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By Katlynn Mitchell & Tommy Fowler Slide 2 Our Argument The Puffy Chair is an independent film Mumblecore Production circumstances Genre (or lack thereof) Narrative Language Slide 3 Mumblecore Defined Specimens of the genre share a low-key naturalism, low-fi production values and a stream of low-volume chatter often perceived as ineloquence. Hence the name: mumblecore. - Dennis Lim Slide 4 Production Circumstances Budget $15,000 budget ($10,000 borrowed from parents) The films feel more like dialogues between filmmakers and their audiences and less like calling cards to the studios. - Dennis Lim Slide 5 Production Circumstances Equipment Panasonic mini DV AGDVX100A Re-shooting and editing Home video quality (CLIP) Slide 6 Production Circumstances Distribution Distributed by Netflix and Roadside Attractions I want more people to see our movies, but I didnt want to dilute what it is that were doing to get it to more people. - Mark Duplass Slide 7 Production Circumstances Slackavetes Improvisation Non professional actors (parents contribute once again) We don't do rehearsals. And we let the actors improvise the lines and say them however they want. But, there is no improv as far as where the story goes, that's pretty set in stone. - Mark Duplass Admired Cassavetes style Slide 8 Genre (or lack thereof) Genre Subversion Netflix categories: Comedy Drama Romance Other possibility: Road movie? Slide 9 Genre (or lack thereof) Road Movie Example Subversion Lack of Execution Slide 10 Narrative Conventional- sometimes radical Investment in the characters Plot is chronological Clear beginning, middle and end Resolution Slide 11 Narrative Conventional- sometimes radical Relationship>plotline and cinematography Mumblecore narratives hinge less on plot points than on the tipping points in interpersonal relationships. - Dennis Lim No change in knowledge throughout narrative. Slide 12 Immaturity Opening phone conversation Say Anything reference Past band is dead; underachiever Goes out of his way to be cheap Slide 13 Narrative Non-politicizing Focused on a set of relationships, not a serious social issue Paralleled relationships Slide 14 Narrative Non-politicizing He didnt feel he had anything to say right now about the Iraq war. The story of my life and my friends lives are the ones I can tell most completely. - Swanberg in All Talk? Typical for mumblecore (CLIP) Slide 15 Relationships Desiring ideal relationship Broken relationships Insistence on believing Inevitable need to move on Unavoidable fights Slide 16 Progression of the chair Slide 17 Slide 18 (CLIP) Slide 19 Progression of the chair Slide 20 Language Dialogue Inappropriateness Demurral Hesitation Noncommitment Slide 21 Language Performance Nonprofessional actors uncomfortable speaking on camera. Insecurity and embarrassment about voicing their characters ideas, desires, and feelings is not merely symptomatic of their lack of technique, it dovetails with a defining characteristic of the particular cohort (white, middle-class, twenty-something) to which the filmmakers and their quasi-fictional characters belong. - Taubin This is what mumblecore is trying to capture Slide 22 Conclusion The Puffy Chair is an independent film Definition of Mumblecore Low production value Unclear genre Relationship-driven narrative Independent language Slide 23 Class Discussion Do you agree with our argument? Does this movie have a genre? Do you agree its conventional and non- politicizing? Have you seen any other films that fit into this (mumblecore) movement? Slide 24 Citations http://thefilmlot.com/interviews/INTduplassbros.php http://Netflix.com Interview: Mark Duplass for Cyrus; video on YouTube Lim, Dennis. "A Generation Finds Its Mumble." The New York Times. August 19, 2007. Nichols, Bill. Engaging Cinema: An Introduction to Film Studies. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2010. Print. Taubin, Amy. "All Talk?" Film Comment. November/December 2007.