Attention to Godard

06.10.2008


First Name: Carmen.

I was in Lisbon for a day and still I found the time to purchase two of my favourite Godards. Passion (1982) and First Name: Carmen (Prenom: Carmen, 1983) have recently been released on DVD in pristine copies with introductions by Colin MacCabe.

As I re-watched the two films at night, it became clear that, contrary to what some people say, Godard’s films do not demand a patient spectator. Passion and Prenom: Carmen ask for an attentive viewer, one who knows that this attention is not different from the kind of awareness that we should devote to ordinary and precious things, to striking images and words that we may want to remember and revisit. Seeing instead of simply looking, listening instead of merely hearing, is vital, not dull.

Cowboys in Space

03.10.2008


Serenity (2005).

I am giving an invited talk tomorrow at the Faculty of Fine Arts - University of Lisbon on Joss Whedon’s inter-genre work. My presentation is titled “Cowboys no Espaço: Convergências de Géneros em Firefly e Serenity” (“Cowboys in Space: Convergences of Genres in Firefly and Serenity”) and is part of an annual event called Fantastic Forum that is taking place for the third time. The programme is available here (in Portuguese).