This assignment has made me realize quite a few nit-picky things about myself. For starters, while at first I thought there were many things I could share that were truly stupefying, I was wrong. I had all these ideas in my head and I thought to myself, "How the hell am I going to pick just one thing to share on my blog?!" When I started looking up different clips, photographs, typography and other media related to design, I found myself horribly disappointed in all of my ideas. Maybe I thought too much about it; or I thought maybe too much about what other's responses would be because this is a public blog. Who knows. Maybe I was so critical because I am judging all this "meaningful-to-me" material for a class and I have to evaluate why I thought it was beautiful to me in the first place, when I'm not so sure an individual can relive that first "Wow!" moment. Sometimes you just can't explain or evaluate exactly why you got that feeling in the pit of your stomach.
In the end, I chose the scream scene from one of my favorite films, Garden State. This scene will always be perfectly beautiful to me. In class, Eric talked about the importance of contrast. I personally think contrast is the most important element in design. Whether it's as in-your-face as irony or subtle to the point where only your subconscious notices, the dramatic effect is the most moving. Simon and Garfunkel's "The Only Living Boy in New York" against a dirty, rainy day makes me nostalgic for some sort of sweet melancholy that I can't quite describe or put my finger on.
I guess the whole movie is just that--sweet melancholy. The most stupefying films in my eyes are those that are made up mostly of grit and drama. When I saw Garden State, I was in middle school. It changed my life. Thanks, Braff.
I was deciding between this clip from Garden State or another one from 21 Grams (highly recommend this if you haven't already seen it.) I also considered some of the design in the ending credits of Blue Valentine, which is also a great film.
