Analyzing The Wedding Banquet

1. Analyzing The Wedding Banquet Presented by: The Undecideds Team Members: Shawn Shadkam Tina Tien SafaAsad Efren Gutierrez Danny Zheng Kate Dahle

2. Wai Tung • Business Man • Secret that he cannot expose • Assimilated in American culture SafaAsad

3. Simon • Therapist • Wai Tung’s partner/lover. • Blends in with Wai’s family instantly

4. Wei Wei • A painter, and Wai Tung’s tenant • Marries Wai Tung for a green card. • Returns favor by having a shaky marriage.

5. Ma & Pa • Traditional Taiwanese Parents. • Understand their son’s position in different ways. • Would do anything to save their family’s face.

6. Theme Problems with being different. Conflict between the old and the young generation; the clash.

7. Symbols • Movie starts as a light comedy and gradually darkens representing the life of Wai Tung and his family. • Marriage of Wai and Wei Wei shows reunion of China and Taiwan. • Returning favors.

8. FILM THEORY Germaine Dulac • Background • The Italian futurist RicciottoCanudo (1879-1923) considered to be the very first theoretician of cinema • Silent Era- Germaine Dulac, Louis Delluc- Considered an art form because it differed from reality • 1960’s incorporated concepts from academia Definition Essence of the cinema Systematic concepts for understanding film's relationship to reality, the arts, individual viewers. Produce emotional and mental effects on the audience. • Key Theories • Psychoanalytic Film Theory- object of desire • Structuralist Film Theory- convey meaning through code • Feminist Film Theory- way women are portrayed • Queer Film Theory- portrayal of gay community Efren Gutierrez Efren Gutierrez- Citations- Wikipedia, Encyclopedia Britannica, Cinemateca.org, Jahsonic.com

9. The Wise Patriarch Trilogy • Mr. Gao’s Wisdom • Gives Simon the Hongbao Tension Culture Same Sex Relationship Marriage Parents Wei Wei - Pregnant Efren Gutierrez- Citations- Wikipedia, Encyclopedia Britannica, Cinemateca.org, Jahsonic.com

10. Style of Directing • Montage vs. Long takes • Montage:editing that uses cuts to place shots in conversation with one another. • Long takes, where shots last for a long time and keep the elements of a scene in deep focus, letting the viewer choose his or her points of emphasis • Hollywood style • it strives to make the reader forget the medium of film altogether and the effect feels natural to experienced viewers of film • The Brechtian Influence • directors and actors should strive to remind the audience of the artifice and artistry of the performance, calling attention to the processes of acting and production that underlie the film. DannyZheng

11. Shots • close-up/extreme close-up • medium close-up • medium shot • medium long shot • long shot • extreme long shot • shot/reverse-angle shot

12. Cuts • jump cuts • match cuts • montage cuts • compilation shots • Cutaways • cross-cuts

13. Editing • chronological editing • cross-cutting or parallel editing • deep focus • montage

14. Diegetic vs. Non-Diegetic Sound • Diegetic sound - It appears to emanate from the action portrayed on the screen, • Non-Diegetic Sound - a soundtrack would presumably not be heard by the characters in the fiction of the portrayed scene

15. Film Text • Film text is a general text, in different situations have different meanings, but there are three major implications: a single system to achieve the unique ideographic text; the performance of a system or code of the non-unique text type, such as the movie version , poems, etc.; for a variety of expressive activities and can refer to the original conditions of production activities in the significance of the text.

16. Characteristics of Three Movies • <<Pushing Hands>> discusses about “Tai Chi”. - metaphor of an old Chinese culture • <<The Wedding Banquet>> discusses about “homosexuality” and Chinese marriage customs. • <<Eat Drink Man Woman>> discusses about “cuisine”

17. Shot Analysis By: Shawn Shadkam

19. Shot: Mid Shot Camera Angle: Eye Level 1st Shot

20. Shot: Full Shot Camera Angle: Eye Level 2nd Shot

21. Camera Angle: Low Angle Shot: POV 3rd Shot Transition: Pan Left

22. Shot: Medium Long Take 4thShot

23. Saving Face EWS 375 Parallel Film Comparison Bi: Tina Tien

24. Idiomatic meaning of “Saving Face” • Face is a sociological concept meaning “dignity and prestige” • “Saving face” thus an act to protect a loss of dignity and prestige. • Name itself refers to the pan-East Asian social concept of “face”.

25. Main Characters of Saving Face

27. Brief Summary • 2004 American romantic comedy by Alice Wu • Focuses on Will, a surgeon, and her relationship with Vivian, a dancer • Struggles to help her mother (Ma) who is pregnant, unwed, and shunned by her father and the Chinese-American community • To regain her father’s “face”, she must marry a man whom she doesn’t love but the wedding is halted because Will after she finds out that Ma is in love with someone else

28. Summary (continued) • Vivian leaves for Paris because she is angry that Will is not comfortable being open about their relationship • After three months, Vivian's and Wil's mothers reunite the two at a party and they end up kissing in front of everyone in the center of the dance floor.

29. Symbols and Themes • Reputation vs. Individual desires • Cultural identity vs. Individual identity • Will’s struggle to be a “good daughter” as she is closed-mouthed about her relationship with Vivian • Generational conflict • Will’s grandmother, Mother and herself as a depiction of 3 generations of Chinese-Americans living in New York • Authority vs. Conformity • Both are present in The Wedding Banquet and Saving Face

30. Saving Face vs The Wedding Banquet Similarities Differences • Comedy/drama film • Cultural clashes and accepting sexual identity • Both films show depict the concept of “saving face” • Deals with the struggle with meeting cultural and familial obligations while reconciling sexual identity • Will and Vivian’s relationship and Simon and Wai-Tang’s are accepted in the end • The Wedding Banquet depicts an interracial relationship while Saving Face is of the same race • Simon and Wai-Tang try to cover up their relationship while Will eventually confirms with her mom the truth about her identity

31. My Big Fat Greek Wedding Family Lies Guilt Ceremony Secrets Tradition Culture Fear Love Reputation Duty Kate Dahle

32. My Big Fat Greek Wedding • You better get married soon. You're starting to look... old! – Gus Portokalos • There are three things that every Greek woman must do in life: marry Greek boys, make Greek babies, and feed everyone. –Tula Portokalos • If I didn’t let them lie, I’d never have gotten my grandchild. –Mr. Gao

33. QuizTime What does Wai Tang do for a living? Architect Business Panda Express Manager 2. In the Wise Patriarch Trilogy what was not one of the tensions depicted in the Wedding Banquet? a. Culture b. Same Sex Relationship c. Marriage d. Career 3. What type of camera angle is used to make the viewer feel small and the character look big and powerful? Low angle High angle Obtuse angle

34. 4. Where does Vivian go after Will is reluctant to be open about their relationship? Tokyo Paris Kabul Los Angeles 5. What are thing(s) Greek women should do in their life? Get Married to Greek Boys Make Greek Babies Feed Everyone All of the above 6. Which of the following is not belonging to style of Directing? A. Montage vs. Long takes B. Hollywood style C. Straight style D. The Brechtian Influence