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"The Incoherent Text"
101
Transcript
The Incoherent
Text
Narrative
in the
70's
Summary
Article Summary
- "The Incoherent Text" was written by Robin Wood as an analysis of coherence and incoherence in film, specifically "Taxi Driver", "Looking for Mr. Goodbar", and "Cruising".
- Wood feels that "Cruising" has a strange level of coherence. He does not know what Friedkin, the director, has in mind with this film. Wood describes the narrative as "obscure".
- Who committed the murders?
- The answer is left up in the air.
- The police believe that Stuart is the killer, but there is another murder while he is hospitalized. If he is the killer, he is motiviated by visions of his dead father. Killing gay men shows his father that he is a man and also kills the gay man inside of him.
- Steve Burns might be the killer. We are unsure if he is engaging in gay sex while he is undercover. Before his incident with Stuart, he sings the song that is sung before a previous murder. He also lives next door to the last murder victim.
- By not showing who the murder is, blame is placed on the entire gay culture.
- Wood notices a large use of homophobia in "Cruising".
- There are absolutely no positive images of gay culture or society in general. All the audience sees is corruption and violence.
- Friedkin uses gay culture to define domination relationships.
- Wood cannot identify with the movie's depiction of gay culture because of the extreme violence.
The Clip
Clip Number 1
- In this scene, the clothes designer is killed. We only see that the killer is dressed as a cop. Next, we see Burns entering his apartment looking stressed. Any thoughts?
Clip Number 2
- The police believe that they have found the killer while Burns and the suspect are in a hotel room. We can see the homophobia and police corruption rampant in the film.
Discussion
Questions
1. What part did Nancy play in the movie "Cruising"?
2. How did the lighting, or the lack of, affect what we knew about characters?
3. How does the corruption in the police force add to the incoherence of the movie?
The End!
Movie Summary
- "Cruising" was released in 1980, set in 1970's New York, starring Al Pacino.
- The movie shows the life of gay S&M subculture. Al Pacino's character is undercover searching for a serial killer who targets gay men.
- The movie encountered critique from the gay community. The film was deemed anti-gay.
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