DOCSLIB.ORG

Western Colonial Powers Have Largely and Deliberately Dismissed The

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Western Colonial Powers Have Largely and Deliberately Dismissed The THE CULTURAL FRAGMENTATION OF CINEMATIC VODOU CHRISTIAN REMSE Voodoo, or Vodun, as it will be termed here, following native pronunciation, is a complex of African belief and ritual governing in large measure the religious life of the Haitian peasantry.1 Western colonial powers have largely and deliberately dismissed the complex and elaborated system of Haiti’s peasant religion Vodou as primitive cult associated with animal sacrifices, heathenism, witchcraft, and even Satanism in order to demonize its practitioners of African descent and legitimate their enslavement. Even after or because of the end of slavery in Haiti through the success of the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804), Western contemporary popular culture discourse such as Hollywood’s film industry still perpetuates these negative stereotypes.2 Claudine Michel notes in her essay 1 Herskovits, Melville J., Life in a Haitian Valley, Princeton, NJ: Markus Wiener Publishers, 2007, 139. 2 The origin of Vodou’s misrepresentation through popular culture texts goes back to the American occupation of Haiti between 1915 and 1934. During that time, guerilla rebels successfully fought US Marines. This resistance against the US troops freed Haitians from Western economic and cultural hegemony. At the same time, the prevailing racist ideology during the time of occupation persuaded the US Marine that it is impossible for inferior black slaves to triumph over white supremacy. Instead, the US Marines believed that the success of the resistance against Western hegemony must be attributed to black magic, a similar catalyst that once spurred the Haitian Revolution in 1791. This black magic, according to their understanding, was Vodou. The US Marine officer W.H. Seabrook was one of the first who dispersed this racist but popular superstition in his prominent colonial narrative The Magic Island (1929), in which his biased observation has falsely rendered the Haitian belief into a diabolic and cannibalistic cult. The Hollywood film industry adopted Seabrook’s narrative as 112 Christian Remse “Vodou in Haiti: Way of Life and Mode of Survival” that the cinematic representation of Vodou in the successful motion picture Angel Heart (1987) has a “deleterious influence”.3 Angel Heart, directed by Alan Parker, revolves around the ominous Louis Cyphre/Lucifer (Robert De Niro) who hires New York private investigator Harry Angel (Mickey Rourke) in order to detect the big band crooner and traumatized World War II veteran Johnny Liebling, also known as Johnny Favorite. After Angel finds Favorite’s psychiatrist Dr Albert Fowler (Michael Higgins) murdered, the private detective decides to further investigate the case by traveling to New Orleans in order to meet with the white Satanist and Johnny Favorite’s love Margaret Krusemark (Charlotte Rampling). Hoping she would be able to tell him Favorite’s whereabouts, Angel interviews Krusemark but – like any other informant who crosses Angel’s way – she is also found murdered immediately after the interview. As the quest for Favorite proceeds, Angel oscillates between the realm of Satanism embodied by Louis Cyphre/Lucifer and Vodou personified by the young Vodou priestess (mambo) Epiphany Proudfoot (Lisa Bonet), who engages in a love affair with Angel. What at first glance appears to be a straightforward interconnectedness between Vodou and Satanism and thus a blatant misrepresentation of Haiti’s peasant religion upon closer examination emerges as a more complex construct. This essay therefore argues that the film rather redirects the trajectory of such symptomatic connection between Vodou and Satanism. Through positioning Angel Heart in a postmodern framework (an interpretive step that is culturally relevant due to the film’s release in 1987, a year that ties into the timeframe of Fredric Jameson and Jean Baudrillard’s writings), the film may be read as emblematic of culturally fragmenting Vodou since it leaves the viewer with an undetermined dynamic between Vodou and Satanism. It is therefore no longer unambiguous that Angel Heart misrepresents Vodou as evil and occult force, although many critics such as initiated Vodouists claim otherwise. model for its first Vodou-based motion picture, the zombie horror film White Zombie (1932). After White Zombie many other prominent Vodou-centered films such as the James Bond picture Live and Let Die (1973) and Angel Heart (1987) have followed. 