[PDF] 8 Mile A review by Charlene Keeler

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8Mil e

Dir:CurtisHa nson,USA/Germany,2002

Ar eviewbyCharleneKe eler,C aliforniaStateUniversity, USA Despitemediocreacti ngandabromidicplot,8Mileforceditswayandc usseditsway into mainstreamAmericaandculturalsi gnificancewiththesamefam iliargr itandfrustrated realismthatEminemradiate s.Longbefore itsrelea seinNovemberof2002,rumoursbegan circulatingthatitwasthestoryofEminem's life.Teena gersbegan callingi t"theEmine m Movie"andwait edanxiousl yforitsdebut,sothattheyc ouldfinallylearnwho theiri doland objectofaffecti ont rulyis.Thefilm'swebsitesuggestedth atUniversalPic turesowne dthe rightstoEminem'slif estory,a ndthatthisparticula rprojectwouldculm inateinsome supposedartisti crendition.Suddenly,severalwe eksbeforetheopening,therhe torichad changedtoreportsof"sem i-autobiog raphical",andthendi re ctorCurtisHansonmadeafew statementsinRollingStonesuggestingthatthefil mwassimplya storyoft hedifficultiesof urbanyouthin Detroit.The laststat ementbyHansonwasincorporate dintothe production commentsontheDVD(relea sed18 March 2003),that"Emine mwasnotinterestedindoing anEminemm ovie",andthat partsofitonlycoincide ntallyr esemblehisli fe. Suchseeming lytriteremarksareonlysigni ficantwhenonereali sestheconnectionbetween identityandpopcultureiconogr aphy,be twe enimageandaction,and betweenpostmodern cultureandtheironicobsess ivesear chtofi ndanessenceinent ertainers.Iti snosecretin Hollywoodthatstardomisquite easilyachi evedbymediaatt ention,butsupe rstardomcan onlybeachi eve dbykeepingthefansguessing. Madonnasoare dtothetopquickly,butonly achievediconicstatusbykee pingheridentity fluid.Noonestillknow swhoshere allyis-- whore,materia lgirl,seriousactress,mother?One mustbeapostmodernantiher owithout reallytrying--wit houtknowingwhatthatmeans.Emi nemfulfi lledtheparadoxofi dentity thatMiddleAme ricacrave d.Hebecameanunholytrinityofuni dentifiedstructure :Marshal l Mathers,themisunderstoodbut brillia ntartist,Eminem,thestagepres ence whoknowsno limits,andlastbutnotleast, SlimSha dy,theanti socia ldoppel gangerwhomurdersa ndhates gaysandwomen.A sweall waitedfortherealMarshallMatherstostand upin8Mile,as oncepromise d,theartificialJ immy"B -Rabbit"Smith,Jr.stoodupandsaidtoomuch. Thefi lm'smottoisacliché:" everymomentis anotherc hanc etoturnitallaround",a ndisan anomalousdepartureforthe enragedrapper.Anevenst ranger occurr enceistheinspirati onal ruminationsflowingoutofEminem'sm ouththroughoutthethemeson gin lie uoftheartfully constructedprofanityandthemet aphoricalrapeandmurderthate venthem ostprudishcr itic mustadmit wasrawgenius.The movieisbasica llyacombinat ionofpicaresqueand bildungsroman.Inthemidstofafaile drela tionship,al ackofastable home, ana lcoholic mother,andtheresponsibil ityofra isinghi syoungersister,Jimmymustfindawayt o overcomehisfearoff ailure( andsuccess)bywi nningafr eestylerapbattleaf tergettingst age frightand"choking". Therestof thefilmishispreparationfo rtheeve nt,whilethena tur al forcesoftheghetto attempt towint heirownbattleoverJi mmythroughskirmisheswith local gangs,failedroma nces,andthefruitlessatt empttoprotectayoungchildfr omtheviol ence thatsurroundsher.

