DOCSLIB.ORG

Scandinavian Cinema from the Silent Era Prof

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Scandinavian Cinema from the Silent Era Prof © Lynn R. Wilkinson UGS302 (64115): Nordic Light: Scandinavian Cinema from the Silent Era Prof. Lynn Wilkinson to the 2000s COURSE DESCRIPTION: Ingmar Bergman is perhaps the best known Scandinavian filmmaker, but Northern Europe has a remarkable tradition of filmmakers and filmmaking. Including films from Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland, this course will provide an introduction to some of the masterpieces of Scandinavian film from the Golden Age of silent film through the 2000s and to the culture of Scandinavia. ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING: One two-page paper (5%); one five-page paper which may be rewritten (20%); one storyboard (10%) accompanied by a five-page essay (20%); five quizzes (20%; you may drop the lowest grade); one class presentation (5%). Class participation will count 20%. REQUIRED TEXTS: Bordwell and Thompson: Film Art: An Introduction. 10th edition (2009) McGraw Hill: ISBN 10: 0073386162 Earlier editions on reserve: PN 1995 B617 2004 TEXT; PN1995 B617 2001 TEXT Recommended: Tytti Soila et al.: Nordic National Cinemas Routledge: ISBN-10: 0415081955 On Reserve: PN 1993.5 s2 s65 1998; also available as an electronic resource Braudy and Cohen: Film Theory and Criticism. 6th edition (FTC on syllabus) Oxford Univ. Press: ISBN 10 0195158172 On reserve: PN 1994 M364 2004 Mette Hjort: Purity and Provocation: Dogme 95 British Film Institute On reserve: PN1995.9 E96 P87 2003 Mette Hjort: Italian for Beginners University of Washington Press, 2010 PN 1997 I51555 H56 2010 Björn Norðfjörð: Dagur Kári’s Nói the Albino University of Washington Press, 2010 PN 1997 N5255 N67 2010 Useful websites: For background information concerning the films and filmmakers: http://www.imdb.com On Ingmar Bergman: http://www.ingmarbergman.se The Swedish Film Institute: http://sfi.se The Danish Film Institute: http://www.dfi.dk/english or http://www.dfi.dk 1 FILMS: Urban Gad: The Abyss DVD9219 Victor Sjöström: The Phantom Carriage DVD8296 Victor Sjöström: He Who Gets Slapped - Available online: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5767253815622002246 Mauritz Stiller: Erotikon DVD8109 Carl Theodor Dreyer: Ordet/The Word DVD825, disc 2 Ingmar Bergman: Wild Strawberries DVD768 Ingmar Bergman: Fanny and Alexander DVD3754 Lasse Hallström: My Life as a Dog DVD881 Thomas Vinterberg: The Celebration DVD4314 Lone Scherfig: Italian for Beginners DVD8036 Lars von Trier: Dogville DVD2828 Susanne Bier: Brothers DVD4478, DVD8884 Dagur Kári: Nói the Albino Lucas Moodysson: Show Me Love DVD2502 Niels Arden Oplev: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo DVD10103 David Fincher: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo DVD11435 Films are on reserve at the Audio-Visual Library in the Fine Arts Library. In some cases, both videocassette and DVD versions are available. DVDs are almost always preferable, especially those put out by Criterion. Many films are also available through Netflix or for rental at video stores in town, especially Vulcan Video (both North and South), Waterloo, and I Love Video. Many films are also available for streaming on Netflix, Hulu, Hulu Plus, or elsewhere. Hulu plus offers the Criterion Collection online. You may also want to consider purchasing DVDs of films you choose to write on. You may be able to find inexpensive used versions at vendors such as Half-Price Books or Amazon.com. POLICY MATTERS: Electronics: All electronic devices—including mobile phones, note- and netbooks, ipods, and ipads—must be turned off and put away before the start of class. Attendance: Your attendance and participation are important. If you are absent for more than three classes, your grade will go down by 1/3 of a grade for every subsequent absence – i.e. from B to B-, etc. It is also important that you come on time. If you are more than 15 minutes late, you will be counted absent for ½ of that class. Please note, as well, that the quizzes will be given at the beginning of class and may not be made up! Students with Disabilities: Please let me know by the third day of class at the latest if you have a disability that has been certified by SSD, Services for Students with Disabilities. See http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd/resp_fac.php or the SSD website for more information. Religious Holidays: We will make accommodations for students who wish to observe religious holidays. Please let me know at least one class day in advance if you need such accommodation. 