Dissertation Post 5

This week has been extremely difficult as other deadlines for assignments have approached and balancing my time between other assignments and my dissertation has proved to be easier said than done. Doing further readings into books and journals has been minimal. But I have managed to watch the 1963 version of Cleopatra directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz which I thought would give me a more feminist approach to the Roman epic genre, I thought with the film focusing on a woman that the narrative may have used a somewhat feminist approach to the storyline, yet this wasn’t the case as Cleopatra was merely a pawn in a man’s game throughout the film. However this does not deter me from the exploration of feminism within the epic genre as this subjection of the female form merely gives me more points for analysis. Understanding the epic genre in its entirety also forms a basis for further exploration also as the epic genre reflects the time period in which it was created as well as the time period in which it is set. Some theorists argue that the epic genre merely demonstrates the technological advancements within the Hollywood system and by using the epic genre these technologies can be applied and exploited. Although I agree with the above theory I would further agree that if the epic genre demonstrates technology of the time then surely it also demonstrates the thinking and sociological issues occurring, along with the political and historical themes that the director sees fit to incorporate into the films. Basically I’m trying to suggest that if technology of the time is being exploited then so will the stance of women within society be. After watching Cleopatra I decided that I wasn’t going to narrow down my contents any further by sticking to Roman Epics I think because I am studying feminism having more reference points and films to perform textual analysis on will only further aide my studies as opposed to hindering them. The question I have found myself asking now is should I extend my analysis into feminism into the realms of race? All of the films I have watched so far have included black women and their portrayal has been slightly different from that of the white woman, they are perceived as being exotic, mystical and a symbol of difference, I am aware that I shouldn’t extend my reach into racial studies too far as I want to focus on feminism and focusing on race will only further complete my capability to analyse feminism but I do think my textual analysis on the portrayal of women should include the black female characters too. Therefore I think my next step will be to further explore the realms of feminist theory and of course the social and political enticement of the epic genre, but readings on racial theory will be noted and possibly included in my dissertation. I have come up with several possible dissertation titles which include:

How does the representation of feminism mutate over 50 years of Hollywood Epics? Spartacus- Gladiator

Has the representation of feminism evolved over 50 years of Hollywood Epics? Spartacus- Gladiator

Has the representation of feminism progressed over 50 years of Hollywood Epics? Spartacus- Gladiator

The titles above are work in progress I still haven’t managed to encapsulate what I want to write about as I am finding it difficult to word the title, I know I am fairly well researched however I am struggling to come up with a title and the right words that emphasises the exact direction I want to take my research in. I am sure that as I continue with my research I will be able to get my title word perfect, hopefully that will happen with time.

Filmography

Cleopatra, 1963. Film. Directed by Joseph L. MANKIEWICZ. USA: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Dissertation Post 4

This week has been the most difficult week in terms of researching my topical area. I decided at the end of last week that I was going to focus more on the Epic as a genre as opposed to feminism in the epic genre. Although I want feminism in the epic genre to be the basis of my dissertation question I needed to understand the epic genre as a whole first before I began to apply feminist film theory, but attempting to research the epic genre in depth has proved difficult. I still have two outstanding book orders that specialise on the Hollywood epic genre that still have not arrived plus it took me eight hours to find three online journals that were case specific enough for further analysis. Each of the journals is over forty pages of theory and this is where I am encountering my problems, the research into the genre is incredibly time consuming, so much so that I have only managed to read half way through one of the journals as I have been note taking and expanding on the quotations as the theorists use very complex sentence structures and difficult terminology. The journal that has taken up so much of my time is entitled "Surge and Splendor": A Phenomenology of the Hollywood Historical Epic by Vivian Sobchack its contents is hard going and sometimes hard to understand but Sobchack highlights the essential facts of the epic genre and why it was so popular back in its heyday, she criticises theorists and historians that suggest that the historical epic is lacking due to its inaccuracy in presenting the correct historical facts but Vivian argues that the genre is merely a way of Hollywood film companies testing new technological advancements and appealing to American Middle class audiences that enjoy the splendour of the genre as opposed to caring about the accuracy of historical facts. Although this journal doesn’t focus on women I have found this source to be useful so far in understanding the genre’s appeal and purpose within  the Hollywood filmmaking system. I am hoping to come across more journals and books that focus on isolated occurrences within the genre such as the representation of women, historical, social and political meaning within the genre and so I will keep researching and hopefully I will find more readings that cover my particular spectrum of choice as opposed to just and opinionated overview of the genre.

 However I have decided to expand and look further into the idea of just focusing on Roman epics so I have ordered Cleopatra which was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz circa 1963, as I think it would be a good film to perform textual analysis on, as the film is a Hollywood epic set during the Roman reign but also its narrative primarily focuses on a female lead character which can only further my knowledge of feminism and the positioning of women within the classical period of the epic genre. Also I need to have plenty of film references within my dissertation as I want my studies to be based on textual analysis, so that my research and analysis tie in together to further reinforce any arguments or debates I may present in my dissertation. So for the week ahead I shall focus and dedicate more time to research and read journals and articles and hopefully the outstanding books I have ordered should arrive helping me gage a deeper understanding of my subject area. If my research goes well next week I’m hoping to be in the position to start piecing together my dissertation question and coming up with dissertation question ideas.

