Ideology Essay

“How valuable has ideological analysis been in developing your understanding of the themes of your chosen films?”

In order to explore various themes, filmmakers often utilise cinema to spread their ideologies to the different forms of audiences. These can be drastically different depending on the circumstances under which a film is made. An example of this can be seen in the differences between Beasts Of The Southern Wild (Benh Zeitlin, 2012) and La La Land (Damien Chazelle, 2016).

As an independently made film, Beasts Of The Southern Wild (Zeitlin, 2012) is more free to explore the ideologies of its filmmakers. Along with this, it was Benh Zeitlin’s first full length film and the second of only three films. Many independent films are have low budgets – with this film specifically having a budget of $1.8 million – and thus are unable to gain the attention of large audiences which forces them to focus upon making their narratives stand out to the small groups that they try to appeal to and often debut at film festivals, with Beasts Of The Southern Wild (Zeitlin, 2012) itself being shown at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2012 before getting released a few months later.

Due to being made outside the Hollywood Studio system, Beasts Of The Southern Wild (Zeitlin, 2012) is able to more deeply explore various forms of ideologies through its use of implicit positioning. This is most noticeable in the way that Zeitlin tries to position the audience to view Hushpuppy and her community as underdogs and thus make them emphasise with such characters more easily. This is reinforced around an hour into the film once the authorities arrive to aggressively remove them from their homes where the audience are likely to see these authorities as obstacles for the protagonists to overcome even if such actions would be for their greater good in the real world. This is in part shown through their resistance against these authority figures even after they are placed in the emergency shelter. There are various points throughout the film where Zeitlin pulls inspiration from real world events such as the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Similarities can be seen between the hurricane and the film’s events during the sequences containing the storm and later the portrayal of treatment in the emergency shelter as it is shown to be overcrowded and basic which may hint at an ideological view that Governments should aim to improve the quality of aid they give to victims of natural disasters.

Beasts Of The Southern Wild (Zeitlin, 2012) most clearly follows the Marxist film theory. This theory is based around a film’s ability to challenge conventions established by Hollywood in some form. Within this film, the director adheres to this theory through the use of artificially shifting the focus of the audience to specific areas of the screen by implementing a shallow depth of field on most camera shots which puts the background out of focus and in turn places more of an emphasis on the content in the foreground in order to create a larger sense of connection between the audience and characters. This means that the audience are more likely to and also builds the expectation that members of the audience will become motivated to form individual interpretations for themselves.

However, another theory that the film can be argued to follow to some extent is the feminist theory through the type of character that it follows as it centres around Hushpuppy’s life and the struggles she is forced through as a result of the life she and her community live. The largest of these struggles that she goes through takes place near the end of the film where she and several of her friends try to find her mother after her father becomes gravely ill. Throughout the film, she is forced to have grown up responses to the events she is involved in from the way she was raised by the adults in the Bathtub community with this aspect being most prominently seen in the first act before the flooding. Zeitlin positions the film’s perspective to follow Hushpuppy to present the audience with the effects such a lifestyle has on a child.

In contrast, La La Land (Chazelle, 2016) is able to reach mainstream audiences through its link to contemporary Hollywood although it still manages to find its own niche within the romance genre with its element of the jazz culture. One way it was able to do this was through the greatly expanded budget Hollywood films are capable of receiving in comparison to indie films as La La Land received $30 million in its budget.

La La Land (Chazelle, 2016) can be viewed as using a neutral positioning through its intention to act as an escapist film where an audience is more likely to view it as merely a form of entertainment especially as many Americans were seeking ways to escape from the real world through the use of media at the time of its release but this does not prevent Chazelle from implanting his implied ideologies into the film. By focusing on different forms of artists, Chazelle explores an idealised view of the American Dream – most likely chosen as a result of its production under the oversight of Hollywood Studios – through the characters actively pursuing their aspirations to various degrees of success with one achieving their goals and the other failing to do so. Several of the ideologies seen in the film were inspired by films of the genre released during the Golden Age of Hollywood which is used by the director to subvert the expectations of the audience by leaving the main characters separated with the use of one of the three types of endings often used in Hollywood romance films of the era.

