introduction to multicultural film

Welcome to Multicultural Film (Hum 3321: Sec 55). I'm your instructor Benjamin Thevenin and I'll be leading our online discussions, answering your questions, and introducing you to this wonderful world of cinema and cultural studies this semester. We also have a teaching assistant Jennifer Armston that will be helping out with the course.

So, you all like movies, I imagine? Many of you probably registered for the class because you thought that there's nothing more fun (and easier) than getting college credit for watching movies. Well, if you thought that, you're partly right. Movies are a lot of fun. And we're going to have some fun in the course. I've set up this blog so that despite the fact that none of us will ever sit in the same room and talk about movies, we can still have some enjoyable, informal but intellectually stimulating conversations. But just so you're aware, this is a 3000 level course. We do quite a bit of reading. Some of that reading is pretty dense. We do a good bit of writing, and since 3000 level classes are set up with the assumption that the students have taken the freshman writing courses, the writing assignments can be intense. And since we're a WEB section, we'll be doing a fair amount of internet-related activities. Just so you know...

That being said, let's watch a clip.

So, our friends Tommy Boy and Richard illustrate how media (music or movies or whatever) can function as a powerful influence in our lives. And since we love movies so much, we may have reservations about thinking too hard about them, picking them apart, and writing about our findings. But hopefully we'll find this semester that some film analysis is helpful, especially in regards to understanding how the media we consume represents (and thereby influences our perception of) issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality (as well as age, mental and physical capacity, etc).

That's what we'll be doing this semester--watching some films and learning how they contribute to cultural perspectives. Here's a little example.

So, the Flight of the Conchords are playing around with the fact that the media shapes our perceptions of culture. In this case, we see how French language textbooks, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, and WB cartoons have, in some respects, influenced our perception of French culture. Of course, the reality of French culture is (perhaps a little) different than our perception. Then, as we examine the media's representations of the French, we discover how they may perpetuate misconceptions of (or even stereotypes of and prejudices against) the French people.

Necessary (but perhaps less exciting) Information

Before we jump into this week's material, let's go over some logistics. You've signed up for a WEB section of this course. That means that instead of attending classes, you will participate in the class using the internet (this blog, online discussions, emails, etc). You will be asked to visit the Blackboard (Bb) website and this blog multiple times a week to keep up to date on the assignments and other class announcements.

Now would be a good time to take a look at the course syllabus posted on the Bb site.

Now, to help you navigate through the syllabus, let me walk you through a typical week. Each week you'll be asked to view a film, complete some readings from the texts (Belton's American Cinema, American Culture and Multicultural Film: An Anthology), visit this blog for a lecture-post, contribute your own comments to the blog, and email a short "quiz" response to the course's teaching assistant, Jennifer Armston. If that sounds like a lot...it kind of is. This class, while being awesome, isn't necessarily a slack-class, so keep that in mind.

The films are shown Monday nights at Student Life Cinema and there are multiple viewing times. If you are unable to attend SLC films, or if you feel like it, you may choose from the additional film list that I have included on the syllabus. Ultimately, you should be seeing a film a week. These films will demonstrate the material we go over in the class, and you will be asked to discuss them in the Film Analysis assignments throughout the semester. So, be sure to keep an open mind, pay attention, take good notes (and have fun--I mean, you're getting school credit for watching movies).

Next, the assigned readings will introduce you to the concepts that we will use to examine the films. So, the Belton book goes over the correspondence between film history and American social history. The Anthology includes some more theory-heavy articles. You may have a hard time wading through some of the denser readings, so to help you pick out some important concepts from the readings, I've written up some study guide questions for each week. (They are posted in under Assignments on the Bb site). These study guides aren't required, but the questions have a striking resemblance to the questions that you'll see on the weekly quizzes and the final exam.

Each week you'll also visit this blog, read my comments, watch some film clips, visit some links, and contribute your own comments. I'll usually ask some questions and invite you to respond. Also, in at the end of the post, I'll include a short quiz on the assigned readings. I'll post my comments on Monday and I expect you to have posted a comment and emailed your quiz answers (to Jennifer at jmarmston@gmail.com) by Friday night at midnight.

