wallowing in black and white

For a few issues now I've been wallowing in a free subscription to Paste Magazine. One of my favorite things in it so far was a half a page devoted to an image of a crunched-flattened-scribbled piece of notebook paper where the columnist wrote lists in 4 sections - things I like that I'm not supposed to like, things I don't like that I'm supposed to like, things I don't like that I'm not supposed to like, and things I like that I'm supposed to like. It was a nice nod to that recognized social consciousness. We probably all have things that are things we adore that we know we can't go on at length about around other people because we don't want to have to explain, and likewise times where we listen to people talk about something with great praise when we're basically unimpressed. I've been in conversations like that about black and white film - still or video, take your pick. It gets tagged as being an artists way of making something seem arty. I can't help it - I adore it. I like the simplification of removing color. (Easier on the viewer, harder on the designer though.)

Last night we watched Pi. The film is done in black and white and definitely could get tagged for pretension (if you haven't seen it, it focuses on a high-level math possible genius/nutter and his quest for making sense of patterns in the world). The filming is gritty with jerky camera work and people/freight trains appearing and disappearing as the mental state of the lead swings about. But I can't imagine it being as enticing in color.