Multicultural Film HUM3321 Notes for Exam 1 Name and describe 3 approaches to multicultural film as Douglas Kellner describes it o Production and Political Economy o Textual Analysis Studying money and power the way they work together to produce media For example hip hop started as one phenomenon and then popularized by media and swallowed by the mainstream making it more about money and showing who has power than what it was initially about a culture Problem that money may be the only aspect money is inescapable Comes from Marxist critique Internal factors w i film that provide signals Explains how certain elements contribute to the cultural understanding of a film i e stereotypes Semiotics study of how symbols form meaning For example in Shrek the ogre is the hero the donkey is the helper etc o Audience Reception and Use Reactionary factors Personal identity will impact a person s experience of media when necessary Sense of fan culture Different medias allow fans to create a cultural experience books TV movies music 6 common themes in things we can find in common when studying race class gender and sexuality o Contextual Context of society helps when helps define what we mean by the terms Categories persist through history but aren t static fixed Their meanings change and shift with time and geography Example the term Jewish Jews has had many meanings race ethnicity religion depends on context We decide and define as a culture what it means to be black white man woman hetero homosexual Binary opposition concept make one list and make comparison based on opposites of 1st list ex if men are strong women are weak o Socially Constructed o Systems of Power Relationships Race class gender and sexuality are not just a matter of culture and lifestyle Relevant questions who exerts power over whom Who benefits from the system of inequalities Everyone competes over resources o Social Structural Macro Social Psychological Micro Race class gender and sexuality is counterintuitive Macro levels of oppression We experience race class gender and sexuality at the social cultural and institutional level There are inherent inequalities built into institutional systems Micro levels of oppression We experience race class gender and sexuality as a part of our everyday lived realities Perceptions others have on us and being bombarded by negative stereotypical images affect the way we view ourselves o Simultaneously Expressed Each category operates in every social situation We experience them based on location regardless of how we re positioned w i each category They re all expressed at the same time Race class gender and sexuality as well as age ability ethnicity and other social markers form a complex web of interrelationships o Emphasize the Interdependence of Knowledge and Activism Race class gender and sexuality emerged as a tool of analyzing and understanding oppression and of seeking social change and social justice One way to examine interdependence is by examining our own unearned privileges granted to us by our race class gender or sexuality What are RSAs What are ISAs What does Louis Althusser s theory have to do with film o RSAs Repressive State Apparatus classic Marxism Police military government laws jails Functions based on force o ISAs Ideological State Apparatus Values instilled in us by ideological practice Teach a culture the values they need w ideological institutions Schools Churches Families civic groups media Why are stereotypes harmful even if they are generally true or seemingly positive o Stereotype conventional formulaic and usually oversimplified conception opinion or belief a person group event or issue considered to typify or conform to an unvarying pattern o They are inflexible they don t adequately describe the complexities of the real world o They re too broad and general and it s hard to mount a counterargument against them o They are rigid they reflect an unwillingness to change one s mind despite opposing they summarize evidence Identify the thesis and explain the argument of Film Noir s Femme Fatales Hard Boiled Women Moving Beyond Gender Fantasies o Thesis Instead film noir s lead female characters predominantly demonstrate complex psychological and social identity resisting the spectator s habits of seeing past her as opaque or ambiguous p 77 in the anthology o The argument is that the femme fatale character has ideological power in her role as a projection of male fear and desire and also as a politically forceful symbol of unencumbered power How does Peter Lev compare Star Wars Blade Runner and Alien Describe his argument regarding Blade Runner Why does he believe science fiction is a unique avenue to explore ideology o Lev says that all three films are key moments in the renaissance of science fiction film from the late 1970s to the present o They all have renowned quality for visual design and special effects o Lev states that Blade Runner is a more complex form of Star Wars and draws on other influences like the look of 1940s film noir and the odd sci fi novels of Philip K Dick Genres what is the main focus of the following o Western The forging of America s national identity of independence individuality Clash btwn east and west comes from idea about America s destined expansion from east to west Simulacra copies that depict things that either had no reality to begin with or no longer have an original Example Celebration Fl the perfect southern town that no longer exists Django Unchained o Comedy slavery A struggle for national identity Supposed to embody the values of the western hero Noble savage theory about human nature Another chapter of America s story other than Western Expansion o Horror Science Fiction Sci Fi cultural safety valve lets us speak on topics that we cannot otherwise speak on just because it adds a joke funny aspect something to be laughed at There may be underlying issues in comedic movies Superbad sex teenagers drugs nerd hero 21 Jumpstreet reflexive on how high school has changed Ted prolonged adolescence Explores the idea that someone is supposed to be an adult but doesn t take role We re the Millers playing on racism and traditional family values What it means to be human but from different angles Horror states Oh no Both are a search for knowledge and explorations of cultural anxiety Sci fi asks What if Search on how to stop the monster Belton claims that Frankenstein is a birthplace for both genres Self and Other gives things to
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