Black + White Friday: The Doom Generation

Sitting down watching Gregg Araki's oddly fascinating and increasingly bizarre love triangle The Doom Generation I couldn't help but wonder how he got such a gorgeous looking film and why indie movies of today look so much worse in comparison. This is a no-budget true-independent film about sex and violence and yet it somehow manages to be more visually interesting that those of today, which have sufficiently more resources at their disposal. Independent film sure has gone downhill, hasn't it? I tend to lay blame of the cheap affordability of digital cameras and filmmaking software for the demise, but I could be wrong.

Nevertheless, the fact is that the movie looks great. I personally loved all the hints to film-noir with its camera angles, plays with shadow and, that old prerequisite, a woman smoking (a lot).


This was originally going to be an entry dedicated solely to Rose McGowen because she's actually very wonderful in it - she was Independent Spirit Award-nominated for best debut performance one year before she got trapped in a kitty-cat-flap in horror classic Scream - but I decided to use for "Black + White Friday" 'cuz.


I don't have anything to say about this.


This is Parker Posey. Not much to say in regards to this, I just thought it was worth mentioning. I always hope that people discover Parker Posey in one her big movies and then go back to watch her old movies and then come across things like this and end up shocked and slightly deranged.


Neon just looks good in black and white, okay. It sort of feels like a Hitchcock reference - how apt considering the movie we're talking about here - and I love that shit. In fact, just yesterday on Twitter a some-time commenter here and some-time blogger at Sugacoobs made a note (I mentioned the Hitchcockian illusions in the Shutter Island trailer) that " People's fear of being called a Hitch-copycat has resulted in a Hitch-drout [sic]." How true is that? Brian DePalma needs to make another thinly-veiled Hitchcock remake pronto. :)


There are a lot of shots of Rose McGowen smoking like she's in a Wong Kar-Wai film. I withheld the urge and only capped three of them!


Sometimes movie references, such as this one to Night of the Hunter, are so obvious that hurt, but I think they get away with it. The character gets away with it, actually.


I'm not sure why Araki decided to make this scene of James Duval playing with a YoYo so artful, but he did and I thank him for it. Looks like something out of Eraserhead.


Oh the things Russ Meyer could have done with Rose McGowen!


I just really liked this shot, don't you?


Just so people don't think I advocate it or anything: Smoking kills... but looks hot on screen! Hmm, maybe all those talking heads who say movie characters smoking encourages young people to do it. But, then again, not all young people are Rose Mc-fucken-Gowen, okay!?!