Summer 07: Feminist Film Studies

This would just be my extended thought process concerning No!: A Rape Documentary.

Besides all of the issues of form and content found with No!, I thought that the concept of a rape documentary was crucial in breaking down the barriers placed by members of the same race and of the same gender. No! is just one woman's cinematic response to a long history of women's bodies being sexually violated and emotionally damaged.

Though I realize the importance of a documentary such as this, I am puzzled as to why the director did not call for more change within the film. The film as an informative film does extremely well, some people thought too well for being such a heavy topic for those whom may find no relevance with it, but I felt as though there was not much done to motivate the audience to change the way men view and treat women.

When the topic of Mike Tyson and Desiree Washington came about, it reminded me of a similar case right here at the University of Minnesota a few months ago. This article was printed months ago, so I apologize in advance for any wrong details. It was an article in the Minnesota Daily that claimed 3 black members of the football team had raped a black woman at a party, which was the exact topic of No! Though these men were not found guilty of penetrating this woman, rape kits found evidence of all three men's sperm on her body. Reading further into the article was a comment made by the coach--something along the lines of "no matter what the result, I will stand behind/support my players" but no where in the article was there a comment about support for the woman who was, if not raped, then sexually violated. The person who should have been receiving the most support was, sadly, receiving the least and it seemed as though no one was outraged by what had happened at this party.

About a year ago I was reading a book on rights of men and women and why they are the way they are, and it had an interesting concept: if men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament. It went on to argue that if the ratio of men to women rape were higher in the male gender that rape consequences would be much more strict and carried out to the fullest extent. It's the sad idea that if men were to become the victims of sex crimes that the consequences would become a much larger reality than what they are today.

I suppose logic finds no answers, but ultimately would have to refer to Maria Portokalos from My Big, Fat, Greek Wedding as a model of thinking that, I think, the female race should be following:

"Let me tell you something, Toula. The man is the head, but the woman is the neck. And she can turn the head any way she wants"

Posted by sarahchoy at 11:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Domino

For my midterm assignment I chose the film Domino. The movie is base on a true story of Domino Harvey. The movie is directed by Tony Scott, the younger brother of Ridley Scott. Early in Tony Scott’s career he worked with TV commercials. His first big break was Top Gun, starring Tom Cruise. He also directed Enemy of the State, Man on Fire, and Déjà Vu.

The film Domino is based on story a real character named Domino Harvey. She was born and raised in a high class family in Hollywood. Her father was an actor and her mother was a model. She breaks away from the luxuries of Hollywood to pursue a career in bounty hunting. I focused on how women were portrayed in the film and how the male gaze was used. The film had a female character as the lead actor but the film is still viewed from the male’s perspective because of the male gaze. There were also cultural and racial stereotypes in the film. The film depicts the collision of high class and low class people; the kind of struggles that happens when both the classes intertwines.

Posted by De Vang at 5:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

For my paper I had a bunch of different movies in mind that I wanted to take a look at with a new lens of analysis.
I couldn't stop thinking about the film from class however, Boys Don't Cry.

Boys Don't Cry really struck me, with its message, its story, and as a film.
The film seemed to use so many elements to tell this character's story. I was really drawn to the fact that it was a "true story" and therefore a seemingly completly different process.
The character still had to be created yet he was based on somebody who really lived and really died.
Kimberly Pierce used research and intuition to really make this story what it was.
I would give a sort of summary of the film however we viewed it in class so that seems redundant.
The things that I focused on in my analysis however were the filmic constructions that Peirce used, as well as the "male" dominated gaze. As a rewatched the film I found a shift that occured as the character of Brandon went from being seen a "male" to being seen as "female". The gaze, the power, and almost every binary moved together from one to the other when Brandon was "found out".
As his maculinity was removed so was his safety, his control of the situation, and his strength. As a female he was raped and as a female he was murdered. This packed a pretty powerful punch that I am still trying to shake.
The film made many statements about class, gender, and sexuality. All of which it was hard to cover in just one little paper. There was so much to analyze and so many key moments that I could have talked about forever.
I feel that this is an important film and will continue to be for a long time, especially with a feminist lens, and even more so as feminism delves into the issues of gay/lesbian/transgender issues.

Posted by Kelsey Marie at 5:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Posted by Jaimee Towers at 5:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For my paper i wrote about David Lynch's Lost Highway.

David Lynch is a filmmaker known for his films that play with time and space. His 1997 film Lost Highway is a story about a murderer with several personalities. This film can be viewed as a modern day dreamlike film noir. With all this abstraction and fantasy it is surprising that Lynch’s portrayal of gender in form and content is rather traditional. As gender is a social construct and Lynch is known for working in the realms of post structuralism it is surprising that’s gender is something he doesn’t choose to play with.

Posted by kecakiwi at 4:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The film 'If These Walls Could Talk" is a rather controversial docudrama based on abortion throughout the decades. The stories of three women who experienced unplanned pregnancies were 'seen' through the same walls of one house. Despite the fact that it was directed by Cher, I still wouldn't consider it a "Hollywood" film.

My analysis was based on whether or not the film could be considered a feminist film. While it does deal with a typically 'feminist' issue-- reproductive rights-- it is lacking in other spheres that are generally represented in feminist film. For example, the social location of race was not even addressed. This film would have been more credible as a feminist film had it touched on the racial and class dimensions of access to abortion. While it did focus on the intersections of class, age, religion, marital status, and gender, race was almost completely excluded from the film. In many ways, this is a reflection of the director and her background. Cher grew up in a time when feminism was at its "Sisterhood is Global" peak. Her flavor of feminism didn't include African-American feminism or Lesbian Feminism, it was bourgeoisie, upper-middle class, educated, white feminism. Cher is certainly a product of her times, and this definitely comes through in her film "If These Walls Could Talk".

In conclusion, I would consider this film a feminist film, despite its shortcomings. The way that the director portrayed gender roles, and the questioning of these gender roles, is enough for me to consider this a feminist film. Feminism comes in many flavors, and this is just one kind of feminism that is represented.

Posted by Jaimee Towers at 4:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

~G.I. Jane~
I decided to do my midterm paper on G.I. Jane. I started to watch movies such as XXX and Riddick only to realize they are totally Hollywood movies. G.I. Jane is still a Hollywood movie, but it is one of the few movies that I know of where things do not go back to “Happily Ever After�.

G.I. Jane is about Lt. O’Neil, a female in the Navy. The Senator has been given the opportunity to have a trial run in order to see if women could pass the same training as the men. O’Neil decided to take up the offer for the trial run. She was living at a time where women could only go so far in the military, just because they were women. She was not doing it for women’s rights or the glory, but because she wanted it for herself.
She was faced with opposition from her commanding officers, her battle buddies, and ever her boyfriend. It just made her work harder however. Her boyfriend eventually came around to supporting her. However, in the end of the movie, she did not go back to being the “housewife� like so many other movies in their “Happily Ever After.�
The director, Ridley Scott, has directed other great movies such as Matchstick Men, Black Hawk Down, Hannibal, and Gladiator. I think his work stands out because it makes his audience feel what his characters are feeling. He used strong classical music that intensified the moment and made me feel as if something big was building up. He used lighting in the way a lot of horror movies use it in that the bad guy, the more powerful one, was always in the shadows. You could not make out their facial or body emotions, thus giving the impression that they should be feared. At the same time, O’Neil would always be in the window light.
If you watch this movie, pay attention to the scene where they are writing an essay. You can almost feel the temperature, how sleepy they are due to their exhaustion, the music, and the lighting/thunder storm. Also notice that the director used an unclear, not sharp, lens. I think this is because he wanted to portray that the military is unclear even when you are in it. Because of this, I think Scott’s movie, G.I. Jane, is an amazingly done movie!

Posted by Molly Miller at 4:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I decided to go the more mainstream route and write about the Kill Bill films, both directed by Quentin Tarantino, and released in 2003 (Volume 1) and 2004 (Volume 2). As films about a female assassin's road to revenge, with many female foes, I felt that this film had a lot to say about femininity, no matter how deep it was buried.

Unfortunately, as the films are based off of many international genres, there was a lot to say about race as well, but unfortunately, that would have constituded a second paper, so I summed that up as white girl kicks colored peoples' asses. I also addressed the fact that the films were based on genres that already were ripe with racism, and that Tarantino has not been one to dismiss other cultures.

My main focus was on the way people looked at each other. I found that it was in this that the Bride's (Uma Thurman's) gaze, in order to oppose the demeaning gazes held by her adversaries. This can be seen best during the fight with O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) at the end of Volume 1.

She only lets her panicked, caring feminine side show only when she is out of sight or in a particularly stressful state, but this leaves her open to weakness. She falters in order to appease her nurturing instincts This is seen during the fight with teenage Go-Go Yubari (Chiaki Kuriyama) in Volume 1, and better yet, after meeting her daughter in Volume 2. These characters were of particular note because they met the Bride's oppositional gaze with a opposing gaze of their own.

The Bride eventually confronts her feminine side in the form of Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah) in Volume 2. Elle represents all that is bad about femininity: she is greedy, manipulative, and spiteful. She also has an impaired gaze (she lost an eye to a misogyinistic kung fu master), so her view of the world is, pardon the pun, one sided. The Bride fights her in a guise of masculinity, but they are still mirror opposites, which the scene shows by making them, in a shot-reverse-shot sequence, fill the exact same areas of the screen. The Bride finally undoes the bad woman by mimicing the bad man (she rips Elle's other eye out).

By the end of the film, when she has her revenge and her daughter, the Bride finally accepts her femininity, albeit without it's negative aspects. Ultimately, I think the film is feminist, but it does take a roundabout way of getting there.

Posted by Dustin Savage-Rothmeier at 2:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Film: Requiem For A Dream
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Release Date: 2000
Country: U.S.A.

Though not much is known about the personal views of Aronofsky, viewers can watch Requiem For A Dream and easily see that Aronofsky has taken the Wayne Wang approach--using gender and race to create a 'real' film by fulfiling offensive stereotypes. My main arguments in this paper were about the creative choices the director has made concerning gender, race, power and the gaze (which, as you can see by the movie cover, plays an extremely important role in this film).

In short, this film is about four main characters whose lives are intertwined but are all different; a mother, two best friends and a girlfriend. All of these lives find themselves caught in a downward spiral due to their ever-present drug addictions throughout the course of the film. In my argument on gender, the audience can easily see the point that was made by Mollie Gregory, author of "Women Who Run The Show," because every doctor in the film is a while male figure of power, the one who doles out prescriptions without proper examination of his characters, prescribes too much of the wrong medication and is never questioned throughout any of it. In contrast to the doctors, every nurse in the film is a minority female, if I'm not mistaken, two Indian nurses, one black nurse and finally, one Asian nurse. This sounds like a strange coincidence.

As the film is about drugs, you need a big time pimp and some drug dealers. All of which who are, of course, black. The entire cast of pimps and drug dealers are only seen at night and are presented as, ultimately, 'the bad guys.' The pimp only deals cocaine for sex, in this case, our character Marion, whose addiction leads not only to one male but to full-on orgies with other women in the center of large groups of men. Marion plays the pity-me, my-parents-are-rich-and-I-need-love character in this film. Her withdrawal comes about and she is portrayed as an emotional wreck who can't take hold of anything, she is also seen calling her boyfriend, Harry, for help because Aronofsky has decided that this particular woman cannot live without men in her life.

FInally, a quick blurb on the gaze. Used by all characters in the film and, of course, by the audience, Aronofsky has used clever filming devices so we can take on the view of the characters as they peek through keyholes, around corners, stare outside windows and look at each other. He has devised a clever way of filming as well--to split the screen down the middle and film two people simultaneously to show their entire body, but also, their movements. He uses this two or three times throughout the film, once with the mother and the son and again with the boyfriend and the girlfriend. Aronofsky also employs the use of the audience's gaze by keeping some of his snippets quick, short and extremely close up when the characters "push off." There are several quick clips one right after the other against a black background so that viewers have nothing else to look at and is accompanied by exaggerated sound effects to keep even more of the viewers senses intrigued.

Though this film is a bit much during the first viewing, it is definitely a film I would recommend, if not to write a paper on, then just for personal pleasure. I'm also convinced that if America replaced the D.A.R.E. program with this film, the war on drugs would be over. Just my opinion.

Enjoi.

Posted by sarahchoy at 1:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I chose to write my paper on film Water by Deepa Mehta. It is an Indian movie but highly appreciated across the globe. On the making of this movie had caused many damage and riots due its topic. At one point director, Mehta was threatened to discontinue further with this topic because Indian society thought that this movie is just a way to earn good money. Moreover, they thought Mehta as being a westerner is looking for some spicy story to sell across the country; however, they forgot that Mehta grew up in India and she is as expose to the Indian tradition and culture as they are.

The movie is about widow’s life on Varanasi, India, living a life of brutality. This movie is a fight between the social restriction of the society and ones desire to live a life with self-respect. This movie illustrates the struggle of a Kalyani’s life, who is trying to escape from these civilizations’s restriction, which unable their right to speak, to eat one times a day, and to marry again. This movie was based on the late 30s where colonialization by British society had taken roots in India. Consequently, on my paper, I talk about how colonialism had changed society’s view. Moreover, how their living style had been changed but still the life of the widows stayed the same throughout the colonial period and afterward. In addition to that, I talked about the role of gender difference based of sex and class. I further discuss the issue of discrimination based on gender.

Posted by angelforever_22 at 6:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I chose to write my paper on the 2000/2001 film, Ghost World. It is based off of a comic book by Daniel Clowes and directed by Terry Zwigoff. The reason I chose to write about this one in particular is because of the interesting play of identity, in particular, that of a teenage woman who does not fit the ideal social mold of femininity and the alienation that accompanies her “otherness�. Also, I find it interesting that the two leaders of the film are men (Clowes and Zwigoff) who depict female characters and their struggling friendship in contemporary times.

