Tonight’s Agenda

• Exam

– 3 parts

– 20% multiple choice

– 40% short answer (4 X 10)

– 40% essay question

Research essay

• Intros

• Research

• Documentation

• Topics sentences

• Example

The Western

• One of the most popular and lasting film genres

• Very popular in the silent era, as not a lot of dialogue was necessary.

• Portrayed and fed the myth of the Wild West as an open, tameable space of opportunity for the strong-willed and ambitious (on both sides of the law) to conquer.

• 1940s to 1960s a cinema and tvstaple

• https://www.filmsite.org/westernfilms.html

https://www.filmsite.org/westernfilms.html

Famous Scenes in Westerns that Define the Genre

• The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly – The standoff (includes the closeup, the high or crane

shot, and the eyeline match (same height of characters)

– Spaghetti Western (filmed in Italy and directed by Italian Sergio Leone, who pioneered the genre in the 1960s, many starring Clint Eastwood)

– GBU also has what is often considered the greatest theme song in movie history, composed by Ennio Morricone.

– Dolly or tracking shots (shots that follow action, such as horses running)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-cPWheNyaA&list=PLZbXA4lyCtqrOMt6a2TGZzrBu0lB2Vq5a&index=9https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1PfrmCGFnk

Cowboys and Indians

• Broken Arrow (1950) at 24:30

• Long history of Native Americans being a part of the wild west, and an obstacle that prevents settlement and property ownership. Another part of Nature that requires conquest.

• In order to maintain the Western myth and genre, stereotypes must be perpetuated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtXiAKmDp0E

Soundtracks

• Like GBU, soundtracks are a major component of the Western, in part because many early films, especially from the silent era, relied on soundtracks to fill in the “space” when cowboys are on the trail, or otherwise doing things that aren’t very exciting!Clip from True Grit (1969) with John Wayne and Glen Campbell—Rooster runs at the Lucky Ned (bonus marks if you recognize the actor playing Ned—hint, he was in another film we have watched).

• Note that the soundtrack, despite the violence, denotes adventure and “fun.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-cPWheNyaA&list=PLZbXA4lyCtqrOMt6a2TGZzrBu0lB2Vq5a&index=9

Damsels in Distress

• The Lone Ranger (18-20) and his sidekick Tonto

• The parallel shot (hero racing to scene, while villain about to kill the damsel)

• white hats vs black hats

• Women of the west were also “tough,” but still required rescue.

• Netflix’s Godless—Alice Fletcher

• The exception was often the prostitute, who may be “immoral,” but who is also business savvy, thereby helping settle the west.

• Trixie from HBO’s Deadwood.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB7iK_wTLmU

Godless

• Merritt Wever as Mary Agnes McNue

• All the men are killed in a mining explosion, forcing the women to protect the town from the ruthless Frank Griffin.

• Mary literally trades in her dress for pants and becomes the hero of the town.

• Netflix

The Loner

• As we see with the Lone Ranger (18:15-20:00), white hats symbolized the good guys, and black hats the bad.

• Originated out of the silent era and the need to identify characters without dialogue, and to avoid ambiguity.

• Often has lost his wife or family

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB7iK_wTLmU

The Family

• The honest farmer and his family is in constant danger, either from Indians, bandits, the government, or the weather.

• Bonanza (1959-73) and Ponderosa were popular shows. Characters like the Beatles, and everyone had a favourite Cartwright boy (Adam, Hoss, Little Joe).

• Also spawned shows such as The Rifleman, the farmer who has lost his wife, and now has no moral anchor to hold him back (except maybe a child, preferably a son).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjdRgBAY278

The 1980s and 90s

• A dying genre, but a few revisionist shows and movies remained, as it seems everyone in Hollywood at some point wants to do a Western.

• The last real popular show was Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman.

