Week 6: White Slavery
Hi all. Adamo here.
First off, I missed last weeks lecture — so I enjoyed your postings on The Electric Message. I agree with many of your points, however, what i found most fascinating was the ways in which in “Heard Over the Phone…”, technology redefines time and space within narrative. After relating it to the Cinema of Attractions, it seemed to me that editing between conversations over the phone, or even the use of split screens, performed a dual purpose: a) to surprise people by objectively showing them the very distance a telephone line travels; as well as b) forwards the narrative. Its almost as if the spectator is surprised and astonished by the editing and the way in which the narrative makes sense of this eliminations of space and time. To me personally, it represented the idea (which many of the articles in the course have touched upon) that cinema of attractions was never replaced but istead pushed undeground, acting as a current beneath new dominant structures. Overall, I very much saw the duality of spectacle and narrative in the articles thesis. As you may notice, I am very interested in the cinema of attractions (my first assignment is on the articles that discuss Cinema of Attractions) partly because up until this semester I had never even heard of it (if you can believe that) and also because it represents the theme of the course — that early cinema was not primitive, nor, as Tamara noted in her response, a transitional period…but instead a completely autonomous movement which still presents itself in the modern cinematic experience. For example, we discussed in class some weeks back the very effects in modern cinema; i watched the Matrix the other day on TV and thought, how much is this a spectacle about what we can now do with technology? Therefore, everything we see today is rooted in yesterday.
In relation to this weeks readings, its seems technology is the central theme. The running question is, in the Traffic of Souls article, hows does technology allow for narrative in feature length films, especially during the teen years where the concept of narrative really came to life? The article presents the many strategies employed to make narrative coexist with reel length, including “coincidences” and epilouges and titles seperating breaks. It seems narrative devices were shaped around technology. Its almost as if narrative was a current going against technological capabilities — if only the reel could be longer, or the breaks shorter. Do you think technology, including its capabilites and limitations, shaped the ways in which we tell stories, or did we just attempt to adapt classical ways of story telling (from fables and books) to a new technology — even if it took a while to get it right? E.g. did we always have the same arcs, and breaks (chapters) and ellipses in time etc.
Over all, I believe the problems reel length presented set at least a few standards for narrative — for example, ellipses which shaped elliptical editing in a way that made the diagetic time longer than the reel or real time. Standards like this, and, as previously discussed, the cinema of attractions, can be seen today in modern narratives. To me, it truly seems that early cinema is not so much primitive as it is a precursor to everything we see today.
PS. I saw “There Will Be Blood” this weekend. My verdict — beautiful. To describe why would be to long, all I will say is: the film provides an experience, not just entertainment. And for its ability to do just that makes it beautiful.
Cheers,
Adamo Ruggiero
February 7th, 2008 at 2:44 am
What I found really fascinating about Staiger’s “Troublesome Pictures” is her response to Gunning’s idea that the cinema during his “transitional period” was a result of technology and various methods of distribution. Although Staiger does mention the idea of distribution, her core belif is that censorship and “bourgeoise” morals is what shaped the cinema. What could and could not be shown was determined by the context. To simply show sexuality, nudity or violence as a form of “spectacle” was not accapteable especially beginning in 1909, buit to put it within a moral context gave these images “credibility” as “art” and therefore allowed them to (usually) under cut censorship. This was repeated later on during the production code era, but Staiger’s thesis is quite fascinating because it provides an alternative to Gunnings systematized notion of technology as driving force.
February 7th, 2008 at 3:08 am
While reading the article by Brewster, I found the part about coincidences very interesting. It is a flaw of films that there are so many coincidences which cause the story to flow smoothly. Such as his example in Traffic in Souls where the heroin loses her job and is hired by the same gang who kidnap her sister, all on the same day. This makes the story seem unrealistic but a good point is made that without coincidences there is no story. If you think about cinema today, we see the same thing. There is no movie out there that doesn’t have some coincidences in it. I had never really thought about it until now and I thought I would make a point of it now. This whole article was very interesting but this point really struck me as true.
February 7th, 2008 at 9:09 am
I wanted to write something that may sound a bit unacademic. It is something that struck me while writing the essay and reading the Staiger article, as well. So many theorists that we read in school approach cinema and the study of it in such a cynical way. I find this very interesting because most people start studying cinema in the first place because they have such of a fondness for it. Most people- academic or otherwise- do not walk around for disdain of the cinema for its power to be ‘technological’ superior or to naturalize sexism, or to a Yet, the theories surrounding that fondness, theories that are meant to explain why we as a culture love it so much, end up taking away the essence of it that we deem so pleasurable. Cinema is either some malevolent technological corruption of the real, meant to save us from our boring over stimulated lives- while ultimately creating a malaise, because it can never be real. Or it is the tool of the bourgeoise- the sexist, racist, imperialist bourgeoise. Movements in cinema (and in technology) are explained in regards to what is wrong with our society. I wonder if that has any influence on the kinds of films that we value, write about, canonize…
February 7th, 2008 at 10:14 am
What stands out to me most right now about early cinema is the highly didactic nature of the narrative. In the skits by the Lumieres and others, which we watched in the first days of the course, the plot was essentially mischief or deviation and then punishment. For example, “The Sprinkler Sprinkled” was about punishment for a prank, and “Mary’s Mishap” and “An Interesting Story” were both about punishment for not paying attention to known dangers. Even “The Lonedale Operator” and “The Lonely Villa” were narratives centred on deviations; namely crime and the potential for a break in the family structure.
It makes sense to me, then, that the films to follow shortly after would also be so very moralistic, judgmental, and preach particularly conservative values. Plots dealt with what “shouldn’t be,” yet at the same time, film could get away with more than other media of the time because it was the so-called “cinema of attractions.” In other words, films like “Traffic in Souls” could provide a voyeuristic look at the subject matter while still maintaining a removed and disapproving tone.
February 13th, 2008 at 1:03 am
I’d like to respond to Nadia’s post because I think she makes an interesting point. I fully agree that there seems to be an excess of cynicism in film criticism, but at the same time one cannot deny the validity of the argument that those who criticize do so because they care. The disappointment that is so prevalent in criticism of the cinema comes from a desire to see it fulfill whatever potential one sees it to have. The incredible amount of disappointment in film criticism in a way suggests that there is a fairly widely held belief that the cinema is inadequately fulfilling this potential. So, this cynicism can be seen as a positive driving force behind the improvement of the medium.
On the other hand, the fact that Nadia was able to so aptly place the kinds of cynicism one sees into only two surprisingly specific categories also suggests that there is a severe lack of variety and innovation in film criticism. Criticism seems to either be caught up in the social aspects of film or on the lack of a realistic sensual experience that film is capable of providing.
In the context of the Staeger article, her criticism is tempered with an element of approval. Ultimately, she criticizes because the New Woman must keep her passion private, but she approves of the way she is rewarded, if only because she avoids the white slave trade, by being a “thinking woman.” However, her analysis of Traffic in Souls still depends almost entirely on the social aspects of the film. Although, she does admittedly discuss the film as an early structural template for traditional narrative films as they exist today. The essay results in a situation where Staeger must recount a number of scenes in soporific detail. It is not only a bit dull, but is made worse due to its reliance on a social critique approach which is far too common.
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