COMM 250 Final - Professor Kevin Hagopian PDF

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Professor Kevin Hagopian...

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COMM 250 FINAL Film Art 303-325  Analyzing Style- 4 General Questions o What is the films overall form o What are the main techniques being used? o What patterns are formed by the technique? o What functions do the techniques and patterns fulfill?  Uses Our Hospitality and Maltese Falcon as examples of using creative decisions to   

create a certain impact on the viewer and to allow the viewer to notice elements in the shots Shadow of Doubt- Stylistic synthesis- shows how all the techniques work together to create a specific attitude toward a character and phase of story action Citizen Kane- example used to show how style is used Gravity- shows restrictive narration, shows how tools can extend and even transform techniques similar to the age of film

Miriam Hansen, “The Mass Production of the Senses: Classical Cinema as Vernacular Modernism” Framing Question: what does Miriam Hansen mean by the phrase, “vernacular modernism” and what do you think this has to do with the idea of cinematic style?  Vernacular modernism defines cinema as a mass cultural form that audiences all over the world become familiar with o Provides the experience of modernity  Vernacular modernism: o Society is constantly changing o Filmmakers can play with style for that particular time and moment  When we watch a movie about another period, we only understand it because we’ve seen it o Not entirely about technological advances o Brings 2 time periods together in the viewers mind  Modernism: o Style of art that signifies the kinds of radical changes that people in the 20th century were going through  The way they’re represented  Disruptive, non-fluid relationship between images  Unfamiliar way of understanding the world o How technology has affected art production  Exponential increase in mass production o Always anxious about what might happen next o Cinema is a modernist art form

"Hitchcock Universal Promo Montage": illustrates the way salient techniques can be assembled into a "film" that never existed. Shadow of a Doubt (Alfred Hitchcock, US, 1943): models the way a scene can be analyzed for style. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, US, 1941): models the way a scene can be linked to an entire film's narrative through stylistic analysis. "The Hostage" (John Woo, US, 2002): used as a model for analysis of cinematic style

Film Art 326-349  

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Genres can change over time as filmmakers invent new twists Social Functions of Genres o Rituals and Ambivalence respond quickly to social trends, man scholars believe that genres are ritualized dramas resembling holiday celebrations, ceremonies that are satisfying because they reaffirm cultural values in a predictable way o Genres as Social Reflection  Stories, themes, values or imagery of the genre harmonize with public attitudes in a more involuntary fashion  As the public anxieties change, new genres will reflect more up to date concerns  Also known as a “reflectionist” way of looking at genres because they assume that genres reflect social attitudes as if in a mirror 4 Genres talked about o The Western Film o The Horror Film o The Musical o The Sports Film Which one of the following is NOT a genre discussed by Film Art? o The musical o the Western o the romantic comedy o the horror film o the sports film Which one of the following does Film Art use as en extended example of "the subgenre"? o the horror comedy o the superhero film o the backstage musical o the space Western

o the crime thriller

Carol Clover , “Men, Women and Chain Saws: Her Body, Himself”                   

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Slasher films are often disregarded by critics and scholars Those who write about them focus on techniques and effects Slasher films are “cultural attitudes towards sex and gender” Plots within these films are most usually the same, and the popularity of these films became to face away in the 80s Although some of the audience is feminine, most of them are young men, who cheer for both the killer as he kills of the girls but then cheer for the “Final Girl” Psycho- the antecedent for slasher films Almost every slasher film plays tribute to psycho Gender roles in slasher films are very clear, killer is male and sexually repressed, victim is female and sexually active Men think beautiful women are preferable to watch die then ugly men and women That the viewer will worry more for the safety of the women because she is usually seen as weaker When viewers watch films they usually project their ego onto one of the characters, in a slasher film, it forces men to project their ego onto the female A male watching the film will look for another man to relate to, which will usually be the boyfriend or male friend who gets killed early on. The male also can relate to the killer who is mostly unseen, like a barrier between the male character and the male viewers ego POV shots in slasher films allow the viewer to feel a link to the killer and to understand him more as a threat As the film progresses, the POV shots switch to the final girl, making us connect more with him and disconnect more with the killer Clover says that gender is a permeable membrane – which means that it is possible for people to identify with characters of any gender in the movie Also says that the killers gender is usually never shown, but people always assume they are male Important reason that victim is female- as she is being tortured, she screams cries and hides- all characteristics of a typical female. In Carol Clover's essay, "Her Body, Herself," which one of the following is essential to her argument? o "the final girl" In her essay, "Her Body, Himself, " author Carol Clover associates the slasher film primarily with social issues of o Disability o Age o Gender

