Todd Solondz: Author not for Everybody

• Authors: Pitrus A.
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

The author considers the exceptional place of Todd Solondz work in the American independent cinema. According to him this exceptional place is the result of the director's characteristic style, and the author's discourse visible in his work. Solondz, as the external creator of his film, not only makes his presence in his work visible and explicit (his biography mixes with the story presented in the film), but also explores various ways of writing the author into the project. Thanks to these techniques his work is immediately recognized as 'Todd Solondz's films'. Through the analysis of Solondz's work, the author, referring to Roger Ebert and Rhonda Liebermann's works, classifies his films as belonging to the 'New Geek Cinema', whose main characters are not only losers, but arouse pity, disgust, and dread. With the help of further analysis of Solondz's films (such as 'Fear', 'Anxiety and Depression', 'Welcome to the Dollhouse', 'Happiness', 'Storytelling', 'Palindromes'), the author argues that the viewer finds it very difficult to identify with the persons portrayed in the films. And it is precisely they who are so characteristic of Solondz's work. He concludes, that by watching Solondz's films, in the order of their creation, one may observe the development of the author's vision - the creation of an intriguing and yet coherent and familiar world. He also concludes his argument with Solondz's famous quote about his film, the Storytelling': 'My movies are not for everybody, especially for people who like them'.

Keywords

EN

SOLONDZ TODD

Discipline

• ARTS_&_ARCHITECTURE: ARTS & ARCHITECTURE

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Sztuki PAN
• Journal: Kwartalnik Filmowy
• Year: 2007
• Issue: 60
• Pages: 209-218
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Pitrus A.

• A. Pitrus, Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, Instytut Sztuk Audiowizualnych, ul. Pilsudskiego 13, 31-110 Kraków, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

08PLAAAA03867719