First, thank you to those that submitted presentations. I hope that posting our findings (in the presentations as well as all of our other assignments this semester) on the class blog has allowed each student to not only discover some information on his/her own, but also benefit from the discoveries of his/her classmates.
I do want to make one clarification about last week's subject. This semester we have examined issues of oppression concerning race, class, gender and sexuality. Now, as we discussed in our second week of the course, our use of the term sexuality refers to sexual orientation. So, explanations of sexuality (in your film analysis papers and your final exams) should refer not to sex in general, but specifically to sexual orientation. (Some of the responses from last week made me think that despite the very specific concepts introduced in the readings, films, and blog post, some students have not understood the term sexuality).
Some Resolution
Here is a clip from Good Night and Good Luck. Notice how Edward R. Murrow's character acknowledges the potential of the media to clarify issues that we have addressed in the course. Notice also that this potential is dependent on the individuals that make up the media industries and audiences. Since you and I will undoubtedly be a part of at least one of those groups, and since these cultural issues will undoubtedly affect our lives in some way, I hope that we engage ourselves in these issues and we encourage the media to join us.
It's been a great opportunity teaching you this semester. I hope that you have benefited from the material that has been introduced. I appreciated many of your responses, in both your papers and weekly assignments, and I hope that you have found my approach to the course helpful.
Now, this Friday our 3rd Film Analysis paper is due, our last quiz is due, but you will not have an assignment due. Remember to email your quiz responses to Jennifer and email your papers to me, both by 11:59pm Fri.
Quiz
According to Meulener's article, what are the three “rungs” of the “ladder” that leads to diversity? Explain each.
Final Exam
The final exam will be posted on Bb on Monday, Dec 10th. You will have until Friday, Dec 14th at 11:59pm to complete it. The exam will be short answer and essay. It will be cumulative, covering concepts from the textbook readings, films, and blog posts. It is a "take-home" format, so you are free to use your notes, the texts, and any other reputable sources to help you in your responses. However, you must acknowledge these sources, using proper quotations and citations (using MLA format). The exams will be submitted as "Turnitin" assignments to make sure that your responses are definitely your own. When I post the exam, I will send out an email explaining in detail the procedure for submitting the exams using Turnitin. If you have any questions, please let me know.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Saturday, November 24, 2007
sexuality and film
Thanks for your assignments and presentations on gender and film. This will be our last week to do presentations. So, if you have not posted a presentation, please do so this week.
If you have already done a presentation, here is this week's assignment. Remember to read the links carefully, so you have a good understanding of the concept. Then, be sure to adequately address the complex correspondence between concept and text. Remember to review the previous posts so that you are not repeating someone else's assignment (This has been a problem in past weeks.)
Concepts
queer
transexual
transgender
homosexual
heterosexual
homophobia
heterosexism
Texts
Will and Grace
Queer as Folk
The L Word
Angels in America
Breakfast on Pluto
Transamerica
Big Eden
But I'm a Cheerleader
Boy's Don't Cry
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
American Beauty
We will not be having a quiz this week. So, don't worry about emailing Jennifer. But assignments/presentations will be due (as always) by 11:59 pm on Friday, Nov 30th.
Also, remember that your final film analysis paper is due Friday, Dec 7th by 11:59pm. Check the Bb site, under "Assignments" for more information. I will be getting your Film Analysis 2 grades back to you this week, so you have some feedback as you write your next paper.
If you have already done a presentation, here is this week's assignment. Remember to read the links carefully, so you have a good understanding of the concept. Then, be sure to adequately address the complex correspondence between concept and text. Remember to review the previous posts so that you are not repeating someone else's assignment (This has been a problem in past weeks.)
Concepts
queer
transexual
transgender
homosexual
heterosexual
homophobia
heterosexism
Texts
Will and Grace
Queer as Folk
The L Word
Angels in America
Breakfast on Pluto
Transamerica
Big Eden
But I'm a Cheerleader
Boy's Don't Cry
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
American Beauty
We will not be having a quiz this week. So, don't worry about emailing Jennifer. But assignments/presentations will be due (as always) by 11:59 pm on Friday, Nov 30th.
Also, remember that your final film analysis paper is due Friday, Dec 7th by 11:59pm. Check the Bb site, under "Assignments" for more information. I will be getting your Film Analysis 2 grades back to you this week, so you have some feedback as you write your next paper.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Extra Credit Assignment #2
Since we do not have any new information to go over this week, I thought I would give you an opportunity to do some extra credit. This assignment will be potentially worth 2 percentage points added onto your final grade (those points could really help out some students). Assignments will be due by Sunday the 25th at 11:59pm.
Assignment
Since this is a web-based course, I figured we could participate in a very web-centric assignment. Students will have the opportunity to contribute three new elements to an existing article on Wikipedia.
First, create a wiki account. Some web sites require you to be a registered user for 4 days before you are allowed to edit. (Also, make sure that your account name resembles your real name so that I know that it is actually you contributing to the article.)
Now, pick a subject that we have addressed this semester in class. It can be a filmmaker, film, political activist, a theory or philosophy, a historical event, or current issue. As long as it has a clear connection to our studies, it is fine.
Next, visit the wiki article for your subject. Read it carefully. Then, do a little research using credible, published sources (a book or an article from an academic journal or reputable news source) on the subject. Find three facts, details, or issues that are not currently included in the wiki article.
Students will then edit the wiki article, adding these 3 new bits of information. For detailed instructions on how to edit a wiki article visit wikipedia's introduction or editing how-to pages.
Assignment
Since this is a web-based course, I figured we could participate in a very web-centric assignment. Students will have the opportunity to contribute three new elements to an existing article on Wikipedia.
First, create a wiki account. Some web sites require you to be a registered user for 4 days before you are allowed to edit. (Also, make sure that your account name resembles your real name so that I know that it is actually you contributing to the article.)
Now, pick a subject that we have addressed this semester in class. It can be a filmmaker, film, political activist, a theory or philosophy, a historical event, or current issue. As long as it has a clear connection to our studies, it is fine.
Next, visit the wiki article for your subject. Read it carefully. Then, do a little research using credible, published sources (a book or an article from an academic journal or reputable news source) on the subject. Find three facts, details, or issues that are not currently included in the wiki article.
Students will then edit the wiki article, adding these 3 new bits of information. For detailed instructions on how to edit a wiki article visit wikipedia's introduction or editing how-to pages.
Be sure to provide a reference (on the wiki page) of the source from which you got your information. For detailed instructions on how create a citation on a wiki article, visit wikipedia's citing sources how-to.
Finally, after you have made your edits (including providing references), you will make a post on our class blog. The post should include 1) your subject and 2) a hotlink to the "history" page of your wiki article (the "history" tab is located at the top of each article page next to "edit" and "discussion"). This history page should have recorded your edits, so that I can visit the page and see the information (and citation) that you added to the article.
If you have any questions about the assignment, let me know soon (I'll be kind of busy later in the week). Good luck!
Finally, after you have made your edits (including providing references), you will make a post on our class blog. The post should include 1) your subject and 2) a hotlink to the "history" page of your wiki article (the "history" tab is located at the top of each article page next to "edit" and "discussion"). This history page should have recorded your edits, so that I can visit the page and see the information (and citation) that you added to the article.
If you have any questions about the assignment, let me know soon (I'll be kind of busy later in the week). Good luck!
Saturday, November 10, 2007
gender and film
Review
So, lets review what we learned about race. The concept of otherness involves the definition of another's identity based on his/her differences from oneself. This relates to the concept of ethnocentrism in which one identifies oneself as normal, good, and true and another as abnormal, bad, and false. (An easy example was the American people's rationalization of the slavery of African Americans).
The other concepts attempt to address the issue of racial division in a society. The separatist approach (exemplified by the Black Nationalism movement), seeks to solve social inequality by the intentional separation of people groups. Each group, in this case each race, would establish its own community (or "nation"). Integration (exemplified by Martin Luther King) is the opposite approach, in which inequality is overcome through the incorporation of oppressed people groups into the mainstream. Multiculturalism is a concept that refers to cultural pluralism, or the peaceful coexistence of different people groups in the same community. No group is dominant, each "agreeing to disagree," in a sense. Finally, hybridity is a concept that acknowledges the influence different people groups have on each other. So, rather than assume that the dominant group necessarily asserts its culture on the oppressed group (or assume that the oppressed group must integrate themselves into the dominant order), hybridity acknowledges the influence the groups have on each other.
Film and Gender Assignment
So, let's try it again this week. You did a great job last week at addressing the complexities of the correspondence between text and concept. This week, in addition to your usual discussion, be sure to include a brief example from the plot (and film language, if possible) that supports your discussion.
Texts
Death Proof
Invincible
300
Wild Hogs
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Sex and the City
The Sopranos
Big Love
Entourage
Desperate Housewives
Gossip Girl
24
"Cupid's Chokehold/Breakfast in America" by Gym Class Heroes
"Can't Hold Us Down" by Christina Aguilera
"Figured You Out" by Nickelback
Concepts
femininity and masculinity
patriarchy
misogyny
the male gaze
objectification
feminisms
And if you would like to read more:
Laura Mulvey's "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema"
Assignments will be due Friday, Nov. 16th at 11:59pm.
Quiz
From the Houston article on psychoanalysis, define Lacan's concepts of "the real", "the imaginary," and "the symbolic order."
Presentations
WHAT is going on guys? We have only TWO weeks left to present (this week and the week of Sexuality and Film), and only ONE student has done a presentation. PLEASE do this assignment, for the sake of your learning and your final grade. If you have questions about the presentation, look back at the blog post from the Class and Film week and read the assignment description. Then, if you have any questions, let me know ASAP.
So, lets review what we learned about race. The concept of otherness involves the definition of another's identity based on his/her differences from oneself. This relates to the concept of ethnocentrism in which one identifies oneself as normal, good, and true and another as abnormal, bad, and false. (An easy example was the American people's rationalization of the slavery of African Americans).
The other concepts attempt to address the issue of racial division in a society. The separatist approach (exemplified by the Black Nationalism movement), seeks to solve social inequality by the intentional separation of people groups. Each group, in this case each race, would establish its own community (or "nation"). Integration (exemplified by Martin Luther King) is the opposite approach, in which inequality is overcome through the incorporation of oppressed people groups into the mainstream. Multiculturalism is a concept that refers to cultural pluralism, or the peaceful coexistence of different people groups in the same community. No group is dominant, each "agreeing to disagree," in a sense. Finally, hybridity is a concept that acknowledges the influence different people groups have on each other. So, rather than assume that the dominant group necessarily asserts its culture on the oppressed group (or assume that the oppressed group must integrate themselves into the dominant order), hybridity acknowledges the influence the groups have on each other.
Film and Gender Assignment
So, let's try it again this week. You did a great job last week at addressing the complexities of the correspondence between text and concept. This week, in addition to your usual discussion, be sure to include a brief example from the plot (and film language, if possible) that supports your discussion.
Texts
Death Proof
Invincible
300
Wild Hogs
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Sex and the City
The Sopranos
Big Love
Entourage
Desperate Housewives
Gossip Girl
24
"Cupid's Chokehold/Breakfast in America" by Gym Class Heroes
"Can't Hold Us Down" by Christina Aguilera
"Figured You Out" by Nickelback
Concepts
femininity and masculinity
patriarchy
misogyny
the male gaze
objectification
feminisms
And if you would like to read more:
Laura Mulvey's "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema"
Assignments will be due Friday, Nov. 16th at 11:59pm.
Quiz
From the Houston article on psychoanalysis, define Lacan's concepts of "the real", "the imaginary," and "the symbolic order."
