Lisa Mickolajczyk

Amanda Santello

Class #9 Genre Assignment

10/28/09

Behind the Scenes of Black Comedy

            Black Comedy became prominent during the 1950’s and the 1960’s. It is a sub-genre of comedy and satire. Topics and events that are usually regarded as taboo are treated in a humorous manner while the actors remain serious. The purpose of black comedy is to make light of a serious subject matter. It is known for getting its laughs from shocking the audience and by using revolution. Most black comedies have a sense of irony.

Popular themes of the genre include: rape, murder, suicide, war, drug abuse, terminal illness, abuse, insanity, disease, disability (both physical and mental), Chauvinism and crime.

Also Called: dark comedy, black humor, dark humor, and morbid humor.

Two movies that show a good example of Black Comedy are Dr. Strangelove and The Dark Knight.

1) Dr. Strangelove: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9ihKq34Ozc

Its full name is Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. This movie was released in 1964 and was directed by Stanley Kubrick. Its main premise is that a crazy Air Force general orders a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union. The remainder of the movie involves the President and his advisors trying to recall the bombers and prevent a nuclear apocalypse. This movie takes place during the cold war and pokes fun at the government and the idea of nuclear war. When the movie was released the Cuban Missile Crisis was fresh in Americans’ heads. It is this combination that makes Dr. Strangelove such a good black comedy.

The 11 Questions: Covering one scene

DOMINANT: Your eye is primarily attracted to the man in the wheelchair, Air Force General Buck Turgidson who is placed at the center of the main stage for this scene. The audience attention is directed to him because of his center placement and because he talks for a majority of the scene. 

LIGHTING KEY: Low key, low contrast in this scene which gives it a more daunting and serious environment to shape the topic of the movie/scene. 

SHOT & CAMERA PROXEMICS: The camera is right with the action, or rather dialogue, of the characters and zooms in closely to each character when speaking. 

ANGLE: The angle is at neutral eye level for most of it, with some angles looking slightly down at the subjects in the frame. 

COLOR VALUES: The film is black and white; no color symbolism is relevant for this movie. 

LENS/FILTER/STOCK: Irrelevant to the scene. 

SUBSIDIARY CONTRASTS: After taking in the dominant eye-stops [the General in the wheelchair, the President sitting across from him with two men, and the crowd of men surrounding the General], the secondary eye-stops include the background scene which seems to look like a sort of technological, computerized dungeon with numerous screens and and maps. 

DENSITY: There is not a lot of visual information or high detail going on during this scene. 

COMPOSITION: The two dimensional space is segmented and organized in a way that zeroes in on the speakers. The camera then zooms out at one point to capture the entire stage, including all men in the scene at once. For most of it, however, the composition is very tight and specific to close in on the General and the President alternating in dialogue. 

FORM: The form of the scene is open, giving an image that isolates fragments of the scene at a time. When one of the “Russkies” walk away, the image briefly suggests a proscenium arge where all visual elements are carefully arranged. 

FRAMING: The framing of the scene is loose where the characters can move freely, however the form of the scene suggests that the frame is actually tight because of its specificity and how it narrows in on each character who is speaking.

2) The Dark Knight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohU16OiduUs

The Dark Knight was released in 2008 and was directed by Christopher Nolan. All thought the entire movie would not be considered black comedy, many of the scenes involving the joker, played by Heath Ledger, would. The joker is a mentally ill villain who, as I’m sure we call know, comes to create mayhem in Gotham City. In one well known scene, the joker makes a pencil disappear by shoving the mobsters head into the pencil killing him. The joker’s calmness to murder is disturbing and the fact that he does it with a laugh, which can cause the audience to laugh as well makes it dark. Similar scenes are shown throughout the film. The one that we will show is when Batman interrogates the Joker. It is a scene that is long awaited. The unexpected lines from the joker fills the audience with shock. But the “you complete me” line is more than just another one of the film’s many black humor moments. Of course, it’s funny to hear a line of endearment uttered in such a way that it completely up ends its original meaning. But the line also underscores one of the central themes of THE DARK KNIGHT – that Batman and the Joker are two-sides of the same coin, a theme more explicitly rendered by the Harvey Dent character who literally becomes two-faced.”

DOMINANT: Our eye is first attracted to the bright light being turned on and The Joker’s face. The shot is very close to The Joker’s face so we are instantly focusing on his actions and any sudden movements.

