Study Guide for Jane Campion’s “The Piano” (1993)

1. Jane Campion’s “The Piano” takes place in mid-19th century New Zealand. Do some research about the colonial history in New Zealand and see how it helps you understand film.
2. Do some research about Jane Campion’s filmography to identify the common themes in her work.
3. How does the opening sequence help you understand Ada?
4. Why is Ada described as a “mail-order bride”?
5. What does Ada’s muteness signify in the film?
6. How do you think the New Zealand landscape with its forests, thick mud, sea and beach helps us understand the film?
7. What does a comparison between Stewart’s house and Baines’ house reveal about these two characters?
8. Analyze the characters of Stewart and Baines in relation to their relations to Ada and to the Maori.
9. Examine Stewart’s and Baines’s clothes and discuss what they reveal about these two men.
10. What does “land” mean to Stewart? What does it mean to the Maori?
11. Examine the piano metaphor in the film. What meaning(s) does it carry for different people in the film? Why does Ada need to claim it back?
12. What does Ada’s physical appearance (e.g. her clothes, her hair style) reveal about her and the society in which she lives?
13. Why do you think there is so much emphasis on buying and selling in the film? (Suggested reading: Ann Hardy’s “The Last Patriarch” in “Cambridge Film Handbooks: Jane Campion’s The Piano”, Harriet Margolis (Ed.), page. 72, 1st Edition, 2000)
14. What is the function of the Bluebeard play show in the film?
15. Identify the imagery of whiteness and blackness in the film and discuss what such imagery reveals.
16. What does Flora stand for in the film? How would you explain the change in Flora’s attitude towards her mother?
17. Identify some phallic symbols in the film and discuss their significance.
18. What is the symbolic value of Stewart’s cruel punishment of Ada? In this part of the film how does Jane Campion encourage the viewers to identify with Ada?
19. Do you find Campion’s portrayal of the Maori stereotypical? Why? Why not? Give your reasons.
20. Examine Laura Mulvey’s argument of “male gaze” in her famous article “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” (1975) and discuss to what extent and in what ways patriarchal conventions in filmmaking are challenged in Jane Campion’s “The Piano”.
21. Examine the relationship between Ada and the men around her in the light of French anthropologist Levi-Strauss’s theory of exchange.
22. What helps you identify the narrative voice in the film?
23. What is your interpretation of the film’s double ending?
24. Explore the theme of power struggle in the film.
25. Do you think the film makes a successful critique of phallocentrism? Give your reasons.
26. What link does the film establish between colonialism and patriarchy?
27. Jane Campion quoted in Judith Lewis’s “Wholly Jane”, L.A. Weekly, January 27, 2000:”The laws of men and women in Western society are carefully unwritten,…  And feeling them, facing up to them, is like the pain of having a baby — no one will ever tell you about it, really, because it’s just beyond communicating. It’s so bad, so big, so enormous, that you can’t describe it or even believe it. In a way it’s the same for women feeling the world, facing the world. I don’t even talk about it, because it sounds like whingeing. But I’m not whingeing. I’m screaming.”
    “I like to be able to project myself into the parts,…. and being a woman I like to therefore have heroines. We don’t have many, you know? So I feel like it’s my job. Not a crusade – just a natural thing to want to do.”
    In light of the quotations above, discuss Jane Campion’s rationale in film making in relation to “The Piano”.

© Ali Nihat Eken, Istanbul, January 2009
Useful link: Kate Chopin’s The Story of An Hour

Study Guide for Nicholas Ray’s “Bigger Than Life” (1956)

Contextualizing “Bigger Than Life”:

According to David Buckingham (2003), “media texts do not simply appear from nowhere.” (p. 75) In light of Buckingham’s quote and in light of the fact that Bigger Than Life was a film made in 1956, do some research to find out information about economic, social, and cultural contexts in post-war America. Discuss to what extent this information can be used to understand the context of the film.

