Saturday 12 October 2013

Critical Analysis of films City of God and Amores Perros

Paper instructions:
Movies to be used: Amores perros and city of God
Demonstrate your ability to write an insightful and entertaining essay that demonstrates critical thinking about two of the films we’ve watched.
Assignment:
Assume that you have been hired to write an article for a film journal analyzing contemporary international film. Your article must fall between 1200 and 1500 words and must examine two and only two of the films in the course. You may pick the topic of your choice. Here are some examples to get you thinking; however, these are just examples and you are not limited to these topics:
identity
editing
mise-en-scène
voyeurism
cinematography
symbolism
oppression
Use the films and assigned readings to support your analysis. I am not requiring any outside sources for the article.
Audience:
Film aficionados who may not be familiar with the films you’re discussing.
Tone:
You should be both entertaining and informative. You must come across as an expert—knowledgeable but not didactic or boring—and as a skilled writer who knows how to entertain the audience and turn a good phrase while informing your audience about your topic.
Format:
Use an 11 or 12 point font.
Use 3/4 inch margins (top, bottom, left, right). The paper should be in two columns (with .5 inches between columns).
Your text should be right and left justified so it looks like a journal article (like the paragraph under graphics below).
Single-space the paper. Indent five spaces when you begin a new paragraph. Do not double-space between paragraphs.
Graphics:
You are required to include, at least, one graphic complete with a caption that does work. In other words, if your graphic is a movie poster, your caption shouldn’t say “(fill-in-the-blank) movie poster” because we can see that on our own. Instead, tell us something about the poster that is relevant to your paper. Your caption does not count toward your word total.
Documentation:
I am not requiring outside sources (though you are welcome to use the sources on the syllabus if you like). However, if you use outside sources or even sources like the interviews and articles on the syllabus, be sure to credit them within the text.
That said, I do not want this to read like an academic paper and have the narrative broken up by your documentation. I am not requiring parenthetical documentation with page numbers. Instead, make it read like the following example:
Modern filmmaking begins with Breathless. In fact, noted critic Roger Ebert writes that no film debut since Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane has been as influential.
If you use an outside source that is not on the syllabus, include a Works Cited at the end of your paper with any non-syllabus sources. You do not need a Works Cited otherwise.
Homeward Bound: the Politics of Family and uphold the status quo as a means of self-
State in Best of Y outn and Tokyo Sonata preservation.
This clash between the status quo and the
By Name Withheld fledging subculture that seeks to overthrow the
r1orrns of the current social order comes to a
The theme of family as a symbol for national head when Matteo kidnaps a physically and
politics and culture is not an avant-garde one. emotionally abused mental patient, Giorgia.
Since the ancient Grecian days of Aeschylus’s When the rescue is bungled, the two brothers
Agamemnon, the relationship between the are traumatized by the loss, which then leads to
familial and the state has been subject of elegy their separation onto two very divergent paths.
in art and literature. In two recent films, The Nicola sets off to Norway by himself, in which
Best of Youth and Tokyo Sonata, this theme is he responds to loss in a therapeutic, positive
revisited again as the disintegration and manner: he explores historical sites, writes
reunification of the family acts as a parallel to letters to his family, works odd jobs in labor,
the condition of the state. From the quaint and contemplates how to improve Italy. Matteo,
Mediterranean views of Italy to the quiet, safe on the other hand, enlists into the military,
suburbs of Tokyo, both settings serve as a where he performs well, but desperately
visually stunning and seductive veneer, a stark struggles to fit in. Unlike Nicola, Matteo reacts
juxtaposition to the complicated tapestry of poorly to his loss of Giorgia, withdrawing into
problems that lie underneath. Best of Youth, for severe depression and self-loathing. We see
example, chronicles the voyage of two brothers, him in crazed outbursts of anger, including
Nicola and Matteo, as they endure decades of screaming over a harmless prank in the
reactionary politics, corruption, terrorism and barracks, and nearly beating a protester to death
crime in Italy. Similarly, Tokyo Sonata depicts during riots.
