. The Hollywood Machine

. Battle of World Views HOLLYWOOD AL QAIDA VS

. 1.Social conformity: Soviet Socialist Realism German Heimat Cinema 2.Social criticism: Italian Neorealism British Social Realism What is the purpose of film?

. 1.Social conformity: Soviet Socialist Realism German Heimat Cinema 2.Social criticism: Italian Neorealism British Social Realism 3.Art cinema: French New Wave Bergman Fellini What is the purpose of film?

. 1.Social conformity: Soviet Socialist Realism German Heimat Cinema 2.Social criticism: Italian Neorealism British Social Realism 3.Art cinema: French New Wave, Bergman 4.“Spiritual” enhancement: Tarkovsky, Kieslowski What is the purpose of film?

. 1.Social conformity: Soviet Socialist Realism German Heimat Cinema 2.Social criticism: Italian Neorealism British Social Realism 3.Art cinema: French New Wave, Bergman 4.“Spiritual” enhancement: Tarkovsky, Kieslowski 5.Entertain (Movies as products) Hollywood What is the purpose of film?

. Reality “as it is” Naturalistic Empirical / Rational Social documentary Social realism How can/should film depict reality?

. Reality as the symbolic representation of the “spiritual” Noumenalist Idealist Romanticism Symbolism Mysticism Reality “as it is” Naturalistic Empirical / Rational Social documentary Social realism

. Who controls cinema controls reality! Reality “as it ought to be” Soviet Socialist Realism Nazi propaganda films German Heimat cinema MTV Hollywood

. Who controls cinema controls reality! Reality “as it ought to be” Soviet Socialist Realism Nazi propaganda films German Heimat cinema MTV Hollywood Your identity & aesthetics are shaped largely by Hollywood and the media !

. Jean Baudrillard (1929-) n America is a spectacle n Hyper-reality n An illusionary paradise n TV is the world n Advertising gives consumers illusion of freedom n “All is well” is the party line n Illusion perpetuated by media & culture The Myth of America

. All films and literature are propaganda! Deconstruct any work of literature, and you will find a logocentric idealogy: Nazi propaganda Anti-capitalism Feminism New Testament Christianity Secular humanism American hedonism & materialism

. The role of the auteur The great film auteurs of the 20th Century fought against two dominant forces which they believed threatened man’s humanity. They viewed both forces as dehumanizing byproducts of modernity: 1.Government-regulated views of life 2.Hollywood (commercial materialism)

. Great traditions are reactions to status quo Nazi & Heimat: New German Cinema French “Tradition of Quality” French New Wave FascismItalian Neorealism Myth of the British EmpireBritish Social Realism Soviet Socialist RealismCzech New Wave Kadar Forman Lodz School Kieslowski Polanski Soviet Thaw Tarkovsky Paradjanov

. The Power of Cinema “Americans have turned every cinema in the world into the equivalent of an American consulate.” --UK government report

. The Hollywood Machine Production Distribution Megaplexes Video sales Video rentals Cable and pay-per view Merchandise

. The Hollywood Machine Titanic Harry Potter Star Wars Forest Gump Matrix Oceans 11 Meet the Parents $1.8 billion $1.0 billion 900 million 700 million 500 million 400 million 300 million

. The Hollywood Machine Titanic Harry Potter Star Wars Forest Gump Matrix Oceans 11 Meet the Parents Trainspotting Secrets & Lies Run Lola Run Red No Man’s Land $1.8 billion $1.0 billion 900 million 700 million 500 million 400 million 300 million 80 million 20 million 7 million 4 million 1 million

. The Hollywood Machine AT Austria GR Greece BE Belgium IE Ireland DK Denmark IT Italy FR France LU Luxembourg FI Finland NL Netherlands DE Germany NO Norway SEAustriaGreeceBelgiumIrelandDenmarkItalyFranceLuxembourgFinlandNetherlandsGermanyNorway SwedenSweden PT Portugal CH Switzerland ES Spain CEE Central Europe & Turkey UK United KingdomPortugalSwitzerlandSpainCentral Europe & TurkeyUnited Kingdom

. The Hollywood Machine

. US = 36,000

. The Hollywood Aesthetic n The aesthetic of pretense n Studio system (manufactured films) n Star-centric n Formula approach to narrative F Hero - Problem - Overcome- Happy Ending n Shot-reverse-shot F Camera followed the order of the text F Alternate characters speaking

. Reactions to Hollywood n “The average Western film requires nothing from the viewer. Its narrative sets up a series of questions in order to preserve an air of suspense...“Will Lassie bring the insulin to the diabetic hunter with the broken leg before he dies?” Then it logically answers each question...Thus the typical western film gives us what we want by telling us what we already know.” --Stuart Hancock

. Reactions to Hollywood n “Many worthless films are created which imitate American models.” --Krystrof Zanussi

. Reactions to Hollywood n “But the profound lack of spirituality of those people who see art and condemn it, the fact that they are neither willing nor ready to consider the meaning and aim of their existence in any higher sense is often masked by the vulgarly simplistic cry, ‘I don’t like it!’ ‘It’s boring!’ It is not a point that one can argue; but it is like the utterance of a man born blind who is being told about a rainbow. He simply remains deaf to the pain undergone by the artist in order to share with others the truth he has reached.” --Andrei Tarkovsky

. Impact of Hollywood n Worldwide dominance of the Hollywood machine: Production-distribution-TV F 65-80% of films shown in Europe are US. F US: 37,000 screens F UK: “Secrets & Lies” screens n Transnational productions n Emigration of directors and actors n Commercial producers copy Hollywood n Few auteurs took aesthetic stance against Hollywood mis en scene n Death of national cinemas/identity?