Geog/Film

Topics for M 11/25

Here are topics for our discussion of Carol on Monday. Feel free to start the conversation here or to suggest additional topics.

• Framing & decor: the use of windows and mirrors in framing shots.
• Lighting.
• How the filmmakers use mise-en-scène to create a film that not only looks and feels like the period, but also looks and feels like a film from the period.
• Action and performance: how Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara use facial expression and body language to show emotion and change. We can also talk about how costume and make-up support these performances.

 

Blindspotting: On the Margins

How do Collin (Daveed Diggs) and Miles (Rafael Casal) show different sides to and perceptions of marginalization? How does the particular history of Oakland play a role in making the question of marginalization complicated here? How does the film show us these complexities?

Second three films

What do you think of our second set of three films: Zodiac, Leave No Trace and The Florida Project? Which, if any, had you seen before? Which did you enjoy the most or the least? Which did you find most interesting in terms of our critical analysis of m-e-s in class or the theme of "On The Margins"?

Topics for M 11/11

Here are some topics for our discussion of The Florida Project on M. Feel free to suggest additional topics or start the conversation here.

• The use of color.
• Setting: how does the film show us that this place is centered on tourists and what that means for the people who actually live there?
• How the film makes the mundane beautiful.
• The use of props, costume and make-up to develop character.
• The use of editing to fragment m-e-s.
• What's up with the helicopters?

Topics for M 10/28

Here are points of discussion about Zodiac for M. Feel free to suggest other topics and to start the conversation in comments.

• Use of sound, especially music, and how those choices affect our reading of mise-en-scène.
• Use of lighting.
• The choice to keep the killer out of frame or obscured in the m-e-s.
• Parallels between the police, Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) and Armstrong (Anthony Ewards), and the journalists, Avery (Robert Downey, Jr.) and Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhall), investigating the killer.
• The use of setting to show character, e.g., Leigh Allen's (John Carroll Lynch) trailer and Paul Avery's houseboat.
• The effects of casting choices, especially for the actors playing the suspected or implied killer. Carroll Lynch and Bob Vaughn (Charles Fleischer). How do these choices play on stereotypes people may have about what a serial killer like the Zodiac would look like?

 

Topics for mid-term theory review

On M (10/28), we will be using some of our time to start a series of review sessions on film theory. So, if there is a concept, or part of a concept, like mise-en-scène, the frame and the shot, that you are confused by or want to know more about, post those here and I will address them in our discussion.

In future sessions, I will also be asking for topics that might be unrelated or adjacent to our core concepts, e.g., editing and sound. But for this week, I'd like to stay focused on our primary ideas.

The film we will be screening next, Leave No Trace, will afford us some time to also review on W.

Topics posted by noon on M 10/28 will be addressed in class. Topics posted after that deadline, may be addressed on W or at a future date.

Class canceled M 10/21

I have a cold and plan on staying home M 10/21. This means our 4:00 meeting in NPE 113 is canceled. You can discuss Goodfellas here, here and here. I have a blog post set up for discussing the reading assigned for M here. And there's always the weekly Open Thread for topics.

First three films

What are your thoughts on our first three films (The Perez Family, Children of Men and Goodfellas)? Had you seen any of these films before? Which did you enjoy watching the most? Which do you think was the most interesting in terms of critical discussion of mise-en-scène? What about in regards to the theme of "On The Margins"?

Critical discussion of mise-en-scène

This Monday, part of our discussion will be about the concept of mise-en-scène and how useful or coherent it is. You can get the conversation started in comments here.

Goodfellas: On the Margins

How do you see the central characters in Goodfellas as being marginalized in ways that may be both similar to and different than the main characters in The Perez Family and Children of Men? How do these characters demonstrate the central idea that "marginality" may always be a question of perspective (how someone sees themself and their place in the world) and context (who you and where you are)? For example, is it possible for someone to be centered in the world of organized crime, but marginalized in "normal" society? Are there particular scenes from Goodfellas that demonstrate these kinds of differences?