My Response to the Questions at the end of Chapters 3 & 4

Chapter 3:

1. How does cinema reinforce the dominant ideology? What are the most important theoretical tools for analyzing cinema's ideological function?

Because of the lack of counter-cinema cinema is the one that reinforces the dominant ideology. The counter-cinema is the most important theoretical tools for analyzing cinema's ideological function because it allows diversity and different perspective to be told, it give a space for different theories to be explored.

2. Why do so many theorists stress the importance of developing a counter-cinema? What are some examples of counter-cinema and how does it engage viewers differently?

Many theorists stress the importance of developing a counter-cinema because Counter Cinema refers to the plethora of genres of movies which stand in opposition to the mainstream formalistic and ideological domination of Hollywood cinema. It means that discursive means and methods are consciously followed, and offers an alternative discourse to mainstream cinema. They offer a different mode of representation as opposed to mainstream Hollywood cinema.

3. Why do theorists draw attention to how specific groups are represented on film?How do viewers relate to these representations? How do some viewers challenge these images?

Theorists draw attention to how specific groups are represented on film because diversity in popular movies and television series batters and an accurate portrayal of society affects both the over and under represented groups of society. Representation matters because inaccurate or offensive portrayal is harmful for communities or individuals.

4. Why did Laura Mulvey's essay "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema", have such an immense impact? What were some of the specific debates that followed it?

Laura Mulvey's essay Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema have such an immense impart because in it she covered different themes as the importance of the feminist theory in film and the analysis of the meaning of the male gaze. 

5. There are several brief references in the chapter to issues related to sound and voice. If film is an audio-visual medium, why is sound so often overlooked? How does sound relate to the theoretical issues that developed during this period?

It is overlooked because the viewers usually focus on what is being said with the sound effects and what is represented by the images that are shown. Michael Chion, a french theorist spoke about the importance of sound and and according to him accounsmetre is a character within the diegesis who speaks while remaining unseen. He mentioned that the voice and the body coming together is always charged. 

Chapter 4:

1. Why were film scholars vary of the influence that French Theory and Screen Theory had held over the discipline? Why were subsequent debates about this sometimes contentious?

Film scholars vary of the influence that French Theory and Screen Theory had held over the discipline because Film theory cohered around the influence of French Theory in the 1970s, and much of the ferment of this period was rooted in the ongoing debates and dissenting factions taking place at this time. Screen’s editorial board resigned to protest the journal’s new theoretical direction and its unwillingness to tolerate opposing views. In addition to this internal turmoil, Screen was simultaneously attacked from both sides of the political spectrum. More conventional film critics decried the journal and its theorists as a form of intellectual terrorism. In some ways, the criticism directed at theory that emerged in the 1980s and 1990s was merely a continuation of this general pattern. Theory’s critics were questioning the tenets that had, over the course of the previous generation, become the discipline’s defining principles. 

2. Why did early cinema emerge as an important topic for film studies? How did the study of early cinema intersect with both historical poetics and media archaeology?

Early cinema emerge as an important topic for film studies because once film theory had been established, it was possible, even necessary, for new forms of research take precedent. And as film studies’ institutional and disciplinary infrastructure continued to solidify, more archival materials became available, and scholars were better equipped to redeploy their analytical tools in the service of exploring previously neglected questions. At the same time, historical poetics offered a way of circumnavigating, or moving past, the polemics that accompanied the initial critiques of theory. Both history and art provided theoretical premises of their own, but these were muted, lingering inauspiciously in the background. This allowed film scholars to resume more ambitious lines of inquiry, exploring issues related to spectatorship.

3. How do cognitive film theorists conceptualize the spectator? How is this approach different from other, earlier assumptions about spectatorship?

