Lecture Notes: Dr. Jasna Kapoor on Third Cinema

Introduction to Dr. Jasna Kapoor

• Dr. Jasna Kapoor, a scholar of film and media studies.
• Director of the University Honors Program and professor at Southern Illinois University.
• Author of books:
  • "The Politics of Time and Youth in Grand India, Bargaining with Capital" (2013)
  • "Coining for Capital, Movies, Marketing and the Transformation of Childhood" (2005)
• Founding co-editor of the journal "Studies in South Asian Film and Media".
• Published on Marxist feminist theory, media arts, politics of labor, class, race, and sexuality.

Lecture Topic: Third Cinema

• Distinction between popular culture and mass culture via cinema.
• Definition: Cinema as a mass medium, centralized for the masses.
• Exploring if cinema can be considered popular culture.

Third Cinema Movement

• Originated in Latin America in the 1960s during the decolonization process.
• Conceptual movement, not limited to geography.
• Filmmakers as theorists and participants in revolutionary movements.

Key Figures and Influences

• Fernando Solanas and Octavio Gattino: Advocated cultural struggle as part of economic and political struggle.
• Influenced by the non-aligned movement and figures like Che Guevara, Ho Chi Minh, Frantz Fanon.
• Fanon emphasized decolonization as both political and personal.

Characteristics of Third Cinema

• Spatial: Occupies physical spaces like screens, theaters, universities.
• Temporal: Occurs in time, has duration like poetry or music.
• Indexical: Points to existing reality, allows bearing witness.
• Mass Medium: Can be broadcast widely.

Techniques and Potential

• Montage: Editing technique to show conflict, contradictions, and oppositions.
• Revolutionary Filmmaker: Engages in critical struggle, emphasizes solidarity and teamwork.
• Democratic Distribution: Resistance to centralized distribution, screenings as interactive events.

Films and Filmmakers

• "Tire Die" by Fernando Berri: Highlights beggar children, showcases montage technique.
• "Hour of the Furnaces" by Solanas and Gattino: Depicts imperialism and dependency, uses montage to juxtapose realities.
• Patricio Guzman: Documented the Chilean coup in "Battle of Chile", emphasized historical consciousness.

Historical and Cultural Context

• Film as a tool to understand and change the world.
• Encourages viewers to see reality's contradictions and engage with historical consciousness.
• Rejects static past, highlights present as a space for action and change.

Challenges and Modern Relevance

• Discussion on the possibility of third cinema in today's capitalist and digital landscape.
• Example: "Barbie" movie's critique within a capitalist framework.
• The role of technology in democratizing filmmaking, but questioning the political commitment.

Conclusion

• Art's role in uncovering new relationships and showing the social world as changeable.
• Importance of solidarity and collective consciousness in revolutionary cinema.
• Dr. Kapoor's emphasis on film's power to foster historical awareness and societal change.