Bibliography

Sobchack, V , 1990. "Surge and Splendor": A Phenomenology of the Hollywood Historical Epic , [online] Available at:<http://www.Jstor.org/stable/2928417> [Accessed 19 October 2010].

Filmography

Cleopatra, 1963. Film. Directed by Joseph L. MANKIEWICZ. USA: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Dissertation Post 3

Research and progression has been steady and time consuming this week, after last week I knew I needed to focus more on the ‘Epic’ genre and its social reception within Hollywood as well as worldwide audiences as it was these types of films that interested me from the beginning. After repeatedly watching Spartacus and Gladiator I have found that my interests primarily lye on the Roman based epics that imply an historical but contemporary view of feminism and the female body within the formulaic narrative constructs. The only issue is I feel like my focus is getting wider as opposed to clearer and more focused, therefore I feel I have been expanding my readings and initial research into realms I do not need to be looking at. I know I want to look at the ‘Epic’ genre and its perception of feminism/ women but also I want to assess whether such representations have changed throughout the years. That’s why I have mainly focused on the two films Spartacus and Gladiator as they stand at different ends of the spectrum and time frame, but also by using such films I will be able to gage the development of the cinematic representations of feminism through a specific genre. Placing so much emphasis on the films being a ‘Roman Epic’ seems to be unrealistic as I will be able to understand the evolution of the ‘Epic’ genre more by focusing on other film releases that are not of the ‘Roman Epic’ genre, basically what I’m trying to suggest is that at this point in time I feel like the ‘Epic’ genre is a small enough area to research without narrowing my search further. However I am feeling conflicted because I don’t know if it would make more sense to narrow down my search and to just focus on ‘Roman Epics’, but if I did do that I would lose good film references such as The 10 Commandments which is more of a ‘Biblical Epic’ plus more film references and viewings would be required in order to form the basis of secondary textual analysis to my primary film readings. I am however certain that Spartacus and Gladiator shall be my primary films as to which I develop and apply feminist film theory to. Acknowledging that such films were going to be the basis (and perhaps included in my dissertation title) I ordered and researched books that were entirely based on both Spartacus and Gladiator. From the library I found a book entitled Spartacus Film and History that was edited by Martin M. Winkler. This particular book looks at every aspect of the film and its social and political history as well as enlisting chapters written by theorists based on different aspects of the film. So far I haven’t managed to read and take many notes from this book however I intend to and soon. Other books such as Big Screen Rome by Monica Cyrino also focus on Spartacus and Gladiator and offer textual analysis as well as the social importance of the ‘epic’ genre as historical epics are usually inadvertently based on contemporary happenings of the time. I must read more in depth with these books and try to combine feminist theories with the visual and written literature that highlights such issues. Also I need to start looking for online journals that focus on my area of research, the only reason I have delayed such a search is because I wanted to have a real sense of what it was I wanted to do therefore making my search for online journals less complex and time consuming.  I need to do more readings and find online journals by doing so I might be able to decide whether or not to base my dissertation on ‘Roman Epics’ as opposed to just ‘Epics’ in general, as the more I extend my research methods on this particular area the more insight I will get as to whether there is enough literature on the ‘Roman Epics’.

Bibliography

 Winkler, M. (2007) Spartacus Film and History, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Cyrino, M. (2005) Big Screen Rome, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Filmography

Spartacus, 1969. Film. Directed by Stanley KUBRICK. USA: Bryna Productions

 Gladiator, 2000. Film. Directed by Ridley SCOTT. USA: UIP

The 10 Commandments, 1956. Film. Directed by Cecil B. DEMILLE. USA: Paramount Pictures

