If you scroll down, the more important takeaways might be in your responses to Beyond the Page, and I know they would love the feedback as well, so feel free to comment there specifically about our session with them, and if you have more to say about the week, comment here about Giovanni’s Room, Midnight Cowboy, etc.
3 thoughts on “Week 8 Takeaways”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
I took a class called “filmosophy” in high school where we analyzed philosophical concepts in movies and how they are conveyed. I struggled to understand film then and I still do now. I just lose all memories of names and emotions and concepts in all the dark, cryptic frames whirring by. I struggle to know when the camera is through the character’s eyes or when it is an indifferent third person or the character looking at themself. I wish I could’ve gotten more out of watching “Midnight Cowboy” but I just didn’t, it was the first piece of media I consumed in this seminar where I don’t feel like it opened a new way of thinking for me. Everything that made sense I understood and everything else I didn’t. I honestly did not realize what was going on in the backstory scenes or realize that they were being shown from the perspective of Joe’s memory/imagination. Maybe I am just slower to pick up on things in film and need to watch it again but all of the cuts and echoes and violence were kind of unpleasant to watch. I, personally, much prefer reading when it comes to complex or emotional topics. I feel like I have a much better time imagining someone’s emotion how I would experience it rather than how the director/writer would while being constrained by the limitations of film. I also like the freedom to breeze through some sections and spend more time on sections I want to think about which books allow me to do but film does not. Overall, for me personally, film is a much more imperfect medium than text that I have to try much harder to understand. Usually I learn more when I need to struggle through something but in this case I don’t really feel like I did but I also didn’t really try. I absolutely loved Giovanni’s room though, I was in tears and shaking at like 2am when I finished reading it.
While watching Midnight Cowboy, I was constantly confused, surprised, and my interest was peeked. For it’s time and age, this film discussed and represented matters that were taboo and unheard of. I liked that. I felt like it came from a place of reality and truth and I appreciated seeing that. The combination between Giovanni’s Room and the film was such a unique portal into the confusion of being bi during a time where Queerness was condemned. I crossed a border that I haven’t before and I found it really enlightening.
Beyond the Page’s visit has thoroughly impacted the creation of my essay. They helped me to see the circularity and duality of “Giovanni’s Room”, concepts that are guiding my essay. During our discussion about the book I was surprised by the conversation we had regarding the figure who went up to David in the bar inquiring about his interest in Giovanni. When I read the book it didn’t stick out to me all that much, but after hearing what the class had to say about it I realized the depth and complexity present. “Midnight Cowboy” was a very interesting and frankly saddening film. It almost seemed like an antithesis or satire of the small town boy moves to the big city trope. I felt most compelled by the similarities of escapism in the film and the book. Both had this idea that a grand new place would offer them a clean slate, and both quickly realized that your problems tend to follow.