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

From Screenpedia
Jump to navigationJump to search
(Added video essay)
(moved Willemen, started on Elliott-Smith)
Line 38: Line 38:
 
#'''Groups 3, 4 and 5:''' According to Fischer, what "cliché" is there about women's employment in the decade 1948-58? Why is it untrue? 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?
 
#'''Groups 3, 4 and 5:''' According to Fischer, what "cliché" is there about women's employment in the decade 1948-58? Why is it untrue? 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?
 
#*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?
−
#'''Groups 6 and 1:''' 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? (See [http://tcf.ua.edu/EO/DV/ImitationOfLife_StopActing.php Lora's "sacrifice"] and [http://www.tcf.ua.edu/EO/DV/ImitationOfLife_SaraJaneGoodBye.php the final scene between Sarah Jane and Annie.])
+
#'''Groups 6, 1, and 2:''' 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? (See [http://tcf.ua.edu/EO/DV/ImitationOfLife_StopActing.php Lora's "sacrifice"] and [http://www.tcf.ua.edu/EO/DV/ImitationOfLife_SaraJaneGoodBye.php the final scene between Sarah Jane and Annie.])
 
#*How does changing the white mother from the "Pancake Queen" to a performer change the story's meaning?
 
#*How does changing the white mother from the "Pancake Queen" to a performer change the story's meaning?
 
#'''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''?
 
#'''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"===
+
==''Imitation of Life Video Essay'', by Darren Elliott-Smith==
  
−
#How does Sirk "intensify" elements of the melodrama genre?
 
−
#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.
 
−
#*'''Group 2:''' 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==
 
==Thinking further about remakes==
Line 63: Line 59:
 
|File:ImitationOfLife1959qq02 03 35qq.jpg|alt4=Final shot, 1959 version.|Final shot, 1959 version.
 
|File:ImitationOfLife1959qq02 03 35qq.jpg|alt4=Final shot, 1959 version.|Final shot, 1959 version.
 
}}
 
}}
 +
 +
 +
===Paul Willemen, "Distanciation and Douglas Sirk"===
 +
Replaced by [https://vimeo.com/80130945 ''Imitation of Life Video Essay''], by Darren Elliott-Smith on Vimeo ([http://tcf.ua.edu/EO/DV/Imitation%20of%20Life%20Video%20Essay-SD_Elliott-Smith_Darren_.php local copy]).
 +
 +
#How does Sirk "intensify" elements of the melodrama genre?
 +
#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.
 +
#*How might ''Imitation of Life'' be seen to be an attack on conservative values of the 1950s? Do you think it succeeds at that?
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==

Revision as of 13:36, 18 April 2016

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. Groups 3, 4 and 5: According to Fischer, what "cliché" is there about women's employment in the decade 1948-58? Why is it untrue? 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?
    • And how does the presentation of work vs. motherhood differ in the 1934 and 1959 versions?
  2. Groups 6, 1, and 2: 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? (See Lora's "sacrifice" and the final scene between Sarah Jane and Annie.)
    • How does changing the white mother from the "Pancake Queen" to a performer change the story's meaning?
  3. 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?

Imitation of Life Video Essay, by Darren Elliott-Smith

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?

Template:Gallery


Paul Willemen, "Distanciation and Douglas Sirk"

Replaced by Imitation of Life Video Essay, by Darren Elliott-Smith on Vimeo (local copy).

  1. How does Sirk "intensify" elements of the melodrama genre?
  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.
    • How might Imitation of Life be seen to be an attack on conservative values of the 1950s? Do you think it succeeds at that?

External links

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.
Retrieved from "https://screenpedia.org/index.php?title=Douglas_Sirk_as_Auteur_(Discussion)&oldid=540"