okay, but so in the mean time... i'm really having trouble figuring out what i want to argue

i've gone over all my notes and parts of the film and my sources (i found a source that discusses 'ambivalence to technology in Amélie' which was really interesting)-- and i think i'm at the point where i want to talk about control in the film

so control vs. freedom and how technology, isolation, mobility etc all play into this need for control and how control is good and bad... but i have no idea where to go from this

i have a few key scenes too that i really like but ahh. 

help. 

dinner table

due to technical difficulties my picture and notes will be up soon

sorry!!

Annotation

Lauren Finkelstein

Annotation: April 7

Scatton-Tessier, Michelle. "Le Petisme: fliring with the sordid in Le Fabuleux

Destin D'Amélie Poulain." Intellect Ltd 4.3 (2004): 197-207. 1 Apr. 2008 .

 

Scatton-Tessier argues that through Amélie’s pleasing aesthetic, a focus on isolated and ordinary people and an overriding sense of loss dominate the film—a contrast from one’s initial, superficial reaction to the film, one of light-hearted pleasure. Fundamental to her case is “petisme”, a recently created French word that focuses on the small pleasures in the world, the quick fixes that Amélie produces throughout the film. Through a logical and clear progression from examples from the film to larger social implications, she guides the reader away from the film’s ability to simple “make its audience feel good” (197). Her subsequent claims—happiness is never shared with others and communication among persons is only possible with the help of machines—are all guided by an overwhelming push to understand the film’s small pleasures as a reaction to increasing personal isolation due to “globalization, crime…and the loss of individual identity in the technological age.” (197). Throughout her meticulous progression of claims, from an overwhelming (un)happiness to the relationship between motion/immobility, she is conscious of her audience—an American reader, not very knowledgeable in French cinema—and provides in depth definitions, concrete examples, and translations of terms and titles. Scatton-Tessier tries to understand and explain the film in relationship to its’ contemporaries, identifying underlying forces within, rather than viewing it as a revolutionary cinematic piece. She goes farther than the film’s careful examination of human vulnerability through a sentimental lens and suggests the fall of the individual in modern society.

· “It is difficult to agree with Jenuet’s claim that Amélie is a fully positive work when every element of his inhabitants’ daily lives from childhood to adulthood is tainted with loneliness and unhappiness.” (200).

This quotation shows Scatton-Tessier trying to go beyond Jeunet’s intended initial joy of Amélie and relate it to an overriding social context. This idea of isolate and continued unhappiness—that is eventually remedy for most—is very applicable in my argument concerning the use or representation of photobooths

· Amélie fixes the lives of others through focusing on smaller, more trivial aspects of their lives. She does not concern herself with overriding and daunting issues, rather she tries to make the here and now a little better. [Original quote: “Amélie intervenes, yet without directly addressing a problems or a desire. She provides what is lost or escaping our knowledge. She fixes small problems. She cannot solve unemployment.” (201).]

While I agree with Scatton-Tessier’s notion of le petisme, I feel that she discounts these small actions a little too quickly. I believe that it is these little actions that perpetuate life and happiness because the larger issues, such as unemployment, cannot be quickly fixed with a grand gesture. It is these little acts that keep us going. 

Critical Analysis of a Secondary Source

today's workshop was really informative. we focused on how to analyze a secondary source (in preparation for our next paper and our RAE). we first focused on the elements to look for within your source : author, rhetorical situation, claims, evidence and assumptions. Within each category we asked several questions trying to delve in deeper, such as after identifying the author, what do we know about him/her, their persona, and how this effect their relationship with and portrayal of their topic. After establishing this basic structure we used an example. The example "real and hyperreal campus architecture favors faux over the original", allowed us to take these theoretical ideas and use them. While the independent reading was helpful, it was in our discussion of this piece that i got most out of this workshop. He really stressed finding supporting evidence to the claims... evidence found verbatim in the text. after noting these claims and examples, we were able to deduce certain unspoken implications that showed us about his "persona" (including his biases). Finally, we looked at the three ways to respond to sources : no, because; yes, but; yes, and. These concrete examples nicely tied together the information from the session. Overall, I think this workshop helped me understand the steps that I have already taken in past papers and broken them apart so that I am able to see everything little thing I am doing (and seeing where I am lacking or where I am not grasping the point)... so i think for the paper i will be able to find more concrete examples and create claims about why she is saying it and how her rhetoric affects the content.

lay of the land

so my internet got very messed up and just deleted my entire post...

