Q: How is the film’s plot structured, and why? How does this narrative structure underscore the larger commentary that Nolan is making about a variety of topics: memory, society, violence, capitalism, cinema?

A: The entire film is structured much like the way that Lenny views the world. There are switches between color and black and white that indicate past, future, and much of the middle is up for interpretation. Christopher Nolan created this film in such a way that many things could be critiqued by the film. His way of making viewers question even their own memories reliability is amazing. It is a very violent movie, but almost necessarily so. Natalie and Teddy found a way to manipulate him and even though they helped a couple times in the film, they were in it for selfish reasons. This manipulation made me think of the abuse and taking advantage of older people and those with this short term memory loss we find common in todays world. I think the film also critiques Hollywood cinema by its disregard of continuous/linear storytelling. Much of the camerawork was unique as well. Overall, the film was one of the most interesting films we’ve watched this semester.

Q: Discuss what you notice about how Spike Lee breaks from Hollywood aesthetic and narrative conventions in Do the Right Thing. Think narrative construction, character arcs/hero’s journey, framing/camera angle. Use the info. from our class discussion on Monday.

A: Spike Lee breaks from Hollywood Aesthetic and narrative conventions by camerawork, the structure of the story, and the character arcs. The entire film really shows peoples human responses and the faulty ways they interact with one another. The entire film is set in the span of 24 hours and illustrates a swift and steady descent into chaos. Not only does the film have discontinuous editing in a continuous 24 hour setting, the different shots of the same action occur a few times. The angling of the camera and the setup of the narrative almost guide us to figuring out what will happen at the end. There are a ton of foreshadowing moments which help with that. The only character that could be claimed as a “protagonist” in the film is Da Mayor, even then he doesn’t have much effect on the story. There is no Hollywood fairytale ending but the film ends in looping back to the morning before.

Q: How does the film use the genre of horror to reflect on the realities of late 1960s US society? 

A: The film is revolutionary in several rights, some of this revolutionary aspect comes from the critiques on 1960 society. Duane Jones being cast as the main protagonist of the film was revolutionary in the fact that it was the first Horror movie to have a black man in a real protagonist role; in fact it was the first in film in general. George Romero, the director, wanted to convey the fear felt in the sixties through his film. This was a time of dramatic cultural shifts and new territory being explored in History. The Cold War and in particular the Space Race may have influenced the story for the causation of the cannibalistic impulses which came from the destruction of a satellite probe to Venus which had a dangerous amount of radiation. The very next year, the U.S. would land on the moon. Overall, Romero and this film created an interesting genre and critique on 1960’s society.

1) What is Clover’s thesis in her article “Dancin’ in the Rain” (i.e. what is the main point she is making about the film’s production context)?

Clover’s thesis in her article is that the main point of giving credit where it is due shown in “Singin’ in the Rain” is not followed even in the production of the movie itself. The film takes advantage of different people without due credit.

2) Give at least 3 examples she gives from the film (scenes, lines of dialogue etc.) that support her thesis.

1. Noyes/Royce,
2. The singing happening when Lina is “exposed” for lip syncing is actually the actor for Lina’s real voice
3. Black Culture highly influenced the dance and certain instances of the film

3) What are your thoughts on this?

I think her article is interesting. The section regarding how even though singing is in the name, the underlying emphasis of dancing as the hero/solution to the problem of the story was strange. The focus on “athleticism” in the musical genre was interesting as it played into this emphasis on dancing.

Q: In what ways does Double Indemnity represent- or not- the post war realism and post war disillusionment characteristic of film noir?

This film is very characteristic of film noir through its cinematography, story, and tone. The post-War realism and Post-War Disillusionment trains of thought are supported by the cynical view on people the film gives us. The film shows us the process of the dominos falling; from Walter wanting to sleep with Phyllis to killing her because it was the only way “out.” Their flaws are on display, the entire film; smaller at first but growing to a crescendo. The film shows the lengths people are willing to go to for their own survival. Both in Phyllis’ case and Walter’s case, they were willing to give the other up to survive. Phyllis even wanted the insurance payout to survive financially without the burden of a husband, and Walter wanted to sleep with her. Walter eventually finds the need to kill Phyllis so that he may make it out alive. This film hits on a theme of greed and the destruction of ones character and is very much, Film Noir.

Q: Do you think the film conforms to the tenets of Italian Neo-Realism? Do you think it challenges the conventions of Classical Hollywood Cinema?

