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January 27, 2009
Two more notes about Che
Two things came to mind as I was writing about Che yesterday. The first was that the lack of "outre narrative tropes" plays not only to Soderbergh's intentions, but also to my essential laziness as an audience member. I love not having to to keep track of first-act plants and anticipate third-act payoffs. It's so refreshing!
The other is that the structure of the film reminded me of that most formalist of children's programming: the Teletubbies. For those of you who've never had a chance to experience the show, it's important to understand that the structure is rooted in repetition. Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Po and Laa-Laa all take turns exhibiting short subject documentaries via the televisions embedded (in true Cronenbergian fashion) in their stomachs. Once a given clip concludes, the Teletubbies all jump up and down and shot "again, again!" And, indeed, the clip is shown again in its entirety. It's astounding! This almost ritualistic format was developed around cognitive psychology studies, and I'd argue that what makes it so precisely appealing to its target audience is the same principal that makes Che so effective. In short, repetition engenders basic comprehension, and this comprehension can then be deepened by the introduction not of foreign elements but of that repetitive pattern itself into new contexts.
Seriously. You should watch the show sometime.
Posted by David Lowery at January 27, 2009 1:05 AM
Comments
Except, of course, that the teletubbies are gross-looking while Benecio-Che is 100% all-the-time sex appeal cool. Or some other gooey gush. --Otherwise, word, dogg. I'm _so_ feeling the repetition of meeting a line of people; of packing, or unwrapping; of breaking down walls; of climbing; of, hell, looking.
Posted by: Ryland Walker Knight at January 28, 2009 3:00 PM
Except also, of course, that the Teletubbies repeat the clip *exactly* and don't introduce any variations -- and that's only one of the many ways in which a 'tubbies episode is more comforting than The Guerrilla.
Structurally, Che owes more to the echoes between the two Star Wars trilogies.
Posted by: Jürgen at January 28, 2009 6:24 PM
I feel "Che" movie as one of the best movies.
Jessica
Posted by: Careers with Fame at January 29, 2009 3:54 AM