2 WRITING: This course carries the Writing Flag. Writing Flag courses are designed to give students experience with writing in an academic discipline. In this class, you can expect to write regularly during the semester, complete substantial writing projects, and receive feedback from your instructor to help you improve your writing. You will also have the opportunity to revise one or more assignments, and to read and discuss your peers' work. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from your written work. Please note that late papers will not be accepted unless you have made arrangements with me in advance. Academic Honesty: Your writing must be your own work. If you plagiarize, I will report you to Student Judicial Services and you will fail the entire class. Simple rule of thumb: “If you use words or ideas that are not your own you must cite your sources. Otherwise you will be guilty of plagiarism.” If you have any questions about what constitutes plagiarism, please see the page on the Student Judicial website: http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/scholdis_plagiarism.php SIGNATURE ACTIVITIES: University Lectures: You may be required to attend a university lecture. SYLLABUS Week One: Reading: Bordwell and Thompson: Chapter 4 Jan. 15 Introduction Jan. 17 Ingmar Bergman and Swedish Film Ingmar Bergman: Wild Strawberries Week Two Reading: Bordwell and Thompson: Chapter 5 Jan. 22 How to Read a Film? The elements Ingmar Bergman: Wild Strawberries Jan. 24 Television and the Art Film Ingmar Bergman: Fanny and Alexander Quiz 1 Week Three Reading: Bordwell and Thompson: Chapter 6 Jan. 29 Ingmar Bergman: Fanny and Alexander Jan. 31 Lasse Hallström: Another View of Swedish (and American) Society Lasse Hallström: My Life as a Dog FIRST TWO-PAGE PAPER DUE IN CLASS (frame analysis) Week Four 3 Reading: Bordwell and Thompson: Chapter 3 Feb. 5 Lasse Hallström: My Life as a Dog Feb. 4 Week Five Reading: Bordwell and Thompson: Chapter 7 Feb. 12 Thomas Vinterberg and the Founding of Dogme Thomas Vinterberg: The Celebration Feb. 14 Thomas Vinterberg: The Celebration Quiz 2 Week Six Reading: Bordwell and Thompson: Chapter 8; Feb. 19 Comedy in the Danish Suburbs Lone Scherfig: Italian for Beginners Feb. 21 The Dark Sides of Comedy? Lone Scherfig: Italian for Beginners . Week Seven Reading: Bordwell and Thompson: Chapter 9 Feb. 26 Lars von Trier’s Rebellion Lars von Trier: Dogville Feb. 28 Where is Dogville? Lars von Trier: Dogville Week Eight Reading: Bordwell and Thompson: Chapter 11 Mar. 5 Scandinavia and the War in Afghanistan Susanne Bier: Brothers Mar. 7 Susanne Bier: Brothers Quiz 3 S P R I N G B R E A K Week Nine Reading: Bordwell and Thompson: Chapter 1; *Balázs: “The Close-up” and “The Face of Man” Mar. 19 Dagur Kári and Icelandic Cinema Dagur Kári: Nói the Albino Mar. 21 Dagur kári: Nói the Albino FIRST FIVE-PAGE PAPER DUE IN CLASS Week Ten Reading: Bordwell and Thompson: Chapter 2 Mar. 26 Lukas Moodysson and Swedish Cinema after 1990 Lukas Moodysson: Show Me Love Mar. 28 Gender and Sexuality in Scandinavian Film Lukas Moodysson: Show Me Love Week Eleven Reading: Barthes: “The Face of Garbo” April 2 Stieg Larsson and the Scandinavian Crime Novel 4 Niels Arden Oplev: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo April 4 Niels Arden Oplev: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Quiz 4 Week Twelve April 9 American Versions, American Visions David Fincher: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo April 11 The Beginnings of Scandinavian Cinema Urban Gad: The Abyss Week Thirteen Reading: Walter Benjamin: “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (Reproducibility) April 16 Swedish Silent Cinema Victor Sjöström: The Phantom Chariot April 18 Swedes in Hollywood Victor Sjöström: He Who Gets Slapped Week Fourteen April 23 Carl Theodor Dreyer and European Cinema Carl Theodor Dreyer: Ordet (The Word) STORYBOARD DUE IN CLASS April 25 Gender and Vampires? Carl Theodor Dreyer: Ordet Week Fifteen April 30 LAST DAY TO TURN IN REWRITES May 2 Quiz 5 STORYBOARD AND STORYBOARD PAPER DUE IN CLASS 5 .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Another Round