Questions:

1. Examine the portrayal of children in the credit sequence and comment on how it sets the context for the film.
2. Discuss the symbolic value of the Averys’ suburban house.
3. Examine the décor of the kitchen and comment on what it reveals about the social context in which the Avery family lives.
4. There are many posters on the walls in the Avery’s house. Identify as many of them as possible, make a list of them and examine their symbolic value.
5. In what way(s) could the director’s use of the lines of the Cinemascope frame contribute to our understanding of the film and its characters?
6. What could the Averys’ house having two floors signify? How does the imagery of banisters contribute to the story?
7. In the film, colors have symbolic value. For example, Richie’s red jacket, Lou’s orange dress, Lou’s clothes in plain colors, the colors in the classroom, yellow cabs, Ed’s green jacket, Ed’s white shirt… Discuss what all these colors might reveal about the issues and the characters depicted in the film.
8. What is the significance of Ed’s slippers?
9. Comment on the following dialogue between Ed and Lou: Ed: “…I felt ten feet tall.” Lou: “You have always been ten feet tall to me”
10. Examine the boutique sequence carefully: the décor, the boutique, the colors, the clothes, the disembodied hand, the red gloves, the chair Ed sits on, the mirrors… how do they help you understand the story and the characters?
11. How does the boutique sequence position men and women as far as gender roles are concerned?
12. Discuss the importance of the following quote in the film: (Ed to his students) “In your own words, why did Cassius refer to Julius Caesar as a Colossus?”
13. Watch the bathroom scene in which Ed orders his wife to fill his bath with hot water. Nicholas Ray’s use of the bathroom mirror is very significant. Discuss the function of the mirror here. Identify other uses of mirrors in the film and comment on how they help us understand the characters and the themes.
14. What is the religous connotation of Rome and how does it help us understand Ed?
15. What does the PTA meeting sequence reveal about the concept of education? How are parents and Ed portrayed in this sequence?
16. Discuss what football means to Ed in relation to the following quote: (Ed to Richie) “You want to be a man, don’t you?”
17. While Ed shows Richie how to play football, what is heard in the background? Discuss why.
18. Watch the scene in which Ed “helps” Richie to study mathematics. Here, Nicholas Ray’s use of shadows is very significant. Discuss in what ways Ray’s treatment is important. Identify other scenes in which the shadow imagery is used and comment on its significance.
19. Identify when Ed starts calling his son Richard instead of Richie. Why?
20. What is the symbolic value of the milk in the film?
21. What does the church sequence reveal about Ed’s transformation?
22. Comment on the significance of Lou’s orange dress in the church sequence.
23. How does the Biblical story of Abraham and Isaac help us understand the relationship between Ed and Richie? Why does Ed try to kill his own son?
24. Explain Ray’s use of colors in the final hospital sequence of the film.
25. At the end of the film, there is a reference to Abraham Lincoln. What could this reference signify?
26. The misuse of cortisone literally causes Ed to have dreams of grandeur. What do these dreams reveal about the society in which Ed lives?
27. In her examination of male brutality towards women in Nicholas Ray’s films, Susan White (2005) quotes V. F. Perkins and writes that violence among Ray’s heroes is “the index of weakness rather than strength” (as cited in J. David Slocum’s Rebel without a cause: Approaches to a maverick masterwork, p. 64) Explain how this quotation helps us understand Ed’s character.
28. What does the film reveal about race issues in postwar America?
29. Discuss the title of the film.
30. Discuss the following quote by Jeanine Basinger in relation to Lou’s portrayal in the film: “As [Ed] grows “bigger than life”, [Lou] becomes smaller than reality.” (The Bigger Than Life DVD Booklet, 2007, p. 7)
    
31. Writing Task 1: In what ways can “Bigger Than Life” be taken as a critique of postwar American suburban life?
32. Writing Task 2: Discuss the following quote by Jeanine Basinger: “Ray’s triumph as a director is that, although Lou is not his main character, he puts her own story onto the screen through subtext.” (The Bigger Than Life DVD Booklet, 2007, p. 7)

© Ali Nihat Eken, Istanbul, January 2009

Study Guide for Nicholas Ray’s “Rebel without a cause” (1955)
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Discussion Questions for Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Three Monkeys