Presentations
WHAT is going on guys? We have only TWO weeks left to present (this week and the week of Sexuality and Film), and only ONE student has done a presentation. PLEASE do this assignment, for the sake of your learning and your final grade. If you have questions about the presentation, look back at the blog post from the Class and Film week and read the assignment description. Then, if you have any questions, let me know ASAP.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
film and race
Review
Thanks for your responses last week. For the most part, they were thoughtful and articulate. I'm glad that we're able to apply some of the concepts we've learned in our analysis of new cultural texts.
So, hopefully we have some basic understandings of economic and social class. Class is the division of society into a hierarchy of people groups based on their economic standing. Karl Marx, living in Germany during the Industrial Revolution, was a "materialist." He believed that our material (or our economic) circumstances dictate our consciousness (so, in essence, economy determines existence). He saw capitalism (the economic system reliant on the concept of "free market") as being oppressive of working classes. He describes the exploitation of the laborer as mere "forces of production" and the "alienation" experienced by the laborer as he is further separated from his labors, his fellow men, and his environment. Marx critiqued the use of money as a means of exchange, noting the dangerous potential of its socially-constructed, symbolic value (I can exchange money for power and influence OR in order to get medical care, I need money. Even though power and health don't have any real connection to my wages.) Marx predicted that capitalism would end with revolution--the working class would rise up and share control of the economic means of production.
Post-Marxists, like Gramsci, revised some of Marx's ideas. Gramsci's concept of hegemony explained the reason why the Marxist revolution had not occurred. Rather than revolt, overthrow and establish a new system, the working class is constantly engaged in negotiations of power with the ruling class. The upper class rules not just by oppression, but "leads" the working class. And while the class division is maintained, the power is shared by ruling and working classes (although unequally).
Egalitarianism is the theory that involves the redistribution of wealth based on notions of inherent human equality and "just meritocracy." So, an egalitarian system would be one in which social and economic division would be nonexistent. The use of money would be limited, avoiding Marx's "transposition of all things." And individuals would merit rewards that naturally correspond to their needs and efforts (so medical care would be available to all in need of care, not just the financially funded; political influence would be merited by skills of leadership and persuasion rather than money).
Neoliberalism is the extension of capitalistic concepts. The use of "liberal" refers not to political/social conservatism/liberalism, but rather the "laissez faire" theory of market-driven economics. This economic system (the most prevalent in the Western world today) champions "free trade" and the deregulation and privatization of all services. While proponents of neoliberalism explain it as a means of developing modern, economically interdependent global-economic relations, it is criticized for the potential for economic imperialism and exploitation of "developing" nations (like the Third World) by "developed" nations (like the U.S. and Western Europe).
Film and Race Assignment
So, lets give it another try this week. Use our discussions of race and ethnicity from the previous weeks (Society Divided, Stereotypes, The Western, The War Film, African American Film) as foundations for your learning this week. Read the concepts listed, and then choose a pop culture text from the list that (in some way) corresponds with a specific concept.
***Be sure to acknowledge the complexity of the correspondence between text and concept. For example, while many of the texts last week could be related to egalitarianism, none of them exemplified it. Fergie, The Cosby Show, and the vast majority of pop culture demonstrates capitalism (the Protestant work ethic, the American dream, the triumph of the market, the freedom of the consumer, and the hierarchy of social class). So, while there probably is a correspondence between each concept and each text, be careful of oversimplifying that correspondence.***
Concepts
otherness
assimilation
nationalism/separatism
hybridity
multiculturalism
Texts
Hotel Rwanda
American Gangster
Bamboozled
X2
Spy Kids trilogy
Heroes
Lost
Chapelle's Show
Aliens in America
The Office
George Lopez Show
Survivor: Cook Islands
"Freedom" by Rage Against the Machine
"Straight Outta Compton" by N.W.A.
"War" by Bob Marley
"Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (The Angry American)" by Toby Keith
Quiz
In his Stuart Hall's discussion of power (as defined by Foucault, Gramsci, and himself), Hall writes that “it cannot be thought of in terms of one group having a monopoly of power…” How does he subsequently explain power?
Presentations???
No one did a presentation on Class last week. I'm hoping some students choose to present this week on Race. See last week's post for assignment details. Remember that each student must present one week (and there's only three weeks left).
All quizzes (emailed to Jennifer), assignments (posted on the blog), and presentations (posted on the blog in place of the student's assignment) are due this Friday, the 9th by 11:59pm.
Thanks for your responses last week. For the most part, they were thoughtful and articulate. I'm glad that we're able to apply some of the concepts we've learned in our analysis of new cultural texts.
So, hopefully we have some basic understandings of economic and social class. Class is the division of society into a hierarchy of people groups based on their economic standing. Karl Marx, living in Germany during the Industrial Revolution, was a "materialist." He believed that our material (or our economic) circumstances dictate our consciousness (so, in essence, economy determines existence). He saw capitalism (the economic system reliant on the concept of "free market") as being oppressive of working classes. He describes the exploitation of the laborer as mere "forces of production" and the "alienation" experienced by the laborer as he is further separated from his labors, his fellow men, and his environment. Marx critiqued the use of money as a means of exchange, noting the dangerous potential of its socially-constructed, symbolic value (I can exchange money for power and influence OR in order to get medical care, I need money. Even though power and health don't have any real connection to my wages.) Marx predicted that capitalism would end with revolution--the working class would rise up and share control of the economic means of production.
Post-Marxists, like Gramsci, revised some of Marx's ideas. Gramsci's concept of hegemony explained the reason why the Marxist revolution had not occurred. Rather than revolt, overthrow and establish a new system, the working class is constantly engaged in negotiations of power with the ruling class. The upper class rules not just by oppression, but "leads" the working class. And while the class division is maintained, the power is shared by ruling and working classes (although unequally).
Egalitarianism is the theory that involves the redistribution of wealth based on notions of inherent human equality and "just meritocracy." So, an egalitarian system would be one in which social and economic division would be nonexistent. The use of money would be limited, avoiding Marx's "transposition of all things." And individuals would merit rewards that naturally correspond to their needs and efforts (so medical care would be available to all in need of care, not just the financially funded; political influence would be merited by skills of leadership and persuasion rather than money).
Neoliberalism is the extension of capitalistic concepts. The use of "liberal" refers not to political/social conservatism/liberalism, but rather the "laissez faire" theory of market-driven economics. This economic system (the most prevalent in the Western world today) champions "free trade" and the deregulation and privatization of all services. While proponents of neoliberalism explain it as a means of developing modern, economically interdependent global-economic relations, it is criticized for the potential for economic imperialism and exploitation of "developing" nations (like the Third World) by "developed" nations (like the U.S. and Western Europe).
Film and Race Assignment
So, lets give it another try this week. Use our discussions of race and ethnicity from the previous weeks (Society Divided, Stereotypes, The Western, The War Film, African American Film) as foundations for your learning this week. Read the concepts listed, and then choose a pop culture text from the list that (in some way) corresponds with a specific concept.
***Be sure to acknowledge the complexity of the correspondence between text and concept. For example, while many of the texts last week could be related to egalitarianism, none of them exemplified it. Fergie, The Cosby Show, and the vast majority of pop culture demonstrates capitalism (the Protestant work ethic, the American dream, the triumph of the market, the freedom of the consumer, and the hierarchy of social class). So, while there probably is a correspondence between each concept and each text, be careful of oversimplifying that correspondence.***
Concepts
otherness
assimilation
nationalism/separatism
hybridity
multiculturalism
Texts
Hotel Rwanda
American Gangster
Bamboozled
X2
Spy Kids trilogy
Heroes
Lost
Chapelle's Show
Aliens in America
The Office
George Lopez Show
Survivor: Cook Islands
"Freedom" by Rage Against the Machine
"Straight Outta Compton" by N.W.A.
"War" by Bob Marley
"Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (The Angry American)" by Toby Keith
Quiz
In his Stuart Hall's discussion of power (as defined by Foucault, Gramsci, and himself), Hall writes that “it cannot be thought of in terms of one group having a monopoly of power…” How does he subsequently explain power?
Presentations???
No one did a presentation on Class last week. I'm hoping some students choose to present this week on Race. See last week's post for assignment details. Remember that each student must present one week (and there's only three weeks left).
All quizzes (emailed to Jennifer), assignments (posted on the blog), and presentations (posted on the blog in place of the student's assignment) are due this Friday, the 9th by 11:59pm.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
film and class
Review
Jennifer did a great job last week explaining the evolution of African American representations in film. Minstrel shows in Vaudeville with white actors in black face were incorporated into some early films (that, remember, relied heavily on theatrical traditions). African American actors gradually appeared more often in films, but mostly in supporting roles (that were, without exception, based on racial stereotypes). Black filmmakers were unheard of at this time. However, performers like Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole and actors like Sidney Poitier gained popularity and found a more prominent place in American cinema. Van Peeble's Sweet Sweetback... introduced the blaxploitation movement, giving blacks an even more prominent role in films, but introducing even greater controversy to their representation. While blaxploitation films demonstrated to the film industry the potential popularity of films with African American characters, the cinematic representation of blacks is still far from equitable. And while more black filmmakers are seeing success in the film industry, the African American perspective is still fairly unrepresented in today's industry.
A Preview of What's to Come
So, as you may have noticed, we've changed track a little in this course. We've been discussing the representation of race, class, gender, and sexuality in specific, historical genres. These genres provide the foundations of American cinema, in many ways determining the characters, narratives and themes of today's films.
So, now we are going to switch gears and focus our attention on the representation of these issues in today's films. But rather than focus on a specific genre, we want to emphasize the representation of specific issues across genres. So for example, this week's discussion of class should be informed by our previous discussions of class in the screwball comedy, film noir, and the western.
Film and Class Assignment
So, rather than simply walking you through different cinematic representations of social and economic class division and struggle, I think I'll mix it up a little. I've included two lists: the first of websites that address different issues that relate to our discussion of class. The second list is of pop culture texts that in some way or another intersect with the issues of class. Your job is to choose an item from each list (preferably a pop culture text with which you're familiar) and discuss how they correspond with one another. Please take your time and familiarize yourself with the website and the concepts it discusses. Then, rather than summarize the information, demonstrate your understanding of the info in your discussion of how the pop culture text corresponds with it. Remember, that a pop culture text will most likely not exemplify a concept. Texts are far more complex to be exact illustrations of theoretical ideas. So, be sure to point out how the text and idea play off of each other. Acknowledge the complexity of this correlation between text and idea. So, be thoughtful, and please avoid repeating each other's responses. This assignment will hopefully help you prepare for your next Film Analysis paper.
Concepts
Marx and the alienation of the laborer
Marx and Engel's communist manifesto
Gramsci's hegemony
Smith's capitalism
neoliberalism
egalitarianism
Pop Culture Texts
Sicko
Get Rich or Die Tryin'
Fun with Dick and Jane
Office Space
My Super Sweet 16
MTV Cribs
The Cosby Show
My Name is Earl
The Hills
Extreme Makeover Home Edition
"Glamorous" by Fergie
"Good Life" by Kanye West
"Diamonds from Sierra Leone" by Kanye West
Quiz
What does Marx mean when he writes that money is “the universal confusion and transposition of all things”?
Student "Presentations"
For the next four weeks, students will have the opportunity to present some information on individuals who use the humanities to address issues of class, race, gender and sexuality. Rather than post the usual assignment, students will research ONE artist, filmmaker, author, musician, performer, etc who uses their medium to address issues of social inequality. Students should include a link to a relevant website about the individual. Students should also post a summary of some basic biographical info on the individual and an explanation of some of the major contributions the individual has made to the social discourse.
