OPTION A

My film selection is Walkabout by Nicholas Roeg. The visual representation and synthesis of human nature and ideology in the film is a rich experience. It compares “primitive” civilization to modern in such a unique and eye-opening manner that it forces the audience into active thinking. We begin to criticize our own way of life. From unhealthy hyper sexual urges to psychological barriers, modern society has become less free. Roeg’s use of visual techniques such as the soviet montage or image juxtaposition create very powerful messages and gives rise more complex ideas.

Harshvir Latta

926 kilometers…

That is the physical distance between Japan and Korea and yet, in the field of world cinema, Japan has long been recognized and admired (rightfully so) throughout much of the 20th century; to the extent that it warrants its own chapter in film  history texts and even has courses devoted exclusively to it. From the pioneering works of Kurosawa to the bar-raising animated works of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, the world couldn’t help but notice the artistic output coming from the land of the rising sun.

Korea on the other hand, was seemingly invisible on the stage of world cinema; it would come into global prominence early into the 21st century. For my paper, I considering exploring the state of Korean cinema in the 20th century in an attempt to understand Korea’s absence from the stage of world cinema for much of the 20th century. Despite the confidence conveyed in my introduction, this concept for the paper is still in its infancy; for there are many questions I have as to how to approach such a broad topic and narrow it down in to a specific focus, when one considers the historical, political, and socioeconomic forces that played out in Korea’s history for much of the last century.

“Hollywood doesn’t make original movies anymore” often says the average movie-goer. I want to explore the thought process or reasoning behind this phrase. It’s always fascinated me how most people seem to have this same opinion. But the fact of the matter is that Hollywood produces more original films today than any other period in the history of  Cinema. Granted, there are more remakes, reboots and adaptations being made today than ever in the history of cinema as well.

So why have original films been neglected? And when did the average movie-goer stop watching them? I want to get to the bottom of where it all began and what factors are responsible for this. I also want to find out when the demand and production of original films was at it’s peak.

My paper seeks to include French director Abdellatif Kechiche’s Blue Is The Warmest Colour in the film canon of post-war cinema. The film addresses issues of sexuality, identity, and social class. This is ever more poignant due to the recent election and the rising of white conservatism across the world. Traditional Patriarchal narratives dominate the media and leave other alternatives narratives by the wayside.  LGBT stories are often ignored in the film canon and aren’t view as important historical films. And while this film would better suit a film queer studies class, I felt its inclusion into the overall film canon to be important. Regulating this film as just a queer film would defeat its purpose. Kechiche’s film style is so realistic and true to personal experiences.  The color blue throughout the movies is a symbol of openness and by opening the film to a larger audience,  society will benefit when it comes to tolerance and acceptance of identity.