Repo Man and Postmodernism

When I first hear the term postmodernism I immediately think of art. Postmodern art can be considered art that was created during the 50's or after World War II. As we discussed in class, the term wasn't really used until the 1980's. That is true within the art world as well. In an article I once read about post-modern art, the author talks about how art from the postmodern era is just referencing other works of art. Therefore using the postmodern style of taking from the past, "recycling earlier genres and styles in new contexts" as said in The Approaches to Po-Mo article. The film Repo Man also can be considered postmodern as it takes many popular genres of films, particularly from the fifties, and uses them in one film. It uses these genres but in a very satirical way.

According to the article Analysis Of Repo Man, the film's writer and director Alex Cox was heavily influenced by fifties sci-fi movies. More specifically ones that were made to reflect the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Cox also stated that films like Them! and This Island Earth were the only the only films addressing the issues of nuclear testing. Another way that the time was post modern was reigniting the fears of nuclear war by President Reagan, who wanted the world to go back to "the good times" of the 1950's. Thus bringing back the fear of a nuclear attack. Repo Man uses many of the same ideas of those types of sci-fi films. Although more parodying them, like Invasion of the Body Snatchers for instance. The use of aliens is clear, and the use of a female lead or love interest is also used. The difference being that Otto ultimately rejects Lila in the end of the film, while Miles stays with Becky until she is turned into a duplicate. The idea satirizes the usual love story plot line that comes with films like these.

The film also refers back to youth rebellion films that were popular during the fifties. Instead of the motorcycle gang being the rebellion group or other, as seen in The Wild One, it's the punk culture. Otto's friends in the film are particularly stereotyped and parodied. The gang that Otto was once a part of is frequently seen throughout the film. Two being Archie and Duke, who are both portrayed as dim and unaware of what the punk culture stands for or what to do with themselves. A repeated line "let's go do some crimes" was always said in a sort of confusion. When Duke is killed, his last words refer to how society ultimately was the cause of his death. Otto hears his last words and states "You're a white suburban punk just like me". The idea the punks in the film wouldn't know what they stood for or why they do the things they do could be a comment by the writer on the entire punk culture. Another big part of the story line is the relationship between Otto and his mentor Bud. The relationship reminded me of the relationship between Mr. Dadier and Miller in Blackboard Jungle. Although one again satirized as Bud isn't exactly the ideal role model. Mr. Dadier took Miller under his wing to keep him from trouble and from being influenced by the other male students. With helping Miller, Dadier only grows and becomes a better instructor. In the case of Otto and Bud, Bud seems to decline throughout the film. In both cases the relationships become strained and in different ways, by the end, go back to a better place. Bud's death could also be viewed as a parody on the usual hero/mentor theme that is present in many films.

Though much of the references to specific films is a stretch, it's clear that Repo Man is a post modern film. The use of consumerism with the food and drink that are sold in the film, the satirical representation of themes and even the setting and architecture of Los Angeles can all be considered post modern by the article Approaches to Po-Mo. What do you guys think?

Pray For Rosemary's Baby

I watched Rosemary's Baby for the first time this summer, and since then it's quickly become one of my favorite films of all time. I loved the film so much that I also decided to read the novel by Ira Levin. Roman Polanski's faithfulness to the novel is amazing, exact dialogue, scenes, even Rosemary's dramatic Vidal Sasson haircut all in the novel are featured in the film. Although a film like this I probably shouldn't use the word love. A helpless women being raped and impregnated by the devil is never a storyline to love. But it's a great film.

The main argument that is presented in Rosemary's Baby, Gothic Pregnancy and Fetal Subjects by Katryn Valerius, is the reference to abortion in the film. When first viewing the film, I never thought that abortion and abortion laws could be the true motive for writing the novel and then making the film. Though there is a scene in which Rosemary states that she won't have an abortion. I do think Valerius makes her interpretation of the film very convincing. When you think about the time period abortion was, and still is, a very controversial topic. Children were born with severe birth defects due to taking a tranquilizer called thalidomide. Several examples of highly publicized abortion cases are presented in the article including a women named Sherri Finkbine. Finkbine was given thalidomide but was unaware until reading an article of it's effects. Finkbine then attempted to obtain a legal abortion in Arizona, but due to telling her story to local press, the abortion was canceled. Finkbine eventually had the abortion in Sweden due to the controversy in the United States. The obstetrician in Sweden said that the child had such severe birth defects, that it wouldn't have survived even if Finkbine decided to go through with the birth.

