Blog #8

Still, Anna May Wong, Picadilly (1929)

Briefly address the following:

What is Orientalism? What purpose does it serve? What are the images associated with this idea/ideology? Dr. Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan were two recurring characters in Hollywood film. How would you describe these characters? What was unusual about the casting of the characters? Describe the “Dragon Lady” of Hollywood cinema? What actress was typically associated with these sorts of roles?

Blog #7

Still, Real Women Have Curves (Patricia Cardosa, 2002)

Briefly address the following:

Describe the “greaser” and the “Latin Lover” stereotypes. When did these stereotypes emerge and how were they represented on screen? How does the concept of “whiteness” inform their circulation in U.S. cinema? What is the “Good Neighbor Policy” and what impact did it have on the representation of Latinos/as? How does the concept of “whiteness” inform the ways Latino/a actors were promoted within the U.S. film industry (provide at least one example)? What shifts occur in Latino/a media representation after the Civil Rights movement? Discuss at least one Latino/a actor and/or director (one from the immediate post-Civil Rights era and one contemporary) and briefly explain how their careers are influenced by the history of Latinas/os in American film.

Please also read the Figueroa "Resisting 'Beauty'" essay for class discussion.

Blog #6

This week, along with the readings, I'd like you to begin working on your final project proposals which are due next week (Friday Apr. 10). I've posted the final project assignment on D2L and here as an attachment. The project proposal includes your proposed topic, your classmate collaborators and a tentative bibliography. This should be typed and handed in on April 10. Your group should be prepared to make a brief presentation (2-3 minutes).

Also, please begin posting your photo essay to your blog site. You can post the photos individually, or you can use sites such as Photobucket (http://photobucket.com/) to upload and create a slide show. It's your site -- be creative and try different ways of presenting your photos. Take a look at some of the photo essay posts created by Film 150 Spr 08: http://mca15008.blogspot.com/

This week, we'll screen Alexie Sherman's "Business of Fancydancing" and review the Benshoff/Griffin, Ringlero and Takaki.

Views of Johnsons' Park

Blog #6

This week, please view Mira Nair's Mississippi Masala (on reserve at the Multimedia Library by Monday, March 16). Next week, we will have a brief presentation by a representative of the LGBT Resource Center on "Two-Spirit" identity in Native American culture as an introduction to Sherman Alexie's The Business of Fancydancing (2002).

The majority of class will be devoted to your presentations (5-7 minutes) on your photo essays. Please make your presentation accessible via zip drive, Pantherfile, disk or your own laptop (you will need an adaptor depending on your platform - PC or MAC).

Also, please briefly respond to the following (Due Thursday, March 26):

Referring to Benshoff & Griffin and Ringlero, discuss the similarities/differences btween ethnographic film and photography. According to Aleta Ringlero, in what ways are representational codes (performance, costume, setting, framing, lighting, angle) used to produce images that support ideologies regarding Native Americans? In what whays did the attempt to pose Native American women after the European academy model interrupt the curculation of these ideologies?

Blog #5

Milwaukee's Greater Johnsons' Park Neighborhood Initiative from Center for Resilient Cities (Select link to visit site)

This week, along with the syllabus readings, please complete the following:

Provide a brief description (100-250 words max.) of the topic you plan to work on for your final media project. Along with the description, include at least ONE image (a pdf of a document related to your research, a link to a news article, an archival photograph, a YouTube video related to JPNA service area, etc.).

NOTE: POST YOUR PROJECT DESCRIPTION TO YOUR INDIVIDUAL BLOG SITE (not in the comments section)

A great place to find images is UW-Milwaukee's Digital Library's "Milwaukee Neighborhoods: Photos and Maps: 1885 - 1992"

For further inspiration, check out other Film 150 projects:

http://film150multiculturalamerica2007.blogspot.com/

http://mca15008.blogspot.com/

If you are interested in attending JPNA meetings, check out their upcoming meetings (please call or email Mr. Gibson to confirm):

http://www.jpna-milw.org/JPNAmeetings.htm

Upcoming meetings:

JPNA General Membership Meeting: Sunday, March 16 (TBA) - Northside YMCA

3rd District Captain Crime Meeting: Tuesday, March 24 (6:00-8:00PM) - District 3 Police Station

Blog #4

Let's take a look at Vin Diesel's 1994 short film, MULTI-FACIAL. (Also available on You Tube)

In terms of their own approach to racial categorization, how do Diesel and Danzy Senna ("Half+Half" exerpt) speak to the history of mixed-race identity in the U.S. and U.S. media representations as explained in Mary Beltran and Camilla Fojas' introduction to their "Mixed Hollywood" collection? For instance, what is at stake when one assumes a "black" identity (Senna) or appeals for the transcendence of race (Diesel)?

According to Mary Beltran in her essay, "The New Hollywood Racelessness", how do recent action films set in the millennial, multiethnic urban environment challenge but also re-inscribe cinematic racial paradigms that install "white" as a privileged social category? (Briefly discuss two examples from Beltran's essay)

For two extra credit points for Blog #4:
In a separate email to greenes@uwm.edu, identify the title, director and release year for the film from which Diesel takes his audition monologue at the opening of the film.