By Katlynn Mitchell & Tommy Fowler

Our Argument…

The Puffy Chair is an independent film

• Mumblecore

• Production circumstances

• Genre (or lack thereof)

• Narrative

• Language

Mumblecore

Defined

“Specimens of the genre share a low-key

naturalism, low-fi production values and a

stream of low-volume chatter often perceived

as ineloquence. Hence the name:

mumblecore.” - Dennis Lim

Production Circumstances

Budget

• $15,000 budget

• ($10,000 borrowed from parents)

“The films feel more like dialogues between filmmakers and their audiences and less like calling cards to the studios.” - Dennis Lim

Production Circumstances

Equipment

• Panasonic mini DV AGDVX100A

• Re-shooting and editing

• Home video quality

• (CLIP)

Production Circumstances

Distribution

• Distributed by Netflix and Roadside Attractions

“I want more people to see our movies, but I

didn‟t want to dilute what it is that we‟re doing to get it to more people.” - Mark Duplass

Production Circumstances

“Slackavetes”

• Improvisation

• Non professional actors (parents contribute once again)

“We don't do rehearsals. And we let the actors improvise the lines and say them however they want. But, there is no improv as far as where the story goes, that's pretty set in stone.” - Mark Duplass

• Admired Cassavetes‟ style

Genre (or lack thereof)

Genre Subversion

Netflix categories:

• Comedy

• Drama

• Romance

Other possibility:

• Road movie?

Genre (or lack thereof)

Road Movie Example

• Subversion

• Lack of Execution

Narrative

Conventional- sometimes radical

• Investment in the characters

• Plot is chronological

• Clear beginning, middle and end

• Resolution

Narrative

Conventional- sometimes radical

• Relationship>plotline and cinematography

“Mumblecore narratives hinge less on plot points than on the tipping points in interpersonal relationships.” - Dennis Lim

• No change in knowledge throughout narrative.

Immaturity

• Opening phone conversation

• “Say Anything” reference

• Past band is dead; underachiever

• Goes out of his way to be cheap

Narrative

Non-politicizing

• Focused on a set of relationships, not a

serious social issue

• Paralleled relationships

Narrative

Non-politicizing

“He didn‟t feel he had „anything to say right now about the Iraq war. The story of my life and my friends‟ lives are the ones I can tell most completely.‟” - Swanberg in “All Talk?”

• Typical for mumblecore

• (CLIP)

Relationships

• Desiring ideal relationship

• Broken relationships

• Insistence on believing

• Inevitable need to move on

• “Unavoidable” fights

Progression of the chair

Progression of the chair

Progression of the chair

(CLIP)

Progression of the chair

Language

Dialogue

• Inappropriateness

• “Demurral”

• “Hesitation”

• “Noncommitment”

Language

Performance

• Nonprofessional actors uncomfortable speaking on camera.

• “Insecurity and embarrassment about voicing their characters‟ ideas, desires, and feelings is not merely symptomatic of their lack of technique, it dovetails with a defining characteristic of the particular cohort (white, middle-class, twenty-something) to which the filmmakers and their quasi-fictional characters belong.” - Taubin

• This is what mumblecore is trying to capture

Conclusion

The Puffy Chair is an independent film

• Definition of Mumblecore

• Low production value

• Unclear genre

• Relationship-driven narrative

• Independent language

Class Discussion

• Do you agree with our argument?

• Does this movie have a genre?

• Do you agree it‟s conventional and non-

politicizing?

• Have you seen any other films that fit

into this (mumblecore) “movement”?

Citations

• http://thefilmlot.com/interviews/INTduplassbros.php

• http://Netflix.com

• “Interview: Mark Duplass for Cyrus”; video on YouTube

• Lim, Dennis. "A Generation Finds Its Mumble." The New York Times. August 19, 2007.

• Nichols, Bill. Engaging Cinema: An Introduction to Film Studies. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2010. Print.

• Taubin, Amy. "All Talk?" Film Comment.

November/December 2007.