I have read the comic and seen the movie dozens of times, but never actually thought about this until I had to figure out how to apply feminist theory to it. My knee jerk reaction to the fact that men were portraying teenage girls, was harsh questioning and skepticism whether men could “realistically portray women in the realms of subculture. The women in the comic and movie are not the typical heroines of teenage drama. Enid and Becky are confrontational, rebellious, and they have dirty mouths. Pretty much like any other girl friend that I know! To Hollywood, these girls are deviant, naughty outcasts. So, in this respect, I found that the idea of marginalization came into play. It’s an interesting model because it shows how race or sexuality aren’t the only ways one is marginalized. Enid and Becky are white, and heterosexual, but they (Enid more so than Becky) are cast out as “weirdos� because of their different styles of dress, their attitudes, and their “hobbies�. I focused more on Enid because Becky ends up joining the ranks of corporate America whereas Enid completely resists it. Anyway, while I adore the characters, I also wanted to find out more about Clowes and Zwigoff’s intentions and meaning in portraying such a distinct category of women.

After I found this wonderful interview with Clowes on Salon.com that made me change my initial, offensive reaction to the portrayal of young women by men. Through Clowes’ interview, I found that he targets the alienation everyone feels from time to time, or even their whole lives. Being an oddball or a “weirdo� in a society, where popular ideologies of identity are so dominant, tends to create a strange form of marginalization not explicitly detailed by sexuality or race. So, instead, I found that, yes, his portrayal of women is rather accurate, because he doesn’t intend to only make women look strange, but men and other gender identities. I think Enid’s character is rather difficult to like sometimes because she is seemingly “pathetic� at times. Like when she can’t keep a job or show up for an important art show in time. However, overall, she is a rebellious woman who is against patriarchal capitalist dominance which makes her spirit quite unique and powerful. For the full interview: http://archive.salon.com/people/bc/2000/12/05/clowes/index.html

I incorporated Laura Mulvey’s idea of the gaze and how it is so multidirectional-–Enid on herself, others on Enid, Enid on Becky, Becky on Enid, the list goes on and on. I also incorporated feminine performativity and lack, as detailed by Michele Montrelay via Mary Ann Doane. There are so many scenes where Enid looks into mirrors, which is always an extremely important situation in film. (I didn’t get to analyze my favorite mirror scene, unfortunately, due to space and time.) It seems as though Enid is incapable of finding out who she is in the environment of “extreme gazing� and judgment of others, so she eventually has to leave on her own.

I honestly, could have written a 20 page paper on this movie simply because it is so dense with implicit meanings and ideas. I fear I could not synthesize and condense the film as well as I could. I might revisit this paper down the road, just for my own peace of mind.

Posted by ultimate leader of the usa at 2:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

For my midterm paper, I chose to analyze "The Little Mermaid."
"The Little Mermaid" originated from a classic fairytale written by Danish author Hans Christian Anderson in 1836, long before it was turned into Walt Disney's animated film in 1989. Before the Disney film, however, the fairytale was translated into English in 1872 by and Englishman named H.P. Paull; and many adaptations were made in various countries. Although the Disney film shows a happy ending, the original story Hans Christian Anderson wrote actually ended with the Prince being unattainable to the Little Mermaid, who turns to an air spirit in grief. Many believe this story to be an inkling to Anderson's homosexuality, in that the man he loves is unattainable to him.

Taking the hearts and imaginations of millions of children for years now, "The Little Mermaid" is about a young mermaid named Ariel who desperately wants to be part of the 'human world," especially after she falls in love with the human prince, Eric. However, she is forced by her father, King Triton, to stay away from the humans; giving her only one choice to go to the evil sea witch, Ursula, who give her three days with human legs to get Eric to fall in love with her. In the end, the Ariel ends up defeating Ursula, and marrying Prince Eric with her father's permission.
Like in all Disney films, color and music is used to create an image to provokes a certain mood, and "The Little Mermaid" certainly does that. A lot of the "frame-within-a-frame" is also used in this film to create the feeling that an individual is trapped, such as when Ursula is watching Ariel's every move through a bubble, or when Ariel sings her "I want to be a part of that world" song as she reaches out her hand to the audience through a little hole. Moreover, a series of gazes, although not all sexual, are used as well. For example, Ursula frequently gazes at Ariel through her twin eels, and Ariel occasionally gazes longingly up toward the land of the humans. Through color, music, gazes, and character construction, this movie can be analyzed to show it carries the message that discrimination against gender and race is everywhere and very much existing.

Posted by Amy at 2:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski’s 1993 movie White (Blanc-in the original French) is an artistic and entertaining and dark comedy about twisted and obsessive love-relationships between the beautiful Frenchwoman Dominique (Julie Delpy) and the Polish man Karol (Zbigniew Zamchowski). The films’ events take place in Paris and Warsaw, but it is also an archetypical tale of the relationships between men and women.
White is the second of the artistic three colors trilogy (directed by Kieslowski): Blue, White and Red. Kieslowski’s choice of colors was not random: blue, white and red are the colors of the French flag, and he consciously worked with the meanings assigned to the colors in this flag: Liberty (Blue), Equality (White) and Fraternity (Red).

Kieslowski envisioned White as a film about equality (adopting the auteur theory), but the equality achieved in the end of White is not between Karol and Dominique, or men and women: it is a restoration of the patriarchal order. In the beginning of the movie a woman (Dominique) has all the power and the man (Karol) is powerless, but by the end Karol holds an absolute power over Dominique (representative of women). She is literally and figuratively locked up (in jail) by the closing scene of the movie.
Dominique symbolizes, in the beginning of the movie, the “out of control�, dangerous/crazy “bad woman�. She is as beautiful and feminine as white woman can be, when performing her gender according to the typical patriarchal conventions: blond hair, porcelain-white skin, beautiful clothes and soft voice. Under the young/beautiful/soft appearance, however, she conceals a very aggressive and passionate temper (typically masculine character), especially towards the powerless Karol. Among other things, Dominique actively pursues sexual pleasure, cheating on her (ex) husband, assaulting him and forcing him to flee out of France. The equality Karol asks for in their divorce trial is unattainable as long he is powerless, trapped in a foreign country and penniless. The proper social equality, according to Kieslowski, can only be achieved when Karol takes back his power and punishes the “bad woman�. She ends up where anyone who challenges the patriarchal order belongs: rotting in jail, with little hope of redemption.
Applying of feminist film analysis to Kieslowski’s White can discover pretty substantial evidence that despite the film beauty and artistic design, it can be seen as a tale on the restoration of patriarchy and the punishment of rebellious woman.
The only “equality� achieved in White is the restoration of patriarchy. Dominique, the “bad woman�, had her share of fun in the beginning of the film, abusing and humiliating Karol, but in the end she is sent into jail, while Karol is a free (and extremely wealthy) man. White is a highly recommended artistic comedy, which can make one laugh and cry at the same time, but it is hard to extract any hidden archetypal meaning out of this movie other than as a struggle between a man and a woman, which ends with the man’s hand on top, the triumph of patriarchy over “the bad woman�.

Posted by Athesit-feminist at 11:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A ramshackle Maria (Hanna Schygulla) answers the door

Direct links (not to the main-page) to The Marriage of Maria Braun content from the following:

iMDB
Amazon.com
Wikipedia
Rotten Tomatoes

The Marriage of Maria Braun is a film I once thought of as just another ‘intriguing’ piece from one of my film classes, but having come back to it (a second time and on DVD), I feel safe saying it is one of my favorite films I have ever viewed. It is so well-balanced on so many levels and ultimately effective that in my eyes it’s difficult not to find a small piece of this film to like.

I chose this film for my paper because it touches briefly on a myriad of feminist issues including race, class, political ideology, and of course gender. I don’t want to give anything away, but I will say that Maria is one of the most fascinating characters to analyze from a feminist perspective, and even more so in the manner how she is intertwined with the other feminist issues mentioned above. This film can be infinitely analyzed yet at the same time, as a viewer, one can simply watch the film as entertainment. This is just one of the film’s aforementioned “well-balanced� elements. Director/writer Rainer Werner Fassbinder really put together a special film with The Marriage of Maria Braun, and I thoroughly recommend that everyone see it. I wish I could've done a presentation on this film specifically to show what I think is quite possibly the greatest beginning a film has ever offered, and as a side note, I feel my rushed and jumbled paper did the film little justice.

A lighthearted confrontation between Maria and her co-worker, Senkenberg (pictured middle, played by Hark Bohm), concerning capitalism v. communism and the superficiality of the debate in divided Germany—represented by her and her old friend (pictured left, John Gottfried)—which she remarks on in a famous quote: “I’m a master of disguises: A tool of capitalism by day; an agent of the working classes by night. [pauses and leans in] The Mata Hari of the economic miracle.�

*photos from dvdbeaver.com

Posted by Darth Nep0wix at 10:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Waking Life was written and directed by Richard Linklater, and animated under art director Bob Sabiston. It had a limited release in the US in late 2001. Linklater also wrote and directed Slacker, Dazed and Confused, and A Scanner Darkly (wrote the screenplay). It was the first feature-length film to be rotoscoped, or animated over film. It was filmed entirely on MiniDVs, edited in Final Cut Pro, then animated on Sabiston's custom software, Rotoshop.

Waking Life follows a young man, identified only in the final credits as Wiley Wiggins, as he tries to escape from a series of dreams within dreams. That's about it for the plot. The majority of the film is lectures, monologues, and discussions from a host of characters (the majority of which are ordinary people who applied for parts), from professors and philosophers to women in a coffee shop and men in a bar to random guys off the street. The topics they speak on are as varied as the characters themselves: existentialism, post-modernism, language, evolution, mass media, the collective consciousness, free will, humanity, identity, god, film, time, emotion, interaction, society, dreams, lucid dreaming, and dream theory.

I chose to write about Waking Life because it is my favorite film, and for as many times as I have seen it I haven't given it much deep thought. I wrote about the filmic construction -- specifically the use of detail and color in the animation -- and the gender and racial imbalances of the film. The detail and color are particularly important because every frame of the film was re-drawn, and the animators could choose to have as much or as little detail, or as many or as few colors, as they pleased. Detail, as it turns out, is an indicator of Wiley's consciousness, and color is an indicator of emotion. As for the gender and race imbalances, there are nearly sixty characters with speaking parts. Less than twenty are women. Only two are black.

I kind of wish I had the chance to give a small presentation on Waking Life during class because I think it's absolutely fascinating. If you liked Before Sunrise (another Linklater film), you'll definitely like Waking Life. Or, if you don't care for lengthy monologues about the essence of humanity, watch it for the art.

Posted by Brook at 3:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hey all,
I chose to watch and analyze the movie Mar Adentro. This movie was directed, co-written, edited, and co-produced by Alejandro Amenabar. Amenabar is one of Spain's best directors. Some of his films include, abre los ojos (re-made by someone else as Vanilla Sky), and the Others, among other titles. This movie is a true story of a quadriplegic who wants to take his own life and is being stopped by the government and his family. In the end he is able to convince a small group of friends to carry out his plan. It contains such filmic elements as playing with time (time lapses), dream-like images, and is constructed around the water (the sea). In my opinion it is a feminist film because it is a movie about agency, and people who are oppressors (keep this man from killing himself) and enablers (who allow him to access his agency and commit suicide by euthanasia). If you haven't seen this movie, it's great!!

Posted by Anna feuerhelm at 8:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Neema Barnette

1) Barnette was born in Harlem, New York. She started her career in the entertainment business as an actor. While attending NYU, Joseph Papp influenced her to becoming a movie director. She helped Papp direct the movie “The Blue Journey.� After directing The Blue Journey for Papp, she went on her own to directed the movie “To Be A Man,� which won an Emmy Award, helping launch her career. Barnette’s film fights the stereotypes of African Americans being portrayed in cinemas. Her works presents a fair depiction of African Americans that carries good social values.

2) Miracle's Boys http://movies.aol.com/movie/miracles-boys/24301/synopsis

A movie about a famiy dealing with the death of both parents as they struggle to stay as a family. Barnette depicts an African American family falling apart and the struggles they go through in order to be a family again.

3) http://entertainment.msn.com/celebs/celeb.aspx?c=188853

4) I found Neema Barnette in the sister cinema link: http://www.sistersincinema.com/
I found informations on her on different websites through yahoo and google search. http://www.filmbug.com/db/36262
Most of the information on her were repeated information posted on different websites.

5) It wasn't hard to find (W.O.C.) FilmMakers. Yahoo/Google made it easy. The only hard part was finding good information about the person.

Posted by De Vang at 5:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ms. Masri is a Palestinian-American filmmaker/documentarian who focuses much of her work on the Middle East, particularly the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. She was born in the US, but spent her childhood in Beirut, Lebanon. She graduated from San Francisco State University, and then returned to Beirut, where she began filming. Ms. Masri is an award-winning filmmaker, with some of her work being shown in PBS and BBC. She began the production company, Nou Productions, with her filmmaker husband Jean Chamoun.

http://www.itvs.org/frontiers/photos/phFilmmaker.jpg

Her work includes…

2001 Frontiers of Dreams and Fears
1998 Children of Shatila
1995 Hanan Ashrawi: A Woman of Her Time
1992 Suspended Dreams
1990 Children of Fire
1988 War Generation Beirut
1986 Wild Flowers: Women of South Lebanon
1983 Under the Rubble

One of her most recent films, Frontiers of Dreams and Fears (2001), is a documentary on the story of two young girls growing in a Palestinian Refugee Camp in Lebanon. It won first prize at Ismalia Film Festival, and the Special Jury Award at the Beirut International Film Festival.