    Presents ANOTHER ROUND A film by Thomas Vinterberg 116 mins, Denmark, 2020 Language: Danish with English subtitles Official Selection: Cannes 2020 and TIFF 2020 Distribution Publicity Mongrel Media Inc Bonne Smith 217 – 136 Geary Ave Star PR Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M6H 4H1 Tel: 416-488-4436 Tel: 416-516-9775 Fax: 416-516-0651 Twitter: @starpr2 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] www.mongrelmedia.com LOG LINE Another Round is a fun, moving, life-affirming and thought-provoking drama about friendship, freedom, love – and alcohol. SYNOPSIS There’s a theory that we should be born with a small amount of alcohol in our blood, and that modest inebriation opens our minds to the world around us, diminishing our problems and increasing our creativity. Heartened by that theory, Martin and three of his friends, all weary high school teachers, embark on an experiment to maintain a constant level of intoxication throughout the workday. If Churchill won WW2 in a heavy daze of alcohol, who knows what a few drops might do for them and their students? Initial results are positive, and the teachers’ little project turns into a genuine academic study. Both their classes and their results continue to improve, and the group feels alive again! As the units are knocked back, some of the participants see further improvement and others go off the rails. It becomes increasingly clear that while alcohol may have fueled great results in world history, some bold acts carry consequences. DIRECTOR’S INTENT THOMAS VINTERBERG “I never drink before breakfast.” The quote is from Churchill, who helped to defeat the Germans and win World War II, while under the excessive and constant influence of alcohol.
    [Show full text]
  • 5.3 Post-Cinematic Atavism
    5.3 Post-Cinematic Atavism BY RICHARD GRUSIN In June 2002, for a plenary lecture in Montreal at the biennial Domitor conference on early cinema, I took the occasion of the much-hyped digital screening of Star Wars: Episode II–Attack of the Clones (George Lucas, 2002) to argue that in entering the 21st century we found ourselves in the “late age of early cinema,” the more than century-long historical coupling of cinema with the sociotechnical apparatus of publicly projected celluloid film (“Remediation”). Two years later, in a lecture at a conference in Exeter on Multimedia Histories, I developed this argument in terms of what I called a “cinema of interactions,” arguing that cinema in the age of digital remediation could no longer be identified with its theatrical projection but must be understood in terms of its distribution across a network of other digitally-mediated formats like DVDs, websites, games, and so forth—an early call for something like what now goes under the name of “platform studies” (“DVDs”). In his recent book on “post-cinematic affect” Steven Shaviro has picked up on this argument in elaborating his own extremely powerful reading of the emergence of a post-cinematic aesthetic (70). I want to return the favor here to take up what I would characterize as a kind of “post-cinematic atavism” that has been emerging in the early 21st century as a counterpart to the aesthetic of post-cinematic affectivity that Shaviro so persuasively details. Sometimes considered under the name of “slow cinema” or “the new silent cinema” (or, as | 1 5.3 Post-Cinematic Atavism Selmin Kara puts it, “primordigital cinema”), post-cinematic atavism is not limited to art- house or independent films.
    [Show full text]
  • Rethinking Human Essence and Social Relations from Dogville
    Journal of Sociology and Social Work June 2021, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 32-36 ISSN: 2333-5807 (Print), 2333-5815 (Online) Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved. Published by American Research Institute for Policy Development DOI: 10.15640/jssw.v9n1a4 URL: https://doi.org/10.15640/jssw.v9n1a4 Rethinking Human Essence and Social Relations from Dogville Paulo Alexandre e Castro1 Abstract One of the main reasons why Dogville (2003), by Lars Von Trier became a famous film, was the way it was filmed, that is, the way Lars Von Trier created a totally new aesthetic in filming, by providing a scenario that represents reality. In fact, this is the right word, scenario, but it‟s not just that. With this particular way of filming, Lars Von Trier provides also a particular way of thinking, that is, he ends up reproducing the way of seeing with the imagination: creating presence in the absence, as happens when we remember a deceased relative or when we create artistically. In Dogville there is no room for imagination. In this sense, we argue that this film represents contemporary (alienated) society where everything has its value and ethical / moral values are only manifested paradoxically as a reaction. Dogville becomes also an aesthetic educational project since it provides an understanding of human condition and human nature. For this task we will make use of some major figures from contemporary philosophy and sociology Keywords: Lars Von Trier; Human nature; Subjectivity; Values; Violence; Dogville; Society. 1. Introduction: Lars Von Trier and Dogma95 challenge Making movies is not making beautiful movies.