So, take a look at the next four weeks. Pick an issue (class, race, gender, or sexuality) that interests you. The individual you choose to focus on must address the issue that corresponds with that particular week of class. (So, I could discuss Spike Lee on the week of race--but you cannot, because that would be stealing my idea). That week, rather than submitting the normal assignment, you will post your "presentation." (That week, you will still be responsible for completing the quiz though).
***REMEMBER THAT ALL ASSIGNMENTS (QUIZZES, ASSIGNMENTS, AND PRESENTATIONS ARE DUE BY FRIDAY AT 11:59PM)***
Jennifer did a great job last week explaining the evolution of African American representations in film. Minstrel shows in Vaudeville with white actors in black face were incorporated into some early films (that, remember, relied heavily on theatrical traditions). African American actors gradually appeared more often in films, but mostly in supporting roles (that were, without exception, based on racial stereotypes). Black filmmakers were unheard of at this time. However, performers like Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole and actors like Sidney Poitier gained popularity and found a more prominent place in American cinema. Van Peeble's Sweet Sweetback... introduced the blaxploitation movement, giving blacks an even more prominent role in films, but introducing even greater controversy to their representation. While blaxploitation films demonstrated to the film industry the potential popularity of films with African American characters, the cinematic representation of blacks is still far from equitable. And while more black filmmakers are seeing success in the film industry, the African American perspective is still fairly unrepresented in today's industry.
A Preview of What's to Come
So, as you may have noticed, we've changed track a little in this course. We've been discussing the representation of race, class, gender, and sexuality in specific, historical genres. These genres provide the foundations of American cinema, in many ways determining the characters, narratives and themes of today's films.
So, now we are going to switch gears and focus our attention on the representation of these issues in today's films. But rather than focus on a specific genre, we want to emphasize the representation of specific issues across genres. So for example, this week's discussion of class should be informed by our previous discussions of class in the screwball comedy, film noir, and the western.
Film and Class Assignment
So, rather than simply walking you through different cinematic representations of social and economic class division and struggle, I think I'll mix it up a little. I've included two lists: the first of websites that address different issues that relate to our discussion of class. The second list is of pop culture texts that in some way or another intersect with the issues of class. Your job is to choose an item from each list (preferably a pop culture text with which you're familiar) and discuss how they correspond with one another. Please take your time and familiarize yourself with the website and the concepts it discusses. Then, rather than summarize the information, demonstrate your understanding of the info in your discussion of how the pop culture text corresponds with it. Remember, that a pop culture text will most likely not exemplify a concept. Texts are far more complex to be exact illustrations of theoretical ideas. So, be sure to point out how the text and idea play off of each other. Acknowledge the complexity of this correlation between text and idea. So, be thoughtful, and please avoid repeating each other's responses. This assignment will hopefully help you prepare for your next Film Analysis paper.
Concepts
Marx and the alienation of the laborer
Marx and Engel's communist manifesto
Gramsci's hegemony
Smith's capitalism
neoliberalism
egalitarianism
Pop Culture Texts
Sicko
Get Rich or Die Tryin'
Fun with Dick and Jane
Office Space
My Super Sweet 16
MTV Cribs
The Cosby Show
My Name is Earl
The Hills
Extreme Makeover Home Edition
"Glamorous" by Fergie
"Good Life" by Kanye West
"Diamonds from Sierra Leone" by Kanye West
Quiz
What does Marx mean when he writes that money is “the universal confusion and transposition of all things”?
Student "Presentations"
For the next four weeks, students will have the opportunity to present some information on individuals who use the humanities to address issues of class, race, gender and sexuality. Rather than post the usual assignment, students will research ONE artist, filmmaker, author, musician, performer, etc who uses their medium to address issues of social inequality. Students should include a link to a relevant website about the individual. Students should also post a summary of some basic biographical info on the individual and an explanation of some of the major contributions the individual has made to the social discourse.
So, take a look at the next four weeks. Pick an issue (class, race, gender, or sexuality) that interests you. The individual you choose to focus on must address the issue that corresponds with that particular week of class. (So, I could discuss Spike Lee on the week of race--but you cannot, because that would be stealing my idea). That week, rather than submitting the normal assignment, you will post your "presentation." (That week, you will still be responsible for completing the quiz though).
***REMEMBER THAT ALL ASSIGNMENTS (QUIZZES, ASSIGNMENTS, AND PRESENTATIONS ARE DUE BY FRIDAY AT 11:59PM)***
Saturday, October 20, 2007
African American Portrayal in Film
Alright time to dive into racial representation in film.
The first known film representations of African Americans were those in minstrel films, with white actors wearing "black face." The video below is about 10 minutes, but very informative, please watch.
Then as the years and decades passed, Hollywood never really tried to tackle racism or bigotry. In the 1960s, Hollywood exposed these problems, but left out the politics, meaning the films did not show sit-ins, marches, etc. associated with the civil rights movement. T
hey were usually set in a different time or set in a northern city where th
e politics would not be involved. One of the main reasons behind this move by Hollywood in the 60s was because the majority of the film audiences were white, middle class individuals and who did not want to spend money on political driven films concerning race.
Then in the late 1960s and 1970s blaxploitation films became increasingly popular with young African Americans and even the teen angst ridden suburban white kids. These films were very cheaply made, mainly featuring the black lead as an outlaw or a pimp. Some of popular films to come out of this time were Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song by Mario Van Peebles and Shaft, where the lead was a private detective.
Critics in the black community, including the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) complained that the blaxploitation films gave unrealistic and negative representations of the black community. But yet the young people involved with the black power movements found them to be highly entertaining and fully enjoyed watching the lead take violence against any and all.
Now we come to the figure of Malcolm X (originally Malcolm Little, removed his last name when he joined the Nation of Islam, Black Muslims). He had a major influence on black militancy, such as Black Power and the Black Panther party. He was an incredibly intelligent man and was a great public speaker.
As the film for this week is Malcolm X directed by Spike Lee, remember the idea behind revisionist films and the idea of masculanity in film. Does this film give an accurate depiction of Malcolm X? Do you find yourself identify Denzel Washington (who plays Malcolm X) as the true and real Malcolm X? How is man supposed to act or be portrayed in this film and also how are relationships with women portrayed?
Assignment
Please find a person who was active during the civil rights movement, whether they were for or against the civil rights movement. Please link to a credible website or journal article. Please give a brief summary of this person and what major contributions they made towards or against the movement. Please do not repeat people and do not use Malcolm X or Martin Luther King, Jr.
Quiz 7
In American Cinema, American Culture, what is counterculture and how was it represented in film? Please use specific examples and send it to Jennifer Armston, jmarmston@gmail.com
Both the assignment and quiz are due by Midnight, Friday October 26th.
The first known film representations of African Americans were those in minstrel films, with white actors wearing "black face." The video below is about 10 minutes, but very informative, please watch.
Then as the years and decades passed, Hollywood never really tried to tackle racism or bigotry. In the 1960s, Hollywood exposed these problems, but left out the politics, meaning the films did not show sit-ins, marches, etc. associated with the civil rights movement. T
hey were usually set in a different time or set in a northern city where th
e politics would not be involved. One of the main reasons behind this move by Hollywood in the 60s was because the majority of the film audiences were white, middle class individuals and who did not want to spend money on political driven films concerning race.
Then in the late 1960s and 1970s blaxploitation films became increasingly popular with young African Americans and even the teen angst ridden suburban white kids. These films were very cheaply made, mainly featuring the black lead as an outlaw or a pimp. Some of popular films to come out of this time were Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song by Mario Van Peebles and Shaft, where the lead was a private detective.
Critics in the black community, including the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) complained that the blaxploitation films gave unrealistic and negative representations of the black community. But yet the young people involved with the black power movements found them to be highly entertaining and fully enjoyed watching the lead take violence against any and all.
Now we come to the figure of Malcolm X (originally Malcolm Little, removed his last name when he joined the Nation of Islam, Black Muslims). He had a major influence on black militancy, such as Black Power and the Black Panther party. He was an incredibly intelligent man and was a great public speaker.
As the film for this week is Malcolm X directed by Spike Lee, remember the idea behind revisionist films and the idea of masculanity in film. Does this film give an accurate depiction of Malcolm X? Do you find yourself identify Denzel Washington (who plays Malcolm X) as the true and real Malcolm X? How is man supposed to act or be portrayed in this film and also how are relationships with women portrayed?
Assignment
Please find a person who was active during the civil rights movement, whether they were for or against the civil rights movement. Please link to a credible website or journal article. Please give a brief summary of this person and what major contributions they made towards or against the movement. Please do not repeat people and do not use Malcolm X or Martin Luther King, Jr.
Quiz 7
In American Cinema, American Culture, what is counterculture and how was it represented in film? Please use specific examples and send it to Jennifer Armston, jmarmston@gmail.com
Both the assignment and quiz are due by Midnight, Friday October 26th.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Extra Credit Assignment 1
Since this week we are not introducing any new information, I thought it would be a good time for an extra credit opportunity. The assignment will potentially be worth 2% of your final grade. So if you have missed some posts or quizzes, this is a good way to make up some points. Assignments will be due Sunday 21st by 11:59pm (That's this coming Sunday). You will post your assignment as a comment to this blog post.
The Assignment
Find a concept discussed in the first half of the course that interested you. Your chosen concept should include some social issue that we have addressed, rather than just a film history or theory idea. (So, instead of the use of light and shadow in film noir, the representation of women in film noir. OR instead of discussing the work of John Ford, you might discuss film's use of binary opposition to approach societal issues). You will want to choose a topic that is interesting to you, because otherwise, you will find the assignment to be very boring.
Next, go to the Strozier library or get on the FSU Library website and start a search for scholarly articles on your topic. (You will see on the page "Find articles, journals, and databases.") You can search by subject (like "film" or "women's studies") or keyword ("femme fatale" or "binary opposition"). If you need assistance with finding an article, visit the library and speak with the people at the Reference desk. Believe me, this will be worth your time--knowing how to find scholarly articles is something that will absolutely benefit you during your college education.
Once you have found an article that you feel is interesting, you will review it for the class. Your review should include a summary of the article, including an explanation of the articles main arguments. (What is the article's thesis? its conclusions?.) Then you will briefly discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the article. Please be thoughtful in stating your opinions--this is an academic assignment, so you should maintain some respect for the author's effort and you should make sure that you can support your opinions with examples.
Also, please do not evaluate the article as being "too dense or difficult to understand." You are undergraduates reading above your level (these papers are written for a community of scholars). So, of course, the first article you read may be challenging. Do your best.
Your review (summary and evaluation combined) should be 400-500 words. Post it as a comment on our blog. Be sure to begin your post stating the author, article title, journal title (, and database used (like JSTOR, etc).
If you have any questions, please contact me as soon as possible.
The Assignment
Find a concept discussed in the first half of the course that interested you. Your chosen concept should include some social issue that we have addressed, rather than just a film history or theory idea. (So, instead of the use of light and shadow in film noir, the representation of women in film noir. OR instead of discussing the work of John Ford, you might discuss film's use of binary opposition to approach societal issues). You will want to choose a topic that is interesting to you, because otherwise, you will find the assignment to be very boring.Next, go to the Strozier library or get on the FSU Library website and start a search for scholarly articles on your topic. (You will see on the page "Find articles, journals, and databases.") You can search by subject (like "film" or "women's studies") or keyword ("femme fatale" or "binary opposition"). If you need assistance with finding an article, visit the library and speak with the people at the Reference desk. Believe me, this will be worth your time--knowing how to find scholarly articles is something that will absolutely benefit you during your college education.
Once you have found an article that you feel is interesting, you will review it for the class. Your review should include a summary of the article, including an explanation of the articles main arguments. (What is the article's thesis? its conclusions?.) Then you will briefly discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the article. Please be thoughtful in stating your opinions--this is an academic assignment, so you should maintain some respect for the author's effort and you should make sure that you can support your opinions with examples.