1. Watch the opening sequence of “Three Monkeys” closely and discuss how it helps to set the tone of the film and how it helps you identify the theme(s) of the film.
2. Examine the location of the flat in which Eyup, Hacer and Ismail live. It overlooks the sea and the railroad. How does this contribute to your understanding of the family?
3. How does the size of the house contribute to your understanding of the film?
4. Why do you think the camera often emphasize the partitions in the flat?
5. What is the significance of the terrace in the film?
6. What could Ismail’s climbing up the fence to reach the station connote?
7. What is the symbolic value of Ismail’s train rides?
8. What is the significance of the cityscapes and the clouds? Why is there an emphasis on rain and lightning?
9. Examine the shots that show Hacer in her workplace. How do these shots help you understand Hacer’s psychology?
10. In your view, what is the symbolic value of the politican’s office in the film?
11. Comment on the use of mirrors and windows in the film.
12. Discuss what the following names connote in the film: Hacer, Ismail, Eyup and Servet.
13. What is the function of the ringtone of Hacer’s cellphone? What does the song signify? Why do you think the director has chosen a Yıldız Tilbe song?
14. Why do you think Ceylan’s camera chooses to concentrate on Eyup’s face while the audience is made to feel that Hacer is about to commit suicide?
15. Why does the director keep his camera at a distance when Hacer and Servet meet secretly and when Hacer begs him not to leave her? What effect does this have on you?
16. What do you think about Ceylan’s portrayal of Hacer in the film?
17. What is the reason for the emphasis on “sweat” in the film?
18. How is “sound” used in the film? How does it contribute to Ceylan’s story? Identify some specific scenes where sound is important and discuss how and why it is used.
19. What is the significance of the dead child in the film? Why do we see him appearing only to Eyup and Ismail?
20. What message(s) do you think the last shot of the film conveys?
21. To what extent would you call the family in the film a microcosm of contemporary Turkish society?
22. Examine the metaphor of “monkey” in the film? Who are the “monkeys” in the film? Why? Does the title contain a social allegory?
23. “I’m not interested in events that are by far too special that they cannot happen to anyone”, said Nuri Bilge Ceylan in an interview on television. Discuss Ceylan’s statement in relation to “Three Monkeys”.
24. Extension Activity:
    Hemingway’s “Iceberg Theory”: Hemingway views his writing style as “fashioned on the “principle of the iceberg,” for “seven eights of it [is] under water for every part that shows” (cited in Thomas Strychacz, 1999, in The Cambridge Companion to Hemingway, Scott Donaldson (Ed.), p. 59). In other words, as Hemingway said, “You could omit anything if you knew that you omitted and the omitted part would strengthen the story and make people feel something more than they understood” (cited in Elizabeth Dewberry, 1999, in The Cambridge Companion to Hemingway, Scott Donaldson, Ed., p. 23)
    Discuss whether or not and/or how Hemingway’s metaphor of “iceberg” can be applied to Bilge Ceylan’s style as far as “Three Monkeys” is concerned.

© Ali Nihat Eken, Istanbul, January 2009
Photos: Courtesy of NBC Films
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Understanding the French New Wave through Truffaut’s The 400 Blows (1959)

Background information:

Cahiers du cinéma, an influential Paris-based French film journal, was founded in 1951. Among its young critics were François Truffaut, Claude Chabrol, Eric Rohmer, Jacques Rivette, Jean-Luc Godard. According to Corrigan & White (2004), their criticism was “a rebellious gesture against commercial French filmmaking of that time, which they felt lacked vitality and currency” (pp. 426-427).

These young Cahiers critics championed filmmakers such as Renoir and Bresson; they also re-evaluated Hollywood cinema, claiming that filmmakers such as Nicholas Ray, Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles were able to create their own artistry within the constraints of Hollywood’s studio system, and therefore should be called auteurs. In this critical approach known as la politique des auteurs /auteur policy, filmmakers are regarded not as craftsmen or mere technicians but as auteurs because their work is believed to be “characterized by distinctive thematic concerns and stylistics traits discernible across a number of films” (Blanford, Grant & Hillier, 2001, p. 16).

