#guerilla_cinema

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Blogpost #4

The Battle of Algiers comes down on the side of the Algerians, but it takes care to flesh out both the French and Algerian stories. City and soundtrack are both used to illustrate this

The city itself is a character in The Battle of Algiers. Radically for its time, the film begins with a torture scene, followed by Ali La Pointe's imprisonment, both inditements of French colonialism. As Ali looks out of his cell, he sees an execution. Yet the prison itself also looks on, the windows looming over the scene like eyes, ever surveying, never looking away. The Kasbah’s architectural complexity is a part of the FLN’s success. They understand it, and use it. Yet it is also a site of internal conflict; in the scene where Algerian children harass a drunk man, they drag him down the stairs as he cries for help. In the French quarter, with its broad boulevards and modernist shops, life is portrayed as well. There is a powerful moment in the bar, right before the freedom fighter is about to leave a bomb. She looks around and takes in all the lives she is about to take. And of course, the mobility of people between the old and colonial cities becomes a symbol of occupation and control. Crossing that line is resistance. 

The music, too, is orchestrated with a degree of balance. The french theme, all snare drums and trumpets, is contrasted with Ali La Pointe’s theme, a lilting panpipe melody. The two combined and blurred briefly when the French military are trying to force the Algerians to turn. A third motif, a funeral march, is played both when the French quarter is bombed, and when the Algerians are tortured. The tragedies are held in the same musical space. In the soundtrack, grief has no hierarchy. 

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Blogpost #4

This week's readings and films on Guerilla Cinema were powerful and devastating. I need to begin to spread out my engagement with these works as to allow time for processing and emotional recovery. I read the readings first and then watched the films: The Charleston Parade as a clear tool for deculturation and minstrel cinema/the reduction of people to stereotypes while also consuming their art in a slightly erotic and disgusting way with The Battle of Algiers, as an example of Third Cinema and the complexities of anti-colonial resistance and war, helped deepen and nuance by understanding of the texts and worked as an example of the power of media to reflect the conditions in which oppressed classes of colonized countries live. The film, in my opinion attempts to show the nuance of an active war/resistance dynamic–the brutality: children being radicalized to abuse those with addiction issues. The attempt to systematically organize through the power of groups; the role women play. In one scene showing two french citizens walking confidently and calmly past a police checkpoint as the actual Algerians are being subject to this policing of their movement in their own land, we see how the women of NLF begin to weaponize traditional feminine attire in order to pass through the checkpoint without being patted down. It also showcases the civilians who end up martyred as a result of all the violence, and the contrast between the scale of violence in which the Algerians make successful and unsuccessful attempts to kill police officers and in response the French bomb an entire residential complex killing children, women only further inciting the rightful fury of the Algerian people. I'd be interested in analyzing this part of the film in light of last week's discussion on objectivity. We read that the role of cinema is to reflect "the objective" condition and I'm curious how we see that. I read that director refused to condemn any agents of the conflict. Is this the correct way to go about it? We contrasted objectivity with subjectivity rooted in fairness. To me, during this week, there is a clear side who has the historical right would it not be right for a film to take a position when the right and wrong is so clear?

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Blogpost #4

One interesting point from the chapter about resistance in Multitude: War and Democracy in the Age of Empire is the attempt to cement the transformation from guerilla warfare into united armies, as the author somewhat refers to them. In doing so, the author provides the notion that there is a distinction between the two that can be separated through classifying historical examples and general trends across time. For example, it notes how the rise of guerilla warfare can be linked to the general trends of modernization with the rise of socialist ideas and emphasis on class relationships defining many of these movements which seek to change but not yet necessarily establish government. Then, however, as the author describes, a united army may arise in which case the smaller guerilla units will likely disappear as they no longer serve the purpose of maintaining order in line with a governing body.

The text in Film Manifestos and Global Cinema Cultures also served to raise many points this time in the relation to film as opposed to purely from a philosophical and historical point of view. In the assigned section, different committees discussed various issues relating to film in third-world countries. For example, many took a historical analysis to determine how previous factors continue to impact trends in film and media to this day and what steps can be taken to address these. In doing so, the impact of media and film is emphasized and how it is an important component of any culture.