However, it is possible that certain audience members may pick up on unintentional ideologies that were brought into the film through decisions made by the director throughout the production such as the lack of diversity accurate to the reality of Los Angles. Beyond this, La La Land (Chazelle, 2016) adheres to dominant ideologies within American and wider Western culture through the romance portrayed involving what would traditionally be viewed as the perfect heterosexual relationship.

Given the character journey Mia goes through in the film, La La Land (Chazelle, 2016) can be argued to be influenced by the feminist film theory. In the case of this film, both Mia and Seb are presented as being realistically flawed people rather than the stereotypical form of protagonists seen in other mainstream films. Despite this, there are arguments to be made on both sides as to whether each character is passive or active within their own story with Mia in particular appearing to be in need of emotional and motivational support from Seb to attend the audition that kick starts her successful career in the third act. By the end of the narrative, Mia emerges as the more successful of the two characters in every way which implies a reversal of hers and Seb’s roles in the core of the narrative and her change in character since her introduction.

Both Beasts Of The Southern Wild (Zeitlin, 2012) and La La Land (Chazelle, 2016) express clear ideologies in their narratives that effectively influence the audience. However, Beasts Of The Southern Wild (Zeitlin, 2012) is more free to express the beliefs of its director in spite of its lack of access to a worldwide audience unlike La La Land (Chazelle, 2016).

Spectatorship: A Plan

Question – “How far do your chosen films demonstrate the importance of visual and soundtrack cues in influencing spectator response?”

Intro: One of the most important aspects of film is Spectatorship through the way that the messages of individual filmmakers and their films are interpreted. Over time, various film theorists and film critics have developed various beliefs on how audiences interact with films.

Audience: Many theorists believe that there are two central ways for audiences to interpret films through the belief of whether they watch films actively or passively. Theories surrounding active participation within films include the idea that audience members openly position themselves within the story to sympathise with the events and characters taking place on screen and thus can take in various different interpretations such as the Uses and Gratifications Model developed by Blumler, Gurevitch and Katz. By contrast, the Hypodermic-Syringe Model (initially formed in the 1930s) expresses the idea that the audience only receive the messages that the filmmakers intend them to. However, this model is often viewed as being somewhat flawed as these messages are seen as only being surface level interpretations.

Beasts Of The Southern Wild (Zeitlin, 2012) more easily follows the Uses and Gratifications Model through intending for the audience to actively participate in the film as a result of the focus on character. However, the Hypodermic-Syringe Model can still be viewed as being an interpretation of how an audience would react to the film through the way that the director has positioned the audience to become sympathetic towards the main characters and the Bathtub community they live in. Across the film, various visual and audio choices are used to indicate when extra emphasis is placed on Hushpuppy, most often through the use of point of view shots or voice-overs. An example of the former is seen in the sequence where the characters first enter the evacuation centre to make the audience sympathise with them more whereas the latter is used to explore Hushpuppy’s true thoughts on events.

In the case of La La Land (Chazelle, 2016), the audience is most likely to mirror the Uses and Gratifications Model and interpret the relationship between Seb and Mia based on related personal experiences on an individual basis. Early in the film’s release, it received largely positive reviews although it has been looked back upon with criticism towards its characterisation and lack of accurate representation of Los Angeles. La La Land (Chazelle, 2016) is also outwardly identified as an escapist film which can impact the way that various audiences approach it which can lead to someone with an outside view believing that the audience would be more likely to watch the film passively to temporarily remove themselves from real world issues. The clearest example of the Hypodermic-Syringe Model in the film is the belief that such an audience should feel overjoyed for Mia and Seb throughout it and saddened by their separation by the end of the film. Within most mainstream Hollywood films, the soundtrack is intended to be used as a way to manipulate the audience into feeling certain ways towards various situations in the sequences they’re used in with La La Land (Chazelle, 2016) using uplifting music to represent the relationship between the two main characters.