Thomas Schatz “Hollywood Genres: Film Genre and the Genre Film”   

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Film genre: A film genre is a motion-picture category based on similarities either in the narrative elements or in the emotional response to the film. Genre film: A film that was produced with the intent of fitting into a specific genre (such as science fiction, romantic comedy, horror, or film noir) with an existing audience. What does Thomas Schatz mean by "Iconography"? "Plot structures," "Generic evolution"? "Communities in conflict?" o according to Thomas schatz iconography- Imagery and the particular meaning that the imagery has in that genre According to Thomas Schatz in his essay, "iconography" refers to the way genres evolve over time to address changed social conditions o True o False According to Thomas Schatz' essay "Film Genre and the Genre Film," as genres evolve, they begin to question their own conventions. o True o False

Screening: The opening of The Killers (1946), genre: Film Noir  Iconography: o In film noir, handkerchiefs routinely had a part to play. It’s unique to this particularly story. o Costumes, killers look like gagster. o Lighting in the night, expressionistic light perfect in this movie o Most iconography will locate on mise en scène. o Gun have different meaning in different genres - westerns, gangsters, revenge film, thriller o People smoke in a lot of movies. Out of the past, culturally smoking as a social ritual wasn’t in U.S. o most indoor and at night o Tell what kind of person he is through costume, gestures, the confidence come to place they never been to, being able to enforce the will  

It doesn’t need to have everything in iconography listed to qualify as as film noir. Social functions are more important for us.

Screening: the ending of The Killers (1964)  The killers themselves what to find out why they are ordered to kill.  Same iconography used: The Gun; Closing: the man is dresses; conventions: huge conventions are on-screen violence.  Art galleries (dozens of child painting during renaissance time)  Laws doesn’t say you can’t do these painting over and over again, just like you can’t make the same type of movie over and over again.

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It’s from audiences that films become familiar. Film itself began to demonstrate self-awareness.

Screening: (500) Days of Summer (2009)  Cues of iconography / self aware of the set of expectations we bring to genre:  Voice over is not supposed to be in romcom, shot is ruined by the person talking about what you are seeing on the screen.  The title “(500) Days”, lead you to ask how romcoms gives the name, are this people so loved that the summer lasts for 500 days? The films knows how we are thinking this way.  Aside from some clear signaled flashback, it tends to be ABCDEF plot organization, not like Pulp Fiction  Wider variation added to genre formulation to keep audience interested

Bela Balasz, “The Creative Cinema” “The Close Up” & “The Face of Man” 

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For Balasz, how does the camera reveal or depict the self? o We are in the Picture  The film camera has revealed new worlds until then concealed form us, such as the soul of the objects, the rhythm of crowds, the secret language of dumb things.  All of this provided only new knowledge, new themes, new subjects and material.  More importantly, the film showed the same things shown in a different way In his essays from "The Theory of Film," Bela Balasz does NOT discuss sound. o True o False Which one of these is most important for author Bela Balasz? o film as a part of social protest movement o the human face o race o the budget of a film o gender

Metz, “Loving the Cinema” “Identification, Mirror Disavowal, Fetishism” 

For Metz, describe the relationship between the individual and cinema. o The spectator has to identify with something in the film, if they did not, the film would become incomprehensible o The spectator can identify with the character or the actor o See themselves mirrored in the film.

