CINEJ Cinema Journal
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The Wing Beat of the Butterfly. The Causality of Asymmetric Cultural Encounters and Escalation in Babel (2006) and Valley of Wolves – Iraq/ Kurtlar Vadisi – Irak (2006)
Full text linkThe term ‘asymmetric conflict’ describes a war-like situation in which the opponents involved do not have equal access to decisive logistic resources. The author of this article states that cultural encounters can also be of asymmetric quality: in situations of provoked or accidental (inter)cultural misunderstandings, in hierarchical situations and in cases of emergency. She further states that the movies Babel (2006) and Valley of Wolves – Iraq (2006) can be seen as cinematic adaptations of such cases putting the focus on the causality of asymmetric cultural encounters and escalation. The article deals with the major cinematic tools applied in visualizing this causality in the two films
Down the Rabbit Hole of Reality: Abbas Kiarostami’s Certified Copy
Full text linkThis article discusses how Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami’s 2010 film Certified Copy treats themes of originality, experience, perception, and memory. The main character’s thesis about art—that copies are not merely inferior versions of originals—is applied to everyday experience of love, life and human relationships. While the film seems to privilege the subjectivity of experience and reinforces the idea that value is found in individual interpretation rather than any one true or original meaning, it ultimately asks more questions than it answers, and while it sets out on a quest for truth, it, in the end, places responsibility on the audience to fill in the blanks and make meaning for themselves
Violence, Oppression, and Double Standards in Three Colombian Films
Full text linkThis article compares three Colombian films that tell distinct stories of violence, personal and political oppression, and double standards. The films Confesión a Laura (Confessing to Laura, Jaime Osorio, 1991), La Primera Noche (The First Night, Luis Alberto Restrepo, 2003) and El Rey (The King, José Antonio Dorado, 2004) each highlight the characters’ struggles in the Colombian socio-political landscape. Each film’s content and themes do not merely offer representations of national culture, but also provide a way in which to discuss the political and social struggles of Colombia. The directors explore these stories of violence and socio-political struggle through the use of mis-en-scène, cinematography, sound, and editing
Re-Organizing Cultural Values: Vers le Sud by Laurent Cantet
Full text linkCantet\u27s movie “Vers le sud/ Heading South“ (2005) explores cultural stereotypes and values without being moralizing in a common sense. His drama deals with female sex tourism, political and social violence, power and money in such a way that people are tempted to judge the protagonists: Their desire for young black men is called “embarrassing“, they are seen as corrupting and as actors in a new kind of imperialism. In fact the images in the film organize characters in a certain kind of dualism which leads easily to these argumentations. But having a look at the cultural values that produce the disgust, we see that they are all open to question
The Language of Colours. A Semiotic Analysis of Colours and Symbolic Imagery in Francis Ford Coppola’s "Bram Stoker’s Dracula" (1992)
Full text linkReviews referring to Francis Ford Coppola’s Columbia Pictures Bram Stoker’s Dracula classic of 1992 recurrently mention the images owing to the camera work of Michael Ballhaus as the striking feature of the movie and highly praise them for their thematically coherent effect.. The colours, if mentioned at all, leave reviewers undecided to sceptical when it comes to evaluating their contribution to the overall composition of the film, though. By providing a semiotic analysis of colours and symbolic imagery the below article will show how colours and imagery in their inter-relatedness create coherence and cohesion with Coppola’s interpretation of Stoker’s Dracula as a religiously inspired morality play set in the context of Victorian cultural values and self-perception
Identity, Cultural Representation and Feminism in the Movie Head-On
Full text linkThe movie Head On (2004) from the director Fatih Akin draws the attention of the audience to Turkish women living in Germany. It portrays how some women have to struggle with Turkish traditions and identity problems, living in a modern capitalistic country but being surrounded by Turkish culture. This analysis asks the question whether the movie challenges or supports feminist ideas. Therefore, the characterization, the language, the use of violence, and sexuality will be evaluated to find answers. Feminist principles and goals will help to classify my findings and examine displayed power structures, mixed messages, portrayed stereotypes, and the construction of gender
New Turkish Cinema – Some Remarks On The Homesickness Of The Turkish Soul
Full text linkContemporary cinematography reflects the dualism in modern Turkish society. The heart of every inhabitant of Anatolia is dominated by homesickness for his little homeland. This overpowering feeling affects common people migrating in search of work as well as intellectuals for whom Istanbul is a place for their artistic development but not the place of origin. The city and “the rest” have been considered in opposition to each other. The struggle between “the provincial” and “the urban” has even created its own film genre in Turkish cinematography described as “homeland movies”. They paint the portrait of a Turkish middle class intellectual on the horns of a dilemma, the search for a modern identity and a place to belong in a modern world where values are constantly shifting