Thesis and Outline

Introduction:

           

The story of the underdog, that is the improvable triumph of the weak over the strong, is an idea that transcends space and time for all mankind worldwide.  It is a story that is told across the globe spanning Western and Eastern lands, “[...] as a multicultural and cross-cultural arena.” (Radovic, 17)   In the modern world with the growth of technology and communications, these stories surpass their land and open up to foreign lands, in the case of film, it is called transnationalism cinema.  Viewers of these transnational films, both foreign and national, will be presented with an array of cultural identity, in the form of history, values, imagery, language, beliefs, symbols, and attitude of the presenting culture.  From this, the viewer will gather understanding and empathy of the culture at hand.  But a question arises, how do cultural context move between different backgrounds and what happens when they do so.  To answer this question, I will be critically analyzing two films from two different times, styles and countries of origin. The first film is from Japan, The Seven Samurai, directed by Akira Kurosawa and released in 1954.  A black and white film, set in the 16^th century Japan, is about farmers under siege by bandits and the Samurai that decide to help.  The second film for analysis is a Pixar film directed by John Lassester and Andrew Staton's A Bugs Life. This is an American animated film about anthropomorphic bugs, with ants under siege by grasshoppers and the bigger bugs who decide to help.  It is in these parallel stories that I will define transnationalism relating to cultural identity and genre and later identify the common theme between the two films. 

Body:

I.               The history and cinematic production of The Seven Samurai.

A.    Background information on the film, director, location, settings, character information.

B.    Structural elements of the films, mise-en-scène, camera movement, music, actor performance, and lighting.

C.     A brief plot summary of the film that ties into the thesis statement.

II.              The history and cinematic production of A Bugs Life.

A.    Background information on the film, director, location, settings, character information.

B.    Structural elements of the films, mise-en-scène, camera movement, music, actor performance, and lighting.

C.     A brief plot summary of the film that ties into the thesis statement.

III.            Comparing the two films: The Seven Samurai and A Bugs Life.

A.    Parallel story lines that have commons characters and ideas, class system, islands (Japan/Ant Island), economic exploitation and military expansion.

B.    Comparing the settings, conflict and the resolutions.

C.     Identify the common theme of the thesis statement, the underdog.

IV.            Contrast the two films: The Seven Samurai and A Bugs Life.

A.    Why are the stories different from one another?

B.    Contrasting the settings, conflict, and resolutions.

C.     Where do the two films contrast on the theme of the underdog?

V.             Defining Transnationalism in terms of cinema.

A.    What is transnationalism? When and where did it begin? What does it do?

B.    Transnationalism versus nationalism

C.     How does a film move from one culture to another and what happens once it moves? Subtitles?

VI.            Looking at Transnationalism in the film, The Seven Samurai.

A.    Japanese culture, stylized from mid evil Japan, ties to Western films.

B.    Akira Kurosawa Quote- “Normally, an action movie can only be an action movie. But how marvelous it would be if an action film could at the same time paint a portrait of humanity!” (Bazin, 160)

C.     “Micro vs Macro” (Yong-Kang)- focus on the individual instead of the overall harmony

D.    Example scene of transnationalism- tbd

VII.          Looking at Transnationalism in the film, A Bugs Life.

A.    American Culture, through computer animation, a natural tie to anyone.

B.    “Its all about food and keeping those ants in line.” (Hooper)- strong ties to colonialism.

C.     Reverse “Micro vs Macro” An individual finds a way to bring harmony to his people.  Ties to Orientalism.

D.    Example scene of transnationalism- tbd

VIII.         Defining Cultural Identity in terms of cinema.

A.    Define what is Cultural identity?

B.    Beliefs, values, principles of society

C.     How does cultural identity show up in films and tie in with transnationalism?

IX.            The Cultural identity of Mid-Evil Japan, The Seven Samurai.

A.    Post-War Japan

B.    Class-system farmers, Samurai, bandits, the mentioned nobility class- who do nothing for the farmers.

C.     Gender- Male bonding, male-female relations- “definitely been a shock if it had been depicted in a film before 1945” (Wallace).