3 Angel Heart, dir. Alan Parker, with Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, and Lisa Bonet, 1987, DVD. .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Our TIFF: Geoffrey Rush Smoking with the Riff-Raff 11-01-28 1:24 PM Our TIFF: Geoffrey Rush Smoking with the Riff-Raff
    Our TIFF: Geoffrey Rush smoking with the riff-raff 11-01-28 1:24 PM Our TIFF: Geoffrey Rush smoking with the riff-raff TIFF most down-to-earth celebrity? Geoffrey Rush casually shared a smoke or two with regular folks on the sidewalk outside the It Might Get Loud party at the George Pimentel for National Post SoHo Metropolitan. National Post · Friday, Sept. 12, 2008 How the Post’s team of reporters saw this year’s film festival. By Nathalie Atkinson, Vanessa Farquharson, Shinan Govani, Ben Kaplan, Chris Knight, Adam McDowell, Katherine Monk, Jay Stone and Bob Thompson Best festival motto OK, there is only one: For the love of film. But it’s so flexible. Say it in a straight voice and it’s about how much you enjoy movies. Add a sarcastic tone and it doubles as an epithet for when you’ve just been turned away from a party, or had your cab snatched by Julianne Moore: “Oh, for the love of film!” C.K. Best star-sighting vantage point If you can, land this coveted spot: the corner table behind the mesh divider at the Hazelton’s lobby bar, which offers perfect sightlines to the hotel’s patio, restaurant, lobby, elevators and washroom corridor, so you don’t miss a single star. It’s celebrity central: Mickey Rourke, Marilyn Manson and Evan Rachel Wood, Adrian Brody, Mark Ruffalo, überpublicist Stephen Huvane and the last emperor himself, Valentino, all waltzed through. Within the same hour. (Bonus: Harvey Weinstein is often ensconced at a side table taking pitches, like an audience with the Pope.) N.A.
    [Show full text]
  • Darren Aronofsky's Films and the Fragility of Hope. Jadranka Skorin-Kapov. Bloomsbury, 2015
    Darren Aronofsky’s Films and the Fragility of Hope. Jadranka Skorin-Kapov. Bloomsbury, 2015 (216 pages). Logan Davis Darren Aronofsky’s Films and the Fragility of Hope, which discusses all of the American director’s films released from 1998 to 2014, is author Jadranka Skorin-Kapov’s third book and her first text related directly to film studies. Previous books by the author, who is a professor in Stony Brook University’s College of Business, primarily address aesthetics and continental philosophy. Her diverse scholarly background proves to be an important asset for this book wherein the author uses key terms from the disciplines that she is a part of, compares Aronofsky to multiple existential philosophers and discusses the symbolic significance of spirals and other mathematical patterns in Pi (1998), for example. Film scholar Tarja Laine’s new book, Bodies in Pain: Emotion and the Cinema of Darren Aronofsky, released approximately six months before Skorin-Kapov’s work on the director, instead focuses on the science of emotion and phenomenology. Laine’s book and Skorin-Kapov’s book are both pioneering products of Aronofsky scholarship, a relatively new field, with Skorin-Kapov addressing a wide variety of themes prevalent in Aronofsky’s output, from Pi to Noah (2014), and Laine preferring topic specificity over topic diversity. Skorin-Kapov’s analysis does seem to take movie length into account, though, with the chapter on Pi being considerably shorter than the book’s other chapters. The book’s simple, chronological structure (with each chapter dedicated to a single Aronofsky film, by year of release) showcases that each film of the director’s output functions as an independent work of art, although a signature preference for certain kinds of props (such as grapefruit), settings (such as restrooms) and themes (such as the pursuit of perfection) can be observed easily throughout his work.
