|
Minutes for November 17, 2003
Class begins with a reminder about Hitler’s Secretary. It has been moved from the Manor to Birkdale and will be showing there until Thursday. Come and see Dr. Reimer for tickets.
Dr. Reimer then answered a few questions regarding the Reports. **Reminder** The reports make up 25% of your paper grade, so take it seriously -The report should be about 10 minutes in length, not including movie clips (the movie clips should not exceed 5 minutes) -You do not have to turn in your paper when you give your presentation. If you would like you can turn it in later -If you are scheduled to do the minutes for the presentations, then provide the class with facts from the presentations -There WILL be questions from the presentations on the final exam
Dr. Reimer went over the evaluation format for the presentations: -Presentation of information -Your presence while giving the presentation -Note cards are acceptable, but try to just glance at them -Having a PowerPoint presentation is fine, but it is not required -Keep presentation formal -Speak directly, clearly, and appropriately -Try not to use too much slang or too many colloquialisms *It never hurts banning certain phrases from our speech (like, basically, you know, etc.) -Eye contact
Dr. Reimer started the conversation on Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo by giving some background to the movie. The film was made in 1981 and was directed by Ulrich Edel. The film was very popular in Germany commercially as well as critically. Even when the film was exported abroad, the film had marketability. It was commercially successful because it was based on a book and included an appearance by David Bowie in concert. The book was actually not allowed at first in Germany’s middle school classes, which made it an underground success. Today, the book is part of the curriculum in some schools. This class period, instead of getting into small groups and discussing the questions from the film, we went over them as a whole. **The “-“ means that it is a comment from a classmate and the “~” means that it is a comment from Dr. Reimer** 1. Characterize Christiane’s home life. -Her home life was not particularly bad, but her mother wasn’t there for support. Her sister went to their father for support. ~The story is based on real life. It is a split home and the children are looking for nurturing. The director thought it might be necessary to show this. -Maybe the sister left because the mother focused too much on her boyfriend and not enough on her kids. ~We can’t say that the director is using a cliché because it is real life. -The home life is pretty normal: Parents are divorced; she is going through puberty/identity crisis, so she has her new family of friends instead of her actual family. ~Mother does not help the situation, but it is true -everyone in the household is trying to get acceptance. The boyfriend tries to get Christiane’s attentions and Christiane tries to get her mothers attention. ~The “shoe” episode is Christiane emotionally blackmailing her mother because she knows that her mother will not say no, and she knows how to manipulate her. 2. Part way through the film, Christiane and her friends run through a shopping mall and generally act silly and also act up on a rooftop of the mall. What role does this sequence play in the film? -it is a high point, they are enjoying everything before it goes downhill. -gives the viewer a reason to see why she is hanging out with these people ~It is the high point of the movie -Destruction of property. It shows their self-destruction. They are doing the same thing to their bodies, so it is foreshadowing. -First time they are outside of the club together, it is a bonding experience between group -Christiane and Detlev’s relationship gets more serious. -it is a metaphor for their lives ~Think back to when you were their age, 14 or 15. What were you doing with your friends around this time that you didn’t want your parents to know about? 3. Christiane narrates the story of her addiction. What effect does her narration have on the way we see/understand the story being told? -it makes it more personal ~immediate intimacy -it is objective, simply what happened -you identify better with the character -~it adds clarity ~There is a lot of irony in Christiane’s denial -you are more emotionally involved ~you empathize with her, more than condemning her 4. What purpose does David Bowie concert serve in the story of the film? - symbolize childhood -marked the end of childhood - she did H for the first time after the concert -market value ~do not underestimate! It is very intentional. Bowie is connected with drug scene. He was apart of the New York scene with Andy Warhol – alternative Underground drug use. -there is always that band while you are growing up that was associated with drugs -the music is associated with drugs 5. In what ways does the director use visual elements to reflect the highs and lows of drug addiction? -all of the time she does drugs, she is in the bathroom which is dirty, dangerous and nasty -she is also always in the corner crouched down -she is always going down into the Underground, which is also down into the subculture. -the colors are sickly dark during her low points ~use the exterior shots as a contrast -the setting of the station – people go there to make a change. She comes to the doorway, and always chooses the same door (to the underground) -her physical change throughout the movie 6. Films about drug addiction are sufficiently numerous to classify the topic as a sub-genre (formulaic in nature). Compare this film to other films about drug addition with which you are familiar. What are the recurring themes? How do other directors visualize the highs and lows of addiction? How do the films resolve the protagonist’s (protagonists’) problems? -Requiem for a Dream – start off not so bad, then gets worse and do more terrible things to get the drugs that it ends up ruining their life ~it spirals you down – all kinds of drugs being used -theme – do drugs, get addicted, something happens that makes you withdraw, then you relapse, and then depending on where it is(date and age group desired), you have a happy ending or they die ~side note – Christiane actually relapses over and over until she finally turned herself around for good in 1996 -a lot of narration and color tinting -prostitution and theft resulting -SLC Punk – friend Overdosed and made the guy turn around ~they have the idea that “that is not going to be me” -Rush – police officers undercover, one becomes addicted – kids, AIDS, and drug use ~Hate follows the same storyline Salton Sea – starts out looking like a drug movie (addicted to speed) but turns out to be a detective movie -Man with Golden Arm – Frank Sinatra movie dealing with drug addiction -Trainspotting
Following the class discussion, Dr. Reimer began a quick lecture on Werner Herzog -His films tend to be dated in the sense of what made films exciting in the 70’s -He was very influential, but disappeared except maybe historically. It is always Schlöndorff, Wenders, and Fassbinder that people think of -He is still making movies today -You must keep in mind his megalomania -He has imagined visually what no one has seen before and put in on film. He goes to great lengths to show us what he sees. -Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe – Entire film of him boiling his shoe and eating it. He makes fun of Charlie Chaplin. -He is a fanatic We then watch a film clip from Woyzeck (1979). The film is based on a play -Quick summary of the story: There is a poor soldier who is mistreated by everyone. His doctor mistreats him, his captain mistreats him, and even his common-law wife is unfaithful to him. On top of it all, he is a schizophrenic. -The movie clip we watch is of Marie (his common-law wife) telling a story to some kids when Woyzeck comes up and they take a walk where Woyzeck stabs her to death -This is one of the major plays in German literature. A average director would have had the stab scene be a couple of stabs and then it is over, but for Herzog it goes on for a couple of minutes
|