Final Exam Flashcards
Stylistic Traits of Film Noir
Low key lighting Horizontal and Vertical shafts of light Varied camera angles Location shooting Claustrophobic framing Urban settings Voiceovers
3 Tiers of Production/Types of Films in the New Hollywood
Blockbuster
Moderately Priced Star Vehicle
Independent Film
Ways that the US film industry responded to the feminist movement
Avoid issue through male buddy films Films of violence against women Melodramas Serious films about families which often include regular people Comedies that raise issues of gender
Narrative Traits of Film Noir
Flashbacks and Non-linear plots
Complex and ambiguous protagonists (anti-hero)
Futility, dehumanization, impersonalization, alienation, and angst as themes
Femme Fatale
Lack of Individual Agency
Crime and Corruption
Despair and Hopelessness
Key problems facing Hollywood after WWII
Divesting of theaters (US v. Paramount)
Restrictions on Overseas Markets
Fears arising from HUAC investigations
Two cornerstone beliefs of the American Consensus
Domestic sphere (American society basically sound) Foreign sphere (Only serious threat was the fear of Communist expansion)
When was the first wave of Hollywood Ten trials?
1947
What were they looking for in the 2nd wave of HUAC hearings?
Focus on Political beliefs of individuals
Pressure to Name Names
4 Cultural Functions of Movies
Lamp (illuminates social reality)
Comforter (reaffirms dominant values)
Radar (captures & presents emerging new perspectives)
Conscience (criticizes social institutions & human flaws)
What happened from the consensus to polarization in late 1960s?
Break-up of studio system Civil Rights Rediscovery of poverty Reaction to Nuclear arms race Stirrings of women's mvmt Assassinations Vietnam Urban unrest
Features of Left Cycle Films
Young rebel or alienated protagonist
Antagonists are members of “establishment”
Ritual “unhappy endings” (uncertainty, death, or defeat)
More explicit representation of sex and/or violence than CHF
Theme: Disillusionment with American culture & establishment institutions
Features of Right Cycle films
Protagonists usually policemen or vigilantes
Villains usually criminals
Set in contemporary urban areas
Endings: death of antagonist (regeneration through violence)
Society portrayed as under stress but worth defending
Film style can: (2)
convey a cultural mood like alienation
express a cultural mood like alienation
3 Definitions of Independent films
Film distributed outside of major studios by independent or “Indiewood” distributors
Film made on a low budget
Film directed by filmmaker who has independent vision and is generally unwilling to make safe, mainstream films on large budgets
Features of Blockbuster
Aim for widest possible audience
Often based on pre-existing action-genre material
Return to WASPy protagonists
Often plot driven narratives
Return to CHC Resolved/Closed Endings, room for sequel
Emphasize special effects technology
Celebrate but sanitize violence
Reestablishment of the audience as “children”
Revival of a Manchiean view of the universe
Celebration of heroism & American individualism
Social Factors for Decline of Studio System
Baby Boom
Suburbanization of America
Increased Competition for Recreational Dollar (active entertainment)
Political Factors for Decline of Studio System
Cold War
HUAC (FW ‘47, SW ‘51-‘53)
Technological Reasons for the Decline in Studio System
Television!
Technological Attempts by Hollywood to Fight Back
Drive-in theaters Widescreen 3-D Engaging a new sense (Emergo, Smell-o-vision) Dealing with "the Devil" (films to TV)
Two types of 1960s Hollywood films
Traditional, middle class (Disney, James Bond)
Left cycle films (international films, Dr. Strangelove)
Reasons for Break-up of the American Consensus
Rise of the Civil Rights Mvmt Growing Awareness of Poverty in America Reaction to Nuclear Arms Race Assassinations Urban Riots and Violence Vietnam Women's Mvmt
Cult of True Womanhood (4 things)
Purity
Piety
Domesticity
Submissiveness
3 Qualities of cinema in Reagan persona
Reassurance
Optimism
Nostalgia
2 Sources of lost confidence of the 1970s by Americans
Vietnam ends in ‘75
Watergate in ‘74
Reaganite values and attitudes (6)
Regeneration Nostalgia Paradise Lost/Paradise Regained Striking Back Castles in the Air Countercurrents/Against the Grain
Qualities of Official/Community Hero
Official Woman
Committed to marriage/family
Believes in love/commitment
Subordinates own desires to interests of family
Qualities of Outlaw/Individual Hero
Independent/Passionate Woman
Assertive, independent, and desirable
May pursue love and romance outside of marriage
Often are self-interested
