Connections and Disconnections among the Younger Generations in Postmodern Cities

1
Connections and Disconnections among the Younger
Generations in Postmodern Cities

• Eldorado, Rescue, Crates of Stars
• Last Night

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Outline

• Young generations (e.g. Gen-X) Postmodern City
• Common Themes in the four texts
• Eldorado Loneliness Dis/connections youngsters
• Rescue Camera world and Suicide
• Crates of Stars Drifting Stars
• Last Night Ways of Facing the End

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Definition of Generations

• Silent Generation (age 54-71)
• hard working, economically conscience, and
  trusting of the government. Very optimistic
  about the future and held a strong set of moral
  obligations.
• Boomer Generation (from 1946 1964, age 36-53), a
  strong set of ideals and traditions, politically
  conservative and active and fairly socially
  liberal.
• Gen-X (age 15-35)
• Millenial Generation (14 and younger)
• materialistic, selfish, and disrespectful.
• very aware of the world and very technologically
  literate.
• trying to grow-up too fast,
• have no good role models to look towards. (source)

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X generation

• Douglas Coupland's 1991 book Generation X.
• born between 1964 and 1974
• white, upper-middle class, college-educated,
  located near urban centers, and lives primarily
  on the coasts. Generation X-ers are hip, ironic,
  lack motivation and suffer ennui.
• (source)

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X generation

• We've been called the Twentysomething
  Generation,'' following in the footsteps of the
  thirtysomethings who came before us. Also, the
  Me Generation.'' The Lost Generation.'' The
  Generation Without a Conscience.'' Or, Yuppies
  With a Conscience But Without Fat Paychecks.''
  Quite frankly, at the moment I think we're too
  much in the midst of it all to define ourselves.
  (source)

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Other stereotypes of generations X, Y, Z . . .

• TV/PC generation
• slot-machine generation (for instant
  satisfaction)
• Imagistic thinking and random association (???)
  like MTV, lack of commitment or critical
  distance
• All of the above are partial truths or just a
  myth (reference
• http//www.jour.unr.edu/outpost/specials/genx.over
  vw2.html )

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Postmodern City

• Rapid and excessive technologization
• Anti modernization/rationalization
  boundary-breaking green city, etc.
• Image society camera TV screen
• Information society
• metropolis on the move

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Common Themes

• 1. The characters
• Disaffection Lack of commitment
• Instabilities (jobs, income,emotional trauma,
  etc.)
• Immersion in media and camera world.
• 2. Fragmentary plots with chance encounters (also
  in "When the Day Breaks, In the Skin of a Lion,
  "En Passant, Desperanto.)  
• 3. Human Connections made possible by urban
  systems
• Transportation bus, car, gas, people walking,
  roller-blading
• Telephones
• TV and radio
• Cables and wires of all sorts
• Public spaces grocery stores, supermarket, park
  and cemeteries.

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Edorado (1995)

• Director Charles Binamé began his film career as
  an assistant director at the National Film Board
  in 1971, and later moved on to direct
  documentaries for television.
• Direct Cinema style natural lighting,
  improvisational dialogue, shouldered camera.
• On Eldorados style "A film a chaotic, just like
  life and that's what is stimulating. In the
  midst of this chaos, there is a raw truth which
  emerges and captures our attention.

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The Younger Generations in Postmodern Cities

• ". . . we do have this perception of a
  generation that's lost, frightened, with no
  future. I asked myself, how do they live, are
  they much different from what I was like at their
  age, what are their options?
• Biname, director of Eldorado
• Question What are the youngsterss problems?
  What is the raw truth in Eldorado? (clip 14)

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The apparently strong and weak

• Rita--traumatic past, drug-dealing, stealing,
  cannot touch others or be touched
• Loulou--discontented bored
• Marc a musician who works in a liquor store,
  hurt by Lou Lou, find help/refuge in sex shop or
  video games
• Henriette -- want to know how to connect,
  sexually or otherwise.

• Roxan active in helping others with traumatic
  past, harmed by the ones she helps
• Lloyd shock-jock, but can only talk does not
  know how to commit himself.

