Kikujiro

Considering Kitano Takeshi’s violent films, the last sort of film one would expect him to make, would be a road movie about a kid who travels in the search of his mother. At a first glance, Kikujiro’s plot, may seem redundant and cliché. The story of a boy who goes after finding his mother is indeed repeated through out literature and cinema, but what makes this film, in particular, interesting is how Kitano presents a humor out of such sad story. Kitano himself admits it in the film when “Traveling Man” says: “That stuff happens, all the time in books.” as a reaction to Masao’s failed attempt to meet his mother. Therefore the challenge that Kitano seems to be setting himself in is how he can develop characters and juxtapose events, in order to present a sense of humor out of a tragic story, and also how he can treat violence in order it to become more invisible. All the details within the narrative is indeed so rich and well crafted, that even a critical audience engages himself/herself in the events, rather than trying to predict the rest of the story.
In Kikujiro, the narrative structure is fairly different than the typical three act narrative form. Kitano unfolds his story in chapters and segments. Kitano mentions the reason for this structure in an interview himself:
I gained the strong impression that this film didn’t have the turning point or decisive narrative moment that my other films have had- you could watch the whole thing without feeling that any particular scene was crucial in terms of the overall shape.
Each chapter begins with an illustrative introduction, in which a particular image representing the chapter is decorated as if it is part of Masao’s diary. That is how Kitano wants us to read the film: as a boy’s summer adventure – a story that is somewhat told from Masao’s perspective.
However, on another level of analyzing the narrative form, the film can be divided into two major segments: before and after the moment where Masao meets his mother. This scene does serve as a turning point. Before meeting Masao’s mother both his and Kikujiro’s motivations were to find her. Once they meet the mother and Masao feels rather unwanted, their motivation shifts. Now it is quite ambiguous what their motivation becomes after this moment. For Kikujiro and other adult characters, cheering Masao eventually becomes the driving force and the objective. From this point onwards the narrative gains a more freedom to maneuver. The characters become more entertaining and less bounded to the restrictions that a story might imply. The film eventually becomes a selection of jokes, games and amusing tricks that don’t necessarily follow logic, and are juxtaposed delightfully in an emotional milieu, as if they are part of a boy’s memoirs.
Even though this is a road movie, there is no precise indication about when the actual trip begins. Kitano avoids providing his audience with any reference to neither time nor place. We can vaguely guess how many days the whole trip took, or how far they traveled, not being precisely familiar with the geography of Japan. It is indicated verbally, in the dialogue when the trip begins by Kikujiro’s wife, yet visually it is only after the first gambling scene that we get to see Kikujiro and Masao in a place that is certainly not home, but also doesn’t very much look like a hotel as well. Also by avoiding to provide us with road shots of them traveling to this place, we are left in this bewilderness of whether the journey has already begun or are they still in Tokyo, just spending the money. With these smooth touches Kitano creates a transition between the scenes prior to the trip and the ones during it that almost makes the beginning of the journey seamless.
What shape the narrative structure of this film more than anything else are Kikujiro and Masao’s relationship, and how their characters contrast each other. While Kikujiro threatens, curses, bullies everyone and has a violent attitude, Masao is calm, polite, and obedient. Masao has this strong motivation of finding his mother, and Kikujiro is conceived perhaps somewhat unmotivated. Kikujiro is a middle-aged man with a violent tattoo on his back, whereas in contrast, Masao is portrayed as a cute innocent boy. Kitano perhaps does over-exaggerate this contrast. For example the way Kitano establishes a comparison between Masao’s character in the beginning of the film and other kids of his own age, is an attempt to maximize his innocence, and emotional empathy that the audience might have with him. On the other end, Kikujiro is involved in numerous acts of violence. The image of his face covered in blood is perhaps one of dominant graphical moments of the film.
Looking at the relationship of the two characters, it is likely to say that Kitano is trying to establish an impression that implies a father-son relationship. This is indicated several times within the film, and Kikujiro himself points it out in the form of a joke, to Masao. However, considering Kikujiro’s naïve childish character, Kitano also places scenes within the narrative that suggest, Masao taking care of Kikujiro. For instance after Kikujiro’s fight in the fun fair, when he is covered in blood, Masao desperately searches for first aid material, and cleans Kikujiro’s face. Now this is a very symbolic act, and it not only portrays an emotional connection between the two characters, but also suggests Masao’s thoughtfulness and caring qualities, over Kikujiro’s naïve inner-child. The way they are represented in this scene, gives the impression of Masao being the adult and Kikujiro the child. This notion can be felt through out the film. Comparing Masao’s and Kikujiro’s solutions for getting a ride can be another evident example; where Kikujiro’s attempts are mean and rude, Masao seems to have a much more civilized approaches.
A narrative process that is very likely and favored in the road movies is the transformation of characters, throughout and because of the trip. In Kikujiro this seems to be the case mainly for Kikujiro comparing to Masao, even though it is Masao who is basically the main subject, and motivation for the trip. A direct example of this would be Kikujiro visiting his mother, after Masao’s failed attempt to reunite with his own mother. A clear parallel can be made between the two incidences, and the way in which in both scenes they get to see their mother from a distance and avoid an actual confrontation. Therefore Kikujiro’s visit to his mother can be viewed as result of the reflection of earlier incident in him.
The film has a beautiful touch in terms of its sense of humor. Kitano has managed this connection with his audience by formal techniques that go beyond the content of the narrative. First he does it through editing. Many of the humorous events function simply because of the way images are juxtaposed, and how the relation between them has been established. For example, in the second part of the bike races scene where Masao’s predictions doesn’t turn out to be accurate, we get this constant switch in picture between the boys wrong predictions and failing of the desired bikers. Another example would be the swimming pool scene: Kikujiro first claims that he knows how to swim, he jumps and then swims ridiculously with a tube around his waist. From this shots, which depicts a lot of activity, Kitano cuts to a static shot of Kikujiro upside down in the pool. This stasis provides us with a sense of humor that is beyond the content of the image, and rather a result of wise juxtaposition.
Even though Kitano has tried to produce a less violent picture comparing to his other films, his temptations in adding elements of violence can be yet felt. It is true that he has cut out the direct scenes of violence, and fights, but the evidences of violence exist through the film. For instance, Kikujiro’s character is indeed a very violent one. He constantly shows an attitude towards different people, curses and participates in the acts of violence. He seems to be only obedient to his wife, who sets the trip and forces him to help Masao find his mother. Some characters react conservatively and some violently to his big mouthing.
Kitano smoothens the level of violence in this film using three techniques. First he does it through framing and editing of the scenes of violence. He either lets the violence happen off-screen, or simply has cut the violent scenes out. For instance in the fun fair scene, when Kikujiro and Masao are participating in a game, and throwing rocks at rewards, all we get to see is their feet, standing on stones. Therefore even such action that is less violent in a direct sense has been hidden from the camera. This shows how Kitano is aware of the impact of gestures, regardless of what narratively they imply.
The second method he uses, is balancing the violence mainly expressed through Kikujiro, by other characters, and particularly Masao. As described before, there has been a great effort to show Masao as an innocent cute boy. Next to Masao we also have “Traveling Man” who is depicted as a relaxed, hip person. Even the two chopper bikers who are expected to be though guys, are considerably naïve and obedient.
The third element is perhaps the music sound track. Even though I believe it is too droning and melodic, and its constant repetition, makes it somewhat frustrating, but it does serve in the favor of smoothening the overall impression of the film.
A certain element that is highlighted through out the film, through both mise-en-scene and sound, is the notion of angel. The film begins with the sound of the “angel bell” while Masao is running carrying the backpack with wings that was given to him by the young couple later in the movie. Kikujiro gives Masao the “angel bell” after the failed attempt of reuniting with the mother. This perhaps is to suggest the feeling of the boy towards Kikujiro and others that they meet on the road. Masao probably viewed these people as his guardian angels, and the people who take care of him, regardless of their senses of irresponsibility and immatureness.
By moving beyond a simple plot, developing an interesting narrative form, and by establishing an odd or rather unique relationship between the two main characters of the film, Kitano has taken a courageous conventional step from his typical violent films, and has created a road movie. The sense of humor, which is a result of skillful formal juxtaposition, along with the whole feeling of the film, that implies somewhat a boy’s perspective of life, have distanced it from a violent tragic drama. At the end looking back at the multiplicity of all the different elements and techniques, we can see how they function together to create an amusing and at the same time touching film.

Claudia's Occupation Sonore

Michel Chion and Michael Snow's Wavelength

Watch the digital version of the film here.

Michael Snow’s Wavelength (Ontario, 1967, 45 min.) has been reviewed and gone under different criticisms, since its production. But critics and theorists have not invested enough attention in analyzing the film through its sonic values. Therefore in this essay, Michel Chion as one of the main figures in cinema theory, who has investigated sound thoroughly, is taken into consideration, and his theories regarding sound and its relation to image have been carefully examined on the way sound operates in Wavelength: the way in which sound adds a value to the image, how it influences the perception of movement and time, how sound functions when it is removed from its source, and finally how different senses transcend the typical sensory system and produce a transsensorial effect.

