"Foreign" as a film genre seems similar to "Black" as a music genre.
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Hayden - Sep 15, 2006 1:02:42 pm PDT #4298 of 10001
aka "The artist formerly known as Corwood Industries."
§ ita § - Sep 15, 2006 1:05:14 pm PDT #4299 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
"Foreign" as a film genre seems similar to "Black" as a music genre.
Hmm. I don't know. There are enough people who use foreign (as in language, not country) as a factor in movie selection, many more, %wise than would use black, that I think it's arbitrary for the purists and useful for the masses.
Hayden - Sep 15, 2006 1:10:02 pm PDT #4300 of 10001
aka "The artist formerly known as Corwood Industries."
Maybe so. I just realized that the story I read yesterday about someone whose downloaded tracks from emusic had "Black" as the listed genre wasn't on this board at all. Without this context, my comparison seems even more spurious.
§ ita § - Sep 15, 2006 1:13:01 pm PDT #4301 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
When I interpret "black" as a music genre, I think of "music those black people listen to" and values of "those" vary wildly from speaker to speaker. But most people agree on what makes a foreign (language) film. Most.
Matt the Bruins fan - Sep 15, 2006 1:41:28 pm PDT #4302 of 10001
"I remember when they eventually introduced that drug kingpin who murdered people and smuggled drugs inside snakes and I was like 'Finally. A normal person.'” —RahvinDragand
I dont' think I can wrap my head around a musical genre wide enough to include Darlene Love, Sylvester, and Three 6 Mafia.
Hayden - Sep 15, 2006 1:45:45 pm PDT #4303 of 10001
aka "The artist formerly known as Corwood Industries."
Let alone TV on the Radio and Ornette Coleman.
But most people agree on what makes a foreign (language) film. Most.
Sure, but most genre titles tell you what to expect out of a film. Foreign tells you about nothing but the language spoken. Hell, even French as a genre wouldn't tell you enough to figure out if you'd prefer Bob Le Flambeur to Au hasard Balthazar.
§ ita § - Sep 15, 2006 1:55:22 pm PDT #4304 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
Foreign tells you about nothing but the language spoken
Absolutely. However, I know people who think it's weird my sister likes to "read" her movies, and my sister bemoans not being able to find enough foreign movies in Jamaica.
So even before you get to the specific language spoken, there's a perceived commonality that's useful for those that don't participate and for at least one (and she's just the first example that came to mind, since she mentioned she was going to try and rent a foreign movie for her birthday today).
Black music, without an implied understanding of which black folk and all the values that implies, I think is less useful.
Hell, even French as a genre wouldn't tell you enough to figure out if you'd prefer Bob Le Flambeur to Au hasard Balthazar.
But isn't French cinema often spoken of as a genre unto itself? I'm not saying there aren't useful subdivisions, but still...I know people who will characterise HK movies as of interest to them, for example.
Theodosia - Sep 15, 2006 1:56:20 pm PDT #4305 of 10001
'we all walk this earth feeling we are frauds. The trick is to be grateful and hope the caper doesn't end any time soon"
Don't worry, Springy, we all had to start somewhere. And there are some of us ::voice drops to a whisper:: who have seen a fair number of those films and didn't care much for them.
My three essential French language films: Diva, Delicatessen and La Belle et La Bete. Which ain't nobody here mentioned yet, even though I personally think they'll be very accessible to anybody who is a Whedon/Buffy-type fan.
megan walker - Sep 15, 2006 2:02:16 pm PDT #4306 of 10001
"What kind of magical sunshine and lollipop world do you live in? Because you need to be medicated."-SFist
Absolutely. However, I know people who think it's weird my sister likes to "read" her movies, and my sister bemoans not being able to find enough foreign movies in Jamaica.
Which is exactly why I hate foreign films as a category. I think it means that many people dismiss films they might otherwise enjoy.
Le Samourai is a case in point. A student's father, who would never choose to watch a "foreign film," came in while she was watching, loved it, and decided he wanted to see more movies by this Melville dude.
megan walker - Sep 15, 2006 2:06:25 pm PDT #4307 of 10001
"What kind of magical sunshine and lollipop world do you live in? Because you need to be medicated."-SFist
My three essential French language films: Diva, Delicatessen and La Belle et La Bete. Which ain't nobody here mentioned yet, even though I personally think they'll be very accessible to anybody who is a Whedon/Buffy-type fan.
All favorites of mine. And I agree, all very accessible, with Diva being a great example of a film that doesn't really fit into what many people think of when they think of "French" films.