Earlier this afternoon I watched the 1962 film The 300 Spartans in my ancient history class. This was but a few short days after screening the 1932 film Freaks in my film class. It has been some time since I sat down to watch a film that was created before I was born, and these two arrived on Earth quite a few years before I did. While I enjoyed both features I couldn’t help but notice how different the pacing is in older films compared to contemporary pictures. The set up and character development seems to stretch out over the first half to two thirds of the film with long, indulgent scenes that would be out of place in a film made in today’s era.

The first time I really noticed this phenomenon was with the film Carnival of Souls, coincidentally also released in 1962. The film was a mere 82 minutes and felt like three hours. They practically beat you over the head with the premise of the film. What I am certain was once a shocking twist ending where the main character has in fact been dead the entire film is now a much lampooned trope. I had come to that conclusion about ten minutes into the film and was forced to sit through another 70 while they hammered the point home again and again and again.

I wondered then, did audiences of the day simply have longer attention spans. Were they dense and unable to deduce things the way we can today? Or were they simply not exposed to that kind of story telling enough to make such an “easy” leap? I don’t honestly believe that people were any less intelligent than they are today. Many would argue the opposite. It is possible that a combination of my other two points may, in part, explain the difference between the ways movies are made now compared to the way it was done forty or more years ago. Modern man simply doesn’t have the patience his recent ancestors did. We have come to expect things to be quicker and more exciting than even our parents before us.

Looking back at Freaks I really enjoyed the tale that was told. However, while watching the film there were moments when I could hardly keep my eyes open. For example the characters of Phroso and Venus were entirely unnecessary. They added nothing to the narrative except to give the audience “normal” characters to relate to. This tactic is unfortunately still practiced today. In the recent film adaptation of the comic book Hellboy the screen writers created a new character, John Myers, an average human man as a surrogate for the audience since the core cast of the comic series were mutants, monsters, and demons. Many in Hollywood seem to be under the impression that the viewer requires such cheap tricks to enjoy film. Fortunately that feeling is waning and Agent Myers was written out of the sequel to the joy of its fans.

The art of storytelling through has changed tremendously since the so called golden age of cinema. In many ways it has improved. Generally speaking, the acting is more believable, the special effects are certainly more realistic, and the methods of viewing them are far more varied and accessible than they’ve ever been. But is there more substance? Is there less? It would be easy to argue both sides. The only thing I can say for sure is the way the story is presented is very different than it was decades ago. Love it or hate it, change is required if the medium is to continue to flourish.

–Frank Teevin

Photographs from:  The 300 Spartans (top), Freaks (middle), and Carnival of Souls (top).

In Marriage, a History, Stephanie Coontz argues that the one thing that marriage provides that we cannot get any other way is in-laws.¹  We marry into our partner’s family and increase the network of relatives on whom we can rely.  Some families even welcome non-biological, non-married relatives into their circles of kinship. Often called families of choice,² these kinship relationships are as strong as or sometimes even stronger than the network of relationships one obtains through one’s biological in-laws.

Although circus people have traditionally lived on the margins of society, those who were sideshow performers were on the margins of the marginated.  Browning shows them as a closed society who are rightfully suspicious of the outside world.  When Cleopatra marries Hans, she realizes that the one of the implications of a legal marriage is that she will inherit Hans’ money once she becomes his widow.  What she does not fully appreciate are the benefits and responsibilities of become part of his larger kinship circle of choice.

Cleopatra’s acceptance into Hans’ family of choice was not simply theoretical.  At the wedding banquet, a ceremony involving the loving cup is performed to honor and bind Cleopatra with the family of circus performers.³  At the beginning of the loving cup scene, one of Hans’ friends announces that “we will make her one of us.”  At that point, Josephine Joseph, the half man half woman, begins a chant that is picked up by all of Hans’ friends, “We accept her one of us.”

Tod Browning moves the camera around the table giving a close up of each smiling individual chanting his/her acceptance of the new relative.  Periodically, Browning cuts to Hans’ friend who is preparing the loving cup filled with champaign.  Even Cleopatra is enjoying the drunken revelry until, about 0:30, her lover Hercules laughingly comments that “They are going to make you one of them my big hunk.”  The significance of the loving cup and Cleopatra’s acceptance into the family of circus performers is simply a joke to him; something for ridicule and laughter.

But the significance of the moment is not lost on Cleopatra.  She did not love Hans.  She only loved his money.  While Cleopatra was willing to enter into a sham marriage, she was horrified by the heartfelt acceptance of the sideshow performers.  She could not accept the acceptance she was so warmly offered.

