978-1319102852 Chapter 7 Part 2

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subject Pages 9
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subject Authors Bettina Fabos, Christopher Martin, Richard Campbell

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Because tape is so cheap, filmmakers using digital cameras can shoot more footage,
which gives them more choices in the editing room. Because tapes run up to an hour, they
also enable directors to keep cameras rolling longer than the ten-minute maximum for a film
reel. Directors can also review a shot immediately after it is completed rather than wait an
entire day for the film dailies to be processed and printed.
Digital prints played on high-definition projectors offer a more pristine image than film:
Film is plagued by flickers, scratches, dirty transfers, degraded third-generation prints, and
torn sprockets. Every run of a digital master has the same color, detail, and brightness.
The movie Bounce, starring Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow, was the first digital master to be
distributed via satellite. From Tulsa, Oklahoma, the digitally compressed (and encrypted) movie
was “bounced” off an orbiting satellite, then decrypted and loaded onto computer hard drives,
and then decompressed at showtime.
A good portion of the money George Lucas got from the merchandising of Star Wars action
figures went toward developing nonlinear digital video-editing technology. The technology was
then sold to Avid, which is now one of the leading producers of nonlinear editing equipment.
Lucas said in a 2000 Q&A session at the University of California-Berkeley:
It’s hard to believe but the whole [ability to do] nonlinear editing came out of action figures. .
. . The ability to spend the $20 million it took to create that, and make it a real thing and
prove it, and go to the trade shows and everything and show everybody and say this works,
you can do this, and then everybody will go out and copy it and eventually sell it to Avid—
you need the money to do it in the first place. . . . We started with revenue from the toy
companies.
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As a media scholar, Henry Jenkins wrote in 2015 (http://henryjenkins.org/2015/12/what-we-talk-
about-when-we-talk-about-star-wars.html):
Lucas made what turned out to be a key move when he rejected a higher salary of the film in
favor of greater control over and more profit from the unfolding of Star Wars as a media
franchise. From the start, Lucas saw the ancillary materials as a vital aspect of how he would
build up this fictional universe, just as from the start he understood this as something which
could unfold across multiple installments.
George Lucas allowed (albeit tightly controlled) fan-made Star Wars videos and created an
official Star Wars Fan Film Awards” celebration (http://www.starwars.com/star-wars-fan-
film-awards). The 2015 winner, “Star Wars The Lesser Evil,” can be viewed at
https://youtu.be/vgaeH6hAICU?list=PL148kCvXk8pAtNy1tBicSqTS7rOLUNjZs.
In an essay on participatory culture (http://web.mit.edu/21fms/People/henry3/starwars.html), the
scholar Henry Jenkins wrote:
We are witnessing the transformation of amateur film culture from a focus on home movies
toward a focus on public movies, from a focus on local audiences toward a focus on a
potential global audience, from a focus on mastering the technology toward a focus on
mastering the mechanisms for publicity and promotion, and from a focus on self-
documentation toward a focus on an aesthetic based on appropriation, parody, and the
dialogic.
VI. Popular Movies and Democracy
Discuss the various ways to interpret the cultural significance of American films on the world
stage.
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Do the globally popular films create more of a sense of a global village and break down barriers?
Does the same American-based common culture stifle local cultures and the diversity of
moviemaking?
How does the growing popularity of Hong Kong and Bollywood films around the world fit into
this picture?
MEDIA LITERACY DISCUSSIONS AND EXERCISES
THEATER OR DVD?
In class, make a tally of students who prefer to attend movies in the theater and students who
prefer to watch movies at home on DVD or online. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of
both viewing habits. Discuss whether theatergoing will become obsolete in the next decade given
that increasingly more revenue is earned through video release than through box-office receipts.
What could be done to enhance moviegoing in theaters? Make a list. How might your ideas be
reasonably financed? Would there be a payoff for theater owners?
STAR WARS
Use students’ experiences with the Star Wars franchise to discuss the impact of new technologies
on cinema and culture and the impact of blockbusters on American and global cultures, using
Disney as a case study to explore concepts like hegemony and consensus narratives. For
example, The Force Awakens characters Rey and Finn can be used to generate a discussion about
gender and race in Hollywood. The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media
(http://seejane.org) is an excellent resource for such a discussion.
