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I personally don't know anything about Sofia Coppola. I don't know her political stances, haven't seen any of her acting, haven't followed her personal life. I knew she was a fashionista, and an acclaimed film director, and that's it. I only started following the topic on her rather recently cuz I've heard so much about her style (which I find myself liking).
So when I say it's Sofia, and Sofia's alone, whether people love or hate her films, I'm referring to the fact that the work of art is hers and hers alone. I don't need to know about her as an artist to see her work of art separate from her.
For example, I love 'Wings of Desire' but hate 'The Million Dollar Hotel.' Both were made by the same person. All I know about Wim Wenders is that he's a German Expressionist film-maker, very influential, and has become a documentarian (if that's even a word) in recent years. But I feel WOD says much about life, mortality, the passage of time, while I feel with TMDH that it stereotypes both the film noir and mental illness. TMDH has some lovely imagery and the ending is amazing, but it doesn't make me think the film is deep or make me forgive it for "oh look a crazy person who thinks he's John Lennon." (The film uses rather ableist terminology too.)
Those of us who do dislike her films probably do try to connect with them on an "emotional and visceral level." At least I do, but I end up annoyed by her characters. And, may I remind you that it was you who turned our dislike into something that needed to be addressed from a "scholarly perspective." (You dislike her films? Well, I'm a film teacher. You still dislike her films? Well, here's what Ebert and other critics have to say! Oh, wait, even though I turned this conversation to a scholarly perspective, you're still not getting it because you're not judging her films on an emotional and visceral level.)
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