8Mil eistheroadt hatsepara tespove rtystricken whitesfrompove rtystrickenAfrican

Americans,andshouldalsobereminisce ntoftheea stcoast/ westcoastra pri valrythatwasso prevalentinthe90s.Afteral l,thism ovieissuppos edt obesetin1994.Symbolical ly, however,8Mileisthedivi dingl ineofdefinit ion,reif ication, acceptanceand authenticity .It notonly dividesbla ckfromwhite,butde constructsthetra ditionalideaof darknesssignifying evilandlight nesssignif yinggoodness.AuthenticHip-hop artistryisdominatedand maintainedbytheblackcommunity ,soawhit erapperhasa difficult,ifnoti mpossibletaskto breakintoit.Ta kingonthecult ureandattit udes--"race-c lai ming"- -istheonlywayto achievelegitimac y.Whitemeansweakness,asSuperMCstatesduringone ofthebattles: "Howy'allge twhiteytobattl ethesaviour .It'slikeDarthV aderbat tlingOpieTaylor." Winningthebattle (ameta phorforthebattleoflife )isnotj ustawaytoproveyoursel f;it meansbeingacce pted,havingauthenti cityasarapartistand,ulti mately,becomi ng"real". Thewi nnerearnsthehopetha tmaybeheorsheis goodenough tosomeda yescapethem eans streetsofDetroit.Loseth ebat tle,andyoumightaswellkil lyoursel f. Asmucha sthisfilm attempt stobecontempor ary,withits lessonsonHip-hopculture,its acceptanceofprofanityasvalidla nguage ofthestreets,itsattem ptstobeg inlanguagetre nds ("Yo,dawg"),an ditscommentaryonurban problems,severa lpartssee mcontrivedand sufferfromthesam einauthentici tythati tattempts toextinguish.Wherearethedrugsand gangwarfare? Arewetobelievethatallthegan gbangersaret oobusyra pping?Most charactersdon'tevensmokecigarett es,andtheyc arryaroundthesame beerthr oughoutentire scenes.Theonlyseri ousf ightsarebet weenJimmyandtheF reeWorld,anallbla ckgang whoseexist enceisdictatedbybeingconst antwin nersofweeklyrapbattlesat TheShelt er. Thefi lm'sworstcrimeisit scastofcolourless (nopunintended)andone-dime nsional characters,whichcomesacrossassomef lagrantfearof up-stagingEminem. Rabbit'sfriends includeFuture(Mekhi Phifer),thester eotypicalcoc kyemceewhoconstantlyties toget Rabbittoperform, andCheddar Bob(EvanJones),thetimid loserwhoi salwayslookingto Rabbitforvalidity andsupport. Andlet'snotforgetthet ypicald ysfunctionalmothe r(Kim Basinger)andAlex(Brittany Murphy), theslutgirlfri endwhoremindstheaudiencethatlove isneit herelevatingnorinspir ing.Infact,Rabbitisthesmarte stcha racter,themostcaring character,themostmoralcharacter ,themosttol erantcha racter,and,ofcou rse,themost talentedcharacter.8Miletrulycrossesthel ineoftastewhenRabbit unnecessar ilydefendsa womanandagaycow orkerduri nga lunchbre akrapbattle--afeebl eandcompletely extraneousattemptatmakingag ratuitousstatementtoma instream America.DidI me ntion thathewouldne verhi tawoman? There albeautyof8Mileisitsr ealisticci nematography.Severe,grittyim ageryofthe darknessofthestreet san dthecold steelofindustrialisationg iveitthevali dityi tcraves.Al l charactershavetheworn,wearylookt hatonlythedail yfightf ormeresurvivalc anproduce. Eventhem ostattra ctivewom enlookusedanddrab.Theonlysexsceneconsistsofag ritty, threeminuteanim alisticpawingand poundinginsideanautomobilefactory.Ofcours e, Eminemasasta gepresenc enev erdisappointsanaudie nce.Hisremarkabl evacillations betweentheicy,detache dglare andthewarmcharm isamanifestationofresi dualragevs presentdaysuccess, butitkeeps fansguessingastohis"t rue" charac ter,whic hisn'trevea led. MarshallMatherscanproba blyact,andhedoesex ceptionallyw ellinthecomedic scenes,but playinganangryrapper fromDet roitisnotmuchofastret chandnotasuffici entmeansof assessinghisactingabili ty.Theac tualfreestylebatt lesattheendareworththeninet y-f ive minutewait.Thebr illiantlycomposedhar dcor erhymeschemesofangerandbellic osityare producedmainlyby Eminem,and,exceptforPa paDoc,t hecompetitorswe rechosen (throughrealrapbatt les)fromDetroi t'sbestuntappe dundergroundtalent. Although8Milewasfi rst comparedtospor tsmoviessuch asRocky(1976),itwouldbemor e apropostocompar eittoSaturdayNightFe ver(1977),becausewha tSaturdayNightFeve r didforDi sco,8MiledoesforH ip-hop,andt hishasbeenmissing fromthe Hip-hopworldf or quitesometim e.Jimm ySmith,likeTonyManer o,mustovercomehardshipt owina relativelysmallcontestthatrepresent sabigger,deeper ,innersuccess.B utalthoughSaturday NightFevermadeastate ment aboutthe70sandanentiregenerat ion,8Mileattemptsonly superficialstatementsaboutthege nerationandcultureresponsiblefor Hip-hop.Itisf artoo busymakin gdidacticremarksabout howtosucceedinanallbla ckcommunitywhile committingtheleastamountofcrime saspossi ble.Andthisisasi gnificantstatem ent about howma instreamAmericawantsthePG-13 versionofanR-ratedrealit y,sonoonemayever trulyunderstandther agebehindtherapwor ld.

