Saturday, March 31, 2012

Essay: "Why Pay for Art?"

Do you remember those stupid anti-piracy ads they used to run before movies? There was this one with a guy who supposedly painted sets, talking about how piracy personally hurt him. I remembered snickering: yeah, that’s what happens when a movie flops – they stop painting the sets.

The older I get, and the more I learn, the more I think that there isn’t really any good rationale for paying for art at all.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Essay: "Batman, Broken Windows, and the Uncanny Valley: Part Two"

Tim Burton is attracted to weirdos and outsiders and so his explanation for Batman’s war on crime is very simple: Bruce Wayne was a little nuts. Keaton’s Wayne is reclusive and eccentric. He has trouble interacting with people and comes off strangely in ordinary social situations. Only in his hideout (the Batcave) is he relaxed and calm, in control and confident. For him, dressing up as Batman satisfies a deep need, or compulsion. Although it’s not sexual, I would say it’s almost like a fetish. Batman is who he really is.