Color Vs. Black & White

In theory, everything is clearer in black and white. Most people try to reduce important issues this way. Two sides. Pro/Con. Black/White. But when we analyze any issue, we see that it has much more depth and breadth, that the issue is full of gray areas and certainly some colorful sides we might never have imagined upon first glance.

While Clerks is a black and white film, it is certainly populated by a colorful cast of characters who present issues that are anything but strictly black and white. Why film such a colorful cast and their controversial, sometimes offensive discussions in black and white? Wouldn't color film stock better illustrate the various shades and hues of these characters' lives?

In class, we have discussed personal prejudices against black and white films, and we have read what the experts think about it. While Kevin Smith made the decision to use black and white film stock based on the limitations of his budget, arguments can still be made about what the lack of color adds to or takes away from the film. Based on what you now know about visual design and cinematic use of color discuss the benefits or detriments of Smith's choice to use black and white film stock in light of its contribution to one or more narrative element (plot, character development, or theme).

Prevalent Themes in Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream

Darren Aronofsy's film adaptation of Requiem for a Dream deals with the destructive nature of addiction. It is easy to identify a theme here, some may even be tempted to say the theme. But other themes worthy of deeper investigation and discussion are present in the film as well, including the unattainability of the American dream and (if viewed in light of Aronofsky's entire body of work) obsession as catalyst for insanity.

Choose one of the film's theme to analyze. Articulate that theme as something more than the broad ideas listed above. Remember that a theme is something more than a moral or maxim for living; it is a complex argument about some idea that a literary work expresses subtly through its many nuances of character, plot, symbolism, etc. Examine how the film conveys that theme through its use of literary and cinematic conventions and how that theme is handled in comparison or contrast to other works of film and/or literature.

For Better or Worse: The Profound Impact of Art

Art is often created for the purpose of promoting social change. Other times, it causes change accidentally or in ways not intended by the artist. Consider, for example, Upton Sinclair's famous novel The Jungle. Sinclair meant for the novel to serve as social criticism, highlighting the plight of the American working class. Because his novel forced the American public to view uncensored the abject living and working conditions of the country's poverty-stricken citizens, then president Roosevelt authorized inspections which led to changes that eventually evolved into what is known today as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). While not exactly the kind of change Sinclair had in mind when he self-published his novel over a century ago, this one artistic work caused change that still affects us in profound ways today.

It is highly doubtful that director Zack Snyder had such lofty intentions for his film 300. The controversies that arose in discussions about the film certainly didn't seem to indicate any postive changes for the US. In interviews, Snyder consistently denied any political agenda in light of current events and US relations with the Middle East. While his own political views likely influenced the creation of the film (in the way that our beliefs influence everything we do), we must either choose to take him at his word or not. Regardless of his intentions, the film definitely caused quite a stir around the world in light of the US occupation of multiple Middle Eastern countries including Iran. This particular work of art took on a life of its own. After all, once a film is released, the director cannot control how it will be interpreted by its many audiences. 300 certainly proved this. The film was praised for its high visual impact and special effects and criticized for such disparate reasons as mimicking the style of video games and being racist war propaganda. Somewhere in the middle of all that brouhaha Snyder's controversial film was contributing to serious political turmoil by poisoning the minds of Iranians against the US.

In the article "300 Sparks an Outcry in Iran" featured in Time magazine just a few days after the film's release, Azadeh Moaven describes the political unrest 300 caused half a world away from its release in the US for the citizens of a country already in conflict with the United States. Imagine you were native-born citizen of Iran, Iraq, or even Afghanistan and you became aware of the monstrous portrayals of Persians in this American film. How would you react?

Conduct some internet research and find other films that have had a significant impact on US society. Considering the two examples discussed as well as others you know of or discovered through research examples of how narratives, both film and literature, have impacted the political climate of the US, how sensitive do you think directors should be to the social and political ramifications of the work they produce?

Stranger Than...Allegory?

Allegory is a form of symbolism in which all elements of a story are symbolic. Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" is one of the most famous allegories that investigates the nature of knowledge and why many people choose to remain ignorant.

After reading Plato's allegory and conducting some online research to better understand this concept and how it is applied to literary works, explain how Stranger Than Fiction can be interpreted allegorically in light of the timeless debate of free will versus fate, defined as "the development of events beyond a person's control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power."

Censured or Censored?

MPAA film ratings are supposed to be informative and help parents decide what films to allow their children to view. However, some people, including director of the documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated Kirby Dick, have argued that MPAA ratings are inconsistent and arbitrary and constitute censorship based on the personal prejudices of the MPAA's anonymous rating board. The MPAA rating board avoids naming specific objectionable content, claiming that doing so would make them a censoring body; however, others contend that severely limiting a film's viewing audience by awarding a NC-17 rating constitutes censorship as well, particularly when the board refuses to make clear to film directors what content they might cut to obtain the more desirable R rating.

Consider the sexual content and graphic violence of 300 and Requiem for a Dream and the language used in Clerks, all R rated films. Requiem for a Dream was released NR, or not rated, but ultimately bent to the will of the MPAA by cutting a 6-second shot, specifically the arial view in what is known as the ass-to-ass scene to obtain an R rating, so the film could be released in an edited version that movie rental chains would carry the film. Do these 6 seconds warrant the difference between an audience allowed to view, purchase, or rent the film with parental consent versus those completely restricted from the film, at least in the public sphere? While it contains no violence, nudity, or visible sex acts, Clerks was also originally given the NC-17 rating, but director Kevin Smith appealed and won the more desirable R rating.

Film, TV shows, video games, and music are the only art forms with censoring labels. You won't find NC-17 labels on the back of Playboy magazine, erotic literature, paintings, sculptures, photography, etc. In fact, much of classic art depicts explicit nudity, even sex and violence. (Consider the classic literary works Lolita, Lady Chatterly's Lover, Tropic of Cancer; almost all of Greek sculpture including Venus de Milo and the David, paintings by artists such as Picaso, Dali, Goya; even religious works including the Bible and the Koran.

So why is film different? To what extent are rating systems censorship and thereby unconstitutional? Could the rating system be amended to make it more constitutional? Should we have a rating system at all?

Gratuitous?: Sex and Nudity in Film

As you've been reading in your textbook, costumes, setting, visual design, cinematography and special effects should not be used for some independent artistic effect but rather each should contribute to the purpose of the film as a unified whole. This principle applies not only to production design and cinematography, but to the content of the film as well.

Nudity and and portrayals of sexual acts are one of the primary sources of controversy in film. In order to resolve such controversies, film critics often debate whether such scenes are gratuitous. The two scenes that might spark such debate in Requiem for a Dream are the sex scene between Tyrone and his girlfriend and what is usually referred to as the ass-to-ass scene near the end of the film. Controversy over the latter scene is what also led to the film's release as unrated. The director was forced to tame down the final scene for the R-rated (censored) version that was released. Consider both of these scenes and determine whether each is gratuitous. Then compare the sex and nudity in Requiem for a Dream with that in 300.

Have these directors used sex as manipulative marketing strategy, cheap titillation to draw and audience? Or are the sex scenes and nudity necessary to the plot of the film? What, if anything, is contributed to our understanding of character or theme? Or think of it conversely. What, if anything, is lost from the overarching purpose of the film as a unified whole if these scenes are cut?

Film and Current Events

Both films and works of literature (as well as all other art forms) are often interpreted in light of the social, economic, and political state surrounding their production and release. A 2007 New York Times article discusses one such controversy sparked by Zack Snyder's production of 300. After reading the article, do you believe that the film should be understood in light of the US's relations with the Middle East at the time of the film's release.

It is indeed difficult to ignore the parallels between the film and then current events. Five years after 9/11, there was seemingly no end in sight to US occupations in the Middle East.

Many Americans believed that American freedoms were at stake. Unified by pride and patriotism, we sent our soldiers to fight a an inhuman enemy (terror). Similarly, the Spartans face Xerxes, the god-king, whose army is certainly portrayed in the film as a terrorist force, striking fear and threatening a democratic state with slavery or destruction. Like the Spartans, "Freedom!" was our cry as we marched off to a state of undeclared war.

Should such parallels be ignored? Are there dangers to entertaining such analyses? Are there dangers to disregarding them?

Stranger Than Fiction

A product of postmodernism, Stranger Than Fiction is moreso an excellent example of postmodern literature than postmodern film, although strong arguments could be made for both. Considering the diverse and sometimes quite disparate definitions of postmodernism you come across on the Web, in what ways does the film accomplish the aims of postmodern art?

In light of its postmodern qualities, what is the purpose of the film? In other words, what message does the film aim to communicate to its audience and why?

Finally, why begin a class that takes a narrative medium such as film as its focus of study with this particular film? In what ways can Stranger Than Fiction help us better understand the narrative strategies of both mediums: film and literature?

As you consider these questions, you might want to visit the STF website and review the movie trailer again. As your textbook suggests, the best practice for analyzing film is to view a film multiple times. You might have seen this film prior to our in-class viewing for strictly entertainment purposes. You all watched the film in class with the intention of beginning to analyze its literary and cinematic elements. You should attempt to view the film again in order to deepen that analysis by thinking further and more critically about the judgments you have made.

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