IN the Mood...

There are numerous directions one could take in discussing this film, the least of which seems to be the story. Thus, narrative...The almost invisible shifts (particularly in the filmic tradition) in time often confuses the story in some manner. We cannot always tell when time has changed or when the characters change (as when they are "playing" the roles of their spouses). The camera (and costumes) provide only discrete clues to such shifts. How do these affect the story and the viewer's relationship with such?

In class we are also interested in hearing from you concerning your final paper, which you should already be researching and formulating (at least) if not writing.

Feeling kinda Moody

We will be talking about the relationship between the verbal dexterity of Moody's novel and the ways that Lee handles such in his film. That is, the use of a guiding voice throughout the novel is easy to identify in the voice-over of the film, but the complications and differences extend well beyond this overt narrational difference. How might the narrational choices affect our relationship to the texts?

It's somehow that the book's style leads to its story (rather than the usual reversal, which would be a marker of realism). That is, we know that we are reading when we are reading (it's in contrast to cinema's invisible style, it seems). What might be the cinematic equivalent of this literary style? 

8 1/2 and Borges

I know that several of you are trying to start a new thread on this blog with no success. I am not sure what the problem is. So, use this as the start. Others: read along and respond.  And, I realize that this week's notes did not make a smooth transition to the webpage; I will bring them along on Tuesday.

Hoop Dreams

Well...I was hopeful that one of you would start a discussion thread. But... so...

Rather than talk too much about the story of Hoop Dreams (though that would be interesting in another setting), we will be discussing how it (and other documentaries) make meaning. That is, Sobchack (our author of the week) claims that with documentary we have a "subjective relation to an objective cinematic...text" (pg 1).  What might this mean? Don't merely repeat what she's written but strike out on your own as to how we may have this relationship with Hoop Dreams. How does that film construct itself as an experience? What sorts of strengths and/or weaknesses can you find with the phenomenological model of cinematic identification forwarded in the article? How do our relations differ between fiction and non-fiction films? Don't mere state the obvious here but use advanced vocabulary to understand how these relations differ.

Brazil and Prufrock

I suspect that the poem for next week might present some challenge. That's OK. In class, we will spend some time breaking it down; that is, we will work through much of the poem to discover how it makes meaning (which is similar to the ways we perform cinematic analysis: breaking down scenes in terms of cinematography, editing, etc. to find out how meaning is made). Do be sure to read the poem and try to work through some of it on your own. 

I put it together with Brazil because at some level they both concern the breakdown of society and the individual's attempt to balance his reality and his perceived reality. Whence the (unrealized) expectations in these characters (Prufrock and Sam)? What is it about their societies that prompts such (seemingly disconnected) expectations? Additionally, can you discuss the forces at work on thee characters that prompt such? We know that Brazil is visually rich. Does Gilliam use this texture toward anything more than baroque excess?

Barton Fink and Scanner Darkly

I welcome all the new participants in our class discussions last week. It is always a good thing to reveal your involvement with the material. This doesn't mean that you have to like that material, but that you should show how you are intellectually involved/engaged in it. To that end, we turn to two other texts, Barton Fink and A Scanner Darkly.

These two texts do not at all promote catharsis, that moment when the text comes around in full-circle (regularly with summary, ending/conclusion, bows all wrapped). We leave BF and SD with no real sense of how to "read" them. So, in class, I would like to hear various ways we can receive them. As you can tell from my online notes, I will discuss them in terms of capitalism: how, by working in "Capital Pictures" and a drug culture, these texts explore contemporary capitalism's mass-production, mass-consumption and the forms in which we find such. 

All,

I got bombarded with many written responses in class yesterday, some of which contained good ideas and analyses. This fact also points to some frustrations, though: where were all these comments in our class discussions? Recall a post I made early in the semester about speaking up in class, taking intellectual risks, and voicing your ideas. By showing up for class, doing the standard requirements, and not separating yourself from others (in class or in written form), you will earn a 'C' (the default grade for all college-level work). It is all too obvious that some are still playing on their computers, phones, or doing other classwork (with headphones in ears!). Others sit quietly with no texts, notes, or obvious effort to engage the class in any way whatsoever. 

As for A Woman Under the Influence and "A Room of One's Own": notes are now online. However, I want to encourage you to strike out on your own in terms of analysis, particularly connecting the two texts. Obviously they are both focused on "woman." How (as film specifically) deal with Mabel, her house, and her marriage? How does the camera function? What is the relationship between camera and its subject/object? Don't write merely about story here but about elements that are particular to cinema. How might the ideas that Woolf highlights be seen in the film? How does Woolf see history and the future for woman?

