Robert Koehler <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Yet
another reminder why Jean-Luc Godard is irrelevant and a traffiker in glib
cliches, as he always has been...
Robert Koehler
I was biting my electronic tongue as i read the messages in this thread but this is just too much to bear. "irrelevant"? under what possible criteria could jean luc godard ever be seen as irrelevant within film history, past or present? and to call him a "traffiker in glib cliches" is really a shortsighted (more like non-sighted) way of seeing a man who has resisted commercial concerns over a 40 year, 80+ film career; a man who has developed one of the most personal and idiosyncratic cinemas ever; a man who has streamlined his production "company" to the point that it is now a sort of personal workshop, fitting in his own swiss residence yet he continues to be prolific and complete work that is as relevant and important in the world of film and art as ever...
to call this man a "traffiker in glib cliches" implies that he takes the easy and intellectually irresponsible road to more quickly reap a profit. that this is completely contrary to the reality of his career (producing films that have dire commercial prospects as well as being an extremely stringent critic of his own work) should have given robert koehler pause. i wonder how much mr. koehler actually knows of godard- if he had seen the film he speaks of, or done much research, he would uncover that godard's seeming "anti-americanism" is mainly directed toward hollywood, and it's tendency to pillage the history of others while muscling out the national cinemas of the rest of the world. a few years back godard respectfully declined an award honoring him at the cannes film festival by saying that he didn't deserve it- that if he had accomplished what he wanted to and been successful, he would have been able to keep stephen spielberg out of the concentration camps (referrin!
g to the revisionist and simple minded schindler's list). this of course does not add up to anti-americanism, but is a specific criticism that is completely justified, and to my mind necessary (and to boot, is not directed at the american public at all).
-jim
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