One of the most vital and perhaps essential films in the history of experimental cinema is Michael Snow’s Wavelength. Screenings of the film have resulted in diverse reactions and experiences, and have triggered more mixed emotions –frustration, boredom, excitement, anxiety and awe– in different audiences than perhaps any other film. It definitely challenges traditional viewing habits, and raises questions and notions on both formal and thematic levels. Louis Goyette describes Wavelength as “a summery of art history which condenses the evolution of painting from the renaissance to the contemporary period, all the while maintaining qualities intrinsic to cinematographic apparatus.”

The film begins with a long shot of a fairly large room, shot with a deep depth of field. The lighting of the room is mainly provided by the natural light, entering through four large rectangular windows, which are at the end of the room, facing the camera. There are also a few florescent lights on the ceiling, which become more effective, in the night shots. The entrance to the room is out of the camera’s framing, but from the flow of characters it can be guessed being somewhere behind the camera on the left.

During the course of forty-five minuets of the film, an extremely gradual zoom-in and in parts track-in takes place. As mentioned, the film begins with a long shot of the room, and then ends with a close-up shot of a photograph on the wall, between the windows, depicting water waves. In addition to this camera movement, there are also textural changes that occur, including subtle and radical changes of color and exposure. There are also black & white shots, different variations of film stock, light flares, day to night changes, visible splices, and negative images.

In wavelength there exists a fine line of narrative as well. This narrative, which is short, comparatively to the length of the film, is kept somewhat abstract, and in parts partially out of frame. There are four human linked events in the film: 1) entrance of a woman followed by two man bringing in a bookcase. 2) Entrance of two women, where one turns a radio on and then off, and the other shuts the window. 3) Entrance of a man, who shortly after falls on the floor. 4) Entrance of a woman who makes a phone call to report the fallen man. The narrative events trigger a shift in the perception of the piece, which is strong and complex on the formal and structural level as well. The audience’s concentration is shifted by these four events, from a formal teleological interpretation of the zoom and the textural manipulations, to the narrative, and vice versa.

More than any other element, it is the sound that shapes the film and creates the necessary relation between the different formal, aesthetic, narrative and contextual factors. However, wavelength has been carelessly described by critics and theorists as a continuous gradual zoom taken from a fixed camera, overlooking the film’s sonic qualities and its effect in the overall experience. In a letter to Peter Gidal on the subject of Back and Forth (1968- 1969), Snow himself did express his frustration with the lack of attention to his employment of sound: “Now as you say seeing the film is a very physical experience. (I can’t understand why you didn’t also say hearing it because the sound, its qualities, relationship to the image, effect, are so important to the whole thing.”

The film begins with the diegetic sound of the location, which is mainly the ambient noise of the traffic outside. Sometimes in parts where the narrative events occur we also get the synchronized sound of dialogues. But the main sound that constitutes most of the film is a sine wave, which begins at around ten minuets through the film. The sine wave starts at a low frequency of 50 Hz and gradually during the course of the film increases its pitch to 12 kHz.
In Audio-Vision Michel Chion introduces the notion of added value¬– an audiovisual illusion in the heart of the most important relationships between sound and image. Chion describes added value as:
…The expressive and informative value with which a sound enriches a given image so as to create the definite impression, in the immediate or remembered experience one has of it, that this information or expression naturally comes from what is seen, and is already contained in the image itself.
The affective influence of sound on image, and the unconscious impression that it leaves on the perception of the motion pictures, acts in two contexts of value added by ‘text’, and the value added by music, as Chion mentions later.

Chion describes cinema as a vococentric or more precisely verbocenteric medium. By this he emphasizes the importance of value added by text, through the spoken voice, or to be more general, language, in cinema. The added value of words can be understood by the way they frame our vision and isolate elements in image. In Wavelength the sound operates on the semiotic level, in two distinct ways, affecting our perception of the visual images. The first and the more apparent one is in the scenes where there are human involvements and we get diegetic sound of spoken words. Those sounds automatically direct our attention towards the presence of the humans, and isolate them from other visual elements in the screen. Now we can argue that this isolation of attention is due to the fact that during most of the film we are viewing an empty room without any human interaction. However in the mentioned events the visuals portraying humans are vague and abstract: characters are visually framed in the dark spots, sometimes partially out of frame, and sometimes under layers of superimpositions. Therefore it can be said that visuals do very little in the process of isolation of attention.
The second and more indirect way in which the sound operates semiotically in adding a value to the image is through the use of a dynamic sine wave. It is quite evident how Snow has used the sine wave as a mean to signify how the film ends. The sine wave which is present almost throughout the film, gains a strong conceptual weight at the end, by the way it highlights the photograph depicting water waves. Here, Snow has played with words and drawn a relation between the image and sound. The sound indirectly by its linguistic qualities adds a value to the image and isolates an element, a photograph– a visual complexity itself.

According to Chion, another way in which sound adds a value to the image is how the sound influences the perception of movement and perception of speed. Chion distinguishes visual and auditory perception referring to their different relationship to motion and stasis. Quoting Chion: “Sound contrary to sight, presupposes movement from the outset. …But sound by its very nature necessarily implies a displacement or agitation, however minimal.” Therefore sound by its very nature has vibrant qualities. However if we avoid physical interpretations of sound and only focus on it perceptive nature, it can be suggested that “fixed sound” is that which entails no variations whatsoever as it is heard. A perfect example of such fixed sound would be a sine wave. Thus the sound that Snow has used in Wavelength is from a “fixed” nature, nevertheless by varying its pitch, and giving it a temporality, Snow has mobilized such sound. Again relating it to the metaphor of wave, it is possible to draw a similarity between water and the sine wave. Water is also by its nature static, but it becomes mobile when it is part of an ocean wave.

Sound can also influence our perception of movement in another manner. It can suggest a movement that is not visually there. A perfect example for this effect, used by Chion, is the sound effect used for the swishy automatic doors in Star Wars saga (Irving Kreshner, 1980), a dynamic pneumatic “shhh” sound. The sound was in fact so convincing that at times the director Irving Kershner, took a static shot of the open door and followed it by a shot of it closed, yet the sound effect which is synced to this cut, gives the spectator an illusion of the movement that is not visually there. In Wavelength, perhaps the ambient sound of the outside traffic suggests such movement, a movement that is not visually there. We never get to see the outside clearly, however because of the diegetic sound of the environment the same kind of infinite temporality that the film has is reflected spatially beyond the windows. Staying in that confined room for nearly forty-five minuets, the sound creates a spatial contrast with the exterior of that location.

This brings us to one of the key notions that Murray Schaeffer has coined, and that is the ‘acousmatic’. Chion defines acousmatic as: “a sound that is heard without its cause or source being seen.” He uses the term acousmatic since he believes both terms, offscreen and non-diegetic, are ambiguous and generally referred to cinema sound. Now the interesting point is that, the acousmatic quality of a sound can only be understood, with its relation to image. In other words, a sound solely by itself has no acousmatic qualities unless it is related to an image, and not necessary an image on the cinema screen. In Wavelength, both non-diegetic sine wave and the diegetic sound of the exterior traffic, have acousmatic qualities. The first one is too abstract to be assigned to any source and the second one’s sources are simply not visible on the screen.

Later in the book The Voice in Cinema, Chion explains two processes of acousmatization and de-acousmatization. acousmatization happens when an image of a sound is removed from it, and vice versa de-acousmatization is when a sound without any image, is given a visual signifier later on. A clear example for de-acousmatization would be when a characters voice is heard offscreen, and s/he enters the frame later. His/her voice is said to be de-acousmatized. Chion assigns a power to acousmatic sounds, a ‘virginity’ derived from the simple fact that its source is not yet inscribed in the visual field. It both challenges the imagination and triggers an excitement for the sound to be known. However as soon as a sound is de-acousmatized, it loses its virginal-acousmatic powers, and becomes a typical image-sound. Snow is very well aware of this power, and he refuses to expose us to the sources of most of sounds in Wavelength. He defines an infinite world outside those windows in that finite space, and creates a metaphor between the sine wave and the waves in the photograph, yet he preserves the acousmatic powers of the sounds and does not reveal their sources.

One of the most important effects of added value is the perception of the time in the image, upon which sound imposes a great influence. Chion uses the term Temporalization for this effect’s process. He then describes ways in which sound can temporalize image: the first is temporal animation of image. Quoting Chion: “ to varying degrees, sound renders the perception of time in the image as exact, detailed, immediate, concrete– or vague, fluctuating, broad.” In Wavelength, even though there are visible cuts, and a cut from day to night, the film gives the impression of being real-time. Chion later on the subject of Temporal Linearization explains:
When a sequence of images does not necessarily show temporal succession in the action it depicts the addition of realistic, diegetic sound imposes on the sequence a sense of real time, and above all, a sense of time that is linear and sequential.
Snow provides the viewer the diegetic sound of the environment, which acts in that accordance, and on top of that the sine wave, even though it is non-diegetic, mainly due to its non-fluctuating quality, linearizes the temporal experience of the image, and gives the image a sense of being in real-time.

