Intercut Issue Seven

Issue Seven

Intercut

Issue Seven

Intercut

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Julia Levine Annie Ning ART DIRECTOR Hannah Cooper FINANCIAL MANAGER Sophia Dienstag EDITORS Arnaav Bhavanani Clara Coggiano Sophia Dienstag Sarah Lucente Theo Matza Chase Mayo Olivia Miller Hannah Ratner Olive Wexler Sherwin Yu ILLUSTRATORS Candice Cirilo Sam Hill Leslie Rosario-Olivo Mary Ahlstrom Sivan Piatigorsky-Roth

Contents

why I’m watching THEO MATZA

1

I Just Can’t Quit You, Ang Lee JACK WARREN

7

Art and Investment: The Economics of Adaptation in Film TOM HANES

19

Down Below: The Symbolism of Basements in Bong Joon-ho’s Barking Dogs Never Bite, Memories of Murder, and Parasite MARCEL THOMPSON

27

Still A Part of It: Growing Up New York, New York HANNAH CARROLL

41

Combating Colonial Structures through Local Senegalese Cinema SAM LETER

51

Screenwriting Interviews JULIA LEVINE

67

Dear Reader,

Recently,

alongside

the

protests, police brutality, and conversations towards antiracism,

INTERCUT, like everything else

we have been witnessing a call for

these past few months, has been

major shifts in the film and media

greatly altered by circumstances

world (including within our own

in the world outside of our control.

film department at Wesleyan by

We regret that we weren’t able to

artists, writers + activists who

publish a print issue this semester

have been deeply questioning

due to the covid-19 pandemic.

the overwhelming whiteness of

Still, we wanted to honor the

those in power. Collectively, we

hard work, thoughtful ideas, and

interrogate who gets heard at the

creativity of our writers, editors,

table, and who is even present in

and artists by putting out a virtual

the first place. This is a crucial

magazine nonetheless. This issue

time to pay attention to these

comes to you from contributors

conversations. To listen to the

scattered far and wide who took

voices emerging right in front

on the challenge of adding to our

of us that have been waiting for

publication amidst the transition

a very long time. To love what

to online classes and the difficulties

we watch on our screens deeply

of quarantine, and this issue exists

but care for the people & stories

because of their efforts.

beyond them even more.

From directors, producers, and

perspectives is not only heard, but

production crews to the world

amplified.

of film criticism and writing, we must work to decenter the

As we leave Intercut to the next year

white and Western film canon

of writers and the next and the

in

scholarship,

next, we hope that this space will

and practice. We look towards

continue to grow and consciously

the CFILM department with

reckon with the role of race, the

an

greater

power of authorship and the

accountability in acknowledging

responsibility that publications,

and undoing their own racism. In

including ours, have in this.

our

thinking,

expectation

for

addition, we look within ourselves as film artists and writers and ask

Read on to learn about the film

how writing on film must create

industry in Senegal, the case for

spaces for speaking on issues

Ang Lee’s place in our canon, the

of

role of basements in Bong Joon-

white

supremacy,

racism,

and the historical exclusion of Black voices in film writing and scholarship. There is an urgent need for stronger representation in authorship. This is how a true representation of

voices and

ho’s filmography, and more.

With love, J U LI A LEVI NE + ANN IE N ING ED I TO RS-I N-CHIE F

Here is a list of some resources and writing that address the film and media landscape. It is our hope that you will use and engage with them in conversation with the articles in this issue:

Open Letter to the Wesleyan Film Department https://tinyurl.com/y9cvblhr

Sonya Childress: A Reckoning (The Documentary Film Industry Must Chart A New Path Forward) https://medium.com/@sonya.childress/a-reckoning-526bb97ca60b

@imanimdavis, Diversify Your Critics Today https://www.instagram.com/p/CBcMGSlDvLA/?igshid=laeerkrny46z

@paintherlex @rhearhea_, Racism In the Arts https://www.instagram.com/p/CBTZeXClSJS/?igshid=18xtoaide91qa

Tambay Obenson, IndieWire Critics Roundtable: #blackAF and the Dilemmas of Black Criticism https://www.indiewire.com/2020/06/indiewire-critics-roundtable-blackaf-1202227144/

@panavisionofficial, @MalakaiTheBrave. BIPOC Cinematographers, Camera Assistants, and Camera Technicians to Support https://www.instagram.com/p/CBobEsZpwJv/?igshid=16q2s82jg6vvb

@FreeTheWork Instagram account, Resources for BIPOC Queer and Trans Creators, Must-Know Black Filmmaker Collectives and Platforms https://instagram.com/freethework?igshid=kabavou8nwud

Miranda Hoyt: Capitalism, White Supremacy, and You: The Ulterior Motives of Romcoms https://www.themarysue.com/netflix-you-capitalism-white-supremacy/

INTERCUT

why I’m watching

WRI T T EN BY T HEO MATZ A I L LUST RAT ED BY CAND IC E C IRILO 1

LIGHTS ARE ONLY ON in

like a silent image of a hand,

the hallway and the kitchen,

belonging to a young child

and for some reason or other

whom I do not know personally,

I decide to notice these details

drawing a stick figure on a

right now. I just walked into my

piece of lined paper. Someone

parents’ apartment, the same

managed

one I have been coming home

madness in me, and I am

to forever. This will be the last

allowing myself to be hauled in

time I come in from the outside

by it.

to

prompt

this

in who knows how long. I’ve done dinner and a movie with a

By now you deserve to have had

dear friend, one who I know—

a viewing experience that felt

given what is happening in the

like it existed only for you. To

world right now, and the reality

sense that you have somehow

that he lives thousands of miles

parked yourself seamlessly in

away—I will not be seeing

the correct space, at promptly,

again for some time. Sitting in a

unwaveringly the right time.

theater with him is not like doing

Whether or not you chose to

it with most people. He wants to

wait for that overpriced crater

be wide open, to let in and be let

of only faintly stale nachos,

in. I always tell him how much

whether you remembered to

I appreciate this. Afterwards, he

bring your stained, unwashed

tells me he hopes we will get to

hoodie with you to the theater

do this again sometime soon.

(because, even though it’s July, it is never not frigid in there),

My favorite films are about

whether it was even a movie that

the details. I have just been

you happened to be watching

prompted to cry over something

in the first place—it matters.

2

INTERCUT

Those details culminate in a

atrocious

McCartney

feeling that exists, and as wince-

inspired bowl-cut as I cried

worthy as it might sound, the

and then wailed some more.

kind that I am talking about

For all I know, that was the

cannot be replaced. If you are

day the fake cheese-dip forever

already pinning me for being

marked my then oversized gray

unfounded, gushy, or unduly-

sweatshirt. But that’s only the

romantic, what I have to say is

classic

that this will not work for you

the sort of private rapture I am

if you do not want to be wide

talking about is not so simple

open. More often than not, if

and wonderfully cliché as when

you need to feel, on some level

a trip to the movies carries an

you have to ask for it.

overt tie to a life event that you

example.

(Paul)-

Sometimes,

happen to be enduring yourself.

My first experience with the

3

above was after I got dumped in

It could really be as simple as

the sixth grade. My twin sister

sitting alone in a theater at

took me to Crazy Stupid Love, a

college on a night where you’re

flick in which, coincidentally, a

recovering from a cold. Snow

middle school boy, as he often

(the ugly-wet kind) is pummeling

does, comes to terms with having

out there. You haven’t seen

been infatuated with someone

anyone in days. It’s the end of

who would not recipcrocate his

Wong Kar Wai’s Fallen Angels,

passion. You bet gargantuan

and the purging “Only You” by

pockets of tears collected and

The Flying Pickets booms on

fell from my fleshy eleven year-

the speakers as two lost souls

old eye sockets, my blinking wet

ride off into the night on a

lashes grazing the fringes of my

motorcycle. They’re still lonely,

of course, but for an instant

is watching you than it is when

they feel transported by their

you are revealing to those close

togetherness. And you, having

to you that you need some space

been away from your friends,

during this calamitous time, or

hibernating in your room with

when you are burying a family

now empty boxes of Day-Quil

member, or even looking at

and EmergenC, get to ride off

yourself in the mirror.

with another sort of companion.

I had not been giving myself This method of purely self-

over to the movies lately, instead

relational viewing was at one

finding myself

point enough for me, but as

in my chair and crashing even

I have grown older, an issue

if it was the middle of the

has arisen. Sitting in four to

day, locking my eyes with the

five screenings a week for class,

periphery of the screen, only

writing papers on the historical,

scratching

thematic, and stylistic traits of

had convinced myself that it

Ford westerns or contemporary

was unfair of me not to be

international art cinema, I have

confronting the real world by

begun to reassess why it is that I

losing myself in what is up

watch. I have started to question

there. I feared I was being

the value of thinking of visual

quixotic, selfish, and pathetic by

media as something that exists

immersing myself in stories that

to move you in a world so

were not my own for the sole

ceaselessly affected on a colossal

purpose of escaping my own

scale. It makes you happy to be

story. But then I realized that

vulnerable, and it is easier to do

being shaped by someone else’s

so in a dark room when no one

experience

sliding down

their

is

surface.

I

fundamentally

4

INTERCUT

about learning to let yourself

recently deceased in choosing

relate,

simply

a single memory from their

knowing that you should. It is

lives to take with them onward.

not the artist’s job to ask you to

While the film is overtly about

try.

the nature of

more

than

remembrance,

to me it was about practicing It’s perhaps even simpler for

reflection.

most of us to just drift in and

an image, an impression, or

out of

spaces without ever

a sound, to focus on the little

investing, laughing at moments

things bears more value than

that are meant to be poignant,

we often choose to acknowledge.

talking over people on screen

This feels especially true right

and off so as to feel our own

now. With the boundless crater

presence. There must be more

of momentary distraction to

to watching, more to studying,

which we have access, it has felt

more of a reason to understand

a remarkably simple maneuver

all of

not to be present.

this than the extent

Whether

through

to which it provides us with security.

We spent a lot of time during the first sixty minutes of the

5

Now, all the streets in the most

movie with the individual voices

beautiful cities in the world

of people, old and young, as

are empty. Tonight I was in

they recounted their memories

a theater for the last time in

into the lens. Even the most

what will likely be months, in a

sophisticated viewer could not

world classified by uncertainty.

take in or apply importance to

The film was Hirokazu Kore-

every one of these words. It was

eda’s After Life, which follows

left up to me to choose when to

a fictional sort of purgatory in

engage, when to listen, when to

which a staff of people assist the

take in the beauty of a rose petal

that a humble old woman once

than I thought. They help you

retrieved from her backyard, or

to access your own person, not

the look in a man’s eye when he

just to escape yourself when you

contemplates his existence and

do not know where you’re going.

realizes that he never took much

It’s like getting yourself to go

agency in his time here, or the

to therapy, in that you have to

steam rising out of a woman’s

put yourself in that room, you

tea cup, catching the grains

have to make an agreement

of daylight through an open

to unlock yourself before you

window while she weeps for her

can mobilize, before you can

long lost love. There’s a poetic

receive anything of value. You

line from the film that I have

have to be constantly adjusting

been repeating in my head since

your perspective, altering the

the moment I heard it. One of

vantage point from which you

the staff at the facility casually

are assessing your processes of

remarks to his colleague,

feeling, thinking, being.

“The moon stays the same, but it looks

I want to realize that I am

different depending on the angle of

seeing. I want to notice the

the light.”

details. I want to be a little more present. It’s okay to forget about

That film will stay the same,

it, it’s okay to remember that it

but the angle from which I

happened. High highs and low

allow myself to approach it

lows, no matter where in the

will fluctuate. I’ve always joked

theater, or where in the world,

that I considered the movies to

we are sitting. You must want to

be my main source of therapy,

let in and to be let in. Yes it’s

but now I know that if you

about me, but it’s also about

let them they may serve that

you, and even if haunting, that’s

purpose on a more serious level

pretty damn electrifying.

