I finally finished my experimental audiovisual criticism project! It is titled, Siren Song, and it addresses the ideology behind femme fatale in cinema through the images of the famous German femme, Marlene Dietrich. A femme fatale is a highly sexualized woman whose seduction and disregard for the traditional, domestic female role in society is a threat to the ‘natural’ masculine hegemony. This feminine danger to the patriarchal society has lead to misogyny, the hatred or prejudice against women, creating a larger societal fear of witchcraft and feminism.
The found footage I used include Morocco by Josef von Sternberg (1930), Fury by Fritz Lang (1936), and The Cake-Walk Infernal by Georges Méliès (1903).
Siren Song
While conceptualizing my project, I was highly inspired by Joseph Cornell's film, Rose Hobart (1936), which we viewed in class. Here is a link: Rose Hobart (1936)
The looping audio I edited together from Dietrich's singing in Morocco was inspired by Malcolm Le Grice's editing approach in his film, Berlin Horse (1970). Here is a link: Berlin Horse (1970)
TUESDAY:
My friends and I arrived in Barcelona around 5pm! Although we landed relatively late, we enjoyed what seemed like a full day in the city.
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| View of Spain from the plane |
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| The coast of Barcelona from the plane |
Sagrada Familia
We saw the Sagrada Familia, a Roman Catholic church that has been under construction since 1882 and is still not complete. It was absolutely breath-taking to see.
Park Güell
We then continued our walk all the way up to Park Güell. It was a hike… with quite an incline, but the view at the top was worth it, especially with the sun starting to set! We walked to the peak of the park before sundown and continued our long journey back to the hostel.
On the way back we stop by a restaurant called Almina Mar. My friend Abby and I shared a combo meal splitting a refreshing pitcher of sangria and mouth-watering seafood paella. I also had to get some croquettes :) Such tasty little devils haha. Our meal here was our best one during our entire trip.
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| I could have easily had one of these sangria pitchers to myself lol |
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| Croquettes |
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| Paella |
After an early wake up, my friends and I began our day by walking through the scenic Ciutadella Park before heading to the beach.
Ciutadella Park
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| The fountain of Ciutadella Park |
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| Mammoth statue |
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| Parliament of Catalonia |
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| A cute dog having a blast in the fountain |
Barceloneta Beach
It was a beautiful day at the beach and after being away from Wilmington for this long, I have missed the sand and the tide. Unfortunately it was a bit cloudy but it was warm enough to enjoy a brief layout on the sand. Abby, Meghan, and I also walked along the shore in pursuit of seashells. There were not many but the abundance of vibrant sea glass made up for it.
After being at the beach for awhile, we began to notice it was a topless beach. So while enjoying our moment abroad, Abby and I very shortly took part in the topless aspect of the beach..."When in Rome"…. haha.
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| Me and Abby |
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| Our brief topless moment |
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| While walking along the boardwalk there was a gelato stand so of course I had to get some. It is Dulce de Leche :) |
Las Ramblas
Abby, Meghan, KK, and I while walking down Las Ramblas decided to stop for lunch. The food and service was so horrific we decided to forget it was even part of our trip… Let's just say my paella was cold and the rice was not even fully cooked when it came out XP bleck
Mercado de La Boqueria
Walking through the Boqueria put all of the markets I have previously been to shame. It was overwhelming to see the abundance and diversity of product being sold here. From freshly made smoothies to lamb's head on display. Felt bad for my vegetarian friends who had to cover their eyes at the freshly skinned animals.
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| Cute little candies made with amazing details |
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| A refreshing fruit assortment I purchased from the Boqueria |
Catedral de Barcelona
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| Art on display by the Basilica by Julio Nieto |
Basilica de Santa Maria del Mar
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| Tasty churros with melted chocolate |
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| While exploring the area, we stopped by this comic shop It had so many action figures (several collectibles) for sale from Star Wars to Dragonball Z It was so hard to walk out without buying anything |
We then walked through the Museu Picasso, which was to our benefit free for all students! Apart from the beach, this had to be my favorite part of the day. Their collection holds the majority of Picasso's early work and I was incredible to see how his art progressed and transformed throughout the years.
To my excitement, the additional exhibition on display was Dali-Piccasso, which compared the artists' work and how Dali was greatly influenced by Picasso's work, while envying him as well. I was worried I would not be able to see any of Dali's work while in Spain because the Teatro-Museu Dali was about a 2 hour trip. I was phenomenal to see similar works of Picasso and Dali side by side!
Below are some of Pablo Picasso's art that was on display.
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| Science and Charity (1897) |
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| The Frugal Meal (1904) |
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| Minotauromachy (1935) |
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| Las Meninas (group) 1957 |
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| Las Meninas (infanta Margarita Maria) 1957 |
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| Portrait of Jaume Sabartes with ruff and cap (1939) |
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| After the museum we passed a bakery that smelled heavenly. I purchased an ensaimada, which has to be the best pastry I've had during my entire trip…possibly my life I ended up buying two more during the remainder of my Barcelona trip. |
Ciutadella Park… again
On our walk back to the hostel, we passed the park again.
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| Castell des très Dragons |
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| Arc de Triomphe |
Tapas for dinner! Along with a free beer with a token given to us by the hostel.
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| Calamares |
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| Patatas Bravas |
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| The most delicious mojito I've ever had! |
THURSDAY:
Before walking to the other side of Barcelona, we decided to go a see La Pedrera and Casa Batlló.
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| Praktik Bakery where I bought another ensaimada |
La Pedrera
Casa Batlló
Castell de Montjuïc
Our journey to see the Castell de Montjuïc was our most challenging yet. If I had to imagine walking up Mount Doom, this would be pretty close. As we struggled to find its location, my friends and I noticed several buses and taxis transporting people down… but it was too late until we knew the real reason why. The map and directions I looked up previous to our walk failed to mention this damn castle was on top of a mountain with a 90 degree incline all the way up. To add to this lovely endeavor, it also began to rain.
After about 90 minutes of our torturous hike, we reached a rest stop where we took some pictures of the view.
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| The Castell de Montjuïc |
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| Fountain (15th Century) |
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| Epigrahic plaque (14th Century) |
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| Gargoyle representing a demon or faun (16th Century) |
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| Rose window in the El Carme convent (14th Century) |
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| Jewish tombstone fragment (11th Century |
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| Roman stele with the head of Medusa (2nd Century) |
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| Another Jewish tombstone (1306) |
Apart from the view at the top, the Castle was an absolute bore. I did however learn a little bit of the history of Barcelona, particularly the Catalan revolt.
My friends and I luckily found a bus that saved us from another terrible journey down the mountain. We quickly found a great place for lunch at Tapa Tapa. I enjoyed some chorizos, (more) croquettes, and a much needed glass of red wine.
We rested at the restaurant for about 2 hours and happily came back out to a bright sunny day!
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| My chorizos |
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| The best gelato I've had on my trip abroad Yogurt with berries and Raspberry flavored |
Plaça d'Espanya
The Magic Fountain of Montjuïc
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| Abby, Me, and Meghan |
Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
Despite only being in the city for 2 1/2 days, it was an absolute pleasure to see Barcelona! The unique and beautiful architecture is refreshing from all of the English and Irish sites I have been to so far. It was also fantastic to treat myself to some delicious food and refreshing sangrias, mojitos, and wine. Barcelona is definitely on my list to visit again.
Only two more weeks till I'm off to see the glorious Scandinavia! Excited to see what awaits in Oslo and Stockholm :) A viewing of Frozen will be a must before my departure lol.
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