In Ackbar Abbas’s article, the author discuss about “generic city”. Generic city is described as a city that has no characteristic and it comes from modernism. In the article, the author discuss about generic city using Hong Kong as an example. In the movies the author discussed, directors of the movies focus on showing skyscrapers and the geometric landscapes. In the movie Gozilla vs Kong, the director focused on skyscrapers and neon signs on each buildings in the fighting scenes. Same in other recent films, directors focus more on showing the city’s landmarks and skyscrapers rather than showing the city’s overall atmosphere or characteristics to the audience. The fact that the current trend of movies is like this means that these elements are necessary for the success of the movie and what audiences like. I am not criticizing the trend, but I was sad to think that movies that showed the characteristics are disappearing. What is a “good movie”? Will it prove that the movie is a “good movie” with a large audience and a big box office hit? I wonder how the movies we’ve seen would have changed if film directors had made movies to truly show the characteristics and atmosphere of a city, not for a box office hit. To see these distinctive films, I think it is also good for the audience to have eyes that can evaluate the true meaning and cinematographic value of the movie, not just fun.
Minwoo Kang
UID: 3035729904
I feel your disappointment through your text. Comparing between Godzilla vs Kong and the Bourne Trilogy, the director of the former decided to use neon light filters to the skyscrapers and allow the protagonists to destroy the high-rises. What have the filters and brutal acts of destruction add to the discussion of cities, powers, and monsters, as opposed to merely using the city’s infrastructure as a film background in the Jason Bourne series? The representation of a city between the two international films is vastly different, and it is worth looking into. Film is made to be very diverse – filming genuinely without FX vs. adding multiple FX gives us two ways to understand a city. If so, what kind of film makes a city disappear?