6

INTERCUT

I Just Can’t Quit You, Ang Lee WRI T T EN BY J ACK WARRE N I L LU ST RAT ED BY SA M H ILL

7

THE

PROCESS

OF

film

for Lee’s innovative use of 3D,

failures is debatable, but they

canonization is one of unifying

which won over skeptic Roger

are indicative of a forward-

the personal with the universal

Ebert, who noted that he had

thinking spirit prevalent across

and the marginal with the

“never seen the medium better

Lee’s filmography. While neither

mainstream, and few directors

employed, not even in Avatar”

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

embody

this

and that it “deepen[s] the film’s

nor Brokeback Mountain feature

so

Ang

sense of places and events.”

the technological novelty of

beginning among the ranks

For Gemini Man (and its $10

a film like Life of Pi, they are

of his surname-sharing NYU

million-losing predecessor Billy

representative of a filmmaking

classmate Spike as a trailblazer

Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk), Lee

style that always pushes forward

of

has moved on to high frame

and never looks back. Crouching

to

rate filmmaking as his next

Tiger,

Hollywood

frontier, describing the form in

Brokeback Mountain twist familiar

to

an interview with Polygon as

genres

technological experimentation

“…unlike anything. It looks a

directions, experimenting with

in cinema, whether it leads to

lot like a movie we used to see.

film form and advancing public

blockbuster or blow-up; 2012’s

But it seems to feel more like

perception of

Life of Pi scored a worldwide

life. It’s more immersive. It feels

Using an expansive narrative

gross of over $600 million—the

like you’re more experiencing it,

range and cavernous narrative

highest of his career—while

living that life.”

depth, Lee creates achingly real

than

Lee.

more Despite

independent cinema, his

reputation something mad

process

has of

scientist,

shifted a

dedicated

2019’s Gemini Man is expected to

Hidden

into

Dragon

new

and

narrative

their subjects.

characters out of archetypal

lose $75 million (McClintock).

The canonical significance of

icons, delivering accessible films

Life of Pi was well regarded

these commercial and critical

that challenge audiences to piece

8

INTERCUT

together the lives of characters

wuxia

using narrative parallels. Lee’s

adventures of heroic martial

stylistic

support

artists Li Mu Bai and Shu

his narrative decisions, with

Lien (played by Hong Kong

cinematography

editing

action legends Chow Yun-fat

helping to ground viewers in

and Michelle Yeoh) as they

character perspective and juggle

struggle against the nefarious

genre expectations. Together,

Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-pei) and

these formal choices create

train

a unique viewing experience

Jen (Zhang Ziyi), but Lee turns

that introduces audiences to

the blade of

perspectives they would not

inward, subverting tropes and

otherwise be exposed to.

pushing the film beyond its

tendencies

and

film,

hotshot

chronicling

the

up-and-comer

the narrative

genre tendencies. In his article

9

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

“Globalizing Chinese Martial

and Brokeback Mountain both

Arts Cinema: The Global-Local

feature archetypal iconography

Alliance and the Production

that harken to popular genres

of

of

The

Dragon,” Wu Huaiting writes

swordsman and the cowboy are

that “vengeance is one of the

icons of idealistic masculinity,

most…indispensable plots of

championing the victory of

wuxia” films, but such a plot is

a hero over a villain through

complicated in Crouching Tiger.

violence.

glance,

Rather than follow a single

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

character thread as a wronged

would appear to follow the

hero pursues justice, Lee weaves

format of a typical Chinese

a rich tapestry of character

action

filmmaking.

On

first

Crouching

Tiger,

Hidden

perspective, including Jade Fox

cathartic defeat of the villain,

emphasizing the skill of the

and Jen (Wu). When Jen betrays

the expanded range and depth

fighters rather than the force of

Jade Fox in order to go rogue,

of

in

each blow. This is particularly

Lee uses close-up to grant the

Crouching Tiger forces viewers to

evident in the treetop fight

viewer more access to Fox’s

consider the viewpoints of all of

between Li Mu Bai and Jen, in

interiority

those involved in the violence.

which long, sweeping camera

than

is

common

character

narration

for the antagonist of a wuxia

movements follow the fighters

film. Instead of disappearing

Lee’s subversion of genre tropes

as they dance through the air in

in smoke or cackling through

is supported by his suppression

wide shots, sometimes cutting

an

of the revenge plot in favor

to POVs as the characters come

commands viewer attention as

of

closer to understanding one

she experiences anger, betrayal,

relationships.

and rejection from her pupil.

vendetta against Jade Fox is

When she leaves, the camera

introduced in the first scene, but

Brokeback Mountain is harder than

follows her outside, and rather

only after the romantic tension

Crouching Tiger to categorize,

than appear menacing, Jade

between him and Shu Lien is

utilizing western iconography

Fox shrinks sorrowfully within

established. The vendetta plot

in the context of a romantic

the frame. Instead of quickly

motivates

stunning

melodrama. Ennis Del Mar and

establishing the new narrative

action

but

by

Jack Twist (Heath Ledger and

information—that Jen no longer

preventing it from dominating

Jake Gyllenhaal, respectively)

serves Jade Fox—Lee lingers on

the narrative, Lee maintains

are

the relationship between the

the humanity of each character.

tumultuously and gloriously in

two women, further establishing

This is reinforced by the stylistic

love while assigned to herd sheep

them as characters and leaning

editing and cinematography of

across the Wyoming mountains

into themes of

generational

the fight sequences. Lee often

in

the

summer

of

conflict. While a typical Wuxia

captures several hits and/or

Brokeback

Mountain

chronicles

film may culminate in the

acrobatic moves in each cut,

how their clandestine affair

evil

monologue,

Fox

characters’

interpersonal Li

visually

sequences,

Mu

Bai’s

another.

two

cowboys

who

fall

1963.

10

impacts the rest of their lives,

while his use of a wide narrative

reverse-shot

including

relationships

range forces audience members

direct perceptual subjectivity

with their wives, Alma and

to contend with the impact of

POV shots offer narrative depth

Lureen (Michelle Williams and

that relationship on the lives of

for

Anne Hathway). Here, Lee’s

other characters.

express

their

use of narrative depth helps

11

sequences

characters

who

themselves

and

cannot verbally

and communicate information

to tell the story of romantic

Lee’s tendency towards the

audiences are accustomed to

heroes whose relationship must

close-up takes on even greater

receiving less subtly. The “meet-

be hidden within the margins,

presence in Brokeback.

cute” trope of the romance film

Shot-

is ubiquitous, but Jack and Ennis

a rear-view mirror. Lee is able

Lureen, which gets them out of

are not afforded such delights.

to make viewers’ feel Jack and

the bar and into the backseat

Their

wordless,

Ennis’ initial attraction to one

of a car with their clothes off in

consisting of a series of ever

another, while simultaneously

seven shots. Instead, Lee builds

tighter

communicating the danger of

the tension over the first 20

the two looking at one another,

that attraction. A heterosexual

scenes, mostly built around one

then glancing away before the

version

might

character watching the other.

other can notice, followed by

begin far more like Jack’s first

The exception to prove the rule

a POV shot of Ennis through

encounter with his wife-to-be,

occurs when Ennis changes in

meeting

is

shot-reverse-shots

of

of

this

film

12

INTERCUT

13

the background, out of focus,

from consummating their love,

choice to stay with Alma drives

while the viewers watch Jack

but is complicated through the

the viewer to consider Jack

in

uncomfortable

narrative range’s incorporation

and Ennis’ relationship as a

with just how much he wants

of Alma perspective (Bettinson).

threat to Alma’s marriage. This

to turn around. This degree of

By suppressing Alma from the

literally forces the audience to

narrative depth allows viewers

narrative until Jack and Ennis’

see Jack and Ennis from a new

to

feelings

return from Brokeback Mountain,

perspective. While Alma never

they are accustomed to being

Lee allows the audience to

dominates the film, the film’s

communicated through grand

invest fully in the melodrama

wide narrative range prevents

romantic acts and gestures that

of Jack and Ennis’ relationship.

her from being characterized

are inaccessible to Jack and

Their boss, Joe Aguirre (Randy

as purely antagonistic. This

Ennis.

Quaid) is the closest Lee comes

choice encourages viewers to

a melodramatic villain, acting as

conceptualize Jack and Ennis

Not unlike the wuxia film, the

a bigoted arm of fate preventing

as not just archetypal lovers

romantic melodrama frequently

Jack and Ennis’ romance. Joe is

but real people doomed not

drowns out the perspectives of

always framed larger than Jack

by fate but by systems of toxic

others in favor of its primary

and Ennis, and a binocular

masculinity and homophobia

players. Lee subverts this trope

POV shot of Joe observing the

that are injurious not only to

by complicating Jack and Ennis’

couple suggests omnipotence.

them but everyone in their lives.

epic

Lee departs from this more

close-up,

experience

romance

the

through

the

subjectivities of those around

melodramatic

them.

melodrama

the scene of Jack and Ennis’

Lee films come to life on

“attests to the disempowerment

reunion, when he cuts from

screen, transcending familiar

of the individual by nonmaterial,

Alma’s POV of the lovers kissing

genre

omnipotent,

apparently

to a series of shots following

expectation. While much of this

acausal phenomena” which can

her back into the apartment.

is through the expanded access

be applied to the social forces

In contrast with Joe’s gaze as a

provided by narrative range

preventing

threat to Jack and Ennis, Lee’s

and depth, Lee also pushes

Romantic

and

Jack

and

Ennis

framework

in

The

characters

tropes

and

of

Ang

audience

audiences to piece together

only reunited when Shu Lien

meaning as it occurs across the

and Li Mu Bai are torn apart

visual and narrative parallels

by the one force stronger than

in characters’ lives. Jack and

Bai’s jade sword—death. By

Ennis’ Thankgivings are seen

experiencing Jen and Lo’s past

one after the other, drawing

in conjunction with Li Mu Bai

attention to their difference in

and Shu Lien’s unseen history,

class and how that has impacted

the viewer is left with the feeling

their lives. This is observable in

that they have experienced both

the framing of the families, but

couples’ pasts. Rather than

also in smaller details, such as

leave viewers with single legible

the clean slice of an expensive

character arcs, Lee presents

knife compared to the whir of

them with an untangleable mess

a cheap electric carver. These

of lives, each informing the

comparisons create feeling in the

other and creating meaning for

viewer without verbalizing an

viewer’s to unpack ad infinitum.

explanation, allowing audiences to interrogate the construction

Beyond character and genre,

of the film and think about the

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

lives being presented to them.

and Brokeback Mountain offer

In Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,

viewers new experiences on

Shu Lien references a romantic

a cultural and historical level.

past with Li Mu Bai, but the

In a global market flooded

audience never sees it. In the

with Hollywood film, Crouching

same scene, Jen experiences

Tiger

her first flashback to her time

transnational film production

in the desert with her lover, Lo

that remains unparalleled. It

(Chang Chen). Lo and Jen are

remains the highest grossing

created

a

model

for

14

INTERCUT

foreign language film in the

in the English language—stars a

conventional genre by the horns

U.S., earning more than the

predominantly Indian cast and

and wrestled it into a tale of

next two films combined. In

earned over $484 million of its

homosexual love emotionally

addition to the number of

$600 million overseas. As the

positioned to ensnare a general

countries involved in financing,

world becomes more globalized,

audience” (Rich). By making a

shooting, and crewing the film,

Crouching

an

star-studded, Oscar-nominated

the storytelling is a blend of

important step in the creation

movie about queerness, Lee

cultural

of a hit movie that balances

brought

describes Crouching Tiger, Hidden

cultural

the

Dragon as “a Hong Kong martial

of

commodifying or paving

queer love among the great

arts

borrows

over them, and Lee deserves

love stories of cinema history.

