(3) Popular Culture and Identity

1. (3) Popular Culture and Identity Fictional Realities

2. Outline • Starting Questions • Fictional Realities • of Hollywood Film Industry (1): The Player • of TV and fantasies (2): “The Babysitter” • of artist’s creation and recreation: (3): “The Hat Act”

3. Starting Questions What does “Moebius strip” mean? “Self-awareness in the service of originality is creative, worthy of an auteur; but self-reflexivity alone, without new vision or growth, soon becomes originality's inversion, self-parody” (Sugg). Do you agree?

4. Starting Questions Please comment on the following statements (or turn them into questions): • 1. We are walking commodities: our identities are molded by the dressed we wear; determined by the cars we drive or the cell phones we use. • 2. TV watches us: -- e.g. violent films lead to violent behavior in teenagers; -- the sensationalism on TV news program appeals to and results in the audience’s interest in and gossip over 八卦 news． -- The focus on and objectification of women’s bodies in music videos lead to rape of women in real life.  Are we the “authors” of our lives, or the “players” of social games? 3. Literature has eternal values because it teaches and delights us with its vision and fine aestheticism. Popular culture, on the other hand, is a passing phenomenon for entertainment.

5. The Player (1992) –Introd • Robert Altman – director of M*A*S*H and Nashville • “Robert Altman: Hollywood is about greed and making as much money as you can and trying to get rid of all the artists. Of course, they can't really get rid of us-[...] When Hollywood runs out of films to copy or make remakes of, they'll have to turn to writers, who are the people coming up with all the real films.” • “Independents make films that start with their own artistic integrity. You have to do what you want. Nobody's going to agree with you. Hollywood will say, "Why should I make this picture? You have no evidence that this picture can produce money for our company. It doesn't fit into our computer. We have no template that fits over it."”

6. QuestionsThe Player (1992) • How is Hollywood films criticized in The Player? What else is parodied? • Self-Reflexive Elements: • frame: 1) The film is framed by a mystery (who`s blackmailing Griffin?) and a murder of the writer. What may be the  purposes of having them in the plot? • 2) beginning and ending – their meanings? • 3) any others? • Griffin was deeply attracted to the writer’s wife at the first sight when he stood outside her house. Try to analyze this attraction.

7. Hollywood Film Industry • Realistic, Cold and Competitive: • 50,000 stories  12 films • Griffins – manipulative; cold • Larry Levy -- tries to get rid of the writers (chap 9); • Formula for success – • plot elements; • stars • e.g. The script Bonnie reads; • The last film within the film

8. Hollywood Film Industry • Power struggle – • G: hated by a lot of writers; • Famous banker’s son . • Larry Levy + Joel Levison  Griffin plays along, tricking Levy by suggesting a bad idea to him. •  Levinson’s office: taken over by Griffin

9. Hollywood & The Ice-Queen • Satisfies Griffin’s voyeurism; • Chap 12: No experience of watching film; does not like reading, deal with ‘images’ and heros. • Doesn’t care about Kahane’s death • Doesn’t care to know the truth: “If you don’t suffer, maybe it’s not a crime after all.” • Griffin’s revelation  in mud bath with a suspicious look.

10. Police Power and the Lack of Justice • Chap 18 – Detective Susan Avery not serious enough • forgets the purpose of their summon; • imitating the film lines “one of us, one of us…” • Chap 21 – the witness picks the police officer as suspect.

11. Self-Reflexive Elements • Opening Sequence: “Action!” – referring to the beginning of this film’s shooting. • An overview of the power structure, including those in power (Japanese visitors, executives), and those serving them (secretaries); • the script writers pitching vs. those discussing image and camera.

12. Opening Sequence (2): • Discussion of the scripts: • e.g. 1) The Graduate Part II, ``a dark, weird, funny'' sequel, he explains, with Mrs. Robinson as a paralysed stroke victim and Julia Roberts playing the new graduate. • 2) a ``cynical, political thriller-comedy with a heart -- not unlike Ghost meets The Manchurian Candidate.'' • 3) a Goldie Goes to Africa • Griffin inside the office (looking out when he gets a postcard).

13. Closing Sequence • The film is the result a Moebius strip. • “Happy ending” with a twist • Repetition of the lines in the film

14. Another Self-Reflexive Moment • The murder of the writer Kahane by Griffin the producer • The Bicycle Thief as an opposite to commercial film; the protagonist’s job is to put on film posters (seemingly Hollywood films). • The super-imposed voice-over from the next scene: about the audience’s being the real writer.