Film readings: The idea of film readings results in three major ways to view a film based on how an audience’s reaction compares to the intentions of the filmmaker. The three central readings are the preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings. Within Beasts of the Southern Wild (Zeitlin, 2012), these readings are prevalent with the preferred reading being a criticism of the modern world through the exploration of those that it rejects through the portrayal of the characters as social outcasts. However, most audiences are more likely to interpret this as the characters being individuals who merely want to live peacefully without restrictions from their Government in spite of their inability to raise their children in such an isolated. Finally the oppositional reading is based around the belief that the film romanticised the lives of third world communities as a form of escapism from the reality of the situation presented to the audience.

Meanwhile, La La Land (Chazelle, 2016) also displays these three types of readings. In this case, the preferred reading is that the two characters follow a love story in an attempt to achieve their goals in ways that makes the audience believe the relationship between the couple and are openly engrossed in the narrative. Along with this, the film is intended to be an exploration of the American Dream. The negotiated reading is based around the probability that audience members would only accept certain elements of the film on an individual basis (such as seeing the real world flaws of the relationship). In contrast to this, the oppositional reading would see an audience outright rejecting the ideas and narrative presented to them in the film out of beliefs that the ways characters try to accomplish their goals damage their relationship.

Essay conclusion: Overall, spectatorship can be used in conjunction with film ideologies to allow filmmakers to create effective impacts on the audience.

Ideology: A Plan

Question – “How valuable has ideological analysis been in developing your understanding of the themes of your chosen films?”

Intro: In order to explore various themes, filmmakers often utilise cinema to spread their ideologies to the different forms of audiences. These can be drastically different depending on the circumstances under which a film is made. An example of this can be seen in the differences between Beasts Of The Southern Wild (Benh Zeitlin, 2012) and La La Land (Damien Chazelle, 2016).

Beasts Of The Southern Wild intro: As an independently made film, Beasts Of The Southern Wild (Zeitlin, 2012) is more free to explore the ideologies of its filmmakers. Along with this, it was Benh Zeitlin’s first full length film and the second of only three films. Many independent films are have low budgets – with this film specifically having a budget of $1.8 million – and thus are unable to gain the attention of large audiences which forces them to focus upon making their narratives stand out to the small groups that they try to appeal to and often debut at film festivals, with Beasts Of The Southern Wild (Zeitlin, 2012) itself being shown at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2012 before getting released a few months later.

Beasts Of The Southern Wild audience: Due to being made outside of the Studios of Hollywood, it is easier for Beasts Of The Southern Wild (Zeitlin, 2012) to ignore the expectations set out by its audience. To keep the film focused, Zeitlin places an emphasis on characters above action. Throughout the film, there are shots of Aurochs thawing from ice shelves and charging across America which give the audience the impression that the creatures would play some role in the film’s ending but once Hushpuppy encounters them, they just leave which may make the some audience members look back at the scenes containing them as being pointless in hindsight. For the entirety of the film, the audience is positioned with the intention to view the main characters as underdogs through their lifestyle and their vulnerabilities as a result of it.

Beasts Of The Southern Wild filmmakers: The central film theory followed by Beasts Of The Southern Wild (Zeitlin, 2012) is the Marxist theory through its ability to challenge the conventions of Hollywood films in some form in order to motivate the members of the audience to form individual interpretations for themselves. This manifests in various ways across the film through directing where the focus of the majority of the audience with a shallow depth of field on most camera shots. Another theory that it follows is the feminist through its presentation of Hushpuppy’s life and the struggles she is forced through both within her community and in the wider world. The clearest example of these struggles takes place nearing the end of the film where she and several of her friends try to find her mother after her father becomes gravely ill in which she attempts to have grown up responses to the events she becomes involved in from the influence of the adults in the Bathtub community seen in the first half of the film before the village got flooded.