Adaptation

Dir:SpikeJonze, USA,2002

Are viewbyCharlesTry on,Georgi aInstituteof

Technology,USA

Thela te2002filmseasonha sbee nmarkedbyther eleaseoftwonew filmsb yscreenwr iter secondcollabor ationwithSpikeJonzeafterthe1999cul thit,BeingJohnMalkov ich(1999), satirisestheHollywoodcelebri tycultur e,anddeploysanironicdist anceandnarrative disruptioninordertocha llengec onventionalHolly woodnarr atives.Atthesametime, Adaptationplayfullyacknowledgesthepostmode rnsuspiciontowardtheboundariesbetw een truthandficti onbyinc orporating"real"chara cterssuc hasCharlieKaufman,SusanOrlean andJohnLa Roche,as wellas"fictional"ch aracte rssuchasCharlie 'stwin brotherDonald. Ultimately,thisblurringbetweenreallif eandrepre sentationservesthefi lmwell.Asthe screenplaybecomesincreasingly self-referentia l,Charlie's"reallife"actionsa rerecognised ascinem aticclichés.Likethebadfilm sthatcannotgetbeyondtheconven tionalHollywood narrative,Charlie'sexperience sthemselvesbecomesubjecttoHolly woodcliché.While AdaptationgleefullyplayswiththeseHolly woodconventions,showingthe mtobehollow andart ificial,Iamsuspiciousofitsironicdetachment, whic hseemst osuggestthatthe filmmakersknowwellthattheHollywood form ulaisconventionaland arbitrary,butde ploy itanyw ay,duetotheinabilitytoima gine whatan alter nativenarrativestructurewould look like.Inotherwor ds,despit ethisrecog nition,thefi lmcannotmovebeyondthecliché, butis insteadcontentmerely toparodyit.In thissense,thefilmseemsconsi stentwit hthe"cynical reason"describedbyS lavojZizekinTheSublime ObjectofIdeology:"Eve nifwedonotta ke thingsseriously,eve nifwekeepanironicaldi stance,wear estill doingthem ."(Zizek,1989:

