英语电影赏析history and genre.ppt

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1、1,Appreciating Cinema,Chapter 1-History and Genre,2,_ and _ are the two basic parameters used when categorizing film.help to know both when a film was produced and what kind of film it is.The history of film is simplified by its shortness.Genres are the categories into which,on the basis of shared c

2、haracteristics,we place artistic,musical,literary or cinematic works.,Contents,History,Genre,1895,Hollywood,3,There is considerable debate concerning how the concept of“genre”should be defined or how individual films should be classified.Nevertheless,the concept of genre remains the best way of orga

3、nizing films into meaningful groups,and also a useful guide as to the potentially significant elements of a given film.,Chapter 1-History and Genre,4,Chapter 1-History and Genre,History(in the case of Hollywood)Early cinemaClassical Hollywood cinemaPost-classical Hollywood cinemaGenreConceptThe cate

4、gorization of genresThe functions of genre,5,Chapter 1-History and Genre,Each of these periods is characterized bycertain technological developmentpatterns of industrial organization,and artistic forms.,6,History-Early Cinema,In 1826,photography was invented and laid the technological groundwork for

5、 cinema.It would be many decades before photography could be adapted to create a motion picture.1)The exposure time was too long for the production of moving images.2)The glass plate film(玻璃片胶卷)could not be fed through a camera or projector(投影仪).,7,History-Early Cinema,key breakthrough-In 1889,Cellu

6、loid was introduced by Kodak into filming at a high enough speed and projecting a series of frames(画面，镜头)in rapid succession.,19 Jan 2012 US photography firm Eastman Kodak,the 133-year old company that invented the hand-held camera,files for bankruptcy protection.By 2014,celluloid film will have bee

7、n replaced completely by digital copies.,8,History-Early Cinema,The development of cameras which are able to film moving images was made independently in America and France by Edison and the Lumire brothers respectively.In 1895,the Lumire brothers made the first film in the world-LArrivee(Arrival of

8、 a Train at La Ciotat).The new technology occurred on Dec.28 1895 in Paris-the birthday of film.,9,History-Early Cinema,10,History-Early Cinema,In 1905,the film industry became popular,attracting more and more people.From 1910 to 1915 in the USA,the cinemas were a phenomenal success,from 1000 to 10,

9、000,and audiences had almost double again,reaching 49 million per week from 26 million every week.,11,History-Early Cinema,Industry structure(业界结构)in this period differed significantly from that later.1.Film production was based on initially the so-called“cameraman system”-films were the product of

10、one individual(the cameraman)who took charge of planning,writing,filming and editing.2.At the end of this period,the director was given charge of a group of workers with clear roles,and a producer was appointed to take responsibility for planning and budgeting.,12,History-Early Cinema,From an aesthe

11、tic point of view,early cinema bears little in common with todays cinema.the most prominent characteristic-to seek to record and represent(记录和重现)aspects of real life.the heart-to rely primarily on spectacle(景象)rather than narrative.another expression-the cinema of attractions(展示性的电影),13,Birth of Chi

12、nese Films or Movies,Film was born in 1895,and on August 1896,it was introduced into China.In 1905,the first movie Dingjun Mountain was made by the Chinese,which shows the birth of Chinese film.,14,History-Classical Hollywood Cinema,the early 1920s through to the late 1950sthe arrival of sound and c

13、olor-although there were some initial obstacles(expensive,crude color technology,new lighting techniques),both of them were,of course,destined to become staple/main ingredients of the Hollywood film.,15,History-Classical Hollywood Cinema,From the industrial perspective,the period is characterized by

14、 the emergence of the“studio system(制片厂制度)”.Major companies-Big Five(Warner Brothers,Loews-MGM,Fox,Paramount,RKO);Little Three-Columbia,Universal,and United Artists.,16,History-Classical Hollywood Cinema,Different from a cinema of attractions in early cinema,classical Hollywood cinema was a cinema o

15、f narrative.The now familiar narrative ingredients of film-causality,temporal logic,motivated action,and plot resolutions-were in place.The art of continuity editing made Hollywood film gradually become a much smoother and more polished product.,17,History-Classical Hollywood Cinema,In the era,the s