Towards the end of the 1950s the young critics of Cahiers du cinéma started making their own films, marking the emergence of the French New Wave. The year 1959 can be taken as the beginning of the new wave and all the following important films were made in the same year: Godard’s Breathless, Truffaut’s The 400 Blows, Rivette’s Paris Belongs to Us and Resnais’s Hiroshima Mon Amour.

The following quotes reveal some distinctive features of the new wave films:

“The New Wave was a freedom of expression, a new fashion of acting, and even a great reform on the level of make-up. I was part of a new generation that refused to wear the two inches of pancake base paint and hair pieces that were still standard equipment for actors. Suddenly, you saw actors who looked natural, like they had just gotten out of bed” (Brion quoted in Neupert, 2002, p. xv).

“We have to film other things, in another spirit. We’ve got to get out of the over-expensive studios. Sunshine cost less than Klieg lights and generators. We should do our shooting in the streets and even in real apartments. Instead of, like Clouzot, spreading artificial dirt over the sets” (Truffaut quoted in Neupert, 2002, p. 161).

The cinematography in the French New Wave films was influenced by the use of portable, hand-held cameras and other portable production equipment which made it possible for the filmmakers to experiment with film style and shoot their film on locations. The hand-held cameras added a “casual” and “contemporary look” to the films (Neupert, 2002, p. 40).

Some of the distinctive features of the new wave films as outlined by Bordwell & Thomson (2001) are their causal look, casual humor, cinematography, loose plot construction, lack of goal-oriented protagonists and ambiguous endings (for detailed information, please see Bordwell & Thomson, 2001, pp. 420-421).

Discussion Questions for The 400 Blows

1. The Time magazine describes Truffaut’s The 400 Blows as “the movie that defined the French New Wave”. In relation to the background information about the French New Wave as summarized above, discuss in what ways this can be true. Provide as many examples as possible from the film to make your point.
2. Do some search to find out in what ways The 400 Blows is regarded as a largely autobiographical film. Why is Antoine accepted as the director’s alter-ego? (Suggested reading: Neupert, 2002, pp. 161-206).
3. Why is the film dedicated to Andre Bazin? What did Bazin mean to Truffaut?
4. Discuss the significance of the film title. How does it help you understand the film?
5. Discuss in what ways The 400 Blows can be considered a commentary on social issues.
6. Make a list of the images that help convey Antoine’s confinement both at home and outside home, and discuss how each element functions.
7. What is the significance of Balzac in the film?
8. Discuss the following quote from the film: “If he came home, he would only run away again”.
9. How does Truffaut represent the adult world?
10. What is the importance of movie going in the film?
11. What is the significance of the puppet show in the film? Why do you think Truffaut directs his camera mainly to the children watching the show?
12. Examine the last part of the film: What does Antoine’s running symbolize? What is the symbolic significance of the last shot of the film?  What message(s) does the film convey at the end? What does the film expect its audience to do?

© Ali Nihat Eken, Istanbul, November 2008

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Study Guide for “Far from Heaven” (Todd Haynes, 2002)

1. Make a list of the major settings in the film (e.g. the affluent suburban town, Cathy and Frank’s house) and then discuss what each might help reveal about the themes and the characters in the film.
2. Identify the visual elements that help create a sense of “claustrophobia” in the film.
3. What do you think about the way the colors are used in the film? Do they reveal anything about the themes or the characters?
4. What do you think about the way Cathy and her female friends are represented in the film? What do their representations tell you about gender roles?
5. What could the surname “Whitaker” symbolize?
6. In the film Cathy and Frank are called “Mr. and Mrs. Magnatech”. What does this reveal about the societal values as depicted in the film?
7. Watch the scene where Cathy’s friends talk about their husbands and their sex life. Analyze their talk to find out how women and men are positioned in marriage as far as sexuality is concerned.
8. What do you think about the representation of race in the film? Is it only one-sided? Why? Why not?
9. What is the significance of servants in the film? Think about Sybil who takes care of the Whitaker house and the male servant at the cocktail party.
10. Do some research about how homosexuality was perceived in the 1950s and then discuss how accurately you believe the film reflects this perception.
11. Identify the scenes and the dialogues where homosexuality is mentioned. Then discuss what they reveal about how homosexuality is perceived by the society in which Frank and Cathy live.
12. In the film the Ritz movie theater is one of the repeatedly used locations. We see 4 films listed there:  “Three Faces of Eve”, “Miracle in the Rain”, “Hilda Crane” and “The Bold and the Brave”. Find out in what ways these films could have symbolic value for “Far from Heaven”.
13. Discuss the significance of the film’s title.

