Thoughts on Steven Spielberg's Duel

Duel is Steven Spielberg's debut made for TV feature film. It is a film about a man who encounters a psychotic truck driver along a sparse California highway. The film works for commercial television because of its high concept. Middle class suburban man versus truck driver.

Steven goes to extra length to strip the story down to its bare essentials. He doesn't want to concern you with the answers to those superficial questions: Who is the truck driver? Why is he so crazy? Steven's refusal to answer our questions heightens the tension. The identity of the driver is almost completely obscured in shadow except for his arm, which he uses to menacingly beacon David to pass.

The dialogue is sparse. Obviously, dialogue is unnecessary to tell the above story but the addition of language gives us some subtle clues as to how to interpret the story of David's Plymouth Valiant versus the giant Peterbilt 281.

In the introduction scene, David is listening to the radio. We hear an advertisement for some gentleman's product like hernia creme or something. Then we jump into a talk show in which a man is confessing his embarrassment of not being the head of his household. The female talk show host assures the man that there is no shame in being a stay at home dad. When we realize this conversation is within the context of a census form, we begin to see the full scope of the themes discussed in Duel. That is, unbridled masculinity versus the industrial system.

Coming out of Christopher Voler's book The Writer's Journey, I was looking for the character archetypes. David is on a journey into his repressed animal nature and the truck driver is his shadow mentor. The people David encounters on the road are brought in to benchmark David's descent into his manhood. And David's wife acts as a threshold guardian, reminding him to come home in time to receive his visiting mother.

Issues of gender power dynamics are most apparent when David attempts to discuss with his wife, the situation in which a man made sexual advances towards her. The manner in which she avoids open discussion illustrates her low expectations of him. I don't want to talk about it, she says, because then you'd get upset and we wouldn't want that.

This is the only scene that feels real to me. It is almost as if this one dramatic scene is a separate short film surrounded by a surreal thriller about a man up against something larger than life, something he cannot control. And the only way to defeat the thing is to...

You get the idea.

the homeless world cup

i met semi tareen in a film making class. i helped him make this movie. i learned so much about leadership watching him.

the other day, he recommended kicking it on his facebook so i decided to give it a look. it is about the homeless world cup and some narration is provided by colin farrel. it moves a bit slow but there are some interesting parts so take a look at it here on hulu:



this documentary is about homeless people first. the football tournament is merely a mechanism within the plot structure that transforms the characters from one thing into another. the success of the film depends on the likability of the characters.

the american guy is the most compelling to me. he says he hates it when people ask him, how could be homeless in a place like america? the problem is, he never answers that question. he is angry and he is righteous.

one strategy for this movie would have been to follow the american team through the world cup, discussing the personality of homelessness in america. but this film is very ambitious. it wants to discuss homelessness as a world issue. it is a profile by comparison.

the kenyans for example, are so grateful for the nominal accommodations provided by the tournament. the team sleep together in a big empty room in sleeping bags on camping mattresses. we are living like a professional team, one says to the camera.

the afghanistan boys are just so happy to see girls! and you better watch out because there is a small love story involving one of these refugees.

i love the scene where the us team is invited to visit a town in south africa where the non-whites were forced to live during apartheid.

and of course, no homeless video would be complete without a u2 song. you'll hear that during the irish guy's arch. go figure.

there is something sad and beautiful about how all these men come together and put so much of themselves into something as silly as a football game. i grew up in the suburbs and i never had much respect for sports but as i grow up and see more of the world, i see how sports are a metaphor for life. so is it sad, that they put so much of their hopes and dreams into the object itself, or is it beautiful how they are able to transcend with the aid of the more existential implications of sport?

how not to do online video

i came across this company on youtube. my first thought was that someone had set this website up fifteen years ago and had abandoned it. the cyberspace equivalent of a ghost town. then i see the itunes logo and i am just confused.

it is an internet based television show that apparently has a contract with comcast to broadcast content on fox. content providers like to bring on people like this because it allows them to say to potential customers that they support local film makers. its a cheap gimmick.



to sum up itv's problems i would say, here is an internet television company that thinks like a cable network. for starters, the introduction logo sequence is fifteen seconds too long. and a close second is, what is the host weaing? i am certainly not an expert here, but if you are going to have a 'fassion' show, i woulds suggest against a balding host who looks like a washed up 70s lounge singer.

aesthetic aside, don't assume that your audience knows your subject. who is count kody? well, he's an event planner. but the video doesn't make that clear.

solution: skip the atari graphics at the begining and start off with a wide establishing shot of the count's events. show people enjoying themselves and having a good time. natural sound of chatting in the background and count kody says in his own voice something like "i put on this event!"

and of course, the video would be less than two minutes long because we'd do away with the host and stick to the meat and potatoes of the subject. that is, who is count kody and why do i, the viewer, care about what he does?

also, i would steer away from the temptation to post an extended cut. it would only confuse your audience.



finding faults in this video is too easy. what is it? what could have been a great opportunity to talk about the underground community of independent board game designers as turned into a corny nonsensical music video. where is the value in this?

i would start with showing people playing the game. voice over from the designer saying "i made this game" and so on.

i was excited to see a company showcasing local news and an independent perspective but i am disappointed by the execution.