Rausch und Lärm der Stadt

This article seeks to explore filmic representations of the turmoil potentially offered by modern city dwelling, using the concept of Rausch, in the sense of a sensory overload for both characters and spectators. Specifically, it considers the Rausch of the city on film through the example of Berlin and its impact upon characters found within. In considering such representations of Berlin we are able to explore the ways in which the city can be used within cinema as a mirror, and at times a stamp, to the expectations and experiences of the characters. To explore cinematic Berlin in this way we look specifically towards expressionistic interpretations and treatments of the city and its inhabitants, considering the interactions of space, place, and character. This convergence of Rausch and expressionism upon the specific example is appropriate since in many respects Berlin and expressionism are synonymous: in visual arts, but above all in film. In applying such considerations to more modern interpretations and presentations of the city we are able to see the deep connection between the use of a cityscape, the exploration of character within it, and, indeed, their reactions to it. In locating to a modern iteration of this longstanding stylistic and generic device we are able to widen our understanding of the use of expressionism and in doing so more strongly explore the concept of Rausch

It’s a Question of Degrees: Morality, Justice, and Revenge in Telefantasy

The moral quandary of killing ‘monsters’ is not new and the horror genre has made a point of walking a line between perceptions of good and evil. As the taste for violence and gore increased these discussions lessened and the ‘monster’ became fodder for the visceral brutality and righteous salvation of humanity. Using selected supernatural and fantasy texts this article explores the morality of killing everything that is not human. Additionally, though death marks a beginning for many of the protagonists in the shows cited, the article examines the impact of a final death for show characters. In a world where death is not necessarily the end for some, how is it navigated when it does eventually come for others? This article explores the development of the sympathetic other in telefantasy texts Buffy the Vampire Slayer, (1997-2003), Supernatural (2005-2020), iZombie (2015-2019), Z Nation (2014-2018), In the Flesh (ITF) (2013-2014), and Lucifer (2016-present)

Endure, Not Cure Rammbock and Pandemic Experience

This work examines the concept of a pandemic in microcosm through a close analysis of the German zombie film Rammbock (Marvin Kren, 2010, Germany). Unlike blockbuster zombie films that focus on the size and spread of the contagion, Rammbock looks at the individual on the ground, in this case away from the urban centres where assistance and specialist support might be found. Importantly, in this film the virus is harmless until “switched on” through anger or rage. The film is, therefore, about how to avoid activating the virus, which creates interesting links to the present pandemic, where personal responsibility plays a role in limiting contagion and spread of the illness. Rammbock also explores the impact of isolation, again offering comparisons to present circumstances where individuals have had to isolate and in so doing have become cut off from assistance and human contact, leading to varying degrees of mental health issues. That Rammbock’s version of a pandemic does not focus on the ability of humanity to medically remedy the virus is also relevant to the current situation, where it seems to be a case of endure, not cure

FILM PERFORMANCE : The role of the actor within cinematic expression

This work seeks to consider film acting as an integrated element of cinematic expression, a core aspect of film performance but one which gains additional meaning and commentary via combination and integration with the more traditionally considered aspects of filmmaking.Although ‘performance’ is a widely written and talked about aspect of cinema studies, a clear understanding of acting and performance, their relationship to one another and to the mechanism of filmmaking has until now been absent. When in recent years ‘film performance’ has been offered as an academic focus, the cynosure of the analysis has been the actions of the actor and a language to describe them, rather than the skills employed in relation to the specifically technical demands of the medium. What then do we gain when we consider in detail the organic relationship between those technical demands and the actor’s decisions? This foundational question is addressed here in a number of ways. A range of texts are accessed that purport to consider the discipline ranging between academic analysis and practitioner skills. This combination of approaches enables a rounded consideration of the work of the film actor absent from any one exploration of the field. To fully consider cinematic expression, the skills specific to the technical aspects of filmmaking must also be examined. Within these fields research exists which offers a wider integration of the technical and the aesthetic. However, the specific focus of the texts in question also prevents extended consideration of the integrated nature of the chosen code. To augment the initial research, in-depth analysis of a chosen film is presented to reveal the ways in which integration of raw material and post-production can produce a final realisation of ‘performance’. When acting is positioned as a part of cinematic expression the interrelationships of technical choices and their aesthetic application can be fully examined. By no longer positioning the actor as “doing nothing very well” we can begin to assess the ways in which adaptation and accommodation of the technical needs of cinema feed into the decisions and actions of the actor as they attempt to deliver their character in terms of the requirements of script and director. Defining acting and thus performance enables us to consider their place within a unified film product, one that demonstrates a distinct and essential skill set, a craft as central to filmmaking as cinematography, sound, and editing

Clade, Country and Region-specific HIV-1 Vaccines: Are they necessary?

Today, scientists are often encouraged to custom-design vaccines based on a particular country or clade. Here, we review the scientific literature and then suggest that the overwhelming endeavor to produce a unique vaccine for every world region or virus subtype may not be necessary

Ly49A Transgenic Mice Provide Evidence for a Major Histocompatibility Complex–dependent Education Process in Natural Killer Cell Development

The Ly49 natural killer (NK) cell receptors are class I MHC–specific inhibitory receptors that are distributed to overlapping NK cell subsets. The formation of the Ly49 receptor repertoire was examined with transgenic mice that express Ly49A in all NK cells. In MHC class I–deficient mice, the Ly49A transgene did not prevent expression of endogenous Ly49 genes. However, in H-2d mice that express a Ly49A ligand, the transgene caused clear alterations in the endogenous Ly49 repertoire. The frequency of NK cells expressing another H-2d–specific receptor, Ly49G2+, was substantially reduced. Reduced numbers of cells expressing endogenous Ly49A was suggested by reduced endogenous Ly49A mRNA levels. These results support the existence of an MHC-dependent education process that limits the number of NK cells that coexpress multiple self-specific Ly49 receptors. Ligand-dependent downregulation of Ly49 cell surface levels was also examined. Cell-surface downregulation occurred even when the transgene was expressed at low levels. The results demonstrate that downregulation of Ly49A cell surface levels is a posttranscriptional event, and argue against a model in which Ly49 receptors are calibrated to specific cell surface levels depending on the available class I ligands