As Hans’ friend walked down the table passing the loving cup from individual to individual, Browning cut to close-ups of Cleopatra looking more and more horrified as the loving cup moved nearer and nearer to her.  A little more than 1:15 into the scene, she literally begins to back away from the table.

At 1:25, Hans’ friend is ready to present the loving cup to Cleopatra.  Filmed using a medium shot from the opposite end of the table from where Cleopatra is standing, Browning is able to use the mise en scene to comment on Cleopatra’s moral character.  The angle of the shot makes Hans’ friend appear to be much taller and broader than is Cleopatra who is diminished in front of him.  It is he, the freak, who epitomizes the values of charity, acceptance, honesty, and love which are valued in society.

When Cleopatra is handed the loving cup, she has a choice to drink or not to drink; to accept her in-laws and become one of the freaks or to deny their offering of love.  At the climactic moment of the film, Cleopatra rejects the loving cup and spits out, “No!  Stop it!  Freaks!  Freaks! Freaks! Get out of here!”  As she throws the contents of the loving cup on Hans’ friend, she rejects the strong bonds of kinship and seals her fate.   At this point, we know that Cleopatra will not be successful in her plot to get Hans’ money.

Given that the falling action in Freaks culminates with Hans’ friends taking their revenge on Cleopatra, it might be hard to see the moral superiority of the circus performers.  By filming Hans’ friends in virtual silence as they slink through the shadows, Browning almost demonizes those characters with whom he has been most sympathetic throughout the film.  Yet, the revenge is taken against one who is slowly poisoning Hans with the help of her lover.

Although Hercules is killed, it is almost an act of self defense.  Reasonable force was used against him to prevent Hercules from murdering someone else.  We do not learn Cleopatra’s fate at the time when the falling action ends, but we are confident that she did not survive her ordeal in the rain.

Because Freaks uses a frame to tell its story, the movie begins and ends with a man from the carnival telling his audience the story of one of the current sideshow performers.  It is not until after the denouement in which Hans and the woman he jilted for Cleopatra are reunited that we learn Cleopatra’s fate.   In the final moments of the film, we are able to look at the freak about whom the story was being told.  If we define survival as not having been killed, at this moment we learn that Cleopatra survived when Hans’ friends took their revenge. Although she was still living, she did not survive as circus performer who had captured Hans’ heart.  The revenge of the freaks was to literally mak her “one of us;” not as a valued kin but as a literal freak who shared with them the derision of a larger society.

Ironically, it is not the significance of the marriage bond that is the most important element in determining Cleopatra’s ultimate demise.  The legal contract into which she entered with Hans is something that she freely flaunted.  It was her inability to enter into the kinship relationship with Hans’ non-biological family that caused her ultimate downfall.  She was repulsed by the freaks who were arguably her moral superior.  Tat was her tragic flaw.

 –Steven L. Berg, PhD

References

¹Coontz, Stephanie. Marriage, A History: From Obedience to Intimacy or How Love Conquered Marriage. New York: Viking, 2005. Print.

²Although families of choice are often associated with lesbian/gay families, it covers other types of relationships as well. As Constance N. Dahlin and Rebecca Hawkins explain, “this term also applies in other instances. Some examples include unmarried couples who cohabitate, people with deceased relatives who live with friends, and people who are estranged from biologic relatives and choose to live with significant others.” (“Supporting Alternative Families.” Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing 5.4 (2001): 123-124. Academic Search Complete Web. 29 January 2012.) In their article, Dahlin and Hawkins describe the importance of recognizing family of choice in working with dying patients. Other studies confirm the importance of family of choice in a variety of settings.

³The importance of ceremony has been well documented. My work with ceremony has primarily focused on civil religion as described by Bellah, Robert N. “Civil Religion in America.” Robert N. Bellah. nd. np. 29 January 2012. Reprinted from Daedalus: Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 96.1 (1967): 1-21.

First, students learned that I am serious about student involvement in the classroom.  It is easy to say that I want students to suggest films to watch.  It is another matter to accept their choices; especially when they choose a review of Santa Claus and the Ice Cream Bunny or the review of Howard the Duck that was shown during the same class.  I do not want students to simply choose the types of films that I would show.  I want them to make contributions based on their own interests.

