Martin Arnold “ To kill a mocking bird” 1962
The period after 1980 is marked by postmodernism, thus putting pressure on the filmmakers to modify their films or make films that can freely adapt to any cultural context due to the rise of modern media. Over the years, Hollywood has been accepting migration of content from other nations, which is subjected to some changes which are neither cultural nor favoring one segment of people, thus making it adaptable in all cultures. However, issues have arisen concerning the acceptability of the evolution of modern culture in the field of film making.
Martin Arnold, in his film “ Passage À L’Acte(1993), manages to bring to different light issues associated with adapting different types of cinematic work across different nations and cultures. By transforming a scene in a Hollywood film “ To kill a mocking bird” 1962 without altering the cultural context, Martin Arnold can demonstrate how different content can migrate and work efficiently in different cultural backgrounds. Martin Arnold started making postmodern experimental films in the 1980s. This was after researching a lot on Hollywood as well as an avant-garde cinema under Peter Kubelka, who was also an innovative film producer from Austria.
The film “ Passage À L’Acte(1993) is only a section of the “ To kill a mocking bird” 1962, which was derived by an award-winning novel written by Harper Lee. The original script was made in adherence to the current Hollywood rules and abided in a specific cultural setting. Even after the enactment of the civil rights act in the year 1960, racial segregation against African Americans in the United States of America. The provision of the movie, which reflected positivity in curbing racial discrimination hence did fit well in the context of the people. The period was also marked by gender stereotyping; thus, bringing the issue into the light was essential.
The short film starts with a merely notable feature in the original movie (“ To kill a mocking bird” 1962) of Finch family in a dining table taking breakfast and children preparing for their first day to school with the father ordering the son not to leave the table before her sister. Martin Arnold manages to transform this small scene into a masterpiece by bringing by continually starting and stopping the narrative hence raising the curiosity of the person watching. Rearrangement of the events also does the trick by magically turning the previously dull scene into a fantasy. At some point, the scene appears ridiculous, but with the repetition, the relationship between the family members is well shown. Any spoken words in the short film are also subjected to repetition with a simple ‘yeah’ being transformed into a series of talks. The actors are also brought back and forth in the event without any particular task to execute hence showing how repetitive daily activities are.
One of the themes articulated in the short film is the sidelining of gender roles in the family. This is achieved through the use of repetition, where the authoritative nature of the male over the female in the family is evicted. Reduced moral authority is also shown as Carpulina; a nanny in the family is reduced to a small half-shape, thus showing her diminished power. Feminism is also heavily emphasized where the young girl, Scout, is seen to, at some point being at the mercy of her male colleagues. However, being armed with her advice of injustice from the father, she develops social norms, which are sexism.
One of the unique characteristics of the short film is the ability to use rhythm and repetition. Though sometimes irritating, themes such as gender roles and stereotyping are emphasized mainly. Recurrence is also used to show continuity of daily happenings of human life. Appropriate use of sound and music also plays a vital role in the creation of the short film. The music in the original movie, for example, is turned into the orchestra by being subjected to segmentation and repetition. The producer also manages to transform pure sounds such as the sound of a door banging to the music of a machine gun. The simple smirk of the girl is also turned into a loud noise. Being an experimental film producer, Martin Arnold has also made films similar to this. They include; Piece Touchee, which is excerpted from the human jungle movie of 1954. The scene from the original movie is also subjected to rhythm and repetition hence creating an entirely new thing.
In conclusion, Passage À L’Acte(1993) is a clear depiction of how flexible and versatile the film making industry is as the contents can be manipulated hence creating something entirely new to the audience. Therefore the film, which is a postmodern experimental movie, is a
n excellent example of how textural
ideas adopted from another culture can be subjected to
modifications to fit into the
context of another culture comfortably.
Of another culture comfortably.