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
