The Stunt Man

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The Stunt Man

Group II Sibyl Yang Alan Chen Eric Lin 2004S Veronica Chang Claire Hu Lance Shen Kate Liu 2010 S
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-- Outline --

• C. Stunt Man as a postmodern film about survival
  in postwar/postmodern society.
• a. Ambiguities
• 1. illusion/reality
• 2. sadness/comedy
• 3. control/freedom
• b. self-reflexive use of Symbols
• 1. mirror, painting, frame, etc.
• 2. parallet between the film in production
  and The Stunt Man
• 3. about film-making
• c. Camerons Survival

• A. Postmodern Theories
• a. review
• b. the reflexive postmodernism
• B. The Stunt Man Backgrounds
• Vietnam War and the Media
• Production History
• theory of cultural industry

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Review for Modernism and PostmodernismCultural /
Epistemological Concepts
Modernism Postmodernism
Cultural Ideas Utopianism Art as a Religion/Auteur Eclecticism Art as Citation/Artist as Producer
Artistic/ Architectural Forms Stream of Consciousness Narrative Fragmentation Internationalist Style Collage, Pastiche Parody, Magic Realism, Mixing Genres
Philosophical concerns/ Knowledge and truth Enlightenment philosophy Socio-economic theory (Marx) ? seeks after universal Truths Baudrillard / Foucault ? Points to socio-historical / linguistic specificity of truth
Signification Discursive provides words/images rationalist worldview spectators??cultural objects Figural more visual spectators desire immersed in cultural object

• Postmodernism Blur the traditional boundaries
  between cultural / art
• The rise of visibility and the status of popular
  culture (electronic media)
• active audience

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Postmodern Structure of Feeling(Williams 1979,
1981)

• a sense of the fragmentary / ambiguous /
  uncertain nature of living
• an awareness of the centrality of contingency
• a recognition of cultural difference
• an acceleration in the pace of living

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The Reflexive Postmodern I

• A discourse about experience
• ? to partake in a range of discourses and
• relationships
• a. the playful self-construction of multiple
  identities
• b. invites the other voices which had been
  suppressed
• by modernity (ex feminism/ ethic
  diasporas/ ecologist)
• c. an ironic sense
• -- of the said before
• -- a reflexive understanding of the
  contingency of ones values
• and culture
• -- film/ television/ music/ literature
  promotes the feeling
• (produces the condition of an ironic
  knowingness)

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The Reflexive Postmodern II

• Postmodernism as a historical blurring
• ? the past and present are displayed in
  bricolage and
• intertextuality
• -- Bricolage
• a. put unconnected signs together to
  produce a code of new meaning
• b. a style in architecture / film/ MV
• c. also a blurring of genre boundaries
• d. double coded

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• -- intertextuality
• a. citation of one text within another
• -- allusion to particular programmes
• -- oblique references to other genre
  conventions and styles
• b. reworking and recycling of particular
  type
• ? enlarged cultural self-consciousness
  about history and functions of cultural products

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The Reflexive Postmodern III

• Aestheticization of urban life (the result)
• -- Artistic subcultures (Featherstone)
• a. erase the boundaries between art /
  everyday life
• b. turning life into a work of art
• c. sign / images in daily life
• ? be linked in consumer culture

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The Reflexive Postmodern IV

• Postmodern aesthetics in TV
• -- TV
• a. both image production
• circulation of a collage of
  stitched-together images
• ? unexpected association can
  occur
• (multi-channel
  diversity)
• ? forms a strip text
  (Newcombe)
• --aesthetic Markers self-consciousness /
  self-reflexiveness /
• juxtaposition / montage /
  paradox / ambiguity/
• uncertainty
• the blurring of boundaries of genre,
  style and history

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Vietnam War Media

• The Media further enhanced the gap between the
  veterans and the citizens back home.
• "Television brought the brutality of warinto the
  comfort of the living room.Vietnam was lost in
  the living roomsof America--not on the
  battlefields of Vietnam."--Marshall McLuhan,
  1975

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The Stunt Man Questions

• Q Does Eli control Cameron or cure his
  Paranoia and set him free in some way?
  ending
• 1) When Cameron came out from the water, he saw
  Eli and Nina from his car window (they acted like
  a couple and waved to him). But later on, we
  know he didnt feel betrayed or angry. And
  therefore, we may say that he was set free from
  his Paranoia.
• 2) The very end Sam, rewrite the opening reel!
  Crush the little bastard in the first act!

