Being John Malkovich
1. The tagline for this film is :
2. Even though its name references the internet, the "portal" is not represented as a technological experience. As a matter of fact, it seems to b completely a-technological and even old-fashioned. How do you see the representation of the portal in the film? How is this fantasy of being inside someone else related to some of the themes we have explored in the class?
3. Think about the way puppets and puppeteering are represented in the film. It would be interesting to trace the connection between the puppet performances here, and the Puppet Master in Ghost in the Shell. How do you understand the two representations of controlling others?
4. In a way, although the film descibes the experience of being inside John Malkovich's head as a matter of "seeing though someone else's eyes," the characters describe heir responses in relation to gender. For example, look at the progression of the following quotes about what it feels like for Lotte to be in John's body:
Craig: You were him weren't you? Lotte: Don't stand in the way of my actualization as a man.
John Malkovich's real middle name is Gavin. In the film, his character's middle name is Horatio.
Spike Jonze directed many music videos for "The Beastie Boys," including the hit music video "Sabotage" (starring the Beastie Boys who pose as cops in a drug bust).
The scene is which John Malkovich enters his own head to see a world populated by himself, references the short silent film The Playhouse directed by Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton. In this 1921 film Buster Keaton plays a stage hand, whose adventures on the set we follow in the film. The opening scene is a dream sequence, in which Keaton plays everyone in a theatre
simultaneously (through multiple exposures). He is the band
leader, all the members of the band, the dancers on the stage and
everyone in the audience.
Have a look at the official JM Incorporated website, where you have the opportunity to sign up and "See the world through someone else's eyes." You can select the "vessel" of your choice, make an appointment for the experience, and get e-mail updates about the prcess of your request.
The real puppeteer in Being John Malkovich is Phil Huber. As the official website describes it: "he manipulates strung painted wood with such conviction that not only will you find yourself emotionally affected, but left questioning whether or not there was some digital enhancement going on. But these are no scaly wombats from Jurassic Park, these are the real-deal Huber Marionettes, dancing and singing and loving in the tangible world, with but one man pulling the strings." Phil Huber has won an Emmy and the Puppeteers of America President's Award for Excellence in Puppetry. He and his partner David Alexander have entertained the Prince of Monaco, Japanese Heads of State, the rich and famous in casinos and on cruise ships, and made appearances on numerous TV shows.
Check out the official movie website for Being John Malkovich, in which you can also experience the live television broadcast of the chief of security Mark Noodleman. They call this the "Noodlecam" experience...
Craig Schwartz: John Cusack"Ever wanted to be someone else? Now you can."
This connects the film to some the themes we have been following through the semester. We have discussed the representation of real and fantasy worlds, the idea that a particular technology can enable a different relationship to the world, and the complicated ways in which embodiment and disembodiment work in our imagined responses to the possibilities of new technologies.
Lotte Schwartz: I think it's kinda sexy that John Malkovich has a portal, y'know, sort of like, it's like, like he has a vagina. It's sort of vaginal, y'know, like he has a, he has a penis AND a vagina. I mean, it's sort of like... Malkovich's... feminine side. I like that.
Lotte retains her own motivations and a sense of her own body, and her descriptions don't focus on what she saw, but on what she felt. This response alerts us to the fact that what proves exciting is not the ability to see out of his eyes, but the ability to participate in John's internal body functions. Ho do you understand the experience of "Being" John Malkovich? What visual, aural, emotional or sensual components are necessary to this experience?
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Lotte: Yeah.
Craig: And he was with her!
Lotte: We love her, Craig.
Craig: We.
Lotte: John and me.
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Lotte Schwartz: Cameron Diaz
Maxine: Catherine Keener
Derek Mantini: Ned Bellamy
Father at Puppet Show: Eric Weinstein
Daughter at Puppet Show: Madison Lanc
Woman in Elevator: Octavia Spencer
Floris: Mary Kay Place
Dr. Lester: Orson Bean
Wendy: K.K. Dodds
Don: Reginald C. Hayes
Captain Mertin: Byrne Piven
Tiny Woman: Judith Wetzell
John Horatio Malkovich: John Malkovich
Contact the instructor: dk2244@yahoo.com