Group D answers from 3/5 reading and questions for 3/10 readings

Alea thinks that Cuban cinema’s social function in Cuba serves several purposes. The first is that it should “elevate the viewer’s revolutionary consciousness” and to prepare them for the ideological struggle they will face in terms of the reactionary tendencies they face, since much of Cuban cinema deals with social progress and realities of Cuba. The other purpose is that it should bring enjoyment to their life. Cuban cinema should bring social and political awareness to viewers’ lives, and carry on with them after they are no longer watching the movie.

Alea discusses how film originated from the bourgeoisie, and that means of film production and conventions were created in the inventions of the bourgeois taste and needs. Furthermore, film became popular in the sense that it could attract a large, diverse crowd, but it was not popular in the sense that it was a true expression of the people. Since film originated from bourgeois interests, Alea argues that it’s better for capitalism interests. This is because cinema has never been able to successfully fuse revolutionary ideology with mass acceptance that way socialist interests want cinema to do. This relates to the Revolution beause if revolutionary ideology in cinema could be accepted by the masses, it would be an effective medium to use as a tool in order to reach the broadest audience and spread a message.

Throughout his discourse, Alea repeatedly states that cinema is clearly marked by class origins. He observes that there have been small rebellions within the realm of cinema, but "cinema continues to be the most natural incarnation of the petty bourgeois spirit which encouraged cinema at its birth more than eighty years ago." Alea goes on to draw attention to a capitalist spirit associated with the cinema and broader entertainment industry. Cinema became a "cultural/cultured" art due to cinema's need for as large an audience as possible. In Alea's words: "they did not want to evaluate cinema to the category of true art. Art and the people didn't get along." Cultural art allowed cinema to appeal to the masses without the same kind of blind ignorance applied to other forms of art

Q1. How does Hayward explain the relationship between nation and state?

Q2. Does the article assert that culture is distinguished by its tangible characteristics (ie, cinema, specific films) or by the broader intangibles?

Q3. What assumptions about nationalism does Willemen’s article rest upon?

Q4. How does Willemen relate the national and the international, and identity and subjectivity in socio-cultural formations through Mikhali Bakhtin’s idea of “creative understanding”?

Q5. Why does the foundations of cinema differ between countries depending on the dynamics at work within and between industrial and governmental institutional networks?

GROUP C QUESTIONS for March 5

1. What does Alea think Cuban cinema's social function should be?

2. What does Alea mean, when he says, "cinema almost always has responded better to capitalism's interests than to socialism's?" How does that relate to the Revolution? 

3. Why was cinema considered "cultural art" rather than just "art?"

Group C: Espinosa Articles Responses

1. What is “imperfect cinema” according to Julio Garcia Espinosa? How does he
   predict art creation and spectatorship will change in the future?

Espinosa describes a perfect cinema as a ‘technically and artistically masterful’ one. Imperfect cinema comes from a true artist who is prepared to take any risk, knowing that the product will still be artistic expression. Espinosa basically treats perfect cinema as one that is mass produced, to fit the expectations or ‘needs’ of an audience who is not really interested in the artistic form. Imperfect cinema ‘finds a new audience in those who struggle, and it finds its themes in their problems. For imperfect cinema, “lucid” people are the ones who think and feel and exist in a world which they can change; in spite of all the problems and difficulties, they are convinced that they can transform it in a revolutionary way. Imperfect cinema therefore has no need to struggle to create an “audience”. In contrary to the perfect cinema, imperfect cinema is “no longer interested in quality or technique. It can be created equally well with Mitchell or with an 8mm camera in a studio or in a guerrilla camp in the middle of the jungle. Imperfect cinema is no longer interested in predetermined taste, and much less in “good taste.” Espinosa refers to Marx by stating that “in the future there will be no longer painters, but rather men, who amongst other things, dedicate themselves to painting” this can be related back to the notion that perfect cinema does not concentrate on the essentials of art itself, and so anyone can do it. Espinosa mentions that for the future, folk art will be the essence. “There will be no need to call it that, because nobody and nothing will any longer be able to paralyze again the creative spirit of people. Art will not disappear into nothingness; it will disappear into everything.”

