Modern Literature and Composition
Kafkaesque Cinema Project
Alienation is alive and kicking as Cinema of the Kafkaesque continues at the annual Berent Film Festival.
Each of you will make a film short, either independently or with a group, that will explore Kafka’s themes as they apply to the world around you. Bear in mind as you plan your film that The Kafkaesque is “marked by a senseless disorientation, often menacing complexity,….(and by a) surreal distortion and a sense of impending danger” (class handout, “Kafkaesque”). Kafkaesque Cinema is a celebration of the weird, the random and the ridiculous, and its protagonists often meet an inexplicable fate because their existence in the universe is essentially meaningless. Thus, your aim is to make a riveting and darkly entertaining, intelligent film that is intended for audiences who like mind-expanding, nightmarishly existential films.
Here are a few basic features common to Kafkaesque film:
1. Characters lack a clear course of action and can’t see beyond immediate events
The walls of Gregor’s bedroom prevent him from seeing what his family is doing.
2. The choices available to a character do not include the possibility of escape
No matter what he does, Gregor is still trapped in his body and he is at the mercy of his
family, which is ill equipped to help or understand him.
3. Situations and events are incomprehensibly complex, bizarre or illogical,
and sometimes involve the element of magical realism. Gregor Samsa awakens
to find himself transformed into a gigantic insect).
4. Authority figures are antagonists, and their incompetence, along with their
power, makes them formidable obstacles. The father and the chief clerk in Kafka’s
story represent the corrupting influence of power. Blind obedience to authority is
expected, and there are serious consequence for non-compliance. However,
compliance is worse because once you acquiesce to a corrupt authority, you are
stripped of your individuality and humanity.
5. Societal institutions (education, economics, religion, politics, family, etc.)
maintain themselves by suppressing free expression; thus, artists, poets,
writers and intellectuals are often the protagonists in Kafkaesque films.
Gregor’s secret life is that of a sensitive artist (the beautiful woman inside
the pretty, gilt frame) , but that element has to be kept hidden from his family
and is a source of shame, both to him and to his family.
You will be expected to make a film that does not exceed 10 minutes in length that utilizes at least one element from #1-3, and at least one element from #4 and 5. Thus, you will have a surrealistic nightmare (#1-3) that is also a serious social or political commentary (#4-5).

On the day of the film festival, each of you will hand in a 2-3-page typed reflection/evaluation that will include the following information:
1.
Process. a detailed assessment of your individual contribution to the project; specifically what you did to move the film in an interesting direction. This must be a candid evaluation of your individual performance that includes a balance of self-praise (how the project benefited as a result of your contributions) and constructive criticism (what you could have done better or differently).
2.
Product.
A critique of the effectiveness of your final product: Did your film offer a distinctly Kafkaesque point of view, and was that point of view communicated in a coherent manner? This is your challenge, of course, as one of the motifs you are working with is incoherence (see principle #3).
Though the experiences you are depicting in your film may seem illogical, disorderly or inconsistent with reality, you must convey the conflict to your audience with clarity. If an intelligent audience can’t extract a meaningful idea from your film, then nothing can be gained from the experience. Does your film communicate the Kafkaesque, and if so, support your
evaluation with evidence from the five principles listed on the previous page.
Your grade on this project will be based on these two criteria, and each one will be worth 50 points. In other words, the paper you write is a carefully-written defense of your performance, and you will need to provide supporting evidence (detail) for each of the two criteria.
You will also complete an anonymous evaluation/feedback form for each member of your group in class on the day after the film festival, and the feedback that is written about you will be stapled to the back of your paper. It is my expectation that your self-evaluation will be reasonably consistent with the evaluations that are written about you, and for that to happen you need to carry your fair share of the work load and be candid about your shortcomings.
If you elect to work alone, then your grade will be based on your self-reflection and my assessment of your film.
If you’re working with a group, your final grade will be based on your self-evaluation, as well as the evaluations that are written about you, and this process requires you to conduct yourself with integrity.
Deadlines:
Wednesday, September 11: Reflective EssayTurnitin.com, 9:00 P.M.
Thursday, September 12: Hardcopy Due, Kafkaesque Film Festival, Day One
Friday, September 13: Kafkaesque Film Festival, Day Two