Also, please do not evaluate the article as being "too dense or difficult to understand." You are undergraduates reading above your level (these papers are written for a community of scholars). So, of course, the first article you read may be challenging. Do your best.
Your review (summary and evaluation combined) should be 400-500 words. Post it as a comment on our blog. Be sure to begin your post stating the author, article title, journal title (, and database used (like JSTOR, etc).
If you have any questions, please contact me as soon as possible.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
the war film
This is a nice introduction to this week's subject. This is from the film Patton.
Review
So, last week we learned about some of the history and conventions of the western film. The genre is as old as the American frontier itself. Frontier literature and even some of the earliest narrative films dealt with conventional western subjects. These texts, and the classical westerns that followed them, often used binary oppositions (East/West, community/individual, etc) to address the civilization of the American west. Among these oppositions is the assignment of gender roles. Men in westerns display traditional masculinity--aggressive, not particularly intelligent, authoritarian--while women are divided between the civilized, domestic servant and the wild, sexualized (often non-white) savage. And while revisionist westerns have since questioned these conventions, the ideological perspectives that inform these representations of the west still have an influence on American culture today.
Introduction to the War Film
So, physical conflict among humans is as old as Cain and Abel. Homer told the stories of the Trojan War. The Old Testament is full of warring between peoples. It seems like most cultures' mythologies include wars between gods and men, gods and gods, men and men (and women). The traditional narrative structure requires that the protagonist encounter "conflict" which is resolved during the "climax." So, given that physical conflict is such a part of history and culture, it's no surprise that the stories of war were adapted for the cinema.
Here's a clip from Charlie Chaplin's 1918 film Shoulder Arms. It's definitely a primitive manifestation of the genre, but it does include some elements used in the classical genre.
D.W. Griffith's incredibly successful (and controversial) film Birth of a Nation is recognized as the first feature-length film released in the U.S. And while the film's narrative does not exactly resemble a classical war film, the film's Civil War setting and its fantastic battle scenes definitely establish it as a strong influence on the classical genre.
The Classical Stage
Classical war films, like the genres that we've discussed previously, often followed archetypal characters in a familiar narrative. A new recruit begins his military service, encounters an authoritarian senior officer, bonds with his fellow soldiers, and eventually successfully transitions from civilian to soldier. The new recruit is young and inexperienced, may not exactly exemplify traditional masculinity, and often will need to learn the principles valued among soldiers (those of patriotism, obedience to his superior officers, loyalty to his fellow soldiers, self-sacrifice, etc). The senior officer, oftentimes a drill sergeant, must prepare the young recruit for battle. Oftentimes their interactions resemble a type of father-son relationship in which discipline and oppression is blended with compassion and instruction. The senior officer may be depicted as antagonistic towards the new recruit, that is, until the recruit realizes the benefit of his experiences during combat.
At the end of the film, the recruit will have learned his lesson and will either return home victorious or courageously sacrifice himself in battle. Either way, the soldier's development is complete.
I also want to address war films' depiction of women and enemy soldiers. While I do not think that these characters are easily organized into archetypes, the depictions of women and enemy soldiers are still worth noting. Women are marginalized to supporting roles as romantic interests of the soldiers or nurses serving the soldiers. Despite the prominent role women began to play in society during wartime, women were depicted as subservient in the classical war film. Often, a soldier's romantic relationship with a woman would indicate weakness and determine his ultimate defeat in battle.
While the films were set during different military conflicts, a commonality can be identified in the representations of enemy soldiers. Whether the conflict was contemporary or historical, set in Europe or the South Pacific, the enemies were usually objectified. Rather than depicting the soldiers as individual, living, agentive human beings, the films often represented the enemy forces as a collective, inhuman, other. Not only are the viewers not encouraged to identify with the soldiers, but they are not even encouraged to identify them as human.
In Birth of a Nation, this tactic is used to designate the newly freed African American slaves as enemies of the Confederate sympathizers.
Notice how in the clip, the shots of the rioters are wide, while the KKK members are afforded close-ups. The KKK ride horses, while the rioters are on foot. The cameras follow the motion of the clansmen, and the music (recognize Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries"?) seek to encourage identification with the clansmen). The "enemy soldiers" are given no subjectivity whatsoever.
During the war film narrative, certain conventional themes were often illustrated. First, the training sequences demonstrate the transitions required for new recruits. In order to adequately function as soldiers, the new recruits must be stripped of any individuality and femininity. A soldier's individuality is a threat to the military objective because of the necessity of military forces to work together as a community. This objectives of this small military community were often tied to the greater national community. So, individuality needed to be abandoned in order to foster patriotism and nationalism. And a soldier's femininity is a threat because of association of physical combat with traditional masculinity. I think that this clip from Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket pretty powerfully demonstrates this point.
So, the uniformity of the troops suggests the emphasis of community over individual. The frequent references to the male's anatomy indicates the association between traditional masculinity and military success. And finally, the issue of race is introduced.
While the American troops were not generally racially integrated until the Vietnam War, classical war films often depict the military platoon (etc) as a place of cultural unification and exchange. The military unit would be typically composed of soldiers from a diverse range of ethnic and racial backgrounds. And as the recruits learned to abandon their individuality and cooperate as a unit, cultural division was transcended. (But remember, the protagonists were always white, and this racial integration was not a reality in the military organization during those years).
Revising War
Now, probably since the beginning of American military involvement in the Vietnam War, revisionist war films have become more common. While the cinema functioned as a reflection of the government and mainstream America's pro-war sentiments during the World Wars and Korean War, the depictions of combat became more ideologically complicated with the controversy over the conflict in Vietnam. As American society questioned their assumptions about war, American cinema challenged the conventions of the war film genre.
While the classical genre emphasized the abandonment of femininity and individuality in preparation for battle, revisionist war films often address the difficulties faced by soldiers when they return home. The soldiers' post-war re-individualization, demasculinization, and reintegration into society is depicted as problematic. Here's a quote from Sam Mendes' 2005 film Jarhead (adapted from the book by Anthony Swofford) that I think illustrates this point.
"A story. A man fires a rifle for many years. and he goes to war. And afterwards he comes home, and he sees that whatever else he may do with his life - build a house, love a woman, change his son's diaper - he will always remain a jarhead. And all the jarheads killing and dying, they will always be me. We are still in the desert."
So, while the films do not challenge the military's ability to transform the recruits into soldiers, they do attempt to acknowledge some of the consequences of this transformation.
Not only are these values of brotherhood and masculinity questioned, but greater issues of patriotism and violence are challenged as well. Watch this clip from Oliver Stone's film Born on the Fourth of July, and see if you can identify some of the revisionist themes.
Notice how the film shows some previously unvoiced opinions on war--the characters protest military involvement in Vietnam but maintain a (new) patriotic perspective. While patriotism is often linked to support of American involvement in war, the film seeks to counter that (I think) harmful association. The injuries of the veterans also gives voice to a previously voiceless people. Soldiers in classical war films returned home and received medals or valiantly gave their life in battle. The disabilities faced by these characters exhibit some not-so-often addressed consequences of war.
But, while Born of the Fourth of July and other protest films explicitly question the motives of the government and the problematic nature of certain nationalistic perspectives, other war films question these same principles in more subtle ways. Increasingly, soldiers are depicted not as patriotically serving their nation in combat, but rather fighting for the survival of their military unit. This "neo-patriotism" implicitly questions the motives of the government's participation in war, avoiding depictions of soldiers motivated by patriotic idealism. Consider the miniseries "Band of Brothers" and film Saving Private Ryan--even their titles suggest this emphasis of loyalty to fellow soldiers over loyalty to the nation. In the film A Few Good Men, the marines recite their "code" of loyalty, in order of importance: "unit, core, God, country." And even in the film The Patriot, our "patriot" protagonist is motivated to fight for his country's independence not because of patriotic principle, but in order to protect and avenge his family. The films avoid patriotic rhetoric and thereby question this concept of patriotic warfare.
Here's a clip from Black Hawk Down that I think illustrates this clip pretty clearly.
I also think that the graphic representations of violence, common to today's revisionist war films, show the violent consequences of war. Like the injuries of the characters in Born on the Fourth of July, the gruesome depictions in today's war films could be interpreted as questioning involvement in warfare.
Some revisionist war films challenge the conventional representations of women and enemy soldiers. As female involvement in the military increases, and association of military participation and traditional masculinity is slowly challenged, more women are seen as more prominent, positive characters in war films. Some more recent war films like Tora! Tora! Tora!, The Thin Red Line, Saints and Soldiers, and (probably most effectively) Letters from Iwo Jima include the perspectives of enemy soldiers. Here's a clip from Clint Eastwood's film that, I think, needs to be viewed side-by-side with Flags of our Fathers.
Finally, some films seem to challenge conventional representations of war through the use of satire. The ridiculously over-the-top use of profanity by Gny. Sgt. Hartman in Full Metal Jacket seems to me to be satirizing the conventional depiction of the drill sergeant. And another of Kubrick's films, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is a perfect example of a satirical commentary on war. It goes beyond simple genre parody (like the Hot Shots movies, for example) and challenges the conventional themes of the war film and the concept of war in general.
Here's the conclusion of the film. A U.S. military commander gone insane has launched nuclear missiles at Russia without the consent of the president. Russia has recently developed a defense program that basically destroys the planet if it is attacked. Enjoy!
Conclusion
So, how is this discussion relevant to our lives. Well, I think that first, we must acknowledge that, like depictions of gender in screwball comedy and of westward expansion in the western film, the war film both reflects and informs our society's perception of war. There's a great scene in Jarhead where the marines prepare for deployment by watching Apocalypse Now. Even though the film is ultimately critical of the Vietnam War, the soldiers "get off" on the violent depictions. While this is an extreme example, I think that the depictions of war, and even more common depictions of violence have the potential to shape our society's perception of and even participation in violence. And that's some serious stuff.
Assignment
This week's assignment is a little easier than last week's.
This week I'd like you to find a news article that discusses any intersection between media and the current war in the Middle East. (As long as its specifically talking about the relationship between the war and the media, it'll be good.) Post a link. Briefly summarize the article. Do not repeat a previously posted article.
This assignment's purpose is to get you to learn and share your learning about the media's involvement in the current conflict.
Quiz
From the American Cinema, American Culture reading: In war (and war films) what elements of traditional American morality are abandoned? Retained?
Reminder
While the Assignment and Quiz will both be due Sunday by 11:59 pm. The first Film Analysis Paper will still be due this Friday by 11:59 pm.
Email the Assignment and Quiz to Jennifer (like always) and email the paper to me (as an attachment).
Review
So, last week we learned about some of the history and conventions of the western film. The genre is as old as the American frontier itself. Frontier literature and even some of the earliest narrative films dealt with conventional western subjects. These texts, and the classical westerns that followed them, often used binary oppositions (East/West, community/individual, etc) to address the civilization of the American west. Among these oppositions is the assignment of gender roles. Men in westerns display traditional masculinity--aggressive, not particularly intelligent, authoritarian--while women are divided between the civilized, domestic servant and the wild, sexualized (often non-white) savage. And while revisionist westerns have since questioned these conventions, the ideological perspectives that inform these representations of the west still have an influence on American culture today.
Introduction to the War Film
So, physical conflict among humans is as old as Cain and Abel. Homer told the stories of the Trojan War. The Old Testament is full of warring between peoples. It seems like most cultures' mythologies include wars between gods and men, gods and gods, men and men (and women). The traditional narrative structure requires that the protagonist encounter "conflict" which is resolved during the "climax." So, given that physical conflict is such a part of history and culture, it's no surprise that the stories of war were adapted for the cinema.Here's a clip from Charlie Chaplin's 1918 film Shoulder Arms. It's definitely a primitive manifestation of the genre, but it does include some elements used in the classical genre.
