Essay, Questions and Journals

This week in the seminar we focused on our essay, asking questions to determine how we might start to look at our critical text.

 1. What is the 'cultural text' you want to write about?
-Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927)

2. Why that text?
-I want to see how/if camera angles/ the style is used for purposeful effect and to communicate certain messages. From just watching the film it seems like there's a strong use of gender roles and a focus on class, among other aspects, but I want to study more to see exactly what may be communicated.

3. What do you already 'know' about your chosen text? And how?
- A German Expressionism style is used, it looks at the struggle between classes and society - it's basically a moral tale. I know it had a lot of distribution problems, with the film being cut down and lost. It's written about frequently in books and the new DVD extra booklet.

4. What gaps are there in your knowledge/ understanding?
- I want to know exactly how gender is portrayed, which could be done by studying the film in more detail. Maybe I need to look more at the economic/ social situation of Germany at the time and how it relates to the film to provide context. Finding out about the purpose of the expressionist style might also help.

5. How might you go about filling these gaps?
- By using reliable sources such as history, art and film books, that focus on modern era and 1920s Germany. Perhaps looking at DVD extras could also help to find out more about the film itself. Checking films, newspapers and paintings of the 1920s may also provide good context.



3 academic journals whose remit covers the same area(s) as my chosen critical text:

• Film Quarterly

What Do You Believe In? Film Scholarship and the Cultural Politics of the
Dark KnightFranchise
Author(s): Martin Fradley Source: Film Quarterly, Vol. 66, No. 3 (Spring 2013), pp. 15-27  Published by: University of California Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/fq.2013.66.3.15 .

Martin Fradley is a former lecturer at the University of Aberdeen and Manchester University.

It seems quite relevant as it mentions Metropolis and a few key aspects of it's story, in particular the social/ political implications of the workers' revolt. Although it is very brief. The writing style seems appropriate though - critical, but also a bit informal, allowing us to still feel the entertainment in watching the film. The points made are based on the story, so don't need any supporting research/ evidence, but still the credentials of the author are reliable.

• Agenda    

Gender, Women and Leadership

Cheryl de la Rey

Agenda
No. 65, Women and Leadership (2005), pp. 4-11
Published by: Agenda Feminist Media
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4066646

It appears to be slightly relevant in that it looks at female representation, but it focuses more on leadership styles in the real world, not in Metropolis. Still this could be used to relate how both are shown. Agenda is focused on feminism and Africa, so the links to Metropolis could be quite tenuous and the writings could be slightly biased in favour of women's representation. The writing style seems quite formal from the abstract as well, more critical then a film review etc. They do include some statistics, but since only an abstract was given it's not possible to see how the information was sourced. As it's from 2005 the information may be out of date, but might still be useful for a general overview in relation to a 1927 film. Agenda seems reliable as it's a journal that's been running for 23 years.

• Oxford Art Journal

Rethinking the Expressionist Era; Wilhelmine Cultural Debates and Prussian Elements in German Expressionism

Helen Boorman

Oxford Art Journal
Vol. 9, No. 2 (1986), pp. 3-15
Published by: Oxford University Press
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1360412

It seems very relevant as it's concerned with how German Expressionism was used and for what means/ statement. Although only a short abstract is given here it already reveals information on this topic that could be used to analyse Metropolis, especially as it is the same time period. The writing might focus more on the art application, rather then film, but the style is so strong in the film that that shouldn't be an issue. The language used is sometimes quite technical, but understandable. In the abstract no figures are used, so the reliability of this can't be checked, but the journal, being linked to Oxford, suggests that it's reputable.

Essay Question

"Present a detailed, critical analysis of a cultural text"

 

 

 

To answer our essay question I think I may look at the 1927 Fritz Lang film Metropolis. This is because I'm a fan of the German expressionist style that Lang uses in the film, but I'd like to investigate it further to see if the style is being used to convey anything about the characters/ time period. Especially as the story already seems to have socialist leanings of everybody working together to make an ideal world. I'd like to study as well the gender roles in the film and their depiction, because the main female in the film is equally seen as a motherly and a flirtacious figure. Critical discourses that I could also look at may be the use of costume, lighting, camera angles and sets.

