ELS Autoblog

I agree with Robyn. I think that, in Fast Cheap & Out of Control, Morris is saying that we can discover our own consciousness through others. Or at least try to discover our own consciousness/self/whatever you want to call it. Morris tries with his Interrotron, and the other men try to make sense of their own lives through each of their own individual pursuits and interests.
Now, I’m not sure if the film, and Morris, is saying that these men are succeeding in this search, or if it is ultimately unknowable. Or if the film is not saying one way or the other, but rather showing the human nature/need to figure ourselves out. Actually, now that I re-read that last bit, my money is on the latter idea.
Additionally, because each man is using a different medium to define and understand his life, does that mean that they all have different conceptions […]

Original post by lscot7ow

So I’ve been thinking a lot about Fast Cheap and Out of Control. At first I was so excited about making the connections between them and their subject matter that I never realized the huge, gaping difference between the stories they were telling. Now that I’ve had time to think about it, I can see the differences. The main difference I saw that I thought was very interesting was the difference between the George (the topiary gardener) and the other three men. The other three men seem to be making these sweeping statements about their particular professions and human nature, and the human condition, and God, and life, and all that good stuff that the film is about. But George… well, correct me if I’m wrong (after all, I have only seen the film once) but George never really talked like that. All the speeches I can recall from George […]

Original post by lscot7ow

Seriously, I think I might make a shrine to him in my dorm room.
I agree 110% with (oh I wish I knew which blogs belonged to whom) the post on the blog All I Could Say Was about Fast, Cheap & Out of Control. I just can’t wrap my brain around it… yet. Let me watch it about nine times or so before I really get to know what I’m talking about, but until then, we’ll all just have to deal with my incoherent ramblings about one of the best films I’ve ever seen.
Morris uses a number of interesting movie effects in this film: canted camera angles (nearly every other shot is canted), black and white juxtaposed with color, extreme close ups, slow motion, fast motion, and… oh-my-god, the score. To what effect? I don’t know. Did it affect me? Why yes it did, a whole lot. I felt that […]

Original post by lscot7ow

Cinema hasn’t been invented yet? What?! Of course! It makes so much sense to me now! The goal of filmmakers (even the ones that make crazy fantastical films such as The Lord of the Rings) is to make a realistic world for us, the viewer. Whether that world is actually a mirror of real life (Saving Private Ryan – esque) or if it’s a fantasy world (thank you Peter Jackson), the filmmaker wants you to believe that you have been transported to that place, that time, that situation. But what if cinema hasn’t been invented yet? What if we haven’t reached that pivotal point where the line between real life and film blurs so much that they are indistinguishable from one another? That blows my mind.
You know what blows my mind even more? This thought I had a few minutes after class: what if we have reached that point and […]

Original post by lscot7ow