Reference no: EM133581162

Question: Georges is the French spelling of George. The "s" is silent. To show possession, it would be written as Georges' or Georges's. Please refer to the director of the film as Haneke (not Michael) and the author we are reading as Wheatley (not Catherine).

1. Much of Caché revolves around Georges's response to the appearance of a series of mysterious videotapes and menacing drawings. In the beginning of the film, the camera often stays with Georges, offering the audience a chance to observe him in his interactions with his wife Anne, his son, Pierrot, and others, including his boss at the television station where he works. A conventional realist film would focus on characters whose lives are marked in some way by economic hardship. Georges lives comfortably with his family, though the tension in the family is palpable from the very first scene. We never quite get a sense of why all the characters are on edge with one another in this family. In his efforts to uncover the source of the tapes, Georges encounters Majid, a character from his past who has lived a very different life. A realist film might have followed Majid's story rather than focusing on Georges. The only time we get to see Majid and his son together they are in the back of a police van, with Georges sitting in the front. (Pay attention to the way the scene is shot. It is a masterful piece of filmmaking.) We learn a bit about Majid's life and about his relationship with his son when his son comes to confront Georges at the television station where he works. In this scene, something remarkable happens. The camera subtly turns away from following Georges to position us with Majid's son. At this moment we are able to see Georges through his eyes. What did you notice about how this scene unfolds? Pay close attention to the way the shot in the elevator is set up. What do you notice? What other important details seem important as this confrontation continues? Lecture 2 includes a video analysis of a conversation between two characters in Hitchcock's Rear Window. Apply what you find interesting about that visual analysis to your analysis of the conversation between Georges and Majid's son. What did this encounter leave you thinking or feeling about Georges? What do you think about the way he deals with feelings of guilt?

2. What did you learn about the history of France and Algeria, and the events of October 17, 1961 in particular in lecture four, that helped you understand the film more deeply? What do you think of Haneke's claim that every nation has events that the people in power would just as soon like to forget? If you were writing a remake of this film set in another country (perhaps the United States, or another country whose history you know well), what event would you substitute for the story of October 17, 1961?

3. In lecture five, I noted a few things that I found interesting about Wheatley's close reading of Caché that I hadn't noticed or thought about on my own. What was something that I didn't mention that you found especially interesting or helpful in her analysis? Cite the text and quote the passage that stayed with you. Be sure to include the page number. You don't need a full footnote, (Wheatley, page #) is fine.