November 27, 1951. Kathryn Bigelow’s storied career has taken her from cult vampire fare (“Near Dark”) and heady sci-fi commercial failures (“Strange Days”) to Oscar-winning war dramas that blend explosive real-life events with explorations into the confounding psyches of individuals in conflict (“The Hurt Locker” and “Zero Dark Thirty”). Having come up in the 70s through the Whitney Museum in New York, her conceptual art and film school beginnings (taught by no less than Andrew Sarris and Susan Sontag, among many others) create a direct guide for navigating her difficult, restless filmography. As someone who claims filmmaking is inherently voyeuristic, Bigelow is fascinated by the recreation and mediation of images on-screen, and how film renegotiates with the constructed image at large from cable news to war coverage. In short, no Bigelow film can be read as simply what’s on the screen.
On this episode, Michelle and Jeremy discuss the masterful director’s high-profile 90s features - the smash breakout “Point Break” (1991) and the commercial hiccup “Strange Days” (1995). Both feature [capital m] Men struggling with their sense of self, resorting to violence and crime as their expression of choice.
Are “The Hurt Locker” and “Zero Dark Thirty” the same film? What’s something that changes each time you look at it? Is Benjamin Button real?
Join us and find out!
Artwork by Sara Helm / Music by Jacob Anstey
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