Humanities 224 Contemporary Global Cinema

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES (CLOs) 1. Connect how the social and political times in which a film is produced affects its style and content. 2. Explain why film is becoming an international art. 3. Identify national and universal issues being addressed in foreign films from a variety of countries. 4. Analyze global social, economic, and political issues addressed in foreign films from multiple perspectives 5. Articulate personal responses to current global film productions and reconsider these responses as knowledge and experience change. 6. Differentiate between film as mass consumption and film as cultural art. 7. Research and present information about historical times, places, and people portrayed in films viewed in class, and make judgments regarding the accuracy of interpretations suggested in the film. 8. By carefully using facts, make accurate generalizations about people of other cultures without stereotyping or showing bias. 9. Demonstrate an aesthetic understanding of current national film movements and auteur directors. 10. Draw reasonable inferences about cultural values visualized in global cinema. 11. Actively and enthusiastically demonstrate involvement in the issues being explored in classroom discussions. 12. Draw information from a variety of printed and visual sources and clearly present that information in both written and oral formats. 13. Demonstrate effective social interaction behavior while working with groups. 14. Be prepared for and actively participate in group and class activities.

Course Outline

I. Third : films from the underdeveloped emerging nations that explicitly examine the political, social and cultural issues of those nations, especially the nations of Latin America and Africa. A. Methods and goals of film production 1. Well-developed, sophisticated and nationalized film, as in Cuba, Bolivia and Chile 2. Cinema made by several Third World countries who make a small number of feature films for both national consumption and international distribution, as in Senegal, Egypt, and Ethiopia 3. Films from countries with such repressive totalitarian governments that the films become underground acts of rebellion as in Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, and Peru B. Themes shared by Third World films - nationalism 1. An attack on the affluent nations of Europe and America 2. Criticism of the unimaginable poverty of the peasants 3. Contrast of the old backward methods and traditions with the new, often resulting in a loss of a treasured culture C. Marxist themes and methods shared by Third World films 1. The use of film as a tool for social change 2. The assumption that imperialism and neocolonialism exploit the peasantry and proletariat 3. An identification with oppressed groups such as women, outcasts, and racial minorities

1 4. The belief in the equal worth of all human beings 5. A rejection of religion D. Style is neorealistic 1. Low budget traits 2. Realistic mise en scene and sound II. Fifth Generation Chinese Cinema A. Convergence and collaboration among Hong Kong, China and Taiwan 1. Films about hardship and injustice in the era before Communism 2. Films about suffering from the excess of Communist political dogma B. Major artists of the Fifth Generation 1. Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou - depict the workings of politics and ideology at a human level, filming the daily life they had observed in the countryside during the Cultural Revolution 2. Ang Lee - from Taiwan - producing and directing international productions, e.g. Sense and Sensibility III. English language cinema from nations such as Australia, Britain, Canada, and New Zealand A. Great Britain possesses the economic and cultural resources to develop mainstream projects that Hollywood could not do well and blends - 1. The old: literate scripts, first-rate , a high level of craftsmanship, and an intense class consciousness with 2. The new: an obsession with the recent past 3. Many of the works are adaptations of respected literature, such as A Room with a View, and Howard's End 4. Themes are deeply felt affirmations of such British virtues as civility, duty and courage, especially in troubled times B. Australia 1. The government subsidizes films with local content that feature history and topography of Australia 2. "Ocker" comedies - feature a male protagonist presented as being typically Australian: naive, vulgar, not too bright, good hearted, and down to earth, - e.g., Crocodile Dundee 3. Well known auteurs include Peter Weir, Bruce Beresford, Fred Schipiai, Fillian Armstrong and George Miller a. Many of the directors of importance are now making films in Hollywood b. directors find the transition to Hollywood easy, and find it difficult to hold on to their "Australianness" C. Canada 1. Experienced a sudden and unexpected boom in feature cinema production due to government grants and tax incentives 2. Canada is often referred to as Hollywood north a. Canadian films are very Hollywood in style b. Numerous Hollywood films are being made in Hollywood 3. A truly Canadian cinema does exist in the work of new directors, primarily from Quebec D. The Small but developing industries 1. New Zealand: Jane Campion's The Piano 2. Scotland: Bill Forsyth's Gregory Girl