The other way in which sound temporalizes image is, according to Chion: “ by vectorizing or dramatizing shots, orienting them toward a future, a goal, and creation of a feeling of imminence and expectation.” In the case of Wavelength, the gradual ascent in the pitch of the sine wave builds up this expectation in the audience. Knowing that this sound is not going to go any higher than a certain pitch, the spectator can vaguely visualize the time when the film is suppose to end. Perhaps a similar feeling to that of viewing a feature length film, where being trained by watching approximately 90 to 120 minuets films, from the beginning of the film we have a quite blurred temporal idea of when the film is going to end.

Chion also analyses the relation between temporalization and sound’s basic qualities such as density, internal texture, tone, quality, and progression. He then names different factors that come to play:
1. How sound is sustained. Chion explains that a smooth and continuous sound is less “animating” than an uneven or fluttering one. At a first glance a sine wave may seem a continuous non-fluctuating sound, but we see that in Wavelength, it perfectly animates the images that are in most parts very difficult to connect with each other. A close hearing of a sine wave will show us, despite our first intake of it, that in fact it is constituted of small cycles of oscillation that occur in the sound. With regards to psychoacoustics, this characteristic of sine wave creates a more tense and immediate focusing of attention on the image.

2. Sound definition. Chion explains that higher frequencies tend to direct perception of the image more acutely, and makes the spectator more alert. This justifies Snow’s gradual tendency towards the high frequency of sine wave, near the end of the film. By the sine wave, he slowly builds up the right tension, and focuses enough attention to expose the photograph.

3. How predictable the sound is as it progresses. As explained earlier, Snow provides the viewers of Wavelength with a sense of time for the film. Considering the threshold of human hearing which is no higher than 20 kHz and the pace of the pitch ascend of the sine wave, the spectator indirectly calculates the film duration and is unconsciously aware. However as the film ends on 12 kHz frequency, Snow conflict that subconscious calculations.

Another key concept that Chion highlights and can be studied in relation to works of Michael Snow and Stan Brakhage, is the notion of transsensoriality. For Chion transsensoriality is that “there is no sensory given that is demarcated and isolated from the outset. Rather the senses are channels, highways more than territories or domains.” He uses the example of rhythm, which is usually thought of as a sonic quality, and generalizes it to other senses:
A rhythmic phenomenon reaches us via a given sensory path– this path, eye or ear, is perhaps nothing more than the channel through which rhythm reaches us. Once it has entered the ear or eye, the phenomenon strikes us in some region of the brain connected to the motor functions and it solely at this level that it is decoded as rhythm.

That is to consider for instance sound and music need not to be confined to the realm of hearing. Brakhage’s silent legacy is perhaps an attempt to produce music with images. He reminds us that because we perceive images with our eyes, we should not necessary draw the conclusion that we can experience it only as visual information. Brakhage states in Film and Music: “I seek to hear color just as Messiaen seeks to see sound.” In Wavelength, transsensoriality is evident in both directions. While the image provide us with a rhythm and musical sensation, the sine wave and the offscreen sounds illustrates an image for our mind; an image of spatial eternity beyond the windows, and at the same time a sensation of temporality.

As it is illustrated above through Chion’s different notions of sound and its relation to image, the sound in Wavelength, operates at different levels, and plays a significant role in contributing to the experience that this film leaves on its spectator, after forty-five minuets of patient viewing. It adds a value on both semiotic and sonic levels to the image, it influences the perception of the movements, and gives a unique temporal quality to the film that is certainly one of the most effective parts of the whole experience. The film presents us with sounds whose sources are never exposed, thereby creating a powerful tension that never goes away. The visual and sonic qualities of this film certainly cross their own sensory organs and create a transsensoriality, a phenomenon that connects them, and creates a powerful film.

Hollywood: the Propaganda Machine of US in WWII

One of the most important weapons that all major countries involved in Second World War used was propaganda, and perhaps the most suitable medium for it was cinema, mainly due to its visual appeal. Not long after Pearl Harbor Roosevelt’s government established the Office of War Information, which was acted as a liaison between Hollywood and government in homogenizing the act of propaganda. Cinema of the World War II in the United States operated certainly on much higher level than simple escapist solution. It touched a subconscious level of an audience, which were in thirst of information about a war that mostly took place away from the homeland.

According to Richard Taylor: “propaganda is the attempt to influence the public opinions of an audience through the transmission of ideas and values.” By using the word attempt Taylor suggests that nature of propaganda in which there should be a purpose. What separates propaganda from other political and social activities is that it pursues a purpose, and a political direction. A propagandist should precisely know the values s/he tends to transmit, and her/his audience’s existing opinions, values, tastes, and needs, in order to establish a connection with her/his audience. For this very reason Taylor dismisses the possibility of the unintentional or accidental propaganda. Regardless of how an artwork might be influential, it only serves as propaganda if it pursues a purpose, or if it is put, by the propagandist, in a context that serves the purpose.

In such a context in which the purpose of the propaganda serves as its core element, it is also important that, the purpose would be kept concealed from the audience. It was Goebbels who once stated: “ Propaganda becomes ineffective the moment we are aware of it.” It is required and absolutely essential for propaganda, in order to be effective, to conceal its origin or sources, the interests involved, the methods employed, the content spread and the results accruing to the victims.

Considering some of the qualities of propaganda described above, it is relevant to reflect on the reasons why cinema above all other mediums, was the main apparatus of propaganda during the Second World War. At that time, cinema was perhaps the most popular mass medium. While the press, only appealed to a certain group of the society, cinema, on the other hand, drew its audience from all different social classes and groups. It gathered them all under one roof and allowed them to share reactions to a particular picture, or in other words, cinema allowed different classes to influence each other’s viewings of a picture. Cinema was less demanding, and easier to comprehend, but above all it was the power of the visuals that made the cinema the most attractive. According to Tylor, the visual appeal operated on the emotions rather than intellects, and it touched us at a more primitive, subconscious level. From the perspective of the propagandist, cinema, provided control over content more than any other medium, and at the same time provided much more diverse variety of possibilities. What was being captured, the position of the camera and how it depicted its subject, the relation between images that was provided by editing, the added value of the voice over narrations and etc., all assisted propagandist in developing her/his desired affect.

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Quoting Clayton Koppes: “When war broke out in Europe in 1939, the United States was the only major power without a propaganda agency.” But even though there was no precise institution in charge of propaganda before Pearl Harbor, the Motion Picture Committee Cooperating for National Defense existed, which was responsible for the distribution and exhibition of national defense films, produced by governmental bureaus. These films included the recruitment films seeking volunteers to serves the military forces and workers for defense oriented industry.

Roosevelt’s first attempt towards establishing a propaganda agency was when he ordered the creation of the Office of Government Reports (OGR) in the late 1939. The president assigned Lowell Mellett, the former editor of the Washington Daily News, as the head of OGR. The agency was mainly responsible for putting the information in a context that serves in boosting the public’s confidence in the military power. OGR was in charge of assuring an atmosphere that would be supportive of the president’s international policies. Citing Koppes: “ the office assumed that if such information were readily available, the private media could be counted on to use it –– a strategy that worked well.”

From that point till the June of 1942, which marked the establishment of the Office of War Information, several information agencies were founded. These institutions, which in some cases had parallel responsibilities and interests, were mainly engaged in production, exhibition, distribution of propaganda material, or the treatment and censorship of the information. Among these institutes was the Office of Coordinator of Information (COI). Made of much stricter personnel, COI was created by executive order in July 1941. COI was mainly committed in producing psychological warfare and confrontational propaganda. This type of propaganda required covert actions such as black propaganda, or what we now call disinformation, skillful use of rumor, deceptions and lies to generate confusion and defeatism among the enemy. And we have to remember this is four month before the Pearl Harbor incident.

With the establishment of such organizations and reactions in Hollywood similar to that of Twentieth Century-Fox chief Darryl F. Zanuck , which frequently spoke in the favor of America’s Entering the war, the isolationists’ frustration was resulted. They accused Hollywood of initiation of a devious campaign to inject its entertainment pictures with propaganda and eventually draw America into a war. However it is also worth mentioning that in three years between Munich and Pearl Harbor, out of one thousand films produced by Hollywood, only fifty had anti-Nazi theme. The majority of the films were non-controversial pure escapists.

In the June of 1942 the Office of War Information (OWI) was established by the government, as a single central liaison between Hollywood and Washington, mainly under the influence of Mellett. OWI budgeted and produced different variety of films. It reviewed and made “suggestions” to the producers. It impose a control over the import and export of the movies, and it provided the armed forces with films, varied from pure escapists to serious educational training films.

On the top of OWI, pentagon imposed its own restriction and censorship. Almost any film that involved the armed forces, Navy or the Army Air Corps in a major way had to go to pentagon, to seek the military’s approval. Each film was checked for the accuracy of the uniforms, insignias and traditions. But obviously it was much more than that, as all the scripts were read before the official approval was given. They made sure that the picture was not harmful to the military’s interest. In return the military provided the film crew with the professional and equipped personnel to assist them in the staging of the battle and camp scenes. The pictures were absolutely dependent to this crew, and the savings in the production cost could have been enormous.