Le Petisme: flirting with the sordid in Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain ; Michelle Scatton-Tessier, 2004

I. direct conversation

II. Scatton-Tessier is an Assistant Professor of French at UNC & has a part-time film studies appointment there. She also has a PhD in French Film and Literature from U of Iowa, 2001.

III. 2004 : pretty contemporary. It was published three years after the release of the film; therefore, the initial worldwide enthusiasm has settled down (there has been enough time for reflection, rather than reaction...while also being contemporary enough to hold a lot relevance to the film and to readers today).

IV. The audience has presumably seen Amélie and has a general (not extensive) knowledge of contemporary french cinema. Scatton-Tessier takes a great deal of time to make sure that the reader understands the context and points within the article through thorough explanations that touch on cinematic and social implications/relevance. She elaborates on her claims, such as when she talks about "ways of filming" (in modern french cinema), she continues by saying "they are all marked by a realist aesthetic accompanied by 'a very ambiguous social and political discourse'" (198)-- she doesn't assume that we are connoisseurs.  

V. This direct secondary source extensively covers my cultural object (Amélie is even scene in the title of the article); however, rather than dissecting the film, she looks at the film in relationship to other contemporary films, socialital pressures and changes and jeunet's portrayal of all of this. 

VI. She has a women's study focus. In particular, she focuses on the representations of women's appropriation of public and private space in french literature and film ** also, she is published on pedagogical tools for teaching French film courses related to "la condition des femmes" (this teachable structure is seen throughout her argument)

VII. description of "petisme" was very helpful since it took what i had discussed in my RA II and also what makes Amélie so appealing and unique and made it concrete. She has a wonderful way of taking abstract ideas such as isolation in relation to increasing urbanization and coherently answering "so what?" to all of these claims. Another interesting point she made what the motif of mobile/immobile that opens up another way of approaching the film and its progress (also i began relating it to the still shots of a photo booth?). She takes the time to discuss (extensively enough, but without pretension or big words) what she is trying to get across. the logical progression and division within the article was also very helpful. Each paragraph, each section had a clear beginning and ending (that served to resolve and further discuss implications off-screen). She looks at social aspects, camera angles, motifs, character relations... everything and ties it all together into an appealing and interesting argument. My one issue with it was that she referenced a number of other french films a decent number of times and since i have not seen them, they muddled her argument or detached from the directness of what she was saying.

early on : assignment

the book i'm using is Amélie by Isabelle Vanderschelden

while the only subject heading that is here is "Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (Motion Picture), there are tons of articles and sources in the book's references in the back. I've located a number of new articles that I've ordered on the library website (so hopefully I will have them in 1-2 days). I found several articles in french too which i will read (including a very famous and noted in several sources thus far critique called "amelie pas jolie". 

Once i get them i will created the mla citation 

Also, the introduction only served as a preface to the book. discussing the progression throughout the chapters and also about amelie's success in the box office and globally, as well as briefly mentioning certain controversies (which i have found several articles that support and are against these claims)

Le Petisme. Scatton-Tessier

Petisme is defined as "a reaction to the national concern about everything that is gigantic...globalization, crime...it bears homage to the little things. it prioritizes the local, the immediate". This petisme is the root of the joy in the film. He also compares how Amélie is similar to several other french films (that are usually seen as morbid and onerous, quite unlike one's initial response to amelie). His overriding argument stems from the increasing isolation/individualistic nature of french society as urbanization continues to flourish. He talks about the dichotomy between this happy exterior that is "tainted with loneliness and unhappiness". Another motif throughout the film is the differences between mobility and immobility, both physical and cinematographic. Through re-activation, re-newel, and re-creation "Amelie propels them backwards, providing a necessary distance for them". The combination of ordinary-ness and fantastical ideas, happiness and lonliness and the overwhelming vulnerability make this film more than just a simple love story in the beauty paris.

articles : part II

Hines, Babbette. Photobooth. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2002.

