Key points for this class
Blow Up
The Servant
Accident
Lead Age films
Black Comedy
Lead Age
Lead Age -- alienated, chaotic, no centrality, no cohesion. Man self-involved, anarchic, anti-social. Form anti-heroic, idiosyncratic, individualistic, much more interesting. Topsy-turvy world.
Rules of game has changed. Older generation struggling -- rely on liquor and sex for gratification.
Films scattered, reflect lives of protagonists. Not connected (reflected in pace, rhythm).
No one takes responsibility for actions. No moral, ethical center. Ideology of the moemnt. Observer has replaced hero. Character actor is now "hero".
Network, Hospital at bookstore.
Black comedy
Black comedy has no heroes. About nothing but instant gratification. Extraordinary characters -- Shrub, Colin Powell. Character or characters only concerned with self-fulfillment. Ultimately greed leads to death.
Irony -- saying the one thing you don't mean. Takes idea, plays it out to inevitable conclusion. Removes cause/effect from minds. "Friendly fire," "body count," "collateral damage". Language the culprit -- shield between emotion and self.
Back to top