33)Even thoughthe filmdistancesit selffr omtheHollywoodsyst emthroughour

identificationwithCharlieandthroughthete chniqueofparody,ult imately,Jonzeand Kaufmancannotgetbeyondthet raditionalH ollywoodnarra tive. Whilethefilmdoe snotfitc omfortablyintoan ycateg ory ,inmanywa ysAdaptationmost resemblestheHollywoodsatireg enre.Cha rlie'sagent(RonLiving ston)ispresentedasa sleazypervertwhofa ntasisesabouthavingsexw ithhisf emaleemployees.Theproducerwho commissionedCharlietowritethesc reenplayisalsoseenaspa ssiveaggr essive,politely encouragingCharlie,butsecretly pressuringCharlie'sagentf orac ompletedscreenplay.The film,likeRobertAlt man'sThePlaye r(1992),issatura tedwit hcelebritycameos(includi ng severalofthestarsofBeingJohnMalkovi ch).Howe ver,despitetheseimages,theH ollywood modeofproduct ionha rdlycomesundercriti cisminthefilm. Adaptationtellsthestoryofself- loathin gscreenwrit erC harlieKaufman's(NicolasCage) attemptstoadaptSusanOrlea n'sbestse ller,TheOrchid Thief(1998),tothebig screen. Orlean'sbook,whichfocusesonthefasci na ting,competitive andsometimesma lic iousworld oforc hidbreeding,gr ewoutofherNewYorkerarticleonJohnLaRoche(playe dby Chris Cooperasachar ming,p hilosophi calscoundrel),whowasontrialforr emovingorchidsfrom protectedstateparkland.Herbook offersasophistica tedreflectiononthenat ureofpassion, andCharl iequicklydiscoversthatheis incapableofconvert ingOrlean'smea nderingprose intoafilm, that hecannotproduceascree nplaywithoutdoing viole ncetoherbook.He cannotunderstand herbookwithoutcontextua lisingita gainst,f irst,theplanet' sevolutionary history,andthenlate r,hisown self-conscious effortstoadaptherbook.Ch arliet herefore writeshimselfintothescr eenplay,optingtofoc usonhisowninabi lityto adaptOrlean's book.By focusing onCharlie'sstruggl es,t hefilmresemblesDonald'sgirlfrie nd'stattoo;like thesnaketha tconsumes itsowntail ,Adaptationconsumesitself,spi rallingbackonitselfas thefilm wearewatching seemsto emergefr omCharlie'sstrugglesatthet ypewriter.In this sense,thefilm 'stit letakesonseveralcompeti ngmeanings:Charlie 'sdifficultiesin adapt inga difficultbooktothescreen;Dar win 'stheo riesofe volutionasadaptation,and thecharacters' abilitiestoadapttheirpersonalit iesinor derto"survive ",specifically withinaHollywood systemthatrewards Donaldforhis shallowscreenplaywhileC harliestrugglestoproduc ea thoughtfuladaptationofTheOrchid Thief. Asthefi lmopens,we hearCharlie,i nvoiceove rduringt hecredits,com mentingonhis physicalshortcomings--his baldness,hisweight,hisscreenwrit ingtale nts.Sta ndingonthe setofBeingJohnMalkov ich,hee vena sks,"DoIhavea noriginalt houghtinmyhea d?" Filmedinmockcinema-veritéstyle,thesceneestabl ishesAdaptation'splay fulapproachto thelinebe tweenfact andfiction,between"re ality"and"simul ation".S tandingonthe crowdedset,anoverw eightandbaldingChar lieisi ntheway,andeventually iskicked offthe setofhisow nfi lm.Ina performa ncethathasrecei vednumerous acc olades,includingan AcademyAwardnomination, NicolasCage'sdualper formanceasthetwins,Cha rlieand DonaldKaufman,i susefulinguidingourinterpret ationsof thecharacte rs,andthe filmitself. CageplaysChar lieasawkwarda ndself-loathing;Cage 'sChar liealmostseemstoshrinkin relationshiptoothercharacters,hi sbroadshoul dersdrawni nwardtosuggesthislackof confidence.Charlieisconstant lyframedbywindows,squee zinginto cornerstoemphasise hisstatus asanoutsider.By contrast, Charlie 'stwin,Donald,embra ceshisa wkwardness, casuallystretchingacross Charlie'sfloor,hisbodylanguage conveyingacomf ortintheworld thatCharlie cannotshare.Meanwhile,Dona ld'shubrisal lowshimtoquicklyw ritea conventional,cliché-riddledpsy chologicalthriller,"TheThree",thatCharlie' sagentsoon sellsfor"sixfig ures".The filmalsoa llowsMerylStreeptoparodyhe rpersonaa ssomeone whoacts inliterarya daptations, ashercharacterdevolvesfromthe urbane,bemusedNew Yorkerwritertoadependent,viol entdrugaddi ct, whochasesCharlieandDonal dthroughthe

FloridaswampwhereL aRochepoaches hisorchids.