HOLLYWOOD REPRESENTATIONS OF OTHER COUNTRIES
Pre-Exercise Question: What’s your most memorable image of a foreigner in a Hollywood
movie?
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Films from the United States dominate world markets. For example, American films occupy
about three-fourths of the European market. Make a list of representations of “foreign” people
and places in several of these American films. Also make note of how the American characters
interact with these foreign characters. Then discuss issues of cultural imperialism in the
storytelling of Hollywood movies.
If Hollywood movies are the dominant movie narratives of the world, how does Hollywood
structure global relationships and understanding?
WRITING A MOVIE CRITIQUE
Pick a current popular film that you have seen or that the class has seen together. In this Critical
Process exercise, write a three- to four-page (750- to 1,000-word) movie critique either
defending or attacking the movie as a form of popular culture (see Chapter 1). Include plenty of
examples to support your argument, and focus on three or four significant points.
1. Description. In preparing to write your critique, describe important plot, theme, or character
points that are relevant to your argument. (This step is essentially the note-taking part of your
paper.)
2. Analysis. Analyze the particular patterns (the three or four significant points) that emerge
from your Description step and that you have chosen to examine.
3. Interpretation. Interpret what all this information might mean based on the evidence you
provide.
4. Evaluation. Discuss the limits of your critique, and offer evaluations of the film industry
based on your evidence and your interpretations. Evaluate the movie by judging whether it
works as high art or as popular culture.
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5. Engagement. Does your critique of the movie differ substantially from published reviews in
local or national newspapers and magazines or a web page? (Try Movie Review Query
Engine at http://www.mrqe.com to find reviews.) Use the evidence from your critique to
present your interpretation of the film in a written response to a published review.
FILM SUCCESS: FINDING THE BALANCE BETWEEN FAMILIARITY AND
NOVELTY
Pre-Exercise Question: Why do some films become enormous hits while others become
enormous failures?
This Critical Process discussion/exercise investigates the factors that determine a movie’s
success with audiences.
To begin, select two recent big-budget films (one success and one box-office flop) and two small
independent films (one that became commercially successful and one that never made a huge
impact).
To find listings and reviews of smaller films, check big-city alternative publications like the
Village Voice (http://www.villagevoice.com/movies), Chicago Reader
(http://www.chicagoreader.com/movies), or LA Weekly (http://www.laweekly.com/movies).
Proceed with a critical inquiry:
1. Description. Isolate the major elements of the four films: What genre (or combination of
genres) does each film belong to? What are the major attractions of each film: popular actors,
renowned directors, intriguing “unknown” actors, expensive special effects, a familiar story,
an unfamiliar story? Check newspaper ads: How were the movies marketed? Were the
movies critically acclaimed?
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2. Analysis. Compare the movies’ elements. Do any patterns emerge among the successes and
the flops?
3. Interpretation. What seems to bring success? What seems to cause failure? What role does
genre play in success? How important is it to balance familiarity and novelty? (You may
wish to again consider the “culture as a hierarchy” vs. “culture as a map” models from
Chapter 1 of the text.)
Why do movies succeed or fail? How do we measure that?
4. Evaluation. What do you think of these films? Is box-office success a reliable indicator of
how good a movie really is? Do we as a culture fixate excessively on box-office winners and
losers?
5. Engagement. Write a movie review of a film that you think was fabulous but that did not do
well at the box office. Publish it online (you can offer your critiques on various movie
databases, such as the Internet Movie Database, http://www.imdb.com), in your college
newspaper, or in another venue.
TRACKING RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY: A
SEMESTER-LONG CRITICAL PROCESS EXERCISE AND PAPER
In this exercise students discover the most recent developments in the industry, and they become
familiar with industry trade sources. The paper they produce is due in sections, which
correspond with the steps in the Critical Process.
1. Description. Read industry trade sources to get a sense of the main issues affecting the
motion picture industry. Look at the websites of industry trade associations and professional
societies. (Links to websites of some industry trade sources are given in the Classroom
Media Sources below.) Take notes on topics that have multiple stories or mentions in the
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current year. What issues or developments in the industry have received a lot of recent
attention, discussion, or commentary in industry sources? (Focus only on information from
the current year—and only from trade sources.) Write a one-page synopsis of the information
you found about current topics in the industry. Cite your sources properly.