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Stunt Man-- a sense of Ambiguity

• Stunt Man
• -- from the perspective of postmodernity,
  Stunt Man and its production has given the
  audience a feeling of ambiguity of the boundaries
  between illusion/reality,
• sadness/comedy and control/freedom.
• However, Cameron still represents a human
  drive for survival.

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Behind The SceneThe Production History

• The director is not one who has authoritative
  power on his work really (Neither Eli Cross nor
  Richard Rush).
• Financing the film -- (chap 4 2430)
• Rush // Eli trying to exert control
• Projection Room (chap 15 117) Luncheon Stunt
  show (150)
• A change in the film industry (chap 16
  120121)
• Out of town preview (chap 16 122), sneak
  previews, trade reviews, newspapers reviews, the
  academ
• Movie detractor (D.B. chap 17)

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Cultural Industry -- criticizing popular culture
--

• Frankfurt School
• a. Two points different from Marxism
• -- away from economy-determinism
• -- pay more attention on Culture
• b. Key points of criticism on popular culture
• -- the commercialized
• -- the standardized
• -- ???
• c. Walter Benjamin
• -- ??????
• -- film production

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Ambiguities In The Stunt Man

• Illusion Reality
• 1. postmodernism film blur boundaries
  (opening)
• Sadness Comedy -- black humors
• 1. to the degree of being farcical
• 2. a way to stay human and to survive
• c. Control Freedom
• 1. the stunt man with Paranoia or free?
• 2. Eli controls Cameron or helps him
  cure his Paranoia

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The Director // the director in the film

• Both Rush and Eli have problems with the film
  company and film editting.
• In The Stunt Man, Eli has the time limit to
  finish the shot.
• Rush met the problem such as the length of the
  film.

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Illusion Reality
effects arranged to fit the story.
Boundaries are not clear

• Make-up effect
• Car
• Military aircraft
• Tank
• Costume

By using these stage properties in the movie, we
have a concrete image of WW ?
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Images of Illusion
Have faith, Alice. Close your eyes... and enjoy.

• Frame
• Mirror
• Painting
• Camera, etc.

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Many Examples of the cameras -- in and out of
the film

• The airplane scene
• Nina cried beside a anonymous tomb and
• held a letter given by American president
  (because she rescued and refuge the American
  soldiers) an NG
• Nina got the medal form German government
  because her father and brother died for Germany--
  but whom she was thinking about and crying for at
  that moment?

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Sadness Comedy(Black Humor)

• Tomb
• Victorian toy
• Cha Cha on the plane
• Piglets in the cradles
• --surviving the absurd
• These scenes dont tell us
• the real situation during
• the war time(not suitable
• for a war movie), but they
• tell us the harms brought
• by war indirectly.

The comic elements (Black
humors)added by Eli in his movie The
sadness in the war. People
become helpless, hopeless in the war.
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Images of Control

• Helicopter
• (Eli uses it to shoot from the air)
• Crane
• (Elis transportation) his
• Ninas alarm clock
• (In Ninas room)
• Wire netting
• The smoke
• (Eli spread from his helicopter )
• ??

Elis power over the actor/actresses
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Elis Ambiguities

• controlling
• How tall is King Kong?
• The Burt episode
• Sympathetic
• Telephone my mother...and have her convince me it
  wasn't my fault.

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Control Freedom--Eli Cameron

• Eli just uses Cameron as a tool?-- Accessional
  Value
• Eli wants to help Cameron?
• Savior Eli seems to be the savior for Cameron.
  He brings Lucky back to the society in the end.
  On the other hand, we can also say Lucky is the
  savior for Eli. He give Eli the chance to get
  Berts accident back to control.

