These Are The Posters In My Film Class

The title nearly says it all.

Since the first day of class in September, I've been pondering the significance is of the only five posters gracing the walls of the classroom which plays host to my film theory class, that over the course of the semester has taken us from Plato to Alberti, Lessing, Kant, Tanizaki, Lacan. One week left of the seminar and we have not watched one frame of film. It plays more like one of my English classes of yore than a film class, which is actually fine as I suppose the goal of the course is for me to carry this theoretical, philosophical knowledge home or into the cinema as may be appropriate-although, I have to say, I see far fewer films in the theater at this time in New York than at any other time in my life; yes, I'm terrified of bedbugs (see case-in-point.In any case, the choice to place posters of these five films on the wall has perplexed me to no end.

The easy and most likely answer is that each probably involves an alumni from the university's film program. Further adding to my sense of unease is the fact that I have not seen any of these films. My mind therefore makes the logical association: I am taking a film class in this room and this is the kind of art I have to aspire too-movies that have played no part in my personal history or burdgeoning creative aesthetic. What am I doing here? What are they teaching me? What kind of artist are they trying to make me?

I shouldn't judge. These could all be incredible films of which I have gone through life completely unaware-I have heard of Punch Drunk Love but have no predispositions thereof-though still none of them would scream "Rent me!" at the video store or "Queue me!" on Netflix. So, if you've seen any of these films, grant me some guidance and clarity of mind as to why these might be showcased so.

Are they worth adding to my queue? If you've seen them all, I'll even let you rank them for me.

Educate me!

Marriage & Shakespeare

The following was written as a brief hypothetical Playbill note which would frame Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice through a specific contextual lens-in this case, that of marriage.

The Present-Tense Pact: Marriage at the Time of Shakespeare

The Merchant of Venice is a play of pacts. At the crux of the play rests the legally binding agreement between between Antonio and Shylock over the lending and repayment of three thousand ducats over the course of three months. In order to seal this bond, Antonio and Shylock must solicit the presence of a notary and a contract is made. A simple procedure that works similarly today, but The Merchant of Venice is also about pacts of a different kind, pacts that function in far less simplistic manners today than they did in Shakespeare’s. This “pact” I speak of is that of marriage.

Marriage features prominently at the end of many Shakespearian comedies and the courtship that precedes it is ripe for dramatic play. The romantic comedy that ensues from placing one individual in a position of affection towards another who may in turn place his or her affections elsewhere creates the automatic perception of a throughline as courtship stories inevitably ended in marriage. There is rarely another conclusion—even a non-marriage would constitute a strong outcome if not unsatisfying—the play having nurtured the audience towards marriage through the “wooing and winning” involved in the courtship narrative.

The Merchant of Venice is not strictly a comedy, of course, yet highlights the matrimony of several couples. While the play does end on a rather cheerful note celebrating these happy unions, it certainly lacks the pomp and circumstance of some of Shakespeare’s other ceremonious endings. Perhaps this is because for all of Shakespeare’s emphasis on its dramatic weight, marriage was not always so grand an event in his time. In fact, the rules regarding its instigation were not so much delineated during most of the Elizabethan Era. Matrimonial law was a hotly contested issue for both the Church and the state of England from the middle of the 16th century onward. Finally in 1597 and again in 1604, the Church created a set of standard practices in order to combat the overwhelming ambiguity surrounding marriage touching on the wedding service procedure, registration, and licenses.

Nevertheless, the customs of local communities and other accepted practices varied wildly, but the most consistent of these appears to be the spousal contract created through the mutual, verbal conset of two parties to marry. This would have to be done in present tense words, per verba de praesenti—a practice we continue today with the present tense phrase “I do.” Even in the absence of witnesses, unlike Antonio and Shylock’s monetary legal agreement, the union could still be considered both “binding and indissoluble.”

With The Merchant of Venice, written around the same time as the Church’s first canonical revisions regarding marriage vows, Shakespeare may very well have been demonstrating the boundaries and multitudinous traditions of courtship that were taking place across England. Lorenzo and Jessica—the Christian and the Jew—elope happily, while Bassanio and Portia engage in a much more formal process culminating in their marriage too. In the end, for both couples—in spite of differing manners of courtship—their marital bonds are sealed.