 

By looking at how camera angles, sets, lighting, style etc is used in the film and for what purposes, hopefully this will benefit my own work by allowing me to judge the style based choices that I make and their relevance to the message of the film. 

Evaluation of Primary Research Trip

After talking in the session we had to evaluate the research trip that we carried out the previous week.

General

Good:

• Both the Arnolfini and V-shed are in the same area, which made seeing the similarities and differences in audience and the level of pedestrian traffic, among other criteria, easy to notice and compare. Conducting the trips on the same day, under the same conditions at a similar time also helped with this.

•  They are entirely different venues with distinctive features, which gave us a different perspective on how animation can be screened in Bristol.

• We took lots of photos, which proved to be good for reference and reflecting back on the venue later.

• We made enough notes on the the criteria that we set that we could make conclusions about the venues as well as compare them.

To improve:

• We could have collected more detailed information, like the exact numbers of people in the venues at those times. This would have made comparing the level of audience and their characteristics easier.

• We could have surveyed the audience there at the time for their opinion on the venues. We might have learnt something about the venue that simply observing, or perhaps attending regularly/ other days, wouldn't have told us or have gotten a range of perspectives on them.

•  We could have tried to see an animation at both venues. None were showing at the time, but perhaps by re-visiting it would have given us a clearer idea of the audience, their reactions and the overall suitability of the venue.

• We went at an off peak time. While this was safer for us (Risk Assessment Form) it meant that the audience was limited and they were perhaps not the usual attendees.

V-shed

Good:

• By visiting the venue I was surprised at how suitable it is for showing animation. As it's a pub I thought there would be strong smells of food/ alcohol and busy, noisy crowds which would make it difficult to appreciate any animation shown. By visiting I realised that this wasn't the case and discovered quite a lot about the venue.

• By sitting in the outside seating area of the venue we actually discovered more about the venue then we planned. We found that the TV screens could be seen from inside and outside the venues. Exploring the venue was very beneficial.

To improve:

• We could have researched more by spending more time inside of the venue to properly scope it out. As we were sat outside it meant that we got a good impression of this area, but we may have missed other TV screens etc inside. Next time we will explore all areas of the venue, like what we did for the Arnolfini.

Arnolfini

Good:

• We asked for information from the reception area and were given several photos and information about the venues available for screening animation. Without asking the staff there we wouldn't have known about the extra screen or have got a good reference photo of the auditorium.
• By exploring all of the gallery spaces of the venue we were able to find extra portable TV screens that could easily screen animation. Without seeing the whole of the venue, we would have missed this useful information.

To improve:

• As they weren't screening any animation at the time, we didn't check prices. To get an idea of them for comparison (as the V-shed is free) we could have noted down the prices for other film screenings or asked at reception for some information on them. Perhaps we could have made links/ observations about the audience and prices for each venue with this extra information.

Research for Essay

From carrying out the research trip and the evaluation I've been able to narrow down some approaches that I will try to apply to my primary research for my essay. These include making sure to take lots of photos and notes. These proved great for accurate recordings of information and were easy to take and review. I'll choose, based on research of the venue etc and area, the best time to visit beforehand. This should help me to get the best results possible, whether this be so that I get a better idea of the audience and other criteria. Also I will make sure to always ask for more information from the staff/ venue (if applicable) as we learnt a lot from the information that they gave us in the Arnolfini.

Overall I've found the research process, from filling out the Risk Assessment forms, to the actual visits and the evaluation useful for giving me an idea of what to expect and do when conducting future primary research for the essay. Hopefully using everything that I've learnt will improve my final essay.

W4: Image as Language: the science of sign systems

This week we looked at signs in cultural texts, starting with the definition of 'signs' and language.