© Ali Nihat Eken, Istanbul, November 2008
Movie still – Courtesy of Focus Pictures

Study Guide for “Egg / Yumurta” (Semih Kaplanoglu, 2007)

1. Examine how Yusuf is depicted first in his secondhand bookstore in Istanbul and later in his hometown in the early moments of the film and discuss how these depictions help you understand Yusuf and the issues dealt with in the film.
2. How do the depictions of the big city and the countryside in the early moments of the film contribute to your understanding of the film?
3. Make a comparison between the girl in Yusuf’s bookstore in Istanbul and Ayla in Tire and discuss what each stands for in the film.
4. What does the tunnel Yusuf drives through signify in the film? What does it foreshadow?
5. What is the function of the little boy in the film?
6. What is the significance of the toothbrush Yusuf finds in the bathroom? How does he react when he finds it there? Why?
7. What is the importance of the barbershop sequence of the film?
8. What is the importance of Yusuf’s encounter with the dog? Why does he cry sitting opposite the dog?
9. What is the symbolic value of Yusuf’s inability to locate the egg in the garden?
10. What is the significance of the title? What does “egg” symbolize in the film?
11. What does the well symbolize in the film?
12. What is the symbolic value of the butcher’s anointing Yusuf’s forehead with blood?
13. Why is there no music in the film?
14. To what extent and in what way(s) would you consider the film a critique of contemporary Turkey?
15. In what ways would you call the film minimalist?
16. What is your opinion of the director’s representation of the countryside? What message(s) do you think he gives to the audience through its representation?
17. Discuss how the director prefers to show the bond between Yusuf and Ayla.
18. Discuss the significance of the following concepts in relation to the film: “belonging”, “home”, “roots”, “alienation”, “journey”, “time” and “modernity vs. traditions”.

© Ali Nihat Eken, Istanbul, October 2008

Study Guide for Nineteen Eighty-Four (Michael Radford, 1984)

1. Examine the images in the archive footage shown in the opening moments of the film and discuss how these images prepare the audience for the story. How does the film present the people who watch the footage at the very beginning of the film?
2. Examine the following settings in the film and discuss how they all contribute to our understanding of the issues the film is dealing with: Winston’s apartment, Winston’s office, the cafeteria.
3. What do you think about the physical features of Winston? What could they signify?
4. Where does Winston work? What does his job involve? What is the significance of this in the story?
5. What is the significance of Winston’s diary? Why does he describe himself as a dead man in the early moments of the film?
6. Comment on the following quotes in relation to the concept of Newspeak: a) “It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words”. b) “Doubleplus good.”
7. What is the significance of the Chestnut Tree Café in the film?
8. Who is Mr. Charrington? What does his antique shop mean to Winston?
9. What is the significance of Winston’s dream?
10. Comment on the Party’s perception of children in relation to the children’s song heard during Winston’s train journey before he met Julia: “We are the children / Builders of the future / And we the children swear to thee / Loyal emotion, fearless devotion / And to die with dignity”
11. What does the Golden Country where Winston and Julia secretly meet represent in the film? How does it differ from the earlier settings in the film?
12. Comment on the Party’s perception of “orgasm” in relation to Winston’s following words: “I hate purity. I hate goodness. I don’t want virtue to exist anywhere. I want everyone corrupt.”
13. Comment on the following quote from the film: “Freedom is the freedom to say two plus two equals four.”
14. What do Big Brother, O’Brien and Goldstein stand for in the story?
15. What is the function and significance of the Ministry of Love in the film? What is the significance of Room 101?
16. What are the definitions of “loyalty” and “betrayal” in the film? Identify quotes from the film and discuss these two concepts.
17. Draw a chart of hierarchical structure in Oceania and explain how this structure is maintained.
18. Identify the ways the media is used in Oceania and discuss its role. Can you think of any cases where mass media have been used in similar ways in your country? Discuss when, where and how.
19. Study the concepts of “utopia” and “dystopia” and discuss Orwell’s vision of the future in relation to these two concepts.
20. Identify what “satire” means and in what ways “Nineteen Eighty-Four” can be called a satirical film.
21. Michael Bradford’s film is based on George Orwell’s novel. What message(s) do you think Orwell wanted to convey through such a novel?