Hollywood

recognition for such a historic

While Lee himself

westerns, Greek tragedy, Beijing

success.

returned to queer romance

opera,

dance;

Released one day and five years

outside

spiritually, it is rooted in the

later, Brokeback Mountain was

in Taking Woodstock, Brokeback

ancient Chinese philosophy of

historic in its own right. While

Mountain opened the door for a

Taoism as well as in western

it was not the first “gay” film,

generation of queer love stories

philosophy like individualism

film scholar B. Ruby Rich writes

from Carol to Call Me By Your

or feminism.” This was a task

that “there has never been a

Name to Love, Simon.

uniquely suited to Ang Lee, as

film by a brand-name director,

evidenced by the later success

packed with A-list Hollywood

Not every film by Ang Lee has

Pi, which—while

stars at the peak of their careers,

been historic. Hulk tries tackling

being an American production

that has taken an established

the superhero genre with the

traditions.

movie,

heavily

of

15

[that]

from

dramas

Life of

Huaiting

and

Tiger

marks

influences

instead

the

marginal

mainstream,

a

to

canonizing

has not

character

detail

same character-focussed trope-

may not be the hyperreality of

While an institution cannot

defying sensibility, to resounding

120 fps, but it is bold progress

have the “personal” connection

commercial and critical failure.

nonetheless.

to film that Lupo references

But unlike many auteurs who go

specifically, the canon must

through long periods of success

As

a

school

or failure, Ang Lee’s career has

educating

to

resonate with a global student

filmmakers,

population dedicated to social

been a roller coaster of ups and

it is only right that Wesleyan

justice, and as such should

down, each film an experiment

make a place within its canon

reflect films that have expanded

distinct from the last. When

for a trailblazer like Ang Lee to

public consciousness. In “The

describing his most recent foray

pass his torch. Neither the AFI

Politics of Film Canons”, Janet

into high-frame rate filmmaking,

nor Sight and Sound cite any

Steiger writes that film canons

Lee told The Guardian: “I know

of Lee’s films among their “Top

must ensure “selection is made

I’m gonna get beat up. But I

100” list, and the creation of a

with an awareness of the politics

have to keep trying. I’m carrying

Wesleyan Canon must recognize

of the chosen criteria and with

a torch for the next level of film-

the

globally

a politics of eliminating power

makers.” Crouching Tiger, Hidden

influential director. According

of some groups over others, of

Dragon and Brokeback Mountain

to Jonathan Lupo in his article,

centering at the expense of

work

are culturally and historically

“Loaded

distinct landmarks built on the

canon

dedicated

future

of

this

Canons”,

a

marginalizing classes, genders,

“privilege…the

sexual orientations, or cultures,”

command and subversion of

personal over the ‘staid’ greatest

which is particularly important

genre tropes designed to create a

criterion,” and Ang Lee’s body

to consider when taking into

dramatic, cinematic experience

of work reflects both the student

account the biases of a film

that resonates as true. That

body and its academic aims.

department that is primarily

must

such

16

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17

white, male, and American.

of an audience and push the

Being representative of a film

medium. This canon should

studies institution, the Wesleyan

include films designed to satisfy

Canon should also focus upon

viewers and challenge them,

works that both exemplify the

be they popular or obscure.

conventions

genre

Films in the Wesleyan Film

and subvert them, illustrating

Canon should advance student

the ways in which filmmakers’

knowledge, whether it be in the

artistic and narrative proclivities

understanding of film form or

interact with the expectations

of their own classmates.

of

their

Works Cited Staiger, Janet. “The Politics of Film Canons.” Cinema Journal, vol. 24, no.

3, 1985, p. 4.

McClintock, Pamela. “Box Office Bust: ‘Gemini Man’ Faces $75 Million Loss.” The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Oct. 2019.

Ebert, Roger. “Life of Pi Movie Review & Film Summary (2012): Roger Ebert.” RogerEbert.com, 20 Nov. 2012.

Patches, Matt. “Gemini Man Director Ang Lee Can’t Unsee the Magic of 120 Frames per Second.” Polygon, Polygon, 10 Oct. 2019.

Wu, Huaiting; Chan, Joseph M. (2007). “Globalizing Chinese Martial Arts Cinema: The Global-Local Alliance and the Production of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”. Media, Culture & Society. 29 (2).

Bettinson, Gary. The Sensuous Cinema of Wong Kar-Wai. Film Poetics and the Aesthetic of Disturbance. Hong Kong University Press, 2015.

Rich, Ruby. “B Ruby Rich on Brokeback Mountain.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 23 Sept. 2005.

Gilbey, Ryan. “Ang Lee: ‘I Know I’m Gonna Get Beat up. But I Have to Keep Trying’.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 3 Oct. 2019.

Lupo, Jonathan. “Loaded Canons: Contemporary Film Canons, Film Studies, and Film Discourse.” The Journal of American Culture, vol. 34, no.

3, 2011, pp. 219–233.

18

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Art and Investment: The Economics of Adaptation W R IT T E N BY TO M HANES

in Film

IL LU ST R AT E D BY MARY AHLST RO M 19

IT IS A COMMON REFRAIN among cultural curmudgeons that Hollywood has lost its creative

spark

bloated,

overly

and

become

reliant

on

remakes and CGI amusement rides that Martin Scorsese would not even refer to as cinema. This decline in originality and artistic

92nd Academy Awards, despite

real story. Hollywood, especially

production

Hollywood

the Oscar’s long standing bias

in its larger budget features,

culminated in the victory of

in favor of American film. But

has always been the adaptation

Parasite for Best Picture at the

a lack of originality is not the

business.

in

20

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21

In 1939, as in 2019, nearly all of the highest grossing films in the American box office were sequels or adaptations of some sort. Most familiar to us is The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, dazzling in its spectacle, an adaptation

by the screenwriter Lewis R.

of L. Frank Baum’s children’s

Foster. Further high grossing

not an adaptation, kept much of

novel of 40 years prior. The

films included two biographies:

the cast of the previous year’s

highest grossing by far was Gone

Jesse James and The Story of

smash hit Robin Hood, including

with the Wind, an adaptation of

Vernon and Irene Castle, though

the leading couple of Errol

the novel by Margaret Mitchell

the word “biography” is here

Flynn and Olivia deHavilland.

with few changes except for the

used

Several

All in all, 9 of the top 10

obligatory reduction of the size

more novel adaptations were

grossing films were adaptations

of the main character’s family.

big hits, including The Rains

of some sort.

Next, the well remembered

Came, Goodbye Mr. Chips, and The

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was

Hunchback of Notre Dame, and

2019 had a similar ratio of

in fact loosely based on “The

Gunga Din, influenced both by

adaptations to originals in its

Gentleman

the Kipling poem and a short

own

story cycle concerning the wars

films.

between the British Raj and

non-adaptation

the Thuggee. But that’s not all.

Peele’s Us, the 12th overall.

Babes in Arms was reworked from

However, even Us is a spiritual

a recent Broadway hit. The last

successor to his previous Get

in the top ten, Dodge City, though

Out. This parallels Dodge City’s

an

from

unpublished

Montana”, short

story

quite

loosely.

top

grossing

The

highest was

domestic grossing Jordan

relationship to Robin Hood. The rest of the top 12 comprised two sequels of Disney hits and two separate refilmings of existing Disney

hits,

three

Marvel

22

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bonanzas, three other sequels:

The upshot is that the big budget

The Rise of Skywalker, Jumanji:

film has never been the place

The Next Level, and It Chapter

for wholly original storytelling.

Two and, rounding out the list,

Adaptations have always been

Joker, which not only adapts the

the bread and butter of the

D.C. Comic villain but heavily

box

borrows from Scorsese’s vision

being the alternative route to

of New York in the ‘70s.

wallet shattering success. In

office,

with

star-power

some ways, this is economics.

23

Most of the Great Films are

The larger a production is, the

adapted from novels, plays, or

larger a risk it is for the studio,

short stories, especially in higher

and the more sensible it is to

budget genres like action and

adapt rather than create afresh.

science fiction: The Godfather,

Last year, Universal Pictures

Lawrence of

Arabia, Goodfellas,

had only around $4 billion in

Apocalypse Now, 2001: A Space

revenue, but the budget for a

Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange,

major blockbuster can run up

The Third Man, Vertigo and Psycho,

to $350-400 million. A single

Throne of Blood, Ikiru, Rashomon,

large production is a major

Bicycles Thieves, Casablanca, Blade

investment.

Runner, Stagecoach, Jurassic Park,

intellectual property to adapt

Rosemary’s Baby, It’s a Wonderful

provides both market testing

Life, All About Eve, Full Metal

(after all, it succeeded in the

Jacket,

pre-existing

and

Schindler’s

List,

A

pre-existing

version)

and

a

among others. Some Like it Hot,

sure audience. On top of this,

The Departed, and A Fistful of

the value of an adaptation to

Dollars were remakes of foreign

the consumer is much higher

films as well as, of course, The

in

Magnificent Seven.

where filmmaking technology

the

big-budget

market,

(particularly CGI) can lead to a

ways to use an adaptation, two

of the former type in the series

meaningfully different viewing

reasons to repurpose an existing

of

experience

be

intellectual property rather than

classical plays and novels from

provided in 1939, or even 1986.

produce one from scratch. The

between 1990 and 2005, usually

Technology could not improve

first is that the material to adapt

set in the modern era and

The Graduate, but might make a

is good, or at least likeable, so

usually in a high school: Clueless,

difference to You Only Live Twice.

an adaptation will bring butts

10 Things I Hate about You,

Note that we do not remake

to seats by positive reviews and

Metropolitan, Bridget Jones’ Diary,

novels.

word of mouth. The alternative

and Romeo + Juliet. Many of these

is that the adaptation will bring

did minimal marketing based on

in viewers based on the existing

their original content, or none

reputation

adapted

at all. It remains a matter of

to Hollywood’s very success.

material. Perhaps people have

debate whether Whit Stillman’s

In 1939, most of the cultural

fond memories of the original,

Metropolitan is intended as an

touchstones Americans shared

want to see what will happen

adaptation of Mansfield Park or

were novels and plays, offering

to

characters,

a general homage to Austen’s

a wealth of stories to throw

or expect the adaptation to

ouvre. Part of the trend of these

onto the big screen. In contrast,

match up in quality to the first

classical adaptations resulted

much more existing content as

production.

the

from the hope that Austen and

of today began as film—A Star is

two purposes of

adaptation

Shakespeare fans would come to

Born (2016) would not have been

are not mutually exclusive, and

see their favorite works adapted,

the fourth film of the same story

even productions of the purest

and by the turn of the millenium

if there had not already been

intention

ignore

surely studios had smelled the

a century of cinema history in

the

market

commercial winds and went

which to film it three previous

an adaptation based on the

where the money was, but part

times.

popularity of what they adapt.

of the motivation behind these

The

than

rising

remakes

may

could

influence be

of

attributed

their

of

the

favorite

Of

will

course,

rarely

opportunity

to

successful adaptations of

films is that the stories had been But that’s not the whole story.

But the distinction is still useful.

well liked for centuries, so they

Roughly speaking, there are two

We see a fairly clear example

would surely be enjoyed again.

24

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In

contrast,

value

of

the idiosyncratic spelling. If

and new artistic techniques

adaptation

is

The Shop Around the Corner were

make

quite clearly in brute name

remade today, it would not be

generated images which would

recognition. Joker has many

called You’ve Got Mail. It would

have been unthinkable a decade

merits,

have been called The Shop Around

ago, but the improvements in

the Corner.

visual

the

modern

the

especially

Joaquin

Phoenix’s performance, and it did quite well in award shows

technology

computer

may

well

slow. After all, it’s been a long

around the globe. It succeeds

It is perfectly plausible that the

time since anyone has improved

as a film. Yet, it had no obvious

domination of the adaptation-

the flush toilet (revolutionary in

narrative reason to be a D.C.

for-adaptation’s-sake

a

our grandparents’ grandparents’

comics adaptation; the story

temporary phenomenon. Slowly,

time). So, perhaps soon, the

tonally matched a Houellebecq

the thrill of seeing our favorite

money will again not be in

novel

than

characters will decline as we see

showing

anything printed with a gloss

more and more of them. Every

they wanted to see, but what

coat. The reason to use the IP

year, increasing computer power

surprises them. Perhaps not.

more

closely

was rather that without the DC name the same story could not have made $1.074 billion on a $60 million budget, the most profitable comic book movie ever made.