However, the film also presents the locals as repressing emotion which leads to many of the adults being overly aggressive in ways associated with the hero stereotype. This even extends into the end of the film where Wink is dying of a long and debilitating illness. One possible way to interpret this is that it is bad to express emotions regardless as to whether the director intended for such a message to be present in the film and leaving them closed off and isolated in the real world. The filmmakers also put forward the idea that American police are often more aggressive than is necessary. This is presented in the midpoint where authorities initially remove the characters from their community and how oppressive the centre they are placed in feels.

La La Land intro: In contrast, La La Land (Chazelle, 2016) is able to reach mainstream audiences through its link to contemporary Hollywood although it still manages to find its own niche within the romance genre with its element of the jazz culture. One way it is able to do this was through the greatly expanded budget Hollywood films are capable of receiving in comparison to indie films as La La Land received $30 million in its budget.

La La Land audience: Although La La Land (Chazelle, 2016) was produced under the jurisdiction of Hollywood, it was still able to at least somewhat bend the rules and restrictions placed on it by the studio that created it to shock the audience. Although there are various points in the film where the narrative diverts from the regular conventions of romantic films, the clearest of these is the film’s ending where the two main characters are separated from each other. However, although this ending seemed innovative to modern audiences, it originates from the Golden Age of Hollywood where films were controlled much more directly with this being one of the most common endings at the time where it was called the soft spot ending. In order to entertain and appeal to as wide an audience as possible, the film is centred around a very traditional straight romance between the two main characters. However, the film is able to avoid the expectations for the characterisation of the main roles as neither character is overly heroic and they are instead presented as flawed but more natural people.

La La Land filmmakers: As a result of its place in mainstream cinema, La La Land (Chazelle, 2016) is expected to follow dominant ideologies. The central ideologies pushed in the film are based around a romanticised view of the American Dream and the concept of the traditional belief of the perfect relationship. Even in the final scene, both views persist despite the characters having been separated with the American Dream view being presented through Mia succeeding in achieving her goals and the view of her and Seb’s relationship is preserved through a dream sequence of the two characters if they had stayed together. Through Mia’s role in the film, La La Land (Chazelle, 2016) can be argued to be influenced by feminist film theory.

Essay conclusion (compare): Both Beasts Of The Southern Wild (Zeitlin, 2012) and La La Land (Chazelle, 2016) express clear ideologies in their narratives. However, Beasts Of The Southern Wild (Zeitlin, 2012) is more free to express the beliefs of its director in spite of its lack of access to worldwide audience unlike La La Land (Chazelle, 2016).

Component 1a – Essay: Context

“Compare how far the two films you have studied reflect the times they were made.”

Both Casablanca (Micheal Curtiz, 1942) and Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967) can be argued to be seen as products of the eras they were created in and how their development became effected by the state of the Hollywood studios at these times. It is also clear that both were heavily influenced by events outside of the American film industry that were occurring at the time when they were filmed.

Throughout Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942), the characters and plot reflect the state of the world during the 1940s. The executive producer of Warner Brothers – Jack Warner – and the film’s crew intentionally based the plot on the Second World War which was ongoing at the time. The major reason for this choice was that Warner wished to use the film as a way to push forward his opinions on seeing wider American involvement within the conflict. This was also seen through the way that various stereotypes in the film were presented with the main heroes all being Americans fighting against villains from various nationalities affiliated with the Axis powers during WW2. Another stereotype seen throughout the film was the social position of certain characters such as all three main characters had been driven out of their home countries by the time of the film.

