RoweReviews
  • Viewing Log / Reviews
  • Search
  • Ramblings
  • Contact Me

Medium Cool (1969) - Haskell Wexler

3/19/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
John works as a news cameraman, routinely filming gruesome scenes of violence like car crashes or riots with a chilly detachment.  Specializing in violence and racial tensions that arise in the ghettos, John has recorded his fair share but entering the late 1960's, John's consciousness about the implications of his job as a cameraman begin to come into question.  This tipping point occurs when after filming a verbal dispute by black militants on the media's increasing racism, John is instructed to turn his footage over to the FBI.  John vehemently refuses, getting fired in the process.   Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool is an awkward film from a narrative perspective, mainly due to its blending of fiction and non-fiction elements.  The film combines cinema verite and "talking heads" type documentary footage with fictional scenes between actors to encapsulate this volatile time in United States history with truly unique and fascinating effect.  I personally found the film's pacing to be a little tepid, and  some of the character-building subplots tedious, but the message in Medium Cool is very poignant.  Thematically this is a film about American culture's infatuation with violence and how the media's sensationalism of these acts only further breeds this obsession.  Haskell wants to make it clear that the media and their perspective is incredibly powerful and terrifying, able to sway public opinion and perception quite easily.  Through Joe's character we see a man who can no longer detach himself from the equation, questioning the psychological power his images can have on America's culture.  Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool is a film that takes place in a very specific time and place in American history but considering the current media climate in this country it's just as poignant and important today. 

Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Love of all things cinema brought me here.  

    Archives

    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Viewing Log / Reviews
  • Search
  • Ramblings
  • Contact Me