D.W. Griffith's incredibly successful (and controversial) film Birth of a Nation is recognized as the first feature-length film released in the U.S. And while the film's narrative does not exactly resemble a classical war film, the film's Civil War setting and its fantastic battle scenes definitely establish it as a strong influence on the classical genre.The Classical Stage
Classical war films, like the genres that we've discussed previously, often followed archetypal characters in a familiar narrative. A new recruit begins his military service, encounters an authoritarian senior officer, bonds with his fellow soldiers, and eventually successfully transitions from civilian to soldier. The new recruit is young and inexperienced, may not exactly exemplify traditional masculinity, and often will need to learn the principles valued among soldiers (those of patriotism, obedience to his superior officers, loyalty to his fellow soldiers, self-sacrifice, etc). The senior officer, oftentimes a drill sergeant, must prepare the young recruit for battle. Oftentimes their interactions resemble a type of father-son relationship in which discipline and oppression is blended with compassion and instruction. The senior officer may be depicted as antagonistic towards the new recruit, that is, until the recruit realizes the benefit of his experiences during combat.At the end of the film, the recruit will have learned his lesson and will either return home victorious or courageously sacrifice himself in battle. Either way, the soldier's development is complete.
I also want to address war films' depiction of women and enemy soldiers. While I do not think that these characters are easily organized into archetypes, the depictions of women and enemy soldiers are still worth noting. Women are marginalized to supporting roles as romantic interests of the soldiers or nurses serving the soldiers. Despite the prominent role women began to play in society during wartime, women were depicted as subservient in the classical war film. Often, a soldier's romantic relationship with a woman would indicate weakness and determine his ultimate defeat in battle.While the films were set during different military conflicts, a commonality can be identified in the representations of enemy soldiers. Whether the conflict was contemporary or historical, set in Europe or the South Pacific, the enemies were usually objectified. Rather than depicting the soldiers as individual, living, agentive human beings, the films often represented the enemy forces as a collective, inhuman, other. Not only are the viewers not encouraged to identify with the soldiers, but they are not even encouraged to identify them as human.
In Birth of a Nation, this tactic is used to designate the newly freed African American slaves as enemies of the Confederate sympathizers.
Notice how in the clip, the shots of the rioters are wide, while the KKK members are afforded close-ups. The KKK ride horses, while the rioters are on foot. The cameras follow the motion of the clansmen, and the music (recognize Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries"?) seek to encourage identification with the clansmen). The "enemy soldiers" are given no subjectivity whatsoever.
During the war film narrative, certain conventional themes were often illustrated. First, the training sequences demonstrate the transitions required for new recruits. In order to adequately function as soldiers, the new recruits must be stripped of any individuality and femininity. A soldier's individuality is a threat to the military objective because of the necessity of military forces to work together as a community. This objectives of this small military community were often tied to the greater national community. So, individuality needed to be abandoned in order to foster patriotism and nationalism. And a soldier's femininity is a threat because of association of physical combat with traditional masculinity. I think that this clip from Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket pretty powerfully demonstrates this point.
So, the uniformity of the troops suggests the emphasis of community over individual. The frequent references to the male's anatomy indicates the association between traditional masculinity and military success. And finally, the issue of race is introduced.
While the American troops were not generally racially integrated until the Vietnam War, classical war films often depict the military platoon (etc) as a place of cultural unification and exchange. The military unit would be typically composed of soldiers from a diverse range of ethnic and racial backgrounds. And as the recruits learned to abandon their individuality and cooperate as a unit, cultural division was transcended. (But remember, the protagonists were always white, and this racial integration was not a reality in the military organization during those years).Revising War
Now, probably since the beginning of American military involvement in the Vietnam War, revisionist war films have become more common. While the cinema functioned as a reflection of the government and mainstream America's pro-war sentiments during the World Wars and Korean War, the depictions of combat became more ideologically complicated with the controversy over the conflict in Vietnam. As American society questioned their assumptions about war, American cinema challenged the conventions of the war film genre.
While the classical genre emphasized the abandonment of femininity and individuality in preparation for battle, revisionist war films often address the difficulties faced by soldiers when they return home. The soldiers' post-war re-individualization, demasculinization, and reintegration into society is depicted as problematic. Here's a quote from Sam Mendes' 2005 film Jarhead (adapted from the book by Anthony Swofford) that I think illustrates this point."A story. A man fires a rifle for many years. and he goes to war. And afterwards he comes home, and he sees that whatever else he may do with his life - build a house, love a woman, change his son's diaper - he will always remain a jarhead. And all the jarheads killing and dying, they will always be me. We are still in the desert."
So, while the films do not challenge the military's ability to transform the recruits into soldiers, they do attempt to acknowledge some of the consequences of this transformation.
Not only are these values of brotherhood and masculinity questioned, but greater issues of patriotism and violence are challenged as well. Watch this clip from Oliver Stone's film Born on the Fourth of July, and see if you can identify some of the revisionist themes.
Notice how the film shows some previously unvoiced opinions on war--the characters protest military involvement in Vietnam but maintain a (new) patriotic perspective. While patriotism is often linked to support of American involvement in war, the film seeks to counter that (I think) harmful association. The injuries of the veterans also gives voice to a previously voiceless people. Soldiers in classical war films returned home and received medals or valiantly gave their life in battle. The disabilities faced by these characters exhibit some not-so-often addressed consequences of war.
But, while Born of the Fourth of July and other protest films explicitly question the motives of the government and the problematic nature of certain nationalistic perspectives, other war films question these same principles in more subtle ways. Increasingly, soldiers are depicted not as patriotically serving their nation in combat, but rather fighting for the survival of their military unit. This "neo-patriotism" implicitly questions the motives of the government's participation in war, avoiding depictions of soldiers motivated by patriotic idealism. Consider the miniseries "Band of Brothers" and film Saving Private Ryan--even their titles suggest this emphasis of loyalty to fellow soldiers over loyalty to the nation. In the film A Few Good Men, the marines recite their "code" of loyalty, in order of importance: "unit, core, God, country." And even in the film The Patriot, our "patriot" protagonist is motivated to fight for his country's independence not because of patriotic principle, but in order to protect and avenge his family. The films avoid patriotic rhetoric and thereby question this concept of patriotic warfare.
Here's a clip from Black Hawk Down that I think illustrates this clip pretty clearly.
I also think that the graphic representations of violence, common to today's revisionist war films, show the violent consequences of war. Like the injuries of the characters in Born on the Fourth of July, the gruesome depictions in today's war films could be interpreted as questioning involvement in warfare.
Some revisionist war films challenge the conventional representations of women and enemy soldiers. As female involvement in the military increases, and association of military participation and traditional masculinity is slowly challenged, more women are seen as more prominent, positive characters in war films. Some more recent war films like Tora! Tora! Tora!, The Thin Red Line, Saints and Soldiers, and (probably most effectively) Letters from Iwo Jima include the perspectives of enemy soldiers. Here's a clip from Clint Eastwood's film that, I think, needs to be viewed side-by-side with Flags of our Fathers.
Finally, some films seem to challenge conventional representations of war through the use of satire. The ridiculously over-the-top use of profanity by Gny. Sgt. Hartman in Full Metal Jacket seems to me to be satirizing the conventional depiction of the drill sergeant. And another of Kubrick's films, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is a perfect example of a satirical commentary on war. It goes beyond simple genre parody (like the Hot Shots movies, for example) and challenges the conventional themes of the war film and the concept of war in general.
Here's the conclusion of the film. A U.S. military commander gone insane has launched nuclear missiles at Russia without the consent of the president. Russia has recently developed a defense program that basically destroys the planet if it is attacked. Enjoy!
Conclusion
So, how is this discussion relevant to our lives. Well, I think that first, we must acknowledge that, like depictions of gender in screwball comedy and of westward expansion in the western film, the war film both reflects and informs our society's perception of war. There's a great scene in Jarhead where the marines prepare for deployment by watching Apocalypse Now. Even though the film is ultimately critical of the Vietnam War, the soldiers "get off" on the violent depictions. While this is an extreme example, I think that the depictions of war, and even more common depictions of violence have the potential to shape our society's perception of and even participation in violence. And that's some serious stuff.Assignment
This week's assignment is a little easier than last week's.
This week I'd like you to find a news article that discusses any intersection between media and the current war in the Middle East. (As long as its specifically talking about the relationship between the war and the media, it'll be good.) Post a link. Briefly summarize the article. Do not repeat a previously posted article.
This assignment's purpose is to get you to learn and share your learning about the media's involvement in the current conflict.
Quiz
From the American Cinema, American Culture reading: In war (and war films) what elements of traditional American morality are abandoned? Retained?
Reminder
While the Assignment and Quiz will both be due Sunday by 11:59 pm. The first Film Analysis Paper will still be due this Friday by 11:59 pm.
Email the Assignment and Quiz to Jennifer (like always) and email the paper to me (as an attachment).
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
the western film
Review
So, let's review our discussion of genre and film noir. We learned that genre's often develop in certain stages: primitive, classical, revisionist, and parodic.
Film noir drew from pulp fiction, gangster films, and German Expressionism in the establishment of its conventions. The films often included archetypal characters like the persistent male hero and the dangerous spider-woman. The stories were set in big cities and often represented violent crimes (in an amoral way). The use of highly-stylized design and archetypal characters (like in Expressionism) was used to illustrate the anxieties felt by American society. The horrors of war, poverty and industrialization seemed to introduce an existential crisis that was addressed in film noir.
Primitive Manifestations of the Western
So, a good while before the invention of film technology, the western genre was created. Literature like James Fenimore Cooper's "Leatherstocking Tales" and the more cheaply-produced dime novels were popular in the early 19th century. Westward expansion was a reality: pioneers were trekking across the country, conflicts among American settlers and Native American communities were occurring, and new territories were being claimed by the United States. These events made their way onto the pages of novels for the entertainment of readers who fascinated with the frontier adventure (but not typically experiencing it as reality).
When film technology was developed in the late 19th century, the subjects of the western were among the first to be documented on the motion picture. Thomas Edison's "Buffalo Dance" is a good example of an early 'spectacle' film (remember the cats boxing) that uses a Native American custom (a familiar subject in westerns) to entertain its audience. Sound has been added to this clip, but the original would have been silent.
Among the first narrative films (films that told a story--as opposed to the 'actuality' films that simply documented day-to-day events), there were the origins of the the western film. Watch how Edison's "Cripple Creek Barroom" seems to foreshadow some common conventions in the classical western.
Edwin S. Porter's The Great Train Robbery expanded upon these early narrative shorts, by including multiple scenes and using new editing techniques like cross-cutting (to demonstrate the simultaneous occurrence of multiple events or to encourage association between two shots). Again, many of the conventions of the western can be identified in the film in their early forms.
The Classical Western Film
While the classical western's official beginning is ambiguous (some argue for Porter and others will delay the beginning until D.W. Griffith's films or even until the development of sound technology) I would say that director John Ford established the western as a film genre. His earliest films, during the silent period, are stories set in the west. He is responsible for the stardom of Western icons John Wayne and Henry Fonda. And during his career, he directed such hugely successful westerns like Stagecoach (1939), My Darling Clementine (1946), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), Rio Grande (1950), The Searchers (1956), and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). While John Ford is the only film director who was influential in shaping the western (directors like Howard Hawks, William Wyler, George Stevens, Fred Zinneman, and others made valuable contributions as well), his overwhelming presence in the genre cannot be denied.