According to cognitive film theorist spectators are actively engaged in the meaning-making process. On the one hand, this served as a blunt corrective, undoing the assumption that viewers were nothing more than passive receptacles. But on the other hand, the constructivist premise required additional distinctions as to how different cognitive processes take effect. For example, perception itself can be construed as a cognitive process. This approach is different from other earlier assumptions about spectatorship because the constructivist approach suggests that certain automatic or unconscious physiological and neurological operations are part of one’s cognitive purview. This more extreme view, however, risks overstating the mind-machine analogy and returning to the overly mechanistic thinking that had led behaviorism to fall out of favor.

4. Identify and discuss three different philosophical figures introduced into film studies during Post Theory period. What do they add? How are they different from one another?

Gilles Deleuze was well-established as one of the leading figures of the post-war French intellectual scene. At the same time, he was for the most part conspicuously absent from the group of French thinkers who influenced post-classical film theory. While his work involved elements of poststructuralism, a countercultural ethos, and a pointed interest in art and literature, Deleuze was always more adamant in maintaining his identity as a philosopher. Second, he had developed an antagonistic view of psychoanalysis. As Deleuze turned his attention to cinema, his approach was still rooted in his broader thinking about art and philosophy. In general, the latter concerns the creation of concepts while the former encompasses the creation of experiences or affects.

The American philosopher Stanley Cavell is one of the few thinkers seriously interested in film who also remained largely outside of the major trends that shaped post-classical film studies. He was perpetually out of sync not only because of his allegiances to philosophy but also even more so because his philosophical pedigree veered far from the influences associated with French Theory. Austin, Cavell is sometimes associated with ordinary language philosophy, but that rarely sufficed since he also regularly engaged with representatives from the wider continental tradition. Cavell ultimately shares something like Deleuze’s belief in the time-image and its capacity to counteract the cynicism, conformity, and pessimism that afflict the modern world. Where he differs is in the type of images that he thinks are best suited for such an undertaking. He is instead drawn to cinema’s popular appeal and its affinity for ordinariness. This leads him in his later works to focus almost exclusively on classical Hollywood genres.

Deleuze and Cavell are the most prominent examples of major philosophers who have treated cinema as a medium that warrants serious philosophical engagement.

Ludwig Wittgenstein was another influential figure whose focus on language and generally idiosyncratic manner has proven to be a difficult fit for film theory. He focuses on a logical inconsistency among early film theorists in what he terms the revelationist tradition, namely their propensity to celebrate the cinematic medium as rendering something visible that the human eye was otherwise incapable of seeing. For Turvey, this is technically inaccurate, a misconception that misconstrues the cinema as a technology while also encouraging an ill-founded distrust or skepticism of human perception.

5. Does film theory have a future? Why or why not?

The film theory have a future as Malcolm Turvey stated in the book that the film theory has never been healthier than before. The future of film theory will be even better because of the growing influence of analytical philosophy. The future of film theory will be successful because of current scholarship with far greater latitude to explore a wider range of different topics. With more programs, more faculty and students, and more access to more resources, this scholarship tends to be more theoretically informed and more instructive than ever before.

My Love for the International Cinema

    I spent this weekend watching Egyptian films and I can say that I fell in love with the Egyptian cinematography. I loved hearing the films in Arabic language. I do not speak or understand Arabic, but I would like to learn in the future even that it is one of the hardest languages to learn. I have always been interested in international cinematography and watching films from all around the world. Egypt is one of my favorite place on the Earth because of my love for ancient history. My trip to Egypt during this summer inspired me to explore more things about it, and to focus on the Egyptian cinematography as well. Even that I have always loved Egypt I have never before watched Egyptian films. I am glad that I did this and I can say that each film lover needs to give a chance and watch some of the Egyptian films. I am a lover of old films, so I first gave a try to the old Egyptian films.

