SelfReflexivity in Popular Culture

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Self-Reflexivity in Popular Culture

• Pastiche in Moulin Rouge
• Compiled by Amitee, Sarah Steve

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Brief Outline

• Introduction of Moulin Rouge
• Pastiche
• A) Theme
• --Orpheus myth/Carmille/Bohemian
• B) Setting
• --Paris/Bollywood
• C) Elements
• --Songs
• D) Stylistic pastiche
• --Cartoon/Camera/Architecture

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Introduction of Moulin Rouge

• Moulin Rouge
• -- French club in red-light district in Paris
  
• in late 19th century
• Director Baz Luhrmann
• --Visual Stylist
• -- Uses of color and frenetic motions
• Musical (pastiche)
• -- Moulin Rouge used the plot of famous
  stories and added popular songs and dances to
  make the movie a musical.
• A play within a play
• --Christian, as a character, told a story
  about Satine and himself.

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Theme

• Orpheus
• --Uses music (art) to rescue woman.
• Camellia
• --A couple comes from different social
  levels.
• --Their relationship causes financial
  pressure and leads to their doom.
• --The woman dies of phthisis (TB).
• La Boehem
• --The love story of young Parisian artists.
• --Living with their ideals.
• --The heroine dies afterwards because of
  phthisis as well.

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Setting

• Monmoutrean area near Paris where gathered
  artists from all over the world. Artists
  accelerated the prosperity of cafés and taverns.
  Dancers who were wearing gorgeously decorated
  skirts, danced to exciting music, shook their
  buts and kicked their legs straight to the roof
  .The dance is called Can Can by British people
  and considered as obscene.
• Bollywood Combine magnificent decors, splendid
  settings, musical styles (songs and dances), and
  India elements.

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Pastiche--Song

• Moulin Rouge combines the songs from 20th century
  to reinterpret the images of 19th century.
• The songs were rewritten or make a deliberate
  misinterpretation out of the original lyrics to
  fit into the story.
• The songs were parallel to the plot when they
  were expressing the feelings of characters.

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Pastiche--Song
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Stylistic Pastiche -- Cartoon

• Green fairy with flakes in the opining
• -- representation of Tinker Bell in
• Peter Pan
• -- Green fairy represents dream
• ? pure and innocent
• ? follower of wonderland in Peter
• Pan
• ? Christian and 4 Bohemians
• -- Golden flakes represent magic of love
• between Satine and Christian

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Stylistic Pastiche -- Camera

• MV style
• -- fast-changing scenes
• ? the cancan dancing (Zidler)
• ? show in the elephant house
• Theatrical shows
• -- whirling
• ? romance between Satine and
• Christian
• Burlesque
• -- fast zoom in and zoom out
• ? the opining to the dancing Moulin Rouge
• ? Zidler peeps Satine and the Duke
  (Christian)

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Stylistic Pastiche -- Architecture

• Gothic tower
• -- the Dukes palace
• -- the dark side (black)
• -- the reality
• Indian Elephant House
• -- Satines room in Moulin Rouge
• -- fantasy world (colors, red in
• particular)
• -- the artificial