    [Show full text]
  • The Wrestler
    THE WRESTLER EEN FILM VAN DARREN ARONOFSKY WILD BUNCH HAARLEMMERDIJK 159 - 1013 KH – AMSTERDAM WWW.WILDBUNCH.NL THE PUBLICITY COMPANY [email protected] The Wrestler – Darren Aronofsky PROJECT SUMMARY SYNOPSIS NL Eind jaren ’80 was Randy “The Ram” Robinson Een productie van Protozoa Pictures (Mickey Rourke) , een succesvol professioneel Taal Engels worstelaar. Nu -20 jaar later- teert hij nog Lengte 105 minuten steeds op zijn succes van vroeger door shows Genre Drama te geven voor een handvol fanatieke fans. Land van herkomst Verenigde Staten Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky Vervreemd van zijn dochter (Evan Rachel Hoofdrollen Mickey Rourke, Wood) en niet in staat om een echte relatie te Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei behouden, leeft Randy voor de adrenaline van Releasedatum 12 februari 2009 zijn shows en de adoratie van zijn fans. Nominaties Academy Awards 2009 Vanwege een zware hartaanval wordt Randy gedwongen vervroegd met pensioen te gaan. Best Performance by an Actor in a Een vooruitzicht dat hij moeilijk kan Motion Picture - Drama accepteren, maar die hem dwingt om zijn Mickey Rourke leven te evalueren. Hij probeert de relatie met zijn dochter nieuw leven in te blazen en een Best Performance by an Actress opbloeiende romance met stripper Cassidy in a supporting Role in a Motion Picture (Marisa Tomei) een serieuze kans te geven. Marisa Tomei Maar dit lijkt niet op te wegen tegen de allure van het leven in de ring, waardoor Randy zich Awards Golden Globes 2009 tegen beter weten in, nog één keer voorbereidt om een grote finale te worstelen. Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama SYNOPSIS ENGELS Mickey Rourke Back in the late ’80s, Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke) was a headlining Best Original Song professional wrestler.
    [Show full text]
  • Questionnaire an Actor: Eddie Murphy
    Questionnaire An actor: Eddie Murphy The film actor Eddie Murphy was born on April 3 rd 1961 in Brooklyn, New York City. His father Charles was a policeman in the NYC public transport system and his mother Lilian was a telephone operator. When Eddie was 3, his parents divorced and, 6 years later, Lillan married a factory worker called Vernon Lynch. The family moved to Roosevelt, Long Island, a predominantly black suburb 20 miles from New York. Even as a small child Eddie was an excellent mimic. "My mother says I never talked in my own voice - always cartoon characters." Because of his natural ability to amuse people he soon became the most popular kid at Roosevelt High School. When he was only 15 he worked as a disc jockey at a local youth club and discovered that audiences loved his style of humour too. Just a few months after leaving school, in 1979, he found a regular job as a comedian in a New York night club called "The Comic Strip". His reputation grew and he was invited to appear on the popular television comedy show "Saturday Night Live", which is shown across the whole country. However it was his first film, a thriller with Nick Nolte called "48 Hours" in 1982, which really made him famous. "Beverly Hills Cop", his most successful comedy films, was made 2 years later. Everybody thinks that the role of Axel Foley in this film was created for Eddie Murphy but, in fact, he was not the first choice. Mickey Rourke, Sylvester Stallone and even Jack Nicholson were considered for the part before him.
    [Show full text]
  • Student Predicts 2009 Oscar Winners
    6 Arts & Life Editors Eva Piatek Alison Swety Campus Comment Arts & Life Alexis Sullivan Student predicts 2009 Oscar winners COMMENTARY BY havoc on her family in “Rachel MEGAN WALSH Getting Married.” Staff Writer Best Supporting Actor Nomi- The movie industry’s biggest nees: Josh Brolin, “Milk”; Robert award ceremony, the Oscars, is Downey, Jr., “Tropic Thunder”; three days away. The 81st Acad- Phillip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt”; emy Awards will be broadcast Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”; this Sunday, February 22, and will Michael Shannon, “Revolutionary award the crème-de-la-crème of Road.” 2008 cinema. Some big names Who Will Win: Heath Ledger. (Anne Hathaway, Robert Downey, This one is pretty much locked. Jr., Penélope Cruz) and big films Two reasons why: his phenom- (“The Dark Knight,” “Tropic Thun- enal performance in the role and der,” “Doubt”) are up for awards his untimely death last year. The this year, as well as a couple (Brad other nominees aren’t much com- and Angelina), the Oscar Queen petition, so expect the late Ledger (Meryl Streep) and a deceased ac- to receive a posthumous award on tor (Heath Ledger). Oscar night. Here are the nominees along with my thoroughly researched Best Supporting Actress: Amy predictions of who will leave the Adams, “Doubt”; Penélope Cruz, ceremony with statuettes of gold- “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”; Viola en men on Sunday night: Davis, “Doubt”; Taraji P. Henson, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Best Picture Nominees: “The Button”; Marisa Tomei, “The Wres- Curious Case of Benjamin But- tler.” ton,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk,” “The Who Will Win: Penélope Cruz.
