Tuesday, July 1, 2008

by Ari

It's the two year anniversary of The Aspect Ratio. What does it mean? Not a whole lot, really, but since the development of the site has progressed so quickly since its launch on July 1st, 2006, and since I'm pleased with the small personal accomplishment of maintaining it for these past two years, I'd like to take the opportunity to discuss the good, bad and ugly of what we've done thus far. Well, not really the ugly, but you know what I mean. So you'll have to excuse the self-congratulatory nature of this article, but that's just how it is for now.

I don't usually delve into my personal life very much on the site (or really at all) besides whatever little details I reveal in my reviews or Conversation posts, but since so much has happened in the last two years it would be a crazy not to at this moment. Maybe it's a particular mood I'm in seeing that something I've created is still growing and developing in readership and inspiring new discussion between a small group of talented writers and the niche audience we seem to have gained. While my initial grandiose notions of critical success have been long squashed, I think in the end everything has turned out for the better and I'm now more comfortable with the low-key presence the site has achieved. My view of film criticism itself has greatly changed in the last couple years, and the more I see the major film websites bury themselves in hyperbole, excess and ego, the more I realize it's better to be separated from the critical community and all the schmoozing, pandering and bullshit that comes with it. For the few critics who manage to avoid all the nonsense and write consistent, quality analysis (Glen Kenny, Drew McWeeny, a few others), I applaud you. I'd also like to link our readers to a couple new online voices that continue to inspire me to work on my own reviews: Craig Kennedy at Living in Cinema and Charles Bowen at Bowen's Cinematic.

Things have become increasingly better for me since the inception of the site two years back. It opened a new gate of creativity and ambition and helped shape how I approach my own writing. I've met some great people because of The Aspect Ratio and have been both entertained and engaged by their work. That's really what it comes down to, isn't it? I think we have some great examples of thoughtful, intelligent opinion, the type of work that actually examines the complexities of film both as art and entertainment. Is there room for improvement? Of course there is. But in a way that's what I love about having a website, there's always a new level to reach and better work to aspire to. Expect to see a return of the the Online Chats we experimented with last year and hopefully a few more interesting features of that sort. I'd like to really develop the interactive element of the site in the next year or so. We'll see what happens. As I said, so much has changed in the last two years (in the last 6 months especially since I moved from LA to New York) that I have to rethink how to maintain the site the way I'd like to. Making the appropriate time for side interests is never an easy task, but things will continue forward and hopefully improve (if you guys have any ideas for things you'd like to see, please feel free to post them in the comments section or email me).

It all started with an In Focus article that listed a few films I felt were either totally overlooked or for some reason misunderstood. (This article was later posted on imdb's "Hit List". The comments are from there) It's interesting to read the first two paragraphs I wrote for the site:

"I figured the only appropriate introduction to the central feature of The Aspect Ratio would be something easily accessible and entertaining, yet interesting enough and somewhat indicative of the material we hope to eventually present.  The ultimate aim of focusing this website on analysis is to hopefully bring something provocative to the film community and to accomplish that in the most engaging and exciting way possible.  In Focus will mostly revolve around in-depth reviews of specific films, retrospectives, lists and a continuous series of different subjects.

For example:  Articles will include The Noir Series, The Neo-Realist Series, The Animation series and so on and so forth.  The idea is to eventually create one of the most comprehensive catalogues of film analysis on the internet, with the widest variety of content. Lists are perhaps the most enjoyable way to compile a broad range of interesting content in one place, so a list is where we’ll begin.

Well, it's two years later and I've done only one article for the Noir Series and have yet to start features for Neo-Realism or Animation. But I'll get to it! That said, we've done our job pumping out lists. We're almost as list crazy as Entertainment Weekly, the only difference being that we actually know what the fuck we're talking about. But it's amusing to read my initial ambition for the site. Even though I haven't succeeded to that degree, it's a quality I'm glad to have.

I'm still pleased with several articles. Personal favorites from my own work include reviews of great, little-seen contemporary foreign films like Bab'Aziz and Cafe Lumiere. Also my revised piece on The Matrix Reloaded (it was initially written for a different site) still holds up as an intriguing analysis of an underrated movie. I'm not sure I entirely agree with everything I wrote back in '06, but it's still a pretty good review. I'll probaby have to write a piece like this for Speed Racer one of these days. Or a retrospective/analysis on why I feel the Wachowski's themselves are an anomaly in a world that typically separates entertainment from art. These guys eliminate the line between the two and will eventually be applauded for it. Their work is a fascinating collision of escapist pop and auteur individualism. But more on that some other time. I also enjoy my Best Endings list. I stand by the choices, and I love the comments it received. For example:

" Man, all those movies are ancient."

" How about something modern and not just the films we're "supposed to like"?"

" wow... this is amazingly pretentious."

And my personal favorite:

"That list sucked. Do you watch movies or pull these out of your ass?"

Fun times.

But the stuff I love most is from the contributors. How can it not be? These people have helped define the site with their work. The best thing published on the site is still the Martin Scorsese retrospective, an article I feel marked the first glimpse of The Aspect Ratio's potential. I love all the reviews in that piece whether I agree with them or not. Great stuff. So many writers here have done great work. Brian with his Miyazaki reviews, Pete's Cult Clash series, Yuki's brief appearances with Japanese classics Battle Royale and Tampopo. Jose and his choices for the Classic Stars list. Karla's reports from NYFF. And as far as Best of the Year lists are concerned, I think Erik and Scott win extra points for writing such extensive pieces. There's a wide range of material to enjoy.

I also have to give a special mention to Lon and Anna. I've known Lon for a while now, and while he's busy these days being an internet celebrity at Mahalo.com (check out Mahalo daily, it's worth it), his contributions are still greatly appreciated. He's been with the site from day 1 and his writing is always tremendous. The same goes for Anna, one of the voices I like to show off to people who have never heard of us. The volume of her work speaks for itself. And anyone who can piss off a director to the point of getting an email demanding that she RE-WRITE her negative review is good to know.

Bottom line: I can't believe two years have passed.

Crazy.