• Dances with Wolves • Often considered one of the

most important Westerns is Clint Eastwood’s 1992 Unforgiven.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcIaFAq4i5A

Return to Violence (and the miniseries)

• Django Unchained

• Hateful Eight

• The Revenant

• Godless

• Deadwood

• Buffalo Boys

• Jane Got a Gun

The Cohen Brothers

• Have made some of my favourite films, including Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?

Cohens

• Known for using same actors, such as Jeff Bridges

• George Clooney and Josh Brolin (Tom Chaney) other frequent Cohen actors.

• Claim True Grit is more Alice in Wonderland than western.

• They were attracted to the novel in part because the plot is absurd, as often is the dialogue and situations.

• Hailee Steinfeld (b 1996)

• Ender’s Game

• Pitch Perfect

• Also a singer/songwriter

Charles Portis (b. 1933)

• Best known for True Grit, a major bestseller in 1968.

• Born in Arkansas, where novel is set in 1870s.

• A reclusive author

• Plays on conventions of western genre (in many ways the novel is as much about place as character), but, to me, the character of Mattie is what makes the novel.

• First-person narrator.

• Like Scout, looks back on past, so we can see the text as a coming of age story.

• Critics and readers alike have been struck by the first paragraph.

The Perfect Paragraph

• People do not give it credence that a fourteen-year-old girl could leave home and go off in the wintertime to avenge her father’s blood but it did not seem so strange then, although I will say it did not happen every day. I was just fourteen years of age when a coward going by the name of Tom Chaney shot my father down in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and robbed him of his life and his horse and $150 in cash money plus two California gold pieces that he carried in his trouser band.

The Perfect Paragraph

• People do not give it credence that a fourteen-year-old girl could leave home and go off in the wintertime to avenge her father’s blood but it did not seem so strange then, although I will say it did not happen every day. I was just fourteen years of age when a coward going by the name of Tom Chaney shot my father down in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and robbed him of his life and his horse and $150 in cash money plus two California gold pieces that he carried in his trouser band.

• What do we learn about Mattie?• What do we think of her word

choice, such as “credence?”• What do we learn about the plot?

Does it essentially cover the story?

• Is she aware of the nature of her own narrative? Metafiction

• Why does she mention her age twice?

• How does it introduce the code of honour that dictates the novel’s theme?

Dialogue• The dialogue between Mattie

and the cotton trader Stonehill is brilliant (Forbesbusiness magazine called Mattie a master of negotiation).

• There is very little description, just “she said,” and “he said.”

• With this in mind, watch the camera angles in film. How do they enhance the scene?

What is true grit?

• Why does Mattie choose Rooster?

• What is his grit?

• What is Mattie’s grit?

• What other characters have grit?

• What does Mattie lose in her quest to follow true grit?

Final Exam

– 3 parts

– 20% multiple choice

• Who is Sammy Jankis? A) Strayed’s husband B) subject of Leonard’s investigation C) the man who killed Mattie’s father D) Maycomb’s sherriff

• What is a soundtrack? A) music composed for the film B) all music in the film C) songs with words D) music sung by actors.

• 40% short answer (4 X 10)

• Write a one or two paragraph response (100-150 words) to 4 of the following 6 questions. – Define with an example “dialogue.”

• 40% essay question– Using one literary text and one film text, discuss of

the following 4 topics and write a 600-750 word essay. • Discuss the father figure in any two texts.

• Discuss the adaptation of first-person narrator to film.

The Perfect Paragraph

• People do not give it credence that a fourteen-year-old girl could leave home and go off in the wintertime to avenge her father’s blood but it did not seem so strange then, although I will say it did not happen every day. I was just fourteen years of age when a coward going by the name of Tom Chaney shot my father down in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and robbed him of his life and his horse and $150 in cash money plus two California gold pieces that he carried in his trouser band.

The Perfect Paragraph

• People do not give it credence that a fourteen-year-old girl could leave home and go off in the wintertime to avenge her father’s blood but it did not seem so strange then, although I will say it did not happen every day. I was just fourteen years of age when a coward going by the name of Tom Chaney shot my father down in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and robbed him of his life and his horse and $150 in cash money plus two California gold pieces that he carried in his trouser band.

