sex, lies, and videotape

SCREENING REPORT

sex, lies, and videotape

Lorvingsky Dorielan

1.      Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

Before watching sex, lies, and videotape, I assumed it was just a film about sex and a lot of it in it. There was, but not in the sense I was thinking. The whole movie was centered on it and there were physical sexual scenes. Not as many as I thought would be displayed. And I believe it was because sex was represented throughout the film in verbal interactions more so than physical ones. In my opinion, that was what the director was trying to get across.

2.       Find a related article (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) and summarize the content. You may use the library or the internet.

After watching a film more times than not, my own understanding of it is all think of. Usually I don’t look for other perspectives because it simply doesn’t come up in my mind. But at times even with my own outlook on a movie I search for viewpoints. This is almost always because I’m not totally confident in my comprehension of what’s going. However, after watching sex, lies, and videotape I was sure of my grasp of it. But after looking for topics on the movie on the internet, I started to question myself. This was because from comments on YouTube to websites, made me feel like I was missing something. And eventually that lead me to this article. The article related to the film I chose to use has ten facts about the film I did not know before seeing it. There are facts from the way it was shot to how long it took, but fact five, six, and ten are what is intriguing to me. Fact five is about using video as a metaphor for distance in the movie (Aquino, 2016). In a way that people believe they can experience things by video, and Graham’s voyeurism is a demonstration of that (Aquino, 2016, para. 5). Fact six is regarding the four main characters personality traits as a reflection of the director (Aquino, 2016, para. 6). And the things that Steven Soderbergh has done give reference to each. Lastly, fact ten is on Steven Soderbergh perception of the film in retrospect. He says that now it seems like a movie made by someone who wants think deep, but really isn’t (Aquino, 2016, para. 10). And he believes the response the film received is indicative to there was so little else for people to latch on to (Aquino, 2016, para. 10).

Cite the article or copy the url to your journal entry. Summarize in your own words the related article but do not plagiarize any content.

Aquino, T. (2016). 10 Facts About ‘sex, lies, and videotape’. Retrieved from http://mentalfloss.com/article/75289/10-facts-about-sex-lies-and-videotape

3.      Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director, content, etc.?

When I closed the tab after finishing sex, lies, and videotape my proceeding thoughts was my idea of what I just saw. My outlook was that the sexual experiences and ideas that people have can somewhat shape who they are. I recognized this specifically through Graham and Ann. Ann because I believe as she said in the film her ideas of sex, thus her personality, were shaped because she didn’t want to be like her sister. And Graham because what occurred in a previous relationship molded him to what he became. The outlook I had on the movie ways supported by the article by the three facts in the question above. To me clearly Graham’s past relationship with Elizabeth and voyeurism manipulated his personality. As his only sexual interaction with woman was with tapes, was caused by him believing in some way holding on to the perceived faults of his past. He was able to change finding out it wasn’t really about him. Fact six gave me insight on why the characters were made that way. As we all can display a type of personality based on the mindset we have at that moment. Finally, Steven Soderbergh idea of the movie in retrospect reassures my standpoint on the film. Going through YouTube comments, blogs, magazines, articles I realized I couldn’t connect with what they were saying. In terms of the deeper level and meanings to the movie. I thought the film was what I believed and that was it. But, I started to realize that the experiences, personalities, and ideas others have enabled their perception. As it is nothing for me to understand because I haven’t lived the lives of other people. And there is nothing wrong with me not seeing the depth of it cause I just don’t.

4.      Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article. I am less interested in whether you liked or disliked a film, (although that can be part of this) than I am in your understanding of its place in film history or the contributions of the director.

sex, lies, and videotape is a film that entertained and interested me as I watched it. After coming to a conclusion of my understanding of it, it is a movie that I more than likely won’t watch again. Not cause I don’t like it, but because once I finished the movie and researched it, the interest was gone. However, that still does mask the importance of sex, lies, and videotape in film history. As it was a movie blatantly about sex that opened the doors for a genre of films in that nature. Also, this film opened the flood gates for independent movies and filmmakers. As it was made on a low budget, and grossed an exorbitant amount that wasn’t expected.