By the summer 1942, when America was already in the war, OWI articulated a guideline for Hollywood called: “Government Information Manual for the Motion Picture Industry.” In this manual OWI highlighted five major aims, which motion pictures needed to take into consideration. Understanding and probing these five element will helps us identify OWI’s main intention and also its comprehension of the American public. It will tell us a lot about what American audience expect from the motion pictures and at the same time what the government wanted to transmit to the public.

1.Why We Fight: In order to justify American presence in war, and also accentuate the patriotic emotions in the public, government and consequentially OWI, were keen on one word more than any other: “democracy.” The flexible term was used as a precious value common between the Allies and perhaps what they fought for. The war was put in a context where it would appear as protection of the American democracy.

Besides the notion of democracy, other values were as well meant to be highlighted. The government wanted to advertise the war as “a people’s war.” Therefore it was keen on depicting and emphasizing the American way of life and “democracy at work.” The pictures showed everybody contributing according to her/his ability regardless of her/his class, ethnicity, or religious identity. It was advised by the OWI to avoid absolutely any stereotypical depictions.

The Pearl Harbor incident, as what initiated the American involvement in the war, was over emphasized. In fact the Japanese were victims of United States propaganda, much more than Germans.

2. Enemy: while American and the Allies resembled the essence of righteousness, the enemy stood for all evil. There were two major issues regarding establishing a general standard of enemy depiction. First who was enemy? Officially Roosevelt administration considered the Axis governments and not their people as the enemy. But motion pictures needed a less abstract, and more visual examples and guidelines for depiction. The second issue was to define fascism. They knew that the enemy was not the entire Germans, Japanese or Italian people, but rather the ideology that seeded the evil doctrine of hatred. But the bureau was still unclear about what fascism was, and who was a fascist, and it sent vague messages to the motion pictures.

However after studying several films of the wartime, Joe Morella draws a general conclusion about the stereotypical portrayals of the enemy in the motion pictures. Germans were regularly portrayed as cultured swine; they could be brutal but were intellectual about it. Japanese were shown as fanatical savages, devious, filthy fighters. In the early war some Hollywood pictures made reference to the Japanese as the “yellow cowards” and “yellow rats” but not very long after the producers were reminded that Chinese, the American’s allies, were also yellow, and might not like racial slurs. As mentioned earlier Japanese were given a much more cruel and brutal image in the films mainly because they were depicted as the ones responsible for United States involvement in the war.

But why was it so important to have a guideline for the way enemy was shown in the motion pictures? Due to the fact that war, at least in most parts, occurred away from the American homeland. The American public showed an interest in knowing and recognizing their enemy. At the same time the troops had to have a knowledge about who they are fighting against, and what ideology it is that in order to resist it they should risk their lives. Having said the sophistication of enemy’s description, such guideline was perhaps considered necessary.
3. The United Nations: Thirty nations were allied against the Axis. The manual homogenized them as anti-fascist democratic societies. The notion of democracy as the bounding value between the allies was over emphasized, even though the communist USSR was among the thirty nations. The manual’s strategy towards this issue was: “Yes, we American reject communism, but we do not reject our Russian ally.” said the manual.

As much as the American public wanted to know their enemy, they showed interest in learning about their allies in the war. The also found it extremely important strategically and also in terms of the increase of the morale, to educate the armed forces about the allies. Perhaps it was for this very reason that Frank Capra, decided to devote three out of seven episodes of his non-commercial government-sponsored propaganda, Why We Fight (1943-45), introducing Britain, China and Russia.

4. The Home Front: Americans certainly didn’t feel the pressure of war as much as some other allies. a notion, which was suggested by the manual to be highlighted, was civilians’ responsibilities during the war. It advised the motion pictures in showing everybody living their normal life while cheerfully their bit for the war. Also any kind f imagery or use of elements that suggested unity and triggered common emotions was encouraged.
5. Fighting Forces: Studios were encouraged to consider battle scene, more than just melodramatic segments of the narrative, rather a good reference for how the armed forces are engaged in the war. OWI urged the filmmakers to stress out all components of the armed forces. By this, Firstly, the public would have gained a reassurance of the strength of their country’s army. Secondly this kind of imagery will prepare them for casualties. And thirdly, to develop more dislike towards the enemy.

These five major factors were taken into consideration by most pictures, and were applied to all propaganda films, accordingly in their variety of genres. This included war documentaries, newsreels, training films, recruitment films, Narrative with war related subjects. The training films were made in order to educate both armed forces and the industry. These films were effective to an extent that General Eisenhower during the war made the statement that “training films had cut the actual training period to an extent that our army was better equipped to fight far sooner than they would have been without what was done by the film industry.” Out of all the newsreels seemed the most untouched and factual of all. However they were highly censored. Over fifty percent of the footage taken by Paramount was deleted and only impounded in government vaults.

As it is illustrated above, government of the United States used all his power, to impose its control over the cinema during the war years. Because of its, visual appeal, accessibility, and ease in its comprehension, cinema was truly the perfect mass medium of the propaganda, during the Second World War period. Even though it took almost a year of confusion in the information sector for the OWI to be established, but it certainly did acquired a respectable amount of authority over what was being produced in Hollywood, over a short period of time. The release of the manual and guideline for production was another step towards systemizing and homogenizing the war propaganda products.

Even though such restrictions were imposed, and the government started charging 20% admission tax, there was an incredible increase in the number of the moviegoers. In 1944 almost 100 million Americans (two third of the population) attended movies each week. With regard to what was illustrated before, we can conclude that the cinema during the war, was much more than an escapist solution. Considering the fact that most of the war happened away from the homeland, we can argue that the American public was much more in need of information, rather than escapism. The high attendence then perhaps was to watch the war news, and acquire information about the enemy and the allies, and of course noting the guidelines, most film were produced in a way to execute the job of boosting of the moral.

References:
Brady, Thomas. “Newsreels and The War.” The New York Times. Jan 12, 1941.
Ellis, Jack C. “ Why We Fight.” International Dictionary of Film and Filmmakers. Vol.1, pages 976-979.
Farber, Manny. “With Camera and Gun.” The New Republic. Mar 23, 1942. Vol. 106, page399.
Koppes, Clayton R., Gregory D. Black. Hollywood Goes to War. The Free Press, New York, 1987.
Manvell, Roger. Film and the Second World War. J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd., London, Great Britain, 1974.
Morella, Joe., Edward Z.Epstein, John Griggs. The Films of World War II. The Citadel Press. Secaucus, New Jersey, 1973.
Taylor, Richard. “ Propaganda and Film.” Film Propaganda. Harper and Row Publishers, Inc., New York, 1979. Pages 19-33.
Thompson, Kristin., David Bordwell. “Wartime Documentaries.” Film History: An Introduction. Ed. 2nd. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1994. Pages 313-317.

Band of Outsiders

Jean-Luc Godard made Band of Outsiders (1964), in his early years of cinema production. Godard has carefully orchestrated different mise-en-scene elements and juxtaposed narrative structure, in order to develop the characters, polish a very simple story and establish a mood in this Black and white picture. His little touches and memorable moments make the picture much more than a simple gangster film. The ambiguity of characters and the oddness of the many elements through out the film create an interesting result. In the following essay the film is analyzed through the perspective of both mise-en-scene and Narrative form.

The film takes place mainly in the outskirts of Paris, in winter. The harsh raw portrayal of Paris suburbs, distances this film from the typical summer romantic clean Paris images. The cloudy, dirty wintery roads and the harsh existence of materials such as the cable spools in the muddy industrial ‘other side of the river’, all together contribute in setting the appropriate atmosphere.

The realness of the images leaves an impression similar to that of documentary films. Almost all of the scenes are shot in real locations. It is event that through out the most of the film, natural lighting has been favored very much. Using the available sunlight, Godard has carefully composited his images, in a way that elements still serve their function. For instance in the English classroom scene, the black board is placed between the two windows, in a way that, when the teacher stands in front of it, facing the class, the light coming from the windows shines on her back which creates a soft light and glorifies her and stresses her posh gesture.
The make-ups are minimal, and they have been done in a seamless fashion, so they won’t drag much attention, remain consistent within the films realness qualities, and function in depicting characters. For example Odile’s make-up is reduced to black-eyeliners, which helps in creating an emphasis on her eyes; what she uses a lot of times to express herself. Odile’s short bangs and hairstyle along with her costume which is very identical to school uniforms, portrays her naïve and childish image. Comparing Arthur and Franz’s appearances, an impression of their differences can be felt. While both are clean cut, Franz seems more fashionable, formal and uptight, especially considering his styled hair cut, and athletic body. On the other hand Arthur’s comfortable, normal clothing and his short hair, suggests rather coolness in his portrayal.

One of the key mise-en-scene elements, seen constantly throughout the film, is “the car” that Franz and Arthur ride. Many of the character dialogues take place in the car. The fact that the car is a topless convertible creates an interesting composition setting, where the background of the characters is a constantly changing sight of Paris. On another level the car also contributes to the narrative: when Franz, Arthur and Odile are riding the car with its roof off in the rain, A kind of bizarre abnormality is presented.