A: This film is a keynote piece of Italian Neo-Realism. It represents everyday life and refuses to romanticize something that would not be romanticized outside of film. The film was filmed using non professional actors and it was shot in Rome which gave the film a very real feel. It followed the life of a lower class everyday man who makes questionable decisions once his bike has been stolen. It most definitely challenges the Classical Hollywood Cinema. There is no happy ending to the story, Antonio and Bruno simply walk into a crowd and fade into the world. De Sica does this almost to convey the everyday nature of their situation, a story that we would have no clue of had this been the first scene instead of the last scene. De Sica created this story as entertainment, but also as a story with a moral to be learned.

Q: Pick 2 of the 4 elements listed there and discuss the way they are used in the film.

Ones Picked: Mise-en-scene & Narrative

A: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is the pinpoint start of the German expressionism movement. Its narrative and the way that it used distortion in the backdrops and fantasy / horror makes it a classic. The mise-en-scene was particularly brilliant. The backdrop had a sort of distorted cartoonish look, which was most definitely done on purpose to further the plot of the story that Francis was, in fact, insane. The switch from the cartoonish, almost completely distorted backdrop of the village to the perfectly rigid and worldly look of the asylum displayed this switch from the perspective of an insane person to the narrative of the sane. The horror and fantasy aspect of the story really popped out with the plot twist towards the end of the story. It definitely came across as a Pioneer movie in the field of psychological horror rather than that of slasher horror.

Q: In Micheaux’s film, how does the depiction of the African American characters differ from that of Griffith (both narratively and aesthetically)? Are all of his characters clear-cut heroes or villains, like in Griffith’s film? Compare the final mob scene of Birth of a Nation with that of this film. In what ways are they similar or different?

A: Micheaux’s film depicts African Americans as human rather than D.W. Griffith’s narrative of them being evil or out to see the downfall of white civilization. Micheaux actually uses black actors as opposed to Griffith’s wanton use of blackface.

Within Our Gates‘ story is a tad convoluted in my opinion, but so is Birth of a Nation’s. The cinematography was much better in The Birth of a Nation, but the narrative of Within Our Gates is much better in terms of morals. Micheaux’s characters are not clear cut antagonists or protagonists, they are very human and I think he does this on purpose. In a way, to juxtapose his film and Griffiths film where African Americans were portrayed as sub-human monsters.

The end scene of TBoaN was much better cinematographically than Within Our Gates but the mob scene for the latter seemed like it had a better lead up than TBoaN’s lead up.

I chose the second question, Film as History, to answer for the first blog.

Here is the Question in its entirety:

“What filmic and narrative techniques does Griffith use to make us think we are watching a true, objective version of history (when clearly we are not)? List them.”

Here is my answer:

D.W. Griffith used many foundational tricks of film making, making it really important for film history. Unfortunately, the purpose of the film is to portray the Ku Klux Klan as the hero in a Post-Civil War south and portrays abolitionists as radicals, african americans from the north and newly freed slaves from the south as enemies, and the old south as a victim. The movie had a budget of $110,000 and received $60,000,000 in the box office. This film could easily be described as the exact opposite of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Griffith uses intertitles throughout the film as both quotations and excerpts from history books but mainly as narrative and speech. There is a scene near the intermission that is written by President Woodrow Wilson. This gives a historical feel to the situation, as does the entire first half of the movie with plenty of civil war reenacting. This first half of the movie being fairly unbiased, and then panning to the second half full of Post-war South sentiments made it feel historical but that could be because it is based on a historical-fiction novel by the name of “The Clansman.”

I think that the easiest way that Griffith made it feel historical was by making everything period dress. The costumes were very ornate and symbolic of the characters that were being portrayed. This made the film pretty easy to understand especially without sound. (besides the original orchestral arrangement for the movie) Using the costumes in this way, I believe that Griffith instilled a sense of nostalgia in people. The Civil War had ended exactly 50 years prior, and many of those who had lived during the war or even after the war had felt some forms of repercussions; family members fighting in the war, living through the Reconstruction period, animosity towards government and the turn towards vigilanteism all set the perfect background for this movie to be recruitment for the Second Ku Klux Klan.

Overall, Griffith portrays the movie as an objective historical film under the guise of artistic liberty, though in reality there were several undertones. Griffith had been a product of a home that was heavily influenced by the Civil War, especially being born to an officer of the Confederate Army in 1875. There is a lot of background on Griffith that would make his reasons for filming The Birth of a Nation make sense; but no matter what background is given his, there is no doubt that his portrayal of Reconstruction era south and glorification of the Ku Klux Klan influenced people for decades.