Judith Mayne, “Paradoxes of Spectatorship  For Mayne, what is `the Paradox of Spectatorship’ o Address and reception the way in which a text assumes certain responses

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-The difference between the "ideal" spectator and the "real" spectator. If the spectator negates the film and what the text stands for then it is no considered an ideal spectator o Mayne considers "fantasy" as a paradox of spectatorship. She explores the intersection of psychoanalysis, fantasy, and film spectatorship. o Negotiation: as a means to avoid any totalizing viewpoint, whether conservative or radical, in the analysis of spectatorship Which one of the following is author Judith Mayne most interested in in her essay, "The Paradoxes of Spectatorship"? o the film Beasts of the Southern Wild o the use of film in fueling social protest. o the political attitudes of filmmaker o the psychological experiences of audiences o the use of the close-up Which one of the following is author Judith Mayne most interested in in her essay "The Paradoxes of Spectatorship"? o the specialized education in film appreciation of the viewer o the race of the viewer o the gender of the viewer o the gender of the filmmaker o the age of the filmmaker

Which one of the following occurs in Beasts of the Southern Wild?  a multi-car accident on the interstate highway system  a forest fire  a plague  a nuclear war  a flood

Public Enemies (Michael Mann, US, 2009): 

illustrates the "mirror" concept in the theories of Christian Metz

The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl-Theodor Dreyer, France, 1927): 

illustrates the power of the close-up in creating understanding of the emotions of a characters.

Fanon, “The Fact of Blackness”

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black people are often misinterpreted and misunderstood Blackness”- represents a narrow and generalized stereotype Everyone observes minorities to see if they will fulfill certain stereotypes Lack of understanding about Black people- drastically affects his life This essay is not just about representation in film- about life in general To be a person of color means you are always involved in screening process even not when in the movies Responsible for body, race, and ancestors o White writer has a clean state Fanon discovers his blackness For Fanon, what is `the fact of blackness’? o The idea that black people are always looked at differently by white men, no matter how much they try to blend in – they will never be seen as equals o Black in relation to a white man o No one can speak about a black man’s POV except a black man (standpoint theory one’s identity radically shapes how one sees the world) o Race is an example of social identity o Also gender and sexuality

Dyer “White”             

Takes fanon approach and applies it to whiteness How whiteness is often generalized Discussion of what whiteness means to whites and also to minorities Dyer wants us to understand- arbitrary constructed notions- set of assumptions and associations that turn into facts in people's lives Institutionalized racism in early America- led the cinema to be controlled mostly by white men This meant that the movies produced- came from the identity of white men Films connect whiteness to order, rationality, rigidity Connect blackness to disorder, irrationality and looseness Birth of Nation- early racist film Talks about Movies-Jezebel, Simba, Night of Living Dead- in order to discuss race How they are presented on screen- through editing, lighting, staging-effect stereotypes Night of Living Dead- horror movie- where white people are zombies- Has a black protagonist For Dyer, what is “whiteness” in film? o There isn’t any sort of relational attachment to whiteness (it is the default)  Not measured “in relation to” (it is its own thing) o Has everything and nothing quality  Because white is “normal”, so many other norms can be put across through white characters (kind of identity)

Shohat & Stam “Stereotype, Realism, & the Struggle over Representation”

