Sex, Lies, and Videotape

1.) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

 In the textbook Flashback: A Brief History of Film it is stated that Sex, Lies, and Videotape was the movie that opening the floodgate to begin the independent film boom. While by 1989 independent films such as Evil Dead I and II and Eraserhead were already attracting attention it was Steven Soderbergh's movie that brought independent films into the cinematic spotlight. Since Sex, Lies and Videotape there have been a plethora of films produced independently such as Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity that have managed to become blockbuster commercial successes. What Soderbergh's film proves is that a movie doesn't need to have the financial backing of a major Hollywood studio to be both compelling and successful.

2.) Find a related article and summarize the content.

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/sex-lies-and-videotape-1989

Roger Ebert begins his review of Sex Lies and Videotape by explaining that the argument behind the film is that conversation is often better and more satisfying than sex. Ebert writes that conversation, like Graham's hobby, can be more intimate, voluptuous, and lasting than any physical encounter. Ebert also praises James Spader's performance in the movie, believing it to be a risk-taking role that portrays both intrigue and seduction. He concludes his review by stating that the movie is more intelligent than heartfelt and more clever than enlightening.

3.) Apply the article to the film screened in class.

Ebert's theory of the film's message seems to hold true. In Sex, Lies and Videotape the major characters are either impotent or unable to derive pleasure from intercourse. Instead, after removing the negative and sexually charged influences in their lives, they make a connections in other ways. It shows that two people can have an intimate relationship without having to constantly sexually pleasure each other. Ebert's critique of Spader, describing his performance as both intriguing and seductive, is perhaps derived from the actor's awkward yet likable on screen persona. Graham, Spader's character in the film, is in one way very quiet - staring long and uncomfortably at the other characters and causing many pauses in conversation and in another way very likable and friendly. In other ways he is very heartfelt - a brutal sense of honesty penetrating his character. It is the character's mysterious yet revealing disposition that shows the depth of James Spader's performance.

4.) Write a critical analysis of the film.

Sex, Lies and Videotape is perhaps the only movie where the major relationship does not lead to, or at lest hint at, sex. It has been the long standing stereotype of both cinema and real life that two people in love will have intercourse. Perhaps it is this deviation from convention that first brought attention to the movie. Sex, Lies, and Videotape's success is perhaps mostly derived from its minimalist style of storytelling. Instead of a grandiose and overacted romance, Sex, Lies, and Videotape is a story about imperfect people who behave in a very realistic manner. Absent are the drawn-out and phony love monologues, and gone are preconceived notions of what a happy romance entails. It is this focus on human emotions that makes Sex, Lies, and Videotape so endearing and enduring and moved the general film-going audience to realize that a romantic movie can have a happy ending outside of the bedroom.

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 
1) (X) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class. 

2) (X) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 

3) (X) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 

4) (X) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper. 

5) (X) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read. 

6) (X) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 

7) (X) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 

8) (X) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper. 

Name: ______Alex Wisniewski______________  Date: _______3/23/14_________________