Use Allusions To Great Films example essay topic

In Hollywood today, most films can be categorized according to the genre system. There are action films, horror flicks, Westerns, comedies and the likes. On a broader scope, films are often separated into two categories: Hollywood films, and independent or foreign 'art house' films. Yet, this outlook, albeit superficial, was how many viewed films. Celebrity-packed blockbusters filled with action and drama, with the use of seamless top-of-the-line digital editing and special effects were considered 'Hollywood films'. Films where unconventional themes like existentialism or paranoia, often with excessive violence or sex or a combination of both, with obvious attempts to displace its audiences from the film were often attributed with the generic label of 'foreign' or 'art house' cinema.

In recent times, such stereotyped categorizations of films are becoming inapplicable. 'Blockbusters' with celebrity-studded casts may have plots in which characters explore the depths of the human psyche, or avant-garde film techniques. Titles like 'American Beauty' (1999), 'Fight Club' (1999) and 'Kill Bill 2' (2004) come readily into mind. Hollywood perhaps could be gradually losing its stigma as a money-hungry machine churning out predictable, unintelligent flicks for mass consumption.

While whether this image of Hollywood is justified remains open to debate, earlier films in the 60's and 70's like 'Bonnie and Clyde' (1967) and 'Taxi Driver' (1976) already revealed signs of depth and avant-garde film techniques. These films were successful as not only did they appeal to the mass audience, but they managed to communicate alternate messages to select groups who understood subtleties within them. This was achieved via a two-tiered system, in which films could be viewed and interpreted on different levels. On one level, audiences could appreciate the film at face-value; the cohesive union the plot and acting of the characters to bring about a story which entertains and sometimes, carried messages or morals, such as Lumet's 'Dog Day Afternoon' (1975), which had political implications.

On another level, the other group of audience - those who have knowledge of film history or are learned in film culture - were able to admire artistic craftsmanship of film techniques the director employed, or appreciate the subtleties and allusions embedded within the film. As Carroll (1981: 56) explained, most movie-goers in the late seventies often felt as if they were watching two films simultaneously - the simple genre film, and the art film, coordinated with allusions in which the film-literate could pick out. He states that this system allowed Hollywood to remain faithful to the mass audience, yet popular among the rising film-literate generation. Allusion in film history has become an important expressive device used by directors extensively to make comments about other films within their own films, or vice-versa (Carroll, 1981: 52). Methods of allusions include "quotations, of past genres, reworking of past genres, homages, and the recreation of 'classic's cents, shots, and plot motifs, lines of dialogue, themes, gestures, and so forth". Through the use of these practices, the director was able to bring the wealth of resources film history held to enrich the films they made.

Carroll believes using allusions to old films allowed audiences to apply knowledge of the old film onto the context of the new film. Asides from expanding the meanings of the new films, allusions were practiced to pay homage to its predecessor, and also to establish an inter textual link for the transmitting of specific ideas. Usage of allusions also meant that the director could put his film up as a comparison to the old film, to either critique its predecessor or add new elements of auteur ship onto it. Examples of these include 'The Simpsons' (1989) which redid a scene from 'Pulp Fiction' (1994) as a homage to Tarantino; the 'Back to the Future' (1985) trilogy, in which all three films had the villain Biff dumped into a pile of manure to allude to each other, as well as well as 'Scary Movie' (2000) - a spoof of many horror films including 'Scream' (1996), which critiqued and made fun of conventional film techniques excessively used in the horror genre.

In 'Kill Bill 2', Tarantino pays homage to Hong Kong cinematic style of quick zoom shots which emphasized the expressions of the characters' face - used in the scene whereby Beatrix Kiddo a. k. a The Bride confronts Kung Fu Master Pai Mei, as well as using less colour contrast in reminiscence of Hong Kong martial arts film. The main protagonist also wears a yellow tracksuit - an allusion to martial arts legend Bruce Lee. When the Bride seeks out Budd, the tone of the film changes from a samurai film to a Western film. Tarantino revisits the Western genre, alluding to Sergio Leone's 'A Fistful of Dollars' (1964), using the movie's soundtrack within 'Kill Bill 2'.

Budd also refers to her as a 'cowgirl'. When she attacks Budd, she is instead blasted by a shotgun blast of rock salt (Conard, 2004). ' Kill Bill 2' also utilizes the two-tiered system of communication within the film. On one hand, audiences view it as a samurai / action film about a mother who was also an ex-assassin who decides to take revenge.