I wasn’t able to view any of her work, but she’s definitely a filmmaker that I am very interested in. The Israeli/Palestinian conflict is undoubtedly controversial, but here in the United States we are rarely exposed to a Palestinian viewpoint. It seems that the work of Mai Masri allows a different story to be told, and the fact that her work was aired on PBS and BBC says something about mainstream media and the Israeli bias.

http://www.itvs.org/frontiers/

I found this filmmaker by googling Arab filmmakers. It wasn’t terribly hard to find, but why haven’t I heard of her before? Her focus is an issue that I’m really interested in, so I’m a bit surprised that her name wasn’t even vaguely familiar.

Posted by Jaimee Towers at 4:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

http://www.imdb.com/gallery/ss/0286499/bilb-uk.jpg.html?seq=2
Gurinder Chadha is one of the well-known Filmmaker in Bollywood (Indian) industry. Gurinder Chadha was born in Kenya in 1951. Her family moved to their native land, in India, due to the rising political conflict in Kenya. They eventually moved back in Southall, West London on 1951-1961.
Chadha started her career as a news reporter in BBC Radio. She directed several award-winning documentaries for the BBC. In addition to that, she moved to the BFI and Channel four who produced the 30-minutes documentary. One of them was, I’m English But….(1989-1990). It was about young English Asian who, detest their parents and listen to Acid Bhangra, a mix of Punjabi Bhangra and rap.
In 1990, Chadha set up her own production company call Umbl Films. Her first theatrical film, Nice Arrangement (1991-1994) was about 11-minutes short. It was about a British-Asian wedding and why women chose to marry from their parent’s choice.
Link to her profile:
http://www.britmovie.co.uk/biog/c/014.html

Since, I am from India so I found out about her movies through Asian Channels on TV’s interviews, Indian magazines and through Indian websites. I saw couple of her movies such as Bride and Prejudice and Bend it Like Beckham, which are remarkably done. Previously, I have not seen many South Asian Women director in filmmaking in a Bollywood field. In my Opinion, it could be because they do not much appreciated through our society and cultural barrier prevent them from coming in to this field.
She is known for her work; consequently, it was not hard for me to find out more about her biography. Moreover, I found her movies and documentaries are much thought provoking, in each of her movies, there is a lesson to learn from. There is always this message conveying us that we should believe in ourselves and become what we want to be.
I would recommend people to see her for work at least once.

Some of her works include:

Dallas - (Director / 2006 / Announced /)
Freedom at Midnight - (Director / / Announced /)
I Dream of Jeannie - (Director / / Announced /)
London - (Director / / Announced /)
London - (Screenplay / / Announced /)
Nine Wives - (Director / / Announced /)
The Closet (Remake) - (Director / / Announced /)
The Closet (Remake) - (Screenplay / / Announced /)
Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snagging - (Director((in negotiations)) / In-Production /)
Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging - (Screenplay/ / In-Production /)
Paris Je T'aime - (Director / 2006 / Released /)
The Mistress of Spices - (Producer / 2006 / Released/)
Bride and Prejudice - (Director / 2005 / Released /)
Bend It Like Beckham - (Director / 2003 / Released /)
What's Cooking? - (Director / 2000 / Released /)
The Stupids - (Reporter No 1 / 1996 / Released /)
Bhaji On the Beach - (Director / 1994 / Released /Pathe Cinema)
London - (Thanks / 1994 / Released /)
What Do You Call An Indian Woman Who's Funny? -(Director / 1994 / Released /)
The Wonderful World of Pierre and Gilles - (Director /1993 / Released /)
Acting Our Age - (Director / 1992 / Released /)
A Nice Arrangement - (Director / 1990 / Released /)
I'm British But... - (Director / 1989- / Released /)

Link to the complete list of movies:
http://www.hollywood.com/celebrity/Gurinder_Chadha/197385

Link to her profile:
http://www.britmovie.co.uk/biog/c/014.html

Posted by angelforever_22 at 4:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Despite being a GWSS minor I was not familiar with many WOC film director names, even though I heard the names Mira Nair and Trinn-Minh-Ha before (especially in GWSS 3102V). In a quick “Google� search just over an hour I have found a very respectable list of more than three dozen WOC directors, and found some of their cinematography in the IMDB website (http://www.imdb.com/). Among the directors were:
1. The Vietnamese born American director Trinh T. Minh-ha. A wealth of details about her was available at her website (http://www.trinhminh-ha.com/) and (http://voices.cla.umn.edu/vg/Bios/entries/trinh_t_minhha.html).

From the later website I got the following biography: Trinh T. Minh-ha was born in Vietnam in 1952, and immigrated to the United States in 1970 after studying in both Vietnam and the Philippines. Trinh studied music composition, ethnomusicology, and French literature at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, where she received M.F.A. and Ph.D. degrees. She is currently Chancellor's Distinguished Professor of Women's Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and associate professor of cinema, San Francisco State University. She has also taught at Harvard, Smith, the University of Illinois, and the National Conservatory of Music in Senegal.
Filmmaker, writer, poet, literary theorist, educator, musical composer, and (un/non)ethnographer, Trinh T. Minh-ha builds much of her work around the theme of the "other" (the persona one considers him/herself to be in relation to), challenging cultural theorists' traditional notions of the subject or/subjected duality. She performed three year's worth of ethnographic field research in West Africa the Research Expedition Program of the University of California, Berkeley. This fieldwork led in part to her first film, Reassemblage, which was filmed in Senegal and released in 1982.
She who directed the following movies:
The Fourth Dimension (2001), A Tale of Love (1995), Shoot for the Contents (1992), Surname Viet Given Name Nam (1989), Naked Spaces: Living Is Round (1985), Reassemblage (1983), The Wedding (1982), Calligraphy (1981), San Francisco (1980).

2. (Indian-British) Mira Nair. In the website http://www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/Nair.html I have found the following information: Mira Nair was born in Bhubaneshwar, Orissa to a civil servant in 1957. She went on to attend the University of New Delhi where she studied Sociology and Theater. Dissatisfied with the quality of the education, she applied elsewhere. As result she came to Harvard in 1976 on full scholarship to continue studying Sociology. While at Harvard her focus drifted to documentary film… Mira's first film was Jama Masjid Street Journal which was also her Master's thesis project. This film explores the life of a traditional Muslim community from the Western perspective. Her most acclaimed documentary was India Cabaret. Ultimately, the standards of objectivity and non interference inherent in documentary film proved to be a trying constraint…. As result she tried her hand at fictional narrative. Her greatest recognition came with her first feature film Salaam, Bombay! She was awarded the Best New Director at the Cannes Film Festival as well as a nomination for best foreign film at the Academy Awards. According to the IMDB website (http://www.imdb.com/), She directed the films (partial list): Migration (2007) The Namesake (2006), Vanity Fair (2004), Monsoon Wedding (2001), Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996), The Perez Family (1995), The Day the Mercedes Became a Hat (1993), Mississippi Masala (1991), Salaam Bombay! (1988), So Far from India (1983), and Jama Masjid Street Journal (1979).

3. (African-American) Camille Billops. Her biography can be found at “The History Makers� website: http://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=1410&category=ArtMakers&occupation=Artist%20%26%20Filmmaker&name=Camille%20Billops.
Billops is an artist and filmmaker, born on August 12, 1933 in Los Angeles, California. Billops' career has consisted of printmaking, sculpture, book illustration and filmmaking. She obtained her B.A. degree from California State University as well as her M.F.A. degree from City College of New York in 1975. Her primary medium is sculpture, and her works are in the permanent collections of the Jersey City Museum in Jersey City, New Jersey and the Museum of Drawers, Bern, Switzerland…. In 1982, Billops began her filmmaking career with Suzanne, Suzanne. She followed this promising beginning by directing five more films, including Finding Christa in 1991, which is a highly autobiographical work that garnered the Grand Jury Prize for documentaries at the 1992 Sundance Film Festival… Her other film credits include Older Women and Love in 1987, The KKK Boutique Ain't Just Rednecks in 1994, Take Your Bags in 1998, and A String of Pearls in 2002. Billops produced all of her films with her husband and their film company, Mom and Pop Productions. They have also co-published Artist and Influence, an annual, in 1981 as an extensive journal of the African Americans in the visual, performing and literary arts community.
4. (African-American) Kathleen Collins. I found details on her life on the New York Times website (http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/filmography.html?p_id=232062).
Kathleen Collins was a professor of film history, playwright, screenwriter, and director. Among her films were The Cruz Brothers and Mrs. Malloy (1979) and Losing Ground (1982). Just before she died in 1988, she had finished a novel, play, and film script entitled Conversations With Julie. She was 46.

5. (French/West-Indian) Euzhan Palcy, who also have a personal website at http://www.euzhanpalcy.com/ephome3.html. The almost only biography of her life I could find was located in wikepdia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euzhan_Palcy), which briefly noted that “Notable for being the first Black woman to direct a mainstream Hollywood film: A Dry White Season which starred Donald Sutherland and Marlon Brando. She moved to Paris in 1975, and in 1983, won the Silver Lion award for her first film, Rue Cases Negres�. She directed: Siméon (1992), A Dry White Season (1989), Rue cases nègres (1983) (Black Shack Alley/ Sugar Cane Alley), Atelier du diable, L' (1982) (The Devil's Workshop).

Overall it was not extremely difficult to find more than forty names of WOC directors, but it did require some active search. . I have found my directors primarily through a syllabus of a film-studies class from England (http://eng-wdixon.unl.edu/syllabi.html). Of these forty plus I chose five, four of whom had an extensive biography easily available. I am sure my work would have been much quicker and effortless if I would loom for white (men) directors; even when I am thinking of which movies’ names and directors I know at the top of my head- they are all white directors (few of them are women). The point I believe we need to get is that WOC film directors get less media attention, less budgets and artistic freedom than white directors, and that their movies (and biographies) are harder to find.

Posted by Athesit-feminist at 4:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Park Nam-ok was born in 1923. She was an avid film lover from the beginning of film. She was an athlete in school participating in track and shot put. When she went to professional school, she majored in Domestic Science but her real passion was in literature, film and art. She found her way to a job at the Chosun Film Studio where she was an editor and screenwriter. She also met her husband there. In 1954, she and her husband had a baby girl. Shortly after, she decided to make her own film called The Widow (Mimang-in, 1955). The Widow is a post Korean War story about the struggles of women who lost their husbands. A good production company or studio did not exist at the time, so it was "independently" made and budgeted. Park also got help from friends. The movie was a flop at the box office. She experienced a struggle to be a woman filmmaker in Korea because the Korean film world was dominated by men at the time. So, The Widow stands as her one and only film.

I found Park Nam-ok in an essay called Korean Women Directors by Nam In-young. On the internet there was not a whole lot about her biography, she doesn't have a home page or supply of links. I couldn't even find the year of her death which is rather surprising considering the fact that she was the first woman in Korea to make a film.

Click here for a synopsis and more indepth biography:
http://www.koreafilm.org/feature/100_8.asp

Before the Korean War, women in Korea were held under the strict laws of the Chosun Dynasty (Park working at a studio called "Chosun Film Studio" details the high pressures of working/living in a male dominated world). It was a highly male dominated country until the Korean War struck. Japan stormed into Korea bringing Western "modernity" and ideology with imperialist force. It wasn't until after the war that women started going into the public work place, dressing in Western clothing and experiencing "free" love (although these things weren't welcomed with open arms by any means in post Korean War society). The first Korean Feminist movements (of art, literature, etc.) began during this time, but they had devastating results. So, based on the controversy of the time in regards to women's agency in Korea, it would have been extremely difficult to be recognized in film culture since men ruled everything. This says a lot about the status of Korean women directors today and how they're just beginning to get recognized now and also, why we don't have a lot of information about the women who started to create films in Korea.

The only review I saw was in Nam In-young’s essay, she says. “the film was an excellent work about women at the crossroads between tradition and modernity, portraying heroines torn between motherhood and sexual desire,� (161). This statement not only stands as a critique of the film, but it also details the traumatic separation between “modernity and tradition� in post Korean War society.

I find it important for me to learn as much as I can about Korean women filmmakers simply because I hope to make it my future study. The fact that I couldn’t access a lot of information about Park Nam-ok was rather disappointing. I hope I can find more information about her in better resources in the future.

Posted by ultimate leader of the usa at 4:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

1. Mira Nair: From iMBD: "Accomplished Film Director/Writer/Producer Mira Nair was born in India and educated at Delhi University and at Harvard. She began her film career as an actor and then turned to directing award-winning documentaries, including So Far From India and India Cabaret. Her debut feature film, Salaam Bombay! was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1988; it won the Camera D'Or (for best first feature) and the Prix du Publique (for most popular entry) at the Cannes Film Festival and 25 other international awards. Her next film, Mississippi Masala...read more"

2. Works as Director (from iMDB):

Shantaram (2008) (pre-production)
Migration (2007)
The Namesake (2006)
Vanity Fair (2004)
11'09''01 - September 11 (2002) (segment "India")
... aka 11 septembre 2001 (Iran: Farsi title)
... aka 11'09''01 - September 11 (France)
... aka 11'09''01: Onze minutes, neuf secondes, un cadre (France)
... aka Eleven Minutes, Nine Seconds, One Image: September 11 (International: English title)
... aka September 11 (USA)
Hysterical Blindness (2002) (TV)
Monsoon Wedding (2001)
... aka Mariage des moussons, Le (France)
... aka Monsoon wedding - Matrimonio indiano (Italy)
The Laughing Club of India (1999) (TV)
My Own Country (1998) (TV)
Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996)
The Perez Family (1995)
The Day the Mercedes Became a Hat (1993)
Mississippi Masala (1991)
Salaam Bombay! (1988)
... aka Salaam Bombay! (France)
Children of a Desired Sex (1987) (TV)
India Cabaret (1985) (TV)
So Far from India (1983)
Jama Masjid Street Journal (1979)

3. The only film I have seen, and own, of Mira Nair is that of her acclaimed Salaam Bombay! I watched this film hand-in-hand with Walter Salles's Central Station, and I felt that Salaam Bombay! was the far superior film in terms of sentimentality and sending a message; in other words, it was a much tougher and unflinching film.

