Smart Cinema, DVD Add-Ons and New Audience Pleasures PDF
Preview Smart Cinema, DVD Add-Ons and New Audience Pleasures
Smart Cinema, DVD Add-Ons and New Audience Pleasures AlsobyPatBrereton: HOLLYWOODUTOPIA:EcologyinContemporaryAmericanCinema HISTORICALDICTIONARYOFIRISHCINEMA(withRoddyFlynn) CONTINUUMGUIDETOMEDIAEDUCATION Smart Cinema, DVD Add-Ons and New Audience Pleasures by Pat Brereton SeniorLecturer,DublinCityUniversity,Ireland ©PatBrereton2012 Allrightsreserved.Noreproduction,copyortransmissionofthis publicationmaybemadewithoutwrittenpermission. Noportionofthispublicationmaybereproduced,copiedortransmitted savewithwrittenpermissionorinaccordancewiththeprovisionsofthe Copyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988,orunderthetermsofanylicence permittinglimitedcopyingissuedbytheCopyrightLicensingAgency, SaffronHouse,6–10KirbyStreet,LondonEC1N8TS. Anypersonwhodoesanyunauthorizedactinrelationtothispublication maybeliabletocriminalprosecutionandcivilclaimsfordamages. Theauthorhasassertedhisrighttobeidentifiedastheauthorofthiswork inaccordancewiththeCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988. Firstpublished2012by PALGRAVEMACMILLAN PalgraveMacmillanintheUKisanimprintofMacmillanPublishersLimited, registeredinEngland,companynumber785998,ofHoundmills,Basingstoke, HampshireRG216XS. PalgraveMacmillanintheUSisadivisionofStMartin’sPressLLC, 175FifthAvenue,NewYork,NY10010. PalgraveMacmillanistheglobalacademicimprintoftheabovecompanies andhascompaniesandrepresentativesthroughouttheworld. Palgrave®andMacmillan®areregisteredtrademarksintheUnitedStates, theUnitedKingdom,Europeandothercountries. ISBN 978-1-349-32856-7 ISBN 978-1-137-02708-5 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9781137027085 Thisbookisprintedonpapersuitableforrecyclingandmadefromfully managedandsustainedforestsources.Logging,pulpingandmanufacturing processesareexpectedtoconformtotheenvironmentalregulationsofthe countryoforigin. AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary. AcatalogrecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheLibraryofCongress. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 Contents ListofIllustrations vii Acknowledgements viii 1 IntroductiontoSmartCinema 1 2 Postmodernism,ParodyandSmartCinema:CaseStudies ofLynch,TarantinoandSoderbergh 20 3 IndependentNewSmartCreativesandNicheMarketing– CaseStudiesofRichardLinklater,SpikeJonze,Christopher NolanandMichelGondry 43 4 SmartCultClassics:CaseStudiesofDonnieDarko, AmericanBeautyandMagnolia 63 5 EuropeanArtandSmartCinema–CaseStudiesofRun LolaRun,AmélieandBreakingtheWaves 87 6 SmartIrishComedy–CaseStudiesofWhenBrendanMet Trudy,IntermissionandInBruges 104 7 SocialRealismandContemporaryBritishSmartCinema: CaseStudiesofTrainspotting,TimecodeandSexyBeast 121 8 SmartGreen/NatureAnimation:CaseStudiesofPixar– Wall-E,UPandToyStory 141 9 SmartScienceFiction,DVDAdd-OnsandNewMedia Logics–AReadingofSpielberg’sMinorityReport,AI: ArtificialIntelligenceandWaroftheWorlds 159 10 SmartPost-9/11Narratives–FromDefiningUr-Narratives ForrestGumpandFightClubtoThreeKingsandUnited93 176 11 ConclusionsandFutureResearch 199 AppendixI:OutlineHistoryofNewMediaDVDs 210 AppendixII:ListofBonusFeatures 212 v vi Contents Notes 220 Bibliography 242 SelectFilmography:SmartFilm 251 Index 252 Illustrations PulpFiction,QuentinTarantino1994,‘Performingdance’ 38 WakingLife,RichardLinklater2001,‘Animation’ 46 Memento,ChristopherNolan2000,‘Readingyourbody’ 49 Inception,ChristopherNolan2010,‘Specialeffectsandcity architecture’ 49 Magnolia,T.P.Anderson1999,‘Drowningone’ssorrows’ 74 RunLolaRun,TomTykwer1998,‘Timeandmotion’ 88 Amélie,Jean-PierreJeunet2001,‘Thewispishlook’ 93 InBruges,MartinMcDonagh2008,‘Performingsurprise’ 115 Timecode,MikeFiggis2000,‘Earthquake’ 130 SexyBeast,JonathanGlazer2000,‘Lettingitallhangout’ 135 MinorityReport,StevenSpielberg2002,‘Predictivetechnology’ 165 