Another important mise-en-scene element, which has been used very frequently, is mirror. The main implication of mirrors is mainly to widen the range of view within the frame, but in Band of Outsiders it is also used in helping character development, and narrative indications. Odile constantly checks herself in the mirror, whether it is the small mobile one that she carries, the one on the wall in the cafeteria, or the one in the cafeterias restroom, which is to suggest Odile lack of self confidence and at the same time a kind of teenage narcissism. We also get to see Mr. Stolz’s jacket in the tall mirror placed next to the closet containing the money; The same jacket that later on causes the setback, and as the result a change, in their rubbery plan.

The character movements and positionings has been well planned in most scenes, and their added value to the narrative is worthy of note. For instance the exchange of the drinks in the cafeteria; the never ending dance, that all three of them strangely do it very well in harmony; or the way they roam around the house with their face covered in black socks, in the scene where they enter the house for the first time. They almost seem to mesmerize the camera, which remains at one place and only tilts and pans to follow their fast enterings and exits.
It is very likely to say that an essence of Brecht’s epic theater is sensible in the actors’ performances. According to Britannica Encyclopedia Epic Theater or Brechtian distancing:
“[…] Blocks audiences’ emotional responses and to hinder their tendency to empathize with the characters and become caught up in the action. To this end, Brecht used “alienating,” or “distancing,” effects to cause the audience to think objectively about the play, to reflect on its argument, to understand it, and to draw conclusions.” 1

The acting style, narrative structure, character motives and dialogues all suggest that Godard was not interested on the psychological believability of his characters. The alienating effect is evident through out the film and its tension in some points is highlighted, and prevents us from emotional involvement and reminds us of the cinematic qualities of the film; acts such as Odile’s feeding the tiger; her stare in the camera; the ride in the roofless car with wet windshield and operating wipers, while there are no evidences of rain; Arthur’s very realistic long reaction to fake mockery Franz’s hand-gun shots; the one minuet of silence which totally cuts off the sound and mixes the digetic and the non-digetic worlds; or perhaps Arthur’s gun fight at the end with his uncle where he receives dozen of bullets, and only dies after he kills his uncle with only one shot.

In terms of the narrative structure, Band of Outsiders follows a simple plot, which is based on Fool’s Gold novel by Dolores Hitchens. What makes the film interesting is Godard’s juxtaposition of odd events in between the storylines. He develops his characters with care without giving too much away, and maintaining their ambiguity.
All characters face a transformation as their roles develop and they get closer to their objectives. Odile, which is first, portrayed as a naïve, uncertain teenage schoolgirl, eventually turns into an assistant in the crime, and reveals the adventurous side of her. Yet at the end when the both robberies fail, she expresses frustration and regret.

Franz and Arthur have almost the same motives. Both of them are after Mr. Stolz’s money and both fancy Odile. While Franz is in love with Odile and therefore is tongue-tied around her, Arthur, whose intention towards her is rather that of lust, seduces her with his smoother flirtatious language. As the robberies fail Franz and Arthur’s real intentions toward her get revealed. While Arthur turns into a cynical tempered character that blames Odile harshly, Franz shows his kindness and calms her down.

One of the interesting features of Band of Outsiders is the third person omniscient narration, which is done by Godard himself. The disjointed Narration covers a wide range of approaches in different scenes. He sometimes uses an ironic and humorous language, while being poetic at other times. At times it expresses character’s inner feelings, or provides absolutely unnecessary statements, or rather leaves comments on the cinematic aesthetics of the film. Godard’s fine line of humor in the narration creates a sense of parody of the typical Hollywood third person narrations.

The film includes a series of playful set pieces, which as narrative techniques function along the Brechtian distanciation, to create the interesting character ambiguity, and also the odd unusual nature of events: the long citations of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” in French, in the English language class; the symbolic race in the louver museum, and shown particularly, in the classical paintings section, which is a humorous demonstration of the absolute ignorance towards ethics and standards; the repetitious never ending dance; Frantz’s pause in the midst of the robbery to swipe a book;

Placing the film within Thompson’s four-part structure, in the first act Odile, Franz and Arthur’s relationship with each other are exposed. Also their main motive as protagonists, which is to rob Mr.Stolz’s illegal money is introduced. The first act ends as the three main characters leave the English class, with humorous Godard’s voice-over narration over the images, explaining why the actual act of leaving the class has been cut off. In the second act the characters are developed as they plan the robbery, and at the same time hang out in a cafeteria and call off the night with a coin toss, which decides a person between Franz and Arthur, that Odile would spent the rest of the evening with. This leads to the first major turning point at almost the halfway mark, which is the departure of Odile from Arthur’s place, and his struggle with his uncle over the informations regarding the money. The first attempt of the robbery, which fails, leads us to the climax, which ends the third act. After the verbal talk between Arthur and Odile, which upsets Odile, the turning point between the third and the fourth act is indicated by extreme long shot views of the Paris landscapes, with voice over narrations on the top. In the fourth act the film concludes with the second robbery attempt, which also does not go very well. By the end the film ties up all the loose strands and leaves no unanswered plot questions, or unclear issues.

Godard has used all the available resources, to create the appropriate mise-en scene, and craft the plot. He has shown that it is possible to create an interesting image using basic available raw martial, simply by integrating them within an interesting yet questionable composition, also inserting unexpected elements in the narrative structure, and Brechtian Distanciation, in order to produce something far more remarkable than a typical gangster film.

1 "epic theatre." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 9 Jan. 2008 .

Zizek, Casablanca and Post-Code Hollywood

Watch the Video Here


Slavoj Zizek is a Marxist/Lacanian psychoanalyst. His psychoanalytic observations of Cinema is very interesting and different. In this video he briefly talks about Casablanca, one of those mediocre Hollywood hits that to my opinion has been over-rated. He also approaches the Post-Code Hollywood censorship, on the level of its subconscious affect.

I really encourage you to check other Zizek videos on youtube. There are two full length features also called: the reality of the virtual and Zizek, that are really interesting.