2. What are the three problems that Espinosa believes comes with producing cinema? Can these problems be overcome? How are these problems portrayed in Cuban cinema?

Espinosa first discusses art as a “disinterested activity.” Espinosa talks about using cinema as an art to discuss interests without camouflaging them. He cites war films that denounce war while showing it as a grand spectacle as disingenuous. Espinosa then identifies three problems with producing cinema. The first problem is the “addressee.” Espinosa says films are mostly made for an unaware public that does not have the potential to participate in changes. Espinosa says the addressee should be shifted to those struggling and who are in the process of producing changes. The second problem is “quality.” Espinosa discusses the idea of Paris as a quality city over Hanoi. But Espinosa says he finds the imperfections of producing a picture without makeup more attractive. Espinosa says contemporaneity and modernity are being depicted as the most common realities, and when this goes against the theme of a film, it can be consequential to the film’s purpose. The third problem is referred to as “an economy of waste.” Espinosa says this happens when great capitalist countries incite unnecessary consumption in much smaller, less developed countries. These countries can never reach such economic size, and Espinosa says they do not have to. But works of art should “contribute to eliminating the culture of waste.”

3. According to Espinosa, why is the revolution the most important factor in cultivating a national Cuban cinema as well as Cuban popular art in general? Why is the revolution itself an expression of culture?

Espinosa says the revolution enables the dissolution of elitist concepts and practices in art. The revolution is the only way to make the “total and free presence of the masses” possible. With this comes “the definitive disappearance of the rigid division of labor and of a society divided into sectors and classes.” Espinosa calls the revolution the highest expression of culture because it will stop the fragmentary activity of art.  

4. According to Espinosa, who are the audience for “imperfect cinema”?

Espinosa says the audience for “imperfect cinema” is those who struggle. Artists have had elite audiences condition the form of their work. Imperfect cinema is not concerned with quality, technique, or good taste. Imperfect cinema does not celebrate results. It instead shows the process that generates problems. Its audience is struggling and “lucid.” They think, feel, and exist in a world they can change. In spite of their struggles and difficulties, they believe they can change their world in a revolutionary way.

Group B responses and questions

Questions to answer for February 12th:

1. How is the film PM a study about textures?

The film PM is a study about textures because of the way it was filmed, through primitive means of production through the use of an old wire recorder, a 16mm hand camera costing only $500. By using this type of film, the spectator is really able to see what the film itself is made of through its physical sense, while also gaining an understanding of the of time period and place in which it was shot. The article says that it is a “moving mural,” in which the viewer is able to really see the techniques and materials used to make the work a piece of life-like art.

• Margo Friedland

2. How does the primitive form of production reflect Cuban life and place within modernity?

Because of the censorship set by the Film Insitute and the high-level of Government control in television, media production in Cuba was highly concentrated on the socialist subjects during the 1960s. Anything deemed to be anti-socialism was banned from showing to the public and only the ones approved by the officials were allowed to publish. The primitive form of production during this time period could be seen as the reflection of the primitive Cuban lifestyle- a lifestyle where the citizens were heavily controlled and oppressed by the Government.

- Qing Yu

3. How did censorship and extortion effect available media and reflect political agendas?

The Comision Revorsora was a censorship office that used to just eliminate clips showing images of soft core porn. However, after the Film Insitute took control of the Comision Revorsora, they banned any films they considered to be counter-revolutionary or politically dangerous. They had control over everything that had to do with films, from making pictures, to importing them, distributing them and exhibiting them. This monopoly power gave them the ability to pick and choose media that only reflected their political agendas and to censor everything that went against their beliefs.

