Psychoanalysis and Film

Still from Kathryn Bigelow's Zero-Dark Thirty (USA, 2012). Jessica Chastain as subject and image.

In addition to the Laura Mulvey's "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" in the Audience Studies Reader please read this overview of psychoanalytic film theory from Robert Stam's Film Theory: An Introduction.
Stam, "From Linguistics to Psychoanalysis": Part 1 and Part 2

While I have your attention take a look at this chapter by Kevin Williams where he provides a summary of the different normative approaches to audiences in media studies. This is a good overview of the material we have covered in class and it should help you with your review for the midterm. Enjoy.

Williams, "Effects? What Effects?"

The In-Between Years

The Folk Revival:

The Kingston Trio - Tom Dooley
Pete Seeger - Turn Turn Turn!
Joan Baez - Silver Dagger
Bob Dylan - Masters of War
Lyrics here.

Surf & Hot Rod Combos:

The Beach Boys - Surfin USA
Dick Dale & The Del-Tones - Miserlou
Link Wray & His Ray Men - Rumble (Outtake)
The Stingers (Jack Cole) - Mustang

Uptown R&B from Motown/All songs by Holland-Dozier-Holland:

Martha & The Vandellas - Nowhere To Run
The Four Tops - Reach Out I'll Be There
The Supremes - You Can't Hurry Love
Marvin Gaye - How Sweet It Is

Girl Groups/Phil Spector Wall of Sound/Songs by Weill & Mann:

The Ronettes - Be My Baby
The Crystals - Then He Kissed Me
The Crystals - Da Doo Ron Ron

Cynthia Weill & Barry Mann songs NOT produced by Phil Spector:

Lesley Gore - It's My Party

The Wall of Sound in full-effect:

Ike & Tina Turner - River Deep, Mountain High

The Righteous Brothers - You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling

Readings:
Keightley, "Reconsidering Rock"

nb. You will not be responsible for this reading for the midterm. We will discuss the issues and concepts raised in it after the exam. I do however urge you to read it as it offers a lot of points that would help your review of material that will actually be covered on the midterm.

In Garofalo you should read up to and including Chapter 6.

R'n'R or Trasubstantiated R'n'B?

Elvis Presley - That's All Right, Mama + Blue Moon of Kentucky
Bill Haley & The Comets - Crazy Man Crazy
Fats Domino - Ain't That A Shame + Blueberry Hill
Little Richard - Tutti Frutti
Chuck Berry - Almost Grown + Little Queenie
Bo Diddley - Pretty Thing
The Chords - Sh-Boom
Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers - Why Do Fools Fall In Love

Audiences (*now improved with midterm study guide)

Ang, "The Nature of the Audience"
Gandy, "Tracking the Audience"

Nussbaum, "What Would Tina Fey Do For A SoyJoy?"


COM 220 Study Guide here.

Whitey's Lindy Hoppers: Something Wild

This is the Lindy Hop, the Jitterbug, the Suzie-Q. The clip is an excerpt from H.C. Potter's Helzapoppin' (1941). The Lindy Hoppers doing "The Big Apple" in 1939 are here. Enjoy.
In this clip the dancing starts at the 2:15 mark.



from Jonathan Demme's Something Wild; The Feelies play David Bowies's "Fame" and Jeff Daniels dances with his eye on the 'Other' for cues.

R'n'B is on the indies

Big Joe Turner - Shake, Rattle and Roll
Big Mama Thornton - Hound Dog
Rufus Thomas - Bear Cat
Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup - That's All Right
Jackie Brenston & His Delta Kings (aka Ike Turner) - Rocket 88
Junior Parker - Mystery Train
Little Walter - Dead Presidents

Post-War Hillbillies: Western Swing, Honky Tonk and Bluegrass

Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys - Take Me Back To Tulsa

Hank Williams - Hey Goodlookin' + Lovesick Blues

Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys - Muleskinner Blues + Blue Moon Of Kentucky

The Sound Begins: Popular Music Readings II

in Garofalo:

-Chapter 2: Blues and Country Music: Mass Media and the Construction of Race
-Chapter 3: “Good Rockin’ Tonight”: The Rise of Rhythm and Blues

Charlie Gillet from The Sound of the City, "The Sound Begins"
Nelson George from The Death of Rhythm and Blues, "Dark Voices in the Night"

Pre-War Specialties

Doc Boggs - Sugar Baby

Jimmie Rodgers - Mule Skinner Blues

The Carter Family - Wildwood Flower

Jimmie Rodgers & The Carter Family - Blue Yodel

Skip James - Devil Got My Woman

Robert Johnson - Love in Vain

Folk Music From Around The World

from North Vietnam: A Brao Song

from the Mississippi Delta: Blind Willie Johnson - Dark Was The Night

from the Mississippi Delta: Alan Lomax Collection - Arwhoolie (Cornfield Holler)

from Ireland: The Dubliners - Home Boys Home

from Democratic Republic of Congo: Konono No. 1 - Ditshe Tshiekutala

from India: Ravi Shankar - Dhun

But this is not 'folk music' as we defined it, rather it is an example of the 'high' in a different cultural and social context.

Art Music

Beethoven - Symphony N.9 d-moll Op. 125 (extract)

Text by Schiller here.

Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp Minor, Op. 27, No. 2 "Moonlight"

Chopin - Nocturne b-moll Op. 9 No. 1

Schumann - Dichterliebe, Opus 48, "A Poet's Love"

Text by Heine here.

Schumann - Liderkreis, Op. 39, "Intermezzo"

Text by Eichendorff here.

Schubert - An Silvia (D891 1826)

Text by Shakespeare here.

The virtuoso instrumentalist and composer as superstar: Franz Liszt.

Good interview on WNYC's Soundcheck with Tim Blanning author of The Triumph of Music, a 'social history' of musicians in the west and how they went from being considered merely servants to being 'stars'. This is an excellent example of metacontextual musical knowledge. Required listening.

Download entire interview mp3 here. Stream interview.

Mainstream Media: Bias, Functions and Roles

The question we will be discussing in class is: What makes mainstream media mainstream? How does this prevent the media from fulfilling the social roles that liberal democratic theory assigns to it?

Noam Chomsky, What Makes Mainstream Media Mainstream
James Curran, Mass Media and Democracy Revisited
Eric Alterman, What Liberal Media?
Ed Herman, Media in the US Political Economy

TV Is Not Our Fault...

Eileen Meehan on how the media and the rating services blame the victims + some random articles on audience assessment and its problems...

Meehan, The Blame Game
Meehan, Don't Blame The Viewers

Article Compilation


Ang, The Nature of the Audience
Gandy, Tracking the Audience

Pop Music: Music Becomes A Thing

Readings Week 1&2:

in Garofalo, Rockin' Out:
-Introduction + Chapter 1: Tin Pan Alley

in Cambridge Companion:
-Introduction + Chronology
-Theberge, "'Plugged In': Technology & Popular Music"
-Frith, "The Popular Music Industry"
-Frith, "Pop Music"

from Durham & Kellner (eds), Media & Cultural Studies: Keyworks
-Benjamin, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction"

from Frith & Goodwin (eds), On Record
-Adorno, "On Popular Music"
nb. You can find this essay together with "The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception" co-written with Max Horkheimer --an essay which if you have not read should definitely do so-- here.

from Even Eisenberg, The Recording Angel: Music Records and Culture from Aristotle to Zappa
-Eisenberg, Chapter 2: Music Becomes a Thing

Grimes, "Genesis" Live Session for KEXP

Welcome to Spring 2013