4. My first introduction to her was in a class last semester with the aforementioned Salaam Bombay!

5. Mira Nair has made a name for herself in international cinema, and as I said, my first introduction to her was in a class last semester. Some of her other films have also been popular, so as long as one pays attention to the director of a film, she is definitely more easy to come by than most W.O.C. filmmakers.

Posted by Darth Nep0wix at 1:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This assignment was a great one. For me, I’ve seen quite a few documentaries by women because I’m a GWSS major, but it was good to do the research and find the other women that are involved in cinema. I thought that it was going to be a difficult task, but in the process of research I was able to find many more than I’ve written down.
There are many more people in my references that I did not write down because it would have been an outrageously long post! As far as accessing and viewing the films, I would say that it is not easy to find all of them. I think that, here, at the University, or in a University setting it would be relatively easy to view them, but anywhere else it would be a process of finding, buying, and viewing.

Find….
Madeline Anderson (African American)
Neema Barnette (African American)
Barbara McCullough (African American)
Euzhan Palcy (African American)
Michelle Parkerson (African American)
Darnell Martin (African American)
Erika Surat Anderson (Indian/Danish)
Rachel Antell (Asian)
Hima B (Asian)
Radhika Bordia & Natasha Badwhar (Asian)

Seen…
Trinh Minh-Ha
Deepa Mehta
Julia Query
Vicky Funari
Lourdes Portillo
Jane Campion
Cheryl Dunye

References
http://www.sawnet.org/cinema/
http://geechee.tv/Admire.html
http://eng-wdixon.unl.edu/diaspora.html
http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/excerpts/exfrelou.html

Posted by Anna feuerhelm at 1:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After growing up in the mid-west Karyn Kusama attended and graduated from New York University’s Film School. She is a screen writer and a director. She has directed Girlfight (2000) and Æon Flux (2005). When asked about her sense of confidence in an interview with indieWIRE Kusama states, “It's not confidence; it's terror. It's the sense of failure and always wanting to push myself. Always making sure that I try to experience things in a true way. I feel like I'm at this point where I'm confronted with the thrills and buffoonery of this business. I remind myself often that art is not really valued in cinema. Cinema is already considered a bad word.�

Her film Girlfight is loved by viewers as well as critics.
 In 2000, received Las Vegas Film Critics Award for Best Female Newcomer in "Girlfight".
 In 2000, received Sundance Film Festival Directing Award in Dramatic Competition in "Girlfight".
 In 2000, received Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Film in "Girlfight".

I was able only to find general info on her on sights such as wikipedia and IMDB, but there were a number of "indie" organizations that have some good interviews with her.
After looking around for only a few minutes, i was able to find a lot ot "woc filmmakers". I think this says alot about the film business. This is a good example of when the glass ceiling comes into play. WOC can go to film school, make great films, but only a few of them will get the recognition they deserve.

Posted by kecakiwi at 1:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I wanted to find a W.O.C. filmmaker that had at least one “Hollywood� film. In class filmmakers have been mentioned that made smaller more independent films and then finally make a big Hollywood production only to never make another. I found this very interesting. When searching it wasn’t very hard to find a director that this has happened to.
The woman I ended up choosing is Fina Torres.

Fina Torres was born on October 9, 1957 in Venezuela, where she eventually studied photography and journalism. She attended the Institute de Hautes Etudes Cinematographies where she received her bachelors in cinematography. Since then Fina has worked on films as an editor, camera woman, and director.

Fina Torres films include:

*Woman on Top (2000)

Trailer

*Mécaniques célestes (Celestial Clockwork –USA) (1995)

*Oriana (1985)

Her films have won many awards at various film festivals and she has also worked as a writer and producer on some.

Oriana is the story of Maria, a girl who returns to the Venezuelan jungle where she grew up and relives her time there, as well as her mysterious aunt Oriana. The main character in this film is played by a Venezuelan actress names Doris Wells.
Celestial Clockwork is another diverse film, full of worldly characters a girl named Ana meets after fleeing from the alter at her wedding. I haven’t seen either film but both intrieged me and I may seek them out.
Finally her most recent film Woman on Top was the reason I picked her. I watched the trailer for this film and thought that it would be an interesting film to study and analyze with a feminist (woman of color feminist) view. The main character is a chef who suffers from motion sickness that requires her to drive and be on top during sex. Eventually this drives her husband to cheat on her and she is left on her own. Isabella (a Brazilian character played by Penelope Cruz) then moves in with a black cross-dressing friend and meets another man, played by Mark Feuerstein (an American born in NYC).
I haven’t seen the film therefore don’t know how it ends but it would be interesting to see who she ends up with, the white male or the cheating Brazilian that did her wrong…

Fina Torres turned up on a search through many films on the Internet Movie Database. I eventually found Fina through looking at actress Penelope Cruz’s work.
It was much harder to find women directors than men, especially of bigger Hollywood productions. Women of color was then another challenge.
I enjoyed looking at the website that was dedicated to black women filmmakers. It was nice to have a collection of these women and their bodies of work for us to browse through.

Posted by Kelsey Marie at 9:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

so, you want to know more about Trinh T. Minh-ha?

Introduction
Trinh T. Minh-ha was born in Vietnam and came to the U.S. in 1970. After attending graduate school in the States, she focused her work around notions of ethnography, which is the branch of anthropology that deals mainly with the scientific description of specific human cultures. With this interest in mind, Trinh T. Minh-ha went on to become one of the most influential and reknowned post-colonial artists by incorporating her documentaries with displaced gazes through the lens of an ethnographer. Through her documentaries, Trinh T. Minh-ha is able to incorporate her research with her filmmaking to educate and make known the cultures of others.

Her Work
2001: The Fourth Dimension
1995: A Tale of Love
1992: Shoot for the Contents
1989: Surname Viet Given Name Nam
1985: Naked Spaces: Living is Round
1983: Reassemblage
1982: The Wedding
1981: Calligraphy
1980: San Francisco

Her most recent film, The Fourth Dimension, is an examination of rituals, culture and the art of the Japanese peoples. Though this film does not present a conventional plot with characters from beginning to end, it does provide viewers with information enough for them to understand the purpose of her film and research yet avoids any kind of storyline that may have conveyed the same information through interviews and debates.

Reflections
Though I can only say I've enjoyed snippets of Trinh T. Minh-ha's work, from what I have seen it puts viewers in a very calm, meditative state where they can sit back, relax and just focus at the piece at hand. She does not incorporate sub-plots or various themes to her films, just very simply allows her study of ethnography to blend in with her passion for filmmaking and the two create the portfolio that is both unique and creative. Unfortunately, I was not able to find any links to her work as Hollywood has not deemed her films 'good enough' to be easily viewed.

Means of Finding Trinh T. Minh-ha
Trinh T. Minh-ha's work is not something that is on Netflix's top 100, nor is she a common household name, for those of us able to pronounce it, and up until last year her name was something I had never heard. Once the research is done her work may be found a little bit easier, but I don't believe (to my knowledge) that her work is given due credit, nor is it something that many viewers may bring up for a popular topic of conversation at a cocktail party. Perhaps sometime in the future, her work combining film and ethnography will receive the attention it deserves.

Ease of Research
Though Trinh T. Minh-ha was not the hardest woman filmmaker to do some research on, it was definitely a task in attempting to find reliable sources on which to write her biography and descriptions of some of her work (as different web-authors had different opinions). Her work is not something that can be found on Blockbuster shelves, it requires a bit more delving, but it is, by no means, an impossible task.

Posted by sarahchoy at 6:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Piano hits on some very interesting points when it comes down to the analytical portions of the film, it causes questions to arise about women, views of women, the reaction of women in that day and age and other interesting areas of discussion. The Piano also brings out common misconceptions about Deaf/Mute Culture...

Throughout the movie, Ada is seen signing to her daughter, a language that only the two have come to master. Though it does not resemble present day American Sign Language, viewers can definitely see the relevance of hand motions to phrases and questions that Ada poses, using her daughter as a type of interpreter for any kind of communication outside of her piano and tiny handwritten notes.

The issue that continually rises throughout this film is the misconception that Ada is Deaf, simply because she does not speak. However, Ada responds to language though glances and body language as would any other member of the hearing community, though characters of this story choose not to acknowledge that. As the film progresses, the audience is given good context of where the Deaf community is at this point in time--still fighting the battle that Deaf & Dumb are not one in the same; it is a battle that many members of the Deaf community are still facing today.

I believe that this is an extremely important branch to consider when looking through the 'feminist lens,' just as women of color are on the fringe of society, so are women of different physical capabilities--possibly moreso based on what they are deemed they 'can' and 'cannot' accomplish. Just like black, asian and chicano feminists, Deaf/Mute and Hard of Hearing feminists have just as much right to be heard, if not more.

Posted by sarahchoy at 6:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Since I am Korean, I thought I would search for Korean women filmmakers. There definitely wasn’t much for me to choose from, so I was lucky to find my W.O.C filmmaker.

1- I chose to write about Kim So-Young. She was born in South Korean in 1968, and in 1992, graduated from the Hankook University of Foreign Studies. Although she majored in French literature, Kim began her film career in 1984. Her first short film that she directed was the “Little Time-Maker.� She even got attention at the Asian American Film Festival in New York for her short-film, “Little Blue Requiem,� in 1986.
Later, she became one of the founders of Women Filmmakers’ Collective ‘Parituh,’ a “social movement composed of only women…who intended to use filmmaking…as a medium of opposition to the…political oppression…in South Korea…�
If you’d like to read more about her bio or the Parituh movement, click here.

2- Some of Kim So-Young’s filmography includes:
Short Films
1. Little Time-Maker (1984)
2. Little Blue Requiem (1986)
3. Invisible Colours (1989)
Documentaries
4. Koryu: Southern Women/South Korea (2000)
5. I’ll Be Seeing Her (2003)
6. Sky Blue Hometown (1997)

I found short summaries of “I’ll Be Seeing Her� and “Koryu.�
1. “I’ll Be Seeing Her� is a documentary on women that celebrates womanhood represented in the 1950s- 1960s Korean cinema.
2. “Koryu� presents the social issues that surrounded women in both pre-modern and modern
patriarchal Korea.

3- I wasn’t able to find a link that would let me watch any clips from her films, but here is the homepage.

4- I found Kim So-Young and her work by spending a little bit of time with Google!

5- While there was very little to no information on other Korean women filmmakers, Kim So-Young had a fair amount of information written about her. I was lucky to find her because it seems that, in general, Korean women filmmakers are “hidden� and not represented well enough at all.

Posted by Amy at 6:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Julie Dash is from Queens, New York.

Her film Daughters of Dust (1991) was placed in the Library of Congress ' National Film Registry joining 400 other 'National Treasure' films.

I found this info through the Sisters In Cinema link as well as on the IMDB and http://www.geechee.tv/julieinfo/bio2.html , which has a bio about her and her work.

Honestly, it was disgusting when I went through my rated list of films (on movielens.org) trying to find women filmmakers let alone WOC filmmakers. This post doesn't do Julie Dash any justice in her achievements as a filmmaker for many different reasons – mainly the effort that I put into (-0), but also the lack of information about films being made and the WOC making them. It just feels like busy work to look up these women filmmakers, especially women of color filmmakers because there is nothing substantial to look at about them. I suppose that's the point of this exercise – to make note of how little represented such a large demographic of people could be in the area of filmmaking, and further, how this affects the film climate we see today.

Posted by coolguy2k at 5:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gina Prince-Bythewood was born in 1969. She married Reggie Bythewood who also is a film director. She had a few previous shows that made television such as “A Different World� and (even more popular to me at least) “Felicity.� Her biggest break came after she directed “Love and Basketball.� Besides working with her husband on “A Different World�, they also have a son, Cassius, born March 1, 2001.


http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Events/1138/wi20010324_GinaPrinceBythewood_Vespa_161359.jpg&imgrefurl=http://us.imdb.com/rg/name-top/photos/gallery/granitz/1138/Events/1138/wi20010324_GinaPrinceBythewood_Vespa_161359.jpg%3Fpath%3Dpgallery%26path_key%3DPrince-Bythewood,%2520Gina&h=400&w=262&sz=18&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=GKf6nb0D4_m_wM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=81&prev=/images%3Fq%3DGina%2BPrince-Bythewood%2B%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3DGWYA,GWYA:2006-29,GWYA:en

http://www.hollywood.com/celebrity/Gina_PrinceBythewood/186586#milestones Here you can find summary information about the movies she directed which also include “Sweet Justice� “Biker Boyz� and “Courthouse.�
The movie that I have seen that she has directed is “Love and Basketball.� This movie has two main characters, Quincy (Omar Epps) and Monica (Sanaa Lathan). They meet in grade school. Both are very tough and very good at basketball. They remain close friends until the end of high school when they start to date. They both went to the same college, USC, with a full scholarship for basketball. Quincy, of course, being the highly recruited in high school. Quincy decided to go pro before he graduated. Monica finished college but went international to play basketball, probably due to the WNBA not being established or not fully established. Quincy was having a “difficult� time until he injured his knee. Monica came to visit him in the hospital, which leads to the ending…which I won’t give away for those who haven’t seen it yet!
I actually had no idea that Gina directed “Love and Basketball� until I was scrolling through the http://www.sistersincinema.com/ website of Filmmakers and noticed “Love and Basketball.� I am said to admit that I did not recognize any of the other women directors or the work that they did. I had heard of “Felicity� but can’t say I have ever watched it. I didn’t have time to watch “Love and Basketball� again, but I will have to now. It will be interesting to watch the movie and look for the things that a women director would have added.