While this book is just a compilation of photo strips found, the preface and

forward were really interesting. Hines talks about how we look at pictures, 

"searching for a resemblance to my own, watch my story unfold as theirs 

does". Understanding ourselves in relationship to others, while also making 

meaning out of these seemingly worthless pictures is something that I focused 

a great deal on with my RA II. She also references "the Face" by Sartre; however, 

I was unable (as was the librarian) to find it anywhere. Also, she talks about 

time -- how these photos can transport you immediately to these other times 

with these individuals found in each strip. Also in photostrips, people are able

 to make themselves who they want to be-- a believable truth that mixes truth 

and fiction. 

Photobooth.net has some stuff on Amélie-- as well as photo booths in other

films and other information about them. They discuss photo booths around the

world, different photo booth artists as well as other projects. I think that this

would be interesting to look at and see how they do work in society and also then

within the film? It also seems like a pretty reputable source that doesn't promote

any crazy ideas.

"For most of us, the photobooth is a shopping mall memory from our childhood, a diversion while waiting for the movie to start. For others, the photobooth is an unbiased and silent historian, capturing a spontaneous moment in four slices of time."

most of the things ive read so far have talked about jeunet and negative aspects of it so I've found some short articles that support Amélie:

http://content.epnet.com/pdf14_16/pdf/2004/L2I/01Oct04/15446476.pdf?T=P&P=AN&K=15446476&EbscoContent=dGJyMNHX8kSeqLc4y9fwOLCmrlCeqLBSs6e4S7GWxWXS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMPGut1G1qLFMuePfgeyx%2BEu3q64A&D=aph

http://orb.wulib.wustl.edu:80/V/RSJQMYS5UPASU5HDVUSI8A5IM9XCB3HAU46G1FAUYDSI9DBL2M-07750?func=quick-3&short-format=002&set_number=183269&set_entry=000001&format=999

http://orb.wulib.wustl.edu:80/V/RSJQMYS5UPASU5HDVUSI8A5IM9XCB3HAU46G1FAUYDSI9DBL2M-09945?func=quick-3&short-format=002&set_number=183313&set_entry=000002&format=999

Amélie : Le Fabuleux destin d' Amélie Poulain (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001) / Isabelle Vanderschelden
	London ; New York : I.B. Tauris, 2007. Is this just the film?? i don't think so but i'm not sure.

ARTICLES

Bonnaud, Frederic. "The Amélie Effect." Film Comment (Nov.-Dec. 2001): 36-38. 27 
     Mar. 2008 .
"Amélie's triumph is the result of the reflexive nationalism of "the sacred union": let us all stand united behind our common folkloreand iconography" (38). Bonnaud discusses how Améile was such a national and international success that revived the fadinginternational respect for french cinema. Kaganski (a film critic who wrote "Amélie pas jolie") : he uses as his main source ofnegative criticism. He claims that the film is xenophobic, extreme right, and is "removed from the reality of present-day Paris".He accounts for the overwhelming success of the film by discussing how we are "seduced by the use and abuse of in your face devices-- like Amélie's heart beating under her sweater or any number of crazy, ostentatious camera stunts. (I found this really interestingbecause I wrote my RA II on the scene with her heart and found it too be fanciful and endearing).  He dissects the "proliferation ofclichés and false surprises", that I personally love.

Andrew, Dudley. "Amélie, or Le Fabuleux Destin de Cinéma Français." Film 
     Quarterly 57.3 (Spring 2004): 34-46. 27 Mar. 2008 
     . 

