ENGL 381 Lecture Notes - Unconditional Love, Melodrama, Cross-Dressing
Document Summary
Course goal: how wilder"s films illuminate the entire approach to constructing. Trained in the 1920s with german expressionists. Moved to the us jewish immigrant: personal connection to space. Wilder is an entertainer: makes movies, not films, major figure of film noir. Basis of thinking about how films work. Shooting not on location intentionally crafted spaces literally build spaces: control therefore nothing is incidental. Camera used to convey characters or the narrative. New york being built up vs. los angeles (the horizontal horizon) which is constantly being taken apart and rebuilt. Picture of economic success modern skyscrapers. Epitomizes european immigration and old world diversity: versus los angeles which is representative of new world diversity. Glamorizes overcoming adversity: dealing with the crowds, traffic, crime, filth, etc. of new york. New york is a novelist"s city the city for a struggling artist: versus los angeles which was a screenwriter"s city.