LIGHTING KEY: In this scene, there is a combination of high and low key. When The Joker is sitting in the dark it is a low key, but once Batman appears it becomes high for a more dramatic effect. The lighting then goes to low again when The Joker is speaking because the uses of the shadows on his face make him appear more mysterious.

SHOT AND CAMERA PROXEMICS: The camera is very close up to the action in this scene. It bounces back and forth to when Batman and The Joker are speaking but still remains close to their faces while they talk.

ANGLE: The angle is at eye level since Batman and The Joker are sitting across from each other at the table. The only time the angle changes are in the beginning when Batman is standing and we/the camera is looking up at him.

COLOR VALUES: The dominant colors in this scene are black and white. The only contrast of colors we see is the white and red makeup on The Joker’s face, along with his blue shirt, green vest, and purple pants. There is color symbolism here because since Batman is wearing all black, The Joker is wearing all different colors, and the room is white, it really makes the characters stand out and show their differences.

LENS/FILTER/STOCK: Throughout the scene, the lens is very focused on the conversation that is going on between the characters. It is very straightforward and there is not much movement from the camera.

SUBSIDIARY CONTRASTS: After seeing the dominant, our eyes are attracted to Batman, The Joker, and their conversation that is occurring in the interrogation room.

DENSITY: The image is not very dense because the focus limits the viewer to taking in only The Joker, Batman, and what is happening between them in the room.

COMPOSITION: The two dimensional space is for the most part tight because Batman and The Joker do not leave the interrogation room.

FORM: The form is closed because while watching the scene the audience feels constrained or gripped since the characters are in a locked room. Also the scene is very captivating and the audience is lured even further into the film.

FRAMING: The framing is tight because the characters are in an enclosed interrogation room in which they do not leave. They do however have room to move around for example when Batman starts hitting The Joker he throws him up against the wall.

Works Cited

http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Black-comedy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_comedy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Strangelove

http://www.mynorthwest.com/index.php?nid=182&sid=74437

Crystal Falls

Alfred Stieglitz was born in January, 1864, in New Jersey. While attending Berlin Polytechnic, he discovered photography. Originally majoring in mechanical engineering, Stieglitz switched to photochemistry so that he could take pictures. Over the next few years, he would study the history of photography and grow to have a very fond interest for it.

                Stieglitz became a photographer in 1860 when he returned to the United States. He did a lot of work with modern art and nude photographs, but also focused on experimenting with flash powder to take pictures at night. Black and white portraits were also something that he specialized in.  He was a member of the Club for American Amateur Photographers as well as the Camera Club. Stieglitz also opened a few galleries, some including the Little Gallery and the American Place. He died on July 13, 1946. 

2. Textiles were used in almost every way. They could be expressing emotions, portraying a scene, an interpretation of a poem, a religious reference, etc. Textiles included intricate carpets, velvets, silks, paintings, clothing, and much more. They were a major part of the Islam culture because they portrayed so many messages and had deep meanings. Most were very colorful and this was also part of the symbolism they depicted. The colors usually symbolized the traditional elements. Red is fire, yellow is air, green is water, and blue is earth. Colors also associated with the seasons and other abstract concepts. Flowers and foliage were also a common design in Islamic art. People interpreted these textiles in many different ways.

http://char.txa.cornell.edu/nonwest/islam/islamhis.htm

3. Scarves are one example of a textile that has been brought over into our culture today. Women in the Islamic culture would wear them as a part of their everyday lives. It was necessity of their wardrobe while today we use it as an accessory. As you can tell by the pictures people, usually women, use scarves as accessories either around their necks or even around their heads. It has become a fashion statement more than anything as opposed to having actual meaning or significance. They still do however keep the color aspect which is the same as the other culture.

Critique:

I find out a lot about the Islamic culture from the research. Their culture was based very much on religion and many things that they did or even wore had significance to them. From the assigned reading, I learned that many things had a religious meaning. The Islam culture is very strict about God and following him. They even have a set of holy duties which includes faith, prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and a pilgrimage. The Islam culture also incorporates a lot of color, geometry, and an abstract nature into their art. The colors tend to represent the elements; earth, fire, water, and air. Much of their art also has intricate patterns, used on velvets, silks, paintings, carpets, clothing, etc. What I found was interesting was that these patterns all represented something. They could be portraying a scene from a poem or of a battle or even of a couple in love. Everything had meaning. That is what truly makes a culture. I think the Islam culture especially is extremely interesting and there is still much to be learned about it.