Week Eleven Q&A

Reading Response Week Eleven: Due October 28 @ Noon

Answer at least one of the questions from TWHTI 104-114. Answer at least four of the remaining questions.


The Way Hollywood Tells It, 104-114
[Assigned in Week 10, but answer this week]

Summarize the answers Bordwell gives to the question, “Why do filmmakers bother with classical construction if ardent viewers consider it dispensable, even distracting?”

1. Classical plot construction seems unimportant to viewers, but it allows them to concentrate on other things.

2. Big-budget films layer their appeals; kids and intelligent adults.

3. There is no better way to satisfy a broad range of tastes than classical construction: a combination of star power, physical action and other appeals.

4. Spectacle is expensive; there is no better way to fill out the space between whammos than with Hollywood default (characters we care about).

5. Films aren't just made for audiences; they are made for other filmakers as well. Prowess in craft leads to prestige, professional satisfaction and better jobs.


The Way Hollywood Tells It, 51-72

What does Bordwell mean by “genre ecology,” and how does he characterize the current range of genres in Hollywood. 

By genre ecology Bordwell means the rise and fall in popularity and success of genres such as melodrama, action, science fiction and crime. Bordwell characterizes the current range of genres as the result of 'younger' directors (film school generations and back-lot rebels). This younger generation gravitated towards the genres that had not been prominent during the studio era.

What does Bordwell mean by “worldmaking,” and how does it affect the narrative design of individual films?

Worldmaking is explained as a rich, rully furnished ambience for the action of a film. It affects the narritive design because (such as in 2001: A Space Odessey) each element of set design and props is carefully researched. Kubrick carefully though about what astronaut meals would look like and how the technical elements would function.

What specific reasons does Bordwell propose for the rise and fall of contemporary genres?

One specific reason was the push towards multidemnsional story; this worked best in genres such as fantasy (ancillary material in Lord of the Rings) and science fiction (the multiple plot points spread between sections of The Matrix). 

What do Bordwell and Thompson mean by the claim that some films are “maximally classical”? What films do they have in mind?

The claim that some films are maximally classical refers to films that are 'more classical than they need to be.' The films they have in mind are Groundhog Day, Back to the Future, Hannah and Her Sisters and Die Hard.