1. Connections and Disconnections among the Urban Nomads in Postmodern Cities Eldorado

2. Outline Postmodern City, X-Generation and Urban Nomads Postmodern City Eldorado: Loneliness & Dis/connections among youngsters Eldorado

3. Postmodern City Rapid and excessive technologization; Anti – modernization/rationalization; boundary-breaking; green city, etc. Image society – camera + TV screen; Information society metropolis on the move; urban nomads

4. X generation Douglas Coupland's 1991 book Generation X. born between 1964 and 1974 white, upper-middle class, college-educated, located near urban centers, and lives primarily on the coasts. Generation X-ers are hip, ironic, lack motivation and suffer ennui. (source(source)

5. Urban Nomads as a ” de-territorializing ” force Wandering: Different from the strolling flâneur, nomads wanders – along unraveled routes. Deterritorializing and defensive: Different from migrants, who flee from one place to another where there might be hope for new settlement (=reterritorialisation), nomads are in a line is “ a line of flight which, passing through the points, leads the movements of deterritorialisation into a current, a torrential motion which has nothing to do with flight in the traditional sense. Fleeing, yes, but seeking a weapon while fleeing. ” (source)source Not moving, nor settled: “ The nomad is not necessarily one who moves: some voyages take place in situ, are trips in intensity. … nomads, they nevertheless stay in the same place and continually evade the codes of settled people. ” Gilles Deleuze, “ Nomad Thought ”

6. General Questions Are the characters Generation X (hip ironic and motivation-less), or urban nomads — deterritorializing, wandering, and sometimes in ‘ intensive ’ trips? How do they connect and find meanings? “Are you going to have a show about it?” “I wrote you a letter, but I tore it up.”

7. Edorado (1995) Director: Charles Binam é began his film career as an assistant director at the National Film Board in 1971, and later moved on to direct documentaries for television. Direct Cinema style: natural lighting, improvisational dialogue, shouldered camera. On Eldorado ’ s style: "A film a chaotic, just like life and that's what is stimulating. In the midst of this chaos, there is a raw truth which emerges and captures our attention. ”

8. The Younger Generations in Postmodern Cities "... we do have this perception of a generation that's lost, frightened, with no future. I asked myself, how do they live, are they much different from what I was like at their age, what are their options? ” Biname, director of Eldorado Question: What are the youngsters ’ s problems? What is the “ raw truth ” in Eldorado? (clip 14)

9. The apparently strong and weak Roxan – a rich girl, active in helping others; with traumatic past, harmed by the ones she helps Lloyd (“Gaspard”) – shock- jock, but can only talk; does not know how to commit himself. Rita--traumatic past, drug- dealing, stealing, cannot touch others or be touched; Loulou--discontented; bored (47:33) Marc – a musician who works in a liquor store, hurt by Lou Lou, find help/refuge in sex shop or video games Henriette -- want to know how to connect, sexually or otherwise. weakness: 29:40 – Lloyd  Marc  Henriette  Roxan Destruction 53:00

10. Music – Expressed of the lostness and Struggle from the head-banging dance beats of techno-dread – opening cello solos of Claude Lamothe 11:00, 25:10; 1:02

11. Questions: Is the ending trite or weak?

12. Disconnections (1): individual problems and solutions Marc and Lou Lou -- M cannot understand Lou Lou, is not willing to be "mothered" by Lou Lou. Henriette -- sexual fantasies about Lloyd, ( 20, 2: 1: 06) silence from the shrink, rejecting him at the end, moving away. (32) connect with Rita, but misses her – the tape, at the pool, at the graveyard and calling her (27:00; 45:00; 2:20 ) Rita – from her boyfriend, and everybody else. (her past 24:50; on drug 21:07 1: 28)  searching for help Roxan – hurt: 1:17 1:30 get the puppet back herself? a sign that she might have opened the window.

13. Disconnections: Caused by Betrayal – Rita  Roxan, LouLou  Marc (The two scenes are juxtaposed ) trauma in the past – Rita and Roxan personal differences – Henriette  Lloyd Mis-directed good will? Roxan 1:17 miscommunication – Rita  Lloyd ; missing the chance 1:29 – Rita  Roxan and Henriette (1:23)

14. Connections by chance? Marc Rita and Roxan 1:09 Rita and Henriette Rita and Lloyd -- Rita's reckless moments: on the car, shooting L with a water gun; miss the chance to comfort Rita once. Ending: kiss on the neck, “ Want a lift? ” Image source

15. Raw truth Solitude, as conveyed by the cello. (ending)

16. Reference “ Families in the Postmodern Non-Places in the Films by Atom Egoyan and Tsai Ming-Liang. ” http://www.eng.fju.edu.tw/canada/paper/e goyan_tsai/ http://www.eng.fju.edu.tw/canada/paper/e goyan_tsai/