Finally, the films served as historical examples for many of the topics touched on in the readings. The Battle of Algiers for example, being that it was a film set on a plot about rebels during the Algerian War, takes not of many points about resistance described in the reading. Specifically, it exemplifies many factors of the guerilla warfare described previously.

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Blogpost #4

I am struck by the theme of “distribution” that was prevalent throughout this week’s readings and films. Whether it is the necessity of the distribution of power in colonized countries or the distribution of information to further empower oppressed countries/citizenries, the need for distribution serves as a vital part of revolutions and independence. It is no surprise that the information distributed by the oppressor is for the benefit of the oppressor, and that in order to reach the people to share a counternarrative, new forms of distribution must be explored. 

The Battle of Algiers presents a counternarrative as much as Charleston Parade does, albeit for different audiences and purposes. In both cases, film is used as a new distribution mechanism to turn a dominant narrative on its head, and in many ways, what is communicated via film becomes an invitation for the viewer to act—or at the very least reflect—in response to a dominant culture’s attack on a majority with limited power. As film has become more ubiquitous over the last century, I am reminded of the power of collaboration and the power of unity that are echoed in Resolutions of the third world Filmmakers Meeting and Multitude: War and Democracy in the Age of Empire. The power of image in film is not only a weapon to wage war on the oppressed, but a weapon to counteract the oppressor. In either case, greater distribution yields greater impact. 

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blogpost #4

The readings and films this week were interesting. 

On one hand in the readings, there was a lot of talk about using film for political purposes, as a way to advance causes and change attitudes. I’m not sure I saw that reflected in the films. I mean - the Battle of Algiers, yes, but Charleston Parade might be one of my least favorite films to have watched. 

I understand that perhaps at the time, the cinematic and social impacts of such a film were positive and trending towards the future, but it falls flat in my eyes. Had real social changed been aimed for, there would have been no use of blackface in the costumes - there would have been actual Black actors. 

Perhaps I am looking at it from a point too distant in time, but I felt that the film left much to be desired in the vein of revolutionary intent and actual radical concepts. I appreciate that film can be used for change - but I think also that the focus is too narrow on films about revolutionary moments in time or on pivotal moments. Sometimes (most times) the ordinary is just as inspiring. Nollywood, for example, is notorious for churning out drama after drama, but I believe that being able to just see one’s environment reflected back is grounding and motivating. It reminds you that you exist in the world, and that you are capable of small joys alongside groundbreaking triumphs. 

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Blogpost 4: Guerrilla Cinema

The film The Battle of Algiers showcased exactly the type of cinema the creators of Film Manifestos and Global Cinema Cultures: Resolutions of the Third World Filmmakers Meeting worked to promote and characterized the type of decentralized tactical style of guerrilla warfare Multitude of War and Democracy in the Age of Empire: Resistance describes as the primal form of rebellion organization of the time.

In the film, neither the French nor the FLN were romanticized as this heroic figure that could do no wrong. The struggles of both sides were captured and the watcher develops empathy for both. The bombing of civilian area by the FLN really pierces the viewers as lives of many innocents were taken in this act of resistance, but the struggles of the Algiers as colonization oppressed them and disrupted their freedoms and culture make the viewers understand why they took this course of action. Similarly, the French were no saints either. Particularly disturbing was the police taking a journey to where he thought the head of the FLN lived and left a bomb there in the middle of the night, killing many innocent people, including children and elderly. The damage was almost worse because the buildings in the Algier’s part of society were tightly packed and decaying, making the impact of the bomb collapsing multiple families’ living quarters and killing all those within.

The film also highlights the guerrilla organization aspect of the FLN in comparison the the traditional authoritarian structure of the French military. Instead of having a strict vertical line of commands, the FLN has multiple clusters of powers, where one functions almost independently of one another, but strategizing together to form a powerful group. This sort of decentralized power allowed for the FLN to blend in to the people, making it almost impossible to determine whether someone was a bystander or in the action of completing a mission. Even for members themselves, they would not always know who else belonged to another branch of the organization, which also proved helpful in keeping the secrecy of the members and prevent leakage of important information. And even if one branch falls, the others can still operate and the cause is not lost. Women and children also provided to be important members of these guerrilla movements, providing to be critical undercover agents, further helping them disguise themselves among society.

