Hi GB-
To be honest, I probably shouldn't have posted anything about
Tarantino at all as he doesn't really have much to do with
hard-boiled fiction. But I have a soft spot for the underdog
and seemingly have an almost compulsive need to jump and
defend him/her. Precious little is truly unique and original;
I feel that Tarantino has taken something old, and sometimes
mundane, and put a fresh new twist on it. I see him as the
Andy Warhol of film (which may be an instant turn-off in
itself to some!).
I got the impression of Tarantino being criticized as being a
genre filmmaker by a post saying that he has killed the genre
movie. This and other comments may have been criticisms of
his ability as a filmmaker and not of him being a genre
filmmaker. It's very possible I misunderstood the intent of
the comments and if so, I apologize.
I don't believe anyone should be sheltered from respectful
criticism anywhere. But I do still find it a bit ironic that
a filmmaker known for making genre pictures would be so
unappreciated here. Possibly my sense of irony isn't as
developed as it could be.
I'm quite naive and tend to see people through the cliched
rose-colored glasses so maybe I did expect a certain sense of
solidarity among those of us who enjoy noir, but not a
solidarity that is blind allegiance and complete agreement;
more like a sympathetic understanding of what noir creators
are trying to do. In other words, I don't expect we should
glorify just anything because it may be noir, but at least be
appreciative of what the creator is attempting to do whether
we like it or not; to not like the end product while still
appreciating the process and intent. (I keep trying to
re-word this to make my point clear and feel that I'm
muddling it up more. Hopefully you'll understand what I
mean.)
One more apology before I close...My apologies to Bill for
getting so completely off-topic. It won't happen again!
Amy peace
> <uplandharmabooks@> wrote:
> >
> > Tarantino has readily admitted several times
that he makes genre
> films
> > and he has never hidden his
influences.
> >
> > I find it a bit ironic that some members of a
group dedicated to a
> > specific genre whose very name (hard-boiled) is
indicative of
> > violence, sex, darkness, and...well...hardness,
are willing to
> > complain not only about a genre filmmaker, but
the characteristics
> > that make up their favorite fiction
genre.
> >
>
> Where did you get the idea that people were
criticizing Tarantino
> for being a genre filmmaker? It doesn't really make
sense that
> people on a list devoted to a specific genre would
be prejudiced
> against genre fiction. My criticism against
Tarantino was that his
> films are derivative and that, unlike you, I believe
he doesn't
> really take them a step beyond the work of his
predecessors. If
> anything, I think his pastiches are a step backwards
in the sense
> that the characters are superficial and defined more
than anything
> by their witticisms and pop culture references
rather than human
> traits or any real motivation like you'd see in a
Jim Thompson
> novel. I agree with you about Tarantino's talent for
dialogue, but
> dialogue is not enough to tell a good story and I
believe this was
> best illustrated in his episode on Grindhouse. I
don't know about
> you, but after 30 minutes of those girls' inane
chitchat I was ready
> to go home (and did).
>
> You also find ironic that people here, of all
places, are willing to
> complain about a genre filmmaker. Why should he be
sheltered from
> criticism just because he's a "genre" creator? Is
there some sort of
> solidarity we as people who enjoy noir should
exhibit towards
> noir "creators"?
>
> -GB.
>
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