Reframing the Western Genre in Bande dessinée, from Hollywood to Ledger Art

In European Francophone Western comics, intermediality goes beyond the widely acknowledged visual influences from Western films. The different sections of this article outline in several case studies how Western bande dessinée often translates an intermedial web of pictorial and photographic hypotexts that have been researched to different extents. Finally, this paper explores a neglected perspective on the visual representations of the American frontier in comics: the artistic production of Native Americans, which is very much present in Western bande dessinée. Building on this analysis and following the lead of researchers that have surveyed some of the main historical developments of graphic narratives, this article posits that the critical and historical study of marginalised visual narratives such as Native American ledger art could feature more prominently in comics scholarship.

New forms of masculinity in Western films: The end of the Marlboro Man?

Westerns are one of the most masculine and stereotypical of film genres. In a social and film context where gender equality is increasingly important, it is worth looking at the evolution of the genre in recent years. Especially because, as André Bazin said, the Western is “cinema par excellence” (1966) and its analysis allows a reflection on cinema itself. Taking the figure of the Marlboro Man as a prototype, this study carries out an analysis of three selected case studies: Brokeback Mountain, Jane Got a Gun and Godless, two films and a miniseries with main characters that do not follow heteronormative masculinity. Ang Lee’s work broke new ground not only in Westerns but also in industrial cinema by making homosexuality visible, while Gavin O’Connor’s showed the possibility of a woman playing the leading role in a classic Western. The miniseries produced by Netflix combines both by giving leading roles to female characters, some of them gay, while reflecting on homosexuality. It was noted that the portrayal of masculinity in Western films remains valid in all three cases, but it allows women and homosexuals to access leading roles, often by acquiring typically masculine attributes.

Settler Colonial Studies and/as the Transnational Western

The article explores contemporary debates regarding the representation of Indigenous resistance in the field of settler colonial studies by putting the work of Australian theorist Patrick Wolfe into conversation with the political allegories articulated in two contemporary Western films. Its first section, tracing what Wolfe called his “pharmacological indebtedness” to Gayatri Spivak, considers the methodological problems for settler colonial studies that have emerged from Wolfe’s critique of the settler intellectual’s representation of Indigenous resistance. The second section suggests an alternative direction for transnational settler colonial studies by undertaking a comparative reading of two films—Hell or High Water (2016) written by US settler filmmaker Taylor Sheridan, and Goldstone (2016) written and directed by Indigenous Australian (Gamilaroi) director Ivan Sen. Both films collapse the detective genre with settler colonialism’s most recognizable representational genre: the Western. In so doing, they articulate narratives about the ongoing crimes of settler colonialism that offer novel perspectives on the question of what is knowable—and by whom—under settler colonialism’s structure of violence.

The Cinema Centaur

The 1960s witnessed the transformation of “film factories” from metaphor to lived reality. Lenfilm’s output rose once more to the levels its predecessor studios had reached in the 1920s, but the conditions of production were now far more complex and demanding, with staffs more than ten times the size. And while the 1960s was an era of optimistic emphasis on the Soviet film industry’s capacity to equal and surpass the world in technological terms, during the 1970s, the conviction took hold that the technological superiority of Western films was of direct relevance to audience share. Increasingly, ambitious filmmakers petitioned Goskino for permission to shoot on Kodak and to use Arriflex cameras; criticism of inferior Soviet film stock and GDR-produced film editing tables mounted, both across the USSR and at Lenfilm itself. Yet investment in studio infrastructure and technology remained at best haphazard, particularly at Lenfilm, which enjoyed less generous support from the center than Mosfilm, but also more limited resourcing than film studios in the capitals of Soviet republics. At the same time, Lenfilm had an unusually diverse, energetic, inventive, and loyal workforce, with corporate values that inspired manual workers and porters as well as “creative” personnel. Hierarchical at some levels, the work culture was egalitarian at others, and the frenetic process of scrambling to finish films in trying circumstances created strong bonds. The chapter explores the various conflicts and contradictions, but also rewards, that this situation generated.

Pliancy and Weakness (Character Examinations)

This chapter is an in-depth analysis on each of the individual characters in the film Stalker and their relations with one another and the plot. This includes an elongated comparison to Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot, as well as comparisons with some western films, Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Matrix, as well as a look at some of Tarkovsky’s other films, including, notably, Solaris, his other Science-fiction film, made a couple of years previously to Stalker. The chapter also takes a look at Tarkovsky’s tendency to underwrite female characters in his films, through the lens of an uncomfortable interview he gave in 1984, on the subject.