We may observe this pattern in titling decisions. The recent remakes

Shaft,

Dumbo,

The

Lion King, Hellboy, Pet Sematary, Aladdin, Jacob’s Ladder, Men in Black: International, The Addams Family, The Grudge, and Charlie’s Angels in 2019 all kept exactly or

approximately

the

same

titles as their original releases, in some cases even down to

25

possible

is

people

what

knew

26

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Down Below:

The Symbolism of Basements in Bong Joon-ho’s Barking Dogs Never Bite, Memories of Murder, and Parasite 27

IN RECENT YEARS, Bong

subversion of expectations, one

Joon-ho has become one the

of his films’ most important

most well-known and respected

features is their outstanding and

South Korean movie directors

breathtaking set design. Bong

in the world. The ultimate

uses the physical structure of his

consecration came with Parasite,

sets to communicate ideas and

which won the Palme d’Or at

themes through a meticulous

the 2019 Cannes Film Festival

architecture. One of the most

and four Oscars at the 2020

recurrent structures of his set

Academy Awards, including the

designs are basements; as critic

Best Picture award. However,

Giovanni Camia writes in his

reducing

stellar

review of Parasite, “basements

filmography to his latest movie

are a recurring motif in Bong

would be a disservice. Since the

Joon-ho’s cinema: from the

mid-90s Bong has produced

tunnels

some of contemporary cinema’s

apartment building of Barking

most remarkable and innovative

Dogs Never Bite (2000), to the

films. While they have gained

torture chambers in Memories of

attention mostly for their vast

Murder (2003) and Okja (2017),

array of fascinating characters,

to the monster’s lair in The

breathtaking

cinematography,

Host (2006), these underground

and their dark comedy and

spaces are where society keeps

Bong’s

running

below

the

WR I TTE N BY M ARCEL T HO M P SO N ILLUST R AT E D BY CAND I CE CI RI LO 28

INTERCUT

its most sordid secrets locked up and out of sight, only to have them resurface with a vengeance.” While we could analyze the set designs of all of Bong’s films, I will focus specifically on his first feature film as a director (Barking Dogs Never Bite), his first commercial success (Memories of Murder), and his lastest and most critically

in America was familiar with

acclaimed

to

these types of crimes and was

explore how basements are used

more advanced than any other

as physical embodiments of

country in their investigative

themes such as violence, secrets,

strategies

murder, and social conflict.

Korean police and detectives

film

(Parasite),

and

technologies,

had no such experience. Beyond In Bong’s cinema the meaning

that, there was an overall lack

and symbolism of the basement

of preparation on the part of

varies according to the movie. In

the Korean legal system in

Memories of Murder, the basement

dealing with the procedures

audience the ways it went wrong

is a no-rights zone, where man

necessary to investigate serial

and the lasting impact it had on

expresses

natural

killings. As film critic Chris

the country and Korean society.

instincts, his inherent violence.

Newell explains in his analysis,

most

Memories

“this extended from a lack of

The most important events and

Murder follows the police

understanding in regards to

actions that show the ways in

investigation of the Hwaseong

the psychological aspects of

which the investigation went

murders. From 1986 to 1991 in

these crimes to the damaging

wrong occur in the basement

the city of Hwaseong, Korea,

public chaos which erupted at

of the police department. The

there were ten cases of rape

the crime scenes.” Memories of

basement is the room where

and murder involving women

Murder takes a fictional look at

the police officers interrogate

strangled with items of their

the investigation in Hwaseong,

the suspected murderers, but

own clothing. While the FBI

exploring and revealing to the

most often a room of torture

Released of

29

his

in

2003,

where the respct for the rule of

seems mentally disabled, scared,

eat noodle soup with the suspect

law and ethical behaviors are

and innocent, both policemen

while watching a TV show and

replaced by the human instincts

drag him to the basement for

then proceed to interrupt their

of

vengeance.

interrogation and Cho Yong-

dinner to violently interrogate

concurrently

koo kicks and beats him while

him again.

This

violence

and

basement

reveals the true identity of the

Park

Doo-man

supposed “good guys” and their

assists. The basement is a

When

failure to reveal the guilt of the

closed space that allows these

in

supposed “bad guys.” This is

characters

such

basement, they undress him

most exemplified in the attitude

unethical interrogation methods.

and mentally torture him until

of detectives Park Doo-man and

In addition, the basement also

he becomes crazy and learns

Cho Yong-koo. After arresting a

shows how unprofessional the

by heart a narrative that the

suspected murderer who clearly

detectives are, as we watch them

detectives have given him. He

to

nonchalantly

employ

the

another

detectives suspect

bring to

the

30

INTERCUT

then proceeds to say it out loud while being recorded to avoid getting beaten up again. “This time let’s be realistic like in a movie shall we?” says detective Park Doo-man before recording.

They make him say that the bruise on his forehead is from a rock that one of his victims threw at him to defend herself, while in reality he was bruised by detective Cho Yong-koo 31

during his torture. During the

Joon-ho made the set design a

entirety of the scene, a boiler

core element of his film. The

man comes and goes to the

plot and most of the actions

basement to check the furnace

in the film revolve around the

while the two detectives conduct

same apartment complex. In

the torture on their suspect. This

an interview Bong explained,

detail enhances the absurdity

“When I was little, I did live

of the policemen interrogation

in a house at one point, but

methods.

scene,

mostly, I grew up in apartment

where the detainee is tied to a

complexes. I lived on the ninth

pipe upside down, he’s asked

floor, the thirteenth floor, so I

by another detective if he’s the

lived mid-air. In Korea during

murderer and confirms that he

the 1970s and ‘80s, apartment

is in spite, as he wants to escape

complexes

more torture and the basement.

middle class.” The apartment

These scenes serve to show

complex in the film expresses

once again how the location

the same idea, as the characters

gives

freedom

living in it are middle class

to the detectives who take

people struggling to make ends

advantage of the obscurity, the

meet. The plot focuses on Ko

confinement, and the secrecy of

Yun-ju, a self-pitying professor

the room to act with no moral

desperately looking for a job as

compass and no regards for

a lecturer, who is driven crazy by

ethics and justice. In Memories

the sound of a barking dog lost

of

in the middle of the apartment

In

another

unconditional

Murder, the basement is

therefore a place that allows

symbolized

the

complex.

individuals to develop hubris, avoid the truth, conceal their

Once Ko Yoon-ju finds the

deception, and show their basic

creature, he tries to get rid of

instincts and darkest nature.

it by any means possible and ends up going to the basement

In Barking Dogs Never Bite, his first

and attempting to hang the

feature film as a director, Bong

dog on a pipe but finally locks 32

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33

it up in an abandoned closet.

boshintang—dog

the

Kim” who used to “fix boilers

While this location might seem

basement with dead dogs he

with love and care.” According

irrelevant early on in the film,

finds. The basement gives him

to the legend “boiler Kim” was

the audience quickly discovers

the space and privacy to exercise

killed in the basement and “his

that the basement is home to

this sickening practice. But while

body was put in the wall and

many dubious activities and

he thinks he’s left alone, another

cemented over.” He has since

long-kept mysteries. As he feels

janitor walks in and interrupts

then haunted the place.

guilty, Ko Yoon-ju goes back to

his feast, as Ko Yoon-ju hides

the basement where he has left

in the closet. What ensues is an

After both janitors leave the

the dog. To his surprise the dog

hysterical scene where, in order

basement, Ko Yoon-ju finally

is no longer in the closet but

to scare his colleague away so

comes out of the closet and

on a chopping board. Indeed,

that he can continue carving the

walks through the basement in

the janitor of the apartment

dog, the first janitor makes up a

fear of encountering “boiler

complex has a habit of cooking

tall tale about a certain “boiler

Kim.” As he walks he hears a

stew—in

sound coming from under a pile

the movie a form of comedic

lives and escapes society. He

of abandoned clothes which

relief through the absurdity of

lives underground, far from the

scares him off and makes him

the interactions between the

turmoil of the outside world, in

run away. It is of course not

characters. This location also

constant darkness. His living

“boiler Kim� but a homeless

reveals their many intimate

condition greatly differs from

person who had been living in

secrets, such as strange cooking

the middle class residents of

the basement. Later on in the

habits, animal abuse, or living

the apartment complex who

film, when the janitor leaves

under a pile of clothes.

live higher up in the building,

while his dog stew is simmering,

exposed to the light. Despite

the homeless man eats his food

Beyond the comedic aspect

that, they seem to be the ones

in his absence. The actions

of this location, the basement

complaining, finding problems

occurring

also reveals social disparity. For

and

and

instance, the basement is the

while the homeless man fights

darkness of the location, give

place where the homeless man

for survival. He is forced to

despite

in

the

the

basement,

gloominess

adopting

weird

habits

34

INTERCUT

work with what he has and

Thus, in Barking Dogs Never Bite,

War, and they started to build

therefore eating a dog he found

the basement also serves as a

bunkers in all the buildings,

may have been his only option

site of social injustice.

even in big apartment buildings.

for nourishment. But before he

35

(…) Renting out such semi-

is able to kill it, he is stopped

The Bong Joon-ho film in which

basements as residences was

and arrested. The mystery of

the basement plays the most

illegal for a long time. They

the disappearing dogs in the

important role in symbolizing

were filled with mold and pests,

apartment complex is officially

social disparity is likely Parasite.

and prone to floods; people who

solved according to the TV

In Parasite, the basement is

lived there developed chronic

news outlet who went to the

almost as important as any of

coughs and skin conditions.”

basement to show its viewers

the characters, as it conveys a

At some point, as the economy

where the homeless man and

clear message to the audience

was booming, the government

“dog murderer” lived, and Ko

and is an essential component

decided to legalize these semi-

Yoon-ju and the janitor are left

of

underground

untroubled in the investigation.

journey. The Kim family lives

accommodate workers. But as

Therefore, the homeless man,

in a semi-basement apartment

Gina Kim explains, “that doesn’t

who was peacefully living in

in Seoul. As Gina Kim writes

mean they became desirable,”

the basement ends up taking

in her analysis of the film,

as “people can look into them,

the blame for the actions of

these types of apartments were

(…) pee on the windows, (…)

the deranged janitor and self-

particular to Seoul: “Everyone

park their cars in front of them,

pitying and impatient teacher.

was paranoid after the Korean

blocking whatever little sunlight

the plot and emotional

apartments

to

they have.” In an interview for IndieWire, Bong explains the

the film’s protagonists.” Korea “became

a

wealthy

country

following: “The poorer you

very fast. And people who

are, the less sunlight you have

weren’t able to board that fast

access to, and that’s just how it

train towards wealth, they feel

is in real life as well. You have

lost. And they feel a sense of

limited access to windows. With

inferiority.” The semi-basement

semi-basement homes, you have

crystalizes

very limited sunlight during the

figuratively

day—maybe 15 or 30 minutes—

Indeed, the disadvantages and

and that’s where the film opens.”

unhealthiness

that

inferiority

and

of

literally.

this

living

situation is exemplified when, The semi-basement apartment in Parasite is the primary home for the Kims, a con-artist family of four, who serve, more or less, as the film’s antiheroes.

As Bong explains, “these semibasement homes are only half underground.

That’s

very

similar to the psychology of

36

INTERCUT

because of its structure, the

beneath human dignity both

four, as they are each offered

semi-basement

literally and figuratively,” as Jeff

different jobs by the family

York writes in his analysis.

after manipulating them. The

is

flooded

during a rainstorm. As Bong explains,

37

“water

is

flowing

Parks live in an architecturally

from top to bottom, to the rich

In this context, the Kims see

magnificent and grand house

neighborhoods to the poor ones,

no other option but to lie and

in the wealthiest neighborhood

and these characters, they have

deceive in order to survive,

of Seoul, drastically contrasting

no control over it.” Their social

climb the social ladder, and

with the semi-basement of the

condition forces them to live

escape

semi-basement

Kims. The house, designed

underground, with the constant

apartment, the underground. In

by production designer Lee

risk of being engulfed. “They

doing so, the Kims strategically

Ha-jun, was built in such ways

are outcasts in the caste system

infiltrate

of

to show the contrast between

of Korea, the lowest of the low,

the Parks, a wealthy family of

the Parks’ immaculate living

the

the

household

home into a house of horrors for the Kims. Jeff York writes that, “Bong even turns the dark doorway to the basement and its shelter into a metaphorical doorway to hell by shooting it as an indeterminate void of blackness.” In an interview for IndieWire, Lee discussed the importance of the set design

situation

and

the

cockroach-infested

1960, The Housemaid, in which

in conveying a message to

the vertical structures symbolize

the audience. The production

social hierarchy. As the Kims

designer explains, “Mr. Park’s

take over the Parks household,

house is minimal, uncluttered,

their constant climbing up and

large and orderly. It’s a large

down the many staircases in

house with a large garden

the Park home illustrates their

consisting of controlled colors

ascent from the semi-basement

and materials—a contrast to the

and poverty to the magnificent

semi-basement neighborhood. I

house and wealth.

wanted to show the increasing

cramped, of

Ultimately, however, it seems

difference

the Kims’ semi-basement. As

that there is no way for the Kims

areas

Bong explained at the Cannes

to escape their social condition

appearances change from the

Film Festival, the house “has

as even the basement in the

rich house to the semi-basement

a

structure—second

Parks’ house will remind them

neighborhood.” Lee went on to

floor, first floor and basement.

of that in the most dramatic way.

say that the protagonists living

(…) Each space is connected by

Indeed, halfway through the

in this unique structure of semi-

stairs. Our staff jokingly called

film, the Kims discover that the

basement homes is not just to

our work a ‘stair movie.’” The

husband of the housemaid they

show “a very Korean element

movie director said he took the

had gotten fired had been living

of story.” Rather, “there’s a

concept of stairs from Kim Ki-

below the basement for years.

more specific meaning behind

young’s Korean classic from

That revelation turns the Park

it, because the semi-basement is

vertical

reality

density that reflects the class

and

between lower

elevated ones

as

38

INTERCUT

basically the middle of high and

uniquely highlighted by Bong’s

low. There’s this fear that you

use of basements. In Barking Dogs

can fall even further below but

Never Bite, Memories of Murder,

you still feel hope that you’re

and Parasite, basements are used

still half above-ground (…).” In

in various ways and bring about

Parasite, this hope is crushed as

various symbolisms. In Memories

the father of the Kim family is

of Murder, the basement is a no-

ultimately forced into hiding

rights zone, a place for hubris to

in the basement of the Parks’

develop where there is no space

family home, and the mom and

for truth and where man shows

son go back to live in their semi-

his inherent violence. In Barking

apartment basement.

