Over analysis
Have you ever over analyzed a film to the point where you more or less missed anything you could have enjoyed?
I have I watched serenity in class the other day and my teacher was like "Okay, look for this, then this, also think about this.......etc" I found myself working so hard to analyze the films contexts, applications of genre and any underlying independent structure that by the end of it I felt I'd missed the thing! It really spun me out a little. |
Re: Over analysis
Good topic.
Yes, I used to do that frequently and ended with the same feelings that you are describing. My usual practice now is to watch something and then wait a few days to try to connect the dots. Of course, I'm no mental giant so maybe it just takes that long to process for me. |
Re: Over analysis
I find that I do a generally good job of not analyzing a film all that much while I watch it (the first time), it is after the fact that I will start to analyze it a lot. And second viewings of a film can lead to more analyzing as well, but I generally can keep the first viewing as purely just entertainment until after it is done.
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Re: Over analysis
I tend to be this way most of the time, The more I learn about the art of film making, the less I can just lose myself in a film. The sacrifice one makes for extensive knowledge, I guess...
Not that I have an extensive knowledge! :) |
Re: Over analysis
Originally Posted by Sir Toose (Post 426582)
My usual practice now is to watch something and then wait a few days to try to connect the dots.
It's terrible that I have to go away and think about it, but I realize if I do it this way, I don't jump into making any hotheaded statements about a film then and I can look at it for what it is. There's nothing worse than saying to someone "God that movie sucked" and realizing a couple of days later that you liked it. I love to talk about films, especially a real deep conversation about them, ooh it gets me going! |
Re: Over analysis
Originally Posted by Jonah Royston (Post 426592)
I love to talk about films, especially a real deep conversation about them, ooh it gets me going!
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Re: Over analysis
Originally Posted by Jonah Royston (Post 426581)
Have you ever over analyzed a film to the point where you more or less missed anything you could have enjoyed?
I have I watched serenity in class the other day and my teacher was like "Okay, look for this, then this, also think about this.......etc" I found myself working so hard to analyze the films contexts, applications of genre and any underlying independent structure that by the end of it I felt I'd missed the thing! It really spun me out a little. |
Re: Over analysis
Originally Posted by Jonah Royston (Post 426581)
Have you ever over analyzed a film to the point where you more or less missed anything you could have enjoyed?
I found myself working so hard to analyze the films contexts, applications of genre and any underlying independent structure that by the end of it I felt I'd missed the thing! A couple of months ago I watched the same film you mentioned 3 times in a row and I guess I was analyzing it a bit. But mostly I just really like the flick so I don't really know what I'm trying to say. I benefit at times (I think) from never taking any film classes of any kind, I just watch them. So I probably don't even really know how to break a film down in the technical sense. So maybe I can enjoy films like Gladiator while others think its a pile from a cinematic stand point. Simply put, I just enjoy those "types" of films. Good topic btw. :cool: |
Re: Over analysis
Thanks, yeah I think that may be one of the main reasons I'm starting to do it, because I'm constantly studying film day in, day out, I suppose depends how I'm feeling too.
I sometimes find myself just watching and average run of the mill film to bring me back to the days where I didn't look too far into it. Only occasionally though as I hope my future is in film. |
Re: Over analysis
Not really. I've certainly overanalyzed plenty of films but it's never had much effect on how much I enjoyed watching them. Even if I've disected it and written pages and pages of analysis, usually then I go back and rewatch it and it's a different experience from how I remembered it. Maybe it's because all my real thinking about movies comes after I'm done watching, as I piece it back together in my head, little by little. I never take notes unless it's just to make the movie a little less confusing (for example I had to take notes to remember who the characters were while watching Ashes of Time).
On the other hand, I have watched too many movie before and just kind of felt films in general losing their appeal. Usually when that happens I take a break from watching anything for a month (the longest I ever went without watching a film was about 6 months), then I start again and even stuff I would normally think is mediocre is like a gulp of cold water in a desert. |
Re: Over analysis
Originally Posted by linespalsy (Post 426625)
(the longest I ever went without watching a film was about 6 months)
I'm on an average of 2 films a day right now, I couldn't handle that! |
Re: Over analysis
Blame Barthes' post structuralist essay 'Death of the Author' if you're bummed about over analysing film.
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Re: Over analysis
Originally Posted by Jonah Royston (Post 426628)
Flippin' heck!
I'm on an average of 2 films a day right now, I couldn't handle that! |
Re: Over analysis
I also tend to do this ... but more on a plot, scripting, dialogue level than on a technical pov. Looking for subtle hints or visuals ... many a time that are not really there LOL
I especially like to 'predict' where a film is going ... and enjoy very much when I am taken down a completely unexpected path. |
Re: Over analysis
Originally Posted by Jonah Royston (Post 426581)
Have you ever over analyzed a film to the point where you more or less missed anything you could have enjoyed?
I have I watched serenity in class the other day and my teacher was like "Okay, look for this, then this, also think about this.......etc" I found myself working so hard to analyze the films contexts, applications of genre and any underlying independent structure that by the end of it I felt I'd missed the thing! It really spun me out a little. |
Re: Over analysis
Originally Posted by mark f (Post 426777)
I am interested in the term "underlying independent structure" though. Is that a ten-syllable term for plot? :cool:
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Re: Over analysis
Originally Posted by mark f (Post 426777)
I am interested in the term "underlying independent structure" though. Is that a ten-syllable term for plot? :cool:
I'm talking about looking for the comments on our society, any ideologies the director may hold or have held while writing his film. The reason I referred to it as independent structure is because up until recently we've had a rather troubled state of affairs jumping at us out of Hollywood and into our first-runs. Plot-driven stories galore. Which I have no problem with, but It's a shame that I have to watch my indie films on DVD. I'd love a theater for Independent films to built near me. |
Re: Over analysis
Originally Posted by FernTree (Post 426782)
:rotfl: I'm going to use that tonight after attending Nosferatu the silent film from 1927. :skeptical: I wonder just how the pianist will relate to this important creative element ;)
:blush: I had better correct the information, Nosferatu was produced in 1922. Thanks Mark f :up: btw ... I did use the afore mentioned term ... and did infact instill some additional mirth to the table :D |
Re: Over analysis
the trick is to get the right balance; picking apart a movie as if it were a corpse is obviously going to make it resemble, well, a corpse. on the flipside, films are often made far more enriching by analysis and to neglect that entirely is nonsensical.
personally i'm in the habit these days of thinking very hard when i watch movies; i don't force myself, it came naturally to me with the realisation that i genuinely enjoy interacting with movies as much as possible. naturally, like linespalsy and co. i can't get an organised analysis of a film in my mind 'til after my first viewing, but during the film i'm always considering the nature of my emotional response, the ways in/extent to which its elements serve that response, etc. it varies of course; some films basically scream "ANALYSE ME" (2001 is a typical example) and so i'm doing it throughout. others, not so much. |
Re: Over analysis
Definitely, there are films that sort of trigger it I suppose.
Like they are written specifically for the audience to analyze, I love coming away from a movie knowing I'll be thinking about it for a while. |
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