The American Cinematic New Wave

A Contextual Study Exploring the American New Wave from 1969-1987 

  

This writing explores the American Cinematic New Wave from the period of 1969-1987, taking into consideration social, moral and political influences on cinema and upcoming directors. I will investigate the flourish of a fresh creative freedom that the new wave brought to America, allowing a generation of passionate filmmakers to break through the boundaries of traditional Hollywood films. Works such as 'Easy Rider' (Dennis Hopper, 196), 'Taxi Driver' (Martin Scoursese, 1976', and 'Full Metal Jacket' (Stanley Kubrick, 1987) embodied the raw self- awareness and evident rule breaking of new wave cinema, with a determination to shatter studio censorship within films and to present their audiences with a different, more cynical and critical perspective on the societies which they portrayed.  

The Second World War altered Hollywood productions to cooperate with the US Government to support it's war information campaign; after the events of Pear Harbour in 1941 and war was declared on Japan, the US Government opened the Bureau of Motion Picture Affairs, "to coordinate the production of entertainment features with a patriotic, morale-boosting (..) message about 'the American way of life'". (David Cook and Robert Sklar, 2019). This meant that the majority of Hollywood productions throughout the 1940s and into the 1950s, American cinema was heavily influenced and censored by the US Government in order to create a sense of unanimity and patriotism within the public. Throughout the cold war and the onset of the war in Vietnam in the mid to late 1950's, Hollywood continued to churn out patriotic stories of the American Dream, westerns and uplifting musicals to subdue and persuade their dwindling audiences. However, in the mid-sixties, the counter-culture movement exploded following opposition to the war in Vietnam, bringing about a period of break down for traditional societal norms and values, especially among the youth; many university age men and women adopted political activism, becoming a driving force behind the civil rights and anti-war movement. Attitudes began to shift, loosening towards sexual behaviours, stereotypes on ethnic minorities and women and drug use. (Cliff's Notes, 2018) This broadened horizons for filmmakers as it gave more leeway in what the studios could sensor due to the requirement of the studios to meet popular demand. 

As a rule of thumb, new wave films "share the desire to challenge our vision of the movement, or at the very least, to push the boundaries beyond the recognised canon of filmmakers"(Ginette Vincendau, 2012). Dennis Hopper's production 'Easy Rider' (1969), was particularly influential in the American new wave, described as "possibly the definitive movie for counter-culture America" (Mandalay Social Club, 2018), the film follows two counterculture bikers, Wyatt and Billy on a road trip from Los Angeles to New Orleans in search of true freedom. Hopper explored the shift in society from the patriotic, all-american, christian values, to the looser ethical values being campaigned for by the counter-culture, delving into the rise of the new counter-culture, opposition to the war in Vietnam and the disregarding of the American Dream in search of true freedom beyond that. Hopper's film enshrines the ideals of this new counter-culture but also foreshadowed the demise of these ideals in a nation rocked by the after effects of the Vietnam War. The film was hugely successful, and due to it's self-awareness of it's place in new wave cinema at the time and in history, as it became a "seminal road movie and (...) spawned many imitations. (Lee Hill, 1996), therefore paving the way for new wave productions after it's release.  

The opening scene of Hopper's 'Easy Rider' begins with a series of close up in a cocaine deal. Hopper uses jump cut editing to both shift the perspective between the two individuals in the conversation (which we do not hear), and also to create the illusion of passing time, therefore breaking the traditional rules of continuity editing. This alongside the use of white non-diegetic sound in the opening scene creates a feeling of tension to the viewer, similar to the feeling that the characters in the deal themselves might be experiencing, but also allows for "an abrupt feeling of lost time"(Kristen Coates, 2010). Breaking the rules of continuity allows the director to be in control of the illusion of the passage of time to the audience; discontinuity editing is antithetical to film and it is a frequent editing device in new wave cinema, and in conjunction with the illusion of the passing of time in this scene, Hopper uses discontinuity to emphasize an emotional response from the drug deal whilst also forcing them to participate in the situation (Colgate University, 2013). The scene then jump cuts to the desert road, presumably after the deal, again indicating the passing of time, the camera pulling focus in on a white truck, panning with it as it travels up the road before the the camera switches focus onto the setting sun. This creates a lens glare, which acts to break the fourth wall of cinema, making the viewer aware of the fact that they are watching a film. In this sequence, breaking the fourth wall serves to separate the audience from the art, this moment of lens glare therefore disrupts the narrative flow, and is an experiemental technique drawing attention to the actual medium, a feature first found in the French New Wave, or ‘La Nouvelle Vague’ (Shelley Farmer,2016).  

