WEEK ONE:
CLASS NOTES
Lecture One
War of the Worlds
Some terms:
Disaster: see below
Catastrophe: see below
Cataclysm: see below
Apocalypse: see below
Scopophilia: desire to see something – a kind of voyeurism
Special effects: effects in movies in which something appears to be the case, but in fact is not.
I. General Introduction:
1. Requirements of the course
A. Two papers and a final.
a. dates for papers are (roughly) the 5 week (March 10th) and 10th week (April 21) of the term.
B. alternate movies on Saturday
II. Disaster Movies
1. Question of genre. What is a genre?
A. What is a genre? Does it require both thematic and visual tropes?
a. thematic content, visual imagery, “style”
b. cross genres. Many disaster films are also action/adventure films or science fiction or less commonly comedy or musicals.
2. What typifies a “disaster film” Are all films with disasters, disaster films?
A. What is a “disaster”, a “catastrophe”, a “cataclysm” “calamity” and “apocalypse”
a Disaster comes from a stem that means “star” – hence a “bad star or omen”
b Catastrophe from a stem that mean “overturn”
c Cataclysm from a stem meaning “inundate”
d. Apocalypse from a stem meaning revelation.(often biblical
e. Giving a religious meaning (especially Judeo-Christian-Islamic) to the event.
f. In this course the term “disaster” is used for an event which causes disruption in human society. Cataclysm is used for an event of enormous (although not specifically quantified) proportions which may or may not have a direct negative impact on humans and human societies. In effect, the theory which proposes an asteroid is responsible for the extermination of the dinosaurs, would deal with an event which is cataclysmic, but not disastrous since it neither directly affected humans, nor was it negative from a human point of view. The extermination of the dinosaurs may in fact have been a necessary prerequisite for the evolution of humans.
g. Among human societies, mythology records and predicts a number of events which are classified by the definition given above as disasters. Plagues, famines, floods, fire earthquakes, tidal waves (tsunami), and avalanches are a few of the events which impact on humans. Linguistically of these events require human impact. “War” is often defined as uniquely human, but by some anthropologists as restricted to state level societies. Wars, in effect, can not occur without impacting humans and human societies. When events do not impact, they are generally not thought of as disasters, nor are they mentioned in writings religious or otherwise. They will not be considered disasters here either. An avalanche which kills or injures no people and damages no property, is not, in the technical sense defined here, a disaster.
h. Most cultures recognize disasters and certainly many have some stories which deal with the ultimate disaster: the end of the world in some cataclysmic form, which tends to wipe out all of humanity. These “end of the world events” are often discussed in mythology and hence classified as “apocalyptic”; that is to say they are based on scripture about the end of the world. Although the word “Apocalypse” comes from the Judeo-Christian tradition, it has gained wider scope and can refer to the end of the world as predicted in any writing, religious or scientific.
i. In the biblical book of “Revelation” there are four horseman (often called the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse) who represent the evils to come at the end of the world: “conquest” rides a white horse; war, a red horse; famine, a black horse; and plague, a pale horse. But the Bible also tells of plagues and other events, real and supernatural which impacted on human lives.
j. Many other cultures also predict an end to the world in an apocalypse of catastrophic proportions. According to the Maya, the world has ended several times in a cataclysm, of different elements.
k. The Norse sagas discuss the end of everything when the universe – humans, gods, and other supernaturals are destroyed in a final conflagration.
B. Aspects of plot
a. Disaster needed – maybe sort of. Needs to motivate plot. Perhaps a disaster that occurs is not enough unless it has some major impact on the actions of the characters. Is the disaster symbolic? Does it represent something or is it just there to cause interaction among the people. (This is difficult if the characters are 2 dimensional!)
b.Compare with musical. Music not enough disaster has to be far reaching and also graphic. Is Sophie’ Choice a disaster film? Is Nosferatu. In many scienence fiction films there are disasters and some of these may qualify. There are also monster films (Beast from 29,999 fathoms.
c. There may be sub genres:
i. actual disaster (usually occurs toward end of film – Titanic etc)
ii. fictional – often at beginning (War of the Worlds, Poseidon Adventure)
iii. monsters
iv. natural catastrophes (earthquakes, tidal waves, storms, floods, etc.) of major dramatic and filmic proportions
v. natural disasters of medical sort (plagues)
vi. Cross genres: Musicals – San Francisco; Comedy: The Horn Blows at Midnight, Mars Attacks, Ghostbusters I and II
d. People involved
1. Police
2 .Military
3. Fire department
4. Scientists
5. Religious practitioners (priests, ministers, shamans)
6. Politicians
7. Media (newspaper, radio and T.V. reporters)
8. Civilians
e. Aspects of the disaster and what do they represent?
i. Place of origin
outer space
terrestrial
f.cause
i. actual
a. Natural (some may be considered cause by human agent – sometimes seen as divine)
volcanic
earthquake
storm
plague
etc.
g. blame
i. divine
ii. Human agency:
technical – planes, ships, trains, buildings, dams,
emotional – greed, hatred etc.
tampering with nature
atomic, biological
h. resolution
i. Is the disaster prevented, curtailed or does destruction occur?
viii. retribution/retaliation – who dies?