Spatial and Architectural Representations of the East in Selected Western Films and Games

Aspects of Eastern culture have long been featured in Western cinema but seem to be less popular today. We see less use of spatial and architectural features attributed to the East and a worrying nihilistic trend, particularly in the gaming sector. Such distortions would seem to signify Western preferences, albeit ones shaped by real stakeholders, shape everyday perceptions of the East and its representation. This study traces oriental approaches through the use of space and architecture in several popular films and games and tries to understand the logic behind their visualization.

The Cinema of Transcaucasia in the 1920s and 1930s

The paper is concerning the Soviet seizure of the cultural space of Transcaucasia and the establishment of „national“cinematography in the Soviet republics of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in 1920s – 1930s. The Soviet power realizing the influential potential of cinema turned it into instrument of state propaganda. The three Transcaucasian film studios (in Tiflis, Yerevan, Baku) had a common task – to change the image of the East as exotic world and to alternate it with the image of the Soviet East. At the same time each of the film studios was entrusted a specific role in the Soviet cinema: The Georgian film studio as the first established Transcaucasian studio initiated the earliest agitation films glorifying the Soviet republic and the earliest heroic – adventure (western) films „Red Devils“ (“Krasnye dyavolyata”) (1923). But as the most prominent success of the Georgian cinema was labelled the movie „Eliso“ (1928), which according to the Soviet critique was considered as „ historically realistic narrative about the struggles against the colonial politics of Tsar’s autocracy“. The role of the non-Muslim Armenia and the Armenian film studio was to contribute for the removing the yashmaks from the face of the East. About the highly evaluated from the Soviet propaganda film „Namus“ (1925) „the father of the Trans-caucasian cinema“ Hamo Bek-Nazarov received the recognition of being the first one to show the true image of the East without make-up. Another task of the Armenian cinema which was successfully done was to ridicule and relegate the independent Armenian republic, governed by the party of Dashnaktsutyun (1918-1920). Baku film studio was called upon to turn into centre of movies influencing ideologically and artistically the audience of Azerbaijan, Dagestan, Persia, Turkey and other Eastern countries. It was proclaimed to be national proletarian centre for export of socialism to „ the foreign countries of the East“. By Azerbaijan movies anti-Islamic Soviet propaganda was implemented denouncing „the reactionary essence of the Muslim priesthood “. Such are movies „Bismillah“ (1925) and „Sevil“(1929, co-production with Armenian film studio). The movie „Sevil“ came out during the campaign for removing the yashmaks which was organized and controlled by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It got the recognition of contributing for the „liberating of women of the East“. The movie is significant of the cooperation between the Azerbaijani playwright, poet and screenwriter Jafar Jabbarli, the film studio in Baku today is named after him, and the Armenian director Hamo Bek-Nazarov, the film studio in Yerevan is also named after him. In the conclusions some myths about the Soviet Transcaucasian cinema are mentioned, myths already demystified. The Transcaucasian cinema from 1920s – 1930s was not a result of free and creative exchange of knowledge and experience but it was created in a capsulated world under the control of the Soviet power. That is way the whole story of this cinema from the beginning of the 20th century is full of examples for its use for narrow political aims.

REPRESENTATION OF ISLAM AND MUSLIMS IN WESTERN FILMS: AN “IMAGINARY” MUSLIM COMMUNITY

This article provides a textual and visual analysis of Hirsi Ali and van Gogh’s controversial short film Submission (2004) and Marc Forster’s The Kite Runner (2007). Emphasis is placed on rhetorical and plot strategies, aimed at reinforcing unproductive Orientalist stereotypes of Islam and Muslims. The aim of this analysis is to find out how Muslims and Islam are presented in Submission and The Kite Runner, based on E. Said's (1978) work “Orientalism” and to identify Theo van Gogh's assassination, influenced public attitudes towards Muslims. The following means are used to reach the aim: to analyze the concept of Orientalism and stereotypes, connections with the media and the influence of popular culture on their expression; to find out the role of the Muslim minority in the process of constructing social reality (stereotypes); to analyze how Muslims and Islam are presented in the films Submission and The Kite Runner. Summarizing the analysis of the film Submission, it should be noted, that the main character is supposedly portrayed as being oppressed by Islamic culture, who lived in complete isolation, thus reinforcing the negative attitudes and stereotypes in society towards Muslims, especially women. However, the subject of Submission, feminism or the oppression of women was never the main subject of discussion, on the contrary, it was Islamic radicalism, extremism and terrorism. Meanwhile, after analyzing the film The Kite Runner, it should be noted, that the plot reveals stereotypes about Islam and Muslims that exist in both Western and Eastern societies. Oriental characters are portrayed in the film as much lower in morality and values than, for example, Westerners. The film’s episodes emphasize the fanatical consequences of both terrorism and Islamism, and the relationship between the main characters reflects the orientalist culture of Afghanistan.