16、tar was born.Unlike modern-day stars,however,the stars in this period were controlled by long-term contracts signed with the major studios,and the studios determined the roles they were to play.Studios also hyped the stars with extra-filmic publicity and gossip to promote and sustain interest in the

17、 star as a commodity.Stars were also used to generate audiences interest in other commodities related to films.,18,History-Classical Hollywood Cinema,In the period,the major cinematic genres emerged.musical-with its characteristic use of musical numbers(插曲)inserted into a linear narrative(故事情节);horr

18、or,gangster,science fiction,war,and film noir,are developed into relatively well-defined forms.,19,History-Post-classical Hollywood Cinema,the 1960s a number of significant challengesthe number of audience had dropped.the major studios lost the right of exhibition(cinemas)and only distribution(Param

19、ount anti-trust case).the growth of televisionThe result of these industrial-level readjustments has been a growing awareness that the future of the film industry lies not only on the big screen,but also on the increasing variety of other exhibition formats now available,such as DVD,pay-per-view TV,

20、cable.,20,A new generation of directors came to the forefront.They had been trained in university film schools rather than the studio system.They knew the tradition of classical Hollywood and obtained ideas and inspiration from the European“art films.”The result is a highly diversified array of dire

21、ctorial talent.,History-Post-classical Hollywood Cinema,21,History-Post-classical Hollywood Cinema,Genres remain,but their conventions(规则)are observed less strictly.Causal relationships still form the basis of narrative,but connections between events are looser and temporal logic(时间逻辑)may occasional

22、ly be abandoned.Protagonists may be aimless,different from those in the second period.Sometimes some stylistic devices are for demonstrating the filmmakers artistic pretensions/propositions,or attracting and stimulating the audience.,22,Exercise,Summarize the main features(technological,industrial,a

23、nd aesthetic)of early cinema,classical Hollywood,and post-classical Hollywood.,23,24,Much academic ink has been wasted in the fruitless(徒劳的)attempt to give a definitive list of the Hollywood genres.(e.g.the Alien-horror and science fiction)Problems with genre definition are exacerbated still further

24、 by the differences between the genres recognized by the industry and those accepted by academic critics.(e.g.social drama film)In fact,genres and generic classifications are used more flexibly than much academic criticism would suggest.It is rare to find a film that belongs exclusively to one genre

25、;almost no film will possess all of the characteristics of a single genre and none of the characteristics of any other.(e.g.The Silence of the Lambs;The Matrix;etc.),Genre-Categorization of Genres,25,This reflects the way that filmmakers and audiences in practice use the concept of genre-as a loose,

26、flexible,and overlapping system.How in practice should one go about determining the genre(s)of a given film?Generic categories are generally defined on the basis of subject matter(题材),formal properties(形式),style(风格)or(audiences)affective response(效果).(example-,etc.),Genre-Categorization of Genres,Se

27、e the following tables,26,Genre-Categorization of Genres,Table 1,27,Genre-Categorization of Genres,Table 2,28,Genre-Categorization of Genres,Comedy Animation Action Drama Adventure FamilyFantasy Romance HorrorThriller Sci-Fi Music Sport DocumentaryHistory Mystery,29,Exercise,What kind of procedures

28、would you follow to identify the genre of a given film?,One obvious method would be to consult the“differentiating criteria”of the genres as listed in the table.Additionally,one could also look at recurrent situations,audience response,style and actors.1.Recurrent situations are a good way of identi

29、fying genres.(e.g.-action films,etc.),30,Exercise,What kind of procedures would you follow to identify the genre of a given film?,2.Some genres are defined primarily through audience response,so it may also be important to consider the emotional experience of watching a film.(e.g.horror-fear;comedy-

30、laugh),31,Exercise,What kind of procedures would you follow to identify the genre of a given film?,3.An immediately distinctive feature of a genre is often its style and,in particular,its iconography(i.e.its system of recurring motifs(重现的象征)such as costumes,props,settings,etc.)(e.g.science fiction,f

31、ilm noir),32,Exercise,What kind of procedures would you follow to identify the genre of a given film?,4.Another way we commonly recognize genre is through actors,because certain actors tend to be associated with some genres more than others.(e.g.Tom Hanks-Forrest Gump;The Matrix;a mafia boss in The