The low budget available to the production team in ‘Easy Rider’ meant that hand held, 16mm Bolex cameras were used to shoot the majority of the scenes in the film which “gave the movie a psychedelic sheen” (Garin Pirinia, 2019); the Bolex 16mm camera was a ahnd held film camera, making it multifaceted, portacbe and dependable with an optical system which allowed through-the-lens viewing at the same time as shooting. (Evergreen, 2018) The use of this camera is obvious in the cemetary acid trip scene. In this scene, the main characters, Billy and Wyatt, are drinking alcohol and taking the psychedelic drug, LSD, is obvious in the cemetery acid trip scene. In this sequence, the main characters, Billy and Wyatt, are drinking alcohol and taking the psychedelic drug, LSD in a church cemeterty with two women, Mary and Karen. The first mid-angle shots pan into the compositions in their location, a church in New Orleans during the Mardi Gras festival. The scene then jump cuts into a series of close up shots of each of the compositions as they speak breifly about how to take the acid; ‘you put it on your tongue’. Hopper then cuts into an extreme close-up shot of the LSD being placced onto Karen’s tongue It is here that the psychedelic sheen caused by the Bolex 16mm camera becomes significant in conveying Hopper’s preferred meaning to the viewer; the emulation of ‘tripping’ or taking LSD, an expeerience which was heavily affliliated with the counter-culture group. Therefore, in this sequence Hopper uses imagery and sound to convey the essence of this counter-culture and their campaign for change, including the frequent and uncensored usage of drugs which was something that would previously not have been allowed to be screened to the public due to studio censorship. This lends itself to the fact that ‘Easy Rider’ is a film about “discovering oneself (…) and seeing how the mainstream American Dream clashes with the counter-culture movement” (Chris Coffel, 2013). Hence, Hopper utilises imagery and sound creatively to project a self-aware essence of freedom and change to his audience; Christian imagery particularly is used to indicate a change in societal and moral values in Americal throughout the 1960’s. The location chosen, a church cemetery in New  Orleans, is the first instance of this imagery in the sequence and having the stark contrast between the compositions, their ‘sinful’ behaviour and the chosen location of a church and its adjourning cemetery which indicates a disregard for Christian beliefs and values such as the verse, “do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery, but instead be filled with the spirt” (Ephesians 5:18,  The Holy Bible). This could translate to the audience as a message of Hopper’s own beliefs, known in cinema as the Auteur Theory, which is the idea that the director is the author of the film and argues that the film is a representation of the director’s particular artistic identity; it was influenced by the French New Wave and the critics of ‘cahiers du cinema’. (Dean Brandum, 2010). The scene then takes another jump cut into an upwards panning shot of the church spire, again creating lens glare and breaking the imaginary fourth wall, but also pulling in and out of focus. Pulling focus is a creative camera technique where you change focus during a shot, which is useful for directing the viewer’s attention. (The Media College.com, 2015). Hopper uses the focus pull to further emulate the simulation of a psychedelic trip, keeping the audiene’s interest on the centre of the screen as the scene then cuts into footage of a woman speaking the Apostle’s Creed in church. The Apostle’s creed is “ a summary of what the church teaches and what Christians believe (…) saying the creed binds Christians together as a believing commuinity, across different traditions and practices.” (Archbishop of Canterbury, 2016), therefore the use of the Apostle’s creed as non-diegetic sound throughout the rest of the scene is a controversial example of the auteur theory and another indicator of Hopper’s personal questioning of Christianity and the taditional morals and values in American society that were founded on Christianity. The gamble taken by Hopper to use evident religious symbolism to emulate a psychedelic experience in itself demonstrates the essence of freedom and in turn the counter-culture that he was trying to represent through ‘Easy Rider’ as it displays Hopper’s uncensored creative freedom and artistic approach to filmmaking. 