My Man Godfrey and The Great Depression

Gregory La Cava’s My Man Godfrey (1936) was released in the midst of the Great American Depression. Like many other films of this time, My Man Godfrey served as an escapist solution for the lower classes that struggled with unemployment, specially that the hero was someone they could relate to. My Man Godfrey points the finger at the government and the snobbish higher class, as the main reason for financial hardships and It offers an amusing comedy that concludes in the prosperity of the poor.
The Depression’s social consequences, such as unemployment, bankruptcy, poverty, and clashes of social classes, are some of the main elements that shape the narrative. My Man Godfrey looks at the Depression from the perspective of the rather elite class. On one hand the film is extremely critical of the high society and it represents them as “empty-headed nitwits” through a comic portrayal, and on the other hand it reveals the people in the dump, who are tagged “forgotten” by the rich, as what Godfrey (William Powell) calls: “the society of really important people.”My Man Godfrey is formed around the comic divergence of Godfrey Parks with the negligent upper-class Bullock family. The Bullock family is symbolized as the mindless partying, irresponsible elite who belong to a class that are too occupied by leisure and are somewhat the answer to the unemployment. Mrs. Bullock (Alice Brady) is portrayed as an unintelligent “amusing” person who supports his protégé Carlo (Mischa Auer) , a pianist whose responsibility in the family is rather that of a royal joker. The cold monstrous older daughter Cornelia (Gail Patrick) is described by Godfrey as:
the Park Avenue brat. A spoiled child who's grown up in ease and luxury, who's always had her own way, and whose misdirected energies are so childish... that they hardly deserve the comment even of a butler on his off-Thursday.
The childish and naïve Irene (Carole Lombard) steals a horse from a cab and leaves it in the family library. Mr. Bullock (Eugene Pallette) however seems to be the most rational of all, yet a shareholder whose mediocre understanding of the stock market almost results in his bankruptcy.
The bullock family’s involvement in the scavenger hunt is also to emphasize their idiocy. The inanity of the game and their treatment of the poor illustrate the boredom and silliness of the high society of the time and comically criticize its snobbish intellectualism. The scavenger hunt creates a contrast between the two extreme social classes, the poor in the dump and the elite. While the rich are in search of “something that nobody wants-a forgotten man” just as a matter of amusement, the poor must also scavenge among the rubbish, rather as means of survival. The destiny of those who participate in this game is clear, when Irene explains to Godfrey that not all of them are hunters, but some are receivers, he suggests: “Sounds like a bankruptcy proceeding.”
The film criticizes the wealthy class and holds them somewhat responsible for the misfortunes of the poor, not because of their wealth but rather their arrogant, irresponsible behaviors. For instance in the scene where Godfrey for the first time as the butler serves Mrs. Bullock’s breakfast, she is unable to recall him:
- What's your name?
- Godfrey.
- Are you someone I know?
- We met last night at the Waldorf Ritz.
- Oh, yes, you were with Mrs. Maxton's party at the bar. Or were you?
- I'm the forgotten man.
- So many people have such bad memories.
It is suggested that people like Godfrey have become “forgotten” mainly due to the negligence of the ignorant upper class that are deeply involved in their leisure life. Another example would be Mr. Bullock’s suspicious first encounter with Godfrey. Even though Godfrey is well dressed and relaxed, Mr. Bullock identifies him as a burglar, which indicates not only Mr. Bullock’s suspicious nature but also his superior power over Godfrey. Cornelia’s constant act of humiliating Godfrey to the extend of setting him up for a theft of her pearl necklace, was also along the lines of snobbish higher class cruelty towards the poor. Even Irene, who is in love with Godfrey, finds herself in a superior position over him. She stubbornly obliges Godfrey to love her throughout the film and at the end she marries him by force. By mostly framing her higher and on the left of the Godfrey, the dynamic forces of power are suggested.
The film is also critical of the government interference in the crisis, and shows a preference for laissez-faire instead. In the very opening scene a tramp complains to Godfrey about the police intrusion in his business: “ If them cops would stick to their own racket and leave honest guys alone, we’d get somewhere without all this relief and stuff.” We see that at the end the survival of the forgotten men from unemployment is because of Godfrey’s project which does not involve any welfare or governmental funding. My Man Godfrey also deals with the notion of tax in wealthy families. In the scene where Mr. Bullock warns the family about their spendings, so that he would be able to pay the taxes, the family reacts to the high percentage of the tax taken by the government. Mrs. Bullock argues: “Well, why should the government get more money than your own flesh and blood?” what is evident in this scene is that the wealthier families are also being effected by the Depression, where at the time it is not taken seriously by the family members, as they are far detached from reality, living in their world of leisure.
The film offers a rather capitalist conclusion to the crisis. Godfrey, with the help of his friend Tommy Grey, finances a project where he not only provides jobs for the forgotten men in the dump, but also saves the Bullock family from bankruptcy, due to his understanding of the market. The conclusion suggests that it is Mr. Bullock’s wrong decisions that result in his bankruptcy rather than the harshness of the stock market. By transforming the dump into a nightclub, Godfrey creates the means to earn money and benefit the poor, out of the snobbism and desire for leisure of the high society. The very act that through out the film was demonized and held responsible for the forgotten men’s misfortunes has become their survival solution.
According to Peter Roffman and Jim Purdy, Godfrey’s psychological state is a metaphor of the country’s condition. He has coped with his Depression by joining the common people in the dump. Godfrey describes his experience to his old time college friend Tommy Grey:
when you begin to feel sorry for yourself. And boy did I feel sorry for myself! I wandered down to the East River one night, thinking I'd just slide in and get it over with. But I met some fellows living there, on a city dump. They were people who were fighting it out and not complaining. I never got as far as the river.
The character of Godfrey Sympathizes with, and praises those who struggle through financial difficulties and poverty, mainly due to the Depression. His perfection at work and his effort in being a “GOOD butler,” shows not only his disciplined attitude, but emphasizes his need for the job as well. While visiting the dump with Tommy, which looks even filthier in the daylight, Godfrey stresses the importance of the employment: “the only difference between a derelict and a man is a job.”
Apart from the fact that movies like My Man Godfrey were an escapist solution for the audience, from their troubles and financial difficulties, they provided characters that people could relate to. While everybody blamed a different person or organization for their financial hardship, My Man Godfrey depicts a certain class and points the finger at them and the government state. Following the destiny of a poor forgotten man, the film fulfills the lower class’s fascination with the wealth, by setting the plot mainly in luxurious locations. The film concludes in a way that provides hope, the capitalist solution, which seems to be the only way of having everybody, both wealthy and poor, happy.

New Look, New Policies

Dear Visitors,

I appreciate all your support. I know I don't have that many frequent visitors, and I know the reason. As my variety of submissions are very wide, I get a lot of one time visitors and not many returning ones. So as of now I will categorize the postings in different genres, which are: Cinema, Music, Visual Arts, and Philosophy.

I am happy to have visitors from as far as Saudi Arabia, and Chile. I hope you find the material here helpful to your research and/or curiosity.

There had been also a funny incident. Something like 4 month ago I had a posting on Guerrilla Girls, and in that post there was a non explicit image which was called nude.gif, now because of this image the traffic to my blog has been almost tripled. So a special thanks to perverts for boosting my google location! :)

A historical Look at the production of Munau's "The Last Laugh"

The Last Laugh which had the original German title of Der Latzte Mann- Like the French title Le Dernier des Hommes- was an exteremely well appreciated and valued Film at the time. Bioscope called it: “the greatest film ever made” or referring to The Times, it was “unusually good.” It was the collaboration of three men, F. W. Murnau, Carl Mayer and Karl Freund, which resulted in a picture that with almost no inter-titles managed to be still intriguing and simulating.
The Last Laugh is a portrait of an elderly doorman, who identifies himself with his uniform. Once this uniform is taken away from him due to his age incapability, he finds himself depressed, destroyed and low. Especially that he is transferred to lavatory services, forced to wear a new mediocre white coat.

The story of The Last Laugh is simple, yet the context, in which it is represented in, is complex. The social cruelty that the film criticizes is not presented in the plot, rather in the impressions that the whole complex cinema visualization will leave on the mind, as well as social consciousness. “It is less a narrative of occurrences than a record of psychological experience.”
Although at the time of the screening of The Last Laugh, most of the credits were given to Murnau, scenarist Carl Mayer played an important role in the development of the film. Mayer wrote Scherben and Sylvester, the first two of the Kammerspielfilme trilogy, both directed by Lulu Pick. His disagreement with Pick resulted in Murnau directing The Last Laugh. Quoting Barton Palmer: “Murnau more than Pick was able to realize Mayer’s ideas about dynamic and flexible point of view.” Because of Murnau and Mayer’s understandings of each other The Last Laugh as an outcome was both technically and aesthetically brilliant.
More than anything else this film has been praised for its great use of mobile camera, a concept very new at the time. The Last Laugh’s reputation for great cinematography was a result of Mayer’s concern in writing for camera, describing in details perspectives, positions and movement , also, Murnau’s awareness of camera aesthetics and Karl Freund’s techniques. The utilization of a fully automatic camera, capable of all sorts of movements, enables Murnau to create Mayer’s desired fluidity in the title-free narrative structure.
Murnau and Karl Freund introduced the entfesselte or the “unchained camera”. Murnau employed this technique to create the famous drunk scene, illustrating porter’s distorted, dreamy vision. Freund achieved this kind of picture by attaching the camera to his chest using straps and staggering around the set. In the opening scene, the camera descends in the elevator, goes through the hall way and then exits the hotel entrance to where porter stands, having it all in a long traveling shot. According to Palmer: “Freund achieved this effect by mounting the camera on a bicycle. Another extraordinary shot was the passage of the camera through the glass wall, which was achieved by a discreet dissolve in the montage. Murnau also beautifully showed the movement of sound through camera: the trumpeter turns towards the camera, in a way that the opening of his horn fills the frame, then the camera tracks backward quickly, as if the sound of the trumpet was flying. Same method was used in the scene where the doorman’s neighbors shout the news of his degradation.

The Last Laugh’s set was entirely studio-built, and the whole film, except for the shot in the railway station interiors, was staged there.
What Mayer called ‘in Licht und Glanz’ in Sylvester, which means ‘luminous and resplendent’, was dramatically taken to another level by Murnau: The movement of flashlights, the reflective black oily and wet raincoat, glass surfaces with glitter, shinny coat buttons or the lighted windows of the apartments. Quoting Marc Silberman:
“Light here is not the reflection of an outside source or even an ornamental element but rather suggests in its intensity and dispersal another world, he unseen world of darkness and shadows opposed to such clarity.”
The objects as part of the mise-en-scene play an important role in the narrative structure of the film. For instance the doorman’s obsession with mirrors and the constant act of checking himself in them, which signals his crises over the notion of self-knowledge, or the use of swinging door for creating the ‘expressive framework of the protagonist’s actions’ . But more than anything else it was the doorman’s uniform that contributed to the narrative. Served as a symbol of authority, power and respect, it determined the doorman’s high “rank”(Stand) even though he was from a lower “class”.

Emil Jannings who played the role of the doorman, received a large amount of publicity at the time. Jannings, who was already well known in UK and US for his performances, was a key factor in the plot progression, especially that there was no inter-titles and everything must have been acted out.
One of the interesting instances that happened during the production of The Last Laugh was Hitchcock’s encounter with Murnau. Hitchcock who visited Berlin as an assistant director of an Anglo-German production, filming The Background at the UFA studios, was situated in the neighboring set to Murnau. Hitchcock carefully observed Murnau at work, and was fascinated by his methods. In an afternoon that Murnau and Hitchcock spent together, Murnau “proceeded to point things out” to Hitchcock, such as the use of the perspective.
It was Murnau’s Sense of direction, along with Mayer’s imagination and Freund technical creativity that created the appropriate fluidity in a film with no inter-titles. The mobile camera was a great asset in creating the flow, in a narrative story that was simple, yet complex in context.

Embodied Mind

short reflections on Varela, Thompson and Rosch's idea of cognitivism:

We find ourselves living in a world which has inherited most of its norms from the previously lived cultures which have established an evolving common sense, including our self- knowledge. Technology as an “amplifier” acts in transforming the social practices and making this knowledge possible.

