Feb. 14 Class Discussion

I enjoyed the method we used yesterday for discussing the films we saw on Monday. It gave people a chance to say what they really felt and gave them the opportunity to ask the questions they wanted. Often times, going around in a circle can diminish the actual conversation and people may not always say what's really on their minds. I think we brought up some good points about the films and interesting questions were answered. Once I had a topic in mind, I felt like I could write endlessly.
The paper I ended up with discussed Leighton Pierce's "Thursday," a film which I enjoyed as far as I can remember. The peace found in each shot of his home was almost calming and it was interesting to see how such simple everyday scenes could have such deep meaning. The question that was first asked was, "In Leighton Pierce's film, what is the point of showing window blinds or showing us a window instead of showing us what may have been seen on the outside of those objects? " It was answered with "I believe Leighton didn't want to show us what was outside because I think he was more concerned with showing his daily life within his kitchen/home." I agree that he purposefully stayed within his domestic area because he found pleasure in his immediate surroundings and he wanted to share it. There was a definite sense of graphic pleasure in the collection of sights and sounds that he showed. The second question was, "Does Pierce's "Thursday" relate to any other films shown in class?" The response to this was, "I think that Pierce's "Thursday" is a lot like Dorsky's "Variations" because they both paid attention to the detail we see in our lives." The film for me was similar to "Variations" in this sense but I didn't catch the similarity until it was brought up in class. For some reason I liked "Thursday" more than "Variations" and it may have something to do with the fact that it had sound. I think that if "Thursday" lacked sound, I would have felt differently. One example would be the way that the sound of the coffee maker went along with its image. I think I needed to hear its noise to get the full effect. The final question for discussion was, "In Leighton's "Thursday" he broke down time to it's simplest form, a lot like Dorsky's "Variations." How did he go about doing it?" This was answered with, "He broke it down into its simplest form by using extended shots of vague imagery. Allowing the viewer to focus with the intent of seeing a deeper meaning." I liked this idea of "seeing a deeper meaning" because we often lose sight of this when we go about our daily lives. Films like "Thursday" and "Variations" slow things down and help to regain our sense of this. Not many would see anything interesting about the blinds of a window or a pot of coffee being made, but with the "extended shots of vague imagery" it is possible.