© Ali Nihat Eken, Istanbul, October 2008
Useful links:
About George Orwell
About George Orwell-2
George Orwell: Voice of a Lost Generation (BBC)
Why Orwell still matters (BBC)

Study Guide for Gattaca (Andrew Niccol, 1997)

1. Do some research about what “eugenics” is, how eugenic ideas are used in different areas such as science and politics, and what moral and ethical debates these ideas have caused. Then examine and discuss what ethical and moral issues “Gattaca” might encourage its viewers to think about.
2. The film starts with the following two quotes:“Consider God’s handiwork, who can strengthen what he hath made crooked?” Ecclesiastes /“I not only think that we will tamper with Nature, I think Mother Nature wants us to.” Willard Gaylin… What is the significance of these quotes for the film and the audience?
3. What do the “hypermagnified shots of bodily fragments” (Jackie Stacey’s Masculinity, Masquerade, and Genetic Impersonation: Gattaca’s Queer Vision, 2005, p. 1851) in the credit sequence tell you about the concept of identity discussed in the film?
4. What is the significance of the name “Gattaca”?
5. Examine the mise-en-scène used in the space agency Gattaca: the building, the offices, the gymnasium, the uniforms. How do they all contribute to our understanding of the issues the film is dealing with?
6. What is the significance of having no windows in the gymnasium or in the work stations?
7. What is the significance of the glass window in Gattaca that Vincent is supposed to clean?
8. What is the significance of the spiral staircase in Jerome’s apartment?
9. How is class represented in the film? Comment on the hierarchy in the society.
10. What do you think about the representation of disabled people in the film? Is it offensive?
11. What is the significance of the 12-fingered pianist’s name?
12. In what way(s) can Jerome’s burning himself be regarded as a symbolic act?
13. Identify the conventions of science fiction and suspense movies in “Gattaca”.
14. In what ways can Gattaca be regarded as social criticism?
15. How does the film envisage the future? Positive or negative? Justify your perspective.
16. Comment on the following quotes from the film: “You wanna know how I did it, Anton? I never saved anything for the swim back.” / “You could go anywhere with this guy’s helix tucked under your arm.” / “They don’t care where you were born. Just how.” /“My real resume was in my cells.” / “Blood has no nationality.”

© Ali Nihat Eken, Istanbul, October 2008

Study Guide for “Requiem for a Dream” (Darren Aronofsky, 2000)

1. In “Requiem for a Dream”, the director Aronofsky’s use of camera is very subjective. Identify a few examples from the film and then discuss what purpose(s) such a subjective camera serves in the film.
2. Identify some of the scenes in which the director uses distorted images and discuss what messages are conveyed through these images.
3. Examine the scenes in which Aronofsky splits the screen into two and discuss how they serve the film.
4. What technique(s) does the film display when we are first introduced to the four protagonists of the story?
5. Comment on what the following could mean to Mrs. Goldfarb: the red dress, the TV show, the refrigerator.
6. Comment on how mass media is perceived in the film.
7. Explore the theme of “American Dream” in relation to the film title.
8. In an interview ["Dreams Fulfilled: A Darren Aronofsky Interview", David E. Williams (2000), filmthreat.com], Aronofsky describes the film in the following manner: “… this film is about addiction versus the human spirit. And it’s a one-way ticket into the sub-sub-basement of Hell..” Discuss the quote in relation to the film.
   