2. Analysis. Look for one development or pattern that has received significant attention on trade
sites and from trade journalists in the current year. Choose one specific trend, and write one
or two pages with details about the information you found about that trend. Continue to track
news about your topic as the semester progresses. Cite sources properly.
3. Interpretation. What does the trend mean for the state of the industry? Is it evolving? How?
What does it tell you about media in general at the current time? What might it say about our
culture or our society? Can your information help us interpret the role of the industry in our
lives? Write up your interpretation in a five-page paper. (The first page should be a synopsis
of the trend, with proper citations.) You might not have to provide information from your
sources for the next four pages because this section is your interpretation of the trend. (Save
any ideas you have about whether the trend is “good” or “bad” for the Evaluation step of the
Critical Process.) Cite any sources properly.
4. Evaluation. Is the trend “good” or “bad?” For the industry? society? culture? democracy? us?
What do you think might happen in the future?
5. Engagement. Are there any actions you can take (related to your trend and the industry)?
Possibilities include posting your views on social media, creating a petition, contacting
people in the industry to see what they think of your interpretation and evaluation, or going
to an industry event if any are held nearby. (This step need not be required if students are not
motivated to take action.)
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Note: This exercise works well if each step of the Critical Process is due two weeks after the
prior step is due. Limiting students to only trade sources and only information from the current
year helps keep them on track. Your institution’s librarians should be able to provide students
with information on how to access industry trade sources.
CLASSROOM MEDIA RESOURCES
LAUNCHPAD FOR MEDIA & CULTURE: launchpadworks.com
Breaking Barriers with 12 Years a Slave (2013, 1:20 minutes). A brief clip from the film 12
Years a Slave depicts the brutality of slave owners in the 1800s.
More Than a Movie: Social Issues and Film (2010, 3:45 minutes). Chris Gebhardt of Participant
Media discusses how movies like The Cove can turn audiences into activists through the power
of film and social media.
Race in Hollywood: Tyler Perry (2013, 1:40 minutes). A brief clip from A Medea Christmas
shows an example of the work of prolific actor, writer, and director Tyler Perry.
Technology in Gravity (2013, 1:32 minutes). A brief clip from Gravity illustrates how the movie
uses the most advanced technical tools in service of classical storytelling.
Theatrical Experience and The Hobbit (2013, 1:31 minutes). A brief clip from The Hobbit: The
Desolation of Smaug shows the quality of the advanced technology used in filming.
VIDEOS/DVDS/CDS
Andy Serkis Breaks Down His Motion Capture Performance (October 24, 2017, 5:31 minutes).
WIRED video. Serkis (Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Caesar in War for the
Planet of the Apes) has set the bar for motion capture performing. Available at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpRLTfVEhMk.
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Behind the Screens: Hollywood Goes Hypercommercial (2000, 37 minutes). Tracking the
phenomenal rise in product placements, tie-ins with fast-food chains, and mammoth toy-
merchandising deals, this video argues that mainstream, big-budget movies have become largely
a vehicle for advertising and marketing. Distributed by the Media Education Foundation, 800-
897-0089; http://www.mediaed.org.
Female Directors in Hollywood & Impact of Movies Made from One Perspective (July 6, 2017,
14:27 minutes). TEDx Talks. Film reporter, writer, and movie geek Alicia Malone reveals early
stories of female directors in Hollywood, trying to reframe the idea that film directors are always
male. She also explains why movies told from just one perspective affects us all. Available at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h-I5yCHrS0.
The Greatest Ted Talk Ever Sold (March 15, 2013, 19:28). Ted-Ed. Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock
dives into the world of brand marketing and product placement in this humorous video about his
quest to make a sponsored film about sponsorship. Available at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2jyjfcp1as.
Hollywood on Trial (date not available, 90 minutes). The story of the Hollywood Ten and the
accusations by the House Committee on Un-American Activities of their supposed communist
activities. Distributed by Facets Multimedia, 800-331-6197; http://www.facets.org.
How the BBC Films the Night Side of Planet Earth (March 6, 2017, 6:42 minutes). VOX video
about the technology that helps wildlife filmmakers see in the dark. View online at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t5l7sjcjHU.
The Jazz Singer (1927, 89 minutes). The first feature-length film with spoken dialogue.
