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Test on Monday, 12/6

The test will focus on Night of the Living Dead, Do the Right Thing, North By Northwest, and the key terms and concepts from chapter 2 of our textbook, Understanding Movies. Also, review everything from the beginning of the course, such as the definition of "rhetoric," and literary, dramatic, and cinematic aspects, etc.

Be sure to focus on these areas in your review:

• In North By Northwest: director's cameo; day for night shooting; rear screen projection effect; femme fatale; MacGuffin; final cut privileges; title credits; parody; montage; characterization & compression; visual irony; phallic symbol; visual foreshadowing; aural cue; character subtext; "stealing a shot"; film subtexts; "Becoming George Kaplan"; "The Matchless Eve Kendall"; "Murder scenes shot lovingly & love scenes shot murderously"; epiphany & character arc; how tension & suspense are created in "The Crop Dusting Scene." Be able to cite specific examples of these concepts from the film to prove your point
• In Night of the Living Dead: the zombie apocalypse genre and its conventions; continuity error; colorblind casting; "stealing a scene"; indie film; expressionism; subtexts (cultural/historical significance); ironies in the plot; final shot; director's cameo. Be able to cite specific examples of these concepts from the film to prove your point.
• In Do The Right Thing: title credits; match cut; breaking the fourth wall; montage; allusion; racial tensions in NYC; Spike Lee's DVD Special Features. Be able to cite specific examples of these concepts from the film to prove your point. 
• From Understanding Movies: (Ch. 2) Mise en scene ("placing on stage"), aspect ratio (standard vs. widescreen), iris shot, the dominant, subsidiary contrasts, intrinsic interest, tight vs. loose framing, character placement, composition, proxemic patterns, open vs. closed form.

Look over your notes, your homework assignments, and all Viewing Guides and handouts. Extra Help will be offered at 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, 12/2 in room 452.

Mise en Scene Analysis for NBNW

"Mise en scene" literally means the arrangement of performers and properties on a stage. A mise en scene analysis dissects the meaningful ways actors and objects are arranged in a frame of a film.

For homework, analyze this frame from Alfred Hitchcock's North By Northwest, and respond to the following questions. Please type and double-space your answers. It's DUE Monday, 11/22 and will be collected in class. (NOTE: clicking on the image will ENLARGE it!)

1) Briefly describe the context. What's happening at this moment in the film?
2) DOMINANT - What is your eye attracted to first? Why?
3) SUBSIDIARY CONTRASTS - What do your eyes notice next after taking in the DOMINANT?
4) COMPOSITION - How is the two-dimensional space segmented and organized? What is the underlying design? (S-shape? Triadic? Parallel? Symmetrical or asymmetrical?)
5) FORM - Open or closed? Explain. (Check your notes for what these terms mean!)
6) FRAMING - Tight or loose? Are the characters trapped (maybe even cropped) or can they move about freely without impediments?
7) CHARACTER PLACEMENT - What part of the framed space do the characters occupy? Center? Top? Bottom? Edges? Why?
8) CHARACTER PROXEMICS - How much space is there between the characters (Public, social, personal, or intimate?) and what does this say about their relationship?
9) Summary - Considering everything you've analyzed above, what does Hitchcock want us to feel at this moment in the film? How does the mise en scene contribute to Hitchcock's purpose?

Blog Topic #3 - COMMENT by 9:00 p.m. on Fri. 11/12

Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing chronicles the semi-fictional events of a sweltering hot day in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn. The climax of this controversial film depicts a race riot where a largely African-American mob destroys a pizzeria owned by Sal, a white Italian-American.

What precipitates the riot? Earlier in the day an African-American man (Buggin' Out) had insisted that Sal include some "Brothers" on the pizzeria's wall of fame, a kind of secular shrine reserved for famous Italian-Americans. When Sal refuses, tensions escalate eventually leading to fisticuffs between Sal and Radio Raheem, another African-American. With a baseball bat, Sal destroys Radio Raheem's giant boom box, and when the NYPD arrives they kill Radio Raheem with a chokehold while trying to restrain him. Mookie, an African-American and an employee of Sal's, is so incensed that he throws a garbage pail through the pizzeria's window, screaming "Hate!" and inciting the riot.

Please leave a comment on this post that responds to this question: Considering all of these events, is Mookie justified in starting the riot? Explain.

Remember that blog comments are at least 1 full paragraph (5-7 sentences). They should be well-written, entirely original, and highly specific (pointing to concrete examples in the film). Entries that are not proofread will not count! 

Test on Monday, 11/1

The test will focus on Jesus Camp, Run Lola Run, Modern Times, and the key terms and concepts from chapter 8 of our textbook, Understanding Movies. Also, review everything from the beginning of the course, such as the definition of "rhetoric," and literary, dramatic, and cinematic aspects, etc.

Be sure to focus on these areas in your review:

• In Run Lola Run: 5 visual aesthetics, epigraph, birds-eye view shot, split screen, pastiche, arc shot, crane or boom shot, steadicam, chaos theory, motifs (spirals, etc.), establishing sound, snorkel camera, montage, red filter, freeze frame, web of life plot, Lola as hero. Be able to cite specific examples of these concepts from the film to prove your point.
• In Jesus Camp: evangelical, culture war, praying in tongues, separation of church and state, Intelligent Design vs. Darwinian Evolution, the features of a documentary; where do you put the film on the 'spectrum of film types' between cinema verite and 60 Minutes style documentaries?; in your opinion, does the film inform or persuade? Be able to cite specific examples of these concepts from the film to prove your point. 
• In Modern Times: silent film, inter-title, characterization of the Tramp, episodic structure, motifs of police officers & food, sight gags & slapstick, final shot. DVD Special Features: deleted scene, original ending, all voices filtered through technology & 24 frames per second. Be able to cite specific examples of these concepts from the film to prove your point.
• In Chapter 8 - Understanding Movies: mimesis, diegesis, avant-garde, plot, story, conventions, genre, classical paradigm (including exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, resolution & closure), linear vs. non linear narratives, realism as style, rites of passage, cinema verite

Look over your notes, your homework assignments, and all Viewing Guides and handouts. Extra Help will be offered at 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, 10/28 in room 452.

Writing an Argument for 'Run Lola Run'

The Assignment: Write an original essay arguing for where you place Run Lola Run on the style spectrum. Regardless of where you place it overall, make certain you address the film’s formalistic, classical, and realistic aspects. Be sure to consider narrative structure and visual style. 

Remember some of the key elements of an argument: a thesis statement that contains what you intend to argue for; specific evidence from the film that supports your thesis, and a conclusion that sums up your ideas without repeating your introduction word for word.

This essay must be 1-2 pages, typed and double-spaced. It should be convincing and well written, following the conventions of standard written English. 

Be certain to demonstrate a thorough knowledge of Run Lola Run and the various film styles we have studied.

Check out the director's statement and see what he thinks about the film's style. (If you use any information from the article, be sure to give credit to your source!)


DUE: Monday, 10/25

Blog Topic #2 - COMMENT by 9:00 p.m. on Fri. 10/15

Jesus Camp documents the attempt by some adults to indoctrinate children into their religious and political beliefs. Are these actions fair or unfair? Isn't it correct to say that most of us have "inherited" our religious and political views from our parents? Is Jesus Camp showing us this, or something else? Explain.

Remember that blog comments are at least 1 full paragraph (5-7 sentences). They should be well-written, entirely original, and highly specific (pointing to concrete examples in the film). Entries that are not proofread will not count!

And check this out too: it's "I Love You and Buddha Too" by Mason Jennings. Thanks for the link, Elana!