The fact that Hopper himself helped with the screenwriting himself lends itself to the suggestion that the auteur theory could be applied to ‘Easy Rider’, but it is not just the technicalities of filmmaking, such as jump-cuts, discontinuity editing, the auteur theory and the creative use of imagery and sound, that make the production pivotal in the American New Wave. I find that Hopper’s individual desire to change American Cinema to better represent the people benchmarked ‘Easy Rider’ for success from the start of filming. The low production budget of $400,000 USD, and “the Mardi Gras sections were filmed using rented 16mm Bolex cameras by the actors themselves before production started (Jo Light, 2019) showing endeavour and passion for the creative cause on Hopper’s behalf.  

Overall, Hopper’s individual creative style  and desire to create a film that served to change the course of Hollywood filmmaking made his 1969 production, ‘Easy Rider’ a fundamental example to new wave directors after it’s release; the film also displays a deeper, more cynical perspective on society whilst serving to represent the counter culture and it’s message through semiotic imagery, and editing techniques such as the jump cut.  

Martin Scoursese’s ‘Taxi Driver’ (1976) is another excellent example of new wave cinema in America, with his film breaking the boundaries of socially accepted cinema with his cut- throat narrative of a mentally ill ex-marine insomniac, Travis Bickle, who was traumatized and hardened by the Vietnam war, and decides to cleanse New York City having acquired a job as a taxi driver and realizing the evils of society. ( Peter Braadshaw, 2017). “Confrontational, reflective, and (as unfortunately transpired) deeply prophetic” (Neil Mitchell, 2018). ‘Taxi Driver’ shows Scorsese’s clear vision of a corroding society, with the stylistic realism of moral corruption and personal, relateable trauma. Camera angles, specific framing and editing processes also bring ‘Taxi Driver’ to the forefront of the American New Wave.  

The opening scene of ‘Taxi Driver’ uses a dimly-lit, low angle shot across a taxi as it pulls away from the pathway, and then cuts sharply in a jump cut fashion into an over the shoulder shot of Travis Bickle, the main character, entering a sleazy taxi office, which immediately gives the film a dark, tense and mysterious atmosphere; the use of Jazz as non-diegetic sound, almost challenging the dialogue between Bickle and the owner, aligned with the swift cutting and changing of shots leaves an unsettling feeling whilst also highlighting Scoursese’s individual stylistic approach and the unconventional unfolding narrative, written by Paul Schrader in the midst of a psychological breakdown, drawing significant inspiration from Doetovsky’s notes from underground and from the personal diaries of Arthur Bremer who shot presidential candidate George Wallace in 1972. (Neil Mitchell, 2018). Shot using an Arriflex 35 BL (Shot On What, 2013), camera shake is obvious in the over-the-shoulder shots focusing in on the owner, and in the close-up shots of Travis, which is the first instance in which Scorsese breaks  the fourth wall in ‘Taxi Driver’, separating the audience from the medium and making the audience aware of the fact that they are watching a film. The dialogue used within this opening scene also contributes to the atmosphere that Scorsese is trying to convey within the adjourning first couple of shots; a sense of chaos disarray, mystery and tension that fits the mood of the rest of the film. 