Dogs Never Bite, the basement is a place of secrets, of hiding,

39

Bong Joon-ho is not only a

and comedic relief, but also a

master

cinematography,

location that symbolizes social

screenwriting, and directing, but

injustice. This idea is also

is also an example for aspiring

conveyed in Parasite, in which

directors in regards to his use

the basement is a structure that

of set design. Set design is a key

serves to show social disparities

aspect of Bong’s filmography as

and class conflict. Basements are

his sets are used as a medium to

therefore an essential aspect of

create a physical embodiment

Bong Joon-ho’s cinema as they

of themes and ideas in his

are used to convey themes, ideas

movies. This use of set design is

and emotions to the audience.

of

Bibliography “Cannes Review: With ‘Parasite,’ Bong Joon-Ho Delivers an Electrifying Assessment of Social Stratification.” The Film Stag, 4 June 2019, https:// thefilmstage.com/reviews/cannes-review-with-parasite-bong-joon-hodelivers-an-electrifying-assessment-of-social-stratification/ Newell, Chris, et al. “The Limitations of Law in Memories of Murder (2003).” Scriptophobic, 6 Feb. 2019, https://scriptophobic.ca/2018/11/29/thelimitations-of-law-in-memories-of-murder-2003/ Ulaby, Neda. “The Hit Movie ‘Parasite’ Puts Basement Structures in Structural Inequality.” NPR, NPR, 5 Nov. 2019, https://www.npr. org/2019/11/05/776388423/the-hit-movie-parasite-puts-basementstructures-in-structural-inequality O’Falt, Chris. “Building the ‘Parasite’ House: How Bong Joon Ho and His Team Made the Year’s Best Set.” IndieWire, 29 Oct. 2019, https:// www.indiewire.com/2019/10/parasite-house-set-design-bong-joonho-1202185829/ “‘Parasite’ Mines the Power of Symbolism In One of 2019’s Best Films.”

Creative Screenwriting, https://creativescreenwriting.com/parasite-minesthe-power-of-symbolism-in-one-of-2019s-best-films/ Herald. “Director Bong Joon-Ho: Stairs Are a Key Metaphor in ‘Parasite’.”

The Korea Herald, The Korea Herald, 22 May 2019, http://www.koreaherald. com/view.php?ud=20190522000759

40

Still A Part of It: WRI T T EN BY HANN AH C ARROLL I LLU ST RAT ED BY LE S LIE ROSARIO-OLIVO

Growing Up New York , New York

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I want to be a part of it New York, New York These vagabond shoes are longing to stray Right through the very heart of it New York, New York

43

THE SAD IRONY OF these “New York, New York� lyrics, written for the film of the same name by John Kander and Fred Ebb in 1977, does not escape me as I sit here at my desk in April 2020, writing this piece from a locked down New York City. I have not left my apartment in more than a month, a privilege in these times, though an enormously frustrating

and

deeply

saddening one. The usually bustling streets are empty, eerily quiet, save for delivery trucks and

the

ambulances

whose

wailing sirens blare as they rush to nearby Mount Sinai Hospital.

I originally intended to write an article about how one grows up with films and how age and acquired life experience reshape our perspectives on those familiar stories. However, being home in New York City, in this version of the City at that, has prompted me to think again about New York, New York, a movie I hold close to my heart. I grew up watching it and have always been enchanted

INTERCUT

Martin Scorsese’s New York, New York is a love letter to MGM’s Freed Unit, but it is also a film that manages to reexamine

loved Old Hollywood musicals,

those works and their more

and

by how each viewing seems to

than occasional tendency to

DVD for me, never having

reveal something new about

become

It

seen it herself. I would watch

the

follows the turbulent love affair

it in tandem with my beloved

virus forced many of us to

between

Jimmy

restored version of Liza with

leave campus and transition to

Doyle and Francine Evans—

a Z. I had no clue what I was

distanced learning, a poster of

played by Robert De Niro and

watching, but I knew I loved it.

the film was proudly displayed

Liza Minnelli, respectively—as

Whatever Francine was doing

above my bed in my freshman

they meet, fall in love, marry,

coming down those stairs with

dorm, reminding me each day

fight and break up—and spoiler

that crepe dress and those

of where I’m from and where

alert—do not get back together.

fantastically oversized sleeves,

I’d like to go— and I don’t just

Along the way, the bus rides and

I wanted to do that. At the

mean home. New York City is a

small-town gigs become big city

same time, I could not for the

feeling as much as it is a place;

ballrooms and, for Francine,

life of me accept that Francine

it follows you throughout your

a chance to make it in the

and

life, whether you’re there or not.

movies! They work together to

(perhaps because I was raised

I feel much the same way about

compose a song, which emerges

on

New York, New York. For me, it

in bits and pieces until the film

was accustomed to that sort of

transcends the confines of the

culminates in Liza belting out

conclusion). I have since come

screen and remains never far

their hit: “New York, New York.”

to love New York, New York’s

characters.

Before

the

hyper-saccharine.

musicians

from my mind, always ready to

45

my

mom

Jimmy

studio-era

bought

never

the

reconcile

musicals

and

ending. It is quiet, it is not

be looped into any conversation

I first saw New York, New York

tied up neatly and followed by

that will accept it.

when I was eight years old. I

a “THE END” title card, and

it is, quite frankly, a reflection of the messiness and grittiness of real life—a perspective that was often absent in the classic Hollywood musical. The real world isn’t always filled with “happy endings” the way movies (read: those old movies) are.

I had watched New York, New York countless times by middle school, when I unexplainably

as she belts out the definitive

set it aside for a few years,

rendition of “But the World

before coming back to it when

Goes

I was around 17. I remember

summoned 2008— and there I

thinking: “Isn’t that the movie

was was, a child again, sitting on

I used to love as a kid?” It’s

the floor, maybe two feet from

“He is such an insufferable ass!”

uncanny the way visuals, color

the television, all but throwing

I remember lamenting to a

palettes even, can bring you

myself into the screen, wanting,

friend. “I just do not understand

back in time,

too, to be a part of it.

why she keeps going back to

conjuring up

‘Round”

uncannily

feelings from moments past that you’d forgotten,

couldn’t

on “I guess it’s love.” But, in

age you never thought you’d

connect in quite the same way.

truth, that conclusion never sat

feel you were again. Maybe

Perhaps it was a side effect

comfortably with me.

it’s my synesthesia acting up,

of my then much practiced

but I’d like to think it’s just the

pseudo-analytical skills which

I

magic of movies, this movie in

I was so accustomed to flexing

again and again to the film

particular. Rewatching New York,

on all literature papers as I

in the months that followed.

New York in the winter of 2017, I

regurgitated “profound” insights

An element of inaccessibility

was eight years old again. The

onto the page, but I simply could

fed

warm-toned

blocking

not and would not accept Jimmy

not

on the walls of the recording

and Francine’s relationship at

characters behaved the way

soundstage that surround Liza

face value the way I had before.

they did only made me want to

color

to an

him!” Confounded, I settled But

this

time,

I

found

my

myself

returning

frustration.

understanding

why

My the

46

INTERCUT

dig in deeper. I was obsessed. I could hardly watch the film without constantly rewinding, picking it apart scene by scene.

I grew to appreciate New York, New York, for the way it studies a bygone genre years past its heyday and how beyond being consummately

entertaining,

the film pays homage to classic Hollywood musicals, flaws and all.

In January, I learned that an unseen 35mm print of

the

movie was playing at one of my favorite movie theaters, the Metrograph. I’d never seen New York, New York on the big screen before, so I felt I couldn’t miss

47

the chance. I took the train into

screen and that unmistakable

I marveled at the tracking shot

the City to see it on Saturday,

vamp began, a certain wave of

down the long table of tuxedoed

February 1. While the print

childhood nostalgia swept over

men, their arms gesturing in

turned out to be a bit grainy,

me. I sat there in my seat, toes

canon à la Busby Berkeley. It

the experience made me fall in

tapping, holding myself back as

was hard not to notice these

love again with its old, familiar

best as I could from crying out

grace notes with a print that

charms and gave me reasons to

“Happy Endings” *tambourine

was scaled to nearly life-sized

love the film anew!

shake* “all around me!” along

dimensions.

But

artifice

be

with Francine. But I was also

damned, New York, New York is

As the title card filled the

thinking as a twenty year old.

gritty; it’s somehow real. And it’s

partly why I suspect it flopped

hyper-curated to the umpteenth

when it was first released (and

degree. Yet it evades all tropes

no doubt why two other people

of the movie musical genre,

around my age walked out of

hinging on the fact that its

the theater mid-way through).

audience has probable exposure

It’s not what one expects the

to the very narrative arcs that it

movie to be.

teases but ultimately denies its viewers of. New York, New York

New York, New York is deceptively

is a commentary on film, not a

familiar visually, staged and

criticism. It offers insights that 48

INTERCUT

grow on you with the more

deliberately intended to look

movies you’ve seen. Its many

artificial and because it had the

references,

through

misfortune of being released

subtle visual nods and offerings

just after the smash-hit Star

of familiar chord progressions,

Wars in early summer of 1977.

are there for those who notice

And yet, leaving the theater,

them. Those who feel the slight

after seeing this wonderfully

pang in their chest as they flit

artificial rendering of New York,

by—momentary bouquets to

I walked into the real thing

the celluloid forebears upon

feeling incredibly fortunate and

whom rests the very basis of

proud to call this city home.

achieved

this anti-musical. It does not suggest how those films should

And then, seemingly overnight

have been, but offers a what-

the world and the City changed.

could-have-been, or rather, a

A month later, we began to

glimpse at what was left out of

feel the rising dread; I have

the frame. New York, New York is

now been in lockdown for

entirely reliant on the success,

weeks, not feeling particularly

recognizability and belovedness

a part of anything. Instead,

of the original form of the

I’ve

Hollywood

flipping

extreme and upsetting feeling of

the proverbial script, if for no

disassociation. Several people

other reason than to alert you to

I know have died. There’s a

the reality that you do, in fact,

wartime field hospital in the

expect something from the film.

park where I typically go for

musical,

been

dealing

with

an

mind-clearing walks (or so I’ve

49

New York, New York fell flat in its

read in the news, but I know as

reception in part because critics

much as someone reading from

did not seem to appreciate the

any other place in the world,

staging and production values

since I no longer walk there).