15. Self-Reflexive Elements • the use of postcards, posters –this is a world of films and film languages

16. Stars as Stars and “Extras” • e.g. Julia Roberts, Anjelica Huston, Susan Sarandon, Bruce Willis, Cher, etc.. 

17. Robert Coover • Pricksongs & Descants, -- • materials drawn from folklore, fairy tales, and Bible stories as well as from popular culture • an innocent situation develops a dozen sinister possibilities; • called "cubist stories" (The Metafictional Muse, Larry McCaffery) • Public Burning -- e electrocutions set in New York City's Times Square; • Later committed to hypertext; ref. 1, 2

18. The Babysitter—the Definite • Characters: • the babysitter; the Tuckers (Harry and Dolly); the Tucker children (Jimmy, Bitsy, and the baby); the babysitter's boyfriend, Jack; and Jack's friend, Mark • Basic Actions: • -- babysitter arrives at the Tucker home, • -- the Tuckers leave their home for a party • -- Jack and Mark play pinball.

19. The Babysitter—Time Line • "7:40, ten minutes late," -- Mrs. Tucker calls out, "'The babysitter's here already'" (206). 8:00-- the babysitter gives Bitsy a bath and the child escapes the tub (211). • 8:30-- Jimmy's bath (219). • 9:00, the babysitter in front of the television set (227). • 10:00 -- she dozes in front of the television, then "awakes with a start: a babysitter? Did the announcer say something about a babysitter?" (238). • (239) Worst possibilities: the babysitter raped, children murdered, Dolly's husband leaving her, a corpse in the bathtub, and the house left a wreck.

20. The Multiple Perspectives • 3rd person –focuses on the babysitter; 206-210  211 bath  212-13 • 1) spank her! 216  • 2) Jimmy, your turn 217 • 2-1: Jimmy says no, she takes a bath 224 • 2-2: grabbing him 222 223, • 2-3 watching TV together) rejecting Jack 218  cleaning 218  • answers phone call, rejecting Jack, playing with the kids 221, 223, 225, 229; phone + the baby crying 233, 235  baby drowned 237 • Watches TV alone 231, • Jimmy – desires her and fights against her 207  209

21. The Multiple Sexual Fantasies • Mr. Tucker goes back to check– p.206, 209,214 (Mark mentioned) fantasy 215  217 218  Harry drunk  aspirin, or glasses 224, • Jack gets Mark to help him (or not) –207, 208 210  211 213  215  219  220 she wants it  227 (leave)  Mark and Jack in the bathroom 229 • TV – 208  209 (Dolly, too); 212, 213 (Bisty episode); TV and sexual fantasy (214); 225; TV and the love fantasy 228-29; 234

22. Connecting through the Recurrent motifs and words • -- the TV program being broadcast, 208  209 • -- the telephone, • -- the bathtub, 210, 216, 217 (reversed time), 218; 226; Mr. Tucker’s bathtub fantasy 217; 226, • -- a pinball machine 208  210  rape fantasy + sexual orgy 216; 225, • -- “He loves her. She loves him.” p. 208-209 • -- “What do you think of our babysitter?” 209 210 • -- “Oh, excuse me! I only wanted . . .” 215, 217, • -- phone call – 221, 223  Dolly gets the phone call 236 • -- "Get Dolly Tucker Back in Her Girdle" p. 210, 211, 212 (baby fat), 228; 230, 234 • -- “Hey! What’s going on here?” 225, 226

23. The Babysitter—Possible Readings: • -- All in the babysitter’s imagination; • -- Multiple possibilities played out in different characters’ fantasies (of the babysitter’s, Jimmy’s, Mr. Tucker’s and Jack’s, etc.); • -- Like TV channels – for the readers to choose from.

24. The Hat Act • The magician’s dilemma: Failure of his script (e.g. hat stuck); repetition -- 1. repeated acts; 2. Use of stereotypical device (rabbit, lovely assistant) •  desperate attempts to satisfy/surprise the audience; p. 241; • terror 1) head separated from the body p. 244; 248 • 3) assistant’s eating the hat; sexual innuendo with the country boy 246 • Two large men fighting, one dead 250 • assistant’s body –nude; fragmented 254 Where is the magic from? One’s own vision or desire to satisfy/shock the audience ?

25. References • THE ROLE OF THE WRITER ,  By: Sugg, Richard P., Literature Film Quarterly, 00904260, January 1, 1994, Vol. 22, Issue 1 • The Player: An Interview with Robert Altman. By: Richolson, Janice. Cineaste, Dec92, Vol. 19 Issue 2/3, p61.