenbaum says about the Tarantino-ites and wannabes strikes at the chord of cinematic malady that is the art of postmodern reflexivity. Ever since postmodernism invaded Bonnie and Clyde, films have been referencing themselves backwards and forwards. It's not something new and it will continue to be done. Television does it as well. (Bless Josh Schwartz's heart, The OC wouldn't exist without it.)

Self-reflexivity can be done in a serious homage (The Limey), as a joke (Ocean's Twelve), or weird experiments that make you scratch your head and wonder what plane somebody is working on (Full Frontal). [See, everything you need to know about cinema really can revolve around the genius that is Soderbergh.]

When reading Rosenbaum's article, the film that popped into my head was Gus Van Sant's remake of Psycho. Tarantino can claim that frames of Kill Bill are an homage to martial arts films and Rodriguez can attest to Sin City referencing graphic novels right and left, but the work that they refer to is not an unadulterated masterpiece like Psycho. Not to disparage the films Tarantino loves, but I doubt even he would disupte the fact that they don't live up to the level of Psycho, but then very little does. However, when Van Sant made his film in 1998 and used a shot by shot by shot recreation of one of the benchmarks of horror, there were no supporters arguing that what he'd done was art. There were simply people denying they'd ever seen the thing.

So what's changed in the five plus years? I'm not sure that anything has changed as much as it is that Tarantino has a lot more geeky fans than Van Sant. If Tarantino had done the Hitchcock recreation, I venture to say that you would hear a lot of noise about the genius that is the Psycho remake. However, since it was Van Sant (who is cool on a level upon which Tarantino will never sit) and not Tarantino, the comparison is moot.

Rosenbaum is right about everything he says. Something isn't postmodern art just because it's postmodern. Postmodern and self-reflexive are the adjectives. They are not the nouns. First and foremost, it must be art. And I echo Rosenbaum in saying, none of what goes in this discussion is even bad art.

posted by cinegod @ 5:14 PM