Along with this, Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942) was a clear example of films created during the Golden Age of Hollywood as shown by the emphasis on the role of the Warner Brothers. During this time, studios placed strict mandates on the films they produced and thus created their own styles within the genres they created. As a result of this, Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942) falls into the genres of both romance and war films with its ending with Rick and Ilza being separated being viewed during the era as counter cultural and one of three types of ending seen as acceptable by studios at the time (with the other endings involving the lovers remaining together or one dying). Another key element of Warner Brothers and the Classical Hollywood Style that can be seen in Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942) is the emphasis on lavish and expensive sets constructed by studios in order to show the amount of money they had while also creating a sense of escapism for the audience through the use of exotic settings in their films. Along with this, studios placed an emphasis on hiring actors to appear only in their own films and ensuring that their protagonists appear as attractive as possible to the audience through the use of catch lights. Like most films in this era, the camera movements are extremely simple to allow for a focus on characters and not confuse the audience.

By contrast, Bonnie and Clyde (Penn, 1967) was filmed during a time when Hollywood was going through radical changes. Across the world, film was undergoing similar changes as directors such as Arthur Penn started taking inspiration from the techniques of the French New Wave. In the aftermath of the Golden Age of Hollywood collapsing, the major studios were forced to produce a wider range of films to uphold their revenue which allowed for certain directors and producers to push to make the films they wanted to make rather than being commanded by the studios they worked for. In the case of Bonnie and Clyde (Penn, 1967) both Arthur Penn and producer/actor Warren Beatty wished to create a film to truthfully represent the story of Bonnie and Clyde which led to their portrayal as anti heroes in the film through their immoral acts similar to other films of the time in an attempt to move away from the black and white stories of good against evil seen during Hollywood’s Golden Age. Along with this, cinematographers also began to use more complex camera movements with regular uses of sweeping crane shots and extreme wide shots to establish locations.

Films of this era also began to film on location out of necessity as the studios could no longer construct dozens of sets specifically for individual films. Bonnie and Clyde (Penn, 1967) was thus filmed in the Southern States in America as they were still recovering from the effects of the Great Depression which allowed the crew to capture more realistic imagery in their scenes as the film was set in the 1930s. A side effect of this is that lighting in the film regularly comes from natural sources and is unable to be controlled by the cinematographers while shooting scenes. Another place this desire for realism is displayed is through the use of regular southern accents rather than the mid-Atlantic accents seen in Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942) that had been created specifically for use in high budget films during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Despite this, the film is still used as escapism as it is set in the 1930s rather than modern day.

In conclusion, both of these films clearly reflect the times they were made in. As a result, they also reflect the position Hollywood was in at the times of their releases.

Component 1a – Essay: Auteur

“The director is always the most important influence on a film.”

Both Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942) and Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967) can be seen as deviating from this statement and were created through collaborations of multiple auteur based filmmakers. Despite this, Casablanca was also forced to conform to may studio mandates which no longer existed by the time of Bonnie and Clyde (Penn, 1967).

Casablanca (Cutriz, 1942) can be seen as a product of the studio systems that dominated the Golden Age of Hollywood where the 8 major studios were known for making specific genres of film with specific beliefs about how films should play out which gave less room for individual auteurs to make their mark on them. Many of the cinematic elements of across Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942) fall in line with the Classical Hollywood Style. An emphasis is placed upon the top billed actors and giving them a star quality through the use of bloom effects and catch lights to make their faces look smoother and as attractive to the audience as possible.

Despite this, the studios themselves could be seen as being the auteurs in this era of American Cinema as each carved out their own House Styles to distinguish their films from those of studios through the use of common motifs that carried across various productions. Films under Warner Brothers during this time became known for their realism and often being set in urban locations to appeal to the average American audience of the time. Despite this element of realism, their films still relied on large and expansive sets – such as Rick’s café in Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942) – out of a desire to tightly control every part of the production including the weather while also displaying the large amounts of money and influence they had. This control is also displayed in the opening credits of Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942) where there is a fanfare over the studio logo is the first thing the audience sees which indicates that they are about to watch a prestigious production.

