Revision Questions

How does Fight Club depict consumer lifestyle in America during the 1990's? To what extent does Fight Club embody post-modern ideas about identity and the self?

• Ed Norton's home is presented as an IKEA catalogue with all his belongings labelled and priced- this highlights the extent of his consumerism, and how all he owns are simply materialistic copies
• When the apartment is blown up, Tyler Durden states 'what you own ends up owning you', showing that society is overcome by consumerism and materialistic posessions that aren't needed
• Ed Norton's character defines himself by his material posessions, representing men who are overwhelmed by the impulse to 'consume'

How does Inglorious Basterds challenge the conventions of the War Film genre?

• Historically inacurate events e.g Hitler being killed in a fire 
• Modern & spaghetti western music as oppose to music from the 1940's time period (David Bowie's 'Cat People')
• Comedy is created in the over-the-top acting such as the 'scalping' parts of the film (also historically inaccurate)

How does Matthew Vaughan's disregard for binary opposites help make the film postmodern?

• Kick Ass's nemesis Red Mist is not all powerful and villianous as he befriends Kick Ass and at times seems to side with Kick Ass. He is seen as vulnerable and powerless in front of his father
• Hit Girl seems like your typical Side Kick but she seems to take more control than her father Big Daddy, arguably making him the Side Kick but visually the roles seem the opposite 

Jonathan Kramer: Post Modern Music Theory

Media Theorist Jonathan Kramer says "the idea that postmodernism is less a surface style or historical period than an attitude. Kramer goes on to say 16 "characteristics of postmodern music, by which I mean music that is understood in a postmodern manner, or that calls forth postmodern listening strategies, or that provides postmodern listening experiences, or that exhibits postmodern compositional practices."
According to Kramer (Kramer 2002, 16–17), postmodern music":

• is not simply a rejection of modernism or it's continuation, but has aspects of a both a break & extention
• is in some way ironic
• does not respect boundaries between the past & present
• challenges barriers between 'high' and 'low' styles (class & culture)
• shows disdain for the value of structural unity
• questions class prejudices
• avoids total forms (one dimensional forms)
• considers music as relevant to cultural, social & political contexts
• includes quotations of or references to to music of many traditions & cultures
• considers technology in it's production & essence
• embraces contradictions
• distrusts binary oppositions
• includes fragmentations
• is eclectic
• presents multiple meanings
• locates meaning in listeners

'Hakuna Matata'



1. feeling a moment- feeder
i chose this because it is the first song i listen to almost every day when i open my itunes. i really love feeder & there were a few other feeder songs i'd love to have put on here but this one is probably my favourite

2. blue (da ba dee)- eiffel 65
the greatest 90's song of my childhood! (and still amazingly good now). me & my friend lolly used to listen to this on repeat when we were little girls and we still do....

3. romeo & juliet- the killers
originally sang by the dire straits but i much prefer this version. it is one of a handful of songs that i would class as my favourite songs ever & i never get bored of listening to it!

4. hey soul sister- train 
i love my big sister very very very much- we do everything together and this is a song we like to sing to each other after a few drinks..!

5. expectations- belle & sebastian
loooove belle & sebastian, and i like the lyrics in this song, they make me laugh. they remind me of the fact that i never want to have a boring job like my dad & i want to work hard to make sure i have an exciting future!:)

6. bump in the road- erik hassle
always an amazing song to listen to when im going through a bit of a sad phase. reminds me that it isnt the end of the world when i am incapable of thinking so myself!:)

7. love will tear us apart- the cure
i really love this song but i dont like the original by joy division because i find ian curtis's voice really hard to listen to. and i am a big fan of the cure so it's the perfect combination!

8. there is a light that never goes out- the smiths
my favourite smiths song. the smiths are possibly my favourite band and this song is really wonderful. it also reminds me of an amazing few days i had in london last summer with a really good friend

9. your body is a wonderland- john mayer
the first song i will whack on when the sun is out! it's beeeautiful & i adore john mayer

10. dance inside- the all-american rejects
the all-american rejects were my first ever concert, when i was twelve. this is by far my favourite song of theirs

11. what katie did- the libertines
i have an adoration for peter doherty- i have read every book on him & i think he's incredibly talented. i spent the night at the front of one of his concerts and i was so happy when he played this song

12. wild horses- the rolling stones
one of my aaaaaaallll time favourite songs. i could listen to it 24/7 & i think that the lyrics are lovely!:)

13. your biggest mistake- ellie goulding
i am a massive fan of ellie goulding and listen to her a lot, and her album 'bright lights' is probably my favourite album of all time. this song is my favourite (maybe my favourite song in the world ever...maybe) & every time i listen to it, it gets better and better. and i have listened to it a LOT!

