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Cinema and The City course Reflection paper
Essay Instructions:
Assignment Overview:
In this assignment, you will reflect on the statement below by architect and urbanist Rem Koolhaas. Your
paper should showcase your learning and engagement with the course materials (lectures, films,
discussion forums, media kiosk materials) throughout the term.
The Statement:
“The city is a reflection of society, a cultural product which in turn becomes a source of inspiration.
Throughout time, it has oscillated between the ideal image and the negative model. New urban
experiences brought by the modern city of the twentieth century became a source of inspiration for
filmmakers. We can say that with modernism, the city becomes the main protagonist of cinematographic
works. The relationship between the city and cinema is a two-way street, because cinema was in turn a
significant influence on the mindset of twentieth-century cities and on how they are built in the collective
imaginary.”
–– Rem Koolhaas
Guidelines for the Reflection Paper:
Topic:
Reflect on the mutual influence between cinema and the city, as described by Koolhaas. Use examples
from the course materials—lectures, film screenings, media kiosk items, and readings—to support your
reflection. You do not need to mention every film covered; focus on those most relevant to Koolhaas’
statement for you.
I will upload the list of films you can relate the paper to from this course, as well as some course materials.
Essay Sample Content Preview:
The City and Cinema as Reflection, Inspiration, and Imagination
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The City and Cinema as Reflection, Inspiration, and Imagination
Introduction
The relation of urbanism to the cinema, as described by Koolhaas, is generated by the phrase: “The city is that image of society that is itself a cultural artifact, a product that then becomes a producer.” The relationship between the two is illustrated in the films World in a City (2016), Skyscraper Symphony (1929), Joker (2019), The Skyscrapers of New York (1906), and Night Raiders (2021), revealing that cities mirror values of societies, and are rich sources of inspiration. These films do not represent cities simply as backdrops as they are constituent aspects of story, visual, and signifying; these movies show how cinema captures and re-stages the dynamics of urban existence.
The City as a Reflection of Society
World in a City is a short documentary by Brett Story in 2016 to capture the diverse city identity of Toronto. As the film specializes in immigration and demonstrates how immigrants build new lives in New York, it also depicts how cities embody values that citizens of the world, such as equality and multiculturalism. The story establishes the undertow of neighborhoods saturated with languages, food focuses, and immigration cultures, thus building the city of its immigrants and immigrants’ city. Regarding the goals and concerns of the society, language programs, cultural celebrations, and markets are very effective in narrating the story of a society that aims at building a dream world of an integrated society. The narrative that is closest to this movie is the warm observational camera that accentuates belonging to an organism called a city at the hands of its inhabitants. Link: https://www.nfb.ca/film/world_in_a_city/?utm
The City as Inspiration for Filmmakers
In Robert Florey’s 1929 avant-garde short Skyscraper Symphony, New York City’s skyline of Skyscrapers is the protagonist. These shots were recorded during the years of active construction of new buildings and architectural innovations; thus, Florey captures the appropriate amazement of contemporary skyscrapers. Through the dynamic of the camera with bits of high angles, accurate montage, and smooth motion picture, the filmmaker manages to orchestrate the city's civilization into lines, figures, and silhouettes of rhythmical progress.
This silent piece is a worthy example of an artistic portrayal of modernity and the avant-gardism of how the city ...
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