Dissertation Post 2

Beginning the second week of my dissertation research has proved problematic and stressful due to the fact that trying to define my topical interests and core themes of my dissertation isn’t as straightforward as I thought.  So in order to progress and define the vocal point of my dissertation I began the week with basic research in the library, primarily focusing on titles that would suffice as secondary readings. I knew that I wanted to look at feminism therefore I knew I had to have extensive readings and knowledge of the key feminist theorists. Also I wanted to know more about the ‘Epic’ genre and how it was socially received as a genre, and this is where I began to struggle. Researching the term ‘Epic’ produced little or no results in the library database however I came across a book entitled John Milton and the Transformation of Ancient Epic by Charles Martindale although the title sounded promising the book primarily focuses on the translation of poetry and its effects on other poets. It quickly became apparent to me that if I still wanted to focus on the ‘epic’ genre and the representation feminism in such cinematic releases that I would have to somehow redefine my definition of the term ‘epic’. Re-evaluating the work I had done so far the films that intrigued me proved to be useful in redefining what sort of ‘epic’ I was interested in. Films such as Gladiator, Spartacus, The 10 Commandments and 300 are all Ancient/Historical Epics. So after producing the type of ‘epic’ I wanted to explore I began my search online for books that embodied such titles and theories on such films. But I encountered another problem the books that I have ordered have not arrived. The texts in question are case specific to this particular topical area that I was keen to explore thus making the progress with this part of questioning void for the time being. Instead I chose to focus on my other area of research feminism. I have looked at numerous books that combine feminist theory and the representation on women within the cinematic spectrum to further my knowledge, I have also read numerous texts that slightly deviate away from the central focus of my study, however I feel that all texts related to the subject of feminism could only further strengthen my dissertation and may also count as secondary readings and the basis for understanding more key texts and theories as all theorists within this category influence each other’s writings as I found out through my research. Obviously Laura Mulvey and her theory entitled Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema formed the basis of my readings as she proves to be the most challenged and also reinforced writer within the feminist cinema spectrum. E. A Kaplan’s book women and Film Both Sides of the Camera also prove useful along with Annette Kuhn’s Women’s Pictures Feminism and Cinema. Other books for consideration include Feminism and Film by Maggie Humm, The Acoustic Mirror The female voice in Psychoanalysis and Cinema by Kaja Silverman. Now all of these books are not case specific to my area of research as I want to analyse women in the Ancient/ Historical epic genre, however they give accurate assessments of feminism, having many books to go through reading and doing notes is proving to be quite time consuming and its taking me a while to sift through the texts. Further readings have also been chosen as I think any form of research into feminism has to contain research into sexuality and gender positioning therefore I thought I would look into Sigmund Freud and his theories just to form the basis of my understanding of psychoanalysis and also to reinforce the sociological viewpoint of women within film, which I intend to do as soon as I have made more progression with the readings I have already acquired. Other books such as The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan and Issues in Feminist Film Criticism edited by Patricia Erens will also help to give me an historical insight into the progression of feminist film theory which will hopefully reinforce my understanding and overall credibility when it come to producing a balanced assessment of women within the Ancient/Historical Epic genre. In order to progress further I must wait for the other books to arrive and carry on reading and taking notes as well as looking at more films that focus on my topical area. Plus I will expand further on the books that I have already began to study, more in depth reading and analysis is needed.

Bibliography

 Martindale, C. (1986) John Milton and the Transformation of Ancient Epic, Great Britain: Croom Helm LTD

 Mulvey, L. (1990) Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema In D. Thornham (Ed.) Feminist Film Theory A Reader (pp.58-70). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press

 Kaplan, A. (1983) Women and Film Both Sides of the Camera, Great Britain: Methuen Inc

 Kuhn, A. (1994) Women’s Pictures Feminism and Cinema, London: Verso

 Humm, M. (1997) Feminism and Film, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press

 Silverman, K. (1988) The Acoustic Mirror The female voice in Psychoanalysis and Cinema, USA: Indiana University Press

 Friedan, B. (1965) The Feminine Mystique, London: Penguin Books

Erens, P. (1990) Issues in Feminist Film Criticism, USA: Indiana University Press

Filmography

Gladiator, 2000. Film. Directed by Ridley SCOTT. USA: UIP

Spartacus, 1969. Film. Directed by Stanley KUBRICK. USA: Bryna Productions

The 10 Commandments, 1956. Film. Directed by Cecil B. DEMILLE. USA: Paramount Pictures

300, 2006. Film. Directed by Zack SNYDER. USA: Warner Brothers Inc

Dissertation Post1

To begin work on my dissertation I have been looking at key areas that interest me, subject matters such as feminism, self perception and the Epic genre have intrigued me as being key areas of exploration and development. Although the study of feminism within the epic genre would be interesting I feel that it would be too broad of a topic to cover therefore I began to look more indepth at the perception and positioning of women within the epic genre. Evaluating and finding resources that relate to female perception in accordance to the Epic genre has proved difficult therefore for the time being feminism as a whole is being my main vocal point for research as to which at a later date I can narrow down my findings and come up with a specific topical defining point.  Over the summer I watched films such as 300, Troy and Gladiator and realised that forming an historical timeline for the Epic genre would futher benifit not only my knowledge but the structure and outcome of my study. Early Epics such as Spartacus and the 10 Commandments offer the basis for comparative study to take place within my dissertation. Basically using earlier films enables me to produce a coherant assesment of the advancment and representation of women throughout the Epic genre. Although I'm not entirely sure of where the focus of my dissertation will fall, I do know that feminism and the Epic genre will form the basis of my studies. In order to enable my studies to develop further I have now began researching and reading texts that will hopefully shape my dissertation question whilst also examining film releases old and new that will also further my understanding.

Filmography
300, 2006. Film. Directed by Zack SNYDER. USA: IMAX
Troy, 2004. Film. Directed by Wolfgang PETERSON. USA: Warner Brothers
Gladiator, 2000. Film. Directed by Ridley SCOTT. USA: UIP
Spartacus, 1960. Film. Directed by Stanley KUBRICK. USA: Bryna Productions
The 10 Commandments, 1956. Film. Directed by Cecil. B Demille. USA: Paramount Pictures