    [Show full text]
  • International Casting Directors Network Index
    International Casting Directors Network Index 01 Welcome 02 About the ICDN 04 Index of Profiles 06 Profiles of Casting Directors 76 About European Film Promotion 78 Imprint 79 ICDN Membership Application form Gut instinct and hours of research “A great film can feel a lot like a fantastic dinner party. Actors mingle and clash in the best possible lighting, and conversation is fraught with wit and emotion. The director usually gets the bulk of the credit. But before he or she can play the consummate host, someone must carefully select the right guests, send out the invites, and keep track of the RSVPs”. ‘OSCARS: The Role Of Casting Director’ by Monica Corcoran Harel, The Deadline Team, December 6, 2012 Playing one of the key roles in creating that successful “dinner” is the Casting Director, but someone who is often over-looked in the recognition department. Everyone sees the actor at work, but very few people see the hours of research, the intrinsic skills, the gut instinct that the Casting Director puts into finding just the right person for just the right role. It’s a mix of routine and inspiration which brings the characters we come to love, and sometimes to hate, to the big screen. The Casting Director’s delicate work as liaison between director, actors, their agent/manager and the studio/network figures prominently in decisions which can make or break a project. It’s a job that can't garner an Oscar, but its mighty importance is always felt behind the scenes. In July 2013, the Academy of Motion Pictures of Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) created a new branch for Casting Directors, and we are thrilled that a number of members of the International Casting Directors Network are amongst the first Casting Directors invited into the Academy.
    [Show full text]
  • SEQUENCE 1.2 (2014) an Allegory of a 'Therapeutic' Reading of a Film
    SEQUENCE 1.2 (2014) An Allegory of a ‘Therapeutic’ Reading of a Film: Of MELANCHOLIA Rupert Read SEQUENCE 1.2 (2014) Rupert Read Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus: 6.43 If good or bad willing changes the world, it can only change the limits of the world, not the facts; not the things that can be expressed in language. // In brief, the world must thereby become quite another, it must so to speak wax or wane as a whole. // The world of the happy is quite another than that of the unhappy. 6.431 As in death, too, the world does not change, but ceases. 6.4311 Death is not an event of life. Death is not lived through. // If by eternity is understood not endless temporal duration but timelessness, then he lives eternally who lives in the present. // Our life is endless in the way that our visual field is without limit. Heidegger, Being and Time: If I take death into my life, acknowledge it, and face it squarely, I will free myself from the anxiety of death and the pettiness of life - and only then will I be free to become myself. Wittgenstein, Remarks on the philosophy of psychology I: 20: [A]n interpretation becomes an expression of experience. And the interpretation is not an indirect description; no, it is the primary expression of the experience. 2 SEQUENCE 1.2 (2014) Rupert Read 1. This essay is a (more or less philosophical) i. Throughout this paper, I dance in a account or allegory of my viewing(s) of Lars von ‘dialogue’ with – am in ‘conversation’ Trier’s remarkable film, Melancholia (2011).1 It is with – Steven Shaviro’s fascinating personal, and philosophical.
    [Show full text]
  • Feature Films
    NOMINATIONS AND AWARDS IN OTHER CATEGORIES FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE (NON-ENGLISH) FEATURE FILMS [Updated thru 88th Awards (2/16)] [* indicates win] [FLF = Foreign Language Film category] NOTE: This document compiles statistics for foreign language (non-English) feature films (including documentaries) with nominations and awards in categories other than Foreign Language Film. A film's eligibility for and/or nomination in the Foreign Language Film category is not required for inclusion here. Award Category Noms Awards Actor – Leading Role ......................... 9 ........................... 1 Actress – Leading Role .................... 17 ........................... 2 Actress – Supporting Role .................. 1 ........................... 0 Animated Feature Film ....................... 8 ........................... 0 Art Direction .................................... 19 ........................... 3 Cinematography ............................... 19 ........................... 4 Costume Design ............................... 28 ........................... 6 Directing ........................................... 28 ........................... 0 Documentary (Feature) ..................... 30 ........................... 2 Film Editing ........................................ 7 ........................... 1 Makeup ............................................... 9 ........................... 3 Music – Scoring ............................... 16 ........................... 4 Music – Song ...................................... 6 ..........................
