Minutes for February 4^th, 2004 (Paola Mateos)

FILMS DISCUSSED:

 Zuckerbaby (Germany-1985, Percy Adlon) vs. Babycakes (U.S.A- 1989, Paul Schneider)

Class began today in viewing the short few scenes before the climax of Baby Cakes.  In the last class period (Feb. 2), we started watching the end of the film once Grace and Rob had already encountered Rob’s girlfriend at the nightclub.  The club scene in Baby Cakes varied from Zuckerbaby in that the lighting in the club was much brighter, Grace and Rob both seemed to be enjoying themselves, and later, when Rob’s girlfriend meets Grace and begins to beat her, Rob actually tries to defend Grace- unlike his German counterpart. 

After viewing that short clip of the film, Professor Reimer asked us to take out our first assignment, which was issued the previous class period.  The assignment was composed of 6 questions, which are as follows, and as Professor Reimer asked the questions, different students answered the questions out-loud accordingly:  

1.)    Describe the differences in the opening 20 minutes of Zuckerbaby (Percy Adlon 1984) and Baby Cakes (Paul Schneider 1989).

Answers come from Kordana Boloker

Zuckerbaby opens with an obese woman floating in a pool alone at a bath house. She then proceeds to go home on the subway and then proceed to the supermarket where she is seen as an outcast by the women behind the counter because she works in a funeral home.  She then proceeds back on the subway and discovers her love a young and handsome subway driver and instantly falls in love with him. She goes on a hunt to find out all about him. Baby cakes opens with the main character Grace an overweight cosmetician to the dead on the train on her way home.  She picks a pack of sugar babies candy out of the machine on her way out of the station. She proceeds to the market where she buys a variety of junkfood. The woman at the counter obviously knows her and talks her ear off about all her boyfriends.  The American film shows us a totally different view of cultural views. While the German woman is an outcast Grace has a friend and people don’t view her as odd she fits into her own nitch that she has made. Zuckerbaby is extremely dark and the apartment is viewed as very small and dim. This exaggerates the fact that the woman is alone.

2.)    Do the same for the last 20 minutes of each film.

The last twenty minutes have some similarities they both showed the scene where they are at the club yet when the woman gets into the fights in the American version the man fights back for her. Where as in the German version the man just lets her get beat and then goes out with his wife. This shows culture as well because in America it is totally unacceptable not to help a woman when she is getting beat up. In the sex scene in the German film teases the audience by showing us some things but not others. Also there is this underlying food/sex connection that is very European because they see food as a pleasurable sensual thing and Americans are just lets see how fast we can eat to get it over with. That’s why fast food thrives so well in America. Also the American film heirs on the side of conservative as it was made for TV and therefore there are certain things on national television you cannot show. Also in the very end Grace gets the guy and that’s how America likes it. They would be very unhappy and it would be out of character for the girl not to get the guy. The German ending is too morbid. It goes back to the whole American culture of needing instant gratification. That is why the fast food industry thrives and why people are in so much debt.

3.)    What are the possible outcomes for the woman in Zuckerbaby? (What is going to happen next.)

What is left for the woman in Zuckerbaby is she goes back to life the way it was but now feels even more rejected by society. Or she gets a wake up call and loses weight and becomes a person that is more desired by that society.  Or perhaps she throws herself under a train driven by her lover.

4.)    On the basis of what you have seen of these two movies, draw up a list of items that are different, then explain the differences on the basis of the type of movie each is.  Zuckerbaby is an art house dark comedy.  Baby Cakes is a made for TV romantic comedy.

Some comparisons that were made in class:

      Zuckerbaby                                           Babycakes

- to the extreme                                       - opening music “Big Girls Don’t Cry”

-(protagonist)loneliness in extreme       - colors were more vibrant

-   “ has no friends                                   - “Grace” has an identity, personality

-   “ has no parents                                  - Grace has a father and step-mom

-    no speaking in 1^st 10 min.                   - immediate dialogue

-(club scene) people left out of frame    - (club scene) people still in frame

- awkward color scheme in whole film 

- apartment is empty                                 - apartment has furnishings and décor

- t.v.’s her company                                  - she dialogues with t.v.  

Also:

Zuckerbaby was made for a German audience and they obviously hold different values than your average American watching a Sunday night movie. First American society laughs at the funeral industry we see at as uncomfortable yet funny and that’s why movies skim over it or make it something to laugh at. Grace having a birthday for a dead person would not fly in Germany people would have been mortified. This also takes into effect the fact that Americans are viewed by Europeans as obtrusive and rude. Laughing at death is unheard of over there. German film house audiences also do not go to the movies to come out with a happy feeling they go there for the art. This is a major factor in the films as the end of Baby cakes had to end happily otherwise people would probably not wanted to watch it. People are watching television to unwind or escape their own lives. In Zuckerbaby the man and woman are married.  In Babycakes the man and woman are only engaged.  We see the consideration for commitment of both societies.  Perhaps the disruption of a marriage as an element of the story is more acceptable in German society than American or it may be that Art House audiences are more open than TV audiences in either country.

In addition:  Another interesting point that Professor Reimer made was that theatre/film is visually oriented, while television is verbally oriented.  This explains why these two movies differ so much in style and how each director presents them to the each of its audiences

5. What preconceptions does Adlon appeal to? Which does he try to counter?  How does he counter them?

Adlon appeals to the fact that Art House audniences are open minded. They can handle the lack of music in the movie, the pauses, and the presentation of more graphic sex. The director is trying to comment on German society as being overly judgmental, cold, and harsh.  The imagery of death and the coldness of society continuously dominate the film.  Maria's weight, for example, is frequently the focus of criticism.  The death industry is a big focus.  It is supposed to seem insanely cold, harsh, and without feeling and of course not to be talked about.

6. What preconceptions does Schneider appeal to? Which does he counter? How does he counter them?

.  Schneider conceives American society as one of emotion, conservatism, and capitalism.  He shows a need for justification for things which happen and a tendency towards emotional justification. The presentation of relationships is shown with greater care and compassion about social norms and individual emotions. The main character, Grace, is shown to have feelings and concern for others. This is obvious as the U.S. is seen as freedom of everything and society has to keep becoming more and more accepting of differences.   The relationship which Grace is breaking up in the movie is playing on a gray line as Americans are a bit odd when it comes to breaking up the family unit. In the late 80’s divorce wasn’t quite as accepted as today and so he goes out and has to tread on a fine line.

After finishing our discussion on Zuckerbaby and Babycakes, we moved on to more German film- in particular Nazi film.

The first clip we watched was of the 1944 movie “The Great Love” starring Zara Leandar.  She (Zara) claimed that the film contained no Nazi propaganda, but in watching 4 short minutes of the film, we can clearly see that Zara in singing joyfully to German troops, as they soon begin to join her in song.  The words suggest that the world won’t end just because of a dire situation (in the film as well as outside theaters.)

      The next clip we watched was the 1945 film “Kolberg” with Cristina Söderbaum.  The film is about a 19^th century battle between the French and the Germans.  In the clip we viewed of this film, the Germans were being defeated in the battle, and later we can see the townspeople coming out from hiding as church organ music is played in the background.  Professor Reimer commented that this film was specially flown over enemy lines so that it could be premiered to the Nazi soldiers.  The film captures Nazi sentiment at the end of the war to fight through even though the country was facing sure defeat. 

We ended class with the beginning discussion of post-war German film period (1945-1962), which is where we will pick up on the next class period. Many of the films in this period were either comedies or nostalgic filled films of the past.  The Nazi years were glossed over.  When war films were made these had more emphasis on how the common soldier was mislead and misused by the Nazi High Command.