Week 2

This weeks lecture focused on how broadcast media forms (i.e. newspapers, radio and television) rapidly expanded during the twentieth century. Which lead to theoretical studies in media such as: Communication Studies (USA) which looked at how public opinions and perceptions could be shaped by media reporting; Media Studies (UK) that demonstrates how audiences can interpret the message of a text differently from how the reporter intended; and Culture Studies (Europe) which argues that filmmakers produce images that are realistic in order to position the the viewer to accept the ideologies present in the film. Finally there was a discussion in new wave cinema that uses inexpensive methods such as using hand held cameras (camcorders) to tell a complex story.

During the lecture Chris Marker's 1962 science fiction movie "La Jetee" was shown. The short film (27 min) is created entirely through a montage of black and white still photographic images with the exception of one motion picture shot. There is no spoken dialogue between characters, leaving the story to be told through the use of narration (French with English subtitles).

The film is set in Paris, France after the breakout of World War III which has left the surface of the Earth radioactive forcing the survivors to live underground. The prisoners are subjected to a series of experiments by scientists which lead to either their madness or death.

The story revolves mainly around a male prisoner who is chosen for a time travel experiment in which he is to journey into another time to collect supplies such as food and medicine which would help to ensure the survival of the human race.

The man's recurring memory from his childhood, is of a woman during a disturbing event at an airport terminal where a man dies. This makes him the obvious candidate for the experiment. Because the effects of living in another time would be too much on the human mind however it is explained in the film that "If they were able to conceive or dream another time, perhaps they would be able able to live in it." During the film the man travels backwards and forwards in time where he meets the woman of his childhood memory. Eventually it is revealed that his memory of witnessing a man die as a child is actually the moment of his own death.

Through a Google search I was able to watch the movie again, but this time narrated in English. Click here to watch the full length version of "La Jetee" in English without subtitles.

On the weekend I hired out Terry Gilliam's 1995 film "12 Monkeys" which follows an almost identical plot to "La Jetee" with a boy witnessing the death of his future self at an airport. The major difference being that in "12 Monkeys" the man only time travelled from the present to the past, whereas in "La Jetee" the man time travels into the future as well as the past where he receives help to rebuild civilization.

After viewing both movies I found it interesting that a film such as "La Jetee" which used very simple production techniques to create the story was able to explore a more complex storyline than the major Hollywood production "12 Monkeys" which had "state of the art" equipment at their disposal.

La Jetee