Hi Elizabeth Well, although I haven't seen the film yet (I will--I'm a HUGE AG fan), I doubt that it (or ANY feature film) can be said to be effective literary criticism. The narrative and cinematic structure of features and their ultimate goal (box office receipts, always) generally put these films at odds with real critical analysis. I think the best that can be said is that a film like Howl may shed some light on the writing process and the critical reception of a literary work (but even here, the need to dramatize and hold audience attention may be at odds with that intent).
In a sense, films like the Spike Jonze's Adaptation, which attempt to use the act of literary creation as a kind of dramatic trope, are much more effective works of general literary criticism than biopics such as Howl (even though the literary work at the core of the film is fictitious) Documentaries, which use a completely different types of rhetorical strategy and which have different claim on our attention, may be better suited to criticism (although I've seen fairly few which pull this off effectively). I appreciate Stanley Fish's analysis, but... Movies will simply never be able to do what sustained, well-reasoned writing does, and certainly not what effective literary criticism does. (Hey, this may be a continuation of my anti-Twitter viturperation) (By the way, film adaptation is a completely different kettle of typewriters on any number of scores...) gary > Dear All, > > Stanley Fish opined this morning that HOWL is worth going to see (and > viewers should definitely buy the book) because it functions as > literary criticism, even though the common consensus among the critics > is that it is a mediocre film. > > http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/04/literary-criticism-comes-to-the-movies/?hp > > How many of you will go see the film or acquire it for your > collections based on the subject matter alone or does Professor Fish's > endorsement make it more (or less) appealing? What other films > 'elevate' literary works to the level of critical theory successfully > rather than 'just' film adaptations? Is one preferable to the other to > your communities? > > Best, > > Elizabeth > > Elizabeth Sheldon > Vice President > Kino Lorber, Inc. > 333 W. 39th St., Suite 503 > New York, NY 10018 > (212) 629-6880 > > www.kinolorberedu.com > www.twitter.com/kinolorberedu > www.facebook.com/kinolorberedu (under construction) > > > > VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of > issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic > control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in > libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve > as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of > communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video > producers and distributors. > Gary Handman Director Media Resources Center Moffitt Library UC Berkeley 510-643-8566 ghand...@library.berkeley.edu http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC "I have always preferred the reflection of life to life itself." --Francois Truffaut VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
