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Hey everyone on Cinema Discusso. I’m taking a class on called “cult films and their fans” for school this year and one of the projects is to interview some fans of cult films. Unfortunately for me I don’t know anybody who’s a fan of cult films or if they are, they didn’t tell me. The types of movies I’m talking about are pretty broad. Some examples of movies were watching this semester are Freaks, Plan 9 From Outer Space, Polyester, Rocky Horror Picture show, Reefer Madness and Coffy. What I’m really interested in the project is what fans think about these movies. If anybody has some free time it would help me out to answer some or all of the questions below. I figured this people on this forum would have some pretty good answers. Thanks in advance to anyone who can answer. What type of cult films do you like? What is your favorite cult film? Do you have a favorite scene from your favorite movie? How many times have you watched your favorite cult movie? How many times did you have to watch it to “get” the movie? Has what you liked about your favorite cult movie changed over time? How did you discover your favorite cult movie or how did you discover the cult movie community? Do you follow the community of cult movie fans? do you consider a cult film? How would you sum up your favorite cult movie in a few sentences? Do you like a particular director? If you could ask the director something what would it be? What draws you to cult films? Why do you think other people are drawn to cult films? Has watching cult films influenced the way that you look at more mainstream movies? What characters do you identify with when you watch cult films? How do you show your love for cult films? (Purchases, events, fan art, fan stories, etc?) Do you think that cult movies are typically misinterpreted? If you do does that bother you?
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Sep 22, 2019 17:46
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This was one of the movies we can do an analysis on and it looks pretty awesome. What do you like about it? Edward Mass posted:That depends. Is Back to the Future a cult film? Maybe it might be. Do you think it is? Owlofcreamcheese posted:cult movies are weird, because like, there is big ones like rocky horror that are bigger and more popular than most mainstream hits. I don't know if anyone in 2019 hasn't seen rocky horror multiple times. So is it even a cult movie at that point? Then actual cult movies are like ultra niche interest stuff with no wide appeal. and there is a fine line between hipster "I only like this obscure movie, you wouldn't understand" and the thing where a certain movie has very specific focuses that make it resonate with one and only one type of person and bounce off everyone else. It really depends on what you use to define what a cult movie is I agree. I would say that Rocky Horror is probably no longer really a "cult" film in the sense that it is not obscure but the way the movie is viewed at midnight theatres with audience participation and with a dedicated fan base still keeps it straddling the line between is or isn't. That is kind of the problem with this class I agree but also why were trying to find any actually dedicated fans. Somebody who goes to showings of Rocky Horror or The Room or something a lot is going to have different ideas on the movie than somebody like me whos only seen it once. What do you think is a cult movie? Like it seems like your putting a lot of emphasis on the obscurity or weirdness which I agree are important but do you think the audience can define what a cult movie is or not?
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Sep 23, 2019 15:52
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Owlofcreamcheese posted:Its not just BEING obscure, it's deserving to be obscure that makes something seem like a true cult movie. So if I’m understanding you correctly a cult movie the way your defining is not only obscure but also inaccessible to be truly considered a "cult movie." Do you consider movies like Pink Flamingos cult movies? Even though I would argue its somewhat well known but I would also say pretty offensive and inaccessible overall. I guess what I mean is do you think that a requirement is also the obscurity and is there a level of popularity where it becomes disqualifies in your opinion? For the movies you talk about I’m interested in knowing what you think about why people like those weird or offensive movies as too. Maybe something about it being obscure, or maybe its just because its something different than the viewer has seen before. Do you in particular like or have a favorite of any of the movies you listed? I would love to watch any of them and hearing what your opinions are about it. Also, I know the category of “cult films” is really broad and kind of undefined but the movie doesn’t have to part of the “canon” or cult movies to be considered. Saying that there even is a “canon” of cult movies would start disqualifying them I would think anyway.
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Sep 23, 2019 17:04
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Slaapaav posted:i like cult films because i enjoy knowing only some parts of the movie might be great. the treasure hunting aspect is a big draw for me. one scene might be 1/10 while the next one might be a 10/10 thats comes out of nowhere which makes me a have much stronger reaction. Sorry I missed this yesterday. Do you like to be able to tell other people about what you’ve found in cult movies? I, Butthole posted:If you're doing academic stuff look up the Jeffrey Sconce article “Trashing the Academy: Taste, Excess, and an Emerging Politics of Cinematic Style" and the term he uses, paracinema. It might be a more accurate term than the blanket "cult" definition and might help you narrow down both questions and examples. Thanks for the book recommendations, I do like the idea of using the term paracinema instead of “cult” because that term does seem to get a lot of blowback. Is the Jack Sargeant book your recommending “Flesh and Excess: On Underground Film”? TrixRabbi posted:
Thanks this is really helping me further define what cult movies are, which is one of the things were supposed to be thinking about during class. I agree with your assessment of Wizard of Oz and would you agree that Fantasia could also be thought of as a cult movie because of the 60’s counterculture appeal and midnight showings? Even though theres not much thats more mainstream than Disney. You seem to have a broad conception of what a cult movie is, do you have any favorites or “genres”? Owlofcreamcheese posted:I don't know, people use cult as a synonym for weird and bad movies, but stuff like the room is pretty mainstream. It's on major television networks as a major event to show it. I am sure someone doesn't like it but it found an audience very easily. It's not like you are going to show random people "The Color of Pomegranates" and get that kind of reaction. it's a movie that most people would not like, it's got no mainstream hook at all, but the people that like that movie, they really REALLY like that movie and will talk it up as the greatest film in history. And that feels like it's what splits a true cult film from just a weird film. What do you think about the community aspects of “cult.” Like The Room has a ton of showings all the time and your right it is pretty well known but if you go to a showing it has that audience participation and stuff that movies like Rocky Horror have. Isnt it the fans that really make the film a cult film?
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Sep 24, 2019 17:08
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