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Nathan's Thesis

Overwhelming Mother: Understanding Direction and Pure Cinema, Today. 457pp. Completed 2009; revised and expanded in 2017.
Nominated for the 2009 University of Washington Library Research Award for Undergraduates. 

I've been asked about this for years, and see no reason not to share it now. No, I wasn't required to write a 457-page paper in college, but you can bet I wanted to. I love cinema. I love it. I noticed an absence of something in most film books and did my best to fill it, with enthusiasm, passion, and one massive bibliography.

From the back cover: The paper’s stated aim is to help the layman appreciate film as art, through a clear understanding of the craft of direction and its ultimate end, Pure Cinema. “Overwhelming Mother,” so named in accordance with Merriam-Webster’s definition of the latter word as “an extreme or ultimate example of its kind, especially in terms of scale” (example: “the mother of all ocean liners”), is divided into a prelude, five sections, and appendices. If you’re in a hurry to catch a bus, the entire point of this paper is contained within Section Two, Example One (pp 67-78). The rest is just for fun.

An introductory essay at the opening of the book helps delineate its aims:

You're​ ​a​ ​doll​ ​for​ ​even​ ​wanting​ ​to​ ​read​ ​this​ ​thing.

In​ ​2009,​ ​I​ ​was​ ​riding​ ​the​ ​high​ ​of​ ​approaching​ ​the conclusion​ ​of​ ​two​ ​decades​ ​of​ ​schooling.​ ​I​ ​couldn't​ ​wait,​ ​but​ ​I also​ ​knew​ ​I​ ​could​ ​do​ ​more.​ ​There​ ​was​ ​an​ ​urgency​ ​within​ ​me, unrealized​ ​by​ ​academic​ ​life​ ​thus​ ​far.

I​ ​did​ ​two​ ​theses,​ ​not​ ​one;​ ​the​ ​other​ ​was​ ​an eight-by-eight​ ​foot​ ​photography​ ​mural​ ​utilizing​ ​more​ ​than​ ​200 images,​ ​which​ ​I​ ​scrapped​ ​twenty-four​ ​hours​ ​before​ ​its​ ​due​ ​date and​ ​redid​ ​entirely​ ​using​ ​new​ ​images.​ ​There​ ​was​ ​a​ ​desire​ ​to push​ ​the​ ​limits​ ​of​ ​what​ ​I​ ​was​ ​capable​ ​of​ ​creatively.

This​ ​only​ ​needed​ ​to​ ​be​ ​ten​ ​or​ ​fifteen​ ​pages.

I​ ​was​ ​riding​ ​the​ ​wave​ ​of​ ​having​ ​won​ ​the​ ​University of​ ​Washington​ ​Library​ ​Research​ ​Award​ ​for​ ​Undergraduates the​ ​year​ ​prior,​ ​for​ ​my​ ​2008​ ​​Geography:​ ​A​ ​Three-Part​ ​Paper. That​ ​one​ ​was​ ​"only"​ ​fifty-three​ ​pages,​ ​and​ ​followed​ ​the standard​ ​academic​ ​template​ ​for​ ​what​ ​papers​ ​should​ ​look​ ​like. It​ ​was​ ​well-researched,​ ​sophisticated,​ ​verbose,​ ​well-received by​ ​the​ ​professors​ ​who​ ​read​ ​it...​ ​and​ ​terrifically​ ​boring. 

After​ ​the​ ​accolades​ ​it​ ​received,​ ​I​ ​felt​ ​the​ ​appropriate thing​ ​to​ ​do​ ​was​ ​take​ ​a​ ​risk​ ​and​ ​push​ ​myself​ ​in​ ​new​ ​directions. Another​ ​scholarly-voiced​ ​paper​ ​would​ ​be​ ​too​ ​stultifying.​ This new​ ​endeavor​ ​needed​ ​to​ ​feel​ ​fresh. It​ ​needed​ ​some​ ​juice​ ​to​ ​it.

Also,​ ​it​ ​was​ ​simply​ ​too​ ​large​ ​and​ ​dense​ ​and​ ​long​ ​to sustain​ ​such​ ​a​ ​dry​ ​writing​ ​style.​ ​I​ ​enjoy​ ​the​ ​academic​ ​approach and​ ​feel​ ​great​ ​about​ ​the​ ​earlier​ ​paper,​ ​but​ ​following​ ​the traditional​ ​mold​ ​of​ ​stating​ ​theses​ ​outright​ ​and​ ​then​ ​asking​ ​for the​ ​reader's​ ​attention​ ​for​ ​a​ ​further​ ​few​ ​hundred​ ​pages​ ​felt nonsensical.​ ​The​ ​better​ ​to​ ​follow​ ​structures​ ​used​ ​in​ ​mystery thrillers​ ​rather​ ​than​ ​papers:​ ​reveal​ ​the​ ​information​ ​slowly, dexterously,​ ​maintaining​ ​a​ ​hold​ ​and​ ​creating​ ​a​ ​journey.​ ​Let things​ ​rise​ ​and​ ​fall,​ ​and​ ​be​ ​exciting.​ ​Use​ ​bread​ ​crumbs.​ ​I wanted​ ​readers​ ​to​ ​stay​ ​up​ ​at​ ​night​ ​paging​ ​through​ ​this​ ​heap, not​ ​falling​ ​asleep​ ​five​ ​minutes​ ​into​ ​Chapter​ ​Two.