CommissionedtoadaptOrlean'sbook,C harliep romises,"Idon' twanttocraminsexorguns orca rchasesorcha racterslear ningprofound lifelessonsorgrowingorcomingtolikee ach otherorovercome obstac lestosucceedinthe end.Thebookisn'tlikethat,andli feisn't like that.Itjustisn't. "Heinsist sthathe wantstoremaintrue tothespir itofthebook"rathe rthan bear tificiallyplot-driven".AsCharlierenouncesall oftheHollywoodclichés,thefirsthalf ofthe filmstr uggles,lurchingforw ardtorepresentCharlie 'sstalledthoughtproc esses.Shots ofCha rlielabouringoverhistype writerandpacingacross hisnearl yemptybe droomcontrast withintercutshots ofSusangracefullyproducing herbook.Whil eCha rliestruggl estoadapt Orlean'sbook,histwinbrother,Dona ld,e mbarksona screenplayofhisow n,eagerly embracingtheHollywoodconventionst hathisbrot hereschews,andcheerfullyre peatingthe hollowsuggestionst hathelearnsatascre enwritingse minar,e ventapingaphotocopiedsetof principlestothewallaboveChar lie's typewr iter("Thoushallnotuse voiceover...") .The referencestoRobertMcKee'sprincipl es,ofcour se,callatte ntiontothedistinctionbetwe en thefilm wearewatchin gandtypi calHollywood narratives.Distraughtathi sinabili tyto adaptOrlean 'sbook,Charliefinallytakeshist win brother'sadviceandatten dsaMcKee screenwritingseminarinNewYork,wherehehas gonetomeetOrlean--a lthoughhis shynesspreventshimf romactuallyapproac hingher .Atthispoint,thef ilmtakesadecisive, andmuchdi scussed,turna fterDonald"takesove r"thescree nplay.UnderDonald'sinfl uence, AdaptationtakesonmanyoftheH oll ywoodconventions that Charlie hadrejected:achase sequencethrought heFakahatcheeSwamp,asexsc enebetwe enSusanandLaRoche,and emotionalbondingbetweenCharl ieandD onald.Charlie'sself-loa thingvoiceoverceases,and wenolonger see himstruggling behindaty pewrite r.Whilethechasescenecanbe readasan illustrationofCharlie'sownfears aboutof fendingOrleanwithhisadaptation ofthe screenplay,italsoreinforcesthe film's narcissistic tendencies.AnadaptationofTheOrchid Thiefinsteadbecomesafil maboutCharlie'sinabil it ytoadapt. Bytheend ofthefi lm,Char liehas complete dthefilmandhasbecome amoreconfident person,learnin gfromhisbrothertoaccepthimse lf;inshort,C harliea dapts.WeseeCharl ie drivingoutofaparki ngg ara ge, hisdressanddemeanourillust ratinghisnewfound confidencewhileTheTurtles' "HappyTogether" play sonthesoundtrack,reprisingsc enes earlierinthefilmthatshowD onaldsingi ngthesong toCharlie.Thr oughtheseima ges, this endingcanbese enasconti ngent ;thefilm's"ha ppyending" isartificialandhollow.However , inAdaptationtheseHollywood conventionsarenotseenasthe productofaHollywood systemasmuchasthe yarehabi tsthatthescr eenwri terwillei theracceptor struggleagainst. Inthee nd,Charli econform stotheseconventions,andhisdec isionisregardedwithsome degreeofdisappointme nt.Thecompl etedfilmdoesnotfulfiltheaspirat ionshe hadatthe beginning,whichisreflect edinthemelanc holictoneof theTurtles'"HappyTogether",a songtha tisverymuc haboutunfulf illedexpec tations.Thus,inm anywa ysAdaptation interrogatesthelimitsoftheHollywoodsyste m,butra therthancritiquingthesy stem that preventsCharliefrom producingsomethingnew,"afil maboutflower s",Adaptation cynicallyembracesconventional Hollywoodtechniquesintheguise ofparodyingthem.

References:

Zizek,Slavoj(1989)TheSublim eObjectofIdeology .Lond on:Verso.

