Films and Stereotyping go hand in hand

I’m going to take you back in time; only to the Oscars. It’s always interesting what you can find in articles (I only started reading them, let’s say, when I started university...miracle) and I hope my “relating” to them and writing posts is fine.

 Today’s post will trace upon Islamophobia on the red carpet by Laura Durkay, which focuses on western’s stereotype of Islamic society. We all know that many associate words such as evil, ‘inhuman’, TERRORIST to the Islamic society, that Muslim’s just want to blow up things etc... and don’t get me wrong, I’m not supporting these affirmations; I’ve always said that just because certain people of a particular culture act in a certain way, doesn’t mean that they all do. However, Durkay draws upon three recent productions which highlight such statements: Argo (2012), Zero Dark Thirty (2012) and Homeland (TV series, 2011 - present).  

Argo is based on true facts regarding the 1979 hostage crisis, it evolves around the rescue mission of 6 American citizens which managed to escape the US embassy under attack. They then found refuge by Canadians and awaited their “saviour”. Initially I didn’t really engage with the film but eventually the tension began to build when they had to trick the Iranians, that they were Canadians and return home. It seems as an unfair representation of Iranian people: a mass of angry and dangerous people, which Durkay affirms by drawing upon the wide shots and close-ups. The Americans confined within the embassy are presented by close-ups, reflecting “humanity, individualized characters and dialogue we can understand” while the Iranians are just an “undifferentiated and unintelligible crowd” (wide shots).

Additionally, “throughout the film, Iran is depicted as a terrifying place where traitors are hung in public and menacing Muslim mobs lurk around every corner, ready to confront the protagonists each time they venture outside”. It’s a long quote but it summarises how Argo represents the film’s [main] location; perfect for a relaxing holiday, right? The scene with traitors hung in the middle of the street was quite impressive, I wouldn’t imagine wanting to see it for real. Another point Durkay interestingly traces upon is the use and non-use, in specific scenes, of subtitles. [*SPOILERS*] There are several scenes throughout the film in which most non-English words were not translated, leaving the audience confused and nearly creates a distance between them and what is unknown (concept of “us and them”, “them and the other”). Providing a sense of terror when finding yourself in a situation such as in the airport scene, where the 6 refugees and their saviour are held by guards and questioned (from that point onwards, till the plane took off... I was freaking out. You know when you speak to the characters as if they could hear you? And in reality you are just talking to a screen, oh well). Analysing the questioning scene, we may see that when one of the guards is speaking, there are no subtitle whatsoever but as one of the 6 begins to explain the “ fake movie”, there are even more subtitles than you actually need in order to understand what is said.

In conclusion, these Islamophobic clichés are one of the various representations of stereotypes. In every movie each culture is usually identified by its stereotype, whether good or bad; in few cases we may laugh, see for example The Dictator (2012).

Imposing a certain image over and over again, in all mediums, brings people to assimilate such identity and are therefore influence in associating a certain action/episode to specific individuals; the most frequent victim of terrorist attacks is America. It’s a very sensible matter that of the Boston bombings (I was shocked saddened by the news) but it shows, after many years, how the first potential suspects are terrorists and that only means that one particular culture is going to be under the microscope. I myself wrote a “strong” opinion regarding the offenders, stating that they should get what they deserve, whether they were terrorists or not, because it is a disgrace. However one suspects have been captured  and the other killed but “unfortunately”, news/newspapers are clearly highlighting, they were identified as Muslims; originating from the Republic of Dagestan in Southern Russia, with the assumption that, religion is the sole reason behind the attack. Some American Muslims are even fearing for their life if there is a blacklash from this tragic situation.

 “While it may be easy for some viewers to write off a movie or TV show’s problematic politics by saying ‘it’s just entertainment’, these ideas have an impact in the real world.”

-          Laura Durkay

AG

Online article

http://socialistworker.org/2013/02/27/islamophobia-on-the-red-carpet 

 Boston

http://rt.com/usa/boston-blasts-investigation-evidence-921/
 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/19/muslim-boston-bombing-suspects/2096659/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+UsatodaycomNation-TopStories+%28News+-+Nation+-+Top+Stories%29 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22228151 

CALLING ALL FILM MAKERS

We are now accepting submissions of short films (Max. 15min) in the following categories:

- Animation

- Alternative / Experimental 

- Comedy​

- Documentary

- Drama

PLUS a special award on the day for this year:
- The Birdies Audience Award

Please go here to submit your films, all the instructions are in the word document you will need to download. Good luck!  We look forward to seeing all the entries. 

Emotional Monsters

“The idea of science and short film-making is a similar vein”.