• What do we learn about Mattie?• What do we think of her word

choice, such as “credence?”• What do we learn about the plot?

Does it essentially cover the story?

• Is she aware of the nature of her own narrative? Metafiction

• Why does she mention her age twice?

• How does it introduce the code of honour that dictates the novel’s theme?

Dialogue

• The dialogue between Mattie and the cotton trader Stonehill is brilliant (Forbes business magazine called Mattie a master of negotiation).

• There is very little description, just “she said,” and “he said.”

• With this in mind, watch the camera angles in film. How do they enhance the scene and establish Mattie as a character?

What is true grit?

• Why does Mattie choose Rooster?

• What is his grit?

• What is Mattie’s grit?

• What other characters have grit?

• What does Mattie lose in her quest to follow true grit?

• Though Mattie often seems very mature for age fourteen, in what scenes do we see her react in a way more like a person her age?

• How is she portrayed differently in the two texts?

The Cut, Fadeout and Dissolve

• 1:37-1:40• Also opening scene—like

Memento, not quite sure where we are until camera zooms in and focuses on Mattie’s father on the ground

• Shows passage of time when riding to save Mattie.

• We discussed the editing of the cut with Memento.

• Scenes layered over one another.

• Very different from montage, which starts Wild.

Justice

• Rooster admits to killing and stealing and is portrayed as a drunkard.

• Why does Mattie, an upright and moral Christian, have such affection and admiration for him? Does this reveal a contradiction in her moral code?

• Is her code more biblically grounded in novel?

• “The wicked flee when none pursueth.” (Proverbs 28:1)

• The “Indian” repents before the hanging.

• There is nothing free except the grace of God (40).

• 74-the location of the hanging

Providence—we are directed by God

• Chaney and Stonehill have no hope

• Nothing’s going right for me 1:21:22 and p180

• Characters say this line on numerous occasions.

• Does nothing go right for Bob Ewell?

• What about the loss of Mattie’s right arm?

• Are Rooster and Le Boeuf her choices for moral guidance?

• Chicken or beef?

• Are they almost like suitors?

Score and Soundtrack

• Remember, score is music written for film, and soundtrack is the entirety of the music/sound of the film.

• Does the song “Leaning On The Everlasting Arms” at beginning and end indicate that providence dictates Mattie’s life in film?

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGbxrNqK4-4

• Hymn written 1887 by Showalter for friends who lost their wives

• Book of Deuteronomy 33:27, "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.

• What a fellowship, what a joy divine• Leaning on the everlasting arms• What a blessedness, what a peace is mine• Leaning on the everlasting arms• Leaning, leaning• Safe and secure from all alarms• Leaning, leaning• Leaning on the everlasting arms• What have I to dread, what have I to fear• Leaning on the everlasting arms?• I have blessed peace with my Lord so near• Leaning on the everlasting arms• Leaning, leaning• Safe and secure from all alarms• Leaning, leaning• Leaning on the everlasting arms

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGbxrNqK4-4https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Deuteronomy

Morality and Capitalism

• Mattie is a capitalist and a bigot, calling lower classes of whites as “trash” and Native Americans “heathens” and “half-breeds” as evil.

• She lies to get what she wants out of Stonehill, and is always telling the bad guys that she knows a good lawyer.

• In the end is her mean-spiritedness a result of a pursuit of justice and love of $$?

• Why does she view the bank and church as one and the same?

• “Mattie Ross is mean- spirited, and her meanness is a reflection of her devotion to her own affluence and to her sense of herself as one of God’s chosen” (“The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism in True Grit” 107)

• They say I love nothing but money and the Presbyterian Church and that is why I never married. They think everybody is dying to get married. It is true that I love my church and my bank. What is wrong with that? . . . Those same people talk mighty nice when they come in to get a crop loan or beg a mortgage extension. 223

• The good Christian does not flinch from difficulties. 90

• Yet her desire to see the evil in people does not necessarily mean she is “good.” Rather, she just fails to see herself in all this. She bargains with Lucky Ned the same way she does with Stonehill. It is all business.

