Examples

Yes, I admit I could have chosen a better example, but you led me into it.

I did?

You did. When you referred birds pecking at a painting of a bunch of grapes.

Ah yes, that is my favourite art anecdote, the competition between the 2 Greek painters, Parrhasius and Zeuxis. Parrhasius paints a bunch of grapes so well that birds come down to peck at them. Parrhasius is certain that he's won, but he asks Zeuxis to pull back the curtain to reveal his painting. The curtain is my painting, says Zeuxis. Then you win, says Parrhasius. I only fooled the birds, but you have fooled me.

It is a wonderful anecdote, but what are we to learn from it?

That the best art is the truest.

Or the trickiest. Let me now choose another example to illustrate the relevance of film art. Imagine a framed image on a wall. An image of a darkened room. For a while, nothing happens. Suddenly a light comes on in a corner of the room. A man enters, holding a book. He sits down. He opens the book to page 470. We see a closeup of the man's face. He looks like he has just heard a gunshot.

May I ask what you propose this as an example of?

Sorry. One upmanship.