- Tim Burton

 I’ve done a few school projects where I had to build and create an ancient house or primitive village and always found it was fun getting my hands dirty. Although mine weren’t the typical science project for the science fair, the secret in doing these works of art is being creative; I guess most would agree or just automatically assume such approach. Director Tim Burton, he himself considers science and art something similar and has always tried to treat them as such. His latest film Frankenweenie (2012), remake of his original short (1984 – wow I really feel I haven’t been around that long) revolves around Victor’s lost and his scientific skills: the whole process is creative, like building his machine with a bike, Christmas reindeers, his mum’s waffle maker and so on. I interpret it as a process of creation, both for art and science [as in Victor’s chase], although the aims/purposes may be different; I would tend to favour art as I don’t see it as a limited performance while science seemed to be bound to certain boundaries. However, throughout time even science has proven to cross unknown horizons. Burton’s films tend to mix fantasy and horror to create something similar but different from mainstream Disney, regarding in particular his stop motion animation films; I consider The Nightmare before Christmas (1993) a classical such as The Lion King (1994) or Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 – ’37, what the...). I would imagine Burton’s prince charming as Jack Skellington on a dead horse with falling pieces... or Johnny Deep. 

 Even before he could walk and talk, Burton watched and devoured monster movies; that’s what his parents told him. I mainly got, stop day-dreaming. Since he was a kid his passion for monster movies was profound and developed a sense of devotion to the most human of them all: the monsters. People do tend to look at you differently when you grow into liking certain things but it worked out fine for Timothy (so cute); most people would kill to work with Disney but let’s say the relationship between the two... is complicated and peculiar. Burton stands out for his unique style, although he tends not to fixate himself to a particular style/image; when you see a Tim Burton film you know it’s his due to a gloomy, dark atmosphere with unusual characters but that is how I perceive his talent: it’s innovative, unique and creative. 

Let’s draw upon his latest film Frankenweenie and detect his monster influences [probably containing some *SPOLIERS*]. The story is taken from Burton’s original short made in 1984, which at the time didn’t attract Disney, and traces the story of Victor Frankenstein who unexpectedly loses his dog Sparky and incited by his science teacher, tries to bring his dog back to life; which eventually entices his class mate’s attention. The film invokes the black and white movie monster Frankenstein, as Victor brings his dog back to life by sewing pieces together and using lighting; Sparky embodies “the monster”, while Victor the mad scientist and there is also Frankenstein’s bride, Elsa’s dog. Other than the names and characters, also scenes are inspired from the old black and white monster movies: like the ending part where action takes place in the town’s windmill which is burning to the ground, with the angry mob outside (Frankenstein, 1931); Shelly the giant turtle which threatens the town reminds me of Godzilla (1954), a giant monster which roams the streets while screaming people flee; the sea monkeys reminisce the monster from the black lagoon. Burton himself affirms that he considers many monsters as horror icons, such as Boris Karloff [Frankenstein] and Japanese movies: “I was never scared by monster films because I felt the monsters were the most emotional characters – at least in those old films”. 

Timothy reveals that he “find[s] black and white very beautiful. It gives a real sense of emotion”. I personally think black and white films are a bit more dramatic, there is no colour and so you perceive the story and characters differently; “when you take out the colour out of something, sometimes you start looking at other things, such as textures and characters”, can't disagree with Burton. I know you’re not here to really listen to my opinions but I can’t help but say what’s on my mind. I just love film in general and whether it’s silent, black and white or with special effects, if the plot and characters are exceptional and genuine I would watch anything. Tim Burton’s films are different and I like his gloomy characters and settings, also fascinated by stop motion. I produce a stop motion last year for digital media, simply tell a story with pictures, but I always have to complicate my life: I decided I wanted to create an animated stop motion and funny enough I took inspiration from old movie monsters revived by an episode of Supernatural (also in black and white)! The scene I really wished to recreate was Dracula, I just loved the lighting on his face; if you haven’t seen the episode do so [see clip]. 

 “I always felt confident it [Frankenweenie] was a traditional Disney film”. Burton claims that his work is similar to that of Disney, which saw his films as too dark for their line of work but in the end one particular theme coincides with both: the issue of death. He recalls films like The Lion King and Bambi (1942) which both deal with such aspect. In many other films and even TV programmes people have tried to explain death and what happens after but I guess as kids you still don’t grasp the concept that much... until you grow older and re-watch Bambi realizing your eyes have swollen and that you are running out of tears. 

AG 

Clips 
http://youtu.be/ki2CtwigsDY   Tim Burton – interview (29min)

http://youtu.be/BW5t9e8wemU  Frankenweenie (2012) – Science Teacher speech 

http://youtu.be/SoL6a37d1Rg   Frankenstein (1931) – Windmill burning 

http://youtu.be/FQitxcxiZbc  Supernatural, Monster Movie, Season 4 ep. 5 (2008)