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Blogpost #6

This week's readings revolve around the impact of colonialism, rule, and power and its depictions in film. In Film Manifestos: Resolutions of the Third World Filmmakers Meeting, the authors discuss the problems in making third world films. Notably, the role that film plays in the public’s perception of a place or culture. Most filmmaking is concentrated in wealthy places or “first world countries” who also colonized and imperialized others. Essientaly, their films reflect the damaging and exocitized image on countires and cultures who were colonized, more recently referred to as developing countries then “third world” countries. This means that people who aim for their own establishment are subjected to believing their lifestyle or culture is inferior or backwards.

Such is demonstrated in the silent film Charleson Parade, directed by famous French director Jean Renoir, where a “native woman” teaches the upper class frenchman who traveled there via a spaceship to a strange place. The women's movements are animalistic, jerky, and her costume is very excoticized. The film even goes to bring the woman back to France in a coat and umbrella, saying “This is how white aborigines culture became fashionable in Africa”. Beyond being a very angering film to watch, such is the style of film that the reading emphasizes is damaging to these developing countries, leaving massive economic and social impacts well beyond the supposed “comedic” humor of the film. Instead, the Film Manifesto calls to empower film makers from developing countries through resources and establishing communities to create their own films to bring their lifestyle to the screen, and not what the imperialists believe of them. 

In the Multitude of War and Democracy in the Age of Empire, the chapter on Resistance discusses how Guerrilla resistance has transformed with society. Resistances are guided by what form of power they are responding to, social and economic production, as well as inner organization. For example, the transformation of guerrilla warfare tactics from rural to urban location and  resistance organization styles from loose horizontal to vertical command. These tensions are highlighted in the film, the Battle of Algiers, where the French government attempts to suppress an uprising in North Africa. I found this reading and film very striking in understanding what underlies the guerrilla movements.

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Blogspot#4

The readings set the stage beautifully for the film. The social manifesto by the third world filmmakers immerses one into the real questions that were important in the post-world war environment where decolonization had left the capitalist notions bare naked and now were subject of open critique. Questions of imperialism and neocolonialism are at the heart of the social imbalance that affected every sector of life, not just film. The manifesto is accurate in recognizing that. It has a very strong socialist tone that contextualizes the debate and rightly challenges the capitals of production. As a socialist critique, I feel it however fails to take into account the inward introspection in the third world country and its means of production. The burden of responsibility needs to be shared by the locals as well in being unable to cleanse themselves from the colonial tropes. I never got a chance to trace the impact of this meeting but it would be interesting to research into the impacts of this meeting beyond the manifesto. The second reading felt more directly relevant to the film and clarified my personal notions of the meaning, manifestations, and types of resistance. The historical overview of insurgency, revolution, and struggle is still relevant in today’s world. The future of it as the reading highlights the biopolitical dimensions gives a glim and scary perspective. The natural place to identify the new forms of resistance is to trace the evolution of power and its manifestations on the ground in the economic playground, as the author points the direct correlation of power and resistance as thesis and anti-thesis to one another. This leads us to the film, which in my opinion is a remarkable cinematic product of telling a historic story vividly. The film draws in interest slowly but surely, through the tool of empathy. The empathy is generated through cinematic frames that help us immerse in the context of Algiers and its complexities. The zoom-in shots that slowly pan directly into the face are beautiful in helping connect the audience with the characters. In these views, the eyes do all the talking with their subtle movement. The chiaroscuro lighting technique helps in revealing that purity. The film also uses movement to place us in the film, especially during the protest demonstration after the blast the camera shakes and gives the audience a feeling of being drawn in as the crowd intercepts the soldiers. The camera moves fast with the urgency of soldiers as they move to quench the uproar. These movement techniques are very powerful in maintaining the interest and building the climax. Some frames stuck with me, the close-up shots of faces, the background music coordinated with panning in and out of the architectural frames.  My favorite one was when the screen is filled with smoke and you see nothing and the soldiers ask what do you want and the voice of the protestors call out,” We want freedom”.