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“Cinematic and cultural mediations of race” Even staging of black people in film- at margins in film, rare close ups Spectators are obsessed with realism because they want the truth Important to deconstruct images- and raise questions while watching the film Burden of representation- sensitivity to stereotypes Sometimes people feel they must represent certain minorities in films- but sometimes these representations are stereotypical For Shohat and Stam, what is “the burden of representation”? o People of a single group are considered “all the same” which creates stereotypes. The sensitivity associated with stereotypes stems from the inability to control how a group is viewed. o The way films homologize people  Directors responsibility to portray a certain group of people correctly  Fine line between stereotyping and creating an accurate representation  You can never get it right!! o More than a paradox than a burden o White male can be ANY character but as soon as protagonist is of color, there’s this burden of representation o How it applies to female, gay, poor  Always see a middle-class family getting into minivan  If you can’t buy that car, you are excluded from what is normal in that world o Danger in assuming a good and bad black character  Assumptions of normalcy come out of whiteness  Balancing positive and negative blackness has nothing to do with the monolithic blackness itself o Some really compelling things are said about race in relation  Films are accidentally or purposefully revealing the very anxiety that stereotypes are made to repress For Shohat and Stam, what are “the limits of the stereotype”? o Oppressive patterns of prejudice over nothing o Psychic devastation inflicted by negativity o Form of social control o Social institutions and practices can be misrepresented without a single character being stereotyped

Ginsburg “Screen Memories and Entangles Technologies: Resignifying Indigenous Lives”

 For Ginsburg, how do the criticisms and proposals she makes apply to narrative cinema in general? o What does Indigenous people presenting their narratives have to do with ethnicity and the documentary values of being accurate  When it comes to an entire culture, its more than just race  Takes on another level of representing the ethnicity o The way ethnic groups (tribal cultures) have been imagined on the screen by outsiders as having an exotic culture  Making of a Native American movie o Paradox of doing or not doing something (can media of a certain culture mix well with a media of a different culture?) o Mentions Smoke Signals and Fast Runners  Whole apparatus of filmmaking (not just technical) seems to be automatically in conflict with communal and trial values  Native Americans created film Screening: Jezebel- 1938  Story modeled by Gone with the Wind  Directed by politically liberal director  Film set in 1850’s  Jezebel foregrounds black people- intrude into the scene while whites people talk  The Black people don’t occupy significant dramatic function in film  The black characters- all slave characters- their purpose is to help whites  This shows that black people are used to confirm their subordination to whites Screening: Bamboozled- Spike Lee  About media representations of race  How the fact of blackness gets inside black citizens/ artists- who think they can resist these norms  Movie about white tv executive Exec has idea to bring back minstrel show- performances in black face  Exec think they can take an ironic take on minstrel show  Tries to show minstrel show in satirical way  Scene shows -Compilation of early racist portrayals of blacks in film Screening- Black Girl- 1966  Movie about young black woman that has been contracted to serve as maid for a white family in France.  Film focuses a lot on the mundane activities of the maid  Show a lot about the internal voice of maid  She does not want to be a maid  She is not psychologically dependent on these characters  Shows the European group as stereotypical and two dimensional  But the black maid is multi-dimensional.  The scene focuses on the maid’s life- follows her around

Screening: Night of Living Dead  Classic zombie movie- about survival  Black protagonist- able to process the trauma and come up with solutions to stay alive  Protagonist is ripping apart the house- in order to save people in it- metaphorical  Discusses in Dyer  Horror film- not real- opposite of reality Contrast- to new films like Us, and Get Out

Manovich, “What is Digital Cinema?” 

Elastic Relationship- term used by Manovich to describe the relationship between the image and what the audience actually sees

 On Manovich, “What is Digital Cinema?”: For Manovich, what makes digital cinema different than analog cinema? o Cinema works hard to erase any trace of its own production process o There is a shift from re-arranging reality to re-arranging its images o During the time of analog cinema, the moving element was visually separated from the static background o Digital cinema is a particular case of animation which uses live action footage as one of its many elements o With new digital cinema techniques and technology  Rather than filming physical reality it is now possible to generate film like scenes directly in a computer with the help of 3D computer animation, therefore, live action footage is displaced from its role as the only possible material from which the finished film is constructed  Live action footage is reduced to be just another graphic, no different from images crated manually, because they are all pixels  Live action. Footage now acts as a raw material for further compositing, animating and morphing, where it used to be left intact in analog cinema  Previously, editing and special effects were strictly separate activities, an editor worked on ordering sequences of images together and any intervention of an image was handled by a special effect specialist. o Digital painting on a computer makes it possible to creat...