Posted by Molly Miller at 4:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

1. Gurinder Chadha
Born in Kenya in 1961, went to India after Kenya’s move to independence and settled in Southall, West London in 1961. She started her career with BBC Radio, then moved on to making documentaries for BBC and BFI. She started Umbi Films, her own production company, in 1990. Gurinder made some rather successful feature films while continuing to make documentaries for the BBC.

2. Director:

1. Dallas (2008) (announced)
2. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging (2008) (pre-production) 

3. Paris, je t'aime (2006) (segment "Quais de Seine") 
... aka Paris, I Love You (Hong Kong: English title)
4. Bride & Prejudice (2004) 
... aka Balle Balle! Amritsar to L.A. (India: English title) 
... aka Bride and Prejudice: The Bollywood Musical (International: English title: promotional title)
5. Bend It Like Beckham (2002) 
... aka Kick It Like Beckham (Germany)
6. What's Cooking? (2000) 

7. Rich Deceiver (1995) (TV)
8. A Nice Arrangement (1994)
9. What Do You Call an Indian Woman Who's Funny (1994)
10. Bhaji on the Beach (1993)
11. Acting Our Age (1992)
12. Pain, Passion and Profit (1992) (V)
I'm British But... (1990) (TV)

(Filmography thanks to iMDB )

3. I found out about Gurinder’s biggest film to date, Bend It Like Beckham, when it was first released by reading about it in Entertainment Weekly. Of course, it is noteworthy that Beckham, a minority-centered independent comedy, was riding the wave of popularity brought on by My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Unfortunately, my family’s location and opinion of “independent cinema� didn’t allow me to see the film when it was in theaters, but I caught it on DVD. The film mashed together multiple subcultures, including, but not limited to, British-Indians, homosexuals, and British WASPs. I found the film to be somewhat formulaic, as far as comedies go, but the content of the film led it to be very memorable to me, seeing as it was my first exposure to the British-Indian subculture.

Official Site

4. As stated, I discovered her via Entertainment Weekly, and I have seen that her films primarily show in Independent Theaters, such as Lagoon and Uptown, but her upcoming project, Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging, based on a popular teen book, may have a wider release.

5. I found it easy to find Beckham, but it is a bit tougher to find her other works, especially pre-Beckham. The majority of her feature films are available on Netflix, for the devoted.

Posted by Dustin Savage-Rothmeier at 4:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Anayansi Prado

Biography
Anayansi Prado was born in Panama and studied broadcasting and film at Boston University, where she received her B.A.. After she graduated she moved to New York City and worked for Women Make Movies and CastleHill Productions. Later she moved to Los Angeles and founded Impacto Films.

Filmography
Maid in America (2004)
Follows the lives of three Latina immigrants who are working as housekeepers (Prado filmed for three years). Was screened at the Las Angeles Film Festival, the Havana Film Festival, the Puerto Vallarta Film Festival, and several others. Was featured during the 2005-06 season of Independent Lens (PBS).

Reviews
Unfortunately, I only caught a few minutes of "Made in America" when it was on PBS. What I did see, though, was stunning -- one of the three woman hadn't seen her children in four years! All she cared about was working and sending them money so that they might have a better life.

Where/How I Found Her
I was browsing through the Women Make Movies Web site for a film or director that I recognized. I remembered seeing the title of her film somewhere, but it didn't click until I read that she was featured on "Independent Lens".

Ease of Finding Information
While researching her for this entry, it was impossible to find biographical information that wasn't copy-pasted from a page I had already read. This seems to be a common theme among independent directors -- I looked up a few others and it seems as if information about them only exists on the WMM Web site.

Posted by Brook at 3:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

"Feminism is the political theory and practice that struggles to free all women: women of color, working-class women, poor women, disabled women, lesbians, old women-as well as white, economically privileged, heterosexual women."

-Barbara Smith, ed., But Some of Us Are Brave: Black Women's Studies, 1986.

Are you still wondering about feminism(s)?, read some quotes - here

Want to remind yourself about "Women of Color Feminisms", read here and here

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Assignment Details:

For this blog post, you are to research women "of color" filmmakers (or independent women filmmakers (meaning no Hollywood $ to make their movies)). First, consider what you've seen/who you may know - search names, film titles, key words and see if there's something you have seen. Second, browse through the many links on this blog (right sidebar, scrolling down). There are links to feminist distributors (WMM), many w.o.c. film festivals, and some sites like "Sisters in Cinema" (about Black women filmmakers). Magazines like - Filmmaker often do "best of" lists and articles like this one (which includes a number of new/emerging filmmakers of color).

Post Requirements:
1 - name, short bio, background info on filmmaker (and image if you can find it)
2 - names, short summary of any of their work
3 - any reflections on their work (if you are able to view), and post link to the work and/or homepage
4 - where you've found them (and/or where their work shows)
5 - how easy/difficult it was for you to find these women (the where are the women ?)

* Post by NOON on Tuesday 6/19!

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Rachel's W.O.C. Filmmaker Post - EXAMPLE

1 - Filmmaker: Eunhee Cho (Korean, US based)

Korean-born Eunhee Cho, 29, began her first feature, Inner Circle Line, as an MFA project at the Art Institute of Chicago. Blending an experimental narrative — the synchronous story of a man (a depressed subway operator) and a woman (a techno DJ), both named Youngju — with a melancholy DV-shot depiction of downtown Seoul, Inner Circle Line is an international hybrid. From its Chicago origins it went on to attract production funding from the Korean Film Council and postproduction funding in the U.S. after Cho met producer Alan Chan at the IFP Rough Cuts Lab.

2 - Inner Circle Line seems to be her only work listed anywhere. This is a student film and has screened at many film festivals like SXSW and AAIFF.

3 - Watch the trailer here

I found the trailer visually moving. I'm not clear on the narrative (story), beyond there are two characters - one male and one female - who share the same name. She's a DJ. What moves me most is the visuals (the cinematography), the movement, rhythm and pacing (the editing). I am a sucker for beautifully shot llandscapes and movement.

4 - I found Eunhee through Filmmaker magazine's "Top 25" to watch article. I read this magazine often and love to see who is coming out of film school. In this 25, I was excited to see one of my old students (Ham Tran) and lots of emerging women filmmakers. I chose Eunhee because her work sounded really intriguing so I went to her website to view. Unfortunately, most filmmakers in the festival circuit see little light of day. With alternative DVD rental houses (like Netflix), I'm hoping she gets picked up for some kind of distribution and I can see this film somewhere I can access.

5 - It was easy for me to find many "w.o.c. filmmakers". This is my professional field, my area of research and interest, and I am a w.o.c. filmmaker so I know where to find women making movies, like me!

Posted by Rae at 7:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I like to watch movies in the cinema, but maybe it is just because I rarely do it. I grew up in a tiny settlement on the desert edge, where going to watch a movie in the cinema was always a big deal. Everybody had television, and that was the primary media source, since there was less access to video stores, or video rental places (before the DVD era).

Anyway, even today (in the last five years since I moved to the U.S.) going to the cinema is something special, out of the ordinary. It usually happens on a date with my significant other or as a social event with close friends or family. The TV in our house is open daily, maybe an hour or two per day, and this is the primary site of our media watching: DVD, videos, and even regular TV broadcasting (we do not have cables, and receive only 3-4 channels through our condominium association).

I agree with Mulvey that the context of the movie watching affects what you get from it. For me going to the cinema is an event, but I also realize that while watching a movie on a huge screen, in a big dark room, my usually sense of criticism somewhat lessens. Oh. I can still notice horrifically sexist or racist film if I happened to fall on one (I try to avoid whenever I can), but many less obvious subtle messages may easily “pass under my radar� when it comes to racism, sexism, etc.

Television and especially DVD and videos (those you can stop, rewind, watch extras, etc.) changed the watching experience for many people as they allow more criticism and reviewing of the whole movie or its parts at any given time. Watching a movie in VCR or DVD is good for criticism and film-studies (or cultural studies), but something in the watching experience is lost. I love watching DVD’s, but nothing cannot replace the charm of the big screen in my rural-resident mind, even as I am living in the big American metropolitan of Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Posted by Athesit-feminist at 5:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I love watching movies.
I have claimed on many occasions that my favorite part of the film is the production company’s intro/music and the opening credits (Universal’s topping the list). When that orchestra strikes up it just gets me all excited and ready to watch a movie. I guess for me it is just because watching a film is a real experience.

I go to the theatre to watch movies as often as I can. I love going to movies, eating their popcorn (that can not be replicated), walking in and finding a seat, the previews, (and as I already mentioned) the moment when the lights go down and the credits begin.
Unfortunately I don’t have a job, and therefore cannot afford to go to the movies at $10 a shot anymore. When I was in middle school my best friend and I went to a movie every Saturday afternoon. This of course was when my allowance covered me for this once a week thing. I guess it’s just always been a really important thing for me to do.
My friends and I still make it a point to get everybody together for the big blockbusters though. There isn’t a Spiderman, X-Men, Pirates of the Caribbean, Pearl Harbor, or King Kong that we haven’t all gone to see.

Aside from that being my ultimate choice for how I watch a movie, I am also an avid TV watcher and as I channel surf I will stop on anything that I feel like watching at that moment, movies included. This is what I blame for seeing bits and pieces of so many movies but so often not the whole thing.
I haven’t ever watched a movie on a laptop and don’t own a video iPod, but I don’t think that if I did I would use it anyway. I feel like I would be missing too much (unless it was a film I had seen countless times) to watch something on a 2�x2� screen.

As for analyzing films and watching them critically I can’t say that I’ve done much. I however usually have conversations about the story and have often found striking similarities between my own life and the lives on the screen. It’s not uncommon to walk out of the theater and say “That was weird, it was like they stole that from our lives.�
With that in mind I think there is a lot to be said for who you are strongly effecting how you view a film.
I know that when a film is about something that I know nothing about I am at least somewhat disconnected, which leaves me more uninterested as a viewer. When the character is like me in some way (which if I was a different race or class would be the case far less often) I care more about them and what happens throughout the film. People read into situations and personalities so differently that a film is never really just a film. It is more like a thousand films each seen through a person’s individual lens that they bring with them. And that may be the greatest part.

Posted by Kelsey Marie at 5:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Movies for me have always had a social element. I’m not generally the kind of person who will sit down and watch a movie by myself. Movie watching is also a very purposeful activity, often involving several minutes of ambience-setting (blankets, candles, rounding up the animals) and snack making. When I do watch movies, it’s done in theaters or at home using the DVD player, and in the company of friends, family, and pets. These movie watching patterns undoubtedly affect how I ‘read’ and understand film. For example, in a theater, it’s likely that I connect less with the characters and pay attention to symbolism when I’m freezing, people are constantly going in and out, and distracted by teenagers macking on each other three rows back. In this kind of media-watching setting, what I take from the movie is greatly dictated by my environment.

Aside from my physical environment, my education also plays an important role in how I read and interpret film. As a Women’s Studies major, sex stereotypes and gender roles are something that I study a great deal. With this kind of knowledge, it would be impossible to not apply it when I’m watching movies. More so than the average person, I find myself constantly critiquing movies. It drives my friends crazy when I point out scenes that are misogynist or characters that exploit gender stereotypes (particularly in the middle of the movie). I surely miss much of the director’s creative intent with my obsessive critique of how genders are represented, but it’s an important part of who I am and how I watch film.

Posted by Jaimee Towers at 5:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I tend to watch media primarily by DVD on my television, and occasionally on my computer. This generally creates for me a more casual media setting. I can watch TV while doing other things, or even just have it in the background as filler noise. However, as it within my own home, I can change the settings to make the media do what I want it to do. I can shut the blinds and turn off the lights to make it more cinematic, or throw in a single lamp to take notes if I am watching the film for a class. I could light candles, should I want to create a more romantic feeling, or turn on all lights to full blast, if I wanted to have the media play just for the noise. I find that my television allows me to view media in very different spectator roles. Once in a while, I will actually go to a theater to see a film, but I find them more constricting, with crying children and being unable to stop the film to go to the bathroom or get more food. While I do appreciate the immersion effect the theater gives me, I am afraid that I would have to choose watching media in my own home.
It seems we have come a long way. Once we went to see a film according to the films rules. Now, we can make the film bow to our needs.

Posted by Dustin Savage-Rothmeier at 4:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I watch a lot of media, especially tv. But I love going to the movie theatre to see movies on the big screen and with a sound system. Those two items seem to make a big difference in how I see a movie. I've never analyzed a movie from the perspective of the filming characteristics like we are doing in this class. I have however analyzed movies from a feminist stance and find that it's a great way to get a real message from a movie. Whether or not the director or author wants for something to have meaning in a feminist point of view, sometimes is left unseen, but it helps to be critical of all sorts of media. Being critical helps to open up discussion of different forms of media, so that opinions and perhaps changes be made. I enjoyed watching the piano and having the questions laid out for us. It was easier to analyze the movie in a filmic way. I enjoyed the discussion afterward, too, because everyone had such great points that, perhaps, I had not thought of.

Posted by Anna feuerhelm at 3:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I cannot say I’ve ever analyzed my media watching habits before!
Although I am not a big television watcher, I do have cable TV with all the film channels at home. When I’m living on campus during the school year, I barely ever watch TV. However, when I am at home with nothing to do, I will turn the TV on out of boredom to pass the time and occasionally watch TMC movies.
Once in a while, I will watch DVDs on my laptop on a long drive or something. As for the Ipod video watching….I don’t understand why anyone would want to watch films on a tiny little screen; but I guess it’s popular. The main way I watch films is with my friends, either at a sleepover or movies at the theatre for something to do, especially if there’s a really good movie we’ve been dying to see.

