Week VIII

Buckland, Warren:

Summary:

The majority of Buckland's analysis is divided between two areas: Spielberg's use of allusion to film history in Raiders and his use of offscreen space. In the first category, Buckland examines how the film migh actually appeal more to the "informed" spectator, who recognizes these homages to past films and, especially, serials and sees it as enhancing their movie-going experience, than the "uninformed" spectator, who only enjoys the film for what's on the surface. This makes film-watching just as ambitious as film-making. Buckland goes on to examine the various sources of inspiration Spielberg draws from in many of his sequences in Raiders, in particular focusing on the sound serial Nyoka and the Tigermen. He identifies some particular allusions, but more broadly, its use of episodic structure, a delayed resolution, and cliff-hangers afer each "episode", of which he sees the film as having six. However, Buckland argues, Spielberg also uses dialogue, cinematography, and location to "elevate the B-movie serial to the level of the A-movie blockbuster." After another section comparing chases scenes in Duel and Raiders, an example of Spielberg's self-referentility, Buckland moves on to examining Spielberg's use of offscreen space. He is especially interested in the sequences in Marion's bar, in which off-screen space is used to delight and trick the viewer, making them feel they have more knowledge than they actually do by disguising Indiana's presence, before revealing that they actually know less.