Distributed by Facets Multimedia, 800-331-6197; http://www.facets.org.
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Midnight Ramble: The Story of the Black Film Industry (1994, 55 minutes). This program
examines the role of race moviesfilms that featured all-black castsin American culture from
the beginning of the twentieth century through the 1940s. The documentary illustrates how black
cinema was a response to the demeaning stereotypes that emerged from mainstream studios and
why the genre declined. Distributed by Instructional Support Services at Indiana University, 800-
552-8620.
Pioneers of Cinema (1999, 180 minutes). This film chronicles the birth of cinema and the
contributions of such pioneers as the Lumière brothers, Thomas Edison, and George Méliès.
Available on http://www.amazon.com.
The Player (1992, 123 minutes). Tim Robbins plays the vice president of a Hollywood movie
studio in a film that satirizes the Hollywood system. Directed by Robert Altman.
Trumbo (2015, 124 minutes). Biopic about Dalton Trumbo, one of the “Hollywood 10,” who
wrote two Oscar-winning scripts (anonymously) while blacklisted. Cast includes Bryan
Cranston, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Louis C.K., and John Goodman.
Women Who Made the Movies (1992, 55 minutes). A chronicle of the careers and films of
pioneer women filmmakers in cinema history.
WEB SITES
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: http://www.oscars.org
American Film Institute: http://www.afi.com
Box Office: http://pro.boxoffice.com
Box Office Mojo: http://www.boxofficemojo.com
Chicago Reader: http://www.chicagoreader.com/movies
Deadline Hollywood: http://deadline.com/v/film
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Directors Guild of America: http://www.dga.org
Hollywood Foreign Press Association: http://www.hfpa.org
Hollywood Reporter: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com
Inside Film Magazine: http://www.insidefilm.com
Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com
LA Weekly: http://www.laweekly.com/movies
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA): http://www.mpaa.org
National Association of Theater Owners: http://www.natoonline.org
#OscarsSoWhite: https://twitter.com/hashtag/oscarssowhite
SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild): http://www.sagaftra.org
Screen Daily: http://www.screendaily.com
Variety: http://www.variety.com
Village Voice: http://www.villagevoice.com/movies
The Wrap: http://www.thewrap.com
Writers Guild of America—East and West: https://www.wgaeast.org & http://www.wga.org
FURTHER READING
Acker, Ally. Reel Women: Pioneers of the Cinema, 1896 to the Present. London: Batsford, 1991.
Bordwell, David, Janet Staiger, and Kristin Thompson. The Classical Hollywood Cinema: Film
Style and Mode of Production to 1960. New York: Columbia University Press, 1985.
Corrigan, Timothy, and Patricia White. The Film Experience: An Introduction. 4th ed. New
York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2015.
Gomery, Douglas. Movie History: A Survey. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1991.
__________. “Who Killed Hollywood?” Wilson Quarterly (Summer 1991): 106–112.
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Gunning, Tom. D. W. Griffith and the Origins of American Narrative Film. Urbana: University
of Illinois Press, 1991.
Levy, Emanuel. Cinema of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Film. New York: New
York University Press, 1999.
Murch, Walter. “A Digital Cinema of the Mind? Could Be,” New York Times, May 2, 1999.
Musser, Charles. The Emergence of Cinema: The American Screen to 1907. New York: Scribner,
1991.
Quart, Barbara Koenig. Women Directors: The Emergence of a New Cinema. New York:
Praeger, 1988.
Sanders, Don, and Susan Sanders. The American Drive-In Movie Theater. Osceola, WI:
Motorbooks International, 1997.
Schickel, Richard. Movies: The History of an Art and an Institution. New York: Basic, 1964.
Segrave, Kerry. Product Placement in Hollywood Films: A History. Jefferson, NC: McFarland,
2004.
Sklar, Robert. Movie-Made America: A Cultural History of American Movies. New York:
Vintage, 1976.
PART 3
Words and Pictures
Print media, which provide a historical record and enable individualism, dominated the
nineteenth century. In the twentieth century, the newspaper, magazine, and book industries
adapted as new mediamusic, radio, and television—arose. Now, in the twenty-first century,
print media have continued to transform for the online digital media environment and new modes
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of access. Large questions remain regarding the viability of print media business models and the
consequences of digital access to previously only hard-copy print media.

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