14. on a mission- katy b
this song reminds me of my eighteenth birthday on my first proper night out as it was being played all over the place. i always listen to it when im getting ready to go out because it gets me excited

15. jump on it- sugarhill gang
a famous anthem among an amazing group of friends i have, and whenever we have parties or go out at night, they will make sure this song is played. we even have a dance that it is impossible to not do everytime i hear this now

16. you've got a friend in me- randy newman
being a self-confessed disney kid, this song means only one thing- diiisssnneeeyyy!!! i've been obsessed with anything & everything disney related since i was tiny and this song reminds me of my five visits to disneyland and makes my heart all warm & happy! i would have put a proper disney song on here but it would look a bit out of place!

17. casino brawl- luke pickett
probably the most under-rated musician i can think of. he is amazing and i listen to him when i cant sleep because his songs are like lullabyes!

18. the last song- mcfly
and finally, this mixtape wouldn't be an accurate representation of me without mcfly on it as, although i am not the biggest fan of them nowadays, they were my childhood/early teen love. i have seen them live 19 times & met them so much that they at one point knew me by name. this song is more special than most as it was played at my friend serah's funeral a few years ago, whom i met through this band

Patti Smith- Postmodern

Patti Smith- Postmodernism

View more presentations from sofietooke.

'The Death of Uncool'- iPod Shuffle

• jewel- bombay bicycle club
• lucky- jason mraz
• this house is a circus- arctic monkeys
• drunk kid catholic- bright eyes
• i gave you all- mumford & sons
• unstookietitled- babyshambles
• what difference does it make- the smiths
• buck rogers- feeder
• forgotten fields- ellie goulding
• glitter in their eyes- patti smith
• pick you up (acoustic)- the dykeenies
• inbetween days- the cure
• no worries- mcfly
• feeling this- blink 182
• heart skipped a beat- the xx
• blindsided- bon iver
• expectations- belle & sebastian
• flash delirium- MGMT
• love no- the teenagers
• write you a song- plain white ts

David Fincher Filmography

Alien 3 (1992)

Seven (1995)

The Game (1997)

Fight Club (1999)

Panic Room (2002)

Zodiac (2007)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

The Social Network (2010)

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Fight Club Characters

Edward Norton plays an insomniac. He is weird and can only cry around people with 'real' problems. He is lost as a person and tries to find thing, e.g furniture, that will define him as a person. He sees things. We don't know much about him or his background or why he is the way he is. We know that he works in a boring office job and he strikes us on the surface as a normal, plain and average guy. Most importantly, we do not know his name.

Brad Pitt plays Tyler Durden and he strikes us as a bit of an off the wall character. He is laid back and spontaneous. He lives in a dump and is wreckless. Him and Edward's character form a brotherly bond and Tyler is seen as more the leader and Edward the sidekick.

Marla Singer, played by Helena Bonham Carter, is strange and scary. She is pale skinned and pretty unhygienic, relating her in a way to Tyler. She strikes us as quite 'up herself' but also intriguing and interesting. She is enigmatic and tough. She smokes and is pretty fearless.  



Fight Club Research



Fight Club (released November 12th 1999)

Directed by David Fincher

Staring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton & Helena Bonham Carter

Storyline: A ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in every town, until an eccentric gets in the way and ignites an out-of-control spiral toward oblivion.

Genres include mystery, thriller & drama

Post Modernism in Inglorious Basterds

The post-modern elements in Inglorious Basterds are typical of Quentin Tarantino and is part of what sets the film as a hybrid text as it fits into many genres.
The Music:
Although the film is set in WWII (1939-1945), it's soundtrack consists of modern music, unusual for a 'war film'. The film does open with music that you would expect in a film of the era but continues with rock music to add to the modern action elements in the movie. The modern music contrasts with the era but fits with the glorified action and violence in the film. The music is intertextual of modern day action films and the use of it can be seen as humorous. A David Bowie song is used to Shoshana's scene and the scene is portrayed as almost like a music video. Tarantino also uses a lot of western music in Inglorious Basterds. This relates to the shoot out scenes in westerns and again focuses's and glorifies the violence in the film. The intertextual elements of the western music mixes genres which is unusual and post modern.
Painted Backdrop:
Rather than using a green screen, modern technology, Tarantino uses painted backdrops to relate to original war films, contrasting with the modern elements he incorporates into the movie to create a mixture of the two.
Titles/Character introductions:
Creates modern action type feel and can be seen is Tarantino's other films such as Kill Bill. This isn't something that would appear in a normal war film.
Public Film Split Screen:
This creates a contrast to the modern elements of the film and reminds the audience that this film is not your typical war film.
Movie Set:
An arial view of Shoshana reveals the movie set, very unusual for a film as you as an audience member are supposed to become emersed in something that you watch as if it was reality. This element exagerates the film element and makes the movie all the more glorified.

