Fight Club and Benjamin: altering reality

How does film change the way we see things? How does the narrative in a film affect our viewing of it? "Fight Club" starts out by altering perceptions, by moving the narrative not forward, but backward, and this is the signal that this movie is more than just plot, plot might not even matter in the end, that we should use all of our senses to enter the reality of the film.
In his article "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," Walter Benjamin compares a camera and cameraman to a surgeon, "the surgeon at the decisive moment abstains from facing the patient man to man; rather, it is through the operation that he penetrates into him." The cameraman does this with his camera, he cuts into the reality surrounding him, and "penetrates deeply into its web." And in turn, is this not what the film does to us? "Fight Club" takes what we know, and cuts into it, bringing a new sense of reality to our lives. The epiphany that one of the main characters is just the figment of the imagination of the other, jolts us from complacency. It makes us question everything we have just watched and every movie we watched previously and every movie we will watch. The camera is able to make us see things that we wouldn't normally see, as Benjamin says, it "intervenes with the resources of its lowerings and liftings, its interruptions and isolations, its extensions and accelerations, its enlargements and reductions," the camera can take time and space and alter it. Details come into sharp focus and things that we have never really looked at before become the most important thing in the world.
"Fight Club" does all this and more. It's reality becomes our reality and we are stunned along with Edward Norton as he learns that the man he has been investing his time in is his "imaginary friend." We are in Tyler Durden's head, so his reality is our reality, even though it becomes very evident that it isn't reality in it's pure form. And yet, the camera is able to make us think it is reality, because we have learned to trust it, to value it, and we are taught to, if nothing else, believe only what we see. At least, before "Fight Club" came around. We don't have to believe what anyone says, but we are supposed to believe at least our own eyes. Film takes that away from us. We have both the ability to see things that we have never seen before and the ability to see things that aren't really there.
Along that vein, I wonder what "Fight Club" would be like to watch it without any sound. Because there are some visual clues, and maybe if we were to watch it without sound and therefore narrative, we would catch them, because after all, film is more than just narrative, it is a visual medium, and as such, should come across just as well without the narrative. In addition, we wouldn't be inside Tyler Durden's head, as we wouldn't be able to hear his thoughts, so maybe we wouldn't be so shocked to find out that Brad Pitt isn't real. We could trust our eyes again.
Benjamin says that film changes our ability to see things, it enhances it and manipulates it, and presents it to us. In turn we trust completely what is being given to us to consume, no questions asked. Films like "Fight Club" exploit that trust, use it not to enhance our perception of reality, but to change it, twist it, and make us question what is real; just as Brad Pitt did to Ed Norton, so does "Fight Club" do to us.

My Favorite TV Shows

So... those of you who know me, know that this is a very important subject for me. Also, it's controversial, in that I won't declare something one of my all-time favorite shows if it isn't off the air yet. The reason for this is that you never know what the next curveball will be as far as story line or season. A show has to truly prove itself to be great in all aspects. That being said, here's my list of all-time favorite shows, in no real order.

• The West Wing-- It's brilliant, amazing, wonderful, entertaining, fun, serious, everything a show needs to be to be really great. Also, any world in which Martin Sheen is president is fine by me. I can watch any given episode and be entertained, a true mark of a great TV show. I'm actually watching it now. Bradley Whitford is a genius, and I really miss John Spencer (Leo McGarry). Plus, I really loved that they got Josh and Donna together a few episodes before the finale to give us a little bit of what had been building for 6 1/2 seasons, before the end.
• Gilmore Girls-- This is a little more controversial because I don't watch season 4 (at all really) and I don't really want to watch season 7, mostly because it's the last season and I'm still in denial about it ending (2 years ago). This makes the list for the monumental place it holds in my life, both personally and TV-wise. It was a show I watched with my mother and although I have a love-hate relationship with it, it still feels like coming home when I watch it, it's so familiar.
• Alias-- I know this wouldn't make a TV critic's list, I know that many people have issues with it, I myself don't really like season 3, however, like Gilmore Girls, the world is familiar to me, and it is thoroughly entertaining.
• Friends-- This almost goes without saying, as it's a great show, completely quotable, and wonderfully entertaining. I don't watch it as much now as I used to, but it never ceases to entertain me when I watch it.
• Saved By the Bell-- this is another case of a show I really don't watch very much anymore, as I find it extremely awkward. However, my childhood was spent watching it, and it will always have a place in my heart and in TV history.
• Everwood-- A short-lived series, very dramatic, but wonderful. Another show I watched with my mom, and there are many great "teachable moments" in it, but they do it without really bashing you on the head with it.
• Arrested Development-- another short-lived series, 3 seasons, 1/2 hour episodes, and each of them was brilliant, minus a few in season 3 (too awkward for my tastes), and the way they are able to weave the story together through the entire series makes multiple watchings necessary. If you watch all 3 seasons together, taking the whole canon as one, then it's true brilliance really comes out, there are inside joke scattered throughout the series and some wonderful nuances that make me surprised (and happy) that it even lasted 3 seasons.
• Honorable Mentions: ER, Dawson's Creek, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (I need to do more investigating on all of them)

Okay, so as I said, my all-time favs have to be completely over, however, I do have favorites that are on the air right now and they are (in no particular order):

• Bones-- just started watching it a month ago, am almost caught up, and I LOVE it. It's a great mix of forensic crime solving, humor, drama, romance and has a great cast. I have been laughing out loud during the last few episodes, something that is unusual for a forensic show.
• House-- it goes back and forth for me, I don't watch it every week, but I watch all the episodes, and it always entertains and there is just something about Hugh Laurie and his big blue eyes that just sucks me in.
• How I Met Your Mother-- I kind of gave up on sitcoms, but this one is genius. It is just wonderfully real and un-real at the same time, always entertaining, and all five actors are so wonderful that I can't pick a favorite
• The Office-- I was worried about it in the last few weeks, but they pulled it together again, as they always do, and it is a great show, great for laughs on any given day.
• 30 Rock-- This show is GENIUS. Really, really genius. Tina Fey is a goddess and Alec Baldwin is amazing, and the writing is wonderful.
• The Daily Show with John Stewart-- I really get most of my news from this show, and I love the 20 minutes of entertainment that I get when I watch it the next morning, John Stewart is brilliant, really brilliant and he takes his job seriously but not too seriously, and really takes the side of the "average American," which is evident when people try to take hime on. They always lose.
• Honorable Mentions: Grey's Anatomy (I hear it's getting better, we'll see, I stopped watching), Chuck (I just need to catch up), CSI (I'm starting to catch up), NCIS (I love it, but there are only so many procedural shows I can watch at one time).

I think that's it for now, I'm pretty sure I didn't leave anything out, but it's late and I'm tired. So, that's my TV summary for now, and I'm sure more posts on specific shows will follow, in fact, I'm sure of it.

Finally!

Okay, so, I've been thinking about doing this for a while, and I guess now's the time. Which, is great, because I've got a lot of work to do this week and this is just one more distraction that I didn't need. Oh well. Just a warning, this will probably mostly be about TV, as that is what I'm usually thinking about :) Including what I'm watching while I'm writing, because I don't do much without something on in the background. So right now I'm watching Nova vs. Pitt in the Elite 8, and I have to say, although Nova beat up on Duke the other night, I'm actually rooting for them. They seem like they might actually be able to beat Pitt and I would like to see more than just no. 1s in the final four. Plus, they played really well against Duke, while Duke looked like they had been out partying too late before the game. That being said, I think we could have a really good chance next year to make even farther, considering non of our starters are seniors, so next year could be good.

Ok, rambling done, for now.