We'll also have some bigger writing assignments along the way. Our first assignment is the Filmic Experience paper due Friday, Sept. 14th (also posted under Assignments on Bb)..

If you have any questions about the syllabus, the assignments, my explanation, please contact our hard-working T.A. Jennifer at jmarmston@gmail.com or me at bthevenin@fsu.edu.

Contextualizing Film

So, before we can understand the origins of film, it may be helpful to have a brief explanation of the historical and cultural context. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the industrial revolution, modern American social activism (the women's movement and Civil Rights movement), modernism in fine arts, and big advances in the fields of science, mathematics, sociology and psychology.

New technologies were being developed: telegraph and photography in the early 19th century, the telephone, phonograph and radio in the late 19th century. The development of moving picture technology was preceded by scientists, inventors and artists' experimentation with visually capturing movement.

So, when Edison and the Lumiere brothers introduced the motion picture, they did so in a climate of heavy cultural, scientific, technological (etc, etc) change.

Film Origins and Institution

The origins of motion picture technology are interesting because inventors and artists were experimenting with different approaches to recording moving images, on different sides of the globe, at roughly the same time (the 1890's).

Thomas Edison developed the Kinetoscope, a device used to record short films for their exhibition in one-person peepshows. Because of the large size of the Kinetoscope, Edison and his buddies were not able to easily transport the machine. These early films subsequently emphasize spectacle--something interesting (perhaps from a circus or vaudeville show) was enacted in front of the camera. Here's an example.

On the other side of the Atlantic, French brothers Auguste and Louis Lumiere developed the Cinematograph, a machine that could shoot, develop, and project filmed images. Unlike Edison's machine, the Cinematograph was easily transportable. Filmmakers would travel around the world shooting and exhibiting films, enabling the first international cinematic exchange. (If we're going to talk about media shaping our perception of culture, this is a good place to start). The Lumiere films most often emphasized everyday realities over spectacular occurrences.

These technologies and filming strategies were eventually developed into the film industry. Films like Georges Melies' Trip to the Moon (1902) (which you may recognize from the Smashing Pumpkins' "Tonight Tonight" music video), Edwin S. Porter's The Great Train Robbery (1903), and D.W. Griffith's Unseen Enemy (1912) built upon the foundations that the Lumieres and Edison had established. They expanded the technology, developed the narratives, directed actors' performances, and included special effects.

But the most important aspect of the early cinema is that it united the American (and international) audiences in a way that was previously unachievable. Now people of different cultural and economic backgrounds, in different locations around the country and globe, were united in viewing the exact same visual narratives. The mass production and distribution of the films gave them power. And so, it only makes sense that it is worth examining what stories and themes and characters and ideas were being exhibited en masse to the people by this powerful means of communication.

Film Language

Now, next week we're going to get into some more specific ways in which film (and the media, in general) influences our perception of each other and how these perceptions are often less than adequate. But we have to learn the language that film uses to communicate before we can really understand what it is communicating. Here are some helpful terms used to describe elements of film language that are utilized by filmmakers to tell stories and emphasize ideas:

Production Design - Production design is what we see in films: sets, costumes, props, hair and make up, and locations. A film's art department will work with the director to create a visual atmosphere that contributes to the storytelling. Particular uses of line, shape, color, and texture help emphasize emotion, develop character, or explain plot.

Cinematography - If production design is what we see, then cinematography is how we see it. The cinematographer uses camera angles, camera movement, depth of field (what is in focus and what is out-of-focus in a shot), lighting, framing and camera lenses to tell the story. How a shot is framed can contribute to our perception of a character or situation.

Editing - Editing is the process of taking the raw footage shot by the cinematographer and arranging it in a way that tells an effective story. The editor pays attention to the chronology of the shots, how they relate visually with one another, the transitions between shots, and the length of shots and rhythm of edits in a scene. All of these elements are used to shape the story in a way that makes sense (or not) to the audience.