AI:ArtificialIntelligence,StevenSpielberg2001,‘Postmodern simulacrum,DavidandDarlene’ 169 FightClub,DavidFincher1999,‘Performingmasculinity’ 178 ForrestGump,RobertZemeckis1994,‘Odetoafeather’ 182 ThreeKings,DavidO’Russell1999,‘Torture’ 187 United93,PaulGreengrass2006,‘Controlroom’ 194 vii Acknowledgements I wish to acknowledge the financial support of Dublin City University, Ireland, and the office of the Vice President for Research in helping to bringthisbooktofruition.ThanksalsotomycolleaguesintheSchool ofCommunication,andtheFacultyofHumanitiesandSocialSciences. OvertheyearsIhavediscussedthisprojectwithmanypeopleandwant in particular to thank my former colleagues and the editors of Conver- gence,JuliaKnightandAlexisWeedon,forofferingmetheopportunity toeditaspecialissueonthetopicofDVDadd-ons.Followingnumerous conferences and journal submissions in 2007, I have met many schol- arswhohavebeenparticularlyusefulforthisproject,especiallyChuck Tryon,ErnestMathijs,AdrianIvakhiv,SeanCubittand,closertohome, Maria Loftus, Nicholas Fennell and colleagues who have kindly read sectionsofthemanuscript.Others,toonumeroustomention,inspired meintheirreadingsofthefilmschosenforthisvolume. Special thanks to my best friend at the Open University, Michael Doorley, for his tireless reading of drafts alongside Robert Furze, and for their comments and corrections. Others, including Roddy Flynn, Debbie Ging, Díóg O’Connell, Laura Canning, Eileen Culloty and par- ticipantsinseveralofmyfilmclasses,havebeenusedtoroad-testsome oftheideasinthisvolume.IgratefullyacknowledgesupportfromLucy Fischer and Patrice Petro, whose forthcoming edited volume Teaching Film includes a chapter on readings of Donnie Darko and Run Lola Run thatarereformulatedhereacrosstwochapters.Ofcourse,anyerrorsin thefinalmanuscriptaremine,forwhichIapologize. IwouldliketothankmybrotherAloforhelpingtosourcesomeDVDs, andmostespeciallymybelovedwife,Angela,andmychildren,Robert, RitaandConor,fortoleratingmybeingsopreoccupiedwiththisproject overthelastfewyears. viii 1 Introduction to Smart Cinema Thisstudyexaminesabroadrangeofpost-1990sindiefilms,alongside afewmainstreamfilmswhichbreakmanyoftheoldclassiclinearnar- rative and generic rules that have helped to define Hollywood and its alternative ‘art’ cinema. This work will also explore how bonus fea- tures attached to smart films are capable of speaking to and affirming a more contemporary branding of identity for new-generational audi- ences. There is a continuing need for a creative and critical dialogue withnewgenerationsofstudentsandaudiencestohelpreinvigoratethe study of film. With a growing preoccupation with convergence within new media research,1 DVD add-ons provide a useful bridge between new media and conventional film study, while assisting in exploring hownew-generationalcineastesmightrelatetosmartcinema.Nonethe- less, this study remains primarilyfocused on a broadlytextual analysis approachtothefilmsunderdiscussion.Afurthervolumeisrequiredto provideanempiricalanalysisofaudiencepleasures. Whateverthemedium,‘indie’functionsasatastecultureofferingits audience a sense of distinction. In asserting itself as more legitimate than commercial pop culture, ‘Indie gives its fans a space in which to existapartfromthemainstream.Itisasourceofculturalcapital,aform of knowledge that elites use in differentiating themselves from masses and perpetuating their own privilege. Like traditional high art, indie cinemaappealstoanaudiencewhohasthewherewithaltoappreciateit, whichistosayknowledgeandinterest,andacommunityoflife-minded people’(Newman,2009:23). Smart cinema acquired popular currency in academic circles in the late 1990s. However, there are conflicting interpretations around what the term actually means.2 Perhaps the most coherent explanation has been put forward by Jeffrey Sconce’s seminal essay in Screen (2002). 1
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