9. Essay Topic: In relation to how the four major protagonists are represented in “Requiem for a Dream”, discuss the following quote by Aronofsky: “One of the things this film is about is the hole we create in our present when we chase the illusion of tomorrow and then the distances we go to fill that vacuum with anything and everything.” [Source: Walsh, D. (2000). “Shouting but not saying much”, World Socialist Web Site]

© Ali Nihat Eken, Istanbul, September 2008

Study Guide for “The Devil Wears Prada” (David Frankel, 2006)

1. What is the importance of the opening shots of the film? How do they serve the film?
2. Whose point of view is the story told from? What clues are available for identifying the narrative voice in the film?
3. What does the film tell us about the concept of beauty?
4. What does the “Runway” magazine symbolize in the film?
5. Discuss what binary oppositions the film is built upon. How do these oppositions help you understand the characters depicted and the issues dealt with in the film?
6. Identify what “satire” means and then discuss to what extent and in what ways “The Devil Wears Prada” can be called a satirical film.
7. Identify what “melodrama” means and then discuss to what extent and in what ways “The Devil Wears Prada” can be called a melodrama.
8. Would you consider the ending of the film conventional? Why? Why not? Explain.
9. Discuss the following quote from the film: (In a restaurant in Paris, Andy tells Christian) “If Miranda were a man, no one would notice anything about her except how great she is at her job”.
   

© Ali Nihat Eken, Istanbul, September 2008
Useful link: Killing us softly-3

Study Guide for Shane Meadows’s “This is England” (2006)

1. Before watching the film, do some research about the concept of youth subcultures: how are youth subcultures defined? When and why do they emerge? What are the defining features of youth cultures? How are they perceived by society and by mass media? What impact might things like ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation have on the emergence of youth cultures? (You might like to refer to some key names such as Albert K. Cohen, Tim O’Sullivan, Sarah Thornton, Dick Hebdige, Angela McRobbie. Suggested source: The sixth chapter in Children’s Cultural Worlds (2003) by Kehily and Swann).
2. Before watching the film, do some research to find out about the “skinhead” culture: When, where and in which social, political and economic contexts did it start? Did they have a distinctive style? Why did young people associate themselves with this youth culture? How did they define themselves? What was the role of young men and young women in the emergence of this subculture? Did this youth culture change over the years? How were they perceived by society and by mass media? What images do you associate with the word “skinhead”? Does this subculture still exist?
3. Many film critics describe “This is England” as “semiautobiographical”. Do some research to find out about the director’s background and discuss how this information can be related to the film.
4. What is the function of the iconography used in the title sequence of the film? How might it help you understand the film?
5. Who is the story narrated by? What impact does the narrative voice have on you? Why?
6. How is Shaun represented at the very beginning of the film? How does his representation contribute to your understanding of him as the protagonist of the film?
7. What do you think about Shane Meadow’s depiction of the skinhead gang? What are their defining features? Does Meadows glamorize the gang? Does he demonize it? Give your reasons.
8. What is the function of Milky in the story? What does his name suggest?
9. What do you think about Shane Meadows’s depiction of Combo? Is it positive or negative? Discuss.
10. What does the gang mean to Shaun? What does Shaun mean to the gang? What is the function of Woody and Combo in relation to Shaun?
11. Examine the characters Woody and Combo as leaders. What does each represent in the film?
12. How do you interpret the last sequence of the film where Shaun throws the Union Jack flag into the sea?
13. The title of the film is drawn from a “Clash” song. In what way(s) could this be significant?
14. What does the film reveal about the concept of masculinity? Does the film represent masculinity in only one specific way? What is your view of how masculinity is defined in the film?
15. Explore the theme of loss-of-innocence/coming-of-age in the film.

© Ali Nihat Eken, Istanbul, September 2008
Buy the DVD.

