Moderator Prompt #1
We live in an age where we know a lot about public figures like artists, musicians and actors. In fact, many films have been made chronicling the life and times of famous artists. These films tend to blur the lines between biography and fiction, often embellishing the lives of these artists for dramatic effect.
A few examples of this are given below.
Do these films enhance your understanding of an artist’s life? Is it better to know more about how these artists created their work or does that detract from your enjoyment of the art? Does it affect your judgment of the art itself? How much of a responsibility do the filmmakers have to the artist and the audience to present an accurate representation? What about the actors portraying these artists? What is their responsibility?
Can you give me more examples of films like this? Who are some other artists you might like to see a film about? Are there artists who might be “off-limits” to this type of film? Who are they? Why?
Discuss the pros and cons of “dramatic biographies” such as those given below. Are you in favor or against this type of biography? Why?
Factory Girl:
Pollock:
Frida:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5-yKhDd64s&ob=av2el
ReplyDeleteI believe this song, Not Afraid, by Eminem represents all of the hardships he has faced in his life. He has had a battle with drug addictions, poverty, and the stresses of fame. This song in a way is a biography of all of the things in his life he has over come. I believe this has helped him come back as an artist especially for being in rehab for his drug addiction.
Shellhouse.8
@Shellhouse.8 This is a great example of an artist who's had a biopic made of their life - what about some of the other questions that were asked in the prompt?
ReplyDeletegasper.14
ReplyDeleteI think these biographies make generally a positive impact. For example, I have seen some of Andy Warhol's works, but knew nothing of his life. After watching the trailer for "Factory Girl" I probably have a better understanding of what his motivations were (as long as the film was accurately made). I had no idea he had a relationship with the blond he has painted many times, and if I watched the movie I could probably understand why he chose her.
However, maybe his works were meant to be anonymous-maybe we aren't suppose to know who are in the paintings. We would then be more free to come to our own interpretations.
The above aside, these films definitely make me more aware of artists that I otherwise wouldn't have known. And in the cases were the artists were struggling (financially or gaining acceptance) I can appreciate their work even more.
I hope the biographies are accurately made, because if they are not, the art can be completely misinterpreted or over/under-appreciated.
I can think of 2 examples off the top of my head-"8 mile" and "Julie and Julia." I think even without "8 mile" people already had an understanding of where Eminem came from, but the movie probably fills in some gaps.
I had no idea about Julia Child as a person or why she wrote her cook book. "Julie and Julia" gave, what I think is, an accurate representation of her later life and gave me more appreciation for her work.
I cannot say I want to see a movie about any artist in particular, simply because I am not overly interested in any particular one. And I do not believe any artists is untouchable-if they are prominent enough then why can't their life story be told?
The first film of an artist that comes to my mind is "NOTORIOUS". It is about rap artist Notorious B.I.G or Biggie Smalls. I feel this movie enhances my view on the artist. Biggie grew up in poor town and basically lived on the streets. He got famous from freestyling on the street. This way of creating his music is very difficult. Knowing that he freestyles his music affects the way I look at his work. I give him more respect knowing that he grew up from nothing. The filmmakers did a good job making the movie accurate. The actors looked a lot like the real people as well.
ReplyDeleteAn artist I would like to see a film about is Lil Wayne. I feel his life and the way he makes his music would be very interesting.
I feel that there are very few artists that are "off limits".
The pros about dramatic biographies is you get an understanding of the person it is about. However sometimes the films may be inaccurate and filled with events that are false just to add excitement and plot. I am in favor of them because I think they are intriguing and motivating. Watching a film on someone that overcomes hardship and becomes famous is exciting to watch.
One film that comes to mind is Dream Girls. I'm not sure if it is directly said it in the movie, but the audience can assume it is about Diana Ross and The Supremes. I really enjoyed the movie for its dramatic content and what i thought was a realistic story about the Supremes. Of course extra drama was added to entertain the audience, but I think that the movie enhanced my view of the artist/artists nonetheless. The racism issues and difficulties of being women in the music industry were well depicted and helped to show why the Supremes created the songs they did. Knowing background about the artist changes the way I judge their work, but likely in a good way. For me, knowing the meaning behind their work, makes it much more powerful of a statement.
ReplyDeleteThis movie is one exception to how I normally feel about biographical fictional movies about artists. My stance normally is that I feel if the artist is still alive, he should be able to regulate what actor plays him or her, and what truths or false truths are presented in the film.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105191/
ReplyDeleteI am a country music fan, and one movie that comes to mind is called "Pure Country". The main character Dusty is played by George Strait. The video is not meant to be a biography about George Strait, but it does give viewers an accurate representation of his life, morals, and beliefs. The representations that are shown in the film actually hold true to how George performs today. However, in biographies that do not have the actual artist playing the role, the actors should be carefully chosen to keep the integrity of the artist. In my opinion, it is the actor's responsibility to be aware of the artist's beliefs and ideas and act accordingly.
For some artists, I think that it is necessary to embellish the representations of their lives to keep viewers interested because not every artist has lived an eventful life. But I think that there is a line that shouldn't be crossed, and I do not think that film makers should have anything in movies that could hurt the artists reputation. I think that it is important to see how artists create their work because it gives viewers a better understanding of what the artist's motivations are and helps us understand the meanings of the work.