C. Symbolism
a. What does the disaster represent if anything? (disruption of society)
b. What can you say about it in terms of when the film was made?
c. What meaning, if any, can be attributed to who lives and who dies.
d How is the disaster resolved –if it is? (reestablishment of society – under what conditions)
1.
D. Scopophilia
a. See disaster (disaster films are often very visual)
b. In certain disaster films, watching favorite performers and seeing what happens to them (see “Big cast films”)
E. Film aspects. Disaster films often call attention to the visual.
a. How is the disaster presented? The presentation of the disaster is often a “set piece” – the reason people go to see the film. Special effects etc.
b. How does the film deal with the people involved:
How are the specific social categories dealt with visually.
c. Disaster films are often claimed to have two dimensional characters. There is a sub category of disaster films in which there are large numbers of famous performers, and there is a certain interest is trying to decide what will happen to a certain performer – that is will they or won’t they survive. Hence there is a certain amount of “inter-textuality” here or at least the reading of the film relative to specific characters.
III WAR OF THE WORLDS
Before the Film
Film is made in 1953 Based on a story by H.G. Wells (1866-1946) (Time Machine, Invisible Man, Things to Come, Island of Dr. Moreau etc.)
Famous event Orson Welles' Mercury Theater 19938 broadcast of War of the Worlds as a Halloween ( The Night that Panicked America. The event also appears in Radio Days). In addition an off Broadway version by Al Reyes won acclaim.
The story is a kind of “ultimate disaster film” although not as much as When Worlds Collide which you can see NEXT Saturday (Feb. 14) at 11:00 a.m. This Saturday (Feb. 7)is Quatermass and the Pit
1. Identify the categories and roles of people involved.
2. Is there a sense of “blame or guilt”?
3. How do the different aspects of the categories (scientists, military etc.) interact?
4. Special effects
AFTER THE FILM
I. The main character is a scientists and the woman a teacher and her father a minister. There are a number of military personnel as well. How do they fare?
II. How does the photography tell the story?
1. Action scenes are with rapid cutting and much camera movement
2. Impending attacks are often eerily dark before the appearance of extraterrestrials (ship opens at night, house is lit when making breakfast, collapses and lights go out before arrival of extra-terrestrials and their technology)
3. Sound: sound is metallic from craft. Track is rather full of background sound until the end of the film when first ship crashes and film goes dramatically silent.
4. Sky goes from blue (movie theater sequence) to red (after first killings when fires start) and gray (from smoke). Near the end the church spire slits the screen with half red and half blue indicating the return of safety.
5. Locations: small town, out in the woods, large city.
A. “everyday” Americans – movies (Note: Samson and Delilah – another disaster movie with religious motifs is playing), square dances.
B. disaster moves from small area to ever larger are and more dense population and more construction allowing the destruction and scenes of disaster to increase.
6. Visual depictions of characters
A. People are bilateral (2 sides – two arms, two legs, two eyes etc.) Falible - wear glasses, emotional
B. Martians are in three (three eyes, three fingers etc,) Possible relationship to trinity as Martians may be closer to God (maybe not closer ! What would that imply about God?).Metalic. Strange sounds associated with them.
III. Narrative style
1. Film opens with narration about the history of warfare as though it were a documentary. This continues through long “astronomy” lesson about the planets and why the Martians couldn’t go there.
2. Shots of other places in the world (again with narration) show real identifiable places around the world.
3. final shots and explanation of demise of Martians is explained by the same narrator.
IV. What is the resolution of the film?
1. Is order restored? Through what agency?
A. Martians die from bacteria “smallest creatures God has put on the earth.
B. Order is lost only near the end. Physical destruction and killing are occurring but the forces of order are still in effect. Police are directing traffic and military is dropping bombs. Near the end the MPs are still working, but leaving the city. Only civilians are a bit frantic in a desperate effort to leave.
2. What does this say about science and religion?
A. Conflict is not between religion and science (Inherit the Wind, etc.)
B. Conflict is not between magic and science (Curse of the Demon etc.)
C. Conflict is not between military and science (The Thing, The Day the Earth Stood Still)
D. Conflict IS between humans and Martians. All humans basically are cooperative. Near the end people become more individualistic and try to run which leads to some violence, but no scenes of lootings (taking things for personal use as opposed to throwing it out of trucks to make room for people to flee to the hills). People are contrasted with Martians in many ways.
E. Film tends to see religion and science not in conflict, but Martians as anti-Gods (world created in 6 days by God – destroyed in 6 days by Martians)
F. Churches are safe places. It is where Sylvia van Buren (played by Ann Robinson) goes when she got lost as a child to be found by “the person who loves her the most” (her uncle but in a church scene the implication of Christ as being the person who loves her the most is obvious.) It is also where Dr. Clayton Forrester (played by Gene Barry) goes to find her and where they are when the Martians begin to die.
G. It is NOT science that saves the day (perhaps be creating an anti magnetic device, but God whose infinite wisdom prevails.