Discussion Questions for “Bullet Boy” (Saul Dibb, 2004)

1. Where does the story take place? How does the setting contribute to our understanding of the story?
2. Who is the story narrated by? What clues are available for you to identify the narrative voice(s)? What impact does the narrative voice have on you? Why?
3. In one of the early scenes of the film, the camera shows us Curtis emerging from the locked boot of the car into the light. How would you interpret this as a metaphor?
4. What does Ricky’s gun symbolize in the film?
5. What does the character Leon stand for in the film?
6. What might the name “Wisdom” symbolize in the film?
7. What is the function of the ice rink sequence?
8. Comment on the director’s use of tower blocks and the widescreen shots of landscape.
9. What does the film reveal about the concept of manhood? What does the film reveal about macho culture and its impact on the individual?
10. How would you interpret the last scene in the film?
11. To what extent and in what way(s) do you think Saul Dibb’s background in television documentary making might affect the film “Bullet Boy”?
12. What do you think about Dibb’s depiction of violence? Are there stereotypes or clichés? Does he glamorize violence? Explain.
13. How didactic do you find the film? Please explain.
14. What might be the reason for using hand-held cameras in the film? What effect(s) does this create?
15. Make a list of some of the themes the film explores.

© Ali Nihat Eken, Istanbul, September 2008

Discussion Questions for Ken Loach’s “Ae Fond Kiss” (2004)

1. In one of the early scenes of the film, Casim’s younger sister Tahara calls herself “a Glaswegian Muslim woman of Pakistani descent who supports Glasgow Rangers in a Catholic school”. What is the significance of such a description?
2. What do you think about the way Catholicism and Islam are represented in the film? Do you think that one is favored over the other? Why? Why not?
3. Do you think that the depiction of the Khan family is stereotypical? Why? Why not?
4. Examine the status of men and women in the Khan family.
5. Discuss what Tahara and Rukhsana stand for in the story.
6. What might be the reason for Tariq Khan’s insistence on arranging a marriage for his son?
7. In one of the scenes depicting Roisin teaching her class, Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” is heard in the background. Discuss how this could be thematically linked to the film.
8. Explore the theme of “dual existence” with respect to the character Casim.
9. What conflicts are examined and what reasons are provided for these conflicts in the film? To what extent are these conflicts resolved in the film?
10. Ken Loach is a social realist filmmaker. Find out what social realism means in cinema and discuss to what extent “Ae Fond Kiss” is in line with social realism.
11. What is the significance of the title of the film?
12. Comment on the ending of the film.
13. In light of the film, examine how an individual’s identity is constructed.
14. To what extent does the film manage to challenge stereotypes in general?

© Ali Nihat Eken, Istanbul, September 2008
Suggested films: “East is East”, “Brick Lane”, “My Son the Fanatic”

Annie Proulx’s short story “Brokeback Mountain” was originally published in The New Yorker on October 13, 1997, and is also included in Close Range: Wyoming Stories (1999). In 2005, it was turned into an Oscar-winning film by Ang Lee.

Discussion Questions for Annie Proulx’s Brokeback Mountain

• Find out as many Marlboro cigarette advertisements depicting male cowboys as possible. Then examine how male cowboys are represented in these ads and discuss what these images might tell you about the concept of masculinity in general.
• Identify the traditional mindset of the 1960s cowboy culture and discuss to what extent and in what ways Brokeback Mountain is in line with such a mindset.
• Brokeback Mountain takes place between 1963 and 1983. Discuss how the major social/ historical events in the States, such as the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement, might help you understand the main issues depicted in the story.
• Examine how Annie Proulx describes “settings” (e.g. the ranches on which Ennis and Jack were raised and Brokeback Mountain) in her story. How do these settings help you understand the characters and the issues in the story?
• Identify how the author uses “nature” in relation to characters’ psychology and the issues dealt with.
• What might Ennis and Jack’s fathers and Joe Aquirre represent in the story? What is their function in the story?
• What might Joe’s binoculars signify as a metaphor?
• Comment on what external and internal forces might make Jack and Ennis say the following: “…Ennis said, ‘I’m not no queer,’ and Jack jumped in with ‘Me neither…”
• Comment on the following quote from the story: “Even when the numbers were right Ennis knew the sheep were mixed. In a disquieting way everything seemed mixed.”
• What do you think about the author’s depiction of Alma? How do you react to this character?
• What might the intertwined shirts as described at the end of the short story symbolize? Where are these shirts kept and what could this signify?

© Ali Nihat Eken, Istanbul, August 2008

Useful links:
About Annie Proulx
Annie Proulx tells the story behind “Brokeback Mountain”
Discussion Questions for Jackson Katz’s Tough Guise