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Blogpost #8

Daisies is film about two girls “dolls”, part of the Czechoslovakia film movement, and interspersed with surrealist cut scenes. The girls, having found despair in life, decide that they also want to be “bad” as well and go around creating chaos. While the majority of the film is about their antics, the ending has them seemingly face retribution for their actions as they promise to be “good” once again. However, rather than the most straightforward interpretation of the film, the reading highlights the idea that the film satrically mocks the expected role of women in society. 

Given the context of the reading, the two female main characters are recast as hyperbole mockery of the expectations on women. One of these points include their extremely high and soft voices, delicate way of moving around even while causing chaos, and the way they interact with men. Despite the way they seem to be eventually “reformed” in the end of the movie, the reading brings up the key that the piece was eventually censored: focusing on the rebellion against society by the characters. Essentially the movie is able to “placate the socialist state censor” but celebrate the women and ridicule “the dogmatic moralism prescribed by the state” (45). 

The style of Daisies is a further exploration on the different types of montage, which we had talked about in previous weeks, and also a wonderful use of color. I am drawn to the film style in the way that they decide to use filters (in black and white, heavily saturated, and toned) as well as a very balanced composition to create a dreamlike feel. It is also very interesting that the film carries a very soft, feminine aesthetic, but ends up interspersed with the cuts of war.

#Feminist_Cinema #tiffanylouie

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Blogpost #7

This week’s reading is on the Montage, and the different ways that film shows the passage of time in moving pictures. Personally, I found this reading difficult because I do not have a lot of film background and consequently don’t have a grasp of the references. Regardless, I found the reading’s exploration of time and how people portray it in different ways to be interesting. It follows a very common pattern between “western” (American) and “eastern” (Chinese) media that I have seen before. Essientaly, the western tendency to portray time as linear and scalable, and the Asian tendency to see time as a circle. However, the films brought up in this reading further expand the different ways.

One comparison that I found striking is an “organic” compared to a “dialectical” representation: The organic portrayal demonstrates how a situation is “established or transformed through the intermediary of a … convergence of actions” (31). From what I understood, this is an individualist viewpoint where it is comparatively fixed in dimensions- whether that is location, space, or consciousness. In comparison, the Soviet School’s “dielectric” view shows a repeating spiral of contrasting views, which “act and react on each other to show how they simultaneously enter into conflict” (30), eventually spiraling into the result. 

Another axis is movement: as brought by the french school, where the relative scale is distorted in movement. One note I am drawn to is the idea that as long as there is a “homogenous” unit of measurement, “one can easily go to infinity, but only abstractly” (46). However “when the unit of measurement is variable, [we are] no longer capable of comprehending the set of magnitudes” (46). This brings into question our objective sense of time and scale, as rationed by science, but constantly distorted by our own consciousness.  

After the reading, I watched Battleship “Potemkin” with the reading in mind, paying attention to how the “forty eight hours … occupy in time , that is, in the whole an immeasurably prolonged period” (37). The film starts off at a comparatively slow pace showing the situation on the ship with the food and focusing on the tension between the captain and sailors. Each frame is a snapshot in time around the ship, with interspersed black subtitles. The most striking moment of the film for me was the people running down the staircase with soldiers shooting: the moment is extended in time by repeated shots of the same moment but from different perspectives. It shows the crowd from afar, but also stories in the crowd, like the woman who is shot and loses her baby. As they are interspersed in sequence, the moment is stretched out by the stories of everyone who is affected. 

#battleship_Potemkin #tiffanylouie

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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.

#Guerilla_Cinema #tiffanylouie

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Blog Post #5

Sarah Lewis’ New York Times article, “The Racial Bias Built Intro Photography,” was one of my primary sources for my research paper on the material impact of film photography. I have scoured this article many times before and looked further into each of her references. I believe it is a compelling and holistic view of what we believe is “objective” in photography. Lewis talks about how photography was developed by white people for white people, consequently recording the world in a biased perspective. This affects people with different skin tones, and those who are generally well not white, don’t have as much power to change it. That is why technology continues to persist with a favoritism towards white features: film, sensors, and even ai, while masquerading as an “objective” medium. 

Garnette Cadogan’s “Walking While Black” has become my absolute favorite reading. I found myself heavily relating to his narrative in what it means to walk around a place and your perceived identity. He has put into words the experience that I have felt recently walking through the places that I have been able to call home: Los Angeles, Boston, Seoul, and London. Each of these places, I have felt a different level of comfort and the “rules” of walking- a way that I love to explore the city. And also, the pressure and discomfort I feel from walking alone as a young woman. Cadogan also recalls his experience with the police, where he is expected to remain calm and educated in face of blatant racism and hate. The reading is a beautiful recount of the very personal experience of walking. 

The final reading, “Notes of a Native Son”, and the documentary are narratives of the black life in America. They speak on the unjust and racist experiences that the black community faced, with tensions and riots in the cities. However, it is also important that they simply touch on daily life in the communities and the human experience: like these tensions happening with his father’s death. They are powerful stories, told in a very compelling and personal manner, of things that are important to our history.

#vision&justice #tiffanylouie

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Blogpost #3

What is Home? It might be an overused phrase: is it with family, with friends, is it a place or a person? Home is the way that people describe a place where they feel comfortable and to be themselves, it's the place that you retreat to after work, or return after traveling. For me and for many others, MIT may be our home. East Campus, the dorm where we live in, is our home.