Andrew discusses the faults of Amélie; however, he also accounts for Jeunet's artistic andcinematographic intents. For Jeunet, Amélie takes place in "the Paris of my youth, a fairy-taleParis". Unfortunately, the magical, surrealist and artistic idiosyncrasies found in the film arenothing but a byproduct from carefully calculated "story boards" that lack imagination and truecreativity. He also dicusses how the film in precocious : "particularly in the litany of 'likes' and 'don't likes' that define the style and personality of each character" (35). ALSO he references photo booths, which is great considering there is nothing scholarly written on them... anyways he talks about how Jeunet believes "one idea per shot"-- each frame has a visual introduction and conclusion and he usually frames the figures in the center with emphatic camera movement. The idea that he breaks down this film into shots, or even smaller into each frame (24/second) is a very interesting way to look at the relationship to photo booths : he creates this reality that seems spontaneous, but he does so through carefully scripting and not deviating from his story boards. 

five minutes of fame : handout

Amélie & Photo booths

Lauren Finkelstein

Big Claim : The photo booths serve both symbolically and physically as a mechanism that isolates and paradoxically frees those who are inside the booth from the outside world.

 

I.      Both Amélie and Nino try to make sense of his/her own life through observing and trying to understand the lives of others.

                                               i.     Nino obsessively collects images from underneath photo booths throughout Paris

                                              ii.     Amélie carefully observes others, like they are specimens. She, almost scientifically, brings together Joseph and Georgette, since she herself cannot fall in love.

II.     Photo booths allow the person within to create an image of oneself exactly how he/she wants it, where “truth and fiction easily communicate” (Hines). This creation of self and of one’s reality is seen in the film’s cinematography and dialogue.

                                               i.     A comical “x-ray” of Amélie’s heart when she looks at Nino

                                              ii.     Amélie playing with imaginary friends at a young age

                                             iii.     Pictures and painting come alive and speak to both Amélie and Nino

III.   The enigmatic and isolated nature of the photo booth strip—who is taking the picture, why, why did he/she keep it or rip it up, what was he/she thinking—appeals to these two “oddballs” who have never truly connected with others and thus feel as if something is missing.

                                               i.     Nino becomes obsessed with trying to uncover who the Mystery Man is—he appears 12 times in the photo album

                                              ii.     The game Amélie plays with Nino, dressing up and posting signs—detatched but invested.

“Pages full of dual ID photos carefully reassembled by some odd ball…some family album”

five minutes of fame : part I

okay so I just watched Amélie and read over "Photo booths"... and I'm starting to formulate some ideas for my RA II and my RAE (hopefully). I wanted to focus on the relationship between truth and fiction and how that in photo booths we choose our own truths-- preparing our poses, and discarding the outcome if we do not like it. We are both the photographer and the subject... and can be whatever we want. It is a way to make our lives, our existence permanent.

The clip that I will be working on is in chpt 12 (1 h 26 m) where Amélie meets the "mystery man" seen in Nino's album 12 times. The parallel editing, dramatic cinematography and fanciful additions wonderful capture the spirit of the movie... and how the photo booth functions within the film. Photo booths are used to preserve people's memories and also they serve as a mechanism to bring people together (people try to make meaning of their own life/circumstances through understanding others'). We try to make meaning out of everything... including this mystery man. also the fact that amélie is a loner (as is nino) and that this somehow compels them more to seek out understanding through these photos.

These are just the few mains points that I want to make and will make them tighter for my presentation. Also, I can't find the clip on youtube so hopefully these stills will be helpful.

Amélie : Photobooths

Amélie :

I've found a few books online that talk about photo booths (the history, reference in culture, etc) and also some books on things found on the ground such as notes and pictures. I want to work with the idea of making meaning out of nothing, how the progression of four shots can capture such intense and personal emotion, and why people love them. I'm not sure... I really need to do a lot more research.

