In class today (Thursday), we discussed various genres as we lead into our Theory Paper. We also discussed doing research. For today, I would like to expand that exploration, as well as create a clearinghouse of readings for our unit.
Please select any genre--it can be one mentioned in class, or another, and answer the following questions in the comments section. Be sure to include your name, and post by 9 pm tonight.
1. What genre did you choose?
2. Locate a credible article about this genre, preferably from a scholarly journal. What is the name of the article/author/source?
3. Post a link to the article (it may require a UCSB password if you accessed it through the library's databases).
4. Summarize the article in a few sentences.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
24 comments:
Geno Creese
I found an article on film noir and the elements that compose the genre and using external sources to define films in this style
http://www.resnet.trinity.edu/wmclean/filmnoir.htm
and it was written by Charlie Mclean of Trinity University from a course on film noir and Sin City
"Realism, Dream, and 'Strangeness' in Andrei Tarkovsky" by Thorsten Botz-Bornstein
This article discusses and compares formalist and realist conventions, and explains their beginnings in Soviet Russia during the 1920s. Sergei Eisenstein, the godfather of formalism, is discussed at length, as well as director Andrei Tarkovsky, who is often thought to have flirted with the formalist/realist distinction.
-The article was featured in the "International Salon Journal" in 2004.
http://www.film-philosophy.com/vol8-2004/n38botz-bornstein
Matt Carona
I found a book on the narrative patterns of Film Noir. Titled "Voices in the Dark" written by J.P. Telotte.
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Bf8jTtTPpz0C&oi=fnd&pg=PP9&dq=film+noir&ots=jFEXs-lo-I&sig=jbLh_8w9fLDgJXfTNGBZ3L-7gEc#v=onepage&q&f=false
Genre: Science-Fiction
"Not exactly 'of woman born': procreation and creation in recent science fiction films" by Susan George.
In this article Susan George discusses how science fiction films have become cautionary stories to remind us that science can both help and hurt us. She compares the 1990’s sci-fi films Gattaca, Species, and Mimic to films in the 1950s. She argues that in the 1950s films expressed anxiety over nuclear technology and weapons whereas in the 90’s films expressed anxiety over genetic engineering and reproductive technology. Thus, rather than being the cure of the hero’s situation, technology has become the cause of it.
This article was in the "Journal of Popular Film and Television" Winter 2001, Vol. 28 Issue 4, p176-183
http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.ucsb.edu:2048/ehost/detail?vid=5&hid=123&sid=3fee8aec-e360-43ee-88a5-5ea5aa98f1d5%40sessionmgr110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aft&AN=504992977
http://pegasus.library.ucsb.edu:80/F/AQVIJPX3EB7UHD9J1KXB6DHQMJGGKBVT8RLXX1HNNS1JVQITLB-67257?func=service&doc_library=SBA01&doc_number=002682396&line_number=0001&func_code=WEB-FULL&service_type=MEDIA
(you can only see this link on campus, it is from the UCSB library website)
Genres: Film Noir, melodrama, horror...
I found a book entitled "Refiguring American Film Genres: History and Theory", edited by Nick Browne. It adopts a historical context in order to study American film in a manner that allows for expansion upon previously "enclosed" categories or genres. The idea behind the writing is to question the boundaries of film criticism and to examine the effects and functions of popular culture in American society.
Lauren Radonich
Action Films
"How the American Action Movie Went Kablooey" by ADAM STERNBERGH
Source: New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/magazine/how-the-american-action-movie-went-kablooey.html?pagewanted=all
This article is about the decline in quality of the Action genre in America and bases the argument on the recently released film, The Raid: Redemption. Sternbergh claims that the old American Action films, like Die Hard and RoboCop, brought out pride in American toughness and now there is not a set in stone definition of the Action genre anymore. He states three qualities action movies should contain and then goes on citing movies from the 70's to the 90's that fit these three requirement. He then comes full circle and ends with giving support to his claim that The Raid: Redemption is the way the action genre should be defined.
The Western
“Cowboy Business” by Thomas Schatz in the New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/10/magazine/11schatz.html?_r=1
The article explores the rich history of the Western genre. Beginning with the silent film, the article explains the techniques used to film some of the first Westerns including the 1903 “Great Train Robbery.” It then explains how Western films influenced the film industry to move to Hollywood around 1911. They were filmed outdoors and California provided the perfect weather and location to film. The article then continues to explain how the Western film genre has evolved throughout the last hundred years.
Jacob Davis
Genre: Comedy
Title: Mel Brooks Meets Kenneth Burke (and Mikhail Bakhtin): Comedy and Burlesque in Satiric Film.
Author:
Bonnstetter, Beth E.
Source: Journal of Film and Video; Spring 2011, Vol. 63 Issue 1, p18-31, 14p
http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.ucsb.edu:2048/ehost/detail?vid=7&hid=123&sid=3fee8aec-e360-43ee-88a5-5ea5aa98f1d5%40sessionmgr110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aft&AN=505402535
In this article Beth Bonnstetter discusses different styles of satirical conversation in Blazing Saddles and History of the World, Part 1, both directed by Mel Brooks, compared to Kenneth Burke’s poetic category of the burlesque and Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of the carnival. Satiric speech can also work through Burke’s poetic category of comedy, but the emphasis changes from crime to stupidity.