There are elements of ‘Taxi Driver’ where Scorsese uses technicality to indicate towards the possibility that Travis (Robert DeNiro), is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of fighting in the Vietnam war as a marine. “In the opening credits, Travis’s eyes are framed in an extreme close up with largely red colour pallet, there are obvious connotations with blood as a result”(Fran Del Pizzo, 2016) This shot could therefore be seen as contradictory to Travis’s later claim that his license is as clean as his conscience due to the overwhelming sense of anxiety and restlessness given by the way that Travis scarns the streets, again confirmed when he admits his insomnia. Scorsese also uses jump cut editing (a form of discontionuity editing) to indicate Travis’s state of mind, he uses this particularly within the shooting range scene and within the “you talkin’ to me” speech to “underline both the restless tensions of Taxi Drivers Urban milieu and end of its unnsettled hero” (Williams, 2006, p158). Scorsese also pays particular attention to camera work in order to show Travis’s mindset, in two instances the camera leaves Travis rather than following him, the first time walking through the taxi rank and the second time when he is on the phone to Betsy, which could be seen as instances of Travis’s disconnection or dissociation with reality. The majority of the film is framed to Travis’s perspective, so it gives the feeling that he is detatched from the rest of society, making it a “painstaking analysis of a cabbie’s mental disintegration” (Gilbey, 2003, p200). The second example of disconnection happens when Betsy won’t forgive Travis and could be seen as a metaphor for his anti-social behaviour and withdrawal. It is as if his efforts are too pathetic to watch as the camera moves away from him. Vietnam heavily affected the sense of masculinity within veterans due to the “lack of acknowledgement of the manhood that the veterans had sought in combat” (Tracy Karner, 2012). The failure of the war in Vietnam therefore provides a sense of structure to the narrative of Travis’s psychosis and desire to prove his masculinity. Thus, the violence in ‘Taxi Driver’ could be seen to be heavily influenced by Travis’s suggested mental disorders and his desire to prove his masculinity. 

A particularly notable scene in ‘Taxi Driver’ is the mirror scene, where Travis practices a confrontation with himself in the mirror with a gun, accomanying the infamous “you talkin’ to me” speech. Scorsese begins the scene with a close up shot of Travis working out, using jump cut editing in homage to one of Scorsese’s personal favourite directors Jean-Luc Godard (Neil Mitchell, 2018)  to switch to a low panning shot of Travis clenching his fist over the bathroom sink, and then swiftly cutting again to a mid-angle shot of Travis firing a gun. This quick succession of scenes through jump cut editing, which is a form of discontinuity creates the illusion of an unrealistically swift passing of time, which allows for Scorsese to therefore display physical change in the composition. Described as “one of the most famous and most imitated soliloquies in film history”. (Mustafa Abdulmageed, 2015), Scorsese presents the audience with the scene of an ex-veteran pulling a gun on the imaginary man in the mirror in an attempt to be as intimidating as possible; ultimately that leaves the impression of loneliness, DeNiro’s character, Travis, is completely isolated in his own madness, fabricating an imaginative image of intimidation and acting as if his daily conversations are suitable for such an aggressive response. The camera focusses on DeNiro in the mirror as he speaks the line “are you talking to me?”, which is an instance of a fourth wall break as the character is addressing the audience through his dialogue (Katie Porter, 2018). The uncensored language used in this scene, such as, “I’m the only guy here, who the fuck do you think you’re talkin’ to”, “fucking son of a...” and “I’m standing here” all reinforces the fabrication of intimidation, but also conveys a constructed message from Scorsese; the uncensored language adds to the almost deranged rambling, portraying Travis as a man broken by society and his own government, making Travis in this instance reflective of each person watching the film in some context. By having the main character having served  ex-marine, Scorsese made Travis relatable to his audience and at the same time gave his raw and truthful perception of the overall damage that Vietnam had done to the public of America. The descent of Travis into a war-destroyed, twisted vigilante is indicative of Scorsese’s feelings on the crumbling and corruption of society which is affirmed by Martin Scorsese’s appearance spying on his wife, who is having an affair, his solution to reclaiming his manhood being violence; he shoots his wife and her lover. 

The final film that I would like to mention is ‘Full Metal Jacket’ (Stanley Kubrick, 1987). Set in 196, the synopsis follows Private Joker through his experiences training for the marines and then subsequently serving in the Vietnam War. Through ‘Full Metal Jacket’, Kubrick displays the raw truth about the war in Vietnam and about the treatment and mental torture US veterans underwent during their time in service in Vietnam rather than glorifying the men as heroes for a futile cause. 