Within the movie : 

scenes : when Amélie finds the book and flips through it

       the mystery guy

       other photo booth scenes

Possible books:

(also photobooth.net?)

"Photobooths"; Babbette Hines

Our goal was to create a book that would reflect the spontaneous and uninhibited character of the photobooth images that are this book’s subject. Each of these photographs has a story to tell, so we decided it best to just let the images speak for themselves without too many graphic elements. Pacing and interesting juxtapositions propel readers through the book. It was necessary for us to create an object that people would see and instinctively want to pick up and take home as a memento of their own photobooth experiences. Producing a book that’s appealing as a collectible, but also affordable, object is always difficult.

"American Photobooth" ; Nakki Goranin

Generally relegated to the realm of kitsch, the history and cultural importance of the photobooth has long been overlooked. Here, Näkki Goranin documents the invention, technological evolution, and commercial history of the photobooth with extensive illustrations culled from twenty-five years of collecting. Complementing this history is a powerful collection of heartbreaking, funny, and absolutely beautiful photobooth images. These often solitary figures—seeking freedom, confession, a thrill—are evocative of a lost time and place. Haberstich writes, "For anyone who assumes that photobooth pictures are perfunctory, utilitarian records at best, the range of emotions and moods portrayed by the subjects of [this] collection is a revelation." Over 200 color and black-and-white photographs.

"Found. The best lost, tossed and found items around the world" ; Davy Rothbart

possibly going into snapshots as well??  (personal biography)

Le Petit Prince → The Little Prince

Le Petit Prince à The Little Prince

chpt. 26

English:

And at night you will look up at the stars. Where I live everything is so small that I cannot show you where my star is to be found. It is better, like that. My star will just be one of the stars, for you. And so you will love to watch all the stars in the heavens . . . they will all be your friends. And, besides, I am going to make you a present . . .

French:

Tu regarderas, la nuit, les étoiles. C'est trop petit chez moi pour que je te montre où se trouve la mienne. C'est mieux comme ça. Mon étoile, ça sera pour toi une des étoiles. Alors, toutes les étoiles, tu aimeras les regarder... Elles seront toutes tes amies. Et puis je vais te faire un cadeau...

Sentences:

1. you will see, the night, the stars.
1. “and”, take out night, “up at” – above & encompassing, longer sentence with no commas, more direct?
2. My house is too small for me to show you where you can find mine
1. “so” vs. “too”, add star in eng sentence, eng is more passive “where my star is to be found”.
3. Similar
4. My star, it will be, for you, just one of the stars.
1. Pour toi is earlier in the sentence, similar – it will just be one of many
5. So, all the stars, you will love to look at them… they will all be your friends
1. + heaven, fr starts with stars & eng starts with you, all with be your friends but changing emphasis on relationship?
6. And next, I am going to make you a present
1. The same

 

Mix between exact translation and interpretation.

Differences : adding words in references to the stars, heaven and sky; changing emphasis on if it starts with “you” or the “stars” (maybe due to sense of self in relations to the rest of the world changes between cultures), subtleties may be more common in one language (French…maybe because of grammatical structure, have less words within sentence), French is simpler.

Images : constant, untranslatable, famous, moving, simple

Words: change for each culture, why are certain changes? look between french and english in relation to culture, how kids are raised/education, what is lost in the translation

IV. Le Petit Prince is Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's most famous novella (written in 1943). It is one of my favorite books and has been since I was young. It is a story about a boy who draws these fanciful images which come alive. While it is a children's book, it makes several really profound comments on human nature and society. It is about the simple truths that we, as we grow up, forget and stop appreciating. While the messages throughout the book are so beautiful in their simplistic truth, I find it remarkable how large of an audience this book has reached. It has been published in over 180 languages, sold over 50 million copies and is one of the top 50 best-selling books. Le petit prince can be seen on tee-shirt, plates... everything with inspirational quotes about love and life. I'm not sure how I would elaborate on this, but I think it would be a great primary source to look more into. 

