Library of Congress Adds Movies to the 2011 Film Registry

What do Forrest Gump and A Cure for Pokeritis have in common? They are just two of the 25 films added to the Library of Congress’ Film Registry for 2011. The Film Registry was established by an act of Congress in 1989 and its mission is to preserve films that are “…culturally, historically or aesthetically significant…” This year’s group brings the number of films in the registry to 575 and to say that this bunch is a diverse lot is an understatement. In addition to Forrest Gump and A Cure for Pokeritis, there are films about addiction (The Lost Weekend) an early example of computer animation (A Computer Animated Hand) and Charlie Chaplin’s first full-length film (The Kid).

I must say that it is wonderful that the Library of Congress has a film registry and that those at the registry are working hard to preserve this part of American culture. In doing this blog, I’ve come to the opinion that as far as the United States is concerned, there should be no demarcation line between high culture and popular culture, since it all deals with our hopes and dreams as a people. Whether it is Huckleberry Finn trying to find his place in pre-Civil War Missouri or Luke Skywalker staring at the suns of Tattoine and wanting more than just the farm life with his aunt and uncle, American culture deals with a restlessness that comes from wanting to find out either what is around the bend or what a person is capable of doing or becoming. That’s one of the reasons why American culture is our best export, since the only limit is one’s imagination.

In case you are wondering, the films that made it on to this year’s list are:

1. Allures (1961)
2. Bambi (1942)
3. The Big Heat (1953)
4. A Computer Animated Hand (1972)
5. Crisis: Behind A Presidential Commitment (1963)
6. The Cry of the Children (1912)
7. A Cure for Pokeritis (1912)
8. El Mariachi (1992)
9. Faces (1968)
10. Fake Fruit Factory (1986)
11. Forrest Gump (1994)
12. Growing Up Female (1971)
13. Hester Street (1975)
14. I, an Actress (1977)
15. The Iron Horse (1924)
16. The Kid (1921)
17. The Lost Weekend (1945)
18. The Negro Soldier (1944)
19. Nicholas Brothers Family Home Movies (1930’s-40s)
20. Norma Rae (1979)
21. Porgy and Bess (1959)
22. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
23. Stand and Deliver (1988)
24. Twentieth Century (1934)
25. War of the Worlds (1953)

“It’s the stuff that dreams are made of.”

Sources:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/2011-national-film-registry-list-is-announced-gump-bambi-deemed-worthy/2011/12/27/gIQA56wbLP_story.html

http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2011/11-240.html

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Less Is More—Even With Movie Posters

In doing research for entries for this blog, I came across another blog, Escape Into Life and an entry that featured movie posters for recent movies by Brendon Schaefer, a graphics designer.  You can see the posters here:

http://www.escapeintolife.com/showcase/brandon-shaeffers-movie-posters/

Some of the posters have an art deco look to the them, while others look like propaganda posters from World War II, yet what caught my eye on each of them is how Schaefer is able to tell a lot about a movie with very little in the way of illustration.  These aren’t your run of the mill Photoshopped/designed by the marketing department movie posters. They invite introspection, as opposed to “Huh? What’s that movie about?” (See Movie Posters That Make You Ask ??? July 15, 2010)

Schaefer says about his work, “There’s something to be said about distilling a central theme or idea of a film down to its core and translating it into a simple, iconic image. It’s a nice exercise that shows just how limitation can breed possibility and eliminate distraction…”

What a great idea, creating a movie poster around a “simple, iconic image”.  Granted, it won’t work for all movies, yet it was done for the 1989 film Batman and for the 2005 film The 40 Year Old Virgin and, if done right, it can be done for other films, as well.  Movie posters aren’t just advertising vehicles. There is room to be artistic without confounding the moviegoer. An injection of artistry that leads to some little introspection, in the end, is a good thing. After all, the more someone thinks about a movie, the more likely that person is going to see it.

So, powers that be in Hollywood, contact Brendon Schaefer and others like him and commission them to do some movie posters. You and millions of other people will be glad that you did.

Note: To learn more about Brendon Schaefer, go to: http://www.seekandspeak.com/

Source:
http://www.escapeintolife.com/showcase/brandon-shaeffers-movie-posters/