the transformation of a traditional Japanese As the family is torn up, so is Italy. Although
family as they grapple with the symptoms of a Best of Youth focuses on Matteo and Nicola, it
waning Japan, including unemployment, status also demonstrates how their close circle of
anxiety, and cultural crisis. friends and family separate and reunite with one
Best of Youth starts in Romain 1966 with the another as they struggle with the impacts of
two brothers studying for their exams, and socio-economic problems on their national and
preparing for a trip to Norway together. It is a personal identities. For example, when the crime
pivotal moment for the brothers as they embark and drug epidemic in Italy worsens, Matteo
on their last year of university, readying leaves the family to a post in Sicily. However,
themselves for careers in their respective he soon discovers that Sicilian apathy toward
disciplines. It is also a watershed in Italian crime is far too re-entrenched. In an
culture and politics, as the advent of the investigation, we see Matteo photograph a crime
counterculture movement sheds doubt on scene at a meat freezer. No witnesses step
traditional attitudes toward psychiatry, forward with any information about the murder,
education, and war. For instance, we see despite their obvious knowledge of what had
Matteo, one of the brothers, fail his transpired.
examinations after he defies his professor. In a Enraged with the futility of the criminal
smart stroke of synchronicity, we then see the justice system in Italy, we see Matteo lash out
other brother Nicola pass his examinations, only due to his powerlessness. He frequently
to be warned by his professor that Italy is ruled disobeys protocol, and beats up civilians and
by “old dinosaurs” who rigorously attempt to suspects. But it all takes a toll on Matteo. His
lack of compassion at work carries over to his
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Homeward Bound: the Politics of Family and uphold the status quo as a means of self-
State in Best of Youth and Tokyo Sonata preservation.
This clash between the status quo and the
By Name Withheld fledging subculture that seeks to overthrow the
norms of the current social order comes to a
The theme of family as a symbol for national head when Matteo kidnaps a physically and
politics and culture is not an avant-garde one. emotionally abused mental patient, Giorgia.
Since the ancient Grecian days of Aeschylus’s When the rescue is bungled, the two brothers
Agamemnon, the relationship between the are traumatized by the loss, which then leads to
familial and the state has been subject of elegy their separation onto two very divergent paths.
in art and literature. In two recent films, The Nicola sets off to Norway by himself, in which
Best of Youth and Tokyo Sonata, this theme is he responds to loss in a therapeutic, positive
revisited again as the disintegration and manner: he explores historical sites, writes
reunification of the family acts as a parallel to letters to his family, works odd jobs in labor,
the condition of the state. From the quaint and contemplates how to improve Italy. Matteo,
Mediterranean views of Italy to the quiet, safe on the other hand, enlists into the military,
suburbs of Tokyo, both settings serve as a where he performs well, but desperately
visually stunning and seductive veneer, a stark struggles to fit in. Unlike Nicola, Matteo reacts
juxtaposition to the complicated tapestry of poorly to his loss of Giorgia, withdrawing into
problems that lie underneath. Best of Youth, for severe depression and self-loathing. We see
example, chronicles the voyage of two brothers, him in crazed outbursts of anger, including
Nicola and Matteo, as they endure decades of screaming over a harmless prank in the
reactionary politics, corruption, terrorism and barracks, and nearly beating a protester to death
crime in Italy. Similarly, Tokyo Sonata depicts during riots.
the transformation of a traditional Japanese As the family is torn up, so is Italy. Although
family as they grapple with the symptoms of a Best of Youth focuses on Matteo and Nicola, it
waning Japan, including unemployment, status also demonstrates how their close circle of
anxiety, and cultural crisis. friends and family separate and reunite with one
Best of Youth starts in Roma in 1966 with the another as they struggle with the impacts of
two brothers studying for their exams, and socio-economic problems on their national and
preparing for a trip to Norway together. It is a personal identities. For example, when the crime
pivotal moment for the brothers as they embark and drug epidemic in Italy worsens, Matteo
on their last year of university, readying leaves the family to a post in Sicily. However,
themselves for careers in their respective he soon discovers that Sicilian apathy toward
disciplines. It is also a watershed in Italian crime is far too re-entrenched. In an
culture and politics, as the advent of the investigation, we see Matteo photograph a crime
counterculture movement sheds doubt on scene at a meat freezer. No witnesses step
traditional attitudes toward psychiatry, forward with any information about the murder,
education, and war. For instance, we see despite their obvious knowledge of what had
Matteo, one of the brothers, fail his transpired.
examinations after he defies his professor. In a Enraged with the futility of the criminal
smart stroke of synchronicity, we then see the justice system in Italy, we see Matteo lash out
other brother Nicola pass his examinations, only due to his powerlessness. He frequently
to be warned by his professor that Italy is ruled disobeys protocol, and beats up civilians and
by “old dinosaurs” who rigorously attempt to suspects. But it all takes a toll on Matteo. His
lack of compassion at work carries over to his

1
relationships, further isolating himself from his influence, we also see the traditional Japanese
parents and siblings. In one scene, we see family rupture under the same pressure.
