QUIZ 4

Question 1

Criticism of Diva- Jean-Jacques Beineix

Answer 1

pretty pictures of spaces that are empty or cluttered for no reason
filled with color and senseless action that amount to visual tourism: 2 scenes are like a tour of Paris by night
plot is unbelievable

Question 2

Diva and the commodity

Answer 2

mirrors to our own desires
gallery of beautiful images
shiny reflective surfaces- as if the film itself was a multi-faceted shiny product that reflects our own collective desire for commodity
reproducible object who’s universal value stems from its socially mediated and phantasmic/spectral quality
film is like a long series of shiny glitzy ads of brand names: coke and rolls royce

Question 3

Summary of criticism of Diva

Answer 3

turns away from the new wave and its resistance to conformity contributes to consumer capitalism
Diva presents itself as a commodity

Question 4

New wave use of rhythm as…

Answer 4

a critique of and escape from commodity

Question 5

Beineix’s Response

Answer 5

the shift and emphasis towards color as an element of form contributes to the beauty of fil but doesn’t reduce it to emptiness

Question 6

What was Beineix known as

Answer 6

leader of the cinema de lux movement

Question 7

Detournement

Answer 7

Diva kidnaps color back into the realm of aesthetic
color as a reflection of beauty
using color in new combos toward creative artistic expression
re-appropriates artistic methods from advertising

Question 8

Does Diva subvert capitalist culture

Answer 8

recording as a commodification of art
originality VS authenticity
lack of authenticity or an artistic original= an endless possibility of creativity, improv
answer to commodification is not clinging to an illusory authenticity
this critique of authenticity extends to notion of what is authentically French/European

Question 9

Two recordings in Diva

Answer 9

1. tape made by Nadia- prostitute gf of corrupt police captain
2. Jules recording of Diva’s live performance

Question 10

Diva: from authenticity to marginality

Answer 10

a police captain’s stooges, including a typical neofascist type of the early 1980s
one of the thugs ironically insists on “order”
Diva critiques the neofascist far right after it wins it’s first victory

Question 11

what is ideological commitment to law and order of thugs expressed as

Answer 11

intolerance against anything that stands against authentic France and its rightful rulers

Question 12

Touki Bouki

Answer 12

non-linear but has a tight circular logic
juxtaposes highly realistic scenes and oneiric (dream-like) montages

Question 13

what does the juxtaposition of realistic and dream-like scenes do

Answer 13

collapses the line between realism and surrealism

Question 14

Jean-luc Godard said

Answer 14

A story should have a beginning, middle, and end but not necessarily in that order

Question 15

Djibril Diop Mambety

Answer 15

director of Touki Bouki
Wolof and muslim
widely viewed as one of the greatest film makers of 20th century

Question 16

What did Scorcese say about Touki Bouki?

Answer 16

a cinematic poem

Question 17

What is the hyena trope?

Answer 17

deception of freedom
the hopes of independence are being betrayed by the false promises of western materialism

Question 18

What does Touki Bouki mean in Wolof?

Answer 18

journey of the hyena

Question 19

What tope is Bouki in Wolof tradition?

Answer 19

trickster trope
it signifies falsehood
man as a caricature of himself

Question 20

Film and ethnic particularity

Answer 20

layered soundtrack of avant-garde jazz, western pop, African drums and flute
African man naked on top of French car displaying an American flag singing a griot song

Question 21

Zamrock

Answer 21

early 1970s
post-colonial African psychedelic rock

Question 22

The Lover

Answer 22

Originally written by Marguerite Duras
Film directed by Jean-Jacques Arnaud

Question 23

Marguerite Duras

Answer 23

born in French Indochina (Vietnam)
novelist, playwright and screen play writer