Dharmik's THTR 7922 Blog

The first film that comes to mind when talking about dark matter is The Blair Witch Project.  The witch is never actually shown. As a device, dark matter, in stories create a lot of suspense. It works especially well in the horror/thriller genre. And you can see that it works. Think about any really good scary movie. They almost always wait before revealing the monster/killer. They may show killings, but the face is always hidden to build anticipation and suspense. Subsequently, the reveal should be scarier. Though the flip side may be true as well. The anticipation may build to the point that the reveal is quite lackluster. I know for me, when I'd see a scary movie as a kid, I stopped being afraid after I saw the killer/monster. But the parts leading up to it were scarier. I think that plays can use dark matter to just generate more interest and excitement. There is a lot you can do on film that you can't recreate on stage. So, using dark matter as a device seems appropria...

Thomas Hoepker took this picture on September 11, 2001 in Brooklyn, New York after the Twin Towers were hit. It's been a controversial picture and many people believe that it's disrespectful to have taken it. I honestly don't believe that there is anything wrong with it. This was a captured moment that shows reality. If anyone should be offended it should be because this group of people are leisurely relaxing while chaos ensues nearby. However, we don't know what they're talking about or if this was just a shock response the the event. But let's get back to the questions of whether it is tasteful or tactless. It isn't. I think tragedy is a part of life and it's something that artist's should capture in order to help process. I think making light of the situation would be tasteless. But that isn't what's happening here. It's a simple moment. Humans have many sides to them and they deal with tragedy in different ways. Some peo...

The biggest issue about simulacra is whether the art is real or merely a replication (at least to me)? Is it art if it's a simulation? My question then goes to parodies. There are plenty of parodies of songs, movies, politicians etc. For the most part these parodies are considered art (some of them might not be good, but I never said good art). And where do influences fall in this category? If I remember correctly, last semester, we talked about how in theory all the chords in music have already been played in one form or another. So, if that's the case is a new song ever new? My final question pertains to us as human beings. Technically we are always changing and the cells in our bodies are actually copies of previous cells (there's also a little piece of DNA that falls off every time, but we're mostly copies of previous cells). So the question of whether something is "real art" feels a bit off to me. You can totally argue that the original is either better...