Counterpublics often employ discursive conventions that emphasize interaction, communal relationships, and shared experiences and locations. Some Native-American and African-American counterpublics challenge traditional notions of the roles of individuals in public discourse through the use of interactive storytelling, audience-rhetor reciprocity, and other conventions of engagement and sharing.
Christian R. Weisser, in “Subaltern Counterpublics and the Discourse of Protest”
In the screening last week we watched the French film 'La Haine', which I found interesting:
SYNOPSIS: After local youth Abdel is beaten unconscious by police, a riot ensues on his estate during which a policeman loses his gun. The gun is found by Vinz who threatens he will kill a cop if Abdel dies.
After the screening we continued talking about representation and in terms of it challenging conventions.
• Third Cinema
Called for a new cinema that challenged Hollywood and European Art Cinema; Political/anti-colonial. In regards to form and style: Mixing of fictional stories and documentary footage; rejection of classical Hollywood techniques; influenced by Italian Neo-Realism, Soviet Montage and French New Wave.
Key Films: Memories of Underdevelopment (1968); The Hour of the Furnaces (1968); Black God, White Devil (1964); La Clerta Manera (1974); How Tasty was My Little Frenchman (1971), Cidade de Deus (City of God, 2002)
• Black Independent Cinema
"Independent films provide alternate ways on knowing black people that differ from the fixed stereotypes of Blacks in Hollywood."
Filmmakers: Billy Woodbury - Bless Their Little Hearts (1984); Charles Burnett - Killer of Sheep (1977); Haile Gerima - Answerable (1975)
• New Queer Cinema (1991)
"Queer can be used to describe any sexuality not defined as hetero procreative monogamy (usually the presumed goal of most classical Hollywood couplings); queers are people (including heterosexuals) who do not organize their sexuality according to that rubric."
- Highlights the fluidity of sexuality/breaks down rigid boundaries between gay/straight, male/female etc...
Filmmakers: Todd Haynes (Poison); Gus Van Sant (My Own Private Idaho); Gregg Araki (The Living End, Mysterious Skin); Isaac Julien (Young Soul Rebels)
In terms of sexuality we discussed the 'Ellen' (1994-1998) show, where we watched clips from her coming out episode. Which I know damaged her career and she had to go back to stand-up comedy to make ends meet and finally managed to be respected in the television community as a gay women in her talk show.
"It was political moment in national culture, one in which a celebrity’s declaration of lesbian identity and pride became a matter for extended news coverage. It was a moment of extreme narrative development for the lead character in the show, one that had been anticipated for an entire season. And … many commentators proclaimed this moment of ‘must see TV’ as a structural shift in the sitcom form: it was an occasion we were all supposed to remember as the moment when gay lives ‘finally’ became part of mainstream TV."
SEMINAR
We discussed how 'La Haine' represented politics and a different side to Paris/France.
Location: Banlieues (outskirts) - poverty, run-down, dangerous, isolated; City centre - wealthy, police presence, cultural hub
Class Divide: Police treatment of middle class vs. working class; Banlieue inhabitants are treated as nuisances, their actions are entertainment for middle classes
Narrative: Circular narrative; little resolution/closure
Conflicts: Between police and working class; ethnic minorities and the skin heads; Paris seen in glossy films (Amelie) and La Haine's Paris of socio-political conflict