The classical western film was set on the frontier. In the assigned chapter for this week, Belton discusses how the situation of the western on this border (much like the film noir's border setting) encourages narrative and thematic emphases on binary opposition. So, at the heart of the relationship between characters in the films is a conflict between the east and west, civilization and wilderness, fact and fiction, culture and nature, community and individual, man and woman. The frontier was the point of intersection between these polar opposites, and it was the place in which the east, the civilized, the cultured, the communal, the masculine must overcome that opposition. So, while the western film showed the inherent conflict in westward expansion, it emphasizes the overcoming of this conflict and champions the idea of manifest destiny.
This formula of binary opposition is seen in the genre's archetypal characters. The division between masculinity and femininity is super-emphasized in these films. I think the characters (or character, you could argue) John Wayne is the personification of the western's idea of masculinity: He's a cowboy. He is not very intelligent. He solves problem through physical conflict. When he is not enforcing the law, he is reaffirming the values of the old west. The western man shares some characteristics with the detective from film noir, but rather than disenchanted with the American institution, the western hero is a representative of it. When John Wayne isn't wearing a star, or a uniform, he wears the iconic cowboy costume, establishing himself as the personification of American ideals (patriotism, justice, imperialism, etc).
The women in the western are much like the women in film noir--they are divided into dual natures. Some of the female characters represent the dominated, colonized, civilized. They are much like film noir's "nurturing women", who are housewives and schoolteachers. They represent the success of America's civilization of the west. Other female characters, often represented as Native American or Mexican, often represent the challenge of American civilization. The characters are more powerful, sexualized, and exoticized, and they (like the land they inhabit and the communities they come from), must be properly civilized.
You can see how the idea of the "taming of the west" is inherently connected with very particular definitions of proper masculinity and femininity and with the domination of men over women. It's no surprise then that the male characters are the protagonists in westerns, while the women either give support or pose a potential threat to the men.
In his book Sixguns and Society, theorist Will Wright breaks down the classic western film into sixteen 'narrative functions':
Questioning the Classical Western
Now, starting in around the 60's, the conventions of the western have been reevaluated. In 'spaghetti westerns', a revisionist revival of the genre in Italian cinema, the old west is perceived from an international perspective. And while the films maintain many of the genre's conventions, some really substantial questions are raised about some of the principles on which the genre is founded.
Here's the opening scene from the (freaking awesome) Sergio Leone film Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). Check it out and see if you can identify any deviations from classical western convention.
Two of the men killed are played by western icons Woody Strode and Jack Elam. The classical characters are replaced by the new western hero. The new hero arrives by train, and the film's narrative emphasizes the violence and oppression that accompanied the building of the railroad. And finally, the main character, rather than be accompanied by a non-diagetic film score, plays his own theme music on his harmonica--a self-reflexive reference to both the awesomeness that is Ennio Morricone (the film's composer) and the prominence of musical accompaniment in the western film.
Other revisionist westerns like The Wild Bunch, Last of the Mohicans, Unforgiven, Dances with Wolves, Open Range, and Brokeback Mountain further question the ideological assumptions behind the classical genre. Cultural representations (of Mexicans and Native Americans, for example) are examined. Issues of violent oppression are addressed. And the definition of masculinity is reconsidered (especially in Brokeback Mountain).
The Final Frontier
And while people have repeatedly said for the last thirty years that the western film is dead, its elements have been appropriated by other genres. Many of the conventions of genre live on in historical epic films and war films (which we'll discuss next week). And perhaps more significantly, the western genre seems to have birthed the science-fiction film.
The western film's decline in popularity and the sci-fi film's growth popularity in the mid-20th century may have been due to the fact that west was already won. Then, with the Space Race, the next frontier was outer space, so the same conventions and values were transferred to a new narrative location. So, we have macho space-cowboys who combat alien races for control of land and power. (Consider Back to the Future III, Cowboy Bebop, Firefly, Toy Story, etc).
Consider this clip of our friend Han Solo, and see if you can see how the sci-film has adopted conventions of the western.
I think that it's interesting that in some recent sci-fi films, Earth has been the location of alien colonization. This premise situates the human population (often centering on the American people) as the colonized people (Mexican and Native Americans) of the classical western. Except in these films, the natives kick the settlers' butts.
And finally, some films parody the conventions of the western and sci-fi genres, further exposing some of the ideological contradictions found in the classic films. Here's a favorite of mine.
Mel Brooks' film Blazing Saddles addresses the racial stereotypes common to the western genre. And its great.
So What?
So, if the western is supposedly dead, why is this discussion important? Well, I think that our nation's identity is deeply rooted in the depictions of the west and the idealogical perspectives common to these depictions. Issues of gender and race, colonization and oppression are issues addressed in these films and issues that need to be addressed in our society today.
Assignment
Based on on our discussion of binary oppositions (like East/West, civilization/wilderness, etc) and your assigned readings, identify a text (novel, tv show, film, comic book, etc) that uses binary opposition to address an issue related to our studies. (Your text does not have to be a western, but it has to use binary opposition to an issue of race, class, gender, sexuality, etc). Discuss how the use of binary opposition may limit adequate understanding of the issue addressed. Be specific, using examples of plot, characters, and themes from the text (and what they indicate about the issue).
This is a heavier assignment, but you all have done well so far. Be particular about your choice of text. Think hard before you write. And be clear and specific in your writing. You'll do great.
Quiz
From Cooper Thompson's article, define homophobia and misogyny and discuss their relationship to traditional masculinity.
So, let's review our discussion of genre and film noir. We learned that genre's often develop in certain stages: primitive, classical, revisionist, and parodic.
Film noir drew from pulp fiction, gangster films, and German Expressionism in the establishment of its conventions. The films often included archetypal characters like the persistent male hero and the dangerous spider-woman. The stories were set in big cities and often represented violent crimes (in an amoral way). The use of highly-stylized design and archetypal characters (like in Expressionism) was used to illustrate the anxieties felt by American society. The horrors of war, poverty and industrialization seemed to introduce an existential crisis that was addressed in film noir.
Primitive Manifestations of the Western
So, a good while before the invention of film technology, the western genre was created. Literature like James Fenimore Cooper's "Leatherstocking Tales" and the more cheaply-produced dime novels were popular in the early 19th century. Westward expansion was a reality: pioneers were trekking across the country, conflicts among American settlers and Native American communities were occurring, and new territories were being claimed by the United States. These events made their way onto the pages of novels for the entertainment of readers who fascinated with the frontier adventure (but not typically experiencing it as reality).When film technology was developed in the late 19th century, the subjects of the western were among the first to be documented on the motion picture. Thomas Edison's "Buffalo Dance" is a good example of an early 'spectacle' film (remember the cats boxing) that uses a Native American custom (a familiar subject in westerns) to entertain its audience. Sound has been added to this clip, but the original would have been silent.
Among the first narrative films (films that told a story--as opposed to the 'actuality' films that simply documented day-to-day events), there were the origins of the the western film. Watch how Edison's "Cripple Creek Barroom" seems to foreshadow some common conventions in the classical western.
Edwin S. Porter's The Great Train Robbery expanded upon these early narrative shorts, by including multiple scenes and using new editing techniques like cross-cutting (to demonstrate the simultaneous occurrence of multiple events or to encourage association between two shots). Again, many of the conventions of the western can be identified in the film in their early forms.
The Classical Western Film
While the classical western's official beginning is ambiguous (some argue for Porter and others will delay the beginning until D.W. Griffith's films or even until the development of sound technology) I would say that director John Ford established the western as a film genre. His earliest films, during the silent period, are stories set in the west. He is responsible for the stardom of Western icons John Wayne and Henry Fonda. And during his career, he directed such hugely successful westerns like Stagecoach (1939), My Darling Clementine (1946), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), Rio Grande (1950), The Searchers (1956), and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). While John Ford is the only film director who was influential in shaping the western (directors like Howard Hawks, William Wyler, George Stevens, Fred Zinneman, and others made valuable contributions as well), his overwhelming presence in the genre cannot be denied.
The classical western film was set on the frontier. In the assigned chapter for this week, Belton discusses how the situation of the western on this border (much like the film noir's border setting) encourages narrative and thematic emphases on binary opposition. So, at the heart of the relationship between characters in the films is a conflict between the east and west, civilization and wilderness, fact and fiction, culture and nature, community and individual, man and woman. The frontier was the point of intersection between these polar opposites, and it was the place in which the east, the civilized, the cultured, the communal, the masculine must overcome that opposition. So, while the western film showed the inherent conflict in westward expansion, it emphasizes the overcoming of this conflict and champions the idea of manifest destiny.
This formula of binary opposition is seen in the genre's archetypal characters. The division between masculinity and femininity is super-emphasized in these films. I think the characters (or character, you could argue) John Wayne is the personification of the western's idea of masculinity: He's a cowboy. He is not very intelligent. He solves problem through physical conflict. When he is not enforcing the law, he is reaffirming the values of the old west. The western man shares some characteristics with the detective from film noir, but rather than disenchanted with the American institution, the western hero is a representative of it. When John Wayne isn't wearing a star, or a uniform, he wears the iconic cowboy costume, establishing himself as the personification of American ideals (patriotism, justice, imperialism, etc).
The women in the western are much like the women in film noir--they are divided into dual natures. Some of the female characters represent the dominated, colonized, civilized. They are much like film noir's "nurturing women", who are housewives and schoolteachers. They represent the success of America's civilization of the west. Other female characters, often represented as Native American or Mexican, often represent the challenge of American civilization. The characters are more powerful, sexualized, and exoticized, and they (like the land they inhabit and the communities they come from), must be properly civilized.You can see how the idea of the "taming of the west" is inherently connected with very particular definitions of proper masculinity and femininity and with the domination of men over women. It's no surprise then that the male characters are the protagonists in westerns, while the women either give support or pose a potential threat to the men.
In his book Sixguns and Society, theorist Will Wright breaks down the classic western film into sixteen 'narrative functions':
- The hero enters a social group.
- The hero is unknown to the social group.
- The hero is revealed to have an exceptional ability.
- The society recognizes a difference between themselves and the hero; the hero is given a special status.
- The society does not completely accept the hero.
- There is a conflict of interests between the villains and the society.
- the villains are stronger than the society; the society is weak.
- There is a strong friendship or respect between the hero and a villain.
- The villains threaten the society.
- The hero avoids involvement in the conflict.
- The villains endanger a friend of the hero.
- The hero fights the villains.
- The society is safe.
- The society accepts the hero.
- The hero loses or gives up his special status.
Questioning the Classical Western
Now, starting in around the 60's, the conventions of the western have been reevaluated. In 'spaghetti westerns', a revisionist revival of the genre in Italian cinema, the old west is perceived from an international perspective. And while the films maintain many of the genre's conventions, some really substantial questions are raised about some of the principles on which the genre is founded.
Here's the opening scene from the (freaking awesome) Sergio Leone film Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). Check it out and see if you can identify any deviations from classical western convention.
Two of the men killed are played by western icons Woody Strode and Jack Elam. The classical characters are replaced by the new western hero. The new hero arrives by train, and the film's narrative emphasizes the violence and oppression that accompanied the building of the railroad. And finally, the main character, rather than be accompanied by a non-diagetic film score, plays his own theme music on his harmonica--a self-reflexive reference to both the awesomeness that is Ennio Morricone (the film's composer) and the prominence of musical accompaniment in the western film.