Our minds operate by manipulation of symbols that represent behaviors and features of the world. This “process of symbols” is to a degree that we humans tend to mistaken representations with the actual events and object, while internally representing them. For instance we usually tend to confuse our names, our thought and the ideas of ourselves, with ourselves. Something which results in what Lacan calls “the big other” or what the authors call “separate subjective WE.” Again this internal representation of symbols depends a lot on our historically influenced minds.

Propaganda Through Sound Logo

Last night while I was surfing the channels on my parents TV, I came across this music video on VH1 by Justin Timberlake, called “I’m loving it.” It immediately made me think of two things which I thought is worth sharing:

Of course all of you are familiar with McDonald’s Audio Logo and the punch line that usually comes with it: “I am loving it!” (And you don’t just love it, you are loving it, which means your love for it is increasing day by day! euww!) The song starts with same music and same words only in a more funky remix. This not the first time some big brand is advertised through a song, but what makes this one different is that previously the actually name of the brand was used directly in the song’s lyrics. The affects such advertisement is unbelievable, because when you hear the actual word, automatically you recognize it as advertisement. But in this new way you will even enjoy the song, memorize it and sing it along unaware of its affect.

The second thing is that, the importance of sound is becoming much more significant, and of course the corporations are also aware of it. There a quality about the sound that image lacks, and that is the control over having it in mind. How many times have you kept remembering a song that you don’t even like. If I put this in the form of the cliché Hollywood punch lines, it would be: They have found an even faster way into you brains.

Thinking With Somebody Else's Head

When I was back in Montreal, I discovered this podcast by a fellow called Richard Lloyd Jones.
I managed to Listen to several of his episodes before coming to Dubai, and they were really interesting. The guests whom are presented are very intellectual, and they usually share different point of view than that of those who are often invited to on-air radio station . It challeneges any subject that influences our view of the world: Science, philosophy, psychology, quantum physics, religion,...

Take a look at his blog and listen to some of the podcasts:
http://somebodyelseshead.blogspot.com/

Graffiti: Art or Vandalism?

Not very long ago I used to consider graffiti at the same level as Popular Rap Music. My experience of graffiti was limited only to the gang symbols and rude racial words scratched on the buses and metro’s plastic windows, or the very colorful yet meaningless spray drawings on the walls of Montreal.

While staying in Dubai, a place surrounded by disgusting advertisements as big as skyscrapers, I really felt like drawing something on them because a) they would make huge canvases and b) the messages on them were absolutely filthy. Sharing this idea with a friend who just arrived from UK, made him introduce me to BANKSY.

The first visit to his website made me fall in love with his work, at the same time gave me some great laughs. His sense of humor is keen and smart. The quality of his works is absolutely amazing, and his messages are strong. It very much reminded me of some of the 80’s and 90’s Art groups such as the General Idea or Guerilla girls, yet Banksy’s approach is very new to its kind as Internet is his main venue of showcasing his work. But Internet hasn’t been his only medium of advertisement. He has used tricks like writing on bank notes, painting on the Israeli West Bank Barrier, installing modified reproduction of classical paintings in museum, or simply painting on the walls wherever possible. He has remained anonymous (like guerilla girls), while he has gained an international reputation.

Banksy's website:http://www.banksy.co.uk/

Society of control vs. Disciplinary societies

Deleuze recognizes disciplinary societies as an ended system which has given its place to the society of control, a new intellectual way of applying control over the society. This happens according to Deleuze by blending what Foucault calls “closed environment”. Also other methods like specializing, dividualizing are key points in this process.Today every person has a personal password which is recognized by a machine; a machine that works with a program designed for dealing dividually with individuals.

Delueze's notion of the capitalism in the today’s society of control is also very interesting as he calls it capitalism for the product rather than capitalism for the production, as most of the products are made in the third world where there is cheap labor. And this is why marketing have become the core of the financial society, to an extend where Toni Morrison recognize Fascism a marketing for power rather than just an ideology. By making people paying their tax and debts, today were are enclosed to these methods of control through power where we are consumers in form of numbers and statistics.

Virilio and Minh-Ha on Reality and representation

Virilio tries to express reality through speed of light and time. How the speed of light affects our notion of reality, the fact that we perceive every incidence not at the very moment it occurs; the idea of trans-appearance, and how time plays an important role in our perception rather than the space. Therefore the speed of light which is related to time is more important than the light itself in the way we conceive the reality of appearances. And that is why the image is what Virilio calls shadow of time, referring to Plato.

Virilio also cites Walter Benjamin’s idea of “aura” and discusses how technology made us so close to the things that we are no longer affected by them. We are trying our best to develop systems of control where we are able to do everything simultaneously without necessary being present in different spaces, and here is the notion of mobility which doesn’t necessarily refers to space.

Minh-Ha argues how we are subjective and the technology is absolutely objective; that is why when we hide technology as much as possible, the images we are presenting become far more detached from the reality.

Discussing Minh-Ha, why do we think that the reality is neutral? Can the reality itself be biased as well? Reality, Being untouched and raw whether it may seem biased, is neutral.

Also, if “a bad shot is guaranteed of authenticity" then is a beautiful piece of art, even if it is reflecting reality, always a lie?

Image, Technology and Political Economy

With the emergence of new technologies and the developments in reproduction, “Image” acquired a whole new definition, which no longer maintained the notion of its physical component, and considered the mass production means.

Reproduction has always existed, but with new technologies it has entered a new level. Digital imaging, along with Internet, has created a shift in the visual culture, by providing the easiest reproduction and access tools. A reproduction, no matter how accurate and perfect it is, comparing to its original, lacks an element which Walter Benjamin calls “aura.” The fact that the reproduced image is no longer present in time and space, specially in the digital world where it may even not have a physical existence. (Benjamin, 50)

One of things that make the original, for instance a painting, valuable is its uniqueness. The “aura” of the original, what gives it its cult value, is its oneness, and also the phenomena of “distance.”(Benjamin, 52) Mainly due to its inaccessibility, the original always tends to keep this “distance” with its viewer, even though s/he might be physically close to it.

But with the digital technology where the copy is absolutely identical with the original, the original becomes a copy where at the same time all copies can be considered original. On the top of that is Internet where all these originals are distributed, and can be accessed easily. So the question is that in such a system, does there still exist a notion of “aura.”

The other thing, that has been redefined frequently, after the appearance of digital imaging and Internet, is copyright. Once protecting the uniqueness of an image, now it has entered a whole new level. Images can easily be stored in personal computers and there are such a great amount of users that tracking everybody down, is impossible. The new technology enables the masses to get what they want without the involvement of any power structure or economic corporation. It has created a situation where the visuals can reach anybody in anywhere without passing through the filtering process of capital, and propaganda. It is for this reason that countries like China or Iran limited their people’s access to Internet.

Culture Industry, Propaganda and IMAGE

Image has had definitely a powerful effect, in establishing a visual culture and it has been overused, over centuries, politically to manipulate public perception and to set norms and standards, by political and capitalist economical administrations. Through the notion of representation, image has helped the establishment of the culture industry. In counter point artists have used the same medium to effect their audience, by delivering messages, emphasizing certain social and/or political issues, and exposing them to some realities. Image has also been a tool to document realities and events that are inaccessible to general public. Taking these notions further, because of the technological advances of the modern world, image has gained a new meaning and its use and impact have been moved into a new level.

Image, Culture Industry and Propaganda;
Image has always been culture Industry’s major tool in manipulating general public, and establishing a culture that encourages consumption and the empowerment of capital and power structures.

The term “Culture industry” was first used by Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno in their book, “The Dialectic of Enlightenment.” They expressed the modern culture as a standardized and uniform system that views the mass or rather consumers as only numbers and statistics and tends to force them towards passivity. Quoting Horkheimer and Adorno:

Culture now impresses the same stamp on everything. Films, radio and magazines make up a system, which is uniformed as whole and in every part. Even the aesthetic activities of political opposites are one in their enthusiastic obedience to the rhythm of iron system. (71)

Therefore, one of the key features of the culture industry is producing an illusion of variety and choice for the consumer, when in fact the perfunctorily distinguished products prove to be all alike in the end. All products are manufactured under a formalized procedure, which its mere purpose is the moral and financial benefit of the capital. An example, which explains such an idea well, would be Hollywood, where movies follow the same structure. Although at first they may seem different in content, but in fact they are identical to an extent where from the beginning of the film, it is quite obvious how the film will end and who will be rewarded or punished. Each movie is produced under the investment of the major corporations and thus the financial profits of the movie overwhelm its artistic values.

In culture industry “Image” plays a significant role in establishing power structure or rather Capital’s desired culture. The two of the most affective strategies employed, in which the use of Image is at its core are: propaganda and advertisement.

Political groups and power structures have always used propaganda as a key apparatus in fulfilling their objectives. According to Noam Chomsky:
When you can't control people by force, you have to control what people think, and the standard way to do this is via propaganda (manufacture of consent, creation of necessary illusions), marginalizing the general public or reducing them to apathy of some fashion. (1992)
Through the images that the power structure mediates, and also through imposing control over what is being produced and published, the general public is directed in a path, more likely in the benefit of such power structures.