D.    Example scene of cultural identity- tbd

X.              The Cultural identity of Ant Island, A Bugs Life.

A.    Cultural Limbo

B.    Class system, Monarch Ants, Workers Ants, Grasshoppers, and ethnically inspired bugs circus bugs.

C.     Circle of life with a mix American individualism, Sheer hard work.

D.    Example scene of cultural identity- tbd

XI.            Defining Genre in terms of cinema.

A.    What is genre?

B.     How do the two movies relate in genre?

C.     How do the two movies differ in genre?

D.    Example scenes, from both films, of Genre- tbd

Conclusion:

A.    Summary and restate the thesis statement.

Bibliography:

Bazin, André, and Bert Cardullo. (2015). Bazin on Global Cinema, 1948-1958. Austin: U of Texas.

Radović, M. (2014). Transnational cinema and ideology : representing religion, identity and cultural myths. New York ; London, Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

Wallace, E. "Through the Looking Glass." Through the Looking Glass. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2017.

Yong-Kang, W. (2008). Ethos on the web: A cross-cultural approach. In Writing the visual: A practical guide for teachers of composition and communication (8). Retrieved from https://kennesaw.view.usg.edu/d2l/le/content/1203535/viewContent/19640153/View.

Scene Analysis: The Seven Samurai (1954)

The Scene-

The scene happens around the twenty-eigth minute of the film, occurring right after Samurai Kambei initially declines Samurai Katsushiro request to be Kambei’s disciple and the brief encounter with Samurai Kikuchiyo.  The scene occurs in a cheap roadside inn, with Kambei, Katsushiro, a farmer named Rikichi, and a group of farmers and laborers.  A discussion is already taking place between Kambei and Katsushiro on how the villagers could protect themselves from the bandits, how may Samurai it would take to do this and if Kambei would even take part. 

It was in this scene that a pivotal moment occurred, when a laborer showed Kambei a bowl of white rice and said,

“Yes, look at it. It’s for you. Go on. But do you know what they eat, those farmers? They eat millet. They’re giving you their rice and eating millet themselves. They are giving you everything they have.”*

It was at this moment that Kambei symbolically took the rice and agreed to participate, by saying, “I understand. I accept your sacrifice.”*

Structural Elements-

Mise-en-scène: The scene takes place in a roadside inn inside a room with small benches and bamboo bars over the windows.  It is in here that Kambei must contemplate what to do in the situation with the farmers and the bandits. He occasionally glances out of the bars and looks over the people walking near by, while discussing possible strategies.  It is in this setting that Kambei has been 'caged' with his decision to help the people of the village or to leave them be.  The present farmers in the room do little more than sit and bow their heads adding a visual to the burden of Kambei.

Camera Movement: Though the scene is short at roughly four minutes and fourteen seconds the camera movement is abundant.  With use of medium shots, use of back view, low angle medium close ups, three-quarter front view, panning, high angle medium shots.  These shots were done to show Kambei in a dominant stance and the farmers is a submissive view.  Maybe this was done to show how a Samurai outranks the farmer peasants, a nod to class system of medieval Japan.  Or possibly to show Kambei as a guiding hero to the tired and hungry.

Lighting:  The movie is in black and white, so lighting and shadowing are used heavy to convey the emotion of the scene.  The inn itself is dark and there is not much light entering through the bamboo bars.  The brightness object might have been the bowl of white rice that almost seemed to glow as Kambei accepted the job.  

Conclusion: Altogether this was a very important scene in the movie.  It ties into the basis of the plot, that bandits were taking the farmers harvest of rice and barley and the only thing they had left to offer, the Samurai, was their own food. (Which had failed before.) Kambei, instantly accepted the offering after hearing this.  The white rice acts as a sealing contract between the farmers and Samurai Kambei.  

* these quotes came from one of my source books, they appear differently in the subtitles of the film.

Richie, Donald. (1970). The Seven Samurai a film by Akira Kurosawa. Simon and Schuster, New York