Sign e.g. Cat

=

Signifer                                                                          Signified
(significant)                                                                      (Signifie)

The form: the shapes of the letters                            The concept: personal idea

Phonetic language: records the sounds that make up significants, e.g. the phonetic alphabet.
Ideographic: symbols that represent a thing or idea with no sound of it's own, e.g. chinese symbols.

Iconic signs: appear like the item that they signify, e.g. portraits, photos, film stills, stamps.
Indexical signs: refer to other knowledges for their own meaning, about associations, e.g. natural signs: clouds signify rain, footprints feet.
Symbolic signs: have meaning only due to convention, we attach meaning based on an agreement, they have no meaning of their own, e.g. words, flags.


Structuralism

-everything that we encounter is a 'text' that we 'read'.

Langue: the structural rules and conventions of a system, e.g. the dictionary, camera angles, location, lighting, costume.

Form - Website.    Medium - Computer. Ink.   Tools - Software.

Parole: the spoken/ individual usage of signs within a system, e.g. Ray Harryhausen's use of stop motion with live action.

Representational signs: can describe plainly.
Non- representational signs: music, lyrics, figures cropped, off screen lighting.


Post Structuralism

- meaning is not controlled within a text; it relies on knowledge of other external texts to 'make sense' of it. It's aided by knowing other texts.

Intertextual: having seen items in different contexts, they become familiar, e.g. pop culture references.


We also learnt our essay question for the year: "Provide a detailed, critical analysis of a cultural text". So we now have to start thinking about which text we will choose and how we will approach the question.

W3: Consuming Passions: modernity and the birth of consumer culture

This week we focused on art history to give us a better idea of where modern culture stems from.

With the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, modern society began. Society experienced a paradigm shift, where everything conceived before changes, e.g. discovering that the world is not the center of the universe. Among other areas this largely affected the population, as many moved from rural settlements and farming, where there was mass unemployment caused by its industrialisation, to urban locations because of the need for work. This had some pleasant side effects though, brought about by the shifting needs of the population, for instance parks for workers.

Being distanced from nature and the rules it enforces, e.g. working by seasons, changed how we as people related to the world and each other. We were suddenly given superiority over nature.

The mechanisation of production, which resulted in the standardisation of weights and measures, the creation of leisure time and the creation of 'designers', also resulted in the creation of Consumer Culture.

Inventions like the printing press revolutionised many aspects of society as the first free public library and newsagents were opened, literacy levels increased, the speed that information was spread increased alongside production and typographic design, but unemployment grew. Still, it meant the birth of advertising, the brand, the graphic designer and it lead to booms in packaging design, 'lifestyle' magazines and photography.

Industrialisation not only affected how production operated, but how people and social groups did as well. Caused by the diffusion of money, the middle classes gained more power as status came from wealth instead of land and titles. There was a separation of domestic and public domain as well as people had to leave home to work, with domestic life being judged as less important.While middle class men could demand more power and rights, middle class women still had few rights.

As money spread items were produced and bought to show the tastes and values of the consumer. Instead of them being valued by their 'use value' (Marx), they were judged on their 'symbolic value' (Jean Baudrillard) - their status rather than practicality. 'Conspicuous consumption' - social standing and 'conspicuous leisure' - holidays, became prevalent in the middle classes.

To deal with this new form of consumer, new spaces of consumption were introduced. Shopping arcades and department stores allowed safe shopping and browsing. To be seen shopping was the more important experience for some social classes. Similarly lobbies in theatres and cinemas allowed attendees to show off. With the creation of galleries and museums, the public could easily see the treasures of the country because there was free entry. However, this could be seen as another form of gloating as the galleries flaunted all of the country's treasures and culture for all to see.

In summary, modern society was born with the start of the industrial revolution and it's many advances. Consumer culture also came about, with the precedence of 'owning' rather than needing items. While this was facilitated even more with specialist spaces designed for consumerism and culture.