I’m here, but I’m not here, and

of a World War, all of them a

it’s incredibly saddening to feel

part of “it”—New York, New

as though the most you can

York. We are now waging a

contribute is to stay out of the

different kind of war, eagerly

way. That is simply the reality

waiting for its end, so that we

of this fight for many of us.

too can celebrate. We cheer from our windows every day,

But as I’ve said, New York is a

pots and pans clanging, bells

feeling as much as it is a place—

ringing, to raise morale among

which is why, implausibly, so

neighbors

much of the spirit, the chutzpah,

thanks, even if in a small way,

of this city was captured on

for those who venture outside

that decaying MGM backlot

daily, risking their lives to battle

three

away,

on the front lines of emergency

four decades ago. Think of the

rooms, warehouses and grocery

persistence, the resilience, the

stores, to bring this crisis to an

hope embodied in Francine’s

end. The spirit of New Yorkers

journey. Today, life in this city

cannot be dampened. We may

is lived at a remove; there is an

be shut in; the streets, like those

air of artifice about all we do. I

of a dystopian soundstage, may

know that as I sit here, stir-crazy,

echo with sirens and silence, but

muscles atrophying, that I would

through the grittiness, we are

give just about anything to slip

still here, unwavering. That is

on a pair of vagabond shoes and

why I am not alone when I put

step through the heart of it.

my speaker in the window at

thousand

miles

and

to

express

7pm and blare “New York, New New York, New York opens with

York”. It’s an expression of the

billows of confetti falling over

sentiment that never leaves: we

a packed crowd, cheering and

are still a part of it, New York,

dancing, celebrating the end

New York.

50

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Combating Colonial Structures

51

Through Local Senegalese Cinema WRITTE N BY SAM LE TE R

52

INTERCUT

53

SENEGALESE cinema, since

The interference of

its inception with the films of

governmental

Ousmane Sembène in the 60s,

Senegalese

have always been co-produced

autonomous film production and

by French production companies.

impedes Senegalese ownership

France

a

over films. Many Senegalese

colonial hold on Senegalese

auteurs lose distribution rights

filmmaking

to French companies that prefer

has

maintained

by

creating

structures

cinema

in

prevents

financial dependencies on their

showing

production structures, making

making them inaccessible to

it almost impossible to produce

local

a local Senegalese feature film

The financial revenue obtained

without it becoming a Franco-

from such a film’s exploitation

Senegalese

co-production.

will also largely be acquired

This is due to a lack of funds

by the French company if it

provided by the Senegalese

has invested more money in

Ministry

the film’s production. Conflicts

of

Culture—a

their

French

films

Senegalese

abroad,

audiences.

financial reality partly caused

between

Senegalese

by France’s colonial control over

imposed

the country’s economy—which

have also occurred on film sets,

leads to “forced coproductions.”

where condescending French

French

and

technicians

crew members often receive better

treatment.

All

these

factors entail major colonial setbacks

and

diminish

the

development of a localized film industry in Senegal.

Locally

based

Senegalese

initiatives have recently been put in place to combat this colonial framework of film production and distribution. The Ministry of Culture expressed a renewed interest in 2013 by investing one billion CFA francs (a little over $1.7M) towards the promotion of Senegalese cinema, following the successes of Tey by Alain Gomis and La Pirogue by Moussa TourĂŠ.

Recent

involvement significant

governmental proves

film

can

how be

to

model national identity and generate economic capital via a specialized industry. Cinekap, one of the leading production companies

in

Senegal

with

whom I had the opportunity to intern with when studying abroad last semester, is fully aware of this. The company produced the two latest films

by Alain Gomis, Tey and FĂŠlicitĂŠ, 54

INTERCUT

which both won the Étalon de Yennenga at the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) in Burkina Faso, considered as the most prestigious film festival

in

Africa.

Cinekap

also co-produced Atlantique by Mati Diop, which recently won the Grand Prize at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival (the first Senegalese film in competition at Cannes since 1992).

Since 2013, Cinekap has been running a training program called Up Courts Métrages, which selects fifteen filmmakers based on short film synopses with the aim of producing those films by the end of the program.

The training includes a series of

workshops

and

master

classes with specialists from the film industry. It provides an incredible transmission of film knowledge across generations of from

Senegalese

filmmakers,

veteran

technicians

of the Sembène era to new aspiring creators. The program also offers a valorization of Senegalese film heritage and 55

cultural

discussions

around

African film analysis. Overall, Up Courts Métrages represents a crucial initiative for film training and professionalization in a country with no film schools.

Cinekap believes that it is only by training people in all sections of film that a solid industry can truly prosper. Thanks to the advent of digital filmmaking, these types of training programs are now more accessible on a local level, without having to travel all the way to France for studios with analog equipment.

The

participants

of

this

edition’s Up Courts Métrages were composed of West African producers

and

Senegalese

directors. One of the goals of the program is to build more Pan-African

co-productions,

particularly with francophone Africa, in order to find new collaborators

to

work

with

outside of French involvement.

This

greater

cooperation

between West African partners would shift the locality of production towards a more culturally

African

interest.

56

INTERCUT

Cinekap has already started

interesting point, but it does not

Courts

doing this by working with

capture the full complexity of

admiration towards European

Atlantique,

film financing and production in

and American cinema, rarely

Senegal’s submission for Best

Senegal, as training programs

mentioning

International Feature Film at

such as Up Courts Métrages

or African filmmakers. What

the latest Oscars. However, film

incubate

appears

critic Modou Mamoune Faye

that promote representations

filmmakers is the way in which

questions the nationality of

of

African films approach social

Atlantique. The film’s director,

Senegalese films.

Côte

d’Ivoire

for

African

local

producers

identities

within

to

any

expressed

Senegalese

disturb

themes—keeping

Mati Diop, is Franco-Senegalese,

57

Métrages

in

these

mind,

however, that these are mostly

and Faye states that “the film

The question of locality and

foreign-funded films that may

was 80% financed by foreign

colonial conditioning in Senegal

lack an actual understanding of

funds. Senegal contributed to

also manifests itself

in the

local realities. A critique that I

maybe 20% of the budget. A

exhibition and distribution of

often heard was that African

film

films. When discussing favorite

films are too ingrained in a

of the funds from which it

movies

most

dramatized portrayal of reality

is financed.”1 Faye raises an

of

Up

through tragic social messages,

carries

the

nationality

and

directors,

the participants of

whereas local audiences are

foreign films. One of those

more

cinemas,

the

Téranga

is

drawn

fantasies.

to

Malick

Hollywood Aw,

the

CanalOlympia owned

by

the

director of the Cinema Christa,

entrepreneur Vincent Bolloré

insists that many Senegalese

from

spectators

watch

Canal+, again proving French

African films since they remind

ownership over film enterprises

them of their daily struggles.

in Senegal. Yet a film’s success

Instead, foreign films offer a

in the box office is crucial for

means of escapism.2

a return in investment in order

refuse

to

the

French

company

to subsequently produce more I nevertheless wonder if this

films. If the local public is rarely

preference for foreign cinema

given the option to theatrically

is due to a lack of accessibility

watch any Senegalese films,

for Senegalese films following

then there is no flow of financial

a major reduction of

income,

local

making

it

almost

movie theaters in the last two

impossible to sustain a local

decades. For example, one of

film industry, especially if the

the participants of the program

income that is generated is

confessed never having seen Le

directed towards French-owned

prix du pardon by Mansour Sora

distribution groups.

Wade before it was projected in class and that he had absolutely

Another

loved the poetic nature of the

is linked to distribution in

film. Thus, if African films were

Senegalese cinema is that of

more locally accessible, perhaps

film criticism, to ensure the

they would be more appreciated.

social awareness and historical

It would be challenging to

memory of

find any attraction for one’s

The

cinematic heritage if unaware

ex-president of

of it. Indeed, the two major

Federation of Cinematographic

cinemas in Dakar mostly screen

Critique (FACC), Baba Diop,

Hollywood

expressed that “a film on which

blockbusters

and

key

element

that

a local cinema.

Senegalese

critic

and

the African

1

Faye, Souleymane. 2019. Le blues du cinéma sénégalais. BBC Afrique.

2

Fofana, Amadou T. 2018. “A Critical and Deeply Personal Reflection: Malick Aw on Cinema in Senegal Today”. Black Camera, 9(2). 349-35.

58

INTERCUT

nothing has been written is condemned to be forgotten.”3 Criticism

and

dialogue

surrounding a film can therefore become as important as the film itself. Talking about a film and learning about the themes developed in the film without necessarily seeing it contributes to

generating

sparking

culture

audience

and

interest.

However, very few film critics exist in Senegal. Senegalese filmmaker

Moussa

Touré

suggests that there should be trainings for oral criticism, “in our languages, for local people, even if they haven’t seen the film, to have it orally. Especially in Africa, since we are imagemaking communities: when we speak, we envision the image.”4 In parallel, the FACC has assembled an extensive archive that

is

virtually

accessible

through the database “Africiné,” the largest website in the world specially devoted to African cinema and its diaspora. This initiative

allows

Senegalese

and African spectators to freely research and access their local cinematic heritage.

59

The past few years have also

Courts Métrages often discussed

witnessed

this concern of approaching

an

expansion

of

African film festivals to watch

social

movies

films.

from

the

continent

themes The

in

African

various

projects

and obtain local recognition,

in this session touched upon

reducing

find

social issues such as education,

success abroad. We can mention

health, and women’s rights in

the FESPACO in Burkina Faso,

Senegal. The training program

the

Festival

questioned how to illustrate

in Tunisia, Écrans Noirs in

such aspects of society without

Cameroon, Clap Ivoire in Côte

being overly didactic, or without

d’Ivoire, and more specifically

producing an institutional film,

in Senegal the festivals Image

rather searching for an artistic

et Vie, Dakar Court, Films

vision that offers a creative

Femmes Afrique, Festival Ciné

cinematographic

Banlieue, and Festival Gorée

The

group

Cinéma. All these festivals allow

such

sensible

local audiences to watch the

be

latest productions in African

and

cinema.

avoid

the

Carthage

need

Film

Recently

to

Cinewax

language.

established

portrayed ingenuity

that

topics

should

with

subtlety

in

presenting

order an

to

image

has also established an Online

of the continent that is full

African Film Festival that offers

of

misérabilisme (pessimism).

a selection of 30 African films

“Africa is not only cries and

in the timespan of 30 days to

sorrow,” declared one of the

a sizable online audience. The

participants.

theme of the festival this year was “African dream,” presenting

Numerous

an original thematic approach

discuss the somber reality of

that

migration.

included

science-fiction

Senegalese

This

topic

films

has

and comedy films, other than

often been approached in a

social documentaries.

dramatic and didactic manner, through institutional projects or

Script development within Up

3

Bakrim, Mohammed. 2014. Trois questions à Baba Diop, critique de cinéma.

Africiné.

4

Sene, Fatou Kiné. Quelle critique pour un cinéma sans salle? Awotele, La Revue Ciné Panafricaine.

documentary formats that aim to 60

INTERCUT

create awareness. Yet films such

from the period when European

admits that each producer will

as Atlantique mix social realities

companies would only produce

want the film to resemble their

of migration with supernatural

village-set films. Such occidental

own cultural universe. This

elements

imaginative

productions wished to confirm

means that a Senegalese auteur

poetry. Fantasy and humor can

a certain vision of Africa on

might be forced to let go of

come into play in envisioning

the

silver

daily struggles, such as in the

to

authenticate

case of Une place dans l’avion

prejudices.

and

screen,

in

order

certain cultural elements from

their

own

their script due to European pressures. Sall argues that this

by Khadidiatou Sow, a short

61

can be beneficial since it will

film produced by Cinekap that

This exemplifies the type of

make the film more intelligible

imagines absurdist situations

control carried by European

abroad, allowing it international

around a single available seat

co-productions on the written

exposure

onboard a flight to the USA.

content of a film, financing only

cinematographic and economic

These novel stylistic approaches

certain thematics and projected

success on Western recognition.

have created a renewed interest

imagery of Africa destined for

If one argues that the films

from local Senegalese audiences

European audiences. Oumar

are made for an international

and have marked a permutation

Sall,

audience, then it could be

director

of

Cinekap,

and

thus

basing

beneficial to be co-produced

successfully

by a foreign company. Yet I

own films with no external

would suggest that films become

help. Their goal is to reduce

more universally appreciated

unemployment among young

when they are made within

people, especially in the suburbs

a personal or locally specific

of Dakar, to turn their passions

context. Further, to what extent

for film into lucrative jobs. Ciné

are local Senegalese spectators

Banlieue enables a democratic

forgotten

process?

access to cinema by making

Nonetheless, the urban city has

their training programs free.

taken a more significant place

Mr. Boye, one of the founders

in

Senegalese

of the organization, underlines

cinema, such as in Xale Bu

the importance of projecting

Reer by Abdou Khadir Ndiaye

African films in their classes to

(developed through Up Courts

root the participants in their

Métrages) and Tey by Alain

own cultural and filmic heritage,

Gomis, changing the illustrated

encouraging an openness to

narratives of African spaces and

the world while still prioritizing

ideologies.

their films towards a local

in

this

contemporary

produces

its

Senegalese audience.