• Halle Lucas

4. How did Castro exert power through television?

Castro’s use of television was similar to Hitler’s use of the PA systems during the 1930’s in Germany. Surprisingly enough, there were more televisions in Cuba in 1960 than there were in Italy, so Castro was able to reach a large audience through the TV. It was here that he could show his dominance and power, as well as express his own political agenda.

-Marilyn Head

5. How did  television and print agencies threaten Cuban ideals?

Television and print agencies threatened Cuban ideals because they had the ability to disseminate information quickly and easily to the masses domestic and abroad. A regime that wants to keep it’s dealings and, more specifically negative aspects a secret is wary of keeping media under close watch. In the article it give many examples of people being exiled for filming things that they shouldn’t have. One which stands out is Orlando Jimenez- Leal, who was caught recording footage of the Presidents shaky hands while giving a speech, something which in the regimes eyes showed weakness. This act caused him to leave Cuba.

-max

New Questions for February 24th:

1. What is “imperfect cinema” according to Julio Garcia Espinosa? How does he predict art creation and spectatorship will change in the future? -Halle Lucas
2. What are the three problems that Espinosa believes comes with producing cinema? Can these problems be overcome? How are these problems portrayed in Cuban cinema? - Margo Friedland
3. According to Espinosa, why is the revolution the most important factor in cultivating a national Cuban cinema as well as Cuban popular art in general? Why is the revolution itself an expression of culture? - Marilyn Head
4. According to Espinosa, who are the audience for “imperfect cinema”? Please elaborate your answer.  

Group A Responses and New Questions

What kind of effects on Cuban cinema and society did US aid have at the turn of the 20th century?

·      Havana’s population exploded to half a million

·      The first projection of cinema in this bustling, transforming Havana were scraped together affairs. Moving pictures were sometimes shown infront of “legitimate” theaters.

·      The Reciprocity Treaty in 1903, which dissolved Cuban trade and investment barriers, would eventually include significant reductions in duties and taxes charged to US film companies

How did the culture of Hollywood (in the 1920s) influence the way Cuban women dressed and behaved, and how did this Hollywood culture in Cuba help to sell US products?

·      Many Cuban women fought nature and exhausted bank accounts for sex appeal, glamour, and flapper like looks. Also thinness, lightened skin, blondness, up-to-date fashions and updated kitchen through U.S. imports.

·      U.S. products often relied on Hollywood salesman ship. Hollywood culture not only sold U.S. products but also inculcated ‘consumerist forms of social identity.’

What was the “Grupo Minorista”, what were their political views, and what was their goal/purpose?

·      A subsection of the Generation of ’30 colleagues. Its members were cultural critics and radical activists, leading the charge of mass organization and protest. Their policies called for the transformation of Cuban consciousness through the ‘revision of false and wasteful values.’

·      Endeavored to speak to and for the majority, forward a vision of an independent Cubanland

New Questions for "Mea Cuba," February 12th:
How is the film PM a study about textures
How does the primitive form of production reflect Cuban life and place within modernity?
How did censorship and extortion effect available media and reflect political agendas?
How did Castro exert power through television?
How did  television and print agencies threaten Cuban ideals?

Group D's Responses and New Questions for feb 5th readings

1. What was the Cuban government trying to accomplish by making tourism their main focus for the economy?

Interest in the Cuban tourism industry largely stemmed from a fluctuating sugar market that the island had very much relied on prior to the 1920s. Government officials and tourism promoters alike looked to facilitate a boom that would lead Cuba and its capital city of Havana towards becoming a kind of American Riviera or “Paris of the western hemisphere.” By bringing in wealthy tourists, including many Americans looking to avoid alcohol prohibition in the United States, Cuba had the potential to flourish economically - these tourists provided a flow of money to hotels, casinos, clubs, and other sites of attraction (eg, Hershey’s model town).

2. What are the similarities and differences between the tourism boom of the 1920's and of the 1950's?

“The rationale for tourism in the 1950s mirrored that of the 1920s: an alternative revenue source when sugar slumped at the close of the Korean War; foreign investment collaboration; collapse brought about by revolution and the loss of investors’ cash.”

