Difference between pages "Beyond and Beside Narrative (Discussion)" and "Concept of Authorship (Discussion)"

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==Bill Nichols' terms==
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==Readings==
Explain film scholar Bill Nichols' sense of the following terms:<ref>Bill Nichols, ''Representing Reality''.</ref>
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===Introduction, by John Caughie===
*'''Groups 1 and 2:''' ''historical world'' or ''historical reality''
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'''Group 2'''
**Why does he prefer this term to "reality"?
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#What are the basic assumptions of auteurist critics?
*'''Groups 3 and 4:''' ''social actor''
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#How did auteurism differ from previous film criticism?
**Why does he prefer this term to "individuals" or, simply, "people" in non-narrative works?
 
  
==Modes of representation==
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=== Edward Buscombe ===
Television depicts historical reality and addresses itself to the viewer about that reality through four principal "modes". Individual genres and programs are not limited to one single mode, but instead draw upon each as needed.
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'''Group 3'''
 +
#What elements of romanticism underpin auteurism?
 +
#What is the difference between Hawks and "Hawks"?
  
Explain the principles behind each mode:
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=== ''Cahiers du Cinéma'' ===
 +
'''All Groups'''
 +
#What is "formalism" and how did it relate to ''Cahiers''-style auteurism?
 +
#What is "personalism"?
  
#'''Group 4:''' Expository (or rhetorical)
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=== ''Movie'' ===
#'''Group 1:''' Interactive
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'''Group 4'''
#'''Group 2:''' Observational
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#What was ''Movie''?
#'''Group 3:''' Reflexive
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#How did ''Movie'''s approach to auteurism differ from that of ''Cahiers du Cinéma''?
  
==Applying "modes of representation" ==
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=== Andrew Sarris ===
News coverage of an incident in Goražde, ''The Daily Show'', ''Two-A-Days'', ''Cops'', Ole Miss vs. Alabama football, ''Who Wants to be a Millionaire''
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'''Group 1'''
 +
#What, according to Sarris, are the three premises of the auteur theory?
 +
#*Explain, if you can, what Sarris means by "élan of the soul".
  
===''The Daily Show'' in Iraq ===
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'''All Groups'''
 +
#What does Sarris mean when he uses the term "mise-en-scene"? ('''Hint''': it's ''not'' how Bordwell and Thompson use it in ''Film Art''.)
 +
#*And how does this image (below) illustrate it?
 +
[[Image:Rules Moment07.jpg|thumb|left|Jean Renoir in ''Rules of the Game'' (French title: ''La Règle du jeu'').]]
 +
<br style="clear: both;">
  
===''Deadliest Catch''===
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Pauline Kael, "Circles and Squares," ''Film Quarterly'' (reprinted in ''I Lost It at the Movies''), response to Sarris:
#Expository (or rhetorical)
 
#*How does it argue for a certain interpretation of these events?
 
#*How does it shape our understanding of them?
 
#Interactive
 
#*Does the TV world ''interact'' with the historical world?
 
#Observational
 
#*Do the producers just ''observe'' these events?
 
#*How is this show different from ''Cops''?
 
#Reflexive
 
#*Is it TV about TV? Does it make you aware of TV ''as'' TV?
 
  
===''Two-a-Days: Hoover High''===
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:Sarris believes that what makes an auteur is "an élan of the soul." (This critical language is barbarous. Where else should élan come from? It's like saying "a digestion of the stomach." A film critic need not be a theoretician, but it is necessary that he know how to use words. This might, indeed, be a first premise for a theory.) Those who have this élan presumably have it forever and their films reveal the "organic unity" of the directors' careers; and those who don't have it - well, they can only make "actors' classics." It's ironic that a critic trying to establish simple "objective" rules as a guide for critics who he thinks aren't gifted enough to use taste and intelligence, ends up - where, actually, he began - with a theory based on mystical insight.
*How does ''Two-a-Days'' impose elements of narrative on “reality”? What specific aspects of serial narrative structure does the program employ?
 
*How does it bring together several different genres?
 