2 3. Ireland: Jim Sheridan's My Left Foot

IV. Eastern European current cinema production is beginning to recover from recent economic crises and political upheavals A. Traits Eastern European cinema share 1. Filmmakers are enjoying a new freedom of personal expression 2. New methods and techniques are breaking from traditional forms 3. The most important films are departing from the usual entertainment emphasis 4. Films offer the moral, ethical, and aesthetic sustenance looked for in art works B. National emphasis for individual countries 1. U.S.S.R. a. Greater efforts are being made to reach international audiences and the financial returns this will bring b. New auteurs include Nihita Mikhalkov and Andrei Tarkovsky 2. Yugoslavia: Film production has virtually ceased due to the bloody civil war, and it is impossible to predict what kinds of films may emerge when it is ended 3. Czechoslovakia: Most distinctive cinematic contribution has been in celebration and gentle criticism of individual lives lived more or less oblivious to the earthshaking events that have marked its history along with that of its neighbors 4. Hungary: Cinema has an emphasis on life in the villages rather than life in the big city, with strong ties to Hungarian literature 5. Poland: Films seem to be increasingly concerned with moral choices being made by ordinary people well outside the public issues of their time V.RVI. Recent European Cinema of , , , Germany, and Scandinavian countries - "The Eurofilm" A. Most-noted films internationally financed, made by creative personnel drawn from several countries and designed for worldwide consumption 1. Additional funding through governments: state-owned television, state subsidies, and tax exemptions for investments in cinema 2. Private funding through independent television, banks and corporations and media conglomerates B. Content of Eurofilms 1. Popular genres and literary adaptations 2. Retreat from the radical extremes of political criticism 3. Depiction of middle class social problems 4. Portrayal of history and psychological experiences C. Art cinema revived in Eurofilms 1. Emphasis on the beauty of the image 2. Less emphasis on the narrative line 3. Emphasis on universality of themes rather than a D. Selected new Eurofilm auteur directors 1. German: Rainer Fassbinder, , Wim Wenders 2. Spain: , Pedro Almodovar 3. Italy: Vittorio and Paolo Taviani, Lina Wertmuller, 4. France: Claude Le Louche, Claude Berri, Jean Rappenau,

3 VII. Middle Eastern Cinema - a diverse cinema A. Israel 1. Small that focuses on psychological problems of the middle class or films of personal reflection 2. Major current auteur director - Moshe Mizrahi 3. Strong affiliation with the western world and encourages co-productions with European countries B. Egypt/Syria/Lebanon/Kuwait/Jordan 1. More closely tied to third world cinema style, with new cinemas primarily conveying social protests 2. Most famous auteur - Youssef Chahine C. Turkey 1. Strong government censorship and punishment of filmmakers who expose the government's oppression. 2. Attempting to attract western capital since most films must be made with European co- financing D. Iraq/Iran 1. Strong government control of the industry 2. Films must reflect Middle Eastern culture and/or condemn western traditions 3. Newest Iranian-acclaimed production The White Balloon, directed by Jafar Pahahi VIII. India : quantity is high and quality is low A. Quantity: leader in the number of films produced per year 1. Distributed only in the local market as the only form of popular entertainment 2. Subject to fierce government intervention 3. Must have "stars," singing and dancing, and end happily B. Quality: 1. - India's premier filmmaker a. Unites the traditions of India's culture, painting and mystic beliefs with Western cinema b. Focus falls on personal relationships and the small intimacies of everyday life. 2. New Cinema a. Examines social problems (often from a Marxist perspective) b. Neorealistic in style c. Mira Nair's Salaam Bombay is an example of New Cinema which has no place in Bombay's mainstream industry IX. Multinational Art Cinema A. Film production is crossing national boundaries for three main reasons: political, economic and thematic. 1. Political reasons have forced exodus of filmmakers from their homelands a. "Blacklisted" Hollywood filmmakers to Europe b. Eastern Europeans to the United States 2. International co-productions solve economic problems, and an international assortment of stars guarantees box-office appeal in more than one country 3. Some filmmakers shoot outside native boundaries because thematic commitments require the alternative visual or social environment

4 B. Examples of multinational films 1. The Last Emperor: source-autobiography of Pu YI, From Emperor to Citizen, published in China; screenplay - Mark Poploe (English); director - Bernardo Bertolucci (Italian); budgeted - five British and European banks; principal crew members - Italian; cast - substantial number of Chinese-Americans from California; filmed - in China and Rome; distributed - Shochiku-Fuji, a Japanese conglomerate 2. The Three Musketeers, according to director, Richard Lester: It was a film whose producer had a Mexican passport and who was the honorary consul for Costa Rica in Switzerland. The company that employed me was from Liechtenstein, the company that produced the film in pre-production was French; it was a Spanish film when it was made. I found out afterwards that I'd probably made the best Panamanian film ever, and in the end it qualified for the British as a British film. The technicians were almost entirely British but the cast were primarily Americans and the film was shot in Spain. The money came from God knows where. All I know is that whenever one asked the producers about profits, they started speaking in Russian.

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