they are compiled and presented in succession, a narrative is formed, and Korine has said that Gummo and his subsequent films were written in this fashion, striving to retain a "margin of the undefined." In 2009, he summarized an ideal setting in his aesthetic as "an abandoned parking lot and a soiled sofa on the edge [...] with a street lamp off to the side. America seems like a series of abandoned parking lots, streetlights and abandoned sofas." Ensuing from this, the setting appears frequently in his film Trash Humpers (2009). Influences In 1997, Korine's favorite writers were listed as the humorists James Thurber and S. J. Perelman, as well as the Southern Gothic novelist Flannery O'Connor. He also credited the philosopher Walter Benjamin as an influence. In recent years, Korine has praised rapper and collaborator Gucci Mane. Korine has noted British filmmaker Alan Clarke as a strong inspiration on his filmmaking, especially with regards to his realism and use of extensive scenes. In 1999, he listed his top ten films as Pixote by Héctor Babenco, Badlands and Days of Heaven by Terrence Malick, Fat City by John Huston, Stroszek by Werner Herzog, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie and A Woman Under the Influence by John Cassavetes, McCabe and Mrs. Miller by Robert Altman, Out of the Blue by Dennis Hopper and Hail Mary by Jean-Luc Godard. Criticism and praise Despite the scorn of a majority of mainstream reviewers, Korine has won festival prizes at Venice and Rotterdam among others. Established directors such as Bernardo Bertolucci and Gus Van Sant are also outspoken proponents of Korine's work, with Van Sant saying Gummo "changed his life" and Bertolucci saying Korine "created a revolution in the language of cinema." Korine was initially frequently labeled as an enfant terrible and was often accused of exploitation and self-indulgence; he responded in 1997, asking "How can an artist be expected not to be self-indulgent? That's the whole thing that's wrong with filmmaking today [...] To me, art is one man's voice, one idea, one point-of-view, coming from one person." Korine feels there is no need to justify or explain the images he puts to the screen, clarifying that they are simply the result of "a cinema of passion and obsession." He has added that "I mostly just make things to entertain myself and at the same time hope that there's some type of audience