Other exist

local outside

alternatives of

Cinekap’s

The Centre Yennenga, founded

film production and training

by

framework.

major

also serves as a local hub for

institution is the group Ciné

film reflection in Dakar by

Banlieue,

to

regrouping young talents and

socio-economic

assisting them in their filmic

integration for Senegalese youth

ambitions. The goal is similarly

in the film industry through

to make films without massive

training programs. Comprising

budgets, in a personal and non-

a

passionate

conventional approach. Gomis

filmmakers collaborating with

supports a localized cinema

limited means, Ciné Banlieue

for

facilitate

group

One

which

of

aims

director

Alain

Senegalese

Gomis,

audiences, 62

INTERCUT

suggesting

that

too

much

island.

by

importance is given towards

personally obtaining financial

international film circuits. He

and technical means to make

condemns the over-emphasis on

feature length projects, has also

film “pitches” in film production,

become more popular with the

stating that in very few words,

example of Baamum Nafi by

the pitch rapidly turns into

Mamadou Dia, recently prized

a sensationalist narrative on

at the Locarno Film Festival. The

social issues. Overall the Centre

director has stated that the “this

Yennenga hopes to find new

film is first and foremost made

independent ways of funding

by Senegalese people and for

film projects, without being

Senegalese people,”5 specifically

dependent on French subsidies.

thanks to its financial autonomy.

One way of going about that

Finally, the recent popularity of

is by installing their own post

Senegalese TV shows such as

production equipment in order

Golden and Maitresse d’un homme

to eliminate the overpriced costs

marié has created a renewed

of French studios.

local interest for Senegalesemade

and

Wolof-speaking

The Maison Gorée Cinéma,

content. Although some major

based

Senegalese filmmakers criticize

Gorée,

on

the

island

represents

of

another

the

lack

of

professionalism

local initiative that focalizes

from short turnarounds behind

on African culture and its

the production value of these

diaspora. Gorée Cinéma has

shows, other figures such as

already

multiple

Yanis Gaye, one of the founders

discussions,

of the Maison Gorée Cinéma,

organized

retrospectives,

projections, and festivals thanks

encourages

to the subsidies provided by the

initiatives as a way to allow

Senegalese Ministry of Culture,

young people to gain experience

investing

in

on set and to demonstrate that

equipment

and

autonomous configuring

its own visioning space on the 63

Self-production,

local

these

content

profitable.

is

television

financially

These

recent

independent, production

initiatives localized

bring

hope

in film for

the future of an autonomous Senegalese film industry. Yet the reality today remains that if a Senegalese filmmaker wishes to make a film with a significant budget, they will need to resort to foreign, primarily French, funding. We are left asking how these filmmakers can remain open

to

support

external while

autonomous

financial

maintaining

creativity

and

ownership within their own locality. As expressed by Alain Gomis, who considers himself as a “cultural dialogue by nature” due to his Franco-Senegalese origins,

cultural

through

Franco-Senegalese

co-productions be

dialogue

should

mandatory.

not

Alternative

measures stated above have recently been put in place, but a

complete

turnaround

of

Senegalese film production and distribution might require more time and patience.

5

To allow a purely localized film

industry

in

Thoubou, Mame Woury. 2019. Mamadou Dia, réalisateur de «Baamum Nafi» : «Nous sommes une génération qui récolte ce que les aînés ont semé».

Sencinema.

Senegal, 64

many Senegalese filmmakers

Courts

believe that they must first

Banlieue, but there have also

focus on film training and

been recent talks of creating

the

of

the country’s first film school to

Other

accompany the new generation

professionalization

audiovisual

Ciné

of

Pan-African

A decolonial film industry would

collaboration, the

Senegalese

and

factors include forming stronger

reconfiguring

65

careers.

Métrages

filmmakers.

treatment

allow aspiring filmmakers to

of African themes to create

learn film at home, without

greater interest among local

feeling that success is reliant

audiences, and sustaining more

on French film schools and

theatrical spaces for the viewing

governmental institutions. Such

of local content. The future of

cultural agency would mark a

Senegalese cinema is currently

strong deepening of national

dependent on the quality of

independence within Senegal’s

training programs such as Up

rich cinematic history.

66

INTERCUT

Screenwriting Interviews

E DITE D BY JULIA LE VINE I L LU ST RAT ED BY SI VA N PIATIGORS K Y-ROTH

67

WHAT IS IT LIKE to write a script from start to finish? To fill the blank page with sparkling dialogue, compelling stories, and living people? As the production students ran around campus and beyond with their cameras and crews, a far less visible group of seniors were typing away at their screenplays and television pilots, answering these very questions. This lesser known thesis group spent the year writing and re-writing, and we’d like to bring them out from behind their keyboards and into the spotlight. The following interviews take a look at each writer’s unique process and the triumphs, trials, and tribulations they faced along the way.

68

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Kaira Robertson Arcadon TE L E P L AY

ON HER PREMISE: It started with a Hawaiian ritualistic ceremony from

the

ON ARRIVING AT HER

has

now

PROJECT:

ON CHALLENGES:

a

post-

I originally wanted to do a

I was a little naive coming into

dystopian future grounded in

production thesis really badly…

it. I kind of live with a mindset

environmental collapse, so it’s

but I’m a double major and a

like if you believe it’ll happen

leaps and bounds from where

student athlete so I would’ve

it will… [My series has been

it began, and I’m not entirely

had to choose between doing

particularly hard because] I’m

sure how the idea developed…

that and doing a sport. I

world-building everything. If

I knew I wanted to write about

[ultimately] decided to do a

I change one thing I have to

the environment and where it’s

written thesis and I chose the

rewrite so many scenes. I didn’t

going and how political and

teleplay because I think that if

realize what I was getting into

socioeconomic systems play into

you can get someone hooked

in any capacity… The time

that.

on one [episode] you can get

commitment

them hooked on everything. You

think, not even write, just sit and

can delve into a story in ways

think about things can be very

that films can in some ways be

frustrating.

1600s and been

that

adapted

to

inhibited.

69

and

having

to

ON HER IDEAL THESIS

ON ADVISING:

CONDITIONS:

One thing that I really respect

I’m more of a person who works

about my thesis experience is

in long stretches of time. Once

that Joe, he’ll always believe in

you’re in it, you’re in it. And I

you when you don’t, and that’s

usually listen to classical music.

not something I think I’ve really

It puts me in a zone. I would say

experienced before… and I

if I need inspiration during my

appreciate the fact that Joe’s a

work sessions, I’ll watch another

really good sounding board. [He

TV show and see what they did

showed me that] you can make

and read their script alongside.

anything work. It’s just how you write it.

ON A FAVORITE ASPECT OF HER PROJECT:

WISDOM FOR FUTURE

A lot of what I’ve been working

SCREENWRITERS:

on is trying to imply things

Be confident and write to what

through dialogue, mostly threats.

you know. And know that the

It’s been really fun writing with

process is gonna be really long

the

but

and really hard and you might

having this underlying meaning

think you know what you’re

underneath and knowing that

doing but you don’t. But Joe will

the audience will be able to pick

get you there, and if you want it

up on it… You can create so

enough you’ll get there.

ostensible

dialogue

much complexity through that.

70

INTERCUT

Dani Rodriguez Out of Water TELEPLAY ON HIS PREMISE: It follows this character named

71

Rick Silva who was a former

ON HIS PROJECT’S EVOLUTION:

marine and goes to a liberal arts

What changed is my voice

blows every other position in

college. We kind of see him go

became clear… I think before

Hollywood out the door. Writers

through this world transitioning

it was a little bit more coarse.

are at the tip of the spear cause

from military life to college life

It wasn’t as intelligent as I think

they’re creating this world from

and all the funny things that

it is now… I have a newfound

their mind… This is the ground

happen to him along the way.

respect for writers in a way that

zero.

ON WHAT HE’S LEARNED:

ON HANDLING STRESS:

This has developed a really

One of the things I struggled

that… [It was hard] to be this

strong base in understanding

with is understanding anxiety.

big bad marine, or feel like

why I’m doing anything in my

I never thought stress could

you’re a big bad marine, and

life. Asking those questions like

manifest in a physical form. And

physically you’re very proficient,

“What am I trying to say? How

so the first panic attack I had,

and all of a sudden your mind’s

am I trying to say it? Why is this

my heart started beating and

working against that, and then

important?” It’s changed me.

my vision narrowed to the point

your body’s working against

where I thought I was gonna pass

that… Out of that process I

out, and I was driving in the car,

learned to be very forgiving of

my daughter is in the back, and

myself. How to really take care

I had to pull over… I thought I

of myself mentally, how to talk

was legitimately having a heart

myself down and tell myself that

attack because I never felt like

I am a writer, I am good enough.

WISDOM FOR FUTURE SCREENWRITERS: It wouldn’t even be my advice, it would be advice that everybody gave me throughout my entire time at Wesleyan… Write what you know. Since I was writing from what I knew, it was easy to find the funny, to find the scene, to find what worked, what didn’t work… Write something that speaks to your heart and just go with it.

ON CHALLENGES:

ON ADVISING:

The hardest part for me was

[Joe] can kinda feel you out and

making it all fit together. I can

understand what exactly you

come up with really small scenes

need and how to get at the core

that are good but to tie it into

of you… and he’s so down to

each other and create what

earth. He can be sophisticated

I’d call the connections or the

and then get in the dirt… it’s

ligaments between the muscles

almost daunting to think that

is extremely difficult… And even

we’re graduating and he’s not

being a marine. Like going to

going to be there. Even though

Iraq and Afghanistan was easy

I do feel prepared. I do feel

for me, man. This thesis was the

confident. He’s given me a really

hardest thing I’ve ever done.

strong base.

72

INTERCUT

Julia Levine Astrid & Lucy TELEPLAY

ON HER PREMISE: It’s a half hour comedy and the

gets kicked out of her assisted

daughter and granddaughter.

pilot is two parallel storylines.

living home. So we’re following

And the rest of the series follows

What happens is this nine year

the events that lead up to each

Astrid and Lucy helping each

old girl, Lucy, gets suspended

of them getting in trouble…

other work out their issues and

from school on the same day

At the end of the episode, the

also having different adventures

that her grandmother Astrid

grandmother moves in with her

and mischief together.

There aren’t many tv shows

and I’m very close with them…

you you’re too young to do stuff

with protagonists under ten or

and I started seeing all of these

alone, or telling you you’re too

older than seventy, so there’s a

parallels between being nine

old to drive and taking away

lot to explore… I spend more

and being seventy-nine. People

the car keys. I wanted to write

time around older people than

are always trying to take away

characters who push back and

the average person my age. My

your agency, even if it’s well

say, no we’d actually like to have

great aunts are in their nineties

intentioned. Adults are telling

control over our lives.

ON HER INSPIRATION:

73

ON A FAVORITE CHARACTER:

ON ADVISING:

I

I can’t thank Joe enough…

get you past that standstill. And

grandmother. She’s very snarky

With screenwriting you’re sort

that’s a huge gift because once

and sometimes kind of abrasive

of stuck until you know the

you really understand why a

and mean, and she really lives

underlying objectives of a scene,

scene needs to exist and what it

life to the fullest… I get to write

and Joe somehow figures out

needs to accomplish, you’re free.

lines for her that I would never

exactly what questions to ask to

Then you can write it.

love

writing

Astrid,

the

say myself and get her into trouble I’d be too afraid to get myself into.

ON CHALLENGES:

WISDOM FOR FUTURE SCREENWRITERS:

Making it feel like a full,

Read as many scripts as you

have no ideas, don’t try to write,

complex season with strong

can. Especially bad ones. I

just go on a walk for a hour

character arcs was hard. I knew

wrote coverage all summer for

without your phone and spend

I wanted the story to really

an internship before starting

the whole time thinking. That’s

build across episodes but for a

my thesis and it was so helpful.

actually how I came up with

while I didn’t know how to do

Picking apart other people’s

my pilot. A lot of this project

that. What worked was basically

scripts and having to explain

isn’t about the writing, it’s just

writing down a list of character

what’s working and what’s not is

spending time with yourself,

relationships and threads that I

great prep to write your own…

figuring out what you want to

wanted in there and then just

And if you ever feel like you

say.

going through, mapping it, and making sure there was at least one moment in every episode which was building up each of the threads.

