Personal Statement
This week, my post isn’t going to be the usual update on Heath Ledger’s Oscar Nomination or an update on The Dark Knight, but more of a personal statement. I have to express my joy to see all of the serious Oscar attention that Ledger is getting for his performance of the Joker. It doesn’t really matter what website you go on, ropesofsilicon.com (the main updated new site for the Oscars), etc. Everyone, despite the fact that he is portraying a comic book character, is saying that Ledger is an absolute shoe-in for the Best Supporting Actor nomination.
When I first started this class and chose the outside-the-box topic of the Heath Ledger Oscar nomination, I chose the topic at first for the sole reason that I’m a Senior at Pitt and have written about pretty much anything you can think of. As a person who has worked himself to the bone for my first three years, I wanted to write about a topic that I was going to enjoy for this class. However, since I began writing, I have become semi-passionate about the topic. It has forced me to view The Dark Knight a few more times, and I believe now, more than ever, that Heath Ledger deserves the Oscar nominaton.
For those of you who haven’t had the opportunity to see The Dark Knight yet, I highly recommend you do, even if you’re not a comic book fan. It goes so far beyond that. Plus, you have the blessing of seeing Heath Ledger’s iconic portrayal of the Joker. Believe me, if it wasn’t as good as I’ve claimed it is, I wouldn’t spend an entire semester writing about it.
October 29th, 2008 at 9:08 am
I agree with your personal statement completely. I went to see the dark knight in theaters to see Ledger’s incredible performance. I am not a huge comic book fan, and I wasn’t blown away by any of the earlier batman movies. However, Ledger gives yet another remarkable performance. Anyone who enjoys a good film will love The Dark Knight. Ledger gives a remarkable look into the mind of a mad man. Ledger’s joker is such a deep dark scarry emotional character. I honestly feel that his performance makes this movie a masterpiece and solidifies it as one of the most powerful movies of the year. It’s wonderful to see how one actor’s remarkable performance can make a movie. I think this is an awesome topic and i’m excited to see Ledger recieve the nomination come oscar season.
October 29th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Hey John,
I totally agree with you about nominating Heath Ledger for an Oscar. If you think about it acting is an art and artists are usually recognized for their work long after their time and the time that the work was created in. Leonardo Da Vinci, Caravaggio, and Raphael were all recognized for their genius way past the time they created their works.
Movies today will eventually become a form of art for later generations. There will be people who will see Health Ledger’s accomplishment not just in the context of the movie but in the context of movie production as an art form and his contribution to this will be recognized later if not now.
If I understand this correctly, the Dark Knight is still in theatres a couple months after its release and if I remember, Titanic was the last movie for our generation that has stayed in theatres for longer than a month or two. I think that says something in itself.
October 29th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
I think it’s really refreshing to see someone write about how passionate they are about their topic. I don’t doubt that you know what you are talking about because you are so interested and that leads me to believe that you are doing anything and everything you can to make this an issue for others to care about.
Personally, as a serious fan of Burton’s Batman movies, I have to say the Dark Knight is not one of my favorites, but Ledger’s performance is, and I look forward to reading on and getting some updates from you about him and his possible (and well-deserved) nomination.
November 5th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
your peers’ responses show how compelling this issue is! great post.