When it comes to Laura Mulvey’s psychoanalytic discussion on “the gaze,� and how it may affect the audience regarding how they understand the movie, I can definitely say that the way I “see� a film is affected by the way I am watching. Since the main way I watch films is with a large group of people or at the theatre, I am not able to catch things other people did, or even remember exactly how the plot proceeded! I can’t rewind the movie, ask questions (I am usually confused as to what’s going on) or anything when there’s a lot of people who are constantly talking and are noisy throughout the film. I have to say that this class is honestly the first opportunity that I have had to be able to critically understand the movie, and analyze it afterwards. It’s only been 4 days of class, and I’ve already been introduced to so many factors to consider when watching a movie.

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Posted by Amy at 6:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have to say that I am rather disappointed with the "approving comments" thing on this blog. Shouldn't people have the right to say anything without the judgement of others to decide what is ok to post? The reason I mention it is because I wrote a rather lengthy comment in regards to the Jurassic Park and The Piano piece that a classmate wrote, and it was rejected. Maybe my comment wasn't even received and I'm complaining for no reason, but regardless, I just wanted to comment on that.

Since I don't know what happened to my comment, I'm going to write it here.

In regards to the brilliant analysis of Sam Neill in Jurassic Park and The Piano made by Darth Nep0wix, I just wanted to draw it out further in terms of the power of the phallus and the castrated male. The reason I'm choosing to do this reading is because, like Mulvey and other feminist writers, psychoanalysis is always a fun theory to play with in film. In particular, Jacques Lacan's idea of the phallus as the signified power men are "supposed" to embody plays really well here. Freud's idea of castration and lack is important also. Keep in mind, "to castrate" is representative of gaining power back whereas "being castrated" is representative of losing power, lacking.

In both films, Sam Neill is a horribly castrated or lacking male. For instance, In Jurassic Park, he is quite tiny in comparison to the giant beasts that terrorize the people on the island. In The Piano, he is castrated by Ada because she does not consider him to be the ideal, and desirably masculine husband, she refuses to have sex with him. When playing with psychoanalysis in film, it is always a matter of either how the character is lacking (or castrated) or how/if the character will fulfill lack to become complete. For example, some feminist theorists say, women fulfill lack by overcompensating with a masquerade of femininity. The same can be said about men. As for Sam Neill in The Piano he relies on material objects to fulfill his lack: an axe to "castrate" his wife (taking her power away by cutting her finger off, cutting her voice off) or a gun to intimidate Georbe Baines. In Jurassic Park, it is pretty obvious when he comes into contact with beasts of such incredible phallic power. He leaves the island, barely alive because the power of the dinosaur phallus castrates him and the only choice he has to to leave their turf. EIther way, in both movies, he gives up his own phallic power to others of greater phallic power (naked George Baines-whose nudity almost stands as an image of total phallic power and Dinosaurs of beastly phallic power).

The Piano is such a great example of female power because Ada constantly chooses to do what she wants. She objectifies and castrates Sam Neill's character by objectifying his body and not allowing him to touch hers. Her silence, muteness, stands as a complete refusal to give into normal patriarchal power. In the end, she is able to learn to speak again as she is granted real "phallic" power when she marries the man she desires, and even regains her lost finger. Ada stands as the ultimate figure of "phallic" power.

(The reason why we use the patriarchal term "phallic" is a different question for a different blog.)

Posted by ultimate leader of the usa at 6:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

"television is responsible for the utter degradation of our society, we should write letters"

for those of you who recognize this quote, i applaud you whole-heartedly. so eloquently stated by the grandmother off the old television show called Dinosaurs, she puts it all very simply: television rots your brain.

yet we can't avoid it, can we? my media vices are limited, mostly because my resources are limited. I've no computer of my own to download or play DVDs, no Netflix subscription, no iPod to play videos but i do have a television that, on good days, allows me to watch sit-at-home preachers and three different versions of the local telemundo. lucky dog, eh? however, when i have the time and means of mindlessly staring at a t.v. screen, i have my pleasure-fill of musicals and foreign films--on the best of days i watch foreign musicals.

i watch everything with subtitles.

i apologize to those of you who despise the small yellow captioning at the bottom of the screen, but it is a must-have if i am to sit and stare for an hour's time, the least i can do is read. a good portion of the films i watch are not in english and to watch a foreign film dubbed in english is blasphemous, not to mention a great deal of a film is lost in it's translation. oh, and widescreen, the complement of subtitles. common sense: it makes reading subtitles easier. and one final guilty pleasure on my lust for subtitles? comparing the written text compared to what is being said (if the film is in english), it is a personal interest of mine, not to mention i plan on becoming one of those lucky sods who types up subtitles for television shows, movies, news stations etc.

on days my wallet allows, i stroll downtown to Block E with my girlfriend where we can catch new films for ten bucks; a comedy, romance, action film, whatever sets the mood. the movie plays on our psyche a great deal, for example, watching a love movie will cause those feelings of bliss and the escalator ride down will feel like air under your feet, watching a comedy makes everything the funniest damned thing you've seen or heard in awhile and an action film encourages you to go out, run around, do some push-ups. scary thought to have a flat screen influence the way you think and act afterwards? i thought so.

but that's the way the world works.
don't rot your brain too much.

Posted by sarahchoy at 5:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Like all Information Age consumers I get my media from everywhere. I hop on the intarwebs and get tehl vidz, I pop a DVD into my computer and watch some TV episodes, I vege in front of my TV 'watching my stories', and I'll go to the theatre to catch a film, if I'm so inclined. Additionally, I believe, I watch all this media for the same reasons everyone else does: for entertainment, relaxation, information...(?) Anyway, as a Cinema and Media Culture student I'm not too different from everyone else in regards to media consumption.

There are a couple points in particular that are different, however: I watch many films that not too many people have seen and I tend to pay close attention to whatever I'm viewing. The later probably comes as a function of being trained to pay close attention to films being viewed in varying degrees of crappy classrooms, and the former probably being a taste and curiosity issue. Either way, I like to think I view media with a critical eye.

Relating this to Mulvey's phalocentric filmic apparatus, I can see her theories in my everyday life and in how I watch movies. I don't think it's uncommon for people (is it men only?) to have a bit of scopophilia (what about all the porn that's out there – I mean isn't that what the internet is for?! - and no, I'm not capitalizing 'internet', spellchecker, because I don't capitalize radio or television – you get no preferential treatment), and the way TV and film capture women is conspicuous in these regards (however damn stupid that sounds – and yes, it is necessary to put 'damn' in there).

Another way one could read all of this would be that men naturally have scopophilia so as to get aroused from a distance as a function of picking a mate. Perhaps it's natural that men have been objectifying women all these years. In our (post)modern society this is obviously unacceptable and I suppose that's what all the civil rights stuff (yeah I called it stuff, connoting its unimportance...) is all about – people need to be treated like people (as opposed to meat or robots ...or Roombas.)

Posted by coolguy2k at 5:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I can't say I have a "habit" when it comes to how I watch movies. It really depends on where I am at, what I am in the mood for, and what my budget can afford. Movie theaters are way too expensive, so I only go to them when a really exciting action or horror movie comes out. That way, I can get the surround sound and I the feeling as if I am right there. When I go to my parents home, in a little hick town, I have to go to the only gas station to rent a movie. There is no way that I could afford anything other then a tv and dvd player, so it's prolly a good thing I don't care to watch my media on Ipods or the such.

When I just turn the tv on, I am mainly just watching to pass the time...just to space out so I can get away, into a world other then my own for a bit. My husband has a habit of buying movies. So that is when I like to re-watch the movies I have seen in the theaters in order to get all the details. It’s amazing how much you can miss! But when I watch a movie, I watch for more. My dad would always ask what a street sign read or what a car license read right after the scene had past. So now I make it a point to look at the little details like that. I also make it a point to figure out what the "message" of the movie was. This probably came from my mother who would criticize anything and everything, giving it a bad label, if it was not a "G" rated/ proper/ honest movie.

Posted by Molly Miller at 5:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Move theaters are way too loud and my hands always manage to find someone's chewed gum.

I would have to say that 90% of the movies I view are sent to me directly in a nice little red package. Netflix of course. This has become a ritual to me. I get a new movie almost every day. I’ll put it in when I get home from school or later in the evening. I go to the theater very little these days. If you see me there it is most likely because my air conditioner isn’t working. In general I find movie theaters to be too loud and those chairs are just not comfortable. I spend a lot of time in Los Angeles and when I am there I am more likely to go out to see a film there than I am here. It is more of an event there. There are some really beautiful theaters and for a lot of new releases there you either know someone who worked on the film, or someone your with knows someone who did. Although tickets can be $18 and sometimes there is assigned seating I just find it to be more exciting there. I also like to watch screenings of films and just fill up my little comment sheet.

I will also watch movies on TV. We have a pretty nice HD TV in our living room, but I also have a smaller one in my bedroom that I find just as enjoyable. Most of the time I watch movies “on demand�, these are either for a fee, or free, and usually follow a one minute advertisement. I sometimes will watch movies that are on network or cable channels. I believe that there is a great important in psychoanalyzing these. But while Mulvey focused on the actual shots, there is also value in psychoanalyzing not only the movie itself, but where it is being shown, as well as what surrounds it. Mulvey states in her article, “film reflects, reveals and even plays on the straight, socially established interpretation of sexual images which controls images….� When I watch a movie I like to pay attention to the advertisements that are shown during it. These commercials also reflect and reveal socially constructed beliefs.

I have only watched films on a computer a handful of times, the mouse is too tempting.

Posted by kecakiwi at 4:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

These days, technology is filling up our rooms and before you can even begin to think of anything else your room will be filled up with a variety of new different software. Just like many fellows, I am one of them who love technology and the new cool stuff, which they invented for us to make our life easier. In fact, now things that was not possible till last year are possible now such as, watching movies in your iPods while traveling. However, I don’t recommend watching movies in iPods because the screen is just too small and does not give you the whole theatre experience at all. I think, watching movies are fun only in Cinemas because it gives you the privacy you want, it provides you the darkness and the theatre environment which often cheers up our mood and changes the whole feeling around.
I love watching movies in theatre because it is on a wide screen. The sound system brings tremendous effect in theatre and even action sequence bring more energy with those loud sounds that makes me jump up at times. Watching movies in theatre are good because you don’t have to wait for the movies to come out of DVDs. It is just really easy for me to go on a convenient theatre and watch my favorite movie right away without any interruption and distraction of the family or friends. It does cost couple dollars; however, if the movie is good then it is worth my time, as I don’t like distraction in the middle of the movies so I prefers watching it in theatre. Watching movies on a big screen gives me more precise detail of the character, it shows me what is taking place and who is gazing at whom? I think it is much easier to catch those little detail in a bigger screen than in a usual home TV but of course one can play the scene over and over in a TV than in a theatre. Wide screen gives me the big picture of everything even the opening scene will be wide enough to establish the hint of what is going to take place and what is about to happen? That is why I enjoy watching movies in theatre because for me it makes more sense that way and I understand it better.

Posted by angelforever_22 at 4:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For the most part, I watch media on television, in theaters, and on my computer. The way I view media is most exciting because of my “training� in film viewing and critical analysis over the past four years. I first took a film class my freshman year of college that drastically changed how I view media. It was an intro class in General College. The class relied on shot-by-shot analysis and critique of what is being said in the filmic language. I was given the opportunity to be a teacher’s assistant for the same class the following year, which only strengthened my pursuit in film study. The same year, I began another path of film critique in Cultural Studies. Not only was I indebted to recognizing various film techniques, I also started to learn about various theories of film and theories of culture that can be applied to film viewing. Many of the theories I learn everyday are extremely important to me, not just for gaining knowledge, but also for my own personal growth and identity.

I am an identical twin and a Korean adoptee, which makes for an interesting case in film viewing because of the various ways I relate to culture and in turn, films. For instance, Laura Mulvey’s ideas about spectatorship are important to me (being identified as female) in terms of the gaze. When I first encountered Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, I got interested in exploring the various and innumerable points of spectatorship caused by personal history with one’s race, ethnicity, gender orientation, sexuality, etc. In the future I'm interested in studying Korean feminism, gender, and sexuality in Korean-American adoptee cinema, which I haven't even been able to see yet! But I know it's gotta be out there somewhere for me to deconstruct and analyze.

I usually try to stay as disconnected from a film as possible and avoid being completely absorbed with emotion or fantasy, although I give in sometimes if I simply feel like being entertained. “Knee jerk� reactions I have to films are usually explored and synthesized as to why I may have reacted the way I did. As bell hooks mentioned in her video, I think good critical analysis can be made in every single form of media in culture (popular or otherwise). I agree with her when she says everything can be “read� critically. Everything we see on screen is purposely constructed for a reason. When a director and her/his team create a film they begin with a blank page, empty reels. Granted, they may have a story and plot, but to create something visually truthful to the director’s vision is a great and extremely difficult task. Filmmakers construct and build worlds for spectators to see. Being a media driven culture, how can we ignore the exploration of images and words in film and media?

I may sound like a total hard ass geek, but I absolutely love film as both a getaway and as a study. One day, I’m sure that if I have the time, drive and perseverance, I’ll also practice filmmaking more seriously than I have in the past. Spanish videos and class collaborative avant-garde pieces don’t really count….or DO they?????

Posted by ultimate leader of the usa at 3:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The internet is like a 24/7 library filled with movies and TV shows. Before youtube.com and tv-links.co.uk were created the only place to watch movies was on TV and at the theaters. With resources from the internet I can access movies and TV shows through the computer. Entertainment becomes a click away. No more struggling through heavy traffic and wasting gas. No more waiting in line to purchase tickets and no more spending a fortune on popcorns at the theaters. With websites providing free access to movie releases, I can easily sit back and watch everything unfold from a computer screen. It won’t be as spectacular as going to the theater but it saves time and money. TV shows on the internet can be accessed at anytime, making TV scheduling more convenient. It makes life easy because I can access my favorite shows at my own convenience.

