Name your 3 TOP film directors
- Thread starter D.O.C.
- Start date
J.R. Hudson
Spirit Animal
Coltrain
It is indeed the way you come across; a prententious snooty ass and your condesending attitude towards the majority. You're mixing Art and Religion; you have an Agenda. It is no longer Art. (Religion tends to cloud and control)
You have contradicted yourself every which way and sideways for 20 pages of threads. Your views and appraoch to cinema are narrow-minded, discriminating and borish to say the least.
I would really love to see your work other than a "One day you might.............". Other than that? Forget about it. It's just my opinion and opinion's are like........................................
(I don't know you; so calm down)
It is indeed the way you come across; a prententious snooty ass and your condesending attitude towards the majority. You're mixing Art and Religion; you have an Agenda. It is no longer Art. (Religion tends to cloud and control)
You have contradicted yourself every which way and sideways for 20 pages of threads. Your views and appraoch to cinema are narrow-minded, discriminating and borish to say the least.
I would really love to see your work other than a "One day you might.............". Other than that? Forget about it. It's just my opinion and opinion's are like........................................
(I don't know you; so calm down)
Chance White
Well-known member
A flag with fecal matter smeared on it - it hangs prominently in a museum - provokes extreme reactions, but is it art?
I think everyone should 'simmer down'.
In a way I empathize with Coltrain as I see art as the only thing worth pursuing, it is 'my religion' in some ways. I believe great art can be transcendent experiences that help us to reach new levels of awareness.
I have chosen to make it my life's discipline for this reason. (And also that it is just fun to me, as Scorsese said somewhere, there's simply nothing else to be doing)
I suspect that I am speaking for alot of us here when I say that I want to be able to make films, and get paid, not because I want to 'sell out' and get rich, but because I want to be able to only make films, not be a wage slave. I think many of us are rebels in that way. We don't want to have to adhere to the system, we want to pursue our passion to the fullest. We want to touch others the way Tarkovsky has touched Coltrain, Speilberg has touched Hudson, Jackson has touched little boys... (okay not that way I hope) but you get the gyst.
If Coltrain is genuinely inspired spiritually and wishes to convey this in his films, who are we to judge him for it? We all find inspiration in many different places.
And BTW, I am not into any form of organized religion, in fact I think it is the cause of many problems in society today. The conservatives are taking over and they have to be stopped.
I think everyone should 'simmer down'.
In a way I empathize with Coltrain as I see art as the only thing worth pursuing, it is 'my religion' in some ways. I believe great art can be transcendent experiences that help us to reach new levels of awareness.
I have chosen to make it my life's discipline for this reason. (And also that it is just fun to me, as Scorsese said somewhere, there's simply nothing else to be doing)
I suspect that I am speaking for alot of us here when I say that I want to be able to make films, and get paid, not because I want to 'sell out' and get rich, but because I want to be able to only make films, not be a wage slave. I think many of us are rebels in that way. We don't want to have to adhere to the system, we want to pursue our passion to the fullest. We want to touch others the way Tarkovsky has touched Coltrain, Speilberg has touched Hudson, Jackson has touched little boys... (okay not that way I hope) but you get the gyst.
If Coltrain is genuinely inspired spiritually and wishes to convey this in his films, who are we to judge him for it? We all find inspiration in many different places.
And BTW, I am not into any form of organized religion, in fact I think it is the cause of many problems in society today. The conservatives are taking over and they have to be stopped.
Chance White said:
LOL :laugh:
Chance White said:
Quakerism... try it. The only religion I know of that I don't find "nieve." :engel017:
To sum up my feelings:
If a film is popular (Spielberg seems to be our adopted example) it doesn't devalue it as art, nor devalue the director as an artist! That is ridiculous and shows people trying to be exclusive and clever.
If anything, I think this makes them a finer artist, for reaching more people! Obviously marketing hype etc is excluded when considering this, eg Van Helsing is just crap! FACT
DinosaurInc
Active member
I disagree with the sentiment that religion has no place in films, I would argue politics, but definitely not religion. Extremes on any front are non-productive and controversial, be it with politics, religion, art, etc... I like that Coltrain has convictions, but I disagree with his definition of art. The problem is that everything any artist creates is biased in some respects because of background. While a film might not be forward in its stance on an issue, it could often be inferred.
Oh, and not all people who are religious are conservative. And not all conservatives are religious. And I repeat, extremes are what give politics and religion a bad name.
Oh, and not all people who are religious are conservative. And not all conservatives are religious. And I repeat, extremes are what give politics and religion a bad name.
J.R. Hudson
Spirit Animal
One thing's for sure; you cannot deny our passion for our belief in what cinema means to us.
I am not and never will say that religion and/or politics have no place in art and if I did let me clarify my stance; it is my belief once you create art for the sole purpose of your religion or for political manuevering or ideals it is no longer self serving; pure.
Now I know that some of us think that art should not be self serving whereas some of us (Me) think art is nothing but self serving. I think that pure art is self serving. Once art is used for any kind of propaganda (Religion and Politics) it becomes tainted; unpure; not true; not whole. Intead it is something else.