74

INTERCUT

ON HIS PREMISE:

ON HIS INSPIRATION:

ON HIS PROJECT’S

I’m working on a political

I was taking a class about

EVOLUTION:

dramedy… It focuses on this

modern narratives about slavery

I wanted to see what would

twenty-one year old black guy

and my professor mentioned

happen if I took this character

named

who

Fred Hampton. He was in the

Calvin and said what if this

grew up with a very privileged

Panther Party in Chicago. He

guy goes from being a nobody

background and because of that

was on the path to become

to a super popular nationwide

he’s been sort of isolated from

this big bold new revolutionary

political figure… I’m trying to

how bad racism is and never

leader, and because of that

play with the idea that while it

thought about it as something

the FBI was surveilling him

is about Calvin learning how

that he has to really worry

and eventually had him killed

racism works and how to work

about. In contrast, his younger

because they thought he was a

against it, he’s also ultimately a

brother Jason has been actively

danger to the establishment.

college kid, he’s not this master

Calvin

Green

stopping injustices in any way

political organizer, he’s going

they come up in his life… [Jason

[The story of Fred Hampton]

into this whole thing blind, so

is then killed by a police officer]

stood out to me so much. I don’t

how do you balance regular

and it’s a massive wake up call

know why it was setting these

responsibilities

for Calvin. In the aftermath of

bells off in my head, but it was

college kid with this unexpected

his brother’s death, he resolves

like for some reason this story

burden put on you when you

to do whatever he can to make

had been brought to me and

feel like you have this calling to

sure what happened to Jason

this is the story that I need to be

do this thing that’s greater than

doesn’t happen to anyone else.

telling right now.

yourself ?

of

being

Chris Jackson The Party TELEPLAY 75

a

ON FEELING LIKE A ONE MAN WRITER’S ROOM: There was one of my episodes I was stuck on and I called a friend of mine and just talking to someone else I realized this

ON ADVISING:

entire process is so difficult

It’s been legitimately amazing.

when you’re just trying to do it

[Joe] really has a way of

alone… TV and movies aren’t

drawing things out of you and

WISDOM FOR FUTURE

written in a vacuum. You don’t

helping you understand what

SCREENWRITERS:

gain

closing

you need to be doing. I’ve had a

Make sure to have a plan, but

yourself off to other people’s

lot of creative writing professors

don’t shackle yourself

opinions, you get in your own

but I feel like there hasn’t been

The thing about this work is

head and that only amplifies

anyone who’s pulled out my best

that inspiration can come from

your personal blind spots.

work like he has.

anywhere.

anything

from

to it.

76

INTERCUT

ON HER PREMISE:

ON PACING:

It’s a really really personal story

It basically takes place over a

for me… It’s set in a small,

week. I didn’t really set out to

swampy town in Florida, sort

write it in that way in terms of

of at the very end of hurricane

being like this is Monday, this is

season, and it follows an eleven

Tuesday, but it ended up being

year old girl named Casey,

that way… Once you’re in it,

and there’s a lot going on in

and once you’re with this family,

her life. She’s got the chaos

you can’t leave. You can’t go

of

the natural environment

anywhere until the movie’s over.

which is uncontrollable and

If there were to be a day where

unpredictable, and then her

you’re gone you would have to

home

know what happened.

environment

is

very

chaotic as well. She’s dealing with the sudden loss of her dad.

ON CHALLENGES:

And her mom is really struggling

I am a huge procrastinator. With

to keep things together. She’s

all of my writing that I do, I do

struggling

it the morning of or the night

alcoholism…

[Casey] had to grow up really

before… I procrastinated doing

fast… everything about her

my outline for weeks. For some

life has changed but she’s still

reason it was the hardest part

eleven and around other eleven

for me… I came back to school

year olds… So there’s a lot of

early in January and pretty

that contrast too between how

much sat down for four days

much people around her can

straight, and just took like eight

really understand what is going

hours, wrote the whole outline,

on and how her worldview has

and wrote the whole thing.

changed.

77

with

Ginger Hutchinson Taking the Day SCREENPLAY ON SCREENWRITING VS OTHER WRITING:

ON TAKEAWAYS:

ON ADVISING:

It’s different in the technical

The most valuable thing I’ve

[Joe] really made me feel like

way, it’s not different in the

learned is just the ability to cut…

this is something I can do with

subject

always

At this point it’s so much easier

my life and something I can do

writing about Florida and I’m

for me to look at a scene and

for a living and it’s not just a

always writing about childhood.

say it’s gone, it’s not pushing the

fantasy. I love how gentle he was

Pretty much all of my creative

story forward, I don’t need it…

with it. I don’t think I could’ve

work lives in that town… I do

[keeping up] that momentum

written this with another advisor.

think it’s kinda similar to poetry

is a great skill in any kind of

I was able to trust him.

though because both can be

writing.

matter.

I’m

really really visual. Like with

WISDOM FOR FUTURE

screenwriting there really can’t

SCREENWRITERS:

be any sentence or phrase that

Take the opportunity to develop

doesn’t connect to an image.

your style and your craft and your idea. Once you go out into the world, once you graduate from college, it’s gonna be hard to find another opportunity where you have a one on one mentor who guides you through this.

78

INTERCUT

Nick McCarthy Monstra ON HIS PREMISE: I have a pathological fear of

SCREENPLAY

modern social media and of saying or doing something that will make everyone find out where I live and then hurt me…

You see this happen where someone will say something and then Reddit and 4chan explode and they decide let’s

79

make this person miserable, let’s

ON HIS PROJECT’S

ruin their life. And that’s such a

EVOLUTION:

ON TONE:

fear that exists now that didn’t

It changed remarkably little. I

I maintain that if you are

exist twenty years ago… So I

took a lot of time to say okay,

writing something that involves

wanted to write a story from

I’m gonna be stuck with this

the internet and it is not funny

the point of view of someone

thing for a really long time so I

in some way there’s a problem.

who gets doxxed, someone who

better like it… Over the summer

I hope my script is scary, maybe

isn’t really a tech person. And

I came up with a central idea

people will laugh at the whole

you’re basically being attacked

that wasn’t character specific, it

thing, but I think it’s mostly

by hundreds of people you’ve

wasn’t location specific, it was a

pretty scary. I based the tone on

never met and that feeling

situation I liked. I didn’t know

the really weird feeling it gave

of fear when you can’t really

what would happen, but I knew

me to look into the ugly parts of

punch back.

what it was about.

the internet.

ON CHALLENGES:

ON EDITING:

This is not a traditional horror

Winter break was insane. It was

movie because you’re dealing

a lot of hitting a wall and then

with a really abstract villain.

desperately building my way

You don’t even really know what

over the wall in the last week and

it is. So I immediately started

a half. It feels like I’m control

watching films that were able

demolition-ing a building where

to visualize something like that.

it’s like, how do we TNT this

It’s hard to make something as

part without bringing down the

weird as the internet digestible.

whole thing?

ON SCREENWRITING

WISDOM FOR FUTURE

VS OTHER WRITING:

SCREENWRITERS:

This is way more technical. You

Pace yourself and you’ll be fine.

have to be so lean. It trains you

And don’t work out anything

to think really economically

plot mechanics related at all

about what you’re putting down.

before you start it. Your idea is gonna morph so much. So

ON ADVISING:

just think of a singular concept

The biggest miracle of this is

where you’re like, I absolutely

Joe. He’s so clear on every small

love this.

thing that has to be done for that week. Joe is really good at not giving you his vision. He is so bent on making clear what you want from the script and what you think is a good idea, and I really like that.

80

INTERCUT

Hannah Cooper On Belonging

SCREENPLAY

ON HER PREMISE:

ON HER INSPIRATION:

There’s the version of

81

my

My first semester at Wes, my

Any time somebody finds out

thesis pitch when I’m drunk at

German professor mentioned

that I’m Jewish and that I’m

a party and then the version I

the concept of the German

studying German, they just

tell people when I’m sober, but

western. I thought that was

assume it has to do with the

either way it’s about a seven-

so

having

Holocaust. At some point, I

year-old boy who just moved

grown up in the Southwest.

figured that since nobody would

with his family to Phoenix,

And it’s interesting to think

stop asking me about this, I

Arizona, from Germany in the

about in terms of

German

would write about it. Nobody

mid 70s. He becomes friends

guilt and the way Germany

ever talks about what we do

with a Jewish girl in his class,

has taken accountability for

after the war, how Germans

and their friendship forces both

the Holocaust, the depth to

and Jews should communicate

families to deal with how guilt

which they’ve integrated it into

and exist together, and so that’s

and

function

their education system. And

what my project is really about.

with events that they weren’t

juxtaposing that to America’s

It’s not about the Holocaust, it’s

directly involved in but that

total lack of accountability in

about the aftermath.

really define their cultures.

our own history.

accountability

funny,

especially

ON ADVISING: I wasn’t sure whether to do a production thesis or a screenplay, and I spent five minutes in [Joe’s] class

junior year and

ON CHALLENGES:

knew I had to work with him.

One thing that Joe keeps telling

There’s no one like him. He

me is that I’m too subtle and

takes the time to understand

that’s been a struggle. That

who you are and what you want

happens at least once every

to write, and he helps you do it.

meeting. I’m just trusting my audience too much. Finding

WISDOM FOR FUTURE

ways

SCREENWRITERS:

to

express

characters’

interiority… it’s not easy.

Know why your story needs to be written. Knowing your

ON A FAVORITE CHARACTER:

purpose

I love writing the little Jewish girl,

easier. Whenever you’re stuck

Rachel. She’s seven and wears a

or struggling or unhappy with

cowboy hat everywhere, all the

whatever direction you’re going,

time. It’s really fun to write her

remember why you wanted to

weird little monologues.

write it in the first place.

makes

everything

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INTERCUT

King Emeka Fall From Grace

ON HIS PREMISE: It’s about the coming of age of a young black boy in LA and he’s kind of stuck between two

SCREENPLAY

worlds. He’s from an upper middle class background but his mother, because she came up from more humble beginnings

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in the same area, she kinda

ON CHALLENGES:

stayed around there, got her

The only real deadline we

we were going back to school

professional job, but still made

had that’s like a hard point of

I’d planned a trip to Hong

him go to the public school in

no return type thing is that

Kong, and I ended up leaving a

the rougher area… The movie

deadline when you come back

lot of my writing to have to do

is three parts. It’s his middle

from winter break and you

when I was there. And I got sick

school, high school, and then

have to have your first draft.

right around the time we were

right after college, and it shows

And if you don’t have that then

supposed to turn [the entire first

how

his

you can’t move on [to the next

draft] in. And it was crazy. I felt

identity and also what he wants

semester]. So I’d gotten most of

like I was gonna die but I still

to do and what he wants to be

the way through and then I hit a

wrote it. I still got it done. That

in life.

slump. Then three weeks before

was a very memorable time.

he

grapples

with

ON ADVISING: [I enjoy the] moments with Joe when we have realizations and he teaches me something new.

He doesn’t give the same advice to everyone. He puts in the effort to understand your story and where you’re coming from.

He reminds me a lot of my dad cause he started in theater and my dad teaches acting and directing at Oberlin College, so we kinda connect talking about plays. And his mannerisms. I feel like I’m learning from an Italian version of my dad.

WISDOM FOR FUTURE SCREENWRITERS: Marinate, and really sit on whatever you want to write ON STAYING FOCUSED:

ON EDITING:

about. And make sure it’s

It’s just hard to keep up with

I left cutting pages for the last

something

everything… Like I was writing

couple weeks and… It didn’t

about or can be passionate

a different story at a certain

take me crazy amounts of time

about… Everyone has a unique

point and I had to keep asking

but I definitely underestimated

voice. And that sounds really

myself “Is this what I set out to

it. That is not an easy thing to

cliche but if you can tap into

say originally?” or “Is this the

do, especially when you’re so

whatever is unique about you,

same movie that I envisioned?”

tied to all these different things

then I think your story will end

and it was easy to get away from

you’ve invested in and spent

up being really cool… If you’re

that at times, but having Joe and

hella energy trying to create.

considering [doing a thesis] and

you’re

passionate

re-reading it helped me realize

you’re reading this, do it. Just

and not make that mistake.

do it.

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SPECIAL THANKS to our writers, editors, and artists for making this issue happen in the midst of unprecedented cirumstances.