ODYSSEY

Forgot to mention this in class last Tuesday; all apologies.  For next week, you need read only four of the books of The Odyssey. You can choose any of the listed books on the course webpage. Again, sorry.

Alright, alright. I know that Proust is a challenge. I know that it is difficult to make it through; I know that it is even more of a challenge to “do something” with Proust. His narrative style seems to deflect entry. But, I hope that I was able to tie together the beginning and ending of class today in such a way that we can see how Proust narrates and how his narration is the “thing itself.” That is, “the thing itself” and the “knowing the thing” are the same, that the form becomes the content, that the narration is the story. I use Proust in this class because he makes us think about narration so differently (particularly in contrast to the mode of narration we’ve grown accustomed to through Hollywood’s transparent style).

I have fixed the link for The Odyssey on the webpage. There are, however, numerous different translations you can read (online and in print). The version I have linked to is written in prose form (rather than the lined poetic verse). Either type would be fine, as we are not really discussing the poem as poetry, per se. We are looking for evidence of some of the earliest contributions to western formations of narrative (how words are used to construct story). Particularly, we are going to discuss how The Odyssey foregrounds a specific narration of masculinity, a trait that runs throughout western narratives, all the way to Godard’s Contempt. Jack Palance (as the film producer in Contempt) is perfect here.

There are notes on the webpage that outline the conversation we will have concerning Man With A Movie Camera and Proust's text, In Search of Lost Time. These notes are sort of longish, so be sure to print them before class. Moreover, read Proust and reveal you've read him by specifically pointing to the text (whether in class discussions or in blog entries). Talking in class (ie, not in our discussions), texting, and sleeping are all really bad indications of your engagement with the material (specifically) and the class (generally). These indiscretions bother other students, are disrespectful to the class, and are blatantly obvious to all around you. There was far too much of that stuff going on last Tuesday.

Back to Proust...Be sure to engage the text well before Tuesday, as it takes a while to get the flow of his singular writing style. Remember that I have already noted that in the passage "nothing happens," so you don't have to anticipate any sort of "story" to get rolling. But, rather than mere ephemeral Franco-babble, the text does have an interesting narrative frame. And, the connection with the film I am going to make in class concerns the specific socio-cultural moment of early part of 20th century (an era loosely called modernism). The notes on the webpage point to the specifics here.  Don't give up when reading In Search... It just might end up being one of the coolest things you've read; but, you've got to give yourself over to it for this to happen.  

Graphic Novel intro

What was that, like eight people spoke up in yesterday’s class? Nice. I am hopeful even more will do so. It makes class run, just like the film clips I am trying to assemble for next week’s class. Speaking of which…

There are new notes for our discussions of the graphic novel for next week. If you’re not in-the-know yet, check out the webpage for an intro to our topic. There, you will find these new notes, which will be generically applied to graphic novels and films (in general). I will bring some novels to class to peruse. You’re encouraged to do the same. In sum, we will be discussing the differences in “meaning making” between graphic novels and cinema.

In a concerted effort to be more teacherly, I offer the following: Let’s be sure in our written responses (those you turn in rather than post on this blog) to push as fully as we can in our investigations and analyses. Particularly, we need to be mindful when we are writing about a film that we are actually writing about that: its cinematicness, its filmic qualities. If we are not doing so, we might as well be writing about a novel or any other form of storytelling.

I also point you to my other to brief posts about film club activities, which are good and worth your participation and attendance.

film club meeting

I forward this note from the film club...

The next screening for the GSU film club will be on Tuesday 2/10 at 6:30 pm at the screening room (Arts & Humanities 406). We will be seeing For a Few Dollars More, directed by Sergio Leone, as we will continue our discussion on the Spaghetti Western genre. Dr. Raengo will introduce the film during the first part of the meeting.

On another note, I would like to remind all of you about a special screening of two documentaries presented by Roberto Arevalo. This will take place on Monday, February 16th at 7:15pm at the Cinefest theater. Please try to have that date open for this special presentation, since this is a rare occasion for a guest to be showing two of his own films such as these.

As always you can find this information at our website at www.bandofoutsidersgsu.org

I want to let you know that the (increasingly cool) film club at GSU ("Band of Outsiders") is getting a tour of GSTV in room 205 of the Student Center this Friday (Feb. 6th) at 4PM. This is a really great opportunity for those of you who need more hands on experience with production. You will be led by fellow students. This is a great first step for those interested in production (of any kind, not just TV).

