Bugsy Malone

Urban streets, gunshots, dark alleyways, extravagant clubs, sharp suits: the conventions of the gangster genre are easy to spot in the 1976 film Bugsy Malone, including even specific references to other gangster films. But what about the themes of the classical depression-era gangster films? Can you see any influence of the allegorical "allure and potentially catastrophic consequences of untrammelled individualism" or issues of ethnic or class struggles? Or does the film alter this look on The American Dream by creating a world filled entirely with children and ending the gruesome final showdown with a showstopper? After all, the final words we are left with are:

"You give a little love and it all comes back to you, you know you're gonna be remembered for the things you say and do."

How do the aspects of the integrated music in the film change or add to the thematics of this gangster film? This film is an interesting mix of integrated and "backstage" musical numbers, with the added component of the voices being dubbed over by adults. What effect did all this have on the film as a whole, and can you relate that to the themes you feel it was exploring?

I know that's a lot - I'd like you to really think about this film and how the elements are working, not just post up an opinion piece about how you felt about it. As usual 400 words are the minimum. Due by Monday, May 13th and comments on two others due by Wed, May 15th (this is a bit of an extension than what was on your original assignment sheet).

Check out a piece of this documentary - "Bugsy Malone: After They Were Famous" 

Alan Parker talks about how his son was the one who had the idea to make a movie that was only kids. I believe you can find this whole documentary on youtube (as well as the whole film if you want to re-watch anything).

Annie

My reason for choosing Annie as our "pure" musical example is mostly because the film takes place during the same time period and urban setting as the gangster films we watched. You can actually imagine that just blocks from the orphanage the gangsters are meeting and plotting, after all Miss Hannigan not only makes bathtub gin, Warbucks says she's been spotted hanging out with some guy named "Little Caesar" (an obvious reference to the gangster). You will also see that the film ties nicely to the mixed genre example we will be screening. The outstanding performances by Carol Burnett, Tim Curry, Bernadette Peters, and Albert Finney (who was also one of our gangsters in Miller's Crossing) also factored into my choice.

For your blog post I'd like you to consider how the film explores the themes of the American Dream, greed, ambition, poverty and prosperity - all important ideas in the gangster genre as well. How do the musical numbers tie into the thematics of the film? And in what ways is the film an integrated musical, and does it stray into the realm of spectacle as well?

As always 400 words is the minimum - but please be sure to write until your points are proven. Post should be up by Tues, April 30th. No comments are required.

Miller's Crossing - Revisionist Gangster

Again, another straightforward blog post. 

In what ways does Miller's Crossing explore either classical or revisionist themes involving criticism of the American Dream, the effects of capitalism, and outlooks on society (this includes class and ethnic issues as well as government and business)? What other ways do the Coen brothers play with the conventions of the gangster genre, including the iconography associated with the gangsters themselves (costume, props, sounds, setting)? You could also, if you so wish, compare the gangster character of Tom to Scarface's Tony.

Blog post is due Wed, April 24th. No comments required. Minimum 400 words.

OPTIONAL CHOICE  - if you'd like to combine your Scarface and Miller's Crossing blog posts and compare the two gangster films you could do that, but the expectation is that your blog post would then be 800 words.  This post would still be due Wed, April 24th. 

Scarface

This week's blog post is fairly simple.

The 1932 film Scarface was one of the films to help crystalize the classical period of the genre. With that in mind, and using your reading as reference, what are the specific conventions of the genre that you can identify within the film? Think about: character, setting, iconography, themes, stylistic attributes, and audience expectations. Please be specific with examples.

Blog post is due Wednesday, April 17th. No comments are required.