    [Show full text]
  • Berkeley Art Museum·Pacific Film Archive W in Ter 20 19
    WINTER 2019–20 WINTER BERKELEY ART MUSEUM · PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PROGRAM GUIDE ROSIE LEE TOMPKINS RON NAGLE EDIE FAKE TAISO YOSHITOSHI GEOGRAPHIES OF CALIFORNIA AGNÈS VARDA FEDERICO FELLINI DAVID LYNCH ABBAS KIAROSTAMI J. HOBERMAN ROMANIAN CINEMA DOCUMENTARY VOICES OUT OF THE VAULT 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 CALENDAR DEC 11/WED 22/SUN 10/FRI 7:00 Full: Strange Connections P. 4 1:00 Christ Stopped at Eboli P. 21 6:30 Blue Velvet LYNCH P. 26 1/SUN 7:00 The King of Comedy 7:00 Full: Howl & Beat P. 4 Introduction & book signing by 25/WED 2:00 Guided Tour: Strange P. 5 J. Hoberman AFTERIMAGE P. 17 BAMPFA Closed 11/SAT 4:30 Five Dedicated to Ozu Lands of Promise and Peril: 11:30, 1:00 Great Cosmic Eyes Introduction by Donna Geographies of California opens P. 11 26/THU GALLERY + STUDIO P. 7 Honarpisheh KIAROSTAMI P. 16 12:00 Fanny and Alexander P. 21 1:30 The Tiger of Eschnapur P. 25 7:00 Amazing Grace P. 14 12/THU 7:00 Varda by Agnès VARDA P. 22 3:00 Guts ROUNDTABLE READING P. 7 7:00 River’s Edge 2/MON Introduction by J. Hoberman 3:45 The Indian Tomb P. 25 27/FRI 6:30 Art, Health, and Equity in the City AFTERIMAGE P. 17 6:00 Cléo from 5 to 7 VARDA P. 23 2:00 Tokyo Twilight P. 15 of Richmond ARTS + DESIGN P. 5 8:00 Eraserhead LYNCH P. 26 13/FRI 5:00 Amazing Grace P.
    [Show full text]
  • Cinema and Politics
    Cinema and Politics Cinema and Politics: Turkish Cinema and The New Europe Edited by Deniz Bayrakdar Assistant Editors Aslı Kotaman and Ahu Samav Uğursoy Cinema and Politics: Turkish Cinema and The New Europe, Edited by Deniz Bayrakdar Assistant Editors Aslı Kotaman and Ahu Samav Uğursoy This book first published 2009 Cambridge Scholars Publishing 12 Back Chapman Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2XX, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2009 by Deniz Bayrakdar and contributors All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-4438-0343-X, ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-0343-4 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Images and Tables ......................................................................... viii Acknowledgements .................................................................................... ix Preface ........................................................................................................ xi Introduction ............................................................................................. xvii ‘Son of Turks’ claim: ‘I’m a child of European Cinema’ Deniz Bayrakdar Part I: Politics of Text and Image Chapter One ................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Tonite the 6 Annual Queens World Film Festival Screens 30 Films And
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Media Contact : David Archer, DA Associates PR, 914-299 0837 www.queensworldfilmfestival.com Tonite the 6th Annual Queens World Film Festival Screens 30 films and Honors Filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles with the "Spirit of Queens" Award March 16th, 2016, New York, NY -- Each year, the Queens World Film Festival (QWFF) pays tribute to an outstanding filmmaker for his or her body of work. This year's "Spirit of Queens" Award goes to independent film director Melvin Van Peebles. Peebles is an American actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, novelist, painter and composer. Successful in every medium, Van Peebles is most famous for his movie Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song , which heralded a new era of African-American cinema. It will be screened this evening Wednesday, March 16- 7pm at the Museum of the Moving Image (MOMI) in Astoria ,Queens, followed by a Q&A with the legendary Mr. Peebles, moderated by MoMI trustee Warrington Hudlin, founder of the Black Filmmaker Foundation. Twenty-nine other films will be screened this evening as well at the 3 other venues. Full Festival passes and Individual Tickets are on sale on line. For the full schedule and to view trailers please visit: www.queensworldfilmfestival.com To highlight the IndieCollect film preservation campaign, Susan Seidelman's 1982 movie, Smithereens, will be showcased at MoMI on Closing Night, Saturday, March 19. The Smithereens negative was found by the IndieCollect team in the vaults of DuArt Film & Video after DuArt closed its photo-chemical division, and was placed at the Academy Film Archive for safekeeping. IndieCollect, headed by QWFF board member Sandra Schulberg, is dedicated to saving independent films before they are lost due to neglect, lack of funding and/or faulty preservation strategies.