    [Show full text]
  • A STAGED READING Submitted.Pdf
    A STAGED READING written by Max Sparber 2734 Humboldt Ave #18 Minneapolis, MN 55404 952-666-8173 [email protected] 1 A STAGED READING SETTING: Chairs on a stage, or whatever other environment might have a staged reading of a new original script. AT RISE: The cast is on the stage, the director, BRANDY BRINGER, is in front of the audience, addressing the cast. BRANDY BRINDER I never liked theater and every single one of you know it. I don't like actors in particular. I tried to direct a play once using only paper cups with faces glued on them, and I'll tell you the truth, and the truth is that paper cups emote better than a lot of actors. Sure, they don't talk much, but, Christ, they know how to listen, and what is acting but listening and emoting? And I had used a celebrity magazine, and so I had a hell of a cast, I had Tom Cruise and I had Princess Diana and I had that small one, you know, the gay one, you know who I mean, no, not Tom Cruise, I already mentioned him, anyway it was an all star cast. As it happens there is a celebrity in this production, Mickey Rourke, stand up if you don't mind. (Mickey Rourke stands, sits.) BRANDY BRINDER Anyway, Ellen Degeneres. That's who it was. Jesus, she's good. Or, at least, a cup with her face glued on it is good. I bet she's just a monster to work with. They all are.
    [Show full text]
  • Movie Data Analysis.Pdf
    FinalProject 25/08/2018, 930 PM COGS108 Final Project Group Members: Yanyi Wang Ziwen Zeng Lingfei Lu Yuhan Wang Yuqing Deng Introduction and Background Movie revenue is one of the most important measure of good and bad movies. Revenue is also the most important and intuitionistic feedback to producers, directors and actors. Therefore it is worth for us to put effort on analyzing what factors correlate to revenue, so that producers, directors and actors know how to get higher revenue on next movie by focusing on most correlated factors. Our project focuses on anaylzing all kinds of factors that correlated to revenue, for example, genres, elements in the movie, popularity, release month, runtime, vote average, vote count on website and cast etc. After analysis, we can clearly know what are the crucial factors to a movie's revenue and our analysis can be used as a guide for people shooting movies who want to earn higher renveue for their next movie. They can focus on those most correlated factors, for example, shooting specific genre and hire some actors who have higher average revenue. Reasrch Question: Various factors blend together to create a high revenue for movie, but what are the most important aspect contribute to higher revenue? What aspects should people put more effort on and what factors should people focus on when they try to higher the revenue of a movie? http://localhost:8888/nbconvert/html/Desktop/MyProjects/Pr_085/FinalProject.ipynb?download=false Page 1 of 62 FinalProject 25/08/2018, 930 PM Hypothesis: We predict that the following factors contribute the most to movie revenue.
