From: DPTMc-AT-aol.com
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 03:13:51 EST
Subject: Re: Sociology-Film


I would like to comment on the notion of subjectivity creeping in to film,
long before the first shot.
Of course it does...in any artistic medium. Didn't Picasso have a point of
view in his painting Guernica?  I believe that what Ed speaks to is
Constructed Mediated Reality, the unavoidable practice of portraying events as
they are perceived (not necessariily as they are) when telling a story. When a
story is non-fictional, the author puts his/her stamp on the book, which is,
in turn, given a new, or at least different,  point of view when made into a
film.
This, however, is not a real concern when using film as a mirror of social
behavior, as long as you realize that it is constructed- and by definition,
not necessarily accurate.
An example would be the portrayal of  women in film, and later television. 
1n 1902 we had Theda Bara as the "vamp" character....a character that has
never gone away. In Red Headed Woman (Conway, 1932), Jean Harlow plays this
character to perfection. The vamp is a woman who uses her "femimine wiles" to
get what she wants. Who among us, of either gender, has never used sex as a
weapon?
The New York Hat (Griffith, 1912), portrays several types of women. The lead
character receives a fancy hat from the preacher...not knowing that it was the
dying wish of her grandfather that she should have something nice from the
money he had saved before his death, the town gossips begin to suspect
(publicly) that something must be going on between the girl and the preacher. 
It has long been a practice in film to take one facet of a person, and magnify
this to represent the ENTIRE person. But are not all women (and men) in
possession of all of these qualitites, for better or for worse? Doesn't
everyone have a (basically) good heart, but sometimes use sex as a weapon, or
gossip about others?
True, it can sometimes be nauseating...just think of the 1950's
sitcoms...Donna Reed, Leave it to Beaver, Father Knows Best....in these shows
women are portrayed as  the "perfect" housewife....Donna Reed or June Cleaver
would wake up looking as if they had just stepped out of a beauty parlor. It
should be noted that men, too, were stereotyped- June was expected to look
perfect while running a perfect household, Ward was expected to pay for all of
it.
Film is a mirror of society, not the society itself, and can be a very
powerful tool in the study of the sociology of a given society at a given
point in time. We must, however,  keep in mind that it is only a mirror.
Characters are portrayed as they are expected to behave- not necessarily as
they really do. 
Film is most effective as a sociological tool when used to analyze the way
that people were "expected" to act at a given time, in contrast to the way
people really do act.
I have used film as a tool when guest lecturing to many Sociology classes. The
above examples refer to the portrayal of women in film...no matter what the
topic, film is a reflection of society, and a very powerful tool in the study
of Sociology.
For what it's worth, I know of which I speak...I hold an MFA in Fine Art, an
MA in Media Communication, and a PhD in Cinema Studies.....that, and 50 cents,
might get me a cup of coffee.....
Dennis


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