32、Godfather),33,Genre-The Functions of Genres,1.to ensure and increase profitability 1)Genres offer the ability to“pre-sell”the film before the launch.2)The genre system simplifies the operating of targeting(把作为目标)certain audiences.(e.g.),34,Genre-The Functions of Genres,3)The economics(经济效益)of genre

33、affects both the history of genres and the tendency for them to be combined together in individual films.Hollywood producers either significantly alter the formula(类型的框架)or retreat from(放弃)the genre altogether.They also consider genre combinations(类型的融合)which can be a dangerous tactic,but can also l

34、ead to astonishingly successful films.(e.g.Titanic-combining the disaster film with romance),35,2.Genres can provide film audiences with pleasure.3.On a deeper level,genres can viewed as basic imaginative forms and structures(想象中的基本形式和结构)that help us to interpret the meaning and understand the signi

35、ficance of our lives.(e.g.science fiction,epic films,etc.),Genre-The Functions of Genres,36,4.Genres seem to serve the purpose of providing imaginary resolutions to certain basic social conflicts.e.g.Horror and Science Fiction display the need for the subordination of the individual to the group in

36、order to survive.,Genre-The Functions of Genres,37,5.Other approaches to genre have focused on the way in which certain genres work to promote certain ideological positions.Genre films(类型片)provide imaginary resolutions to particular conflicts which are held to be fundamentally political in nature,an

37、d their resolution is believed to have political implications.(e.g.science fiction,etc.),Genre-The Functions of Genres,38,Genre-The Functions of Genres,6.There are some indications that genre films will be replaced by seriality.We hope that the former will remain dominant.,39,Exercise,Do you think t

38、here is a hierarchy of genres?Are some genres more prestigious than others?,The concept of a hierarchy of genres comes from literary study.It was once generally believed that certain genres were higher-more noble,dignified(有尊严的),demanding(苛求的),worthwhile-than others.At the top of the hierarchy were

39、epic and tragedy,lower down came comedy,and lower still came satirical works and epigrams(警句).,40,Exercise,Do you think there is a hierarchy of genres?Are some genres more prestigious than others?,Cinema has no formal hierarchy as such(就其本身而论),but there does seem to be an informal hierarchy governin

40、g the critical reputation of cinematic works.When it comes to the Oscars,there is a definite preference for serious drama,epic,biopics(传记片)and literary adaptations.Action,war,science fiction,fantasy,suspense and Western do less well.,referring to the following table,41,Exercise,42,Discussion Questio

41、ns,What are the advantages and disadvantages of approaching films through the concept of genre?Do you think genres are historically and culturally specific?,See the next page,43,Key to Discussion Question 1,Advantages-1)are the best way of categorizing films into meaningful groups;2)may constitute b

42、asic mythical patterns that help humans to make sense of their existence;3)provide interpretive guidelines:they point out elements of the film that are likely to be significant and of interest;4)are revised to address particular historical needs,and so are themselves a record of cultural change.,44,

43、Key to Discussion Question 1,Disadvantages-1)There is a disagreement about the definition of genre as a whole and the definition of individual genres(be circular)2)Since films frequently combine elements from different genres,categorization is(in practice)subjective.3)The concept of genre can be an

44、artificially limiting one if employed“prescriptively”(i.e.as a set of rules to be followed)4)Genres are unstable over time:they are constantly evolving,dissolving and reforming(there may be considerable difference between 1950s and 1990s science fictions).,45,Key to Discussion Question 2,Historical/

45、Cultural Specificity of Some of the main Genres1)Blockbuster-Jaws(1975),the earliest;is normally considered to be a very American genre;is a product of the post-classical period.2)Comedy-Varieties of have been produced throughout the ages.3)Film Noir/Neo-Noir-reached its peak in the 1940s-50s;is sti

46、ll occasionally made.,46,Key to Discussion Question 2,Historical/Cultural Specificity of Some of the main Genres4)Action-began to become popular in the 1970s;are particularly profitable in the contemporary global marketplace.5)Gangster-film narratives are usually based on the idea of the American Dr

47、eam and can be seen as a particularly American genre.6)Vietnam War-was an American war,and so this genre is another particularly American genre.The great majority of films were made after the event;this allows them a critical perspective on the war.,47,Assignments,to sum up the content learnt in this chapterMy Understanding of Film Genres(80-100 words)to learn something about“Character and Performance”,48,Thank you for your patience!,