Welcome back to The Art Idiot!
Life has been moving spookily fast lately. In the blink of an eye, it is suddenly dark before 6 p.m., and soon, night will fall at 4:30. Daylights saving is less than a week away, but it is a concept that never made sense to me anyhow. Recently, they (the government) decided that the United States, as a whole, will stop observing daylights savings, however, there is a region that never observed it in the first place. Where is the validity in that?
The existential dread that comes with pondering the concept of time is one that haunts me often. Sylvia Plath shares a similar sentiment, here, in her Sonnet: To Time
Today we move in jade and cease with garnet Amid the ticking jeweled clocks that mark Our years. Death comes in a casual steel car, yet We vaunt our days in neon and scorn the dark. But outside the diabolic steel of this Most plastic-windowed city, I can hear The lone wind raving in the gutter, his Voice crying exclusion in my ear. So cry for the pagan girl left picking olives Beside a sunblue sea, and mourn the flagon Raised to toast a thousand kings, for all gives Sorrow; weep for the legendary dragon. Time is a great machine of iron bars That drains eternally the milk of stars.
Featured Films…
As we wrap up spooky season and fall further into the changing seasons, there is a shift towards thrillers, dramas, and subgenres of the types. This issue's curated film selections are from my “Cort’s Cult Classics” list, which incorporates both traditional cult classics and a few personal choices.
Available on HBOMax…
Mona Lisa Smile - 4/5 stars
One of my fellow Letterboxd mutuals accurately described this as the female version of Dead Poets Society. As a first-year professor, it’s been magnificent, yet terrifying, wielding the power to potentially shape the minds of the future. Similar to the aspirations of Robin Williams’s and Julia Roberts’s respective characters, I hope to, ultimately, create/develop well-rounded humans who think with empathy and challenge (almost) everything. Even more personally, it made me nostalgic and grateful for the all-girls school experience I had growing up. A movie for all, but, undoubtedly, a movie for the girls.
Available on Showtime…
Kill Bill - 5/5 stars
Almost every cringe thing that Tarantino has done can be forgiven because of his masterpiece, Kill Bill. It may not be his best film, but it sure is my favorite. And it was so good, that he wrote a second one! What’s better than a women-led, 2000s action-western?
Available on Amazon Prime Video…
The Handmaiden - 4.5/5 stars
It seems my cult classics have a heavy emphasis on (mostly) vengeful women, and The Handmaiden takes the cake. Director, Park Chan-wook, consistently makes complex plotlines that require attention to detail, but giving the necessary attention is made simple due to his ability to keep his audience curious. Chan-wook’s characters and portrayal of relationships also make the audience question who they are “rooting for,” and as soon as one feels secure in their feelings, the plot thickens. A little longer of a run-time but surely worth your while.
Available on Peacock…
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - 4.5/5 stars
In the Fall of 2021, I experienced the greatness of the Harry Potter series for the first time, and a year later, I am eager to begin my first rewatch. While I did miss out on the franchise throughout childhood, there is something very “healing my inner child” about being able to enjoy this when I did. Out of the eight films made, Prisoner of Azkaban, the third film, kept my eyes super-glued and my heart racing! I cannot imagine enduring this type of anxiety at the mere age of six, but it is so artfully crafted that it easily landed a spot on my cult classics.
Another Film Resource…
The Black Film Archive, curated by fellow substack writer, Maya Cade is a curated collection that I recently recommended to my class. Here, Cade had collected and curated various Black films dating back to 1898, and many of them are available to watch for free.
Quick Creative Rant…
The frustration that comes with creation is indescribably painful. To have an undeniable, unlimited passion for something and to be unable to channel that passion into “productivity” is maddening. It’s worse than a broken record; the record player, itself, is broken.
When the breakthrough comes, is the confidence to share still there? As time strolls along, relevancy fades; our world, the algorithm, quickly moves on.
Can creativity become a habit? Will the world ever slow to a pace that permits for intentional, well-developed work? Or will someone else beat us to it?
More from The Art Idiot Thesis Archive…
The Art Idiot is not intended to only be a newsletter that appears in your inbox, but as a reliable resource that you can go to when you don’t feel like scrolling through your subscriptions for hours – I invite, and encourage, you to revisit past issues as inspirations for things to watch, things to listen to, and further challenge your inner-creative.
after reading your creative rant section.. highly recommend checking out the book “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield!