Cours Anglais 1er Semestre

Anglais : La ville à l’écran

Cinéma à l’écran : Cours 1 Étude d’un article : « Changing Icons : The Symbols of NYC in Film ; Terri Meyer » CGI : Computer Generated Images The icons became a representation of the city, we don’t need to show the entirely city. We can see immediately if the city is old or new. Utopique =/= Dystopique (dystopic) City-‐state = ville état La city ça R0X Cours 2 Vocabulary for Film Analysis

Shots Range of view: distance between the camera and the scene (pas d’équivalent) Long shots: plan d’ensemble Full shots: plan de demi-‐ensemble Zoom shot: un zoom Close up: plan rapproché Focus shot/ Composition in depth: plan en profondeur de champs The angle of view: angle de vue Bird’s eye view: plan general vue de dessus Low angle shot: contre plongée High angle shot: plongée Wide angle shot: plan grand angle Moving shot: plan en movement A pan: panoramique Fuzzy, out of focus, blurred: flou, fondu Cut: raccord

Cut Straight cut : cut sans transition Jump cut : coupure brute Cross cut : montage alterné Transition : / Flashback : analepse Flashfoward : prolepse, projection en avant

Metropolis Metropolis from Fritz Lang is a city-‐state made of different influences. I t’s a black and white silent fiction film widely regarded as a masterpiece. It is the very first movie that has been nominated to the UNESCO’S world’s heritage. It is a gothic corporate city-‐state made of impressive skyscrapers. The society has been divided into two groups: in one hand, the thinkers, the intellectuals all live high above the earth in a luxury and pleasant world also called the « Son’s Club »; on in the other hand the group of workers who live underground, toiling to sustain the lives of the privileged. According to quotation: “The dreams of a few had turned to the curses of many”. The climax of the movie is the attack of the uptown by the angry mob of workers. Trough the interventions of Frieder’s son, the worker’s leader are persuaded to reconcile the differences and work together. Metropolis contains also references to antiquity like the evocation of Tower of Babel (contained in Genesis). But this version is more connected to the current situation of label workers: this is a refoundation of the mist. There is a vertical aspect in Metropolis. According to Fritz Lang, the aesthetic was inspired from a trip to New York in 1924, during his observations of Manhattan. Verticality is linked to the idea of height. The uptown is opposed to the downtown. Here downtown is the city of poor workers, as well as the underground city. This one shelters the label workers in a production means for everyone in Metropolis. This is the city of installation, industry, cold and iron. The forms are simple, made of metal, they are similar of industrial architecture of the last year European’s 19th century. Despite of all theses influences, this forms also reveals futuristic elements like anthropomorphic fronts and interface with preeminent buttons and needles (or hands). The hole disappeared into dramatic and maybe supernatural form (beyond the physics law). It uses the materials to rise up to heavens. In the beginning in 19th century there is an insane skyscrapers race in New York / Chicago. Metropolis illustrates the same competition spirit where modern skyscrapers and ancient towers grew simultaneously. This vertical development of Metropolis was made to be a living symbol of wealth or poverty and misery in its underground part. Extrait: Metropolis de Rintaro Shots show an impressive manner to shot. Fermeture à iris: lens closing / lens opening

City of light Original: Metropolis in Cleveland 1940: In New York 1970: Gotham City and Metropolis are adjacent across an harbour 1976 and 2001: Metropolis in an East Coast corridor including Boston, Washington DC and NYC (MEGALOPOLIS) 1978: “The Great Superman Book”, Michael Fleisher: in a 1950 comics, Metropolis is similar to NYC by the presence of Statue Of Liberty Frank Miller: “Metropolis is New York in the day time, Gotham City is New York at night” Over the years, Metropolis changed location and features, but always a world-‐class city, as NYC, Los Angeles and Chicago Often referred as “The Big Apricot”= NYC “The Big Apple” Superman is a symbol of hope Districts (department) / Boroughs (municipalités) of Metropolis Metropolis made of 6 boroughs: similar to Toronto, contains also 6 boroughs Each has a character = like NYC New Troy: The most important, resembles Manhattan, skyscrapers bustling (vivant, animé) island including:

-‐ Emperor building (cf empire state) -‐ The Twin Towered Lexcorp Building (cf Twon Towers) -‐ Little Bohemia (cf Little Italy) -‐ Metropolis Park (cf Central Park) -‐ Lacey’s and Stacey’s Department Stores (cf Macy’s) -‐ Spiffany”s Jewellery Store (cf Tiffany’s)

Other Boroughs / suburbs Seperated to the suburbs by the river (West river and hobby’s river) Midval, location od Midvale Orphenage Bakerline located in the north of New Troy, refers to Harlem St Martin’s Island, refers to Staten Island Gotham City FIctionnal city, home of Batman First Appearance in Batman #4 (Winter 1940) NY Times Journalist, William Safire: “New York below 14th Street, from Soho to Greenwich Village; Bowery, little Italy, Chinatown and sinister areas around Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges”.

Location used in live-‐action films: New York, West London, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Hong-‐Kong British Country House locations: Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire for the scenes of Wayne’s Manor Origin of name “Gotham”

-‐ Bill Finger: “Originally, “Civic City”, then “Capital City” or “Coast City”. Flip over NYC phone book, “Gotham Jewellers”

-‐ Nickname popularized XIXth Century, Washington Irving’s periodical (1807) “Salmagundi”

-‐ Nottinghamshire/ Goat and Home: “homestead where goats are keeping”. Pronounced “Goth”

Lampoon: pamphlet It derives from old English “Goat” (chèvre) and “Ham” (home: foyer) Homestead: propriété (terriel) Fictionnal History Founding Fathers summoning Bat Demon becomes trapped beneath old Gotham Town Dennis O Neil Gotham City is Manhattan below 14th Street at eleven minutes past Midnight, on the coldest night in November

In the 1950’s and part of the 1960’s: lighter tone In the 1970’s: tone of the city has become grittier Some artists have depicted Gotham in different ways. Base theirs interpretations on existing architectural periods and style.

-‐ Flying Buttresses of Gothic Cathedrals -‐ Huge “art deco” and “art nouveau” statutary -‐ Cyberpunk, Japanese and greek (Joel Schumacher) -‐ Distinct Chicago architecture, CGI (Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins), and

infratucture (Dark Knight) Batman Mythology, most influent person promoting Gotham City architecture (pre civil War era) is: Judge Salomon Wayne Wayne & Cyrus Pinkney creates the “Gotham Style” structures Later: Batman writers created “Gotham Revival”. Purposed city of the comic book must ressembles to Anton Furst’s work (in Batman, Tim Burton, 1989) Geography: Like other fictional cities of comics universe: geography of Gotham City has varied over the years because of:

-‐ Changing writers -‐ Changing editors -‐ Changing storylines

Majority: Gotham in North-‐eastern Coast, like New York, and Manhattan (cf: Map Division) 1990 Atlas of the DC universe: Gotham located in New-‐Jersey, across Delaware Bay from Metropolis Distnace between Metropolis and Gotham varied greatly over the years DC Comics publisher: Paul Levitz: “Gotham is NYC from the 14th Street Down, the older buildings, more brick and mortar are opposed to steel and glass” Areas Institutions and Businesses

Gotham is a major economic center within the USA of DC universe Industries includes

-‐ Manufacturing -‐ Shipping -‐ Finance

Arts represented by numerous museums, galleries and jewellers Commercial seaport, and naval shipyard More noteworthy Corporation: Wayne Enterprises. Specialises in various industrial aspects, research and development Charitable division: the Wayne Foundation, major supporter to the city’s major charity, arts and research endeavour. Business with a facility is Ace Chemicals (or Axis Chemicals) Newspapers: Gotham Gazette and Gotham Globe.

The films Tim Burtons Films:

-‐ 1989 Batman, production designer was Anton Furst (won an Oscar). Wayne »s Manor exterior inspired by Knebworth House; a Gothicized Tudor

-‐ Axis Chemical, where Jack Nicholson plunges into a chemical sludge was filmed in West London, in a disused power station.

Joel Schumacher Films

-‐ Barbara Ling handled production for both films, « Batman Forever » (1995) and « Batman and Robin » (1997)

-‐ Ling’s vision: »Luminous and outlandish evocation of modern expressionism and constructivism ».

-‐ Futuristic like concepts (similar to 1982 Blade Runner) is a cross between Manhattan, and Neo Tokyo from Akira

-‐ Ling admitted fer influences came from neon ridden Tokyo and “the machine age”

Christopher Nolan’s Films

-‐ The first two Batman series were filmed in Chicago. -‐ Batman Begins: Chicago board of Trade Building was used for Wayne’s Tower;

it’s also in the Film, the hub of Gotham water and elevated railway systems. -‐ Garrick Theater = Gotham’s Opera House -‐ Gotham as an exaggeration of New York, with elements of Chicago, and monorails

of Tokyo, Hong Kong was the basis for the slum “The Narrow” -‐ The Dark Knight: some Chicago landmarks included, but it is revealed much of

the city is in an Island (cf Manhttan)

Cours n°6 Extrait: Pair O Dice Hoodlum, or the gangsterish version of Harlem Renaissance Neighborhood within northern part of the N Y C borough of Manhattan 1920’s: Harlem known as a major African-‐American residential, business and cultural center. Central Harlem African-‐American community 81% of the population = the largest African – American percentage in N Y C. Bounded by 5th avenue (East), Central Park (South), Morningside Park, St. Nicholas and Edgecombe Avenues (West), and the Harlem River (North). West Harlem = Morningside Heights, Manhattanville and Hamilton Heights is predominately Hispanic. African-‐American make up a quarter of the West Harlem population. Morningside Heights predominately Caucasian: many considering it an extension to the Upper West Side = cultural, economic differences. “Academic Acropolis of New York”: educational institutions include Columbia University, Barnard College and New York Theological Seminary. Bounded by Cathedral Parkway (110th Street) (South), Manhattan/Morningside ave/st/ Nicholas/ Edgecome Avenues (East); and the Hudson River. East Harlemn originally formed as Italian-‐American neighborhood but demographics have changed over the years. It is now an Hispanic neighborhood. The transition began with Puerto Rican immigration after the WWI “The Barrigo”, or “Spanish Harlem” Bounded by 96th street (South), 142nd Street (North), 5th Avenue (West), and Harlemn River (East). XVIIth century: Dutch military outpost (avant poste) Beacem successively:

-‐ a village of farmers -‐ revolutionary battlefield -‐ an industrial suburb -‐ American ghetto -‐ A world center of African-‐American culture

“New negro movement” and the the artistic outpouring known as “the Harlem Renaissance” (poetry, novels, and the visual arts). Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement spanned the 1920s and 1930s. “New Negro Movement”, named after the 1925 anthology (Alain Locke) Centered in Harlem, but many French-‐speaking black writers from African colonies and Caribbean Islands who lived in Paris has been influenced: they created the “Negritude” Movement Zenith of this explosion of culture was placed between 1924 and 1929. Harlemn Renaissance grew out of the changes that had taken place in the African-‐American community since the abolition of slavery, as well as the expansion of communities in the North Contributing factors

-‐Great Migration of African Americans to northern cities The first world war , which had created new industrial work opportunities for tens of thousands of people. Hoodlum is a 1997 crime film Fictionalized account of the gang war between

-‐ Italian/Jewish mafia alliance -‐ Black gangsters of harlem (took place in the late 1920s and early 1930s)

The film concentrated on Elssworth “Bumpy” Johnson (Lawrence FIshburne), Dutch Schültz (Tim Roth), and Lucky Luciano (Angy Garcia) Film divides its attention between

-‐ the mob (mafia) war -‐ Johnson’s relationships with other Harlem residents (romance with Red Cross

nurse, Francine Hughes/Vanessa Williams) Shaft, 1970’s Harlem & Blaxploitation

-‐ the worst period in Harlem’s history -‐ Harlemites able to escape frompoverty left the beighborhood in search of safer

streets and better schools and home -‐ Model Cities Program spent 100 millions on job training, health care, education,

public safety, sanitation, housing. Deterioration shows up in the statistics:

-‐ 1968: Harlem’s infant mortality rate = 37 for each 1000 live births (23,1 in the city as a whole)

-‐ next eight years: infant mortality rate in Harlem increase to 42,8, less than the double

Statistics: illness, drug addiction, housing quality, and education rapid deterioration in the 1970s Abandonment of housing so pronounced = btw 1976 – 1978, central Harlem lost 1/3 of its total population, and east Harlem lost 27% No longer had a functioning economy; 1971 estimates, 60% of economic life depended on the cash flow from the illegal “Numbers”. Blaxploitation is a “nongenre”, it emerged in the USA in the 1970’s Considered an ethnic subgenre of the general category of “Exploitation Films” “Blaxploitation” is a contraction of the two words “Black” and “Exploitation” Behind facts there is an economic and racial reality: “exodus” of most xealthy people from the urban downtowns to the upper suburbs Consequence: a simultaneous desertion of the downtowns theaters by these same populations, benefit of the minorities and poorest residents (especially African-‐american) Birth of “grindhouse theaters and movies” “Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song” (1971) first Blaxploitation movie Northeast or West Coast, Blaxploitation films are mainly set in poor neighborhoods Several subtypes of films including

-‐ crime (Foxy Brown) -‐ action/martial arts (Three the Hard Way)

-‐ westerns (Boss Nigger) -‐ horror (Blacula, Abby) -‐ Drama (Colley High) -‐ And musical (Sparkle)

Julien Sévéon in his book “Blaxploitation, 70’s Soul Fever” refers it as a “non genre” First to switch off dominance of Black stereotypes in Hollywood

-‐ the submissive “Uncle Tom” -‐ The “Brutal Black Buck” -‐ The large smiling faced “mammy”

“Black Heroes and Heroins” with a real screen presence: Jim Kelly, Jim Brown, Richard Roundtree, Pam Grier Many Blaxploitation films feature funk and soul jazz soundtracks with heavy bass, funky beats, and “wah wah guitars. Shaft is a 1971 american Blaxploitation action film Gordon Parks; MGM Tells the story of a private detective, John Shaft, travels through Harlem and Italian neighborhoods to find the daughter of a black mobster In 2000, Shaft was selected for preservation in the US National Film Registery by the library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, aesthetically significant”.

Do The Right Thing Plot / Summary Mookie = a young Black man living in an African-‐American neighborhood Bedford-‐Stuyvsent (Brooklyn) Works delivering pizzas but he completely lacks motivation Works in order to support his girlfriend Tina and their son Hector Sal Frangione = pizzeria’s Italian-‐American owner, in the neighborhood for twenty-‐five years. His older son Guiseppe holds in racial contempt for the neighborhood’s Black residents, attempts to make Mokkie’s life miserable. Street’s filled with distinct personalities

-‐ a drunk, Da Mayor constantly trying to win the affection of neighborhood matron, Mother Sister. Watches the neighborhood’s activity from her brownstone

-‐ a young man, Radio Raheem, blast Public Enemy’s song “Fight the Power” on his boombox.

-‐ He wears “love” and “hate”, four fingered rings on either hand. Explains: symbolize the struggle between the two forces

Production notes Legend tells Spike Lee wrote the screenplay of the film in two weeks The original script of Do the right thing ends with a reconciliation between Mookie and Sal The film was shot entirely on Stuyvesant Avenue between Quincy and Lexington Ave in the Bed-‐Stuy neighborhood. Spike Lee campaigned for Robert De Niro as “Sal”, but De Niro had to decline

Key elements . The film has received the protests from many reviewers, it was openly stated in several newspapers it could incites black audiences to riot. No riots occurred Lee criticized reviewers for implying black audiences were unable restraining themselves. . One of the many questions of the film: Mookie “does the right thing” when he incites the riot destroys Sal’s pizzeria . Critics have seen Mookie’s action both as:

-‐ An action that saves Sal’s life, redirecting the crowd’s anger away from Sal to hi property

-‐ An “irresponsible encouragement to enact violence” . The contradictory quotations that end the film:

-‐ One advocating non violence -‐ Other advocating violent self-‐defense in response to oppression

June 2006, Entertainment Weekly Magazine placed the movie Do the right thing n22 on list of “The 25 most controversial movies ever” The film contains some allusions to contemporary race-‐related violent acts In the scene in which Mookie shows frustration, “Tawana told the truth” is spray painted on the bricks in the rear of this shot: referring to 1987 Tawana Brawley rape allegations.

Dark City

1988 “neo noir/science fiction film” directed by Alex Proyas It manages to blend several genres: crime thriller, action, science fiction, drama Plot/summary John Murdoch awakens alone in a strange hotel he has lost his memory and wanted for a series of brutal murders While trying to piece together his past, he stumbles upon a fiendish world controlled by a group of beings known as “the strangers” Possess the ability to put people to sleep and alter the city and its inhabitants Murdoch must find a way to stop them before they take control of his mind and destroy him City’s design The city is described by Higley as a “murky, nightmarish German expressionist “film noir” depiction of urban repression and mechanism” The city has details from different eras/architectures, changed by the Strangers; “buildings collapse as others emerge and battle with one another at the end The inhabitants do not live at the top of the city; the main characters’ homes: dwarfed by the jumble/jungle of buildings The film also contains references from Greek Mythology: gods manipulate humans in a higher agenda

Some stylistic similarities have been noted to Jean-‐Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro’s 1995 film La cite des enfants perdus (inspired by Terry Gilliam (Brazil)) When Proyas finished “The Crow” in 1994, he approached production designer Patrick Tatopoulos to draw concepts the world in which Dark City takes place The city where the story takes place was entirely constructed on a set; no natural locations were used in the film “The movie takes place everywhere, and it takes place nowhere. It’s a city built of pieces of cities/ So, you d’ont really know where you are. A piece will look like a street in London, but a portion of the architecture looks like New York, and the bottom of the architecture looks again like a European City. You’re there, but you don’t know where you are. It’s like every time you travel, you’ll be lost.” The production design included themes of darkness, spirals, and clocks. There appears to be no sun in the coty’s world, and spiral designs that shrink when approache were used in the film The production designer created the city architecture to have an organic presence with structural elements Fritz Lang Metorpolis was a major influence on the ilm trough the architecture, concept of the baseness of humans within a metropolis. One of the last scenes of the movie is similar to last panel of the Akira manga. Proyas called the end battle a “homage to Otomo’s Akira”. Sin City (1991/2005) Sin City = title for a series of comic books by Frank Miller First Story originally appears “Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special” (April, 1991), and continued in “Dark Horse Presents” from May 1991 to June 1992, under the title of Sin City, serialized in thirteen parts. All stories take place in Basin City; frequent recurring characters / crossing stories. Filmic adaptation of Sin City, co directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, “special guest director” Tarantino, released on april 2005. Sin City: nickname refers to Basin City, fictional town in American West. Climate is hot and arid. A major river runs trough the city, which has an extensive waterfront.

Twice a year, downpour comes to the city gets heavy snowfall in the winter. Palm tress, tar pits, desert areas, mountain ranges, and flat farmland make up the landscape around the city. HISTORY During California Gold Rush, Roark family “imported” large number of attractive women to keep the miners happy, making a fortune and turning a mining camp into a thriving, bustling city. These women ended up forming the district of Old Town, prostitute quarter of the city where they rule with absolute authority. Became a watering hole for the criminal element in the deep West, decades later it evolved into a gritty metropolis of scum and villainy. The projects, the rundown and poor side of Sin City, is a tangle of high-‐rise apartments where crime runs rampant. Its inhabitants have apparently evolved their own independent society with almost no legal contact with the outside world. The docks, collection of wharfs and warehouses near the Projects. Hartigan and Roark Jr have first confrontation here in “that yellow bastard”, and Marv drives stolen police car off one of the piers beginning of “The Hard Goodbye” Kadie’s Club a strip club/bar. Though filled with drunk and violent men, Kadie’s bar is one of the safest areas in Sin City. Roark Family Farm Is located at North Cross and Lennox and shows up in several stories, including The Hard Goodbye, That Yellow Bastard, The Babe Wore Red and Hell and Back. It was also home to Kevin, a serial killer ties to the Roark family. Old Town Is the “red light” district and is off limits to the police, unless they’re “shopping”. The city’s population of prostitutes reside. Women of Old Town show no mercy to those who “break the rules”. The mob and pimps were thrown out after a period of fighting. Scared Oaks, home to the rich and powerful of Basin City. Suburb lies beyond the city proper, a half and an hour drive uphill. A university located there, and armed employees of its wealthy inhabitants patrol the entire area. Scared Oaks is characterized as being heavily wooded. Basin City Central Train Station, a direct connection to Phoenix. The Santa Yolanda Tar Pits, an abandoned amusement park outside the city; tar pits and dinosaur bones were excavated at some time.

-‐ a big budget dinosaur movie (a reference to Jurassic Park) cause a sensation, the county put up statues of dinosaurs to draw crowds

-‐ after old lady fell into one of the pits and had a heart attack, the place was shut down indefinitely

-‐ they are frequently used as a place to dump things -‐ frank miller has admitted the main reason the Tar Pits exists is as an excuse to

draw the dinosaur statues.

Akira (1982/1988)

1988 Japanese animated film directd by Katsuhiro Otomo, written by Otomo and Izo Hashimoto Screenplay is based on Otomo’s manga Akira, focusing mainly on the first half of the story. Dystopian version of the city of Tokyo in the year 2019, with the cyberpunk elements Plot focuses on teenage biker Tetsuo Shima and his psychic powers, and the leader of his biker gang (bosozoku or zoku), Kaneda Most of the character designs and settings were adapted from the original 2182-‐page manga Plot of the movie differs considerably from the rint version, pruning much of the last half of the manga Technical aspects Most anime is known for cutting production costs with limited motion, such as having only the characters’ mouths move while their faces remained static Akira: detailed scenes, pre-‐scored dialogue (wherein the dialogue recorded before the film starts production, the movements of the characters’ lips are animated to match it). Super-‐fluid motion as realized in the film’s more than 160,000 animation cels. Unlike its live-‐action predecessors, Akira had the budget (11 million €) to show a fully realized futuristic Tokyo Themes and interpretations: Incorporates themes of globalization, technology, hegemony, and capitalism Not about just any city or culture, which represents those ideologies; it is about Neo-‐Tokyo, and the restructuring of Japan post-‐apocalypse. Post WWII Trauma Present in the narrative is a dystopian future wildly unstable; begins with an apocalypse that, decades later, Japan is still trying to recover from. Magnitude of death and destruction were literally inconceivable; they did not fit any imagined possible reality

Katsuhiro Otomo was born in 1954, after Japan had already entered its “post-‐WWII” stage, his experience of pre WWII Japan is mediated trough history; the intense “fright”, the trauma belongs to the generation before him. Akira reconstructs the apocalypse of WWII Japan (and resulting trauma) for the younger generation Years after the end of the war; books; films, and manga being produced were starting to reflect upon the war Japan was trying to deal with the culture shock; film and literature were outlets for dealing with the shock and trauma. The 1945 film, Godzilla explored the tense relationship between Japan and USA at the time. Generation’s conflict Teenage bosozoku’s gangs in Akira are orphans; their gang is unified by the fact that they have no parents Therefore transformed the gang into an unconventional family, where the main protagonist, Kaneda, performs the role of the father as a leader, protector and a provider. Characters in “Grave of the Fireflies” are apathetic to those outside their immediate family; Kaneda’s gang is apathetic to Neo-‐Tokyo They share a unity that gives them a sense of identity while their city is in state of post capitalist anarchy. To the gang, the streets are their home. City belongs to no one; it is his or hers for the taking, and it is theirs to defend against some other gang or higher authority Lack of authority figure in the city signifies social collapse of Neo Tokyo, which, like its architecture, takes time to rebuild About post WWII Japan, the distancing of trauma the representation of power and identity in the emergence of a new culture, and the abjection of nostalgic ideology from this new culture (cf. Generation conflict).

Cours Anglais 1er Semestre

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