    During this weekend I watched 5 Egyptian films. Four of the films were directed by the same film director Youssef Chahine. I recommend watching his films they are incredible. I watched Cairo Station, An Egyptian Story, The Land, and Alexandria Why. All of these 4 films are available to watch on Netflix. Alexandria Why is my favorite one from all of them because through the characters in the film I somehow found myself, my wishes and the things that are happening in my life. On the second place for me is the film An Egyptian story and I recommend watching it if you see yourself and your career in the future related to film. The Land is a very hard and sad film to watch and I do not think that you will be able to understand it if you do not have a previous knowledge of the history of Egypt, or if you have not been to Cairo before. I was able to understand the film because I know a lot of thing about Egypt and I have visited Egypt before, so I am familiar with the people there and all of the class differences. Cairo Station is the oldest film that I have watched from Youssef Chahine. It is a very good film. I plan to continue watching Youssef Chahine films because I love his work and how he told the story in his films.

    The fifth film that I have watched is from another Egyptian film director. This film was recommended to me from my Egyptian friend that I met while I was in Egypt this summer. This film is recognized as one of the best romantic Egyptian films. The film is called The River of Love 1960 and it is available to watch on Youtube with an english subtitle. It is an old and black and white film but it tells an incredible love story. 

 My Thoughts on the Film Primer 

    With watching Primer I can say that it was a first time in my life to feel so confused while watching a film. Maybe because I did not know what to expect from the film and I have not checked before what this film is about. I have heard about the film for the first time when we watched the trailer in our classroom, but to be honest I did not understand anything from the trailer as well. Now that I have seen the entire film I still do not know how I feel about it whether I like it or not. I cannot answer that because I am not sure if I understood everything that happens in the film and probably there is no one else that was able to understand each scene of the film. 

    While watching the film that thought was on my mind all of the time. I wanted to know if it is just me that I find the plot hard to understand and maybe I am not concentrated in the film as I should, or the other people around me are also not able to understand what is going on it the film. I kind of waited for the film to end and to hear other people's in the classroom thoughts on the film. After I heard that they also were not able to understand the story completely I felt some type of relief. I was happy that I am not the only stupid person that cannot understand a simple film story. I do not know if I should give this film another chance and rewatch it again. Maybe with watching it for a second time I will be able to catch more details in the film and understand more. 

    For one thing that I was sure while watching the film was that they are working on some type of experiments with chemical elements and that they time traveled. I was not sure of whether their intention was to time travel and whether they were able to control that or not. I was also not sure if there were different dimensions and clones of them. I somehow wanted to know if in the experiment participated just the two characters or other people as well. Because weird things happened around to the other people as changes in their appearance. I also questioned myself whether their families know about the experiment or they did not have a clue. Immediately after the film I went on the Internet to read different articles in order to understand what I watched better, but I saw that everybody has different interpretation of the film. I am sure that I will remember this film because it is the most unique one that I have ever watched and I cannot compare it to any other film, even that I have watched films about time travel before. 

 

Chapter 4 Film and Philosophy

    I am a person that love Philosophy, so I enjoyed reading about the connection between film and philosophy. While in High School I took a lot of Philosophy classes but I never before learned about philosophy and its connection with film. While reading the chapter 4 I immediately thought about films that I have watched and that are connected with Philosophy. One example is the film the Seventh Seal from the Swedish director Ingmar Bergman.

    This film was my on my to watch movies list for a long time until I decided to watch it. I have mixed feeling about the film, it is not my favorite one by I like it. The Seventh Seal is a film of a huge importance for the history of film. The film is considered as classic of cinema and as one of the greatest movies of all time. It is very unusual film which story focuses on the journey of a medieval knight Max and a game of chess that he plays with the Death who has come to take his life. 

    The connection between the film and philosophy is explained very well in this film. This film covers very complicated topics and philosophical issues such as the afterlife, the existence or hell, God, the religion, the place of God and religion in the human heart, whether the God is silent of the human suffering and death especially because of the Black Death in that period. In my opinion there is not another film that explained the issues of evil, philosophy of religion and existentialism better than this film. I recommend watching this film especially if you are someone interested in getting answers for philosophical problems and questions.