President Bush and his administration are very well aware of the power of Images in establishing an impression of strength and resolve. Quoting Kenneth T. Walsh: “Throughout the past four years, the president's handlers have surrounded him with the kind of visuals that the camera finds irresistible.”(12/5/04) Patriotic scenes including president with the American flag, children, soldiers and etc. were mainly the center of photographers’ interest and were widely mediated. There were some iconic photographs, which were even key points in projecting Bush and his administrations’ patriotic image. One would be the photograph of Bush standing on the top of the debris of the world trade center, surrounded by police and firefighters, and giving a speech through a bullhorn; an image which portraits a strong authoritative representation of him. Another example would be the photograph of Condoleezza Rice Playing Piano with a string quartet.

She in Placed in the center of the photograph, Under the only light source which is in the frame, in the focused point of the picture, wearing a darker cloth comparing to others in the picture. These all together not only attract all the attentions towards her, but also suggest a powerful, intelligent and emotional persona for her.

Evidently the idea of propaganda is nothing new. For instance Napoleon Bonaparte, not long after his coupe d’tate in 1799, appointed the famous French painter, Jacques-Louis David to memorialize his crossing of the Alps. Although Napoleon crossed the Alps on a mule and in very exhausting circumstances, David painted him questionably theatrical on a white horse, with a victorious gesture. The reality was so distorted in that painting that the French painter Paul Delaroche decided to challenge David’s painting, by repainting the whole scene. He studied all the evidence of Napoleon’s crossing of the St. Bernard Pass and even visited the place himself, to acquire as much information as possible. Delaroche then painted his version of the “Napoleon crossing the Alps”, which marked a picturesque contrast between the Image Napoleon was delivering and the actual reality. (Walker Art Gallery, 2006)













Advertisement, on the other hand, is a kind of propaganda itself, but it has been mainly utilized by Capital and political economy, in order to manufacture a need for the consumption of commodities, rather than promoting a power, or concealing its missteps.

[…]the mechanical repetition of the same culture product has come to be the same as that of the propaganda slogan. In both cases the insistent demand for effectiveness makes technology into psycho-technology, into a procedure for manipulating men. (Horkheimer and Adorno, 98)

More than half of the images that one sees every day are advertisements, sponsoring goods. Most of them not only try to promote a product, but also a new culture or rather “style” that encourages consumption, and keeps the commercial power on scene.

Apple has spent a large amount of money over past years in order to only manufacture a need for their products, or at least create an illusion of need. It has used any kind of advertisement possible, from bus wrappings to TV commercials, employing the same simple attractive theme, which is a silhouette character on the top of a bright background. By leaving the character anonymous, Apple avoids addressing any specific class or cultural ethnicities, and leaves the decision to the public. By aiming at the general public it has represented a commodity, which could belong to any social class. Quoting Horkhiemer and Adorno: “the freedom is symbolized in various media of the culture industry by arbitrary selection of the average individuals.”(88)

As mentioned several times above, the culture industry’s main objective is to produce a need, to manufacture a consumptive culture, mainly by substituting what is being lived with a “representation.”(Debord, 1) In 1967 Guy Debord introduced the idea of spectacle: “The spectacle is not a collection of images, but a social relationship mediated by images.”(Debord, 4) As Debord describes, the spectacle is a social relationship or rather a culture, which is propagated through Images; the culture that defines the material basis of social life, and advertises commodity as a necessary part of the social power.

By Idolizing celebrities and creating positive, attractive but at the same time inaccessible icons, the ruling economy not only affects society’s objectives, but also at the same time moves away their life into something unreal. The affect of spectacles like Hollywood or Television becomes so fundamental, and changes many of the personal and social ideologies to a degree, that it directly effects the social life and forms it own culture. All the social relationships, even in the most intimate situations, the choice of words, and even the emotional reactions are all affected by the spectacle and tend to become similar to the models that the culture industry provides.( Horkhiemer and Adorno, 100)

Alan Watts :::: Time :::::

Alan Watts a western Philosopher, who has a very deep understanding of the Buddhist Zen, Talks about time, a very absurd notion which tends to keep us away from the Tibetan/Sufi ideology of living in the second:

High Art industry, women and Artists of color:::: Part II

As stated earlier the Guerilla Girls, a feminist group of artists formed in mid 80s, were well aware of the power structures that effected and had control over High art, and the strategies that they chose in order to fight back, were appropriate in its context. For Adorno, “although administration is inescapable, it is vulnerable to the fact that it lacks the ability to plan every detail of every eventuality in advance, and to the extent that it tries to do so, administration becomes consumed by its own inefficiency. This limit guarantees the possibility of something different which, because it is not planned, embodies the value of hope.”[1] Hence Guerilla Girls were able to, under the right circumstances, secure their position by forming autonomy within an organizational form, to which it was opposed, through the involvement of administrators who happened to share the same aesthetic values.[2]

In order to escape the organizations and institutional structures, underneath the power hierarchy that promote high art, Guerilla Girls chose ‘public art’ as the medium to communicate with their audience. Apart from posters which are their most public communication tool, they have also done billboards, bus ads, magazine spreads, protest actions, letter-writing campaigns, and putting up broadsheets in bathrooms of major museums.[3] In this way they have not only escaped the biased administrative selections, which happen within the museums and galleries, but they have also reached a much broader audience.

Another strategy used by Guerilla Girls in order to have the best impact on their audience, has been their reliance on the mass culture rather than the world of high art. Quoting Gertrude Stein, from the Guerilla Girls, “there is a popular misconception that the world of high art is ahead of the mass culture, but everything in our research shows that, instead of being avant-garde, it is derrière.”[4] Because of the honesty that was evident in their work, and the simplicity of their message which, communicated easily with the mass audience, their work didn’t allow any misinterpretation. Therefore the public could easily understand and appreciate their work, without feeling the need to refer to a critic in order to communicate with its message, although the critics still did criticize their work. In other words, in this situation, the public no longer identifies museums and critics as a superior ‘knower’, because the art work is ‘known’ to him/her by itself already.

Apart from the tactics, mentioned above, Guerilla Girls used other techniques as well, which are worth mentioning; they wanted to be shocking. By calling themselves, a group of grown women, ‘girls’ which can imply that they are not complete, mature or grown up, they attracted a lot of attention. Also wearing Guerilla masks as a disguise, in order to both earn attention and remain anonymous. According to Zora Neale Hurson: “being anonymous, operating under code names and alter egos, has meant there are no career gains to be earned by being a Guerilla Girl. This makes us all equal, gives each of us an equal voice, no matter what our position may be in the ‘real’ world.”[5] But one of the most important qualities of Guerilla Girls which earned them a lot of attention has been ‘humor’. By ridiculing and belittling the system that excluded them[6], they not only criticized the system in an amusing way, but, as said by themselves, humor gets people involved. [7]

But are any of the activities similar to Guerilla Girls, General Idea or any other ‘activist art’ movement effective? Do they actually make a difference? Without a doubt they have been indeed effective, but it is not in a way that displays a cultural shift at once. Putting it differently, the major effect of these activists arts happen in a very large time scale. Jeremy Valentine explores this concept, through Hardt and Negri’s Empire: “Empire is not a stable system that is limited and that can be weakened and overcome by direct attack.”[8] Referring to the power structures by the term Empire, Hardt and Negri support this idea, that it is impossible for any activity or protest against the empire to have an immediate effect on the power structure as a whole; the effect can only be gradual. Quoting Valentine again: “In terms of political significance of art, the idea of an oppositional sphere defined in terms of political casualty of aesthetics, […] has dissolved. This is not to say that art is suddenly without effects, including broader social changes. It is to say that these cannot be determined or guaranteed.”[9] Valentine believes these effects cannot be guaranteed mainly because the effect of any opposition to the power structure does not happen instantly. Of course when Guerilla Girls where asked whether they have made a difference or not, they believed they have made dealers, curators, critics and collectors ‘accountable’. They have been protesting for feminism and artists of color for more than 20 years now, and things have certainly changed over these decades.

As demonstrated here and in the previoua post, because the whole power structure that imposes an authority over the art, is affected by white-male-heterosexual-western prejudice, the groups who share a value different than that of the system, do not get the recognition they deserve. Different strategies have been employed by activist artists, such as Guerilla Girls. Such Strategies may have not shown its impact; its influence is gradual over large time scales. But these protests have certainly been effective.

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[1] Valentine, Jeremy. “Empire and Art: Aesthetic Autonomy, Organizational Meditation and Contextualizing Practices” Art, Money, Parties: New Institution in the Political Economy of Contemporary Art. (Liverpool University press, 2004), 199.

[2]Ibid, 200.

[3] Guerilla Girls (whoever they really are). “Guerilla Girls bare all: An Interview” Confessions of the Guerilla Girls. ( HarperPerinial, 1995), 18.

[4]Ibid, 26.

[5] Ibid, 20.

[6] Ibid, 15.

[7] Ibid, 15.

[8] Valentine, Jeremy. “Empire and Art: Aesthetic Autonomy, Organizational Meditation and Contextualizing Practices” Art, Money, Parties: New Institution in the Political Economy of Contemporary Art. (Liverpool University press, 2004), 192.

[9] Ibid, 196.