The Cuckoo Titicut Nest

Three points from me today:

(1) Nice forking around Kafka yesterday. Appreciations for in-class discussion, as always.
(2) I have on the course website for next week some "Madness Discussion Ideas," which I hope can spur some blogs from you (particularly those of you who've not yet written one). Ergo, I won't get long-winded here. Suffice it to say that we will be talking very directly about the narration in these texts (whence and how we get the info we get).
(3) If you have some thoughts about such, shoot me an email or an anonymous note giving me some feedback on (a) how you think the course is going, (b) what foci you would like me to bring to the class, and (c) suggestions for making it a more productive 2 1/2 hours, specifics I can change (no, we're not going to get out 45 minutes early!).

Kafka and THX

Alright, I appreciate the good commentary many of you added to our discussion of Virgin Suicides. I would also encourage more of you to add your contributions to these discussions. I will get better at uploading more current notes online so that you can be forewarned when I am going to call on you to discuss your posting to this blog. All apologies for the clumsiness I failed to avoid on that front yesterday.

When you read “In The Penal Colony,” you may find yourself tripped up by the prose and the lack of clarity of description. That is, it may not make any sense to you. Stay with it, however, so that you can at least ask informed questions about it (either over this blog or in class). Perhaps, its intentionally obscure language adds to the disorientation the reader feels toward the text. You may also find yourself wondering what these texts have in common, why I would have put them together for discussion: "Geez, THX is a dystopian, cautionary sci-fi film and Kafka's thing...well...it's..a...hmmmm..." Legit frustration. I assure you, though, that there is no “hidden” connection that I want to see if you can find, and there will be no big revelation in class about such. There are, though, ideas that link the two. I encourage you to look at the discussion questions on the class webpage (near the link for the reading), which should point to some such. And, I strongly encourage you to strike out on your own with ideas and questions (to which you should offer some sort of response, no matter how underdeveloped).

Virgin Suicides

First, nice class yesterday, me thought. Beowulf really can teach us a lot (and none of it has to do with reading it as an allegory, a religious cautionary tale, or distant, stale, dead thing! Nice!)

Here are some started questions/ideas, some with partial/incomplete address regarding Virgin Suicides. I promise not to speak in anything but standard, contemporary English, though I would like to here the phrase "stone cold fox" used in some non-satiristic manner. 

(1) This is our first time to discuss specifics types of narrators doing the narrating within the narrative (notice that these differences are more than semantic; they are consequential). IN the novel, there is a quite new type of narrator, one who is both present and not present: he is the narrator in the (plural???) first person, yet he doesn't seem to be a character in the story (he is never directly addressed. How might we begin to account for this?

(1a) Connected to above, we could talk as to how the filmic version handles the odd narration of the book. Can you make an argument about the challenges for and responses of the film to the novel's narrating? 

(2) When texts use first-person narration (as the book does in a weird way), we might expect that voice to guide us through the story (to be sure), but we might also expect it to guide our responses to the story (i.e., to tell us how to feel or react to events). I will make the claim that the novel never does this. Defend or refute.

(3) We can also talk about the texts as being "about" nostalgia and memory every bit as much as they are stories of these girls.  Take an intellectual leap and address this idea.

Intro to Course Bloggin' (from a dummy)

So, here’s what I’m thinking about this blogspace, which I am tentative in developing for fear that I will reveal that I am not as hip as those of you who are already cool enough to have created, joined, and/or contributed to other blogs in the recent past. Regardless, here it goes.

In the past I have managed this ongoing online assignment via a google-group, which sort of mass emails everyone in the group the contributions of other members. Clumsily, the groups got the posts to everyone. However, that technology, I think, didn’t achieve the efficacy of the assignment as I designed it. In fact, it was exactly the technology, and not the students, that limited effectiveness. Hence, the blog. The goal/objective of the online posts is supposed to be a sort of pre-class discussion of questions and ideas that we have as we encounter the semester’s texts. The blog, I am hopeful, will more “naturally” allow the posts to present themselves more like a conversation than individual emails with limited connection.

For the first couple of weeks, I will have “notes” and “discussion ideas” links on the course webpage. In reading these, envision critical engagements with the texts that are bold, risky, and thoughtful, even if they are ill-developed or under-refined. The posts are meant to be a breading ground for in-class discussions and a way for you to follow other students’ thoughts and ideas, including those that some might be tentative to raise in our class discussion. In, like, eight sentences, you should be able to introduce a critical idea or engage in midstream a thread created by others. Feel free to take more (digital) inkspill to explore ideas and be confident in your ability to think into and through an idea/thought/concept.

I hope this introduction hasn’t bored, confused, or otherwise flustered you in any way. If you have questions of concern about topics I’ve not covered, ask

test posting