Westerns & Spaghetti Westerns

western films tell stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the american old west. most are set between the end of the american civil war (1865) and the massacre at wounded knee in 1890

westerns often portray how primitive and obsolete ways of life confronted modern technological or social changes e.g by showing conflict between natives and settlers

westerns from the 1960s and 70s often have a more pessimistic view, glorifying a rebellious anti-hero, highlighting the cynicism, brutalityand inequalityof the american west

despite being tightly associated with a specific time and place in american history, these themes have allowed westerns to be produced and enjoyed across the world

spaghetti western is a nicknamefor a broad sub-genre of western film that emerged in the mid 1960s

they are named this because most were produced and directed by italians, usually in co-production with a spanish partner and in some cases a german partner

typical team was made up of an italian director, italo-spanish technical staff, a cast of italian and spanish actors, sometimes a fading hollywood star and sometimes a rising one

the films were typically shot in inexpensive locales resembling the american southwest

they are characterized by their production in the italian language and low budgets

Blaxpoitation

blaxploitation is a film genre that emerged in the united states circa 1971 when many exploitation films were made specifically (and perhaps exclusively) for an audience of urban black people

 the word itself is a mix of the words 'black' and 'exploitation'

blaxploitation films were the first to feature soundtracks of funk and soul music

 these films starred primarily black actors

when set in the northeast or west coast of america, blaxploitation films tend to take place in the ghetto, dealing with hit men, drug dealers and pimps

the genre frequently takes place in an atmosphere of crime and drug-dealing. ethnic slurs against whites (e.g., 'honky')

negative white characters like corrupt cops, politicians, prostitutes and gullible gangsters were common

blaxploitation films set in the south often take place on a plantation, dealing with slavery and miscegenation

blaxploitation includes several subtypes of films, including crime, action/martial arts, westerns, horror, comedy, nostalgia, coming-of-age/courtroom drama and musical

many of these films featured funk and soul jazz soundtracks with heavy bass, funky beats and wah-wah guitars

these soundtracks are notable for a degree of complexity that was not common for radio-friendly funk tracks and rich orchestration that included uncommon instruments such as flutes and violins

these films were accused of stereotyping blacks—their target audience—as pimps and drug dealers

 this dovetailed with common white stereotypes about black people, and as a result, many called for the end of the blaxploitation genre

Inglorious Basterds

GENRE: adventure, war & drama

RELEASED: 19th august 2009

BUDGET: $70,000,000

GROSS: $120,523,073

FEATURES:  brad pitt, melanie laurant, christoph waltz, eli roth & diane kruger

in nazi-occupied france during WWII, a group of jewish-american soldiers known as 'the basterds' are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the third reich by scalping and brutally killing nazis.

a young jewish refugee shosanna dreyfus witnesses the slaughter of her family by colonel hans landa. narrowly escaping with her life, she plots her revenge several years later when german war hero fredrick zoller takes a rapid interest in her and arranges an illustrious movie premiere at the theater she now runs. with the promise of every major nazi officer in attendance, the event catches the attention of the 'basterds', a group of jewish-american guerilla soldiers led by the ruthless lt. aldo raine. as the relentless executioners advance and the conspiring young girl's plans are set in motion, their paths will cross for a fateful evening that will shake the very annals of history...

