Difference between revisions of "Douglas Sirk as Auteur (Discussion)"

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Discuss these "concerns":
 
Discuss these "concerns":
 
#'''Group 2:''' According to Fischer, what "cliché" is there about women's employment in the decade 1948-58? Why is it untrue?
 
#'''Group 2:''' According to Fischer, what "cliché" is there about women's employment in the decade 1948-58? Why is it untrue?
 +
#*'''Student response:''' A common cliché about women’s employment was that when soldiers returned from war, the women were out of jobs they worked during the war. However, this was not true. Women eventually were rehired in to the work place. Having women in the workplace changed the dynamic of the common American home, “by 1955, 22 million worked -- half were wives.”
 
#'''Group 3:''' Often, films place women in the position of choosing between work outside the home and staying at home and nurturing children. How does ''Imitation of Life'' deal with this conflict—both in terms of Lora ''and'' Annie? Does Annie fit a "mammy" stereotype? According to Fischer what factors present domestic labor in a negative manner?
 
#'''Group 3:''' Often, films place women in the position of choosing between work outside the home and staying at home and nurturing children. How does ''Imitation of Life'' deal with this conflict—both in terms of Lora ''and'' Annie? Does Annie fit a "mammy" stereotype? According to Fischer what factors present domestic labor in a negative manner?
 +
#*'''Student response:''' The factors that present domestic labor in a negative manner are monotony, low pay, long hours, isolation, vague standards, inadequate equipment, invasion of privacy, the stress of deference, and the absence of unionization.
 
#*And how does the presentation of work vs. motherhood differ in the 1934 and 1959 versions?
 
#*And how does the presentation of work vs. motherhood differ in the 1934 and 1959 versions?
 
#'''Group 4:''' It's not just work and motherhood that are inflected with issues surrounding race. Fischer also sees a connection between race and "performance," between race and imitations (plural) of life. What different forms of performance, of playing a role, are evident in ''Imitation of Life''? Who performs and why?
 
#'''Group 4:''' It's not just work and motherhood that are inflected with issues surrounding race. Fischer also sees a connection between race and "performance," between race and imitations (plural) of life. What different forms of performance, of playing a role, are evident in ''Imitation of Life''? Who performs and why?
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#'''Group 1:''' How does Sirk "intensify" elements of the melodrama genre?
 
#'''Group 1:''' How does Sirk "intensify" elements of the melodrama genre?
 +
#*'''Student response:''' Sirk intensifies melodrama through direct, clear-cut visual symbols to enhance emotional impact; long-shots to establish a domestic scene that seems spacious yet restrictive; choreography as an expression of character; and dramatic, rich color schemes. (p. 270)
 
#Willemen concludes that the "distanciation effect" can be "used to parody the stylistic procedures which traditionally convey an extremely smug, self-righteous and ''petit bourgeois'' world view paramount in the American melodrama."
 
#Willemen concludes that the "distanciation effect" can be "used to parody the stylistic procedures which traditionally convey an extremely smug, self-righteous and ''petit bourgeois'' world view paramount in the American melodrama."
 
#*''Petit bourgeois'' (pronounced "petty boor-jwah") is a French word meaning, literally, the "small middle-class", but more generally referring to a conservative social class of shop keepers and professionals. Thus, a ''petit bourgeois'' worldview is one that is politically and morally conservative.
 
#*''Petit bourgeois'' (pronounced "petty boor-jwah") is a French word meaning, literally, the "small middle-class", but more generally referring to a conservative social class of shop keepers and professionals. Thus, a ''petit bourgeois'' worldview is one that is politically and morally conservative.