FarFrom Heaven

Dir:ToddHaynes,US A/F rance,2002

Are viewbyJuneScudele r,Uni versityofCal gary,Canada FarFromH eave n,ToddH ayne s'familydramasetinl ate1950sHartford,Connectic ut,isnot simplyaboutthepast.U nfortunate ly,man ycritics andviewersseethefilmassafelysetina timeuponwhichwec ansm uglylookback,secure intheknow ledgewehavea dvancedfrom thechar acters'outmodedwaysofthinking.WhileHa ynesaddressesthe oppressionthatgays andAfri canAmericansfaced(andst illface),thefocusisonsuburbanhomema kerCathy Whitaker's(JulianneMoore)struggl ewiththerepressivestr ucturesthatconta inher.Haynes refuses,however,toli mitthepossibilitiesof interpr etationbymakinghisc haract ers contradictory.AlthoughHaynesisagayma n,Cathy'shusbandFrank(Denni sQuaid)isnota whollysympathet icmanbecauseheisverymuchpartofthepat riarchy. Mooreissuperbin hersubtlet y,asCathytentativel ystepsout ofherprescribedgendera ndracerolesbutlacks thevocabula ryortheexperiencesnee dedtoa dequatel ydealwithhertransgressions.But CathyalsogetsherA fricanAme ricanmaidSy biltosig nCathy'snameforheronthe NAACPrequestforinfo rmationformthat twovolunt eersbringtoCathy'sdoor.Cathy, oblivioustotheirony ofthesit uation,f liesoutthedoor. Onthesurf ace,Ca thyhastheideal1950ssuburbanli fe.Herstationwagon isskyblue and white,andherhouseissoi mmacul atethat itseems nooneinhabit sit .Cathyisbeing interviewedforthelocalpaper'ssocie typageswh enshesee sanAfricanAm ericanmaninthe backgarden, whichcausespanicinherw hitesuburbanworld.She discoversthattheman is RaymondDeagan(De nnisHaysbert),sonofthef ormer,nowdeceasedga rdener.Cathy instinctivelyputsherhandonhisshoulderinc ondolence,l eadingthepa pertoindictC ath y whois"a womana sdevoted toherfamilyas sheiskind toNegroes". ForCat hyisaliberalatar epressive tim einUShistory.OneofFarFromH eave n'smost memorablesequencespivotsaroundCa thy'sliberalleanings. Cathyista lkingwitht hreeof herwome nfriendsinfront ofherhouse,partofanobviousl yfakei ndoorset.Welearn that Cathyhasalwaysbee nahighly suspectwomanbecauseofher politicalle aning s.Her supposedbestfrie ndEleanor (PatriciaClarkson)de clares,"[Cath y's]beencalledRedever sincesheplaye dsumm erstockwithallthosest eamyJewishboy s."Cathysport salavender scarf,asymbolofherdi ffe rence,whichf liesoff whenshequips, "Let'sgoinsidebeforeJoe McCarthydrivesby",alinetha tisbothhumorousandse rious.ThewindandCa thy 'sscarf symbolisethedisruptivenatureof herpoli ticalviews. CathydiscoversFrankki ssingamaninhisoffi ce,whomhepickedupa tagaybarfull of isolatedmen.WhenFrankc omeshomeaft erthisdiscover y,CathyandFrankhave no languagewithwhichtodiscuss Frank'ssexual ity.Quaid'sper formanc eisoutstanding;he swaysinshocka ndstamme rsabouthavingha d"proble ms",unabletoformcomplete sentences.Hegoestoapsy chiatri stwhereheadop tstheme dica ldiscourseabout homosexuality;he"wantstobeatthisthing ,so helpme,God."However, heisdoomed tofail inhisquest tosuppresshi squeerne ss. CathyturnstoRaym ondforcompanionship andunderst anding.Unfortunatel y,Raym ondis toooptimi sticinhisbeliefthatheandhise leven