week 6 questions

Which of Altman’s stylistic techniques does Sawhill associate with "inclusiveness"?

Sawhill describes how Altman's use of camera movement combined with the zoom lets the audience feel like they are interacting with the film as opposed to just viewing it. He used a sound system that included more minor-character and ambient sounds. He used more than one camera at a time so that the actors had to be more "real" and couldn't play to the camera. He also has his actors bring their own personal experiences into their characters.

What does Sawhill suggest are the functions of the recurring "wires, phones, intercoms, cameras, mikes, speakers" throughout the film? [Note: Read the whole article before responding, don't just look for this list of devices in the article.]

The use of all the media technology creates a self reflexivity in the film. He's recording a culture recording itself.

What does Sawhill mean when he suggests that Altman "was making nonlinear multimedia before the form existed," and that Nashville "doesn't suffer from the fragmenting effects of stop-and-start, at-home viewing"?

Altman created a film that isn't plot driven, but still brings the audience on a ride into the life of the city/culture that is Nashville. The film doesn't need to be seen from start to finish in order to grasp what's going on and understand the film, yet the film is still interesting enough to keep watching because you still wonder where the film is taking you.