There is much violence and bloodshed and riveting swordplay in the film, and the film ends nicely in accordance with the classical Hollywood paradigm; with the evil (Bill) vanquished and hero (in this case, heroine) triumphant and reunited with her daughter. Taken at its face value, it makes for an interesting and entertaining blockbuster, using the star power of Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu and Chiai Kuriyama to add charisma and personality to the film. On the other hand, 'Kill Bill 2' is also a tapestry of artistic film techniques, allusions and genre re visitations of B-films, martial arts films and spaghetti westerns. Conard (2004) describes Tarantino's technique as a 'post-modern collage'.

He states that Tarantino recreates films he made allusions to in 'significant and original way', 'fusing ancient and disparate events and images into a seamless picture'. In other words, Tarantino is reinventing and combining these genres into his films. For one, Western films tend to have a dominant gun-toting male hero who duels with the villain who is harassing the peace. In 'Kill Bill' however, we have a female heroine who uses a sword, and is deliberately hunting the villain, whom we do not really see except in flashbacks and at the end. Nearly all the females can be typecast into femme fatale roles - desirable and dangerous. Tarantino also uses a unique juxtaposition of several film techniques, such as split-screens, slow-motion shots and even an anime film sequence.

However, Carroll (1981: 70) believes there is a difference between 'classical' Hollywood and the post-modernist allusions. In his article, he compares them and states that Hollywood allusion ism operate on a two-tiered system which garner both the film literate and non-film literate audience, whereas the post-modernists tend to rely on a one-tiered system of obscure meanings. He also notes that Hollywood allusion ism is undertaken for 'expressive purposes', whereas postmodernism 'refers to artefacts of cultural history for reflexive purposes', emphasizing the desire to view film as a medium itself. Carroll also adds that while Hollywood directors who practice allusion ism are paying homages to their predecessors with their allusions, post-modernists use allusions as a form of rejection of the old media. While initially the use of allusion ism came from an industrious and motivated beginning - the decline of the film industry leading to experimentation and formation of bold new techniques - Carroll (1981: 74) asserts that a two-tiered system with allusions that hint of complex themes from great works by great directors will not add quality to the film itself. Though allusion ism is becoming a popular technique which directors use to prompt audiences to not just view the superficial level of the film, but to 'consciously unpack' as part of the overt meaning of the film, he feels that many directors misuse allusion ism as 'proof' of their skill as a director and mastery of film techniques; used to boost their own image rather than to serve any substantial purposes (Carroll, 1981: 74).

Therefore, through these examples it is clear that allusion ism is a useful and complex tool in which directors and auteur's can utilize in their films to create a two-tiered system; making the film accessible to both the film-literate and mass audience. Allusions allow auteur's to add meaning, compare films as well as critique predecessors to their films. In 'Kill Bill 2', we see how Tarantino effectively uses allusions to create an inter textual art, extending and allowing the film to be interpreted from various levels. In reference to Carroll's article, he believes that while allusion ism could be the new wave of film techniques, in comparison to its pioneering beginning, post-modernists and others use it for different purposes. He concludes by critiquing directors who use allusion ism as a display of their own skill and image, and adds that the use allusions to great films do not necessarily add substance to the film.

Bibliography

A Fistful of Dollars. Directed by Sergio Leone, 1964.
American Beauty. Directed by Sam Mendes, 1999.
Back to the Future. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, 1985.
Bonnie and Clyde. Directed by Arthur Penn, 1967.
Dog Day Afternoon. Directed by Sidney Lumet, 1975.
Fight Club. Directed by David Fincher, 1999.
Kill Bill 2. Directed by Quentin Tarantino, 2004.
Pulp Fiction. Directed by Quentin Tarantino, 1994.
Scary Movie. Directed by Keene n Ivory Wayans, 2000.
Scream. Directed by Wes Craven, 1996.
The Simpsons. Directed by Matt Groening, 1989.
Taxi Driver. Directed by Martin Scorsese, 1976.
Carroll, Noel, 1981.
The Future of Allusion: Hollywood in the Seventies and Beyond. October Summer, 34: 51-80. Conard, Mark T., 2004.
Mommy Kills Daddy. (Online). (Cited 16 May 2005).