Matteo drive down the street, only a few paces Ryuhei’s unemployment, for instance, has
behind his parents. However, rather than greet more implications than just a steady income for
them, he passes them by—indicative of the his household. It also carries significant social
growing rift between them. and culture weight as well due to the Japanese
Giulia, Nicola’s wife, is also driven away reverence for honor and status, and fear of
from her family due to politics in Italy. Upset at failure and humiliation. We see this first-hand
the Italy’s unwillingness to rectify social when a colleague of Ryuhei, who was also
injustices, she turns to radical politics. After she recently unemployed, commits suicide out of
joins the Red Brigade, a terrorist organization, despair and shame.
her dedication to radical politics overwhelms While it may be impenetrable for Western
her love for her husband and her family. She audiences to comprehend the social
later abandons them for the Red Brigade; but ramifications of Ryuhei’s unemployment, a
despite her efforts, her radical politics offers better understanding is to look at his income as
little optimism for social change, especially as two forms of currency. The first type of
the Red Brigade’s string of terrorist attacks and currency Ryuhei’s employment represents is the
assassinations only further plunges Italy into obvious; through his work he literally brings
chaos. Ironically enough, it seems that as Italy home a physical currency from which his family
deteriorates, so does the family she sacrifices, purchases necessities, and pays bills and
suggesting that the relationship between politics mortgages. The second type of currency,
and family is not zero-sum, but rather however, is less tangible. It is more of a social
intertwined. capital from which Ryuhei is able to spend in
The same parallelism between family and order to assert himself as the head of the Sasaki
state is also explored in Kurosawa’s Tokyo household.
Sonata. Here we see the disintegration of the The entire fabric of Japanese society rests on
nuclear family in Japan via the Sasaki family, this concept of social capital, otherwise known
which follows the decline of Japan’s hegemony. as “honor” or “face.” As seen in Kenji’s
The father Ryuhei is considered the head of the classroom, the notion of stature and honor
Sasaki household. Since he provides the income dictates how children interact with teachers and
for the family, he also dictates the rules of the parents. We even see how it governs marital
house. His wife Megumi is overly submissive, relationships as well when Megumi initially
concerned only with her duties as a housewife hides her knowledge about her husband’s
and mother. The children, while distant from unemployment, in an effort to preserve the
their parents, are nevertheless obedient. But at family’s honor.
the start of Tokyo Sonata, we see the erosion of But once Ryuhei is laid off, the family is
this familial order when Ryuhei is laid off due uprooted due to the lack of social capital that
to more competitive candidates from China. had previously kept them together. For instance,
His unemployment, however, is more than we see the eldest son Takashi not only rebel
just an isolated situation; it is indicative of a against societal expectations to perform
national phenomenon. As Japan modernizes and academically and professionally, but also
globalizes, it also is subject to compete with against his father’s wishes by enlisting in the
emerging overseas markets where the cost of American military. The youngest son Kenji is
labor and operations is substantially cheaper. As just as defiant. We see him progressively rebel
we witness the collapse of Japanese global against authority, including humiliating his
teacher over a pornography habit, to secretly

2
disobeying his father’s refusal for piano lessons,
to eventually outright decrying his father’s
decisions as the head of the household. Like
Japan’s loss of control over its markets, Ryuhei
has squandered his last bit of hegemony with his
wife and sons.
Both Toyko Sonata and Best of Youth offer
vastly different cultural representations.
Although they both address the family as a
symbol for greater national problems, their
treatment is dissimilar. At the end of Best of
Youth, we are left with a sense of optimism over
the condition of the family, and thus Italy.
While the social unrest in Italy is not easily
reparable, there is still a sense of splendor in the
turmoil. As Matteo’s son travels to Norway to
repeat the trek his stepfather/uncle Nicola once
took, he notes that the beauty in everything he
sees.
In Tokyo Sonata, the Sasaki family also
reunites when they meet for Kenji’s audition
into an academy for piano performance.
However, despite the saccharine finish over
Kenji’s “Claire de Lune,” the film still leaves us
with an aftertaste of the desperate isolation and
loneliness each member of the Sasaki family
had endured months before. It suggests that
while the Sasaki family has made repairs to their
dysfunctional attitudes toward each other, the
trauma is still raw. We are still left disturbed, as
if the precariousness of catastrophe had never
left.
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