Revision as of 15:42, 29 April 2009

Equivalent characters in the 1934 and 1959 versions of Imitation of Life

1934 1959
Bea Lora
Delilah Annie
Jessie Susie
Peola Sarah Jane
Steve Steve

Readings

"Three-Way Mirror: Imitation of Life"

Lucy Fischer sums the previous approaches to Imitation of Life and then addresses her own concerns about the film:

  1. "The question of women and work"
  2. "The issue of race"
  3. "The matter of star biography"

Discuss these "concerns":

  1. Group 2: According to Fischer, what "cliché" is there about women's employment in the decade 1948-58? Why is it untrue?
    • Student response: A common cliché about women’s employment was that when soldiers returned from war, the women were out of jobs they worked during the war. However, this was not true. Women eventually were rehired in to the work place. Having women in the workplace changed the dynamic of the common American home, “by 1955, 22 million worked -- half were wives.”
  2. Group 3: Often, films place women in the position of choosing between work outside the home and staying at home and nurturing children. How does Imitation of Life deal with this conflict—both in terms of Lora and Annie? Does Annie fit a "mammy" stereotype? According to Fischer what factors present domestic labor in a negative manner?
    • Student response: The factors that present domestic labor in a negative manner are monotony, low pay, long hours, isolation, vague standards, inadequate equipment, invasion of privacy, the stress of deference, and the absence of unionization.
    • And how does the presentation of work vs. motherhood differ in the 1934 and 1959 versions?
  3. Group 4: It's not just work and motherhood that are inflected with issues surrounding race. Fischer also sees a connection between race and "performance," between race and imitations (plural) of life. What different forms of performance, of playing a role, are evident in Imitation of Life? Who performs and why?
    • How does changing the white mother from the "Pancake Queen" to a performer change the story's meaning?
    • Student response: Fischer references Sarah Jane's "passing" and its parallelism with IMITATION's purpose: "recuperative melodrama" versus "subversive parody." Her passing also acts as a metaphor for women's roles in the workplace, such as Annie's passing as a "happy housewife" (or even Lora's passing as a good mother). Sarah Jane's passing (especially in school) incidentally touches on the topic of segregation and BROWN v. BOARD of EDUCATION. Thus, as Sarah Jane plays the part of a white girl in school and at a dive, she passes, just as Lora passes as a mother while playing parts professionally and as Annie passes as a satisfied housewife.
  4. All Groups: We'll discuss Turner as a star more fully next week, but what themes (or polysemy) does Fischer say were associated both with Turner (embodied in the Johnny Stompanato scandal) and Turner's character in Imitation of Life?

"Distanciation and Douglas Sirk"

  1. Group 1: How does Sirk "intensify" elements of the melodrama genre?
    • Student response: Sirk intensifies melodrama through direct, clear-cut visual symbols to enhance emotional impact; long-shots to establish a domestic scene that seems spacious yet restrictive; choreography as an expression of character; and dramatic, rich color schemes. (p. 270)
  2. Willemen concludes that the "distanciation effect" can be "used to parody the stylistic procedures which traditionally convey an extremely smug, self-righteous and petit bourgeois world view paramount in the American melodrama."
    • Petit bourgeois (pronounced "petty boor-jwah") is a French word meaning, literally, the "small middle-class", but more generally referring to a conservative social class of shop keepers and professionals. Thus, a petit bourgeois worldview is one that is politically and morally conservative.
    • All Groups: How might Imitation of Life be seen to be an attack on conservative values of the 1950s? Do you think it succeeds at that?

Thinking further about remakes

  1. All Groups: There are many differences between the two versions of Imitation of Life. One subtle change is the endings. How does each film end? (Refer to frame grabs here.) How do the endings signify different resolutions of the black daughter plotline and the white mother-boyfriend-daughter plotline?
Final scene, 1934 version.
Final shot, 1934 version.


Final scene, 1959 version.
Final shot, 1959 version.


Bibliography

  1. Lucy Fischer, "Three-Way Mirror: Imitation of Life," Imitation of Life: Douglas Sirk, Director ed. Lucy Fischer (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press) 3-28.
  2. Paul Willemen, "Distanciation and Douglas Sirk," Imitation of Life: Douglas Sirk, Director, 268-272.