What am i doing..? - Peer group notes

Having peer group sit-downs is proving quite helpful - admittedly i have very little for them to go on and give feedback about, but they've given me their thoughts on the themes I'm trying to investigate have sparked off a few ideas for the practical response to my unwritten essay.


"WHAT AM I DOING?"

Further alterations to my essay question have happened, which is good for helping me write a focused essay - but i still haven't really got going on it. I really don't know what i'm doing, if that wasn't already painfully clear.


Old question:

How have horror films reflected the 

social and political situations of the time they were made?

Revised Question:

To what extent have American horror films from the 1950's 

reflected the social and political situation of the time?

Even though history/facts/nostalgia from the 1980's is the only thing that powers me, i though it best to channel my research a bit further back than then. A time when horror films with social commentary were relatively new, and there was a time of transition  from doing out of WW2 and in to the Cold War. Also seems to be shifting more into History than art, which really is uncharted territory for me. I'm a fan of Blackadder, and I've seen Full metal Jacket, Saving Private Ryan and Black Hawk Down - that's as far as my History,War, and History of War knowledge goes.

With the practical response side of things, which somehow is in an even worse state of underdevelopment than the written side, is starting to take the direction of art transcripts,referencing, re-makes, re-imaging and the general alteration of art work to give them a new meaning. This came about due to my initial essay investigations involving 80's films, many cases of which were remakes of older films (The Blob, Godzilla,The HIlls have Eyes, War of the Worlds) or were originals that have since been remade - for better of worse, is up to the viewers to decide.

' A Transcription is the when you take a Master painting & draw it to understand how its made. It isn't copying because you are not replicating it verbatim. Instead you are distilling the image, taking from it what you want & leaving the rest behind.It is a top artists have used for centuries'

'Art also has a long tradition of borrowing from other artists. My favorite example is Edouard Manet’s Luncheon on the Grass. The scene of the men and women is taken from a Raphael painting that has since been lost, The Judgement of Paris. While for the informed art goer, they would recognize the reference, it is but that, a reference! Manet refers to the scene, but puts his own spin on it, making it modern and consequently controversial. When using the motif, he had his own ideas and his own agenda. He wasn’t trying to be Raphael; he could never be, but he could be Manet.'

'Luncheon on the Grass' - Manet

Engraving of 'The Judgement of Paris' - Raphael. 

The scene in the bottom right has been 'borrowed' by Manet.

'While for the informed art goer, they would recognize the reference, it is but that, a reference! Manet refers to the scene, but puts his own spin on it, making it modern and consequently controversial. When using the motif, he had his own ideas and his own agenda. He wasn’t trying to be Raphael; he could never be, but he could be Manet.'

(Taken from https://ashleerubinstein.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/the-transcription/)