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Questions

• Is the ending trite or weak?
• How are the characters connected with or
  disconnected from each other?

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Disconnections

• Marc and Lou Lou -- M cannot understand Lou Lou,
  is not willing to be "mothered" by Lou Lou.
• Henriette --
• sexual fantasies about Lloyd, (clips 18, 29)
• silence from the shrink, rejecting him at the
  end, moving away. (32)
• connect with Rita, but misses her (clips 21 26
  34 )
• Rita from her boyfriend, and everybody else.
  (20 36)
• Roxan -- get the puppet back herself?
• Rita misses the chance to make up.

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Connections

• Rita and Lloyd --
• Rita's reckless moments on the car, shooting L
  with a water gun
• miss the chance to comfort Rita once.

Image source
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Raw truth

• Solitude, as conveyed by the cello. (clip 28)

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Crates of Stars

• Theme Friends drifting together and apart.
• Language use of hyphen, interesting
  descriptions e.g. pp. 75, 77, 78, 79
• Style an open-ended collage

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No Past, No Future No Commitment

• What does the title mean?
• stars pp. 75 77 80 83 aspiring youngsters
  looking for the glamorous.
• Cs Past pp. 77 cant go home 78
• Future each bound for different places
• Texas, Calgary, Halifax. The narrator --pp. 78,
  82, 83

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Momentary Contacts

• Fun moments avocado in microwave
• Rescue C out of the theatre.
• The narrator tries to be Christinas friend, but
  cannot offer sympathy pp. 81-82

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Rescue Camera and Suicide

• What role does the baseball cap and his camera
  crew play? Are they a team of candid camera?
• Who is/are committing suicide? Why does Milton
  rescue Teresa? Who is Ariel?

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The poor youth exposed by/to the camera

• Miltons family in Mandys description
• pp 274-75.
• Leonard, Connie, Mandys son, their mother.
• Teresa expose her life too. 277/80
• Milton
• Resisting it pp. 274 75
• Self-conscious, equating camera with the world
  276
• expected to be a hero. 278
• Rejecting it (279-80). but still influenced by
  media (278 279)

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Suicide and failure to connect

• The mothers response to Miltons acknowledge of
  suicide 278-79
• Milton sees Ariel in Teresa sympathy no life
  279
• Miltons lame persuasion
• So young 277
• Feel lucky 280-81

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Last Night (1999)

• Director Don McKellar
• invited by French production company Haut et
  Court to contribute a film to their series 2000,
  Seen By..., featuring ten films about the coming
  of the new millenium from ten different countries
  (Tsai Min-Liangs Hole ? included).
• But as McKellar developed his story, he turns end
  of a millenium into end of the world.

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End of the World

• End of the World -- no reasons no authorities in
  charge of order no resistance to it, completely
  accepted by people
• Clues to what has happened
• the absence of nightfall
• people die one by one
• the government close down
• no bus, no stores opening

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The Various Responses

• I. gathering
• family gathering Patrick's family having a
  X'mas party watching video.
• religious gathering go on a canoe (Noah's ark?)
  prayer group
• party and final countdown "where's the party?"

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The Various Responses (2)

• II. do the best/craziest thing in life
• sexual adventures Craig
• piano concert
• Jogging
• Party
• (clip 5)

• III. Stay on the job till the last minute
• Teacher, Mrs. Carlson (Genevieve Bujold )--
  visiting her students (clip 4)
• TV anchor, Radio host
• gas company boss and secretary (clip 7)

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The Various Responses (2)

• IV. Losing grip
• mob on the street killing, destroying things,
  (clip 6)
• waiting for the bus -- "what driver? (clip 3)

• III. Staying Sanely Unaccompanied Patrick
• Refusing to be with his parents
• Turning down his friend's offer

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Questions

• How are the choices made by the characters
  reflective of their selves and their raison
  d'être?
• Patrick and Sandra seem to be opposite to each
  other. Why are they attracted to each other?
  Consider the following elements
• Patrick's reason to be alone
• Sandra's reason for getting married, and
• Sandra's way of facing the end of the world
• Patrick's responses to Sandra's dilemma.
• How are the characters connected in this film?
  And disconnected?