Mala Noche and The Discipline of D.E. both present the film in black and white, excluding when the credits are scrolling in Mala Noche. It's interesting to note that we are comparing The Discipline of D.E., directed by William Burroughs because he has made the biggest impact on Gus Van Sant as a mentor. Both of the movies use narration to guide the viewer, several extreme close-ups in the cinematography and low lighting (lots of shadows). In contrast, Mala Noche uses a great deal of diegetic and non-diegetic music, versus The Discipline of D.E. that has no music, and no diegetic sound until the very end of the movie when the two men at the bar are conversing.
2. Briefly comment on the narrative structure of Mala Noche. How is it similar or different from Classical Hollywood narrative?
In Mala Noche, the first to notice is the lighting. In Classical Hollywood, three point lighting is used, which is not the case in Mala Noche, using natural lighting or the props being used as the true lighting (no hidden lights). Also, In Classical Hollywood, the film is wrapped up into known conclusion leaving no doubt as to what has happened to the characters. However, in Mala Noche, the ending is ambiguous with Walt still longing for Johnnie, never to know if they end up together or if Johnnie will get deported again. The film is similar with continuity editing trying not to draw attention to the editing itself with each scene creating a reason for the next. The mise-en-scene is very realistic as to the run down environment Walt lived in and the store he worked in. In Mala Nochea multitude of extreme-closeups are used which is different from classical hollywood where only a few may be seen.
3. Briefly re-state the following passage in your own words: “By conceptualizing authoring as a technique of the self, as a citational practice, an individual person ‘authors’ by duplicating recipes and exercises of authorship within a cultural and institutional context that understands such acts as agency and repetition of such acts as signs of individuality. Moreover, acts that differ from dominant expressions may become favored performatives of authorship for minorities because they distinguish the speakers’ expression from other dominant authoring expressions.”
By giving life to ideas and explaining them, the 'authors' tell their story through their own perceptions influenced by individual cultural and institutional forces. People favor expressing their individuality more than a generalized perception because it speaks more of their individuality and more closely reflects their own personal agency.
4. In your own words, briefly define the six tactics associated with minority authorship.
Alter Egos can either be an expression of the author him/herself, or a character that the author wishes to be.
Silence is used as a way to express the individual character by means of art or some form of art as pictures representing a thousand words.
Repetition is a favorite of Gus Van Sant, ranging from "mimicry to paraody or camp". Repetition is used as a means of expressing a point or idea.
Recombination for minority authorship is the formation of new combinations, a hybridization of ideas, so to speak.
Inversion uses the opposite of the dominant role to give the viewer a perception of reality different from the "norm".
Accentuation uses a moment that elaborates a particular idea.
5. What point does Staiger make when she compares critical speculation about the intent of using Shakespeare in My Own Private Idaho with Van Sant’s own comments about his use of Shakespeare in the film?
Staiger is making the point that Gus Van Sant is trying to use the same homoerotic illusion of latent homosexuality in My Own Private Idaho versus Shakespeare's boy actors.
For Staiger, how does Van Sant’s comments partially explain his use of intertexual references in many of his films?
Staiger uses Van Sant's comments to explain the alter ego presented in a couple of his films.
6. What is the relationship between Van Sant’s use of intertexual references and what Staiger calls his “post-gay” stance?
Staiger establishes that Van Sant relates with the homosexual minority but doesn't want to be defined only as a gay director.
7. Briefly explain why Staiger argues that ironical repetition is Van Sant’s foundational authorial tactic.
This tactic is evident in Van Sant's films through his use of accentuating "off-beat" plots as would Andy Warhol with his pop-art.
8. How is the casting of Van Sant’s Psycho an example of the tactic of inversion?
Van Sant's Psycho was a play on Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, with Van Sant using Vince Vaughn known as a heterosexual as Norman Bates when Hitchcock used a gay actor previously. Also, using Anne Heche who at one point was thought to be a lesbian, creating a new meaning of "lesbian deflection" from Vaughn's "gaze". Inverting the character's based on their personal lives as would Hitchcock do in his films as well.
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