French cinema 3.28 Flashcards
Criticism of Jean-Jacques Beineix,
Diva ?
- The movie has lots of visually appealing scenes but lacks meaning.
- Action scenes seem more like a sightseeing tour of Paris than contributing to the plot.
- The story includes too many unbelievable elements like a drug ring, white slavery, and corrupt police.
- Characters are overly eccentric and feel like they’re from a comic book.
- Overall, it’s criticized for prioritizing style over substance.
Diva and the Commodity:
Mirrors to our Own Desire?
- The film is filled with visually appealing images, like shiny surfaces and mirrors, which reflect our collective desire for value.
- These shiny objects in the film represent how commodities are valued based on social influence rather than inherent worth.
- “Diva” is likened to a series of flashy advertisements, featuring recognizable brands and products.
- The Diva’s dress symbolizes the idea of fetishizing commodities, where objects gain value beyond their material worth.
critics argue that “Diva” diverges from the New Wave film movement’s focus on creativity and resistance to conformity.
It embraces consumer capitalism of the 1980s.
The film is seen as a glossy product devoid of substance, mirroring our own desires and projections, much like a commodity.
Beineix’s Response to
his Critics
Advertising merely borrows ideas from artists and doesn’t create anything new.
The film embraces beauty, which the New Wave cinema rejected, leading some critics to wrongly associate beauty with advertising.
Beineix suggests that the New Wave cinema was focused on realism, while his film explores color and aesthetics differently, leading to misunderstandings by certain critics who equate these elements with advertising.
Détournement
- Diva” brings color back into artistic expression by:
- Borrowing artistic techniques from advertising.
- Viewing color as a symbol of beauty.
- Experimenting with new combinations of color to create artistic expression.
Does Diva
Subvert Capitalist
Culture ?
“Diva” explores the subversion of capitalist culture and the commodification of art through:
- Two contrasting recordings: one by Nadia, a prostitute, and the other by Jules of the Diva’s live performance.
- Cynthia Hawkins, the Diva, argues that business should adapt to art, not the other way around.
- The film questions the concept of authenticity in art, suggesting that endless creativity and personal expression are more important than strict originality.
- It challenges the idea of authenticity in French or European culture, with the black Diva resisting the reproduction of her art and rejecting notions of cultural purity.
“Diva” portrays a transition from authenticity to marginality through?
- Depicting the police captain’s associates, including a stereotypical neofascist character with militaristic attire and haircut typical of the early 1980s.
- Irony is observed as one of the thugs emphasizes “order,” reflecting a reactionary commitment to law and order that opposes anything deviating from the perceived authenticity of France and its traditional rulers, often targeting youth, minorities, and foreigners.
- “Diva” coincided with the rise of the neofascist far right in France, marking a period where reactionary ideologies gained electoral ground, which the film critiques.
Touki Bouki
- film maker -> Djibril Diop Mambety
- It doesn’t follow the typical beginning-middle-end sequence.
Instead, it’s organized in a circular manner, with events interconnected in a logical but non-linear way. - The film blends highly realistic scenes, like those set in the abattoir, with dreamlike montages.
- This mixing of realism and surrealism blurs the line between what’s real and what’s imagined in the story.
“Touki Bouki” explores the theme of deception and the loss of freedom through?
- The title “Touki Bouki” translates to “Journey of the Hyena” in Wolof.
“Bouki” is a trickster figure in Wolof tradition, symbolizing falsehood and deception. - The film critiques the betrayal of hopes for independence in Africa by the false promises of Western materialism.
- Africans are portrayed as being corrupted by Western materialism, leading to a loss of cultural authenticity and freedom.
How does Djibril Diop Mambéty emphasizes the importance of African filmmakers going beyond simply recording facts in their films?
- Filmmakers must choose between sticking to conventional storytelling or delving into stylistic experimentation.
- Mambéty believes that African filmmakers should strive to reinvent cinema by creating a distinct African film language.
- This language should prioritize visuals and sounds over dialogue, aiming to communicate ideas and emotions in a unique and impactful way.
- While challenging, this approach is seen as essential for African cinema to carve its own identity and resonate with audiences on a deeper level.
How does Djibril Diop Mambéty highlights the power of images and imagination in African culture?
- Africa’s rich tradition of oral storytelling emphasizes the importance of imagery over written words.
- Oral tradition stimulates the imagination, leading to the creation of vivid mental images.
- Mambéty suggests that this tradition of storytelling and imagination is a direct precursor to cinema.
- Oral tradition isn’t just about speaking; it’s about evoking and creating images that engage the imagination of the audience.
how does Djibril Diop Mambéty discuss the concept of agency and freedom in his storytelling:
- Mambéty believes that when a story concludes, it sparks dreams and imagination, offering lessons for society.
- He acknowledges the freedom he gives his audience to engage with his stories or not, respecting their agency to choose their own path.
- Mambéty emphasizes the importance of liberty in his work, allowing individuals to enter or exit his stories as they wish, reflecting his belief in personal freedom and choice.
How does Djibril Diop Mambéty express his perspective on actors and the magic of cinema?
- Mambéty doesn’t believe in the idea of a professional actor in the traditional sense. While they may exist economically, he feels they break the magic of both the dream and the cinema.
- He prefers not to reuse actors after they’ve worked together because he believes they’ve already given everything they can to a role.
- Mambéty recalls being disappointed as a young moviegoer when he saw actors who had died in one film appearing alive in another, as it shattered the magic of cinema for him.
- He emphasizes the importance of preserving the magic of cinema, which he sees as a tool in creating and conveying dreams.
How does Djibril Diop Mambéty discuss the fusion of cultural elements in film?
- Mambéty says talent matters more than ethnic differences in film.
- He believes film is a collaborative process where everyone’s input matters.
- Viewers should be free to understand and criticize what they see.
- The film’s soundtrack mixes different types of music.
It shows an African man on a French car with the American flag, singing a traditional song, highlighting creativity. - The film challenges stereotypes and colonial ideas by satirizing French expats and capitalist mimicry
How does Djibril Diop Mambéty discusscthe importance of marginalized characters in his film?
- He finds marginalized people more impactful for community evolution than conformists because they connect communities to the wider world.
- The characters in “Touki Bouki” have unconventional dreams; they dream of finding Atlantis overseas rather than building castles in Africa.
- Mambéty’s own dreams are inspired by theirs, and he laughs at them as a way to cope.
- Anta and Mory’s dreams make them feel like outsiders in their own country, so they are marginalized.
- Marginalized people provide a different perspective on society because they deviate from its norms.
- Characters like the woman who sails to Europe in “Touki Bouki” inspire Mambéty’s understanding of his own existence in relation to otherness.