Dramatic biographies can be both positive and negative. They can create a perfect understanding of how an artist carrys out his/her life, make a somewhat boring artist seem more interesting, or make a great artist less appealing. Movies can make a huge influence on viewers opinions. I am in favor of these types of videos as long as they are giving positive representations of the intended artists.
These days directors like making films about artists so viewers can better get a better idea of the artists' inspirations. A movie that comes to mind when I think of an artist is Tina Turner in the movie "What's Love Got to Do with It." It shows her struggles that she faced, but overcame in the end to becoming a legend.
ReplyDeleteBiographical movies created represent an artist's life. Although dramatic, these movies help people to realize the struggles or obstacles the artist has faced, and also his/her inspirations. The actors that play the roles have the responsibility to capture the essence of the musician or artist.
There are many pros and cons with dramatic biographies created by directors. One of the cons is that they are overexaggerated and might not portray what has really occurred in the artist's life. So this gives the viewer a false interpretation. However, a pro of a dramatic biography is that it entertains viewers and helps them gain insight into the artist's life and gain more knowledge in analyzing his/her work.
Biographical Films are pretty hit or miss with me. I've seen some good ones, I've seen some bad ones. A good one though, can be really, really good.
ReplyDeleteI have seen a lot of Andy Warhol's work, but I never new anything about his life. I didn't even know he had a movie made about him. I learned more about his life in that 2 minute trailer than I had known prior. That being said, I think these movies are great ways of learning more about people you admire.
Considering people watch these movies to learn more about people, I would say that the film makers and actors hold a huge responsibility to make it as accurate as possible. If it isn't really about their life, then why make the movie at all?
I can't really think of many examples off the top of my head. One that comes to mind is the story of Johnny Cash, played by Joaquin Phoenix in Walk the Line. I never saw that movie, but I have heard it's good. Also, Notorious, about the life of Biggie Smalls. I saw that one. It was just okay.
I can't say I have a strong desire to see a film about anyone in particular. Also, I wouldn't say that anyone is "off-limits." In my opinion, if you are famous enough to have a movie made about you, then why not?
meyer.760
luscher.6
ReplyDeleteThese films do indeed enhance my understanding of that artist's life. I think that knowing more about how they created their works amplifies my understanding of that work and therefore make me appreciate it more. It very much does effect my judgment of the art itself. I think that filmmakers owe it to the artist to preserve the accuracy of their story to the best of their ability. The actors playing these characters do not owe as much to the legacy of the artist as the filmmaker does. The story is much more important than the artist. I cannot think of any films about artists like this but only because I have not seen many films such as these. I would like to see a film about Francisco Goya. I think that films about profane music groups might be off limits because of the the obsecenity. The pros of these type of films are that they spread awareness of how a well known artist emerged into fame. The cons are that many aspects of their lives are left out or butchered out of sheer difficulty. I am in favor of these films because I think that general awareness is worth having the details mucked up.
The film Walk the Line is a great example of a biographical film. Johnny Cash could be considered the or one of the best country singers of all time. I find it very fitting to have a film dedicated to an artist as superior as Cash. Hollywood always enjoys inserting little side stories in their movies to enhance the drama. Along with these, they love to give their opinions through certain characters and certain happenings in the films. Despite these, this movie definitely enhanced my understanding and appreciation for Johnny Cash.
ReplyDeleteI would say that I would like to see a biological film about Michael Jackson; I doubt this will happen since the film This is It has already happened. Another artist I would enjoy seeing featured would be Bob Marley. I'm sure videos have been made about Marley, but no "movie" has been made in his honor. I don't feel that there are any artists who are off-limits when it comes to film making. Movies nowadays contain so much vulgar language and suggestive material that almost anything is possible.
One movie that comes to mind is "Ray" a biographical film on Ray Charles. The movie successfully depicts the life and career of a legendary pianist. The director does a great job showing how Ray Charles progresses through his life and definitely enhances my understanding of his life. I believe this post really goes along with some of the details through this movie. I remember reading shortly after this movie was released how critics were saying how the Ray Charles drug use was much worse then it seemed it the movie. I believe this is what relates this movie to the post, often times film companies and directors add more or even less to Artist lifestyle to make the story more interesting. There is for certain a lot of examples of this in movies, they glamorize films to keep the audience glued to the screen. I guess that why i have start to be a little bias towards biographical films, because you never really know what truly occured and what didn't.
ReplyDeleteOne artist I would love to see a biographical film on would be Lil Wayne. I know it may seem cliche but he truly is a great artist but controversial as well. It would be interesting to see how they would potray him in certain situations he has been in throughout his career.
boone.111
Cheng Qian
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReJhw89tXdg
These films between biography and fiction are truly helpful for understanding artists' life and spirit, mainly because it can offer us a vivid figure rather than just a name or some description by boring words. Through these films, we can organize the major parts of their life, and take a particular perspective to comprehend those figures. Some details can be depicted by films so that we can know how do this artist create his/her works. Sometimes it will affect my judgment, because it will give me a novelty point of view to discover one's characteristics. However, those film makers have a huge responsibility to describe certain artists accurately so that what we learn from the film is true. Besides, they need to delve into their hearts to structure their life, so that audience can touch the spirit of their artworks. I have ever watched the film I linked, which is about Coco Chanel. But I would like to see more products about legend artists like Elvis, Beatles, and Michael Jackson.