Genre: Fiction/Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Source: Wall Street Journal
Author: Alexander Alta
Summary:
Article about the overlapping genres of fiction with sci-fi, fantasy and much more. There has been a wave of vampires, ghosts, zombies and robots in unconventional film elements that is certainly changing the image of film fiction.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304520804576343310420118894.html
"The Auteur Theory Reexamined"
by Donald E. Staples
http://www.jstor.org.proxy.library.ucsb.edu:2048/stable/info/1225411?&Search=yes&searchText=film&searchText=auteur&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dfilm%2Bauteur%26acc%3Don%26wc%3Don&prevSearch=&item=17&ttl=3982&returnArticleService=showArticleInfo#abstract
This article aims to study what comprised an auteur, how the theory was intended on being used in the film world, and how the theory has shifted with regards to the cinema today.
This article by Jeffrey Richardson is called "Cowboys and Robots: The Birth of the Science Fiction Western." It's about The Phantom Empire, a film from 1935 that combined the elements of science fiction and western (and also musical) genres.
http://crossedgenres.com/archives/006/cowboys-and-robots-by-jeffrey-richardson/
Caitlin Gonzalez
Genre: Italian Horror Films
Link: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/Post-Script/95501715.html
Summary: The article discusses the historical influences in Italian Horror films of the 1960s. One of the biggest characteristics of the genre is that there is a focus on realism in the psyche of the characters. The films are focused on the exploration of the deviant mind. The article goes on to explain how the events of World War II shaped the genre of Italian Horror films. It shows how Italian Horror Films emerged out of the Italian Neorealism era of post WWII.
http://www.salon.com/2012/03/06/when_harry_met_sally_and_ruined_the_rom_com/singleton/
Genre:Romantic Comedy
This article discusses how since "When Harry Met Sally" came out, it forever ruined the romantic comedy genre by creating a template that all others will follow.
Romantic Comedies and the "meet cute"
http://www.filmbug.com/dictionary/romantic-comedies.php
This article describes the general conventions of a romantic comedy but specifically focuses on the element in almost every romantic comedy, the "meet cute." The article also includes some examples of movies with this element.
"Fantasy Films: Theory and Ideology" by Katherine A. Fowkes
http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Criticism-Ideology/Fantasy-Films-THEORY-AND-IDEOLOGY.html
This article discusses the basic tenets of fantasy movies, including the three modes of fantasy and the ways films are used both as escapism and as a way to subverted typical Hollywood conventions.
The author talks about the similarities of romantic comedy films and the predictability of the genre as a whole. They do not hide their distaste in their genre in the article either.
A Fine Romance, My Friend, This Is
By A. O. SCOTT
Published: February 3, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/03/movies/03scot.html
Jake Yermini
"How the Western was Won" by A. O. Scott
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/magazine/11west-t.html?pagewanted=all
Scott give a rundown of the development of the Western genre and its impact on the Hollywood industry. The development of the Western genre was seen as lost until the resurgence of interest by films like Unforgiven and Dances with Wolves that tweaked the formula.
The first paragraph of this article is in French, but I think it isn't related to the actual content because the rest of it is in English. The article is called "Vicious Womanhood: Genre, The Femme Fatale and Postwar America"
http://iipa.chadwyck.com.proxy.library.ucsb.edu:2048/articles/displayItemPDF.do?format=PAGE&PQID=2403263111&journalID=JID08475911&royaltiesid=LOUJID08475911&product=iipa&articleID=iipa00615283
I found a journal article on the 'Christian Apocalyptic Thriller' genre in literature and film alike. The author analyzes different examples of the genre, and expands on the commonalities seen in these examples.
http://dandelionjournal.org/index.php/dandelion/article/viewFile/17/46
I found a book titled "The Western Genre: From Lordsburg to Big Whiskey." It accounts for history of the western genre, beginning with influential older films and discussing the genre's development over the years. The western was greatly effected by its main auteurs, John Ford, Howard Hawkes, and Anthony Mann. The book focuses on major conventional changes and films that paved the way for new style westerns.
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=bq9BwTvJWFoC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=western+genre&ots=6zMgCZxROC&sig=oWGxSkQseeX3RhsrOeYm2Blzi58#v=onepage&q=western%20genre&f=false
Film Noir
I found a book entitled In A Lonely Street by Frank Krutnik that talks about film noir and how it originated in the 1900's.
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=vBDFZZjJbQQC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=romantic+comedy+film+genre&ots=_A03yyF2jL&sig=8i_4Fm7252_WC4GKjh7wcNiEk-s#v=onepage&q=romantic%20comedy%20film%20genre&f=false
Sarah Peralta
Genre: Japanese Anime
"FILM; Anime, Japanese Cinema's Second Golden Age"
This article discusses the evolution of Japanese anime. It includes its history and how it has become a phenomenon in the United States, giving various film examples.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/20/movies/film-anime-japanese-cinema-s-second-golden-age.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
Post a Comment