Music/Sound - Musical accompaniment and sound effects also contribute to the storytelling. A n0n-diegetic musical accompaniment can create a mood for or invoke an emotion in the viewer. And the editing of sound helps make the cuts and transitions seamless (or not), and thus make the story more (or less) effective.

Narrative Structure - Finally, the story told by the film (and how it is told, I suppose) is tremendously important. Narrative is concerned with story (beginning, middle, end) and characters (protagonists, antagonists). Writers, directors, and actors work with the other departments to create an interesting narrative that communicates certain feelings and ideas to the audience. So, the character's objective, the manner in which he/she works to achieve that objective, and whether or not he/she achieves it are very important.

Theme - Lastly, all of these elements are used to communicate ideas and associations in the viewer. So, in a particular scene, the cinematography, design, etc. will work to create a particular perspective for the viewer, which subsequently influences the viewer's perception of a character or situation, which emphasizes a specific theme in the film as a whole.

Let's see an example or two and then we'll be done for the week.

Here's a clip from Alfonso Cuaron's 2006 film Children of Men. The story takes place in England of the near future. People are no longer physically able to have children and the world is in chaos. Clive Owen's character is working to smuggle a woman, who has miraculously given birth, out of the country. Let's watch an amazing scene from almost the end of the film, and see if you can identify how some of the filmic elements we discussed communicate an idea or theme.

So, that's one long, incredible shot. A handheld camera follows our character as he navigates the crumbling cement of this city in search of the mother and child. Both the landscape and the soundscape are sparse. We hear some high, discordant strings that increase the intensity of the scene, lots of gunshots and explosions, and a baby's cry. The camera movement is jerky, giving the scene a frantic feel, and we see a lot of the action over the protagonist's shoulder. And we have that beautiful close-up of the baby amongst all of the chaos. Our character has an objective, he faces a warzone to obtain that objective, and he succeeds.

All of these formal elements work together to create a very believable, very scary future in which all of the ugliness is only overcome by this small child. This long shot establishes the great, horrible state the world is in, the many lives that are lost, and then emphasizes the one, small life that can make a difference. It's amazing.

Here's another example. This is a clip from Guillermo del Toro's 2006 film Pan's Labyrinth. The film takes place during the Spanish civil war of the 1940's. Our main character Ofelia escapes the harsh realities that surround her by participating in fairy tale adventures. In this scene, Ofelia must obtain an object from the lair of the Pale Man. Again, what and how are the filmmakers communicating to the viewer?

Ofelia's soft green coat contrasts the hard, dark stone and metal of the setting. On a few different occasions, the camera moves to indicate Ofelia's perspective (the long tracking shot that ends abruptly with the Pale Man; or when she stops and shifts her attention back to the food). Framing is used to indicate a shift in power between the two characters: on her way into the lair, Ofelia is in the left side of the frame indicating her power over the Pale Man, but when she eats the food, the framing changes and the Pale Man takes her place. As she eats, the Pale Man is left slightly out of focus, indicating Ofelia's obliviousness to his presence. The cuts are slow in the beginning of the scene (orienting us with the location and the characters), but when Ofelia is in danger, the cuts are more frequent and the intensity increases. The metallic screech of the Pale Man's claws disrupts the otherwise quiet scene. And finally, our character, has an objective which she works toward; she encounters conflict when she awakens the monster and must reopen the door; but she ultimately succeeds.

This little scene tells us a lot. Our character is able but imperfect. The dangers she faces are real (she see the fairies eaten!). She may be temporarily overcome by these difficulties, but ultimately, she achieves her objectives. And since these adventures of Ofelia in some ways signify the struggles she faces with an abusive step-father and violent political conflict, this little narrative is indicative of the ability of the child to overcome brutal realities.

Assignment

This week's assignment (in addition to completing the assigned readings listed on the syllabus) is to contribute a comment to this post. Your comment will consist of a brief introduction of yourself. Include any information that you think that we need to know. Also, be sure to familiarize yourself with the syllabus. Thanks!