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July 1995, Week 2

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Subject:
From:
Mike Frank <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Wed, 12 Jul 1995 14:05:11 -0400
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in response to the "scandalous question of the relationship of academic
affiliation to one's perspective on "texts" let me answer with the following
        a.  i teach in an english dep't
        b.  my degree is from an english dep't, but as long as i worked
within an english dep't my emphasis tended to be on formal matters, on the
language and structure of novels
        c. then i took a year to retool myself in cinema studies, spending
that time in a department of "visual studies" where i began--isuspect--to
develop the views i have now
 
        so this path trhough the field seems to work against the grain of the
scandalous question
 
        but since it's so hard to determine whether structure is a matter of
form or of content (is a "flashback" a feature of the narration or of the
diegesis?) let me suggest that the categories: LITERATURE/CINEMA/THEATER may
turn out to be not as useful as the distinction between those who DO cinema
(that is participate in whatever way in the creation of films) and between
those who READ cinema (that is, those who want to study/read/analyze/examine
films but have no interst in making them)
 
for myself i have to say that i have virtually no interest in making anything,
but an intense interest in understanding how texts are made, why they are
made, what they mean, and why they are valuable
 
an analogy: i'd rather be a great batting coach who knows all there is to
know about hitting but can't swing a bat, than be the world's greatest
hitter who cannot explain anything abnout his skill
 
mike frank
 
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