Three Dark British Plays

These are three of the darkest plays I've ever read. They're also all by British playwrights. They're more than slightly traumatizing, but I was not been able to put any of them down. With the one I did see, Blasted, I had the strange sensation of being moved and wishing the play would end as soon as possible so that I could leave the theatre-back to a safer place. These are not comfortable plays and that's why I think I love them-I see way to much unchallenging theatre. If you have time to read at least one of these, you'll be doing your psyche a favor.


Last year I had the opportunity to see Sarah Kane's Blasted at SoHo Rep upon a pre-move visit to New York. It features one of the most stunning set transformations I have ever witnessed and two incredibly skilled performances. It remains one of the most haunting theatre experiences I've ever had and continues to be a touchstone among theatre artists for groundbreaking theatre in New York.


British teenagers. Yet their conversations are more adult than most I've ever heard. I could listen to them talk all day. Simon Stephens' Punk Rock is crude, funny, and charming until...it's not. The ending had my stomach churning with horror and sickly sweet empathy-or was it pity? I had to crawl under the covers after I finished this one.



Imagine Peter Pan meets Lord of the Flies meets Where the Wild Things Are and you'd have done a halfway decent job of describing Polly Stenham's Tusk Tusk. What if the Darlings had never come home for their children that night in Peter Pan? What if Peter had never taken the children to Neverland? This is a story of true abandonment, loss and self-preservation.

Thank You!

Thank you to everyone who showed up for the book release party Wednesday night for Smart Pop Books' Inside Joss' Dollhouse: From Alpha to Rossum. It was a great turnout and the staff at Vig 27 was so accommodating. I met a lot of new Whedon fans in the city which I was really hoping to get the chance to do! Let's not wait until the next Whedon-related title comes out to get together again!

Pictures from the event are now up on Flickr! A few are below.






If you didn't make it to the event and still want to purchase a copy of the book, click hereor on the link to the right side of the blog.

Disney Epic Mickey: Interview with Warren Spector

The level of sophistication, creativity and innovation that is being demonstrated with this game prior to its release is really phenomenal. I really hope Disney puts out a "Making of..." book for this title. If there were ever a more compelling reason to get a Wii, I don't know it.

Here's an interview with renowned game designer, Warren Spector who led the Disney Epic Mickey panel at New York Comic Con this past weekend:

Wii Games - E3 2011 - Disney Epic Mickey

Tomorrow

Inside Joss' Dollhouse Book Release Party

In just over two weeks, I will be hosting a release party for the first book to be published on Joss Whedon's latest television series, Dollhouse, in New York City!

Inside Joss' Dollhouse: From Alpha to Rossum is an anthology of 18 reflective and critical essays from Smart Pop Books and edited by Jane Espenson (@JaneEspenson), who has written for all of Whedon's shows as well as for Battlestar Galactica and Caprica.

On April 1st I found out that an essay I had written about the character of Claire Saunders in Dollhouse had been accepted into the book as a chapter. Yes, it was on April Fool's Day, but the publisher assured me that it was no joke and now I have the book in hand to prove it! My chapter is called "'I Like My Scars': Claire Saunders and the Narrative of Flesh" and speaks to the way in which Claire's identity is shaped and ultimately redeemed by the physical scars she endures within the television show. It sits amongst some really insightful works including one by Susan Quilty (@SusanQuilty) that uses the concept of negative space to trace the relationship between Caroline and Echo and Tami Anderson's (@witnessaria) chapter about various roles in the Dollhouse and how they fit into a larger, real-world context.

Event Details
The event will be held at Vig 27 at 119 East 27th Street (between Park Ave S & Lexington) in New York on Wednesday, October 13th between 7-10PM. Join us for free giveaways and a chance to socialize with other pop culture and Whedon enthusiasts. A limited quantity of books will be for sale (with cash) at the event. Event entry is FREE. Tweeting about the event? Use #SmartPopDollhouse. RSVP here.

Book Description
In only two short seasons Dollhouse captured the imaginations and of audiences all over the world, rewarding viewer loyalty with mind-blowing plot twists and an extended meditation on the forces that guide our actions and make us who we are.

Inside Joss' Dollhouse covers Dollhouse from anticipated start to explosive finish-from the complexities of identity to the triumph of the human spirit.

Smart Pop Books
Smart Pop is a line of smart, fresh, funny essays on the best of pop culture tv, books, and film, with a particular focus on science fiction and fantasy television and literature.

Our writers are New York Times bestselling authors, television writers, psychologists, philosophers...anyone with a love of pop culture and something worth sharing about it.

I hope you'll join us to celebrate!