There's​ ​another​ ​reason​ ​for​ ​colloquial​ ​voicing​ ​here besides​ ​reader​ ​interest,​ ​a​ ​reason​ ​I​ ​find​ ​ultimately​ ​more important.​ ​It's​ ​to​ ​do​ ​with​ ​the​ ​intended​ ​audience.
Film​ ​takes​ ​the​ ​place​ ​today​ ​of​ ​what​ ​literature​ ​and theatre​ ​once​ ​were:​ ​art​ ​consumed​ ​on​ ​a​ ​large​ ​scale​ ​by​ ​the masses.​ ​I'm​ ​speaking​ ​to​ ​everyone​ ​here.​ ​I​ ​do​ ​not​ ​wish​ ​to​ ​shut out​ ​certain​ ​interested​ ​readers​ ​by​ ​staying​ ​within​ ​the​ ​exclusive realm​ ​of​ ​high-falutin'​ ​verbiage​ ​and​ ​exerting​ ​a​ ​status​ ​separation alienating​ ​the​ ​many​ ​filmgoers​ ​I​ ​wish​ ​to​ ​reach​ ​with​ ​this​ ​paper. That​ ​exclusivity​ ​limits​ ​the​ ​unprejudiced​ ​dissemination​ ​of insight​ ​I​ ​want​ ​to​ ​see.

Neither,​ ​however,​ ​do​ ​I​ ​wish​ ​to​ ​lose​ ​the​ ​interest​ ​of folks​ ​educated​ ​in​ ​words​ ​but​ ​not​ ​films​ ​by​ ​diluting​ ​the​ ​grandiose heights​ ​possible​ ​with​ ​the​ ​English​ ​language,​ ​just​ ​for​ ​the​ ​sake​ ​of reaching​ ​the​ ​masses.​ ​I​ ​think​ ​a​ ​middle​ ​ground​ ​is​ ​achievable​ ​by way​ ​of​ ​a​ ​certain​ ​​tone,​ ​​a​ ​voice​ ​welcoming​ ​in​ ​a​ ​manner​ ​both erudite​ ​and​ ​accessible,​ ​without​ ​compromise​ ​to​ ​either.​ ​You​ ​can be​ ​the​ ​judge.

I​ ​appreciate​ ​the​ ​scholarly​ ​validation​ ​of​ ​being nominated​ ​for​ ​the​ ​2009​ ​award,​ ​but​ ​feel​ ​it's​ ​appropriate​ ​it​ ​didn't win;​ ​the​ ​aims​ ​here​ ​are​ ​different.​ ​The​ ​real​ ​victory​ ​is​ ​if​ ​you,​ ​dear reader,​ ​walk​ ​away​ ​from​ ​this​ ​pile​ ​satisfied,​ ​with​ ​perspective, knowledge​ ​and​ ​a​ ​smile.

As​ ​for​ ​the​ ​content​ ​itself,​ ​there​ ​is​ ​the​ ​temptation,​ ​as with​ ​all​ ​books​ ​on​ ​cinema,​ ​to​ ​update​ ​with​ ​the​ ​thoughts​ ​on changing​ ​trends​ ​and​ ​newer​ ​pictures.​ ​Aside​ ​from​ ​minor​ ​updates and​ ​footnotes,​ ​I’m​ ​choosing​ ​to​ ​leave​ ​this​ ​document​ ​as​ ​an observation​ ​of​ ​the​ ​landscape​ ​in​ ​2009,​ ​in​ ​part​ ​because​ ​the perspective​ ​ended​ ​up​ ​being​ ​an​ ​ideal​ ​one​ ​for​ ​reasons​ ​both​ ​tragic and​ ​ideal:​ ​Oliver​ ​Stone​ ​has​ ​ ​stopped​ ​making​ ​the masterpieces​ ​we​ ​discuss​ ​here;​ ​Tony​ ​Scott​ ​passed​ ​not​ ​long​ ​after making​ ​his​ ​two​ ​most​ ​artistically​ ​daring​ ​works,​ ​which​ ​we​ ​detail at​ ​length;​ ​Michael​ ​Bay​ ​has​ ​gone​ ​further​ ​into​ ​his​ ​exploration​ ​of aesthetics​ ​divorced​ ​from​ ​form​ ​as​ ​discussed​ ​in​ ​our​ ​appendices; and​ ​crucially,​ ​the​ ​discussion​ ​of​ ​Pure​ ​Cinema​ ​and​ ​Terrence Malick​ ​as​ ​its​ ​ultimate​ ​contemporary​ ​arbiter​ ​now​ ​reads​ ​as remarkably​ ​prescient.

Malick’s​ ​2011​​ ​Tree​ ​of​ ​Life​​ ​and​ ​uncharacteristically prolific​ ​current​ ​decade​ ​(in​ ​which​ ​he​ ​also​ ​completed​ ​a one-of-a-kind​ ​trilogy​ ​of​ ​freeform​ ​explorations​ ​on contemporary​ ​ennui​ ​with​ ​​To​ ​The​ ​Wonder,​ ​Knight​ ​of​ ​Cups,​ ​​and Song​ ​to​ ​Song​)​ ​reveal​ ​his​ ​concern​ ​with​ ​precisely​ ​the​ ​concepts we​ ​emphasize​ ​in​ ​his​ ​earlier​ ​work​ ​here.​ ​The​ ​content​ ​is​ ​more timely​ ​than​ ​I​ ​could​ ​possibly​ ​have​ ​hoped.​ ​My​ ​only​ ​addition​ ​in response​ ​to​ ​this​ ​is​ ​an​ ​additional​ ​appendix​ ​on​ ​the aforementioned​ ​trilogy​.

Enjoy!


Available on request– email me! 457pp. Print version (paperback): $80. Ebook: $15.

Click here for Nathan's Resume and CV.
nathan_vass_1_page_resume_with_links.pdf
File Size: 62 kb
File Type: pdf
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2022_nathan_vass_cv_complete.pdf
File Size: 140 kb
File Type: pdf
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  • About
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