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COM 329, Contemporary Film Spring 2013 Out-of-Class Viewing for Final—Study Points Please do not limit yourself to these points!

1. Out-of-class Viewing 1: Ang Lee, Eat Drink Man Woman, Taiwan, 1994 - Intended to exemplify some content from the Chaudhuri textbook (e.g., Taiwanese New Wave in Chapter 5) but also Ang Lee’s status as renaissance filmmaker, as indicated in the class PowerPoint on Lee: - Lee’s diverse international background - This film as one of Lee’s “Father Knows Best Trilogy” - Does father really know best? How are traditional patriarchal values challenged? - The use of the late Taiwanese actor Sihung Lung as father in all three films of the trilogy - The funding of this film by Taiwanese sources—why? - Also: - Consider the film’s title, a quote from the Confucian text, the Book of Rites—it refers to basic human needs - Compare this work to Ang Lee’s other films—including such variety as Sense and Sensibility (1995), Brokeback Mountain (2005), and Life of Pi (2012)

2. Out-of-class Viewing 2: Wong Kar-Wai, either Chungking Express, Hong Kong, 1994, OR In the Mood for Love, Hong Kong, 2000 - Intended to exemplify content from Chapter 6 of the Chaudhuri textbook: - A prime example of Hong Kong New Wave - A new technical and visual sophistication - Gender-bending also a theme for HKNW—present here? - Wong Kar-Wai as auteur - French New Wave inspiration, contemporary pop romantic, MTV aesthetic - Constructing his films in editing, after shooting in a “random, improvisatory manner” - Manipulation of time as a motif--“ungraspable moments constantly slip away” - Use of intersection as a key device, characters co-present, “briefly sharing closeness without realizing it” - Collaboration with cinematographer Christopher Doyle (whose directorial work we saw in the Chinatown segment of Paris, je t’aime) - Lack of establishing shots (i.e., no shots to give the viewer an overview of the physical geography of a scene’s space)—what impact does this have on the viewer? - Also: - Wong Kar-Wai’s own background may help us understand his motives and stylistics— his mainland Chinese birth and early upbringing, and his education and adulthood in Hong Kong - Look for his insertion of many “Western” cultural artifacts in his films—e.g., foods, brands, music (e.g., Nat King Cole in In the Mood; rock, reggae, American standards in Chungking Express) 2

3. Out-of-class Viewing 3: Paul Thomas Anderson, Boogie Nights, U.S., 1997 - Intended to exemplify content from Chapter 22 of the Williams and Hammond textbook: - A prime example of “Smart Cinema” (Dr. N says “Smart Ass Cinema”) - Irony, black humor, cynicism - “The lust for the grim precludes the good” - Irony and disengaged tone as a means of “critiquing mainstream taste and culture” - “Blank style”—an attempt to convey the story, no matter how sensationalistic, disturbing, or bizarre, with a sense of dampened affect (i.e., little or no emotion); use of incongruity; a sense of fatalism or nihilism - “The postmodern ensemble ‘fucked by fate’. . . the centrality of coincidence and synchronicity as an organizing principle” (e.g., think of the convenience store robbery scene) - Alienation within the white middle class - Alienation within contemporary consumer culture - Also: - This is perhaps Dr. Paul Skalski’s favorite film; Things Dr. Skalski likes about this film, besides its status as a work of Smart Cinema: - The great sense of the 1970s created by the era-appropriate compilation rock score - The great ensemble cast, particularly the juxtaposition of talented up-and- comers like Don Cheadle and Philip Seymour Hoffman with a comeback performance by Burt Reynolds and cameos by porn stars and by underground filmmaker Robert Downey Sr. - Direction by Paul Thomas Anderson, who has purposefully followed closely in the footsteps of Robert Altman - Compare with The Player (1992) by Robert Altman, the “godfather” of Smart Cinema - Compare with the true story of 1970s porn star John Holmes, including the drug-related Wonderland murders

4. Out-of-class Viewing 4: Karan Johar, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, India, 2001 - Intended to exemplify content from Chapters 7 and 8 of the Chaudhuri textbook: - A prime example of popular Indian cinema (“Bollywood”) - Has all the tropes: - Epic story encompassing a large ensemble, multi-generational cast - Intense emotionality - Lavish musical productions that are integral to/necessary for plot propulsion - The threat of the family-arranged marriage, and the alternative of the “arranged love marriage” - A focus on the lifestyles of the super-rich (note that this is similar to the use of the super-rich in American screwball comedies during the Great Depression…utter fantasy) - A reliance on top box office stars (here, an all-star cast--Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Kajol, and Kareena Kapoor (yes, one of the Kapoors)) 3

- Aims at the three audiences for such films: India’s poor, India’s middle class, and the Indian diaspora around the world (think of content that appeals to each) - Also: - As mentioned on the Bollywood Clips online handout, this film is a clear example of “Masala”—a mix of everything, all emotions represented…indeed, the title of the film means “Sometimes happy, sometimes sad” - At the time of its release, this film was India’s #1 box office hit of all time