    [Show full text]
  • Festival Centerpiece Films
    50 Years! Since 1965, the Chicago International Film Festival has brought you thousands of groundbreaking, highly acclaimed and thought-provoking films from around the globe. In 2014, our mission remains the same: to bring Chicago the unique opportunity to see world- class cinema, from new discoveries to international prizewinners, and hear directly from the talented people who’ve brought them to us. This year is no different, with filmmakers from Scandinavia to Mexico and Hollywood to our backyard, joining us for what is Chicago’s most thrilling movie event of the year. And watch out for this year’s festival guests, including Oliver Stone, Isabelle Huppert, Michael Moore, Taylor Hackford, Denys Arcand, Liv Ullmann, Kathleen Turner, Margarethe von Trotta, Krzysztof Zanussi and many others you will be excited to discover. To all of our guests, past, present and future—we thank you for your continued support, excitement, and most importantly, your love for movies! Happy Anniversary to us! Michael Kutza, Founder & Artistic Director When OCTOBEr 9 – 23, 2014 Now in our 50th year, the Chicago International Film Festival is North America’s oldest What competitive international film festival. Where AMC RIVER EaST 21* (322 E. Illinois St.) *unless otherwise noted Easy access via public transportation! CTA Red Line: Grand Ave. station, walk five blocks east to the theater. CTA Buses: #29 (State St. to Navy Pier), #66 (Chicago Red Line to Navy Pier), #65 (Grand Red Line to Navy Pier). For CTA information, visit transitchicago.com or call 1-888-YOUR-CTA. Festival Parking: Discounted parking available at River East Center Self Park (lower level of AMC River East 21, 300 E.
    [Show full text]
  • “No Reason to Be Seen”: Cinema, Exploitation, and the Political
    “No Reason to Be Seen”: Cinema, Exploitation, and the Political by Gordon Sullivan B.A., University of Central Florida, 2004 M.A., North Carolina State University, 2007 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2017 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH THE KENNETH P. DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Gordon Sullivan It was defended on October 20, 2017 and approved by Marcia Landy, Distinguished Professor, Department of English Jennifer Waldron, Associate Professor, Department of English Daniel Morgan, Associate Professor, Department of Cinema and Media Studies, University of Chicago Dissertation Advisor: Adam Lowenstein, Professor, Department of English ii Copyright © by Gordon Sullivan 2017 iii “NO REASON TO BE SEEN”: CINEMA, EXPLOITATION, AND THE POLITICAL Gordon Sullivan, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2017 This dissertation argues that we can best understand exploitation films as a mode of political cinema. Following the work of Peter Brooks on melodrama, the exploitation film is a mode concerned with spectacular violence and its relationship to the political, as defined by French philosopher Jacques Rancière. For Rancière, the political is an “intervention into the visible and sayable,” where members of a community who are otherwise uncounted come to be seen as part of the community through a “redistribution of the sensible.” This aesthetic rupture allows the demands of the formerly-invisible to be seen and considered. We can see this operation at work in the exploitation film, and by investigating a series of exploitation auteurs, we can augment our understanding of what Rancière means by the political.
    [Show full text]
  • Home Video Philology: Methodological Reflections
    Special – peer-reviewed Cinergie – Il cinema e le altre arti. N.13 (2018) https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2280-9481/7878 ISSN 2280-9481 Home Video Philology: Methodological Reflections Valerio Sbravatti Submitted: March 1, 2018 – Revised version: May 25, 2018 Accepted: June 15, 2018 – Published: July 12, 2018 Abstract Digital home video is an extremely useful means of watching and analyzing films. However, scholars often neglect the fact that official home video or streaming releases of a film can have differences from theoriginal version of the film itself. Such variances typically are lack of film grain (resulting from digital noise reduction), differences in color grading, and soundtrack remixing. This can depend on the fact that the technicians who work on home video releases are unprepared, or are instructed to adjust the look and the sound of the film to the current taste, or because the filmmakers changed their mind and requested some modifications. Atany rate, film scholars must be aware of such possible inconsistencies, otherwise their study could be fallacious. In this article I discuss upon philological problems of home video releases mainly from a practical point of view. Keywords: Blu-ray Disc; DVD; film fandom; film philology; film restoration. Valerio Sbravatti: Sapienza Università di Roma (It) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0817-6129 [email protected] Valerio Sbravatti (1988) has a PhD in Music and performing arts at Sapienza University of Rome, where he is honorary fellow in film studies. His main research interests are film sound and film music, on which he published somearticlesand a book (Allegro non troppo.
    [Show full text]