Also:: I was interested in photo booths... i really have NO idea if this would work or what I would do, but what do you think??

Primary Sources: Part II

III. This time around I started off in the bookstore and came across this month's Cosmo. Rihanna is on the cover, surrounded by several catchy headings such as "21 naughty SEX TIPS", "5 things never to tell your guy", and "your va-jay-jay". I think that looking at this magazine in a feminist perspective would be very interesting, because basically Cosmo supports women to have sex "like men", which in fact, is contradictory to female needs. Plante, in her book "Sexualities in Context" talks about how Cosmo is actually degrading rather than empowering for women. I think that if I were to look at an issue, or a section in a few different magazines and look at how the rhetoric, language and images are either empowering, degrading, confining etc to women. 

I. My first primary source is Amélie.  It is a french film directed by Jean-Pierre Jenuet in 2001. The full title is "Le Fabuleux Destin D'Amélie) Poulain" (the Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain). It's a romantic and dramatic comedy about how one person can change your life forever and the little, but magically parts of the world. It is one of my favorite movies. I love the beautiful yet quirky cinematography and the appreciation of the wonderful delights of life. While I couldn't find some of my favorite scenes (such as Amélie as a child)-- there is one scene in which she accidently finds a box in the walls of her bathroom that a boy left there several years ago. It is filled with material objects that seem trivial; however, as we see Bretodeau rediscover this box (that she hid in a telephone booth for him to find), a flood of emotion overwhelms him and transports him back to his childhood. It is remarkable that these simple objects can bring about such poignant and vivid emotions of events over 50 years ago. "I'm in a box myself". We are all just an accumulation of objects and experiences that shape who we are. This raw and simplistic truth about life evokes a number of different emotions. It is visually and emotionally beautiful. It is enigmatic, yet entirely relevant; thus, this almost concrete connection that the viewer can make pulls him/her in to the transformational ways of Amélie.

II. My second primary source is a box of Rice Krispies. It's characterized blue box with Snap, Crackle and Pop dancing around the almost erupting cereal is enticing and entirely nostalgic. No matter how my tastes change, Rice Krispies (with 1% milk, a tablespoon of sugar and sometimes sliced bananas) reminds me of my childhood, in the mornings where I used to quickly enjoy a bowl before first grade. While this "primary source" entices my senses on a more personal level, in looking at the box today I realized that there are several changes on the box. While those delicious krispies have remained that same, both the depiction of the adorable trio of boys as well as the additional information on the box has changes significantly. In comparison to older boxes, these new ones are so different. From the switch from a white to bright blue box, the continual characterizing of Snap, Crackle and Pop, as well as the emphasis of "Nutrition at a Glance" reflects societal changes in market and demand. I found it funny that there was such a focus on "Nutrition" on this box (considering that it is catered to children -- or so I thought for the cartoon figures on the front). I remember that these boxes used to be filled with fun games and puzzles... things that kids really loved. I mean, do kids really care that there are only 120 calories in a serving... 6% of the GDA (Guildline Daily Amount... which is later explained, in case you were wondering). Anyways, I think that the contrast among boxes could be an interesting primary source to look further into. 

writing I interview

In talking to my roommate about her experiences with Writing I last semester, I began to realize that the way in which the class is structured is really there to make these seemingly daunting assignments possible while also giving the opportunity to actually succeed in understanding a cultural object in a new and maybe even more profound context. She wrote about "Amazing Grace" -- comparing and contrasting the original score and lyrics to recent ones. She tried to integrate historical and social changes that could have affected these changes within the song. While she is inherently much more musical than I, I think that it is so interesting that something as simple as a song can have so much meaning behind it, both in when it was originally created, but also when it was redone. After talking to her, I started brainstorming about what I would like to do. I love film, so I was thinking to possibly look at a movie... or even an object or idea that is represented in or embodied by a movie. I'm not really sure, but I'm very excited to see the development of this process.