I have had Portlandia’s “Dream of the 90’s” song stuck in my head for some time now, which I always seem to call “Feel of the ‘90’s for some reason. It’s getting annoying. I’ve discussed this show with my two groups of friends, even though I was the only one who has seen it. I related the sketches to them and we came to the conclusion that the TV show does not quite identify Portland’s quirks.
I also tried to pinpoint the film that brought upon my reflection of the ‘90’s as a period piece and decided it was The Queen with Helen Mirren and directed by Steven Frears.
The most definable feature of The Queen was the picture quality element. I’m not sure if this was intentional or just a viewing of a DVD on a blu ray player. Yes, like a late 80’s child I refuse to get caught up on new technology. The picture quality of this film is reminiscent of watching a VHS tape and this effect is recreated in this film in many ways including objects in the film, colors and use of news footage from this historic week.
When watching films made in the ‘90’s, I often notice how the picture quality makes objects have crisper outer edges and a fuzzier interior. This observation is subtle of course, not like a coloring book at all. The Queen herself also stands out with a conservation primary color in her choice of clothing or accessories, surrounded by other actors in lighter colors or wearing earth tone clothing with a dark necklace.
As bold as the ‘90’s were with the bright colors in clothing or the highlights in music videos, we also started to tone down our colors with mustard yellow, casual blacks, different from the crazy ‘80’s hair-do’s and shoulder padded office clothes. The Queen gave a portrait of this change which also connects to the way the era dressed.
Color is also used to display the theme of isolation that the Queen is experiencing from Tony Blair and the public. There are several shots of the Queen alone and donning an outfit conspicuous from her surroundings, especially as she ponders the solution to the public outcry about Princess Diana’s death.
Tony Blair (Actor) also stands out with darker colors every time he visits the queen in her beige-pastel palace, showing the conflicting relationship between the royalty and the government that has to work together to ease the grieving of the public.
The Queen believes that the death is a private matter while Blair feels that Diana had such a public presence, that the royal family must comment on their former relation. I also noticed that on the Queen’s drive before Diana’s funeral, she wears a beige outfit that matches her outdoor surroundings, showing that she might have to conform to the duties her kingdom demands.
Stephen Frears’ use of actual news footage from the ‘90’s helped identify these key events and characters. For example, the character of Princess Diana was portrayed only from real interviews and newscasts. I felt he chose well, because could not think of an actress that could portray her. The footage from the public also demonstrated the large scale of mourning and shock from the princesses death. Living in Europe at the time, I remember seeing the princess often on TV and could not believe the damage done to the car she died in. I also remember the TY beanie baby coming out that was super expensive, a commemorative purple bear named Princess.
According to IMDB.com, Queen Elizabeth refuses to watch this movie because she does not want to relive that week. I felt this was an interesting bit of trivia because of the increasing speed that movies from 20 years ago are getting remade, I love the millenium on VH1 comes out when 2010 was not even reached and biographical films are being made when the main character is still alive. I wonder if we can really, truly remember the way we were, if we don’t have enough distance? Or in this case do we want to remember? Was the first version of Fame worse than the old so we have to stay fresh to last in popularity? Is Footloose such a pivotal film that we need to upgrade it? And Americans are not the only ones who do this: My last few favorite Bollywood movies were remakes, but at least those were coming from 40-70 years ago.....
Moralistically, if a biographical movie is done on you, do you have a say in who portrays you in certain positive or negative ways? Or can you agree to embellishments? Please think about this.
I also tried to pinpoint the film that brought upon my reflection of the ‘90’s as a period piece and decided it was The Queen with Helen Mirren and directed by Steven Frears.
The most definable feature of The Queen was the picture quality element. I’m not sure if this was intentional or just a viewing of a DVD on a blu ray player. Yes, like a late 80’s child I refuse to get caught up on new technology. The picture quality of this film is reminiscent of watching a VHS tape and this effect is recreated in this film in many ways including objects in the film, colors and use of news footage from this historic week.
When watching films made in the ‘90’s, I often notice how the picture quality makes objects have crisper outer edges and a fuzzier interior. This observation is subtle of course, not like a coloring book at all. The Queen herself also stands out with a conservation primary color in her choice of clothing or accessories, surrounded by other actors in lighter colors or wearing earth tone clothing with a dark necklace.
As bold as the ‘90’s were with the bright colors in clothing or the highlights in music videos, we also started to tone down our colors with mustard yellow, casual blacks, different from the crazy ‘80’s hair-do’s and shoulder padded office clothes. The Queen gave a portrait of this change which also connects to the way the era dressed.
Color is also used to display the theme of isolation that the Queen is experiencing from Tony Blair and the public. There are several shots of the Queen alone and donning an outfit conspicuous from her surroundings, especially as she ponders the solution to the public outcry about Princess Diana’s death.
Tony Blair (Actor) also stands out with darker colors every time he visits the queen in her beige-pastel palace, showing the conflicting relationship between the royalty and the government that has to work together to ease the grieving of the public.
The Queen believes that the death is a private matter while Blair feels that Diana had such a public presence, that the royal family must comment on their former relation. I also noticed that on the Queen’s drive before Diana’s funeral, she wears a beige outfit that matches her outdoor surroundings, showing that she might have to conform to the duties her kingdom demands.
Stephen Frears’ use of actual news footage from the ‘90’s helped identify these key events and characters. For example, the character of Princess Diana was portrayed only from real interviews and newscasts. I felt he chose well, because could not think of an actress that could portray her. The footage from the public also demonstrated the large scale of mourning and shock from the princesses death. Living in Europe at the time, I remember seeing the princess often on TV and could not believe the damage done to the car she died in. I also remember the TY beanie baby coming out that was super expensive, a commemorative purple bear named Princess.
According to IMDB.com, Queen Elizabeth refuses to watch this movie because she does not want to relive that week. I felt this was an interesting bit of trivia because of the increasing speed that movies from 20 years ago are getting remade, I love the millenium on VH1 comes out when 2010 was not even reached and biographical films are being made when the main character is still alive. I wonder if we can really, truly remember the way we were, if we don’t have enough distance? Or in this case do we want to remember? Was the first version of Fame worse than the old so we have to stay fresh to last in popularity? Is Footloose such a pivotal film that we need to upgrade it? And Americans are not the only ones who do this: My last few favorite Bollywood movies were remakes, but at least those were coming from 40-70 years ago.....
Moralistically, if a biographical movie is done on you, do you have a say in who portrays you in certain positive or negative ways? Or can you agree to embellishments? Please think about this.
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