Fido - Extra Credit Blog Post

From Bernice Murphy's essay "Imitations of Life: Zombies and the Suburban Gothic"

"Andrew Currie's 2006 movie Fido is an ambitious satire that combines elements of Sirkian melodrama, George A. Romero's Living Dead series and the "Timmy's down the well" plotting of heroic dog films such as Lassie and Old Yeller...As one reviewer put it, the film's depiction of 'an undead chattel class hits an authentic socio-political nerve. It seems to capture perfectly what 1950s upper-class suburbia might have looked like had slave labor still been available.' By projecting Romero's vision of zombie apocalypse slightly backward into a twenty-first-century vision of 1950s suburbia, Currie's film also manages to make some pertinent points about the containment culture of both that period and our own. The film evokes the upscale suburban developments of the present that rely on cheap migrant labor in the form of underpaid and often-illegal nannies, housekeepers, gardeners, and workers. Further, the security obsessed and manipulative conflation of the military-industrial complex epitomized in ZomCon evokes much-criticized elements of the presidency of George W. Bush."

What do you think about Murphy's take on the film's exploration of zombies in suburbia? Or what are your thoughts on how the zombie conventions placed in the midst of the 1950s boy and dog story fits into the zombie genre lexicon?

This being an extra credit post will be accepted up until the end of the semester. It is still a 400 word minimum to get full potential credit.

Shaun of the Dead

Choose one of the two options to address in your blog post:

1) Give a thorough examination of both the screwball comedy and zombie genre conventions in the film Shaun of the Dead, and how the two work together put any new spins on those conventions. Please use specific examples from the film with your analysis. You may compare those elements to either of the films we screened in class or any other films from the two genres that you are familiar with, but this is not required. If you quote any of our reading please be sure to cite accordingly.

2) In the essay “Slacker Bites Back: Shaun of the Dead Finds New Life for Deadbeats” Lynn Pifer argues that the film is a commentary on society’s “willing workers” who have been “deadended by their jobs” in a capitalist society, and “provide[s] disenfranchised slackers like Shaun and Ed with a situation where they can not only survive, but also succeed in winning others’ respect (167).” Pifer goes on to try and prove that the movie celebrates the slacker lifestyle and allows for all that are in Shaun’s way to be zombified so they are no longer a bother in his slacker lifestyle, and that though he learns how to manage a life with a best friend and girlfriend he is still a loser and a slacker to the end.

Do you agree with Pifer’s thesis and understanding of the story, or do you have your own theories about Shaun's journey? Though I find a lot of the points and examples to be dead-on, I don’t completely agree, and in fact see Shaun’s journey as one that changes him quite a lot, and that the loss of the people in his life is what wakes him up to appreciate the things in his life that he once took for granted. Throughout the film, once Shaun finally realizes what is going on, we see him quick on his feet, calling for teamwork, and sticking his neck out for everyone else. We see others acting selfishly, being uncooperative, and putting everyone at risk. In fact, most of why Shaun’s plans go awry for them is from the mistakes of the others in the group. Sure, Shaun's plan is not as good a Yvonne's, but it's a plan. As Liz says when she forgives him: “You tried. You did something, that’s what counts.” So I would say the film is about how the zombie apocalypse is what it takes to make this slacker appreciate what is important in life, which, yes, sometimes includes simply playing a video game with your best friend.

What do you think? And no, you do not have to agree with me. Perhaps you have your own thesis to prove about the film.

Be sure to support your thoughts, whether you agree with Pifer or not, with plenty of examples. You can also cite from the essay as you would like, but make sure you do so properly.

As always 400 words MINIMUM for either choice, but remember to fully explain your points or the minimum still won’t cut it. Original posts are due Friday, April 5^th. Response to at least 2 blog posts due by Tues, April 9^th. 

Night of the Living Dead

The Museum of Modern Art screened Night of the Living Dead to recognize its cultural as well as historical value, citing that:

"Released at a time when disillusionment was running rampant in the country--spurred by the Vietnam War and the recent assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy--Americans identified with the film's shocking suggestion: death is random and without purpose. No one dies for the greater good or to further the survival of others. Instead, people die to feed faceless, ordinary America. A metaphor for societal anxiety, the sight of America literally devouring itself and the representation of the desecration of the wholesome American family...served as a release for the country's repressed trauma."

What are some specific examples in the film that you see support this interpretation? Please be sure to explain your examples clearly and fully.  Post is due Wed, April 3rd. No comments required.