The main difference can be found in the new demographics and the industry’s impact on Cuban society circa 1950. Thousands of middle/working class tourists would travel to Cuba on a regular basis using paid vacation time or package deals supplied by travel companies and airlines. Pan American Airways alone provided sixty to eighty round-trip flights a week from Miami to Havana at a reasonable fare. “Good times came in packages that looked more and more like the United States and less like an exotic foreign country. A mixed blessing for Cuba, 1950s tourism undeniably contributed to anti-Batista sentiment. Nevertheless, when revolutionaries chased Batista and the gangsters out, they tried to hold on to tourism.” Fidel Castro, even as he rallied against the US in the late 1950s, remained friendly towards travelers and believed that tourism could become Cuba’s largest business even after doing away with prostitution and gambling.

3.  What was the first philanthropic society and what were its goals?

Pro-Arte Musical was the first philanthropic society. It was created by Maria Teresa Garcia Montes de Gilberga in 1919, and it had “an openly nationalistic musical agenda.” The goal of the society was to promote Cuban music while also enhancing or elevating public taste.The society believe in conservative nationalist goals, and thought that the public should be listening to more “quality music.” The Pro-Arte Musical established a fund that helped bring about concerts featuring “notable foreign concert musicians” to Havana. The society also helped the formation of the first symphony in Cuba.

4. What are some of the complexities and ironies of afrocubanismo music and how did Ignacio Villa personify these? 

Afrocuban forms had the potential to serve as a barrier to national disintegration and the possibility of cultural subsumption by the United States. Although the music of afrocubanismo artists ultimately proved most effective in symbolizing Cubanness during the machadato, it was not the only form of nationalist composition. Pervasive biases against Afrocuban street culture among middle-class musicians problematized the acceptance even of salon rumbas, congas, and related musics as national expression. Many patriotic songs avoided racial references completely. Some works invoked the common struggles of the revolutionary war, the writings of Marti, or depicitions of the countryside in order to inspire nationalist sentiment. 

5.  In the context of musical expression, what was the essential conflict between nationalist aspirations and sociocultural attitudes in the late nineteenth, early twentieth century?  

Indigenous nationalism provided an alternative basis for constructing Cuban cultural heritage and offered an outlet for nationalist expression during a period of intense censorship by colonial authorities.  Patriotic sentiment could be expressed only through metaphor or indirect allusion. Reimagining the past and their relationship to it, advocates of musical indigenismo generated a considerable body of work inspired by historical figures.

NEW QUESTIONS:

Q for “Hollywood in Havana and the Birth of Critical Practice”:

What kind of effects on Cuban cinema and society did US aid have at the turn of the 20th century?

Q for “Hollywood in Havana and the Birth of Critical Practice”:

How did the culture of Hollywood (in the 1920s) influence the way Cuban women dressed and behaved, and how did this Hollywood culture in Cuba help to sell US products?

Q for “Hollywood in Havana and the Birth of Critical Practice”:

What was the “Grupo Minorista”, what were their political views, and what was their goal/purpose?”

Q for “Visual Arrangements, Sonic Impressions”:

What were some consequences that resulted from the sever between Cuba and the United States and how did music help alleviate tensions?

Questions for: Rosalie Schwartz, “The Invasion of the Tourists" and Robin Moore, “Nationalizing Blackness: The Vogue of Afrocubanismo,”

1. What was the Cuban government trying to accomplish by making tourism their main focus for the economy?
   
   
   
   2. What are the similarities and differences between the tourism boom of the 1920's and of the 1950's?
   
   
   3. What was the first philanthropic society and what were its goals?
   
   
   4. What are some of the complexities and ironies of afrocubanismo music and how did Ignacio Villa personify these? 
   
   
   5.  In the context of musical expression, what was the essential conflict between nationalist aspirations and sociocultural attitudes in the late nineteenth, early twentieth century?