I am not and never will say that religion and/or politics have no place in art and if I did let me clarify my stance; it is my belief once you create art for the sole purpose of your religion or for political manuevering or ideals it is no longer self serving; pure.
Now I know that some of us think that art should not be self serving whereas some of us (Me) think art is nothing but self serving. I think that pure art is self serving. Once art is used for any kind of propaganda (Religion and Politics) it becomes tainted; unpure; not true; not whole. Intead it is something else.
I think Coltrain is free to express his love of religion in his film, but to try and force that definition on other people is ridiculous. We all have different definitions, and to try and judge other people's definitions is just going to rile people up.
And it's definitely your approach that's getting to people Coltrain. You may not be aware of it, but it should tell you something if a lot of people are offended by the curt tone of your posts. If someone writes something and you respond with, "It sickens me."
And it's definitely your approach that's getting to people Coltrain. You may not be aware of it, but it should tell you something if a lot of people are offended by the curt tone of your posts. If someone writes something and you respond with, "It sickens me."
Perfect example of forcing your definition on other people. I respect that you want to mix religion and art, but how about doing it instead of talking about it here? Just because you say something doesn't make it so.
I agree Coltrain,
Many of the greatest works of art ever have been inspired by religion!
I am far from being Catholic but St Peters Basilica is a truely awesome work of art for example.:engel017:
I feel we may have drifted off subject... lol
Have you guys heard that Jedi is now a major religion in the UK! During the last census, internet geeks spread the word that if enough people stated that they were Jedi, it would become an offical UK religion. Although this is not strictly true, there are now more Jedi Knights than Jews in the UK! :grin:
Many of the greatest works of art ever have been inspired by religion!
I am far from being Catholic but St Peters Basilica is a truely awesome work of art for example.:engel017:
I feel we may have drifted off subject... lol
Have you guys heard that Jedi is now a major religion in the UK! During the last census, internet geeks spread the word that if enough people stated that they were Jedi, it would become an offical UK religion. Although this is not strictly true, there are now more Jedi Knights than Jews in the UK! :grin:
Chance White
Well-known member
Just wanted to clarify because it might have seemed a little random, I stated my 'religious stance' to make sure that people realized, as you stated, I was being unbiased in supporting your motivations for your art.
I am a spiritual person, but I believe that fundamentalists are causing alot of problems in society, but that's WAY off the topic here... Yes there are people who are very active in organized religion who I admire very much, and yes, the bad ones make everyone look bad.
Look at Birth of a Nation. Is it art? It carried an enormous influence and is still viewed in film schools and analyzed today. Fahrenheit 911... both these films are propaganda, touting their very subjective views. I think it's an interesting question to ponder these as legitimate 'works of art', if art is simply a work that garners reaction, both certainly qualify, but they are obviously quite politically inclined...
Those who do not believe in the Bible could probably also say that The Passion is Christian propaganda, and therefore 'not art', though it is, IMO, a very well done film, one of the best filmic adaptations of Christ's life, and therefore has artistic merit.
Politics, and religion, can be very personal issues that many film makers are passionate enough about to be inspired to create a film. STAR WARS, is even quite politically motivated... If you rule out politically or religiously inspired films as being art, you have to rule out a huge percentage of work. You can make a film that is political or religiously themed and still be 'self serving', in that case, is it art?
Religion has been the inspiration for countless incredible works of art, but also every war ever fought in the history of mankind... interesting.
I am a spiritual person, but I believe that fundamentalists are causing alot of problems in society, but that's WAY off the topic here... Yes there are people who are very active in organized religion who I admire very much, and yes, the bad ones make everyone look bad.
Look at Birth of a Nation. Is it art? It carried an enormous influence and is still viewed in film schools and analyzed today. Fahrenheit 911... both these films are propaganda, touting their very subjective views. I think it's an interesting question to ponder these as legitimate 'works of art', if art is simply a work that garners reaction, both certainly qualify, but they are obviously quite politically inclined...
Those who do not believe in the Bible could probably also say that The Passion is Christian propaganda, and therefore 'not art', though it is, IMO, a very well done film, one of the best filmic adaptations of Christ's life, and therefore has artistic merit.
Politics, and religion, can be very personal issues that many film makers are passionate enough about to be inspired to create a film. STAR WARS, is even quite politically motivated... If you rule out politically or religiously inspired films as being art, you have to rule out a huge percentage of work. You can make a film that is political or religiously themed and still be 'self serving', in that case, is it art?
Religion has been the inspiration for countless incredible works of art, but also every war ever fought in the history of mankind... interesting.
Chance White said:
hmmm.... not so sure about the war thing... a factor maybe.
I would say greed and power more - British colonial wars, Hitler in WWII (remember the Holocaust was only discovered after the war), Vietnam, kinda, more political though. WWI was just a big confused mess of egos and explosive.
I think that the very act of making any film is art. Like painting a picture, even a bad one, is still art.