Mulvey talks about the spectacle and being a spectator. The grand spectacle of a movie is lost when I’m watching it through a computer screen. I don’t have the full theater experience with the surround sound and the huge mega screen. Watching movies on the internet makes it less of an event. Being a spectator, I’m still entertained by watching it through a computer. It becomes less of a spectacle for me but to a person who has prepped themselves to attend a theatre, it becomes a spectacle event. When I invest time and money in purchasing tickets and waiting in line for the movie, it makes watching the movie more rewarding.

Here's a Link to a website that provides free movie releases and TV shows.

Posted by De Vang at 7:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

First and foremost, I rarely if not never watch television, so in my eyes the television is nothing more than means to watch movies, which I do use it for. My limits concerning watching movies are pretty much just that—I prefer to watch movies either on a reasonably-sized television or in the theater. I do not fully ‘limit’ myself, seeing that for the last two semesters I used a diminutive TV as well as watching a film on a friend’s laptop once. Yet, I won’t go as far to use an iPod or other such things for movies. I prefer a sizable viewing field as well as adequate sound, and small electronic devices such as an iPod simply do not provide that (to my standards).

Now, of course, if circumstances were to the point where I only had an iPod, I would use it to its fullest extent, but I have not been in that situation as of yet (and I have an old school iPod that could in no way handle a movie). Other particularities of mine include the fact that I prefer to watch movies that I have not yet seen alone. The reasons for this could be attributed to the fact that I do not want to experience other twists and turns in the presence of others, or that I enjoy showcasing movies to groups of others and noting their reactions. All in all, I’m not one who’s worried about going to the theater alone, because I have and will continue to do so.

In terms of the gaze, though I feel I understand it and can understand the reasoning behind it, I simply don't think in terms of how I watch film (theater, etc) that I am affected by it. I really don't have much to say on this topic so I'm going to move on.

Recently, I have been re-watching the extended versions of the Lord of the Rings series in my apartment. Though I feel the filmmaking is generally solid (though endlessly overrated), the stories themselves simply don’t pack the relative punch of other epic science fiction trilogies such as Star Wars and even Harry Potter. Though a lot of the humor is comparably bad to that of Star Wars, the action and general narrative don’t match up with the epic scale of the timeline of the Star Wars galaxy and all that comes with it. And though Star Wars may be derivative of something like Lord of the Rings, I’m not one for traditions or who-came-first and what not; horses can’t equal spaceships, it just doesn’t match up in my opinion. Sorry for this tangent.

General Grievous could take on an entire LOTR army singlehandedly

Posted by Darth Nep0wix at 5:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

... because I’m fairly particular about my film-watching habits.

I thinking going to the movie theater is fun, but I prefer watching films on DVD because I can pause, rewind, use subtitles, zoom in, &c. It’s fun catching various details (the IMDb trivia and goofs sections are great) so I prefer watching films on large TVs over my laptop, and I wouldn’t watch movies on my iPod even if it did play video. I like being able to stop, ask questions about a scene, and figure out what just happened right away, instead of waiting until the end. The same goes for television -- which is why, in a way, I enjoy commercial breaks. I’ve found, though, that stopping and asking questions is very frustrating for some people: they’d rather wait until the end so as not to interrupt the story, even if it means not fully understanding the plot for the remainder of the movie.

I’m used to “complaining� about things, like the probability of the plot, the use of impossible technologies, or the general illogic of it all. My parents are doctors and I’m a computer geek so watching shows like “CSI:�, or any film with technology and/or gore, without pointing out most of the factual/medical/technological errors is impossible. (Although sometimes I would like to watch “Crossing Jordan� or “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon� without any comments from the peanut gallery. It is possible for me to willingly suspend my disbelief.)

I think that my pickiness is helpful when it comes to understanding films. While watching a film in a theater may help me be more involved with it, it doesn’t mean I’ll understand it any more. The last film I saw in a theater was “Pirates of the Caribbean 3�, and I can barely remember half of the plot because everything went by so quickly, and I couldn’t pause and rewind to figure it out (it didn’t help that characters were constantly changing alliances for no apparent reason). On the other hand, there might be a lot of distractions while watching a movie at home, but I usually understand them much better. I must have watched “The Matrix� and “Memento� twenty times each and I’m still picking out new details and connections each time.

Side note: for a good movie with strong and pointed use of color, watch Hero (2002, starring Jet Li and Ziyi Zhang).

Posted by Brook at 9:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

The Piano, while being a tremendously good film, is still, effectively, the unofficial prequel to Jurassic Park. It features Sam Neill as Alisdair Stewart, the great-great grandfather of Dr. Alan Grant of Jurassic Park, also played by Neill. Neill's character is stationed on a remote jungle island that will eventually come to be known as Jurassic Park, always running off to something (the dinosaurs, of course!). He locks Ada in not because of Baines, but rather to protect her from the now-rampant dinosaurs. He builds a fence (what for? The dinos!). Simply put, it all adds up. I was worried during my viewing of the film that Neill would die at some point because of his villainous nature, but fortunately for the sake of the Jurassic Park series, he was able to survive. And by the way I don't expect credit for this.

An old photograph of Stewart:

His great-great grandson having apparently lost control years later:

Posted by Darth Nep0wix at 7:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Minnesota History Center, St. Paul MN
Dates: June 24, 2007
Time: 2 to 3 p.m.
Fee: Free

Visitors are invited to the world premiere of "Minnesota's Greatest Girls," a unique filmmaking collaboration between girl filmmakers and senior women of the Twin Cities. The film features reflections on such locally popular institutions as the Prom Ballroom in St. Paul and Kresge's dime store in Minneapolis. With these landmarks as a background, women and girls share memories of childhood toys, first jobs, dating, and college life through conversation and shared activities. The film's stories are specific life experiences, but the emotions and lessons conveyed in the storytelling evoke universal adolescent milestones. Participants from the film will answer questions following the screening. The film is offered as part of the "Minnesota's Greatest Generation" Project, an ongoing effort by the Minnesota Historical Society to collect and preserve memories of Minnesotans who came of age during World War II. It was produced in collaboration with TVbyGIRLS, and the Wellington Senior Center, as part of a Save Our History Grant sponsored by the History Channel.

Posted by Rae at 1:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Post in Category 2. Media Watching blog post (5 points)
Post by NOON on Monday 6/18

Details: In a 150 to 300 word post consider the following questions: How do you watch films (media)? Are you an avid theater goer? Do you have cable TV with all the film channels? Do you watch DVDs on a laptop while you ride the bus home? Do you download off itunes and watch on a video Ipod?

)

Considering our discussions about Laura Mulvey, the gaze, and psychoanalysis, how does who you are, how and where you watch films/media affect what you “read� and understand?

Posted by Rae at 2:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm not going to make this too formal but I just have some brief disagreements with Hooks's claims in the video. First and foremost, her phrase "white supremacist capitalist patriarchy� – while I completely agree with the idea behind the phrase I do not consent the wording of it, specifically “supremacist.� For me, this term evokes sentiments of the Ku Klux Klan and other such organizations that are overtly radical and oftentimes considered dangerous. But again, I understand the concept and I completely agree with it. The other issue I feel I need to address is a more personal one, concerning the featuring of Star Wars in her commentary. I thought her remarks on the usage of African-American/black actor James Earl Jones’s voice as Darth Vader were a little off-base—firstly because Darth Vader is actually a white-skinned character, and secondly because Jones (especially in his later years) has most commonly been used as a voice actor rather than a screen actor. I am a huge Star Wars fan and even though I would call the film ignorantly racist in the manner that most of the cast is white as well as how certain species suggest certain ethnic groups, I feel the voice of Darth Vader bears no racist connation, explicit or implicit. That is all.

Posted by Darth Nep0wix at 3:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I admittedly don't have the most refined taste in movies. I've never been a huge movie buff (as some of my peers apparently are), but the movies that I do like I tend to watch over and over and over again. So here we go....

Movies

1. Walk on the Moon
2. Life as a House
3. Cruel Intentions
4. American Beauty
5. Crash
6. Babes in Toyland
7. The Notebook
8. Mists of Avalon
9. Spellbound
10. Woodstock

..and some TV Shows

1. Felicity
2. Bug Juice
3. Six Feet Under
4. Grey's Anatomy
5. Weeds
6. Lost
7. The L Word
8. Vacation Home Search on the travel channel (does that count?)

Posted by Jaimee Towers at 4:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

These are my top 10 movies. ShawShank Redemption is a MUST SEE! movie.

1) ShawShank Redemption

2) American Beauty

3) Se7en

4) Grave of The FireFlies

5) Glory

6) The Usual Suspect

7) K-Pax

8) Black Girl

9) Mystic River

10) Taxi

Posted by De Vang at 4:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I want to start by saying that this was a needlessly hard assignment.
I may be one of the most indecisive people ever and when I tried to pick my top 10 that was made very clear. After thinking for quite some time and making a list of 20 or so I finally asked my boyfriend for some input. He suggested that I pretend that I am picking 10 movies to stay in existance and the others will all disappear. My criteria then quickly changed and there were some things that I just couldn't part with, these made the cut:

*East of Eden
*Rebel without a Cause

*When Harry Met Sally...
*Pleasantville

*Alice in Wonderland
*The Shining
*The Truman Show

*The Wizard of Oz
*Oceans 11
*It's a Wonderful Life

Now the thing is the second I upload this post I am going to immediatly wish that I had replaced something with The Kid, Moulin Rouge, or even The Notebook just because there are too many films that I couldn't never see again. I am glad that making that choice isn't truly the assignment! How could I get by without James Dean and James Stewart? Not possible.

Posted by Kelsey Marie at 10:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I am a person who lives between worlds, cultures and civilizations, the constant immigrant who is seen as foreigner wherever he is. An immigrant from Israel and an American citizen- I am too Israeli for Americans and too American for the Israelis.

I live between the worlds, the spheres and realities of the stereotypic masculine existence and what is at times perceived as the feminine one: (vegetarian) cooking/baking is my passion and I detest sports (watching or participating) in a similar level of passion.

A currently married feminist-atheist heterosexual male, my upbringing was in the hyper-masculine, chauvinist and violent Middle-East, the torn and polarized Israeli state. Like many people who grow up in the recent decades I was exposed to violent pornographic images and movies before I had my first girlfriend or intimate partner, but Israel is also where I discovered feminism and embraced it. I am currently (in the last year) volunteering for the Aurora Center for Advocacy and Education about sexual Assault and Relationship Violence in the University of Minnesota.

I like movies but know very little about their unique language and jargon. I can at times appreciate artistic and visionary directors’ films but not always. The following movie list brings up a few of my favorite list- I cannot rank them in a descending order:
Krzystof Kieslowski’s Three Colors movie trilogy is in a leading position. Any of Kieslowski’s works are unique, as he was director with a very unique style of narration and cinematography. The trilogy focuses on three women characters, when each movie stands by itself but also referenced and connected to others through image, scene setting, some actors and sound affects.
White tells the story of the stormy relationships between a young French woman and a Polish man in France/Poland. Rich in dark humor, this movie has the most linear/chronological plot-line in Kieslowski’s trilogy.
Blue tells the story of a woman who loses her husband and daughter in an accident. Her process of grieving takes a unique route, especially as her husband’s unfinished work/legacy and his secret life come to hunt her and force her to deal with the living rather than sinking into despair and silence. Red tells about the meeting of a young couple. Would they get together? They pass near one another and miss one another over and over again throughout the movie, but end up with the heroes of the other two films in the final scene of this movie (which is the last in the trilogy).
Much less artistic and feeding on my most primal and masculine-white-chauvinist side is the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The good men are white and blond; the bad ones have dark hair, eyes and skin. Men are fighting; women are trophy at the best. I assume most of you are familiar with this “Hollywood kitsch� piece, but I still enjoy this brainless unfeminist movie at times.
I like Roman Polanski’s Death and the Maiden, even if not the director himself. Polanski raped a 14 year old girl in the 1970’s and escaped justice, but he is also a visionary director with very interesting (and some good) films like the one mentioned above. Death and the Maiden is one of the best movies I have ever seen despite my detest with the director.
I generally have negative stigma on Israeli movies (low budget, quality, bad actors, chauvinist-racist-right-wing-political-social-messages) but in the recent few years there are quite a few descent ones:
Broken Wings (story of a single mother struggle to survive after the sudden death of the father, raising four troubled kids), Big Summer Blues (the lost generation of youth of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s), and Yana’s Friends (Russian-woman/immigrant struggle to find her place in Israel during the First Golf War) would close my list for this post.

Detested movies: all horror films, most action films, and most Hollywood sequels (who needs shark #53 or Rambo #78?), as well as most of the Hollywood attempts to deal with “women’s issues� (especially the sex industry); Pretty Women and any other movie that glorifies prostitution, most of the rape/torture/murder of women and children is the main-plot.

Posted by Athesit-feminist at 6:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here are only ten of my long list of favorite movies...mixture of some classics and some 20th century Hollywood films, and can't forget about Walt Disney :)

Check them out!

In no particular order...