    [Show full text]
  • The Thin Red Line
    The Thin Red Line Context/Production Great changes in M’s absence and success of Jaws (!975) and Star Wars (1977): blockbusters, sequels, high concept products plus acquisition of production studios by multinational corps with consequent impact on individual filmmaking. Fox ad campaign stressed return of auteur and significant aesthetic event Flanagan 128) Production: shot in Australia (100 days) Solomon Islands (24 days) and U.S. (3); original cut was just under 6 hours (=1 million + feet); Sony dropped plans to produce, fearing cost overruns ($52m—“moderate by contemporary standards” (Flanagan 129)), but Fox took over project. Malick fell out with producers Robert Michael Geisler and John Roberdeau (VF article) Incredible list of actors who did screen tests or readings (Martin Sheen, Dermot Mulroney, Kevin Costner) or whose work was left on cutting room floor (Billy Bob Thornton, Bill Pullman, Lukas Haas, Viggo Mortensen, Mickey Rourke). Cinematographer John Toll had won AA for Dances with Wolves (1990) Spielberg’s SPR: anti-war mythos of 1970s proves “inadequate against the revived myth of the global war as the Good War” (Streamas in Patterson 138). SS = “the anti-Malick (in terms of industriousness, public recognition and commercial achievement)” (Flanagan in Patterson 124); comparing opening scene of SPR with deserted beach in TRL; vs. intensity of SPR’s opening twenty minutes, TRL creates tension “simply by having nothing happen” (Doherty) // Aguirre; compare closing graveyard scenes Remake of 1964 film, directed by Andrew Marton,
    [Show full text]
  • Holiday Trivia Game
    Holiday Trivia Game 1. In the 1988 film “Scrooge,” the character 7. The little girl who’s skeptical about Santa played by Bill Murray is a cold-hearted: Clause in “Miracle on 34th Street” is played by: a) banker a) Natalie Wood b) TV executive b) Audrey Hepburn c) police officer c) Anne Bancroft d) politician d) Sharon Stone 8. 2. Miracle on 34th Street revolves around What’s the name of George Bailey’s guardian which department store? angel in “It’s a Wonderful Life?” a) Bloomingdale’s a) Ariel b) Macy’s b) Henry c) Parisian c) Clarence d) Neiman Marcus d) Frank 9. In “Home Alone, “a young boy is abandoned 3. In “It’s a Wonderful Life,” George Bailey as a when his parents rush to a holiday vacation in: boy suffers an injury to his: a) Vermont a) foot b) London b) arm c) Paris c) eyes d) New York d) ear 10. The 1982 Barry Levinson film “Diner” is set in which city? 4. “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is written by: a) New York b) Cleveland a) Tim Burton c) Baltimore b) Martin Scorsese d) Boston c) Jimmy Stewart d) Danny DeVito 11. Which of the following actors was NOT in “Diner?” 5. “White Christmas” is set in a) Kevin Bacon a) Colorado b) Ellen Barkin c) Matt Dillon b) Montana d) Mickey Rourke c) New Hampshire d) Vermont 12. What happens to the character played by Tim Allen in “The Santa Clause?” 6. Who plays Bing Crosby’s Army buddy a) he gains weight in “White Christmas?” b) grows a beard a) Jimmy Stewart c) he gets fired b) Dean Martin d) all of the above c) Danny Kaye d) Bob Hope Holiday Trivia Game ANSWER KEY 1.
    [Show full text]
  • KEN DIAZ Make-Up Artist A.M.P.M.A.S & IATSE LOCAL 706
    KEN DIAZ Make-Up Artist A.M.P.M.A.S & IATSE LOCAL 706 FILM UTOPIA Department Head Make-Up Amazon Prime Cast: Sasha Lane, John Cusack THE TAX COLLECTOR Personal Make-Up Artist to Shia LeBeouf Cross Creek Pictures, LLC. Director: David Ayer HONEY BOY Department Head Automatik Director: Alma Har’el Cast: Shia LaBeouf BIRD BOX Department Head Netflix Director: Susanne Bier Cast: John Malkovich, Tom Hollander, Machine Gun Kelly AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR Tattoo Designer Marvel Studios Directors: Anthony and Joe Russo Cast: Danai Gurira WIDOWS Personal Make-Up Artist to Robert Duvall New Regency Pictures Director: Steve McQueen BLACK PANTHER Assistant Department Head and Tattoo Designer Marvel Studios Director: Ryan Coogler Cast: Danai Gurira, Forest Whitaker Nominee: Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild Award for Best Special Make-Up Effects LOGAN Assistant Department Head 20th Century Fox Director: James Mangold Cast: Boyd Hollbrook, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Elise Neal FIRST THEY KILLED MY FATHER: A Department Head DAUGHTER OF CAMBODIA REMEMBERS Director: Angelina Jolie SHOT CALLER Department Head/Tattoo Design Relativity Studios Director: Roman Waugh Cast: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Jon Bernthal, Benjamin Bratt THE LONGEST RIDE Department Head 20th Century Fox Director: George Tillman Jr. Cast: Alan Alda, Oona Chaplin, Jack Huston THE JUDGE Personal Make-up Artist To Robert Duvall Warner Bros. Director: David Dobkin THE MILTON AGENCY Ken Diaz 6715 Hollywood Blvd #206, Los Angeles, CA 90028 Makeup Telephone: 323.466.4441 Facsimile: 323.460.4442 IATSE 706 [email protected] www.miltonagency.com Page 1 of 5 OUT OF THE FURNACE Department Head Relativity Media Director: Scott Cooper Cast: Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Zoe Saldana, Woody Harrelson A NIGHT IN OLD MEXICO Department Head VT Films Director: Emilio Aragon Cast: Robert Duvall, Jeremy Irvine K-11 Department Head Libertine Films Director: Jules Mann-Stewart Cast: Kate Del Castillo, Goran Visnjic, D.B.