My photography work has evolved to documenting the ordinary, and exploring the public and private life, as well as space. I am interested in continuing this project with my home in East Campus. It is the last year that East Campus will be open, as it is planning to undergo renovations in the coming summer. It is a wonderful collection of culture and people, overdocumented and undocumented traditions, many of which will be lost in the two years that the dorm is being “fixed”. And yes, it will be fixed, the dorm will have better facilities and fit accessibility regulations, but at the same time, there is an overarching fear of our culture being washed away as that happens. 

Given these renovations, much of East Campus as a building has been documented: in photos, in minecraft servers, through renovation committees, and even in a class. However, there is a side that I believe will be missing: the people. In my Prospectus, I hope to learn more and document my friends, my hall, the cats, and the moments of comfort in our home.

I plan to work with both digital and film photography. This project will also include:

A sense of how we interact with our rooms: since they are so open to modification and painting, they become a reflection of our personality. 

I am interested in written documentation, whether that is having people write or annotate on transparencies, since their stories cannot be only covered by photographs. Part of this also pushes the technical experimentation in the darkroom to get such records integrated into a photo.

However, East Campus is a colorful dorm. This leads to the value of digital photography, since the resources are limited for accessing color film. If I am able to work with color film, that would be really exciting!

I am also interested in looking more into the History of East Campus, while I am not taking the class, I would love to connect and get further resources there. 

And most importantly, I would like to share this project with its participants and with the East Campus community

In all, my prospectus is a record and a snapshot of the space and people I call home.

#Prospectus #tiffanylouie

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Blogpost #2

In the Civil Contract of Photography, Ariela Azoulay describes the relationship between the photographer, the one who is photographed, a viewer of a photograph, and anyone who interacts with it in what is a civil contract. I found this an interesting reading as I often struggle with the understanding of who owns (in both monetary and personal possession) and consent in a photograph. 

In the first part of the reading, I found that her view on the invention of photography was a new perspective and fitting to the vague attribution to where the art form emerged. I am swayed by her case that photography emerged, not necessarily with the tool, but rather with the community who wanted to create the art of recapturing light. I am interested in this perspective because it makes defining photography much easier in the long term as well, since there are many different forms: darregotypes, film, digital, and other realms that one might not traditionally consider.

Azoulay further discusses the impacts of what it means to be involved in the civil contract of photography. I agree with her that all parties (the photographer, subject, and viewers) are all subject to this contract and have an impact and responsibility with the photo.  However, I wonder if her definition of “ownership” in a photograph comes from a commercial or monetary perspective, as much of the “value” attributed is what can get out of it. She claims that the one being photographed can give their consent for nothing but an image made of them, and give up their rights to the image, an example being Florence Owens Thompson, for Migrant Mother. This seems to frame the action of making a photograph in a consumer light, with a purpose to share. However, I see photography much more as a personal record and timekeeping memento, where the photograph itself isn’t necessarily the point, but the connotations it carries. 

On a similar note, I would point out a statement that Azoulay makes which I vehemently disagree with: She frames photography as an objective tool, stating “there is nothing inhernent to the technology of photography that creates discriminatory or opressive situtations for differnet populations” (127). I have researched the origins of film photography and its inherent material biases (specifically in portraying dark toned skins). While I understand what she is trying to say that the power to represent a shot is in the photographer’s hands, that does not necessarily mean that the tools a photographer is using is a perfect unbiased reflection either. 

Regardless, I enjoyed exploring further about the ownership and duties of a photographer, especially in documentary photography for times of crisis. This tied in well with the second reading, A Special Supplement: Reflections on Violence by Hannah Ardent, which highlights the different ways power, the state, and violence fluctuate throughout history and society. 

#civil_contract #tiffanylouie

[photographyatmit]

Blogpost #1

La Haine explores a narrative of a community inside a much wider socio political phenomenon. The film focuses on three characters: Saïd, Hubert, and Vinz and their reaction to losing a friend in an urban french riot. It documents their confrontations with the police force (“pigs”), interactions with their family, and community connections. The film juxtaposes the happenings of daily life- from the youthful hotdog nabbing and breakdancing- with the tension of violence and notably, a gun.

I am awed by the cinematography of La Haine. I find that the black and white filter of the film brings forth a “rawness”, some belief that the events, while old, are documented in a seemingly true light. It also creates an impact when the film abruptly jump-cuts between scenes: the room where we are introduced to Vinz dancing, later also becomes the surreal space where we are introduced to his gun. I appreciate the center composition, when the characters' portraits are centered and lit in the middle, as well as creative transitions that warp the viewer’s understanding of space. 

More importantly, I felt that La Haine captured the youth, angst, and anger in the storyline. The characters often talked over each other: Vinz raging at the friendly police officer that helped out, while Saïd attempts to diffuse the situation. Or when they’re just messing with each other. Their conversations are jumbled, impulsive, and have a lot of energy and the cuts make it even more difficult to follow. Such fluctuations in tension are showcased in the end: the cop goes from what seems to just be messing with Vinz, to immediately and abruptly ending his life. This confusion is perfectly reflective of what the characters deal with throughout La Haine, as they battle conflicting emotions, motivations, and simply trying to live. 

#la_haine #tiffanylouie