• Yet she chooses Rooster who cannot hold a nickel for long.

• Compare Scout and Mattie

• Do you think Mattie's account of her adventure, as she looks back at her actions from a time decades later, is an accurate one? Why or why not?

• There is sometimes "honor among thieves." In what ways do the outlaws and bandits encountered in the book by Mattie, Rooster, and LaBoeufdisplay a code of conduct that argues that they're not purely evil?

Gender

• How does Mattie defy the politics of mobility?

• 132—repeatedly referred to as ugly

• How is she dressed at beginning of film, and at end?

• 32:51, change in clothes signals maturation.

• P 101 father’s coat.

Mothers and Fathers, or lack thereof

• How can we connect texts in this course through this theme?

HISTORY INTO FILM

One Critic’s Review of the Film

• Though my knowledge of the time period involved (the late 18th century) is admittedly limited, it seemed to me that the filmmakers had done a good job of convincingly portraying the environment and attitudes of 18th century England. One interesting side note is the king’s inability (and / or disinclination) to consider America as a country in its own right rather than a colony of the UK. The music is

fitting for the time without overtly seeming to mimic the styles of that time period.

• Essentially, the critic has no idea about this period in British history, but because the film looks good, he is convinced of its authenticity.

• However, spectacle, or the visual impression of the film, can be manipulative. Indeed, it frequently overrides our sense of narrative, often to our better judgement (see PP on website).

• This notion of spectacle informs what is known as the period film, or the costume drama.

• Frequently, we enjoy period films for their lavish costumes, or their supposed period authenticity.

• As film critic Harold Rosenberg commented about Barry Lyndon, based on the 1884 novel by William Thackery, “I could have watched the film for another two hours without caring about what happened to its hero.”

• Is True Grit a “good” film because it successfully recreates the setting of its respective period?

• For better or worse, just as many people get their news from Stephen Colbert, people get their history from film.

• Thus, Steven Spielberg's Schindler’s List is a “factual” account of the Holocaust, made even more authentic because it is filmed documentary style in black and white.

• Or American Sniper is an accurate depiction of Kris Kyle of the Iraq War because Kyle was interviewed before his death (the film ends with actual footage of his funeral).

• And Bradley Cooper is so darn handsome, it must be true!

• Thus, ironically, narrative integrity is not crucial to film, and may even hinder it.

• We watch historical dramas with the understanding that the plot may not be authentic, and that we will be diverted by various visual dramatics.

• More specifically, the historical film genre is often informed by what’s popular in other films at the moment.

• Peaky Blinders (1920s, but modern soundtrack)• “The debate about history has given rise to many wrangles

over the concept of Western “authenticity” as a measure of the value of the literary text. To what extent must fiction of the West be historically accurate as an integral part of its creative merit, and, in a postmodern culture characterized partly by the loss of the historicalreferent, how can judgments based principally on historical truthfulness be sustained?” (Millard, “History, Fiction, and Ethics: The Search for the True West in True Grit” 464)

• The west is whatever we need it to be politically at this point in time—same goes for farmers and vampires.

Anachronisms? What’s out of time/place?

• What makes True Grit appear “accurate?”• Is the pit of snakes possible?• Does accuracy matter?• Is the “West” a product of culture—literary and

cinematic—that exists only in myth?• The first person gives the novel authenticity, but you could

also say that it undermines the notion of the West, especially since Mattie is naïve. She struggles to understand it. Does Cogburn understand the West, or is he a myth too?

• Mattie attempts to publish an historical article, but no one is interested.

• What makes True Grit appear “accurate?”

– Language

– Costume

– Landscape

– Watch costume on dvd

– Would we notice anachronisms?