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Author Archives: simmonsb2
Off the Map
Blog Post #5
I thought this would be a good gif to make and present because it is one of the first times we see the young character of Cenk learning a little bit about cultural identity. He is the only child in the classroom who’s home city doesn’t lay on the European map, and he is obviously upset and even made fun of for this (you can see in his reaction after the teacher puts him on the blank wall). This starts the issue/question of cultural identity that sticks around through the whole film, not only with Cenk. This here is where the German/Turkish identity question starts to come into play basically.
What An Inglorious Basterd
Blog Post #4
Personally, I enjoyed how Tarantino made a film set in WWII concerning the Holocaust but also managed to subtly tie in aspects/nods to the history of American slavery and the genocide of the Native Americans. There are multiple characters/scenes in the film that draw audience’s attention to our own country’s shame, while largely watching a movie about European atrocities (see the game from the tavern scene). While Tarantino does his best to draw our attention to our own country’s horrible past, I thought it would be comedic to draw attention to how lazily he seems to do it. As per usual it seems whitewashing, or just general ignorance, has found its way into a Hollywood movie, even a great film touching on a number of controversial subjects such as this. Basically, to sum it up, it feels like Tarantino is trying to “represent” a number of minority groups in this movie, but does so by casting a white guy as the only Native American character, and only casting two black actors (one who literally has a single scene of narration talking about a white guy, and the other has a good bit of screen time but ultimately burns alive). I just thought it would be great to make a meme praising Tarantino for the thought involved but also kind of shaming him for being lazy on the literal representation.
To Be Or Not To Be Funny
Blog Post 2
The still frame I chose to analyze is this here, taking place in the first scene of the film. I think the scene and this particular shot are crucial in establishing the black humor of the film and the concept of performance. Before this shot there is a narration about something crazy everyone is running to see, it shows the faces of multiple citizens with looks of astonishment, surprise, and fear. After a great build up the camera pans right to this, Adolf Hitler in full uniform standing in the middle of public. People run up behind him but stop just feet away, and stare at the man as if he’s an alien. The narrator then goes from building viewer’s suspense and anticipation to jokingly calling him, “The man with the little mustache, Adolf Hitler.” Up to this point the narrator and the visuals are all quite serious, then this Hitler based black comedy joke comes up, and the entire rest of the sequence talks about Hitler in a light, joking manor. The rest of the film also has this sort of black humor, and I think this is a perfect way to introduce audiences to a sort of comedy they might not be comfortable with/accustomed to, but will be quite present in the film. The shot also starts off a major aspect of the film, performance. Not only are their actors and characters of varying nationalities in this film, but there are multiple instances of one character pretending to be another. This is our first taste of it, the character Bronski pretending to be Hitler (fun fact the actor who played Bronski was Irish-American so that’s interesting). On top of that the narrator and the film itself play more jokes with the audience, letting you believe it’s actually Hitler for about another two minutes. Personally, I think this was a great “kill two birds with one stone” situation where the director could perfectly introduce us to to major themes of the film within a minute.
The Reunion of Travelers, Transit
Throughout the film Transit, written and directed by Christian Petzold, we follow a German refugee named Georg as he escapes Paris and flees to Marseille. While in Marseille he meets a number of other refugees, but Georg is shown to be a bit different from them. He calls Marseille a “port city”, and all the travelers in it have stories to tell about their great escape to the port. He doesn’t want to hear anybody’s tales of survival and he doesn’t want to share his own. At one point a woman with two dogs sits with Georg. He asks her nothing, but she nevertheless rambles on about saving the dogs and fleeing for her life. Georg doesn’t care about her or the dogs or the story, and he promptly leaves. Fast forward in the film and Georg is still trying to leave Marseille, but now he has made a number of friends in the city. As he walks alone down the empty streets the same woman he met earlier approaches him. She no longer has the dogs, but openly invites Georg to eat lunch with her. He is surprised but accepts. Upon sitting down the quiet Georg starts to talk while the usually talkative woman says nothing. He asks about the dogs, and all she’ll say is that they’re gone. Georg tries to respond but the woman cuts him off, saying that she doesn’t want to talk, she just wants someone to eat with so she won’t be alone. I believe this scene is beautiful because it shows the growth of two characters and how they have almost swapped mindsets. Initially the woman babbles on about her story even though Georg couldn’t care less and just wants to sit in silence. Once Georg has had a few experiences of his own and the two meet again he’s the one who tries to talk to diffuse tension, while she just wants to enjoy the silence together. I think it shows in a wonderful way how traumatic events can change anyone and everyone’s way of acting and treating people, and that when two people have gone through horrible times, it might just be best to sit in silence.