Fortunately, I have been teaching long enough that I can find a lesson in virtually any film that is selected.  It might not be the lesson I had planned to teach that day, but I am learned to be flexible.  Therefore, I was able to introduce some significant concepts I had planned to cover later in the course.  For example, the review of Santa Claus and the Ice Cream Bunny was too much of a summary.  In our film analyses we will focus more on analysis.  Students began to learn course expectations.

The review of Howard the Duck was still too much summary, but the author did incorporate research about comic books and discussed Howard the Duck in its relationship to other films.  These are good ideas that I would expect to see in the film analyses done by the students.

Another issue that came up with both films is the matter of tone.  While I can acknowledge that both reviewers understood their audiences and did a fine job in reaching them, they would not be acceptable in a more academic setting.  For example, it is unlikely that “fuck” or other such terms will appear in the film analyses written by the students in the class.

I have frequently taught short films introduced to me by students.  However, for a number of reasons, it is unlikely that I will choose to teach these two reviews in the future.  But the fact that I would not have selected these film reviews does not mean that they were poor selections. Although very different from what I had intended to teach on the second day of class, I think that discussing Santa Claus and the Ice Cream Bunny and Howard the Duck went well and that students learned a great deal from it.

Although a couple of the videos on this list are documentaries, most of what follows are either excerpts from longer films or do not meet the definition I have of film.  However, I do believe that there is a role for film clips and other types of video as part of a class.

Also, I want to try to incorporate issues that we will be discussing during the semester into my first day of class.  Therefore, I might use Abraham, Martin, and John in early modern world history because it includes information on Abraham Lincoln who lived during the time period of the course.  Or I might use Bayard Ruskin MLK Organizer in ancient world history where I often teach a lesson in which I argue that there were no gay people in the ancient world. (See “Dr. Berg is Definitely Not Gay” for a description of this lesson and the rationale for my argument.)

In choosing the recommendations for this list, I favored videos that featured Dr. King or at least mentioned him.  But some, such as James Baldwin asking “Who is a Nigger” and the version of Billy Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” I included, were selected because they could be used to start a discussion placing Dr. King’s legacy in a larger context.

University of Chicago Martin Luther King Day Video 2012 [3:02]

Focuses on educational opportunity, this video was produced as part of the MLK Commemoration Celebration held on 12 January 2012.

Martin Luther King, Jr. – Mini Bio [4:48]

This short biography was produced by the Biography Channel.

“If I Had Sneezed”…..A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King [8:11]

An excerpt from Dr. King’s last speech in which he describes what he missed had he sneezed in 1958 when a woman stabbed him 1958.  Still photographs and background music illustrate the speech.

Children’s March [3:05]

A rap tribute to the 1963 children’s march.

Who is the Nigger? -James Baldwin [3:03]

Author James Baldwin describes the invention of the “nigger” and why the term does not apply to him.

Robert Kennedy announces death of Martin Luther King, Jr. [5:46]

The title is self explanatory.

The Dream Lives on…Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. [1:33]

The soundtrack is an excerpt from Dr. King’s “I have a Dream Speech.”  Images are primarily of the Martin Luther King memorial.  Text throughout the video text gives highlights of Dr. King’s life and the posthumous recognition he received.

Common: “A Dream” Live Performance [3:02]

Common and Will.I.Am perform “A Dream.”

Abraham, Martin & John [3:24]

Tribute to Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., and John F. Kennedy.

Martin Luther King Day Mix by Jazz 42.wmv [6:50]

A montage of clips of Dr. King speaking with musical background.

Mavis Staples “Eyes On The Prize” [4:06]

A collection of archival footage from the civil rights movement is shown to the background of Staples singing “Eyes on the Prize.”

Steve Jobs Narrates the First “Think Different” Commercial “Here’s to the Crazy Ones”[1:01]

In addition to Steve Jobs, seventeen “crazy ones” who changed the world are shown.

Billie Holiday Strange Fruit – Metaphor of Terror [3:35]

The film maker describes the images in this documentary as “a gallery of terrorism & genocide the past 100 years.”

Let Freedom Ring – MLK Rap Song [3:05]

Let Freedom Ring” by Flocabulary (featuring Trajik)

Bayard Rustin MLK Organizer [2:02]

Biographical sketch of Bayard Rustin, a gay civil rights leader who helped organize the Civil Rights March on Washington.

#16:  A Bonus Recommendation

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. – Man of Peace In a Time of War [1:00]

Ashley Hall recommended this documentary in the comments section of “Ten Short Films Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”  She described it as “an interview with notable people like Jesse Jackson and Colin Powell, with an interview with MLK himself from 1967.”

