Cutting deeper into terminology

When deciphering the term ‘meaningful’ in art house films, I would say that they seem more meaningful because not only do they not bow to the masses’ wishes on which films they’d prefer, but independent film producers have a specific aim in the story/ film they are producing. Also, most of them work hard to generate their ideas to the masses and it does not work all the time. Therefore, I’d say the bravery of being the thorn amongst the roses makes these independent films more meaningful and beautiful at the same time. Some thoughts on the term meaningful on art house films could be viewed in thread of messages here.

Definition, Meaning and Purpose.

How did art house film actually come about with its name? According to online websites such as this one, art house films are usually films made outside the usual hollywood-made expectations. It serves a greater meaning within its texts and a slightly different narrative from other genres. While most mainstream movies have the usual hero and heroine characters with a somewhat predictable ending towards a story, art house films differ in both. Characters are rarely specified and very ambiguous while the ending is usually unpredictable. While mainstream texts serve to entertain audience, thus suit their taste and preference, art house films have a more complicated/creative plot, designed to impose on audiences thus stimulating their own thoughts while leaving it up to them to make up their own conclusions, thus standing outside the status quo. Therefore, art house films are recognized as being more abstract and undefined just like how ‘art’ is defined. (Branston&Stafford, 1996) This short clip made it a bit clearer for me on what 'indie' is actually about. It is mainly on indie music production, but I have relate it to indie films instead.

Darjeeling Limited, viewed and noted

To start off my research project and to gain some perspectives on independent films, I watched The Darjeeling Limited today. What strikes me as interesting upon watching it, was the colors throughout the movie were surprisingly vibrant and it gave a nice whimsical contrast to the storyline and script which was in fact, quite blatantly simple and solemn; with an exception of a few quirky lines here and there. Throughout the movie, I understood that the colors were not just an attention seeking device, they represent the present (modern days) against the backdrop of India, which pictured people who were underprivileged. There is a vast explanation on the colors used, here. The director had also mentioned that he used the colors as a metaphor for life, contrasting the misery of the brothers with the dusty opulence of their surroundings. (Anderson, 2008). Here are a couple of pictures taken from the movie.

Choosing and Understanding

Being a great fan of art house films, I had no great trouble in choosing my essay topic for the research essay. For quite some time, from 2005 till recently, independent films have always caught my attention, from the minimal usage of non-diegetic sounds and their ability to capture moments in such a simple manner, and some shots give audiences multiple denotations, thus the beauty of these indie films. In the process of deciding which movie (s) to reference my essay to, this particular art house film trailer had caught my attention.

The Darjeeling Limited