Other revisionist westerns like The Wild Bunch, Last of the Mohicans, Unforgiven, Dances with Wolves, Open Range, and Brokeback Mountain further question the ideological assumptions behind the classical genre. Cultural representations (of Mexicans and Native Americans, for example) are examined. Issues of violent oppression are addressed. And the definition of masculinity is reconsidered (especially in Brokeback Mountain).The Final Frontier
And while people have repeatedly said for the last thirty years that the western film is dead, its elements have been appropriated by other genres. Many of the conventions of genre live on in historical epic films and war films (which we'll discuss next week). And perhaps more significantly, the western genre seems to have birthed the science-fiction film.The western film's decline in popularity and the sci-fi film's growth popularity in the mid-20th century may have been due to the fact that west was already won. Then, with the Space Race, the next frontier was outer space, so the same conventions and values were transferred to a new narrative location. So, we have macho space-cowboys who combat alien races for control of land and power. (Consider Back to the Future III, Cowboy Bebop, Firefly, Toy Story, etc).
Consider this clip of our friend Han Solo, and see if you can see how the sci-film has adopted conventions of the western.
I think that it's interesting that in some recent sci-fi films, Earth has been the location of alien colonization. This premise situates the human population (often centering on the American people) as the colonized people (Mexican and Native Americans) of the classical western. Except in these films, the natives kick the settlers' butts.
And finally, some films parody the conventions of the western and sci-fi genres, further exposing some of the ideological contradictions found in the classic films. Here's a favorite of mine.
Mel Brooks' film Blazing Saddles addresses the racial stereotypes common to the western genre. And its great.
So What?
So, if the western is supposedly dead, why is this discussion important? Well, I think that our nation's identity is deeply rooted in the depictions of the west and the idealogical perspectives common to these depictions. Issues of gender and race, colonization and oppression are issues addressed in these films and issues that need to be addressed in our society today.
Assignment
Based on on our discussion of binary oppositions (like East/West, civilization/wilderness, etc) and your assigned readings, identify a text (novel, tv show, film, comic book, etc) that uses binary opposition to address an issue related to our studies. (Your text does not have to be a western, but it has to use binary opposition to an issue of race, class, gender, sexuality, etc). Discuss how the use of binary opposition may limit adequate understanding of the issue addressed. Be specific, using examples of plot, characters, and themes from the text (and what they indicate about the issue).
This is a heavier assignment, but you all have done well so far. Be particular about your choice of text. Think hard before you write. And be clear and specific in your writing. You'll do great.
Quiz
From Cooper Thompson's article, define homophobia and misogyny and discuss their relationship to traditional masculinity.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
film noir
Here's a great little clip.
Review
So, last week we were introduced to the concept of genre. Genre films work within particular conventions (like character types, setting, iconography, narrative elements, themes, styles). So, when a romantic comedy is released, the film is sure to fulfill certain expectations held by the audience (there will be witty banter, some terrible misunderstanding, and ultimately some kissing) and by the film's producers (romantic comedies make money off of couples on dates).
The screwball comedy was one such genre that was popular during the Studio Era. "Fast-talking dames" and "little men" made masked sexual references, tripped each other, and ultimately fell in love. We learned about how the genre addressed issues of gender and class. And how our modern comedies continue this tradition of delivering social commentary in funny, accessible ways.
Introduction to Film Noir
So, you've read Belton's discussion of film noir, so you know it's origins. With an influx of Hollywood films in post-war France, French audiences were stunned by the films' dark subject matter and pessimistic perspective. So, they called them "black films." Now, film historians usually place film noir between 1940 (with the release of Stranger on the Third Floor) and 1958 (with the release of Touch of Evil). But a closer look at the genre, and how genres are developed in general, is helpful in understanding the evolution of the film noir.
The progression of a genre has often been organized into specific stages: 1) primitive, 2) classical, 3) revisionist, 4) parodic. During the primitive stage, the conventions of the genre are not fully established. The creators of the texts are not consciously trying to follow a set of narrative and stylistic guidelines. Rather, multiple texts, sharing certain similarities, are created around the same time. (A helpful example would be to think of early hip-hop music. Before the music went mainstream in the early 80's, their were primitive manifestations of the genre. James Brown's "Funky Drummer", Parliament's "Give Up the Funk", and Jamaican deejays like U-Roy all foreshadow hip hop music. So, then guys like Kool Herc, Africaa Bambataa, and Grandmaster Flash came along, incorporating those elements from funk and reggae and created hip hop.)
So before we had film noir, per se, there was its primitive manifestations in pulp fiction, gangster films and German Expressionism. Hardboiled crime novels (like the work of Dashiell Hammett) and pulp magazines (like the work of Raymond Chandler) were popular in the early 20th century. The stories emphasized crime, murder, sex--all the trappings of the film noir. The magazines (like the later films) were cheaply made and contained a gritty realism that was uncommon in popular culture of the time. Many of these stories were later adapted by filmmakers for the big screen.
Before film noir was established as a genre, variations of these crime stories started to appear in films. But while including elements like detective characters and crime narratives, these early gangster films were not working within the established conventions of a genre (yet). So, films like Howard Hawks' Scarface and Fritz Lang's M laid some of the narrative and stylistic foundations for the genre.
These films were very much informed by the German Expressionist movement. After the first World War, Germany was in ruins and the German people were forced to cope with their horrible circumstances. Art (and specifically film, for our purposes) was one very important way in which they addressed the ugliness of war, poverty, and industry. The Expressionist movement sought to illustrate the violent emotions experienced by the people with the use of unconventional, often disturbing, artistic methods and subject matters (think of "express" as to make something inward manifested outwardly). So the films, for example, are highly stylized, using shadows in the lighting, diagonal lines in the design, overly theatrical acting, and static, symbolic characters. Robert Weine's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu (1922), and Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927) (three of the most popular German Expressionist films) avoid realism, but through the use of stylization are able to communicate the anxieties of the German people.
Here's a clip from Metropolis. The protagonist is recognizing the horrors of industrialized society.
When the Nazi regime was growing in power, many of these filmmakers left Germany and came to the U.S. to work in Hollywood. They were responsible for the classic horror films like Frankenstein, The Mummy, and Dracula (among many others), as well as many of the early gangster films. Film noir is so incredibly informed by the style and themes of the German films, probably because the film noir genre voices similar anxieties (but in an American context).
Eventually, probably around 1940, the potential popularity of the genre was recognized, and the genre entered its classical stage. During this period, the conventions were established and expanded upon. The film noir was commercially successful, in part for its realistic depictions of some of the harsh circumstances faced by the nation' people. (We'll talk more specifically about the genre conventions of the classic film noir a little later).
Now, we're going to have to break chronology for a bit, because while the next stage often comes after the classical stage, there is no clear shift from classical to revisionist. During the revisionist stage, the conventions of the genre are evaluated and often revised. So, for example, Orson Welles' Touch of Evil makes explicit the film noir's commentary on cultural conflict, establishing the story literally on the U.S./Mexico border. However, the standard scenario is mixed up a little. The film's protagonist is a Mexican detective (played by a mustachioed Charlton Heston) with a white American wife (Janet Leigh), who is pitted against a crooked American cop (a fat Orson Welles). So, there are some obvious reevaluations of convention going on here.
Here's the opening shot from the film. It is famous for its incredible length (without a single cut).
And finally, after the conventions have been identified and deconstructed, they are often parodied. So, Mel Brooks, the Monty Python crew, the guys behind Scary Movie (and its many, many subsequent films) are poking fun at the conventions of a genre. Films like Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, as well as Garrison Keiller's "Guy Noir" radio sketches are examples of parodies.
Here's a clip from Dead Men that you might enjoy. The film was created by splicing clips from the classic films with the performance of Steve Martin. See if you can identify some conventions of film noir (from your reading of the chapter in American Cinema...) that are being referenced.
Conventions of Film Noir
In order to understand the social significance of the genre, its necessary to be aware of some of the conventions. First of all, film noir can be identified by its use of specific character types and iconography. So, dark streets and tommy guns are so commonly used in film noir, that they become signifiers for the genre and its commonly expressed themes.
More importantly is the use of archetypal characters. In film noir, the protagonist is often male. He is relatively unintelligent, but persistent. He relies on instinct and physical force to survive. And he he is disenchanted with society. Oftentimes, the character is a detective that attempts to solve a crime (Laura, The Maltese Falcon, Touch of Evil).
These characters demonstrated a traditional masculinity that was valued during wartime: they were strong and determined. However, the atrocities of war awakened them to some consequences of this masculinity and its inevitable violence. They returned home, but were often unable to reintegrate into society. So, the male characters in film noir are often disenfranchised, only seeking to survive.
Female characters often fulfill one of two archetypal roles--the nurturing woman or the "femme fatale" or "spider-woman". The nurturing woman is beautiful but not sexualized. She functions to support the man and work in the domestic sphere. The spider-woman is the flip-side of femininity--she's sexually aggressive, intelligent, and has no place in the home.
This archetype indicates indicate a lot about the society's perception of gender. As we discussed last week, the American woman's increased involvement in public life during the early 20th century changed the societal conception of gender roles. The empowered female is positively manifested in the "fast-talking dame" of screwball comedy. However, American society was not altogether pleased with this cultural change. The general suspicion of this new femininity is evident in the dual representations of women in film noir. While this duality is not unique to the 20th century (the virgin/whore duality has been a trope since ancient times), the categorization of female characters as either nurturing, virtuous, and domestic or aggressive, sexual, and independent reveals how the newly empowered female was perceived as a threat by American society. The "femme fatale" is intelligent and autonomous like the screwball comedy heroines but this independence is seen as inevitably dangerous, especially to the welfare of the male characters. Whereas, the nurturing female character seems to demonstrate the society's longing for the traditional passive, non-threatening woman.
Watch a scene from the film Double Indemnity, and see how the representations of gender function in film noir. In this scene an insurance man has paid a visit to a housewife. It seems innocent...or is it???
Another convention of the film noir is its urban setting. The industrialization of America resulted in the growth of big cities. This migration to the metropolis had some definite effects on the American mentality, some of which are represented in the films. Poverty grew. The crime rate went up. The cities were often a place of cultural exchange and cultural conflict. Hugely populated cities and the influence of industry caused a sense of isolation to develop among individuals. While the nation was progressing economically and technologically, its people were left questioning the ultimate benefits of this progress.
This urban setting is depicted in film noir with a certain style reminiscent of German Expressionism. Much of the standard narrative takes place at night, with the city divided between dark shadows and bright neon lights. This contrast between dark and light is emphasized, some may argue, to emphasize the moral conflict going on in the films (and in the American mentality). Diagonal lines (caused by the shadows of window blinds, for example) divide the frame. The narrative is divided up with the use of flashbacks, often accompanied by a voice-over narration of one of the characters. All of these stylistic elements demonstrate the fractured mentality experienced by the characters (and some of society).
Review
So, last week we were introduced to the concept of genre. Genre films work within particular conventions (like character types, setting, iconography, narrative elements, themes, styles). So, when a romantic comedy is released, the film is sure to fulfill certain expectations held by the audience (there will be witty banter, some terrible misunderstanding, and ultimately some kissing) and by the film's producers (romantic comedies make money off of couples on dates).
The screwball comedy was one such genre that was popular during the Studio Era. "Fast-talking dames" and "little men" made masked sexual references, tripped each other, and ultimately fell in love. We learned about how the genre addressed issues of gender and class. And how our modern comedies continue this tradition of delivering social commentary in funny, accessible ways.