    [Show full text]
  • Celebrity Guest Biographies
    Celebrity Guest Biographies Gbenga Akinnagbe Gbenga Akinnagbe (born December 12, 1978) is an American actor and writer, best known for his role as Chris Partlow on the HBO series The Wire.[1] In 2007, Akinnagbe appeared in the film The Savages with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Linney, and Philip Bosco. He appeared in the remake of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, which was released by Sony in June 2009. Akinnagbe made a guest appearance on a Season 10 Law and Order: SVU episode entitled "Hell" as Elijah Okello, a former Ugandan child soldier living in New York, facing deportation. Akinnagbe's former The Wire cast mate Robert Wisdom also appeared in that episode as Father Theo Burdett. In 2010 in Seattle, Washington Akinnagbe starred in world premiere play The Thin Place at The Intiman Theatre.[4] He was also in the movie Lottery Ticket and is currently in The Good Wife as Pastor Isiah Easton.[2] His former co-star from the The Wire, Frankie Faison, portrayed his father on the show in several episodes. He is currently starring as Kelly Slater, a new nurse in the 3rd season of the Showtime series Nurse Jackie.[5] He also starred in leading roles for two Independent films, as Jack in "Home", directed by Jono Oliver, and as James in "Big Words", directed by Neil Drumming. He is currently playing a drug lord in the USA series Graceland and stars as Tom in The Following. He starred as a CIA Agent in 24hours movie Darren Aronofsky Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American film director, screenwriter and film producer.
    [Show full text]
  • Barrylevinson | Featurefilmdirectors
    saville productions 489 Carroll Avenue Venice, CA 90291 T \ 310.828.1478 F \ 310.828.4147 barrylevinson | featurefilmdirectors Academy-Award winning Director, Barry Levinson is perhaps best known for the critically acclaimed movies Rain Main, Diner, Good Morning, Vietnam and Wag The Dog. One of the most versatile American filmmakers of his generation, Levinson's movies showcase subjects as diverse as the immigrant experience, mob intrigue, and political satire. He earned particular acclaim for his semi-autobiographical portraits of life in 1950s Baltimore, a topic that he explored to great effect in Diner, his 1982 directorial debut. Born in Baltimore in 1942, Levinson was the son of a warehouse manager. Initially intent on a career in the media, he studied Broadcast Journalism in college but didn't remain there long enough to earn a degree. He instead switched his interests to acting and standup comedy, and, after serving a stint as a staff writer on The Carol Burnett Show, he was hired by producer Mel Brooks. The first film to carry a screenwriter credit for Levinson was Silent Movie (1976); this was followed by Brooks' High Anxiety (1977), which also featured Levinson as a vengeful bellboy in the film's celebrated Psycho parody scene. Levinson's first directorial job was the low-budget Diner (1982), the first installment of his "Baltimore trilogy" (the others were Tin Men (1987) and Avalon (1990). Diner served to showcase several stars-to-be, among them Mickey Rourke, Ellen Barkin, and Daniel Stern. A poignant, critically acclaimed, coming-of-age story, the film helped to establish Levinson as a bankable director.
    [Show full text]