Valerius also references other parts of the film that could relate to the abortion debate. Terry Gionoffri, a young women in the film living with the Castevet's, commits suicide by jumping from the Brampton. Valerius believes that Terry was originally pregnant with the devil's child. Aware that the child was the devil's and fearing she had no other choice, she kills herself. Though Terry's situation was obviously fictional, young women around this time also feared they had no choice. It was still looked down upon to be an unmarried pregnant woman. Many women may have gone to extremes as Terry did to not go through with the pregnancy. When viewing the film, I never thought that Terry would be pregnant, but just far too wrapped up with the coven and the Castevets which would lead to her suicide. Valerius's argument is very convincing. You could even view Rosemary as a women like Sherri Finkbine. Married, middle class, wanting the child your carrying, but then finding out that the child is in danger and perhaps shouldn't be brought into the world. Not that a child born with birth defects should ever be or could ever be compared to the spawn of satan, but the circumstances of a wanted pregnancy being dangerous could be compared. Terry could represent the women who were unmarried and found themselves pregnant and fearing no other choice but suicide.

There are many references to Catholicism in the film. During Rosemary and Guy's first dinner with Minnie and Roman, the Pope's visit to New York is discussed. Roman speaks unfavorably of the Pope which makes Rosemary uncomfortable. While she states that she was raised Catholic, she doesn't practice anymore due to her marriage to Guy and estrangement from her Catholic family. It's discussed more in the novel that Rosemary was disowned for marrying outside of her Catholic faith. The night that Rosemary is drugged, she has an odd assortment of dreams. A couple parts of the dream reference Catholicism. One features Rosemary on a boat asking the captain why her friend Hutch cannot come aboard. His reasoning is that Hutch is not Catholic. The Pope also appears in the dream and Rosemary apologizes for missing his television appearance. The dreams reflect her ambivalence towards religion. While she still respects the Pope and the sanctity of the religion she still feels that the religion unfairly excludes others who do not share the same beliefs. Not directly stated but that's my opinion on the dreams.

What do you guys think? Was the true reason for writing the novel/making the film strict abortion laws during the 1960's? Was Terry pregnant and were her and Rosemary both made to represent women within the abortion debate? How do you feel about the references to Catholicism?

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

After my stunning plot synopsis of the film in yesterday's class, I'm sure everyone is excited to here my thoughts on Invasion of the Body Snatchers. I got the sense that a majority of the class had issues with the film. Whether it be plot holes, issues with the representation of women, or just the film in general. I actually quite liked it. Sure it's campy, low budget, there's some bad acting, but I just took it for what it was, a 1950's horror movie. It's so bad it's good. I'm a big fan of films like that.

I do agree that some of the film was over exaggerated. A big problem that the class as a whole agreed on was the depiction of women. Becky's character was annoying. That's the best way I can describe it. The relationship between her and Miles was equally as annoying. Aside from the mounds of cigarettes found at the beginning of scenes, dialogue bluntly stated that the two have had an intimate relationship.
"Becky: Is this an example of your bedside manner, doctor?
Miles: No, ma'am. That comes later"
The article "You're Next!": Postwar Hegemony Besieged in Invasion of the Body Snatchers, also discusses the way women are portrayed in the film. While he article stretches much of it's arguments, it was still quite interesting to read. Katrina Mann references the original novel, written by Jack Finney, to support and further her arguments. In the original novel Becky fights off the pods with Miles and ends up surviving. While in the film, she falls asleep and becomes another one of the pod people. After hearing the change from the novel to the film, I wondered why there would be a change. Mann believes that Becky survives only because Miles resists her sexual advances. Thus in the film she dies due to both her and Miles acting upon these urges;
"Her menace is located less in her destructive sexual appeal or sexual aggression than in her ambivalent sexual allegiance in the wake of the assault by aliens." (Mann, 61)

Mann also argues the film was a metaphor for minorities moving into suburbs and communities like Santa Mira. Mann believed that the aliens were supposed to represent illegal aliens, Mexican migrant laborers at that time. In one of the first scenes in the film, we see a community vegetable stand closed down. Miles is surprised by this as he believed the stand to be well taken care of and popular within the community. This is one of the first clues to us that something within the community is going wrong. Mann states that the reason why this stand and others would be closed down during this time due to the welcoming of Mexican laborers, called braceros. The produce trucks that were used to carry the pods in the film also seemed to copy those that were actually used to bring Mexican workers to the U.S. Along with this Mann argued that African Americans moving to predominately white neighborhoods was another influence for the film. Honestly the article just seemed a bit too crazy for me. Especially when she delved into the minority theories. It really lost me. But I did find the paragraph on Capgras Syndrome to be very interesting. It may be just a "postwar urban legend" but it still makes sense with the story. The syndrome was encountered by people who believed that their "loved ones were not who they claimed to be.