*How is its use of sport/competition different from that of ''Survivor'' or ''The Amazing Race''?
 
*How is its representation of sports (specifically football) different/similar to how ESPN covers sports?
 
*"It is possible that there will be some stereotyping going on with all the editing," [Blair] Blanton said. "But I just hope people will get to know the ''real'' me and not the ''show'' me." (CW article, ending line).
 
**What term would Nichols use instead of “the show me”?
 
  
 
== Bibliography ==
 
== Bibliography ==
#Butler, Jeremy G. ''Television: Critical Methods and Applications''. Mahweh, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2007.
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All from ''Theories of Authorship'', John Caughie, ed. (Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981):
  
==References==
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#Introduction, John Caughie, 9-16.
<references />
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#Edward Buscombe, "Ideas of Authorship," 22-34.
 +
#''Cahiers du Cinéma'', 35-47.
 +
#''Movie'', 48-60.
 +
#Andrew Sarris, 61-67.
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
*[http://www.tcf.ua.edu/tvcritgallery/main.php/v/chapter04/ ''Television'' Chapter 4 illustrations]
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#[http://www.tcf.ua.edu/Classes/Jbutler/T440/AuteurTheory.htm Auteur Theory Illustrations]
*[http://www.tcf.ua.edu/tvcritgallery/main.php/v/tvprograms/TwoADays/ ''Two-a-Days'' illustrations]
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#[http://www.tcf.ua.edu/Classes/Jbutler/T340/Bazin03.htm Auteurism's defining moment], according to Sarris.
*[http://www.tcf.ua.edu/EO/DV/NewsClips.htm "The Road to Goražde": news video clips]
 
  
[[Category:TCF311]]
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[[Category:TCF440/540 Discussion]]
[[Category:TCF311 Discussion]]
 

Revision as of 16:49, 16 February 2009

Readings

Introduction, by John Caughie

Group 2

  1. What are the basic assumptions of auteurist critics?
  2. How did auteurism differ from previous film criticism?

Edward Buscombe

Group 3

  1. What elements of romanticism underpin auteurism?
  2. What is the difference between Hawks and "Hawks"?

Cahiers du Cinéma

All Groups

  1. What is "formalism" and how did it relate to Cahiers-style auteurism?
  2. What is "personalism"?

Movie

Group 4

  1. What was Movie?
  2. How did Movie's approach to auteurism differ from that of Cahiers du Cinéma?

Andrew Sarris

Group 1

  1. What, according to Sarris, are the three premises of the auteur theory?
    • Explain, if you can, what Sarris means by "élan of the soul".

All Groups

  1. What does Sarris mean when he uses the term "mise-en-scene"? (Hint: it's not how Bordwell and Thompson use it in Film Art.)
    • And how does this image (below) illustrate it?
Jean Renoir in Rules of the Game (French title: La Règle du jeu).


Pauline Kael, "Circles and Squares," Film Quarterly (reprinted in I Lost It at the Movies), response to Sarris:

Sarris believes that what makes an auteur is "an élan of the soul." (This critical language is barbarous. Where else should élan come from? It's like saying "a digestion of the stomach." A film critic need not be a theoretician, but it is necessary that he know how to use words. This might, indeed, be a first premise for a theory.) Those who have this élan presumably have it forever and their films reveal the "organic unity" of the directors' careers; and those who don't have it - well, they can only make "actors' classics." It's ironic that a critic trying to establish simple "objective" rules as a guide for critics who he thinks aren't gifted enough to use taste and intelligence, ends up - where, actually, he began - with a theory based on mystical insight.

Bibliography

All from Theories of Authorship, John Caughie, ed. (Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981):

  1. Introduction, John Caughie, 9-16.
  2. Edward Buscombe, "Ideas of Authorship," 22-34.
  3. Cahiers du Cinéma, 35-47.
  4. Movie, 48-60.
  5. Andrew Sarris, 61-67.

External links

  1. Auteur Theory Illustrations
  2. Auteurism's defining moment, according to Sarris.