Stanley Kubrick makes use of many elements of technical cinema to convey the emotions and turmoil experienced by the main character, Private Joker, throughout the production. An example of this is in the Head scene, where Kubrick uses close-up shots of Private Joker and Private Pyles in the tense situation of a deranged Pyles with a rifle, loaded with what he describes as a “full metal jacket”. The scene then jump cuts with the entrance of Gunnery Sargeant Harman, with the camera following him up to the point where he stops; this abrupt jump cut is Kubrick signalling the fragility and intensity of the scene with an almost false ending to the situation and in doing so he is also highlighting the mental effect that even the training process had and “are still suffering from PTSD symptoms and other chronic health issues related to their service”(U.S Department of Veteran’s Affairs, 2013). Kubrick makes use of technique again in the Sniper scene, using jump cut editing to change the framing of the film to be much more fast-paced and tense, switching between close-up shots of the veterans, and panning mid-angle shots displaying the massacre occurring on the field behind the sandbags. When the group finally moves, the camera follows, and being filmed on an Arriflex 35 BL hand-held camera, camera shake is obvious as the camera person runs to follow the group, giving the illusion of a first-person perspective. (Shot on What? 2019). Stanley Kubrick does this to directly involve the audience in the situation, and in doing so creates a certain emotional bond between the audience and the characters as they feel that they’ve experienced the situation with the squadron. Therefore, the death of Private Cowboy in this scene evokes an emotional response from the audience and makes us relate to Joker when he decides to shoot the sniper who killed his friend.  Here, Kubrick relies heavily on lighting to indicate Joker’s state of mind, lighting Matthew Modine (Private Joker) with a sharp edge light to display the exact moment of change from a man to a murderer. This could be seen as an example of the auteur theory on behalf of Kubrick, who deemed the war in Vietnam as futile and unnecessary, as he is displaying the corruption of morality and justice due to the grotesque scenes of massacre that soldiers had to endure on the front lines. (Alex Von Tunzelmann, 2010) 

Throughout ‘Full Metal Jacket’, Kubrick clearly tries to convey a hidden, semiotic meaning to his audience within the film; a new take on the traditional Hollywood war film, Kubrick aimed to display truth within ‘Full Metal Jacket’, rather than following the usual patriotic tale of a war hero, he instead endeavored to show realism within his production, therefore making the conscious choice not to sensor the brutality in the film. An example of this lies within the language used, such as “all fucking niggers must fucking hang” and “you climb like old people fuck”. The use of such graphic language gives an insight into the actual language used in situations of conflict and within, and also highlights the maltreatment of people in the U.S. Armed forces because of this abuse. The use of graphic and extreme violence within the film highlights Kubrick’s own opinion that the war was pointless, and this is further highlighted by putting a counter-culture affiliated badge on the clothing of Private Joker, which creates philosophical meaning. The conflicting statement of peace on Joker’s lapel in comparison wih his “born to kill” sprawled helmet highlights the mental struggle that soldiers endured between morality and instrucion; whilst their instruction was to kill for the benefit of their country, as is suggested by the use of “Hello Vietnam, a country song which is metonymically patriotic and lyrically unambiguous” (Jennifer Good, Paul Lowe and Bridgit Lardinois, 2014) however, the presence of the peace badge indicates a connotation between Joker and the counter-culture belief, “make love, not war, which as previously mentioned follows Kubrick’s own beliefs and breaks the boundaries of traditional Hollywood filmmaking by openly questioning and challenging the actions of the US Government.  

In conclusion, the American cinematic new wave was in essence a display against studios by directors to hold creative freedom over their own films; use of specific framing and camera techniques alongside particular editing techniques and the ability to display a deeper semiotic meaning within their films set certain directors such as Dennis Hopper, Martin Scorsese and Stanley Kubrick apart for their particular individual styles and opinions whilst also breaking the boundaries of traditional cinema in America. These events left a lasting impact on cinema in America and reset the boundaries for what was able to be screened and on the film industry as a whole. 

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