Introduction to Film Noir
So, you've read Belton's discussion of film noir, so you know it's origins. With an influx of Hollywood films in post-war France, French audiences were stunned by the films' dark subject matter and pessimistic perspective. So, they called them "black films." Now, film historians usually place film noir between 1940 (with the release of Stranger on the Third Floor) and 1958 (with the release of Touch of Evil). But a closer look at the genre, and how genres are developed in general, is helpful in understanding the evolution of the film noir.The progression of a genre has often been organized into specific stages: 1) primitive, 2) classical, 3) revisionist, 4) parodic. During the primitive stage, the conventions of the genre are not fully established. The creators of the texts are not consciously trying to follow a set of narrative and stylistic guidelines. Rather, multiple texts, sharing certain similarities, are created around the same time. (A helpful example would be to think of early hip-hop music. Before the music went mainstream in the early 80's, their were primitive manifestations of the genre. James Brown's "Funky Drummer", Parliament's "Give Up the Funk", and Jamaican deejays like U-Roy all foreshadow hip hop music. So, then guys like Kool Herc, Africaa Bambataa, and Grandmaster Flash came along, incorporating those elements from funk and reggae and created hip hop.)
So before we had film noir, per se, there was its primitive manifestations in pulp fiction, gangster films and German Expressionism. Hardboiled crime novels (like the work of Dashiell Hammett) and pulp magazines (like the work of Raymond Chandler) were popular in the early 20th century. The stories emphasized crime, murder, sex--all the trappings of the film noir. The magazines (like the later films) were cheaply made and contained a gritty realism that was uncommon in popular culture of the time. Many of these stories were later adapted by filmmakers for the big screen.
Before film noir was established as a genre, variations of these crime stories started to appear in films. But while including elements like detective characters and crime narratives, these early gangster films were not working within the established conventions of a genre (yet). So, films like Howard Hawks' Scarface and Fritz Lang's M laid some of the narrative and stylistic foundations for the genre.
These films were very much informed by the German Expressionist movement. After the first World War, Germany was in ruins and the German people were forced to cope with their horrible circumstances. Art (and specifically film, for our purposes) was one very important way in which they addressed the ugliness of war, poverty, and industry. The Expressionist movement sought to illustrate the violent emotions experienced by the people with the use of unconventional, often disturbing, artistic methods and subject matters (think of "express" as to make something inward manifested outwardly). So the films, for example, are highly stylized, using shadows in the lighting, diagonal lines in the design, overly theatrical acting, and static, symbolic characters. Robert Weine's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu (1922), and Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927) (three of the most popular German Expressionist films) avoid realism, but through the use of stylization are able to communicate the anxieties of the German people.Here's a clip from Metropolis. The protagonist is recognizing the horrors of industrialized society.
When the Nazi regime was growing in power, many of these filmmakers left Germany and came to the U.S. to work in Hollywood. They were responsible for the classic horror films like Frankenstein, The Mummy, and Dracula (among many others), as well as many of the early gangster films. Film noir is so incredibly informed by the style and themes of the German films, probably because the film noir genre voices similar anxieties (but in an American context).Eventually, probably around 1940, the potential popularity of the genre was recognized, and the genre entered its classical stage. During this period, the conventions were established and expanded upon. The film noir was commercially successful, in part for its realistic depictions of some of the harsh circumstances faced by the nation' people. (We'll talk more specifically about the genre conventions of the classic film noir a little later).
Now, we're going to have to break chronology for a bit, because while the next stage often comes after the classical stage, there is no clear shift from classical to revisionist. During the revisionist stage, the conventions of the genre are evaluated and often revised. So, for example, Orson Welles' Touch of Evil makes explicit the film noir's commentary on cultural conflict, establishing the story literally on the U.S./Mexico border. However, the standard scenario is mixed up a little. The film's protagonist is a Mexican detective (played by a mustachioed Charlton Heston) with a white American wife (Janet Leigh), who is pitted against a crooked American cop (a fat Orson Welles). So, there are some obvious reevaluations of convention going on here.Here's the opening shot from the film. It is famous for its incredible length (without a single cut).
And finally, after the conventions have been identified and deconstructed, they are often parodied. So, Mel Brooks, the Monty Python crew, the guys behind Scary Movie (and its many, many subsequent films) are poking fun at the conventions of a genre. Films like Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, as well as Garrison Keiller's "Guy Noir" radio sketches are examples of parodies.
Here's a clip from Dead Men that you might enjoy. The film was created by splicing clips from the classic films with the performance of Steve Martin. See if you can identify some conventions of film noir (from your reading of the chapter in American Cinema...) that are being referenced.
In order to understand the social significance of the genre, its necessary to be aware of some of the conventions. First of all, film noir can be identified by its use of specific character types and iconography. So, dark streets and tommy guns are so commonly used in film noir, that they become signifiers for the genre and its commonly expressed themes.
More importantly is the use of archetypal characters. In film noir, the protagonist is often male. He is relatively unintelligent, but persistent. He relies on instinct and physical force to survive. And he he is disenchanted with society. Oftentimes, the character is a detective that attempts to solve a crime (Laura, The Maltese Falcon, Touch of Evil).These characters demonstrated a traditional masculinity that was valued during wartime: they were strong and determined. However, the atrocities of war awakened them to some consequences of this masculinity and its inevitable violence. They returned home, but were often unable to reintegrate into society. So, the male characters in film noir are often disenfranchised, only seeking to survive.
Female characters often fulfill one of two archetypal roles--the nurturing woman or the "femme fatale" or "spider-woman". The nurturing woman is beautiful but not sexualized. She functions to support the man and work in the domestic sphere. The spider-woman is the flip-side of femininity--she's sexually aggressive, intelligent, and has no place in the home.This archetype indicates indicate a lot about the society's perception of gender. As we discussed last week, the American woman's increased involvement in public life during the early 20th century changed the societal conception of gender roles. The empowered female is positively manifested in the "fast-talking dame" of screwball comedy. However, American society was not altogether pleased with this cultural change. The general suspicion of this new femininity is evident in the dual representations of women in film noir. While this duality is not unique to the 20th century (the virgin/whore duality has been a trope since ancient times), the categorization of female characters as either nurturing, virtuous, and domestic or aggressive, sexual, and independent reveals how the newly empowered female was perceived as a threat by American society. The "femme fatale" is intelligent and autonomous like the screwball comedy heroines but this independence is seen as inevitably dangerous, especially to the welfare of the male characters. Whereas, the nurturing female character seems to demonstrate the society's longing for the traditional passive, non-threatening woman.
Watch a scene from the film Double Indemnity, and see how the representations of gender function in film noir. In this scene an insurance man has paid a visit to a housewife. It seems innocent...or is it???
Another convention of the film noir is its urban setting. The industrialization of America resulted in the growth of big cities. This migration to the metropolis had some definite effects on the American mentality, some of which are represented in the films. Poverty grew. The crime rate went up. The cities were often a place of cultural exchange and cultural conflict. Hugely populated cities and the influence of industry caused a sense of isolation to develop among individuals. While the nation was progressing economically and technologically, its people were left questioning the ultimate benefits of this progress.
This urban setting is depicted in film noir with a certain style reminiscent of German Expressionism. Much of the standard narrative takes place at night, with the city divided between dark shadows and bright neon lights. This contrast between dark and light is emphasized, some may argue, to emphasize the moral conflict going on in the films (and in the American mentality). Diagonal lines (caused by the shadows of window blinds, for example) divide the frame. The narrative is divided up with the use of flashbacks, often accompanied by a voice-over narration of one of the characters. All of these stylistic elements demonstrate the fractured mentality experienced by the characters (and some of society).Finally, the film noir narrative usually follows the investigation of a crime. Its characters engage in physical conflict and are often killed. The film noir departs from the classical Hollywood narrative structure in its often pessimistic conclusions. Characters often betray and kill one another. But rather than this behavior being represented as immoral (for example, in a Greek tragedy or revenge play), the violence is depicted very amorally. The consequences that follow the characters' actions seem arbitrary. The crimes often go unsolved, or are only resolved with further violence. These narrative and thematic elements give a sense of helplessness and despair that was previously unrepresented in American film, but was absolutely linked to some existential dilemmas of the time.
This is the last scene from the neo-noir film by the Coen brothers, The Man Who Wasn't There. The film follows a barber who accidentally kills his wife's lover, unwittingly sends his wife to jail for the murder, and is then sentenced to death for a murder he didn't commit. How's this for a happy ending?
Neo-noir
Nowadays, film noir is no longer considered a living genre. The historical and cultural context from which the genre emerged is long gone. Americans have in some ways overcome their alienation, in other ways have embraced it. We are desensitized to depictions of violence and moral ambiguity. So, while the creation of film noir-esque work continues in films like Chinatown, Batman, and Sin City (among many, many others), the impact of these films is less substantial.
Here's a clip from a great neo-noir film The Big Lebowski. The Dude is, I think, the quintessential film noir protagonist. The clip won't embed, but you can watch it here.
This does not mean, however, that the societal commentary made by film noir is no longer of value to us. Ideas of gender, demonstrated in film noir, are alive today. The alienation of the urban (and now suburban) individual still exists. The presence of violence (on micro and macro levels) in society has only increased. So, I think that examining how our culture responded to these issues at the beginning of last century may be used to inform our response to similar issue at the beginning of this century.
Assignment
Look for an example of a representation of "dangerous femininity" in popular culture (that can be a novel, tv show, film, graphic novel, video game, popular song or music video). Your example cannot be from a film noir. Include a link to a website that corresponds to this work. Discuss how this representation of women corresponds with film noir's "femme fatale." What are the similarities, the differences. (You may want to refer to the Mary Astor character from The Maltese Falcon if you have trouble making specific comparisons between your example and the archetypal "spider-woman").
Please do not use an example previously posted by another student.
Quiz
In the assigned chapter from American Cinema, American Culture, Belton discusses how film noir may function as a genre, a movement/style, or a mode. Please explain how film noir corresponds to each of these categorizations.
Please email the quiz (as always) to our T.A. Jennifer Armston (not me).
Reminder
On October 12th, your first Film Analysis paper is due. Check out the assignment description in the "Assignments" section for details. You may want to do that soon.
This is the last scene from the neo-noir film by the Coen brothers, The Man Who Wasn't There. The film follows a barber who accidentally kills his wife's lover, unwittingly sends his wife to jail for the murder, and is then sentenced to death for a murder he didn't commit. How's this for a happy ending?
Neo-noir
Nowadays, film noir is no longer considered a living genre. The historical and cultural context from which the genre emerged is long gone. Americans have in some ways overcome their alienation, in other ways have embraced it. We are desensitized to depictions of violence and moral ambiguity. So, while the creation of film noir-esque work continues in films like Chinatown, Batman, and Sin City (among many, many others), the impact of these films is less substantial.
Here's a clip from a great neo-noir film The Big Lebowski. The Dude is, I think, the quintessential film noir protagonist. The clip won't embed, but you can watch it here.
This does not mean, however, that the societal commentary made by film noir is no longer of value to us. Ideas of gender, demonstrated in film noir, are alive today. The alienation of the urban (and now suburban) individual still exists. The presence of violence (on micro and macro levels) in society has only increased. So, I think that examining how our culture responded to these issues at the beginning of last century may be used to inform our response to similar issue at the beginning of this century.
Assignment
Look for an example of a representation of "dangerous femininity" in popular culture (that can be a novel, tv show, film, graphic novel, video game, popular song or music video). Your example cannot be from a film noir. Include a link to a website that corresponds to this work. Discuss how this representation of women corresponds with film noir's "femme fatale." What are the similarities, the differences. (You may want to refer to the Mary Astor character from The Maltese Falcon if you have trouble making specific comparisons between your example and the archetypal "spider-woman").
Please do not use an example previously posted by another student.
Quiz
In the assigned chapter from American Cinema, American Culture, Belton discusses how film noir may function as a genre, a movement/style, or a mode. Please explain how film noir corresponds to each of these categorizations.
Please email the quiz (as always) to our T.A. Jennifer Armston (not me).
Reminder
On October 12th, your first Film Analysis paper is due. Check out the assignment description in the "Assignments" section for details. You may want to do that soon.
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