yearold daughterSarahcanbe partofthe whiteworld,ami stakeexemplifie dby Sarahbeinghitonthe headbyrockthrowingwhite boys.ButAfri canAme ricansthrowrocksthroughthew indowsofRaymond'shousefor havinga"white gir lfriend".AsRaym ondsadlyobserves,outrageoverCathyandRaymond's relationshipistheonlythinguponwhich whitesa ndAfric anAme ricansagree.Ra ymond becomesawareofthere alityofracerela ti onsinAme ricaandofhisloveforCathy :"I'vese en thesparkf lies,allkinds. I'velearnedmyless onaboutmixing withothe rcolours."When CathytalkstoRaym ondandhisdaughter atamoder nartshowfrequentedby society women, thelooksofdi sapprovaland disg ustarepainfultowatch. Cathye arnestlyte llsRaymondt hat sheand Franksuppor ttheNAACP,and itisto Raymond'sc reditthathegraciouslyacc epts Cathy'sflusteredassert ion.Raymondisbothboldenoughandnaï veenoughtoaskCathyto theAfri canAmericanareaofHart ford,wheretheygoforlunchatar estaurantRaymond frequents.Cathywantstog ototheAfricanAm ericanenclave inHart fordbe causeshei s curioustoknowwhatit islike" tobe theonlyoneina room".The Africa nAmerican clienteleisasdisapprovingasthewhit esaboutCa thyand Raymond'scrossrace relati onship, anotherinstanceofHa ynes'refusaltoputpe oplei ntoneatcategories. Bytheend ofFarFromH eave n,Ca thyisalmostcomplet elyalone ,exceptforherchi ldren andSybil .Frankfallsinlovew ithayoungerma nwhilevacationingin Miamiwi thCat hy. BackhomeinHart ford,Fr ankbrea ksdownintheperfectlyappointedli vingroom,tearful ly revealingthathehasfallenin lovewithsomeone ,a statewhichhe hasneverbefore experienced.ThetwoWhitakerchildren,a boyand agirl,asbe fittingthe1950sfamily ideal, startcryingin frightasthefamilyp atriar ch'sveneerofinvincibi lityi sshattered.F rankcanbe withhislover,butC athywi llbeadivorcedsin gle mother.Frankcallst oarrangeatime to meettosignthe divorcepape rs,buthecannotre member Cathy'scarpoolda ys.Cathysums upFr ank'snon-participationin theirmarriageintwolines:"Younevercouldre memberm y carpooldays.The y'vea lwaysbeent hesame." RaymondtellsCath yheismovingtoBalti more,andsheofferstovi sit,wa ntinga relationshipwithhim.Sheplainti velytellshim," Noonewouldknowus there."Ofc ourse, Cathy'swishisinconceiva ble.Buthecover sCathy 'shandwithhisown,theonlyintermixing ofcol ourtheycanex perience,a ndaskshertopro misehimthatshewillhave"asplendidlife. Willyoudothatf orme?", amom entofdevastat inghonesty andironyatthesameti me. CathyseesRaymondof fatthetrai nstation,wearingher lavenderscar fandred coatas badgesofcoura ge, theirhandsraisedtoeachotheri nmuteloveandregr etashis trainleaves. Thefi lmthencomesfull circle,w ithCathydrivin gthestreet sofHartford,butaHartfordthat isgrit tierandcloudier;gonearetheoptimi sticblue skiesoftheopeningsequence.Man y avenuesareclosed toCathyin 1950sHartford,andw ithwom en,peopleofcolourandgays andlesbi ansstillfightingfort heirrights,FarFrom Heavenmakesusexaminehow far we've reallycomesinceCathy 'stime.Fra nkcanlivewi thhislover,andRaymondi sfreetostarta newlife workingforhiscousin. Cathyissingle,fe maleand ostracise d;sheisindeed farfrom heaven.