I have consistently argued that that I do not believe that colleges should close on the federal holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Instead, we should suspend business as usual and conduct seminars, teach-ins, and other events to honor Dr. King.  As I recognize in “The ‘Problem’ with Dr. Martin Luther King Day,” suspending the first day of class is problematic and I share my plans for 16 January 2012.

Even if colleagues are unable to turn their entire class over to a reflection of Dr. King, I would encourage them to something.  One possibility is to show a short film that could spark a discussion about Dr. King’s legacy.

Each of the following ten films is followed by at least one quotation from Dr. King.  Because I have a quirky way of linking things together, I would not be offended if someone were to ask how I see a discussion of the film as a way to honor Dr. King or how I envision the film and quotation fitting together.

The following list of ten films is fairly arbitrary, but it is one way to begin a discussion.  I hope that others will list their choices as comments to this post.

Teaching is Like… [0:26]

In this  film, Professor Mark Harris lights a candle while talking about education.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.”

10 Minutes [9:16]

This film contrasts contrasts the experiences of a tourist in Rome with that of a boy living in Sarajevo during the same ten minute period.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

 Black Button [7:08]

After his death, a man is given a choice the decision to which reveals his true character.

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

 The Life and Death of a Pumpkin [4:56]

Carving a pumpkin is told from the point of view of the pumpkin.  I have also used this film to teach ethnocentrism.

 ”It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me, and I think that’s pretty important.”

Schwarzfahrer [10:00]

This German film with English subtitles features a woman expounding racist attitudes on a crowded train and the effect it has on her.  The film can also be used to facilitate a discussion of the issue of silence.  See quotes under We are the Richest Nation on the Planet.

“Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man’s sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true.”

Offside [5:59]

Palestinian and Israeli troops (two on each side) are temporarily united by a love of soccer.

 “Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.”

Strangers [7:11]

There is quiet tension between a Palestinian man and an Israel man on a train until they are temporarily united by a common enemy.

“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

We are the Richest Nation on the Planet [2:12]

Stephanie Driver created this documentary in 2009 when she was a student at Schoolcraft College.  The documentary asks us to think about a variety of contemporary social issues.

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

 “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”

Just War [4:31]

Four soldiers on patrol are attacked, saved with air support, and then confront one of their attackers in person.  Knowledge of Augustine’s “just war theory” is not required to address issues raised by the film.

“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.”

“Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars… Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

In Der Obamahrer’s Face [2:47]

Spike Jones’ “In de Fuehrer’s Face” serves as the backdrop of a series of posters and images commenting on President Obama.  The racism inherent in many of the images is disturbing as is the theme of equating Obama and Hitler.  Viewers might also be interested in viewing Donald Duck’s In der Fuhrer’s Face [7:56], an anti-Hitler propaganda film produced during World War II.

“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

Revisions made on 11 January 2012:  Short summaries and run times for each film were added to the original posting.

“Fifteen Non-Fiction Videos Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” was posted on 15 January 2012.

As part of my last evaluation, I needed to submit materials from one of my courses.  I choose film because I had worked hard to develop a syllabus that incorporated short films as part of the curriculum.  This allowed students to be exposed to many more types of films than in a more traditional course and demonstrated an innovative way focus course content around effective student engagement.  However, were I to simply teach using the same “innovative” approach l today, the course would no longer be as creative or student centered as it was when I was last evaluated.  In fact, by the standards of 2012, there is nothing innovative about what I was doing in my film class five years ago.

Five years ago, the only realistic opportunity to introduce students to short films was for me to purchase anthologies and then select all of the films that were shown in class as we discussed each of the ten elements of film.   At the time, YouTube was only a year old and the videos tended to feature teenage boys doing stupid stuff.  It was not a viable teaching tool.

Today, selecting the films is no longer my responsibility.  Teams of student decide what short films we will watch during most classes.  Then, if time permits, I have the opportunity to show a film I enjoy.

Because I take my teaching responsibilities seriously, it is not possible to simply teach the same way I did five years ago.  That is not something that any good teacher can do.

–Steven L. Berg, PhD

Image caption:  In some ways, my film choices have become regulated to obscure films that students are unlikely to stumble across or, if they do find one, are not likely to watch.  Fernard Leger’s Ballet Mechanique (1924) is a surrealist film that falls into that category.  After I showed one such film at the end of the 2011 Winter semester, a student commented, “I really liked that film even though you picked it out!” The class laughed at his word choice, be we all knew what he meant.