1. Gone With the Wind
2. The Bridge On the River Kwai (1957)

3. Forrest Gump
4. Toy Story
5. Gigi ...a very cute girl-coming-of-age story set in France

6. Fantasia
7. Troy
8. Interview with the Vampire
9. Grease
10. The Mummy

AND...the one movie i absolutely cannot stand >.< is Lost in Translation. It is by far the most insulting and stereotypical movie I think I have ever bothered to see. Purely painful to watch :(

Posted by Amy at 5:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

These are my ten favorite films in the order I thought fit the best. I must say that this was really hard to narrow down to just ten. I like so many movies

1. Kill Bill Vol. 2 (Tarantino 2004)
2. Kill Bill Vol. 1 (Tarantino 2003)
3. The Descent (Marshall 2005)
4. Se7en (Fincher 1995)
5. Memento Mori (Tae-Wong, Kyu-Dong 1999)
6. Ghost World (Zwigoff 2001)
7. The Nightmare Before Christmas (Selick 1993)
8. Spiderman 2 (Raimi 2004)
9. Fight Club (Fincher 1999)
10. Battle Royale (Fukusaku 2000)

In the extended area, I have added what I believe to be the definitive scene of the film, or if I can't decide on one, or even find a clip of it, I will just post the trailer

1. Kill Bill Vol. 2

While I was in awe throughout most of the film, I was blown away by this speech near the end of the film. It's the most original, not to mention intriguing, bad guy speech I've ever seen.

2. Kill Bill Vol. 1

I've never had more fun watching a film than watching Uma Thurman try to bat away a Japanese school girl's massive flail.

3.The Descent

This is the scariest film I have ever seen. I was shaking in my seat long before any monsters even showed up.

4.Se7en
*SPOILER: If you have not seen Se7en, do not watch this clip :SPOILER*

David Fincher is probably my favorite director, if only for the dirty feeling I get from his films. This also doubles as my favorite ending to a film to date.

5.Memento Mori

These are the opening scenes of the film. Technically, this Korean film is a horror, but the horror aspects, at least to me, are not scary. I think this film does use horror as a wonderful storytelling tool to make one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen.

6. Ghost World

This is one of the first art films I have ever seen, and I think it to be very very beautiful, not to mention scathingly funny.

7. The Nightmare Before Christmas

This is the best stop-motion animation film I have ever seen, not to mention the most imaginative. Every time I watch it, I end up singing along to the songs for weeks.

8. Spiderman 2

I'm not ashamed to admit that I like Hollywood action films, and this one is easily the best I have ever seen.

9. Fight Club

Fincher perfected his look in this film, and the only reason Se7en outranks it is because the story here is not as good, compared both to Se7en and to the Fight Club novel. But the visuals here are stunning.

10. Battle Royale

Teenagers killing each other: how else do you think of Japan? This commentary on the education system is very controversial, albeit very popular. There is nothing more attractive to me about a movie than controversy

Posted by Dustin Savage-Rothmeier at 3:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Hey you all,
so maybe it is because I don't watch a lot of TV, but I realized my top 10 list is very....well, Hollywood. But hey, I like them!
1. Along Came a Spider
2. Swordfish
3. Class Act
4. Underworld (1 and 2)
5. 4 Brothers
6. Vin Diesel...Riddick, Man Apart, XXX, Pitch Black...love them all
7. Ocean 1, 2, and 3
8. Mr and Mrs. Smith
9. Pirates of the Caribbean
10.G.I. Jane
I love movies that make me think....the action and suspense makes the movie even better...also when the girl kicks @#% is always fun!!!
Molly M.

Posted by Molly Miller at 12:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ten Films I can Watch Repeatedly
(Usually Without Suffering Ill Effects)
(and in No Particular Order After Two or Three)
1. Hedwig and the Angry Inch
2. Waking Life (IMDb)
3. Fight Club
4. Memento
5. Bladerunner (IMDb)
6. The Matrix
7. The Fifth Element (IMDb)
8. Enter the Dragon (Bruce Lee)
9. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
10. Monty Python and the Holy Grail

And those are only ten! There's a fairly large list of films that I can watch over and over and over again, which I think is my problem -- I need to expand my horizons.

Some others:
* El Laberinto del fauno (Pan's Labyrinth)
* Pi, The Fountain: (Darren Aronofsky)
* Mononoke-hime (Princess Mononoke), Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle: (Hayao Miyazaki)
* Tron
* Hackers

As for an introduction, I try not to have too much personal information online. I've had a not-so-friendly experience and don't want it to happen again. I'm a chemistry major but am trying to study a little bit of everything. I design Web sites for fun and am currently working for a grassroots organization.

Posted by Brook at 11:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Hey everyone,
My name is Anna Feuerhelm and I'm going to give my top 10 list. Many of them are foreign films in Spanish.
1. Mar Adentro
2. Lord of War
3. y tu mama tambien
4. motorcycle diaries
5. blood diamond
6. en la puta vida
7. silence of the lambs
8. lucia y el sexo
9. meet the parents
10. matchstick men

Posted by Anna feuerhelm at 6:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip-Hop
Featuring Cey Adams, Jeff Chang, Roger Cummings, and Rachel Raimist
Thursday, June 14, 7 pm
Walker Art Center Cinema
Free tickets available at the Bazinet Garden Lobby desk from 6 pm

Since its beginning, hip-hop has left its mark on theater, poetry, performance art, dance, visual arts, film, and video. Though it is one of the big ideas of this generation, hip-hop is often subcategorized into such themes as “spoken word poetry,� “street literature,� “post–black art,� or “urban art.� This panel discussion focuses on how hip-hop is expanding in ways that cannot be so easily defined.

Cey Adams’ graphics can be seen on countless album covers (Jay-Z, Method Man, Beastie Boys and have been featured in clothing lines (Sean John), movies, and TV shows (Belly, Next Friday, Chapelle’s Show).

Jeff Chang, author of the books Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip-Hop and Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation, has written extensively on race, culture, politics, and the arts for numerous publications.

Roger Cummings is the cofounder and artistic director of Juxtaposition Arts, a North Minneapolis urban art center whose mission is to empower youth and community to use the arts to actualize their full potential.

Rachel Raimist is a Twin Cities–based filmmaker and director of Nobody Knows My Name, which chronicles the stories of women in hip-hop.

Presented by WACTAC.

Posted by Rae at 6:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

1. My Neighbor Totoro
2. Seagull Diner
3. Love Me If You Dare
4. The Beat That My Heart Skipped
5. He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not
6. My Fair Lady
7. Me & You & Everyone We Know
8. The Manual Of Love
9. The Void
10. Y Tu Mama Tambien

Posted by sarahchoy at 3:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Like many people, I have a collection of movies, which I love to watch repeatedly. Here is the list of my Top 10s and some other movies that I like. Since, I was born and raised in a different country; consequently, I am adding name of the movies in different languages as well. If you are interested in knowing the meaning of any of them, then kindly let me know, I will translate it for you.

Top 10s
1: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
2: Shrek the Third
3: Casino Royal 007
4: Namesake
5: Ocean’s Thirteen
6: Spider-Man 3
7: Titanic
8: A Walk to Remember
9: Notebook
10: IceAge: The Meltdown
11: Veer Zaara

12: Water
13: Hum Tum

14: Don

15: Rang De Basanti
16: Taj Mahal
17: Mughal-e-Azam

Posted by angelforever_22 at 2:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Top Ten films...What a difficult task! Regardless, I tried my best to wittle it down to 10. Here is what I decided, in no particular order:

1.) Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986)

2.) Bacheha-Ye aseman (Children of Heaven) (Majid Majidi, 1997)
3.) Welcome to the Dollhouse (Todd Solondz, 1995)
4.) Festen (The Celebration) (Thomas Vinterberg,1998)
5.) Safe (Todd Haynes, 1995)

6.) Grindhouse (in particular, Death Proof) (Quentin Tarantino, 2007)
7.) Goyangileul butaghae (Take Care of My Cat) (Jae-eun Jeong, 2001)
8.) Le souffle au coeur (Murmur of the Heart) (Louis Malle, 1971)
9.) Scorpio Rising (Kenneth Anger, 1964)

10.) Rushmore (Wes Anderson, 1998)

Posted by ultimate leader of the usa at 5:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Because I actually attempt to keep an extensive list of my favorite films, you can find the remainder of what I consider my "elite" favorites in the extended section. The complete list is constantly fluctuating despite my attempts to have some stability in it all (I feel safe saying that these "elites" are more or less secure). In total it's a ridiculous endeavor.

1. The Adventures of Milo & Otis (Masanori Hata, 1989 USA)
2. The Crying Game (Neil Jordan, 1992)
3. True Romance (Tony Scott, 1993)
4. Raising Arizona (Joel Coen, 1987)
5. Bottle Rocket (Wes Anderson, 1996)
6. Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino, 1992)
7. Clue (Jonathan Lynn, 1986)
8. The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson, 2001)
9. Miller's Crossing (Joel Coen, 1990)
10. Gosford Park (Robert Altman, 2001)

The "Grindhouse" adaptation of my favorite film:

You can find more of these poster adaptations here.

11. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Alfonso Cuarón, 2004)
12. Kill Bill Vol. 1 (Quentin Tarantino, 2003)
13. Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986)
14. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Jim Sharman, 1975)
15. Fight Club (David Fincher, 1999)
16. Traffic (Steven Soderbergh, 2000)
17. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980)
18. Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927)
19. Apocalypse Now Redux (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)
20. Donnie Darko (Richard Kelly, 2001)
21. Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (Neil Jordan, 1994)
22. The Science of Sleep (Michel Gondry, 2006)
23. Bulworth (Warren Beatty, 1998)
24. Boys Don't Cry (Kimberly Peirce, 1999)
25. Ich War Neunzehn (Konrad Wolf, 1968)
26. Blood Simple (Joel Coen, 1984)
27. 21 Grams (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2003)
28. GoldenEye (Martin Campbell, 1995)
29. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
30. Fantasy Mission Force (Yin-Ping Chu, 1982)

Posted by Darth Nep0wix at 5:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

1) 2046
2) The Best of Youth
3) The Royal Tenenbaums
4) Chungking Express
5) Ikiru
6) Eyes Wide Shut
7) The 5 Obstructions
8) Princess Mononoke
9) Punch Drunk Love
10) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

NB I made this list through a correspondence with my dad last year via email - what an interesting process ordering your favorite (anything for that matter) movies.

And the quote I like from the end of this particular email was:

boy i'm glad i have my back up movie brain available to help me with the movies i like (movielens.org)

Posted by coolguy2k at 3:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"I am here to inform these modern times of the grammatical era's end and the beginning of flamboyance especially in cinema." Joesph Balsam , Le Week-end, 1967
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(chronological order)

Cléo de 5 à 7, Agnès Varda, 1961
Masculin Féminin, Jean-Luc Gadard, 1966
*Le Week-end, Jean-Luc Godard, 1967

Bonnie and Clyde, Arthur Penn, 1967
The Graduate, MIke Nichols, 1967
*Manhattan, Woody Allan, 1979

The Secret of NIMH, Don Bluth, 1982
The Unbarable Lightness of Being, Philip Kaufman, 1988
*Lost Highway, David Lynch, 1997

Boys Don't Cry, Kimberly Peirce, 1999
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"We'd often go to the movies. We'd shiver as the screen lit up. But more often, Madeline and I would be disappointed. More often we'd be disappointed. The images flickered. Marilyn Monroe looked terribly old. It saddened us. It wasn't the film we had dreamed, the film we all carried in our hearts, the film we wanted to make... and secretly wanted to live." Paul, Masculin Féminin,1966

images taken from:
www.mindspring.com/~laserdisc-forever/losthighway-front_new.jpg
www.sacramentofrenchfilmfestival.org
mrl.nyu.edu/~kristja/images/manhattan.jpg

Posted by kecakiwi at 2:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Welcome to the public blog for the Summer course "GWSS 3307 - Feminist Film Studies: On Media, Representation, Sex, Gender, Violence and Women Making Movies". This course is newly designed this term to include lots active learning (see this, this and this for examples). I have been thinking a lot about feminist pedagogy, media literacy and teaching/research/learning with technology.

We will post frequently to this blog. Students are assigned a few mandatory posts throughout the course, but are encouraged to post more for extra credit and for fun! We also have a myu portal course website (but that's a private space for enrolled students only).

As Instructor (and Instructional Designer) I encourage students to write beyond our isolated classroom community. My hopes are to teach students to think, speak, and write critically but responsibly, and to connect our thoughts, ideas, and work to the world, thus - this blog.

I'm asking the students to read rebecca's pocket guide to weblog ethics but if you have a good site or guide for new bloggers and students, please link us!

Hopefully this blog will be a productive and creative collaborative space.

Looking forward to a great term!

-Rachel

+ + + Read on for my top 10 lists...

I thought it might be helpful to include some basic html tags here, for students interested in doing "fancier" posts:

This is a guide from our course moodle site:

Other html tag sites:
Bare Bones Guide to HTML
alphabetical list of tags

+ + +
So here goesRachel's Top 10 List:

1. The Professional
2. Say Anything
3. Breakfast Club
4 I Like It Like That
5.Senorita Extraviada
6. Nobody's Business
7. Every Mother's Son
8. HGTV
9. CSI, Law & Order type shows, even Forensic Files and the First 48
10. ER (I love to rent the whole season DVDs and watch episode after episode

OR

You could post with more details (and links, if you can figure it out):

Hollywood / Indie movies:

1. The Professional (also called Leon) - action, assasinations, and love
sort of love story where milk drinking assassin falls in love with pre-pub teen

2. Say Anything - John Cusack is my man
"I gave her my heart and she gave me a pen!"

3. Breakfast Club - didn't you have to go to detention in high school?

4. I Like It Like That - a Puerto Rican ghetto girl story where the girl doesn't have to leave the hood to make a better life. she gets a job and uses her mind

Indie documentaries that I LOVE:
5. Senorita Extraviada - poetic visions on video incite political action

6. Nobody's Business - brilliant doc

7. Every Mother's Son - moving story about nypd corruption and mothers who organize

TV Shows I Can't Live Without:
8. HGTV - I don't own a house, don't paint, aren't too crafty, don't have any money, but LOVE these shows

9. CSI, Law & Order type shows, even Forensic Files and the First 48 - I get sucked in, I do

10. ER (I love to rent the whole season DVDs and watch episode after episode, especially the early seasons

Posted by Rae at 8:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)