The Power of Point of View

Tag: movie

S.B.L. Book Review Session on “Perspective Criticism” (part 6): Response to Whitlock Review

by GARY YAMASAKI   Matt’s review of Perspective Criticism provides a relatively rare perspective, that of a biblical scholar who is also a literary critic trained in the study of the modern novel. Such a perspective is most welcomed in the discussion of point-of-view crafting, a topic right in the wheelhouse of literary critics, but so foreign… Read More ›

S.B.L. Book Review Session on “Perspective Criticism” (part 5)

by MATTHEW WHITLOCK   It is appropriate to respond to Gary’s work with a quote from the crafter-of-point-of view-in-chief, Marcel Proust: “Only by art can we emerge from ourselves, can we know what another sees of this universe that is not the same as ours and whose landscapes would have remained as unknown to us as… Read More ›

S.B.L. Book Review Session on “Perspective Criticism” (part 3)

by STEVE BLACK   Gary Yamasaki’s Perspective Criticism uses “point-of-view analysis” as a means to clarify puzzling passages in the Bible. Through point of view, the reader experiences characters as remote or close. If they are viewed as close, then they are also viewed sympathetically, and this can result in a merger of sorts between reader… Read More ›

YouTube clips from “Star Wars” and “The Gods Must Be Crazy” to help unpack Phraseological Plane of Point of View

by GARY YAMASAKI   The phraseological plane of point of view is definitely the least significant of the six–it being the least utilized–but it has got to be the most fascinating for its ability to influence in a most unassuming fashion through whose point of view an audience experiences an event. Unfortunately, this plane’s transition… Read More ›

“Memento”: a Masterpiece in Point-of-View Manipulation

by GARY YAMASAKI   What would it be like to be unable to remember anything for more than five minutes? Director Christopher Nolan attempts to capture this in his Memento (2000), sketching out a storyline in which protagonist Leonard Shelby works to discover who murdered his wife while hampered by anterograde amnesia, a brain dysfunction that… Read More ›

The Acts of God Through the Perspectives of the Apostles

by MATTHEW WHITLOCK   Sometimes perspective criticism begins not by asking what is seen, but by asking what is not seen. The Blair Witch Project—unlike the reveal-all horror movies of today—never shows its antagonist. The audience never sees the Blair Witch. They only hear rumors about her and see the results of her actions. Similarly, Alfred… Read More ›

Psychological-Plane Point of View and the Movie “Open Water”

by CHARLES AARON   In the 2004 indie film Open Water, a young couple, Susan and Daniel, take a vacation to escape the stress of their lives and jobs. They go to a tropical location for scuba diving. Due to a mistake by the employees of the charter boat that has taken them out, Daniel and Susan… Read More ›

Narration in Film: Edward Branigan on Point of View versus Focalization

by LAURA COPIER   In this short post, I’d like to introduce  one of the key works in the field of narration and film: Edward Branigan’s 1992 study Narrative Comprehension and Film. For a thorough introduction to cinematic narration and its links to literary devices  I would suggest reading Branigan in tandem with David Bordwell’s monumental … Read More ›

(quarter)YEAR in REVIEW. . .and a look ahead to a New Year of Perspective Criticism

by GARY YAMASAKI   This blog was launched three months ago, and from the beginning, it has been intended as a site for the collective development of biblical scholarship. Specifically, it exists as a venue for dialogue on the interpretive significance of the point-of-view crafting in biblical narratives. So, week after week, ideas on this topic… Read More ›

“The Hobbit” – a Review from a Unique Point of View

by GARY YAMASAKI   The blogosphere is swarming with reviews of “The Hobbit,” so what else can be said? Well, this is a blog on perspective criticism, and a look at The Hobbit from the point of view of “Point of View” would stand out from the rest. So, just like earlier posts have examined… Read More ›

Synching Minds: “Butch Cassidy” and the Informational Plane of Point of View

by GARY YAMASAKI   The classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid makes for an intriguing study in  point-of-view crafting. Such a study could explore any of the three planes of point of view developed in earlier posts, but it is the informational plane that will be the focus of this post. Who Knew What When… Read More ›

Does Abram have Sarai claim she is his “sister” (Gen 12: 13) as a ploy to obtain wealth? A look at point of view on the “Psychological Plane”

by GARY YAMASAKI   The film Being John Malkovich presents the intriguing concept of a portal providing access into the mind of real-life actor John Malkovich. So, a character uses the portal to get inside this actor’s head, and the camera follows the character and shoots out through Malkovich’s eye sockets to show all he is… Read More ›

NEW BOOK on “Perspective Criticism”

Now available from Cascade Books, Perspective Criticism: Point of View and Evaluative Guidance in Biblical Narrative, a full-length treatment of this methodology of point-of-view analysis. This book is designed as an introduction to analyzing point-of-view crafting in biblical narratives, setting out the full range of storytelling devices used in the manipulation of point of view. One… Read More ›

“Am I to approve or disapprove of this biblical character?” Point-of-View Crafting Provides an Answer

by GARY YAMASAKI   Have you ever had the experience of sitting in a movie theatre, and becoming so engrossed in the movie that you forgot you are in a theatre? This happens to me often. . .this becoming lost in the story world of a movie. And this dynamic isn’t restricted just to cinematic stories…. Read More ›

“Primary Colors”: When a movie about the Clintons is NOT a movie about the Clintons

by GARY YAMASAKI   Primary Colors (1998) presents a story set in 1992 of Jack Stanton, a philandering southern governor, vying for the presidency. Sound familiar? John Travolta, who plays the governor, even sports a Clintonesque accent. Not surprisingly, all the action of the movie swirls around Jack and his wife Susan–the Hillary character. But… Read More ›