Ray Carney

Ray Carney, also known as Raymond Carney, is an American "interdisciplinary arts scholar" primarily known for his work as a film theorist. His primary field of study is the works of actor and director John Cassavetes. He teaches at Boston University and has written several books on Cassavetes.http://people.bu.edu/rcarney/aboutrc/bookstore.shtml

Popular culture, kitsch, and symbolism

Carney is highly critical of much mainstream art, and the way it is approached from an academic standpoint. He is well-known, and in some circles reviled, for the stridancy with which he attacks artists as diverse as Steven Spielberg, Brian De Palma, The Coen Brothers, and Quentin Tarantino, whom he percieves as tricksters, using empty style to score points with the "in" crowd. (And, should they try to do something more ambitious, they are still demonized; for example, he often refers to Spielberg's output after Schindler's List as Steven "Please take me seriously" Spielberg movies.)

Related Topics:
Steven Spielberg - Brian De Palma - The Coen Brothers - Quentin Tarantino - Schindler's List

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One well-known example was his 1989 essay on Woody Allen, Modernism for the Millions http://people.bu.edu/rcarney/carncult/woody.shtml (The Alaska Quarterly Review, Vol. 8, No. 1 and 2). In this piece, Carney argues that Allen uses humour in his films to disfuse situations that he, the filmmaker, is uncomfortable with, such as drug use and depression. At the same time, says Carney, Allen wants to get credit for bringing up these issues, as that's what serious artists do.

Related Topics:
1989 - Woody Allen

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Carney is as critical of the academic establishment that gives laudits to these artists as he is of the artists themselves. He feels that symbolism is a "high school" understanding of art, and that this kind of decoder ring approach is in place because it's easier to grasp and makes those that teach feel more important and esoteric.

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