• tarantino intended for this to be as much a war film as a spaghetti western, and considered titling the movie 'once upon a time in nazi-occupied france'. he gave that title instead to the first chapter of the film
• he worked on the script for almost a decade
• the name of brad pitt's character, lt. aldo raine, is an homage to both the actor and WWII veteran aldo ray and a character from rolling thunder
• on german advertisement materials all swastikas were removed or covered up, as it was unclear to the distributor if the swastikas violated german law (which prohibits the exhibition of nazi symbols except for purposes such as historical accuracy)
• the very first scalping shown in the film on a dead nazi is a dummy of tarantino
• the film has recieved eight academy award nominations

SONGS USED

• the green leaves of summer- nick perito
• the verdict- ennio morricone
• white lightening- charles bernstein
• il mercenario- ennio morricone
• slaughter- billy preston
• the surrender- ennio morricone
• one silver dollar- gianni ferrio
• bath attack- charles bernstein
• davon geht die welt nicht unter- zarah leander
• the man with the big sombrero- june havoc
• ich wollt ich war ein huhn- lilan harvey & willy fritsch
• main theme from dark of the sun- jacques louisser
• cat people- david bowie
• mystic & severe- ennio morricone
• the devil's rumble- mike curb & the arrows
• zulus- elmer bernstein
• tiger tank-lalo schifrin
• uh amico- ennio morricone
• eastern condors- sherman chow gam-cheung
• rabbia e tarantella- ennio morricone

REVIEWS

http://blog.quickflix.com.au/2009/12/tarantinos-pride-inglourious-basterds.html

http://blog.quickflix.com.au/2009/12/tarantinos-pride-inglourious-basterds.html

http://incontention.com/2009/08/05/review-inglourious-basterds-12/

"inglourious basterds was advertised (often by tarantino himself) as a ‘men-on-a-mission’ movie; a western set during WWII. well, the ads were half right. fhe film did feature men on a mission, and the western inspirations were clear (ennio morricone is all over the soundtrack). but this was not the action movie we had been promised; in fact, the film’s brief moments of action are so abrupt, immediate and bloody you might as well consider them tableaus. the film is far bigger and better than that"

"its budget was a minuscule $70 million (that seems like a lot, but it was about the same as judd apatow's 'funny people'). having seen about three quarters of the touted best picture contenders for the 2010 academy awards, i can say without hesitation that inglourious basterds is the only film that warrants victory. as i plough through the remaining oscar bait, i’m sure deserving nominees will be revealed, but surely none could top tarantino’s achievement"

"tarantino is often criticised for being something of a “mash-up” director; a filmmaker who takes all his influences, throws them into a blender and emerges with a film of his own. we could devote an entire encyclopaedia to the references in inglourious basterds"

"tarantino also disrupts my interest during the movie, interrupting my attention with “stunt casting” (like mike meyers in a distracting cameo) and references to his own past triumphs. in the opening scene, landa gulps down a “tasty beverage” provided by his host—his target—in an obvious reference to pulp fiction’s jules. later, the voice on a telephone is obviously harvey keitel—a clever but distracting cameo included as a wink to his fans"

"tarantino is, at times, like one of those popular, flamboyant, egomaniacal orchestra conductors, gesticulating wildly and turning to the audience to make sure we know that the show’s about him"



Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino- 27th March 1963, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

• film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer & actor
• collects old board games
• his father is of italian decent and his mother is half-irish half-cherokee
• his dad was an actor
• dropped out of school at sixteen
• strongly detests violence and drugs (despite using them in his films)
• he has called uma thurman his muse
• his mother was only 16 when she gave birth to him
• hates product placement
• six of his movies are mentioned in FHMs 100 best male movies ever (true romance, from dusk till dawn, kill bill vol.2, kill bill vol.1, reservoir dogs & pulp fiction)
• would like to direct a james bond movie at some point in his life
• he has two sisters and one brother

FILMOGRAPHY

• kill bill vol.1 (writer & director)
• kill bill vol.2 (writer & director)
• inglorious basterds (writer, director & producer)
• planet terror (producer)
• death proof (writer, director, producer & actor)
• grindhouse (writer, director, producer & actor)
• daltry calhoun (producer)
• god said 'ha!' (producer)
• jackie brown (writer & director)
• curdled (writer & executive producer)
• from dusk until dawn (writer, executive producer & actor)
• four rooms (director, writer, executive producer & actor)
• natural born killers (writer)
• pulp fiction (writer, director & actor)
• reservoir dogs (writer, director & actor)

ELEMENTS HE IS FAMOUS FOR

• feet
• lead characters drive cars such as chevrolets & cadillacs
• briefcases & suitcass (in pulp fiction, reservoir dogs, jackie brown, true romance & kill bill vol.2)
• frequently workswith harvey keital, tim roth, michael madsen, uma thurman, michael bowen & samuel l.jackson
• his films usually have a shot from inside a car boot
• dutch elements
• feature a scene in which threeor more characters are pointing guns at each other at the same time
• frequently sets films in LA
• characters frequently use the phrase 'bingo'