Broey Deschanel

April Video Brainstorm

Added 2023-03-25 16:32:32 +0000 UTC

Hello! My researchers and I are currently brainstorming ideas for April's video and we are between two topics:

1. The "Video Game-ification" of Art

This would be looking into that Immersive Series (you know, the one where you pay $40 to do have an "immersive" experience with someone's art. I went to the Van Gogh one in Toronto and found it to be really depressing. You go in for about 15 minutes and watch a video projection of his works morphing into one another while music plays overhead - and you can take as many videos as you want. And the second you walk out you're bombarded with this really overpriced merch (like a t-shirt that says, "Please don't Gogh, I love you"). So I want to invoke Walter Benjamin's essay, "Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" to talk about the way the rise of instagrammable installations has negative implications with the way we read/engage with art.

2. Why 1999 Was the Best Year for Movies

This would explore movies from the year 1999 (Being John Malcovich, Fight Club, The Virgin Suicides, Girl Interrupted, The Matrix, American Beauty, The Iron Giant, The Sixth Sense. etc.) and situate them within wider trends happening in the zeitgeist and in the movie industry that led to so many mid-budget success stories. Did Y2K have an influence on the general themes of that year? Why are so many 1999 films so good? We'll also be using Brian Raftery's book "Best. Movie. Year. Ever" (2019) as a reference.

Let me know which of these appeals to you more, and why :)!