Week 15: Nichol's Film Theory and Babel (2006)

        Beyond the possibility of representing certain political and economic theories, films can also be analyzed in and of themselves for the forms that they adopt to tell their stories. Although movements such as Modernism, Realism, and Postmodernism are typically discussed in terms of literature, the rise of the storytelling of film made it so these movements display themselves within film as well. As such, it is important to maintain a literacy of these movements for the sake of growing one's analysis of the world. One such example of this is Alejandro González Iñárritu and Guillermo Arriaga’s 2006 movie Babel.

        According to Nichol’s film theory, three main movements influence film: Realism, Modernism, and Postmodernism. Realism is defined by its insistence on depicting society most realistically, especially in terms of class, industrialization, and urbanization. Modernism spawned out of realism for the sake of critiquing modernity and its focus on capitalism, urbanization, and industrialization in a more abstract and experimental style. Postmodernism peels back the pomp and circumstance of these past movements by focusing on the single, objective truth or individual through skepticism and suspicion of reason.

        When it comes to analyzing Babel in particular, I would say that, despite appealing to all three of these film techniques in different ways, the film leans more towards a representation of a postmodern perspective of film. Its focus on multiculturalism, globalization, and the link between the two through focusing on the connection between individuals emphasizes the postmodern view of the individual being the center of society. Although the characters are heavily influenced by the larger structures at play, Iñárritu and Arriaga highlight the needs of the individuals in the film as they navigate complex experiences in connection with each other. In the end, the characters are all left traumatized by the events of the film, and yet they all are comforted by the strength of their relationships rather than the larger structures that surround them. Its suspicion of these structures reeks of postmodern thought and depictions of society. As such, Babel helps to further the work of postmodern theories of film that seek to represent society as it focuses on the individual in defiance of the larger society.