Guan Wei's Two-finger exercise no.4

April 17, 2023

Two-finger exercise no. 4 (1989) — Guan Wei Guan Wei // China, 1989 Guan Wei was born in Beijing in 1957, a descendant of the Manchu—rulers of China during the Qing Dynasty, the last Chinese imperial dynasty—who, in their 276 years of rule, ushered in an era of rich artistic culture. One specific group of Qing artists—loyalists of the previous Ming dynasty [...]

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Mao’s Marx and the Chinese Civil War

October 18, 2021

The modern-day ideology that governs the political organisation of the People’s Republic of China bears little resemblance to the philosophy first posited by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the 1800s and why should it? Even China’s first introduction to Marxism, which came in the form of what is now known as Maoism, was specifically catered to work amid the Chinese Civil War took more from Leninism (itself a localised version of Marxism) than it did from Marxist ideology. [...]

Nudity vs Nakedness in Photography

September 10, 2021

John Berger’s Ways of Seeing began as an investigation of art and different ways that audiences interact with art. After being released as a four-part television series in 1972, Berger followed up with a book adaptation that explored the topic brought up in the series in even more depth. However, one essay had a particularly lasting, massive influence on the way female nudes are analysed and understood by audiences. In the essay, he argues that because of societal conventions, “man’s presence is dependent upon the promise of power which he embodies” (Berger, 1973), whereas “a woman’s presence…defines what can and cannot be done to her” and that these conventions affect the way that audiences interact with images of nude females, often rendering the female subject of an image into a more submissive role. [...]

A [Rainy] Day In The City

September 10, 2021

This is a short, observational documentary shot for a year 11 session 2 documentary project. My original idea was to shoot a documentary about busking, however on the day we shot (17/07/21), it was rainy, and so we had to come up with something else quick. This is the result. Edited in four hours from 12:21am-4:33am (20/08/21), fueled by an odd mix of Mango Loco and sleep deprivation. [...]

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A Brief Essay About 2008's Synecdoche, New York

September 15, 2020

Synecdoche, New York is a beautiful, beautiful film. Its slow incorporation of increasingly surrealistic and abstract visuals makes it the perfect “tutorial” film for someone (like me) who has never seen any surrealist works before. Charlie Kaufman utilises simple, down-to-earth characters to explore larger-than-life themes and motifs such as the futility of the endless endeavour to capture life in art. The performances delivered by the people who play these characters are one of a kind and Phillip Seymour Hoffman embodies the main character in an irresistibly arresting manner. The gorgeous visuals in the film also complement the story marvellously. [...]

Breathless (1960) & Jules et Jim (1962)

May 22, 2020

I’m a subscriber to Now You See It on YouTube, a channel that posts these amazingly well-edited, informative video essays once every month. Their most recent video, titled “The Movie That Changed Movies” discussed 1967’s Bonnie and Clyde, and it’s undeniable impact on American cinema. They also mentioned the impact that the French New Wave had on Bonnie and Clyde and pointed out two in particular: Breathless, a film by Jean-Luc Godard, as well as, Jules et Jim, a film by François Truffaut. [...]

Double Features: A Guide

May 06, 2020

I’m in quarantine, with a wealth of time on my hands, so I thought I’d post something on my criminally underused (and recently redesigned) blog. Since I’m planning on doing a French New Wave double feature soon (it’s inspired by a “Now You See It” video essay I just watched), I decided: Why not learn about double features before screening one for myself? [...]

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