Another important piece of trivia I learned about the film was the original ending. The film was supposed to end with Miles screaming to drivers on the highway. Instead the studio decided to put bookends of Miles telling his story to a hospital staff. While the story is never fully wrapped up, the studio found it important to have a happier ending to the film. The importance to have an some sort of resolved ending to a film is something that American film always seems to need to do. In another one of my film classes, international films, we discussed this need. What do you guys think? Did it need the proper ending? Do you agree with Mann's theories?

Atomic Cafe

"The Cold War isn't thawing; it is burning with a deadly heat. Communism isn't sleeping; it is, as always, plotting, scheming, working, fighting."
-Richard Nixon

The documentary The Atomic Cafe was released on March 17, 1982, approximately nine years before the official end of the Cold War. The documentary is made up of propaganda issued by the American government to show what to do in the event of nuclear attack and in some cases what could happen if nuclear war were to occur. Footage of the aftermath of the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were also shown. This footage itself is very disturbing. The filmmakers made it even more disturbing by adding a voice over explaining, to Americans, that there should be no worry over exposure to radiation. The filmmaker's did an amazing job presenting the information in that way. Juxtaposing videos of American families following, what now seem like, ridiculous precautions against nuclear war with actual footage of effects of atomic bombs. Arranging the footage in this way made you understand why Americans would take all the precautions. If we bombed Japanese cities in order to end a war, why wouldn't Russia do the same to us?

Having been born in 1990, therefore living for only the last technical year of the Cold War, this footage and information always surprises me. In a way I'm thankful I didn't have to be a kid during that time. How terrifying it must have been to live in a big city during that time? The article "Civilian Threat, the suburban Citadel, and Atomic Age American Women" states that in New York City, children in elementary schools were forced to wear dog tags to school. When I was in High School my band teacher told us he was one of the children who had to wear dog tags. His teachers told him point blank "you must wear the dog tags in case of a nuclear attack and your body is burnt beyond recognition." Although it seems goofy now, it must have been scary to be a kid then. The article also addresses fallout shelters and the responsibilities of men and women within the shelters. I couldn't help but laugh when I read that the wife's responsibility was to make the shelter feel homey and safe. A gun was also highly suggested to be included in a fallout shelter. The article states "...fallout shelter literature instead emphasized that one should be equipped to kill potentially radioactive interlopers -neighbors, perhaps, who could not afford to build fallout shelters of their own or had lacked the motivation to do so." The idea of the women holding down the shelter while men went out to shot any individual exposed to radiation reminded me of a zombie survival film. So odd to imagine. In Atomic Cafe, there is a scene shown with a little boy in a protective suit made by his father. Another scary and now humorous example of the extreme attempts made by American families to protect themselves against nuclear attack.

At the end of the film, clips of propaganda were put together to simulate Americans taking cover during a nuclear attack. This is another part of the film I thought was done well. It was interesting to see and imagine the chaos of cities and towns in the event of nuclear war. Although it did end again quite ridiculously with a family sorting amongst the "wreckage" of their home, (The father, telling his children that they had lucked out and it could have been much worse.) it still had an impact on audiences in 1982, still awaiting an end to the Cold War.

First Day

I was a bit surprised that unlike my other classes we didn't do introductions. So I will introduce myself. I'm Ellen and I'm a junior TV/digital film major with a minor in film studies. I decided to take this class because it counts as an elective for film studies and also because it sounded fantastic. The cold war took place through the late 40's to the late 80's. The idea of watching any movie during that time sounded pretty fantastic. Such a wide variety in approximately 40 years.

I was extremely happy to look over the syllabus and see some of the films we'd be viewing. Rosemary's Baby is what I'm most excited about. It's actually the only film I've seen on the list but I love it. I'm reading the book right now and it amazes me how faithful Roman Polanski was to the story. It's always exciting to know filmmakers stay true to the book. I was also happy to see The Stepford Wives and Blue Velvet on the list. They're both currently on my Netflix Queue. So in general I'm excited for this course. But also nervous because if you can't tell already, I'm an awful writer. So blogging scares me a bit.