HarryPotterandt heChamberofSecrets

Dir:ChrisColumbus, USA/Germany ,2002

Are viewbyAliceMill s,Unive rsityofBallarat,Austr alia Thefi lmofHarryPotterandt heChamberofSecretsiseven morefaithful thanthefirst HarryPotter(2001)film tothebookfromwhich itisde rived.Am ongth echangesintroduc ed bythefi lm'sdir ector,ChrisColumbus,themul tiplicityofincidentsatHo gwartsisreduced, andthecom ic-pat heticscenesinthesadisticDursleyhouseholdcompressedi ntotwo sequences.HarryandRo n'stripbyenchanted cartoH ogwartsisgiv enacoupleofadded perils:thecarisnea rlyrun downbytheHog warts trainandthenHarry fallsoutofthe carand isjustre scuedbyR on.Thissceneofaerialac robati csrever sesthej okethatColumbusa dds toHarr y'sescapefromtheDursle yhouse:inthebook,MrDursley ineffectual lygrabsat Harry'sankle,whileint hefilmheclutche ssohardthatheis pulleddown intotheshrubbery . Rowling'snovelendswitharem inderof thegrim lyunlovingDursleyhous ehold towhich Harrymustreturnfor thesummer holidays.Columbusomitsthis hintoftroubl etocom e, keepingthefilm'sfoc ustotall ywithintheworldofwiza rds. Someofhisomiss ionsde monstrate Columbus'confidencethat hisaudiencewillalreadybe familiarwiththecharacters,t hestoryofHarry's firstadve ntureandtheoverallpatternofthe seriesofnovels.Thus,atthef ilm 'send,thedir ect orfeel snoneedt osignalareturntothe Dursleys,becauseveryfewvi ewersareunlikel ytoknowthatH arrywillha vemore adventuresnextyearaft eranotherunpleasantst aywithhisMuggl erelatives.Simil arly, Columbusomitstheea rlyscenewhere Rowling reintroducesDracoM alfoy,inf ull confidencethatthegreatm ajorityofvie werswi llhaveseenthefirst filmandreadthebooks, needingnohelptoplac eDr acoasHarr y'sadver sary.Itistak enforgrantedthatview erswil l recogniseDracoatfirstgli mpse.Thefilmmakesnoef fortto recapitulateth estoryofHarry's scarorofhispr evious adventure satHog warts. Havinggivenaspl endidperformanceasS napei nthefirstfilm ,AlanRickmanisgivenfew opportunitiesheretosneerandbully, butperhapsin compensati onheisshownincl ose-up whentheadult wizards gatherateac hnewsiteofattack.Asa groupmember,hehas disappointinglylittlefunctionexc epttostandstaringvacantl yontheperipheryofaction. MaggieSmithhasa strongerrole,and,as inthefi rstf ilm,sheshinesasthetart- tongued, loyalandlovingProf essorMcGona gall.RichardHa rriswheezesandgaspshis waythrough theroleof ProfessorDum bledor ewithslightlymoreauthor itythanhisexcessivelytwi nkle- eyedperforman ceinthefirstfilm.ThefactthatHar risdied shortlyaf termakingChamber intrudesuncomfortably,a tleastinmyviewingexperience(thou ghchild viewersmayne ither knownorc are ).Theactor'sphysicalf railty underminesDumbledore'sfuncti onasastrong andeverr eliablesour ceofwisdomandsalvation.AsGilder oyLockhart,the newD efence againsttheDarkA rtstea cher,KennethBra naghexcels,a ppearingtorelishallhisposturi ngs andfal sebonhomie.AswithS nape,Lockhart's scenesar econsiderablyreduc edfrombookto film.Iparticularl yre grettedthelossoftheValentineDaysequence .Oneotherregrettable lossisthe joyfulgr inofRuper tGristasRon,whichr egularlystol esc enesfromDaniel RadcliffeasHarryinthefirst film.I nChamber,Gr ist'sregisterofemotions isalmostentirely confinedtogrimace softerr or. Mostofthet ransl ationf rombooktofilmisunproblematic,butone difficultyt hatChamber doesnotresol veis theuseofsnake-lan guage.In thebookacl eardisti ncti onisdrawn betweenHarry'sexperie nceofspeakingandunderstanding snake-speechandothers' experienceofhearingincomprehensi blehi sses.InthefilmColumbusoptsforEng lishwords whenHarryhe arsthebasilisk,butani nventedparselmouth languagew henhespeakstoa snakeint heduelling match( toindicatetheotherw izards'incomprehension). Thisstrategy is discarded,however,duringthef ighttothedeathinthe ChamberofSe crets. Here, parselmouthwordsarefollowed bycommandsin Englishtothesna ke,andColumbusseemsquotesdbs_dbs7.pdfusesText_13

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