 Laura Mulvey Essay and the Male Gaze

    While writing this post I thought of how complicated and important this topic is and that you need to read a lot in order to write about it. In my opinion, the feminist theory and its focus on the male gaze is not something that you can write for in just a few paragraphs, it needs to be explored, summarized, and explained in a longer post or essay. Because of that I decided that I want to explore this topic more and that I am going to write my Fascination Project essay about the feminist theory and its focus on the male gaze in films by using examples from different old or contemporary films such as Vertigo, Blonde, etc. 

    I have studied about this topic before, but I have never read Laura's Mulvey Essay before. I am glad that I got the opportunity to do that in this class. I found her essay very interesting and informative. I like how she mentioned all of the important facts on the topic and how she focus on the importance of the feminist theory in film and the analysis of the meaning of the male gaze. Not only that I am a woman, and that I can relate with some of the things written there, but also because I am a film lover I can say that almost everything that Laura mentioned is correct and needs attention. 

    I agree that in many films and in the reality woman are portrayed as passive object of desire through a masculine lens. I like the explanation that she gives that the male gaze is not just about how they view women but also how they create the female characters. I also agree with her point that the most popular movies are filmed in a way to satisfy the masculine scopophilia. She also mentions the masculine voyeurism and that it tends to sexualize women for a male viewer, for the male world and the heterosexual perspective. Women are not objects to be looked at and to be used for the pleasure of the male viewer.

    In order to start exploring this topic more and to start thinking of how to do my essay, I found and watched this video on youtube. The video is very informative and it summarizes many of the things mentioned by Laura. 

 

Le Jette

    As I  have stated before I am not a huge fan of French film and I usually find them boring. Whenever I need to watch a french film I am kind of skeptical. I am someone interested in history, so I was curious to see this film because of that. The film in general I did not find it interesting, but I am glad that I got the opportunity to see this film because it is important for the history of film. 

    I think that Le Jette deserves our time and all film lovers should watch it at least once. I was fascinated of how the film was made and how much it covered for such a short film with only 28 minutes. I like watching old films so this film being from 1962 and in black and white was another reason that made me to see it. This film is the most unique one that I have watched because of the way that it is filmed. I find very fascinating to see how the film is made entirely from still photos. I have never before watched such a film. Le Jette is like some sort of animation. 

    It was interesting to see the plot in the film without stars without dialog and without movement in general. I still do not know how to classify this film whether it is a documentary or something else. I had a hard time of understanding the story of the film without reading on the Internet of what was going on. Despite that, I like the themes that the film covered as sci-fi, war, post-apocalypse, time travel, love, confusion. This film is even more fascinating if we thing that it was made in 1962 and how it gives a disturbingly realistic feel of everything portrayed. 

 Postcolonial Theory

    I find reading the Postcolonial Theory of chapter 3 very informative. I learned new things from it. This theory covers somehow problematic concepts. I have never before think about how this theory is applied in film. When we think about postcolonial theory we focus on the gaze in film and how black and colonized bodies in film are portrayed. Postcolonial theory focuses on the visual representation of other and it shows all of the stereotypes about cultural and racial difference.  Because of all of this, it is important to mention postcolonial theory in the film culture as well. 

    A lot of films cover themes of domination of colonies and colonial power and show colonial images of gender, race, and different classes. Not all of the films take this theory very serious and pay attention of how they represent the things. Whether if the scenario is fictional or documentary, whether if the characters are portrayed correctly or they are portrayed as savages, primitive and outside of modernity. This kind of films try to address the issues and effects of colonialism by involving and portraying historical events and representing marginalized groups.

    I cannot think about any postcolonial film that I have watched and because of that I did research on the Internet. I found the film Chocolat (1988) by the french film director Claire Denis as an example of the use of postcolonial theory in films. This is a film that explores the themes of power, desire, betrayal in colonial inter-relationships.