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Elis good intention

• 4700 Why me?
• Why are you tryin to save my ass?
• Because you're as crazy as the young man I'm
  making this film about.
• Why war? 0028
• Probably all we know is that we shall die... of
  nothing more important than wrinkles. And it
  makes us so scared, so crazy, we'll do anything-
  Fight wars, fight windmills, go off bridges,
  anything.
• Why the film 3700
• Being scared shitless, whistling in the dark,
  inventing enemies. ? home for thanksgiving.

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Camerons Drive for Survival

• Wanna get home for Thanksgiving, you better
  figure the guy comin' at you is tryin' to kill
  you.
• 0138
• Who are you? -- Somebody trying to stay alive.
• I did the same as everybody else,just one of the
  boys.I shot my M-16 at every sound. Of course, I
  didn't know if I was killing gooks or cherries.

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Sadness Comedy--Camerons violence

• When the worker mentions the Korea War, Cameron
  becomes mad and violent suddenly. reflection of
  his trauma
• This scene shows Cameron might not be really so
  innocent.

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Ambiguities in the Degree of Control

• The Degree of Elis Control over Nina
• Eli tells Nina that her parents has seen the sex
  scene
• Spotlighting on Cameron and Nina.
• The hug at the end of the graveyard scene Nina
  is unhappy with Camerons attitude towards Eli
  Raymond tries to tease Eli

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• In Discipline and Punish, Foucault describes how
  a system disciplines people.??????????,???????????
  ,?????????,????????(Foucault)
• Is there love between Eli and Nina?
• Ex. According to Sam, they were lovers three
  years ago.
• Ex. Nina, why are you scaring me to death?
• Ex. I am losing you, Nina

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Ambiguities of Illusion/Reality

• Cameron and Nina
• sexy image on TV.
• The encounter Rescue scene
• Nina in the frame

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• The party after quarrel with the theme music
• Is Nina complicit with Eli? Why? Clip

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1. Nina appears to be very supportive about the idea
   of final counteraction.
2. The final sceneSeeming to be naïve and innocent
   Clip

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• Illusion and Reality

• Raymond and Nina in Bed
• Isnt anything what it seems? No.
• It is a reaffirmation of their love however,
  without that scene, the preview number rose
  abruptly.

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The Connection Between Eli and Richard Rush

• The name Eli was Richards own Pseudonym
• Peter O tooles Example
• BarbaraTenacity
• Manipulating or not?
• The final screenplay rewrite to examine the
  nature of the panic

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Control Freedom--Eli Sam

• Friendship
• Business interest

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Sadness Comic--Eli Bert

• Berts death is an accident for Eli.
• Berts death for Eli?
• --Eli really feels sad about it.
• or--Bert is a part of the movie, Eli can find
  anyone to replace him.

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Illusion Reality--Language

• Movie scene--Calling for medic the disguise
  toward war--Clip
• Dining room talk--Different point of view toward
  death (production chap 6 36-3842)
• Gooks Wrecks
• Pinball--I just want to get another chance

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MusicWhat the Scores Present in the Movie

• (14825)
• The Main Theme Circusy
• The Main Theme Composed in Grand Waltz
  Splendid
• The Directors (Elis) Theme Powerfully
  Rhythmic Scheming
• The Love Theme Romantic
• Theme SongBits Pieces

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Concepts Related to The Stunt Man

• 1. Blend of Various Film Genres

Elis Film Elis Film Rushs Film Rushs Film
Title (About World Wars in Europe) (About World Wars in Europe) The Stunt Man The Stunt Man
Genres Action Comedy Action Comedy
Genres Sentiment Absurdity Romance Drama
Place The National Monument in San Diego The National Monument in San Diego The National Monument in San Diego The National Monument in San Diego
Social Satire?
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Concepts Related to The Stunt Man

• 2. The Disorder of Scenes
• 3. The Screening Room Showing WHAT?
• The Sin? The Conspiracy? The embodiment of
  crime? Or The Truth?
• 4. The Social Satire
• The temporary actors performed by local
  policemen

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For Your References

• The Sinister Saga of Making The Stunt
  ManAvailable on Engsite.
• The PlayerShowing the cultural reality in
  Hollywood film making.
• The Stunt Man Official Websitehttp//www.thestu
  ntman.com/