Boy oh boy has this been one hell of a week! But thank goodness Schlegel has this whole teaching through the web hoopala under wraps real well, especially considering some of my classes got straight up canceled. But nonetheless we still enjoyed a completely smooth week of online facetime class presentations by Patrick, Kelsi, Spencer, Avery, and Chris. Kelsi gave a presentation on Buffalo 66, which is also her home town hehe. I had no idea Vincent Gallo was such an asshole, but its understandable then as for how he nailed that role so hard. Chris also gave a very loving presentation of the second Blade Runner, your passion still shone through the audio waves Chris, props. They were engaging even with just audio, so props you guys for being the ginny pigs for the rest of the cyber semester.

Spencer and Patrick summarized the readings, and the Valerie and Her Week of Wonders reading very well. Main points I found important in the readings They made compelling connections that helped me grasp the reading even more, and more deeply connect with though film, so that’s my main topic this week. Needless to say I am in LOVE.

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This film was released during the Czech New Wave movement, a result of new directions in the arts generally and the pressure for social and political reform during a communist in Czechoslovakia . Therefore many transgressive ideas are illuminated in these films, such as desire, subjectivity, childhood, social or political authority, the imagination and, in its broadest sense, language. Our reading states a transgressive idea that “like many fairytales, Valerie’s wondrous world is rife with the seductions and aggressions born of family relationships, a factor that continues to give Jireš’ film thematic relevance.”

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After watching this film once, I knew I was going to have to view it for a second time to ensure I I grasp all its glory, and again I am greatly enthused that I was introduced to this movie. The avant-garde director Jaromil Jireš “would probably be remembered today as a filmmaker in the satirical vein, with a taste for poetic juxtapositions and vertiginous edits.” Each frame was a perfectly framed photograph– depicting a fantasy nightmare dream utopia. Probably the most entrancing beautifully captured film I have ever seen, and will most defiantly impact my art practice. The use of symbolism and motif

The way Jireš uses the camera and editing alludes to the film following classic fairytale tropes, but with a dreamy-surreal-horror twist. “The movie’s color design is so vibrant,” the campy enigmatic acting, and set design make the film extremely poetic. Repetition of frames and scenes also gives the viewers a sense of a skewed reality. This reminds me of The Great Gatsby and after reading the book and watching the movie it follows a similar poetic manner that mimics the book. I can presume that the book version of Valerie and Her Week of Wonders was written in a poetic manner, considering the author was a poet.