Sunday, July 9, 2017

Episode #94 - Manohla Dargis (Killer of Sheep)



"I think you have to pay attention to the object. You have to pay attention to what's in front of your eyes really clearly."

Before anything else, films are objects that present a sensorial experience. To understand how they function—as industrial products, as societal mirrors, as ideological machines—we must understand how they interact with our minds and make us think. For the five year anniversary of The Cinephiliacs, Manohla Dargis joins the cast to talk exactly that. The New York Times critic discusses her childhood movie love of watching objects without inhibition and her writing as a form of translating the way of watching films. She also chats about the past and future of the Times, and how the institutional changes have affected the practice of criticism in a digital age. Finally, Manohla and Peter examine Charles Burnett's independent masterpiece Killer of Sheep, examining how the filmmaker's stark portrayal of impoverished black life resonates to today through poetic realism. Plus, a brief chat with James N. Kienitz Wilkins and Robin Schavoir, whose new film, The Republic, is currently streaming on MUBI.

0:00-3:09 Opening
4:23-14:00 Establishing Shots — Five Years of The Cinephiliacs
14:46-47:15 Deep Focus — Manohla Dargis
48:28-1:07:42 Sponsorship Section — An Interview with The Republic team, James N. Kienitz Wilkins and Robin Schavoir
1:09:00-1:23:28 Double Exposure — Killer of Sheep (Charles Burnett)
1:23:32-1:28:38 Close / Outtake

Notes and Links from the Conversation
—Read Manohla Dargis on the New York Times and follow her on Twitter
—Former Podcasts from the Year (In Order of Voice): Scott Bukatman, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Catherine Grant, Laya Maheshwari, Jake Mulligan, James Schamus, Gordon Quinn, Jeff Lambert, Marsha Gordon, Snowden Becker, and Girish Shambu.
—Tom Gunning's D.W. Griffith and the Origins of American Narrative Film
—Listen to our Conversation with J. Hoberman
—Those with Proquest accounts may be able to access Manohla's Village Voice columns here
—Manohla on Nathaniel Dorsky
—An interview with Alexander Horwath of Austria
—Bruce Baillie's All My Life
Visible Evidence refers to a trend in documentary studies to see the function of "the real" beyond documentary. Jane Gaines and Michael Renov's 1999 book on the subject helped bring the topic to the forefront.
—Manohla on David Bordwell
—Listen to our Conversation with David Bordwell
—Manohla's two recent reviews: the Syria documentary City of Ghosts and Baby Driver
—Manohla on The Aviator and Song to Song
—Manohla's call to curtail the independent film deluge
—Picking the 25 Best Films of the 21st Century
—A Profile of The Hurt Locker's Kathryn Biglelow
—A Profile of Mission: Impossible II star Tom Cruise
—Manohla on Killer of Sheep
—For more on the L.A. Rebellion, see L.A. Rebellion: Creating a New Black Cinema

Theme Music: “Forward” by Northbound

No comments:

Post a Comment