Even with the dominance of Warner Brothers, Michael Curtiz was still able to influence his own films during their production given his skills as a director that eventually directed 100 films for the studio in 25 years. Like many of the films he directed, Casablanca (1942) focused upon a grounded story based on the real world and he heavily involved himself with almost every area of the film to keep it on schedule.

During this time, executive producers had much more influence over the structure of the films their studios released. As the executive producer of Warner Brothers, Jack Warner was able to push his own political views to audiences in Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942) and placed an emphasis on his belief that America should be more active in WW2 prior to Pearl Harbour. As a way to reinforce this, a majority of characters in the film are based upon stereotypes of the era with a black and white conflict consisting of American characters heroes of the film fighting the German villains.

By the time of Bonnie and Clyde (Penn, 1967), American Cinema had dramatically changed as the Golden Age of Hollywood transitioned into New Hollywood at the end of the 1950s.

As the director, Arthur Penn’s interest in anti-hero characters influenced the way he chose to portray Bonnie and Clyde during the film. Despite being the film’s protagonists, the main characters are still presented as being on the wrong side of the law while still being sympathetic to the audience with the Great Depression acting as a justification for their actions. This culminates in the final scene where both Bonnie and Clyde are gunned down violently from a concealed enemy. The combination of both real time and slow motion effects with the emotionless presentation of their killers put the audience in the position of feeling sorry for Bonnie and Clyde. Along with this, Penn used the film to push against sensitive topics in the American film industry at the time and included close up and graphic violence to shock audiences as this was almost never seen in films at the time.

Warren Beatty spearheaded the production of Bonnie and Clyde (Penn, 1967) out of a desire to star as Clyde in an accurate portrayal of their story. In order to do this, he collaborated with Penn and several handpicked screenwriters and editors. Similarly to Curtiz, Beatty involved himself in every aspect of the production to ensure that the film was released at the highest standard that it could achieve. Beatty’s role as Clyde also influenced the way the film was created as he pushed for his character to be as authentic as possible even if it meant forcing it against traditional film themes of the time.

In contrast to Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942), the entirety of Bonnie and Clyde (Penn, 1967) was filmed on location in the southern states of America as most were still recovering from the Great Depression and reflected the feel that the director and producer wanted to achieve in the film. Another result of filming on location was that the film was able to make use of crane shots to establish locations and the busy city streets while also bringing in more light from natural sources such as the shadows of passing clouds during the scene where Bonnie talks with Clyde about wanting to see her family which can be seen as foreshadowing their deaths by the end of the film. Along with this, the cinematographers had more space to improvise as a result of not having everything created purely for the benefit of the film which led to western inspired shots of streets during the first robbery scene of the film.

One of the major inspirations for the editor Dede Allen was the French New Wave which had started in the 1950s to counter classic forms of filming and also spread to influence most European film industries. This led to Bonnie and Clyde (Penn, 1967) using rapid cuts to express emotion, especially in the last scene where the characters share a final look with each other which is conveyed through shot/reverse shot. Another major technique used is the jump cut which skips part of a clip of footage cut out of the shot in order to show the passage of time and violate traditional continuity editing which represents Bonnie’s boredom in the opening scene of the film. Tracking shots are a consistent element of the film during casual moments between the characters which allow for them to dictate the direction of their own story as the camera follows them fluidly and is often also hand-held to add a natural tone and feel to the scene. This can also be seen as reflective of how the Hollywood Studios became subservient to their directors and the stories they wanted to tell on screen.

Overall, both Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942) and Bonnie and Clyde (Penn, 1967) are examples that directors are not always the most influential part of a film production as both were created through collaborative productions. However, Bonnie and Clyde (Penn, 1967) displays more independence as a film since it placed an emphasis on its story instead of the expectations of American Cinema at the time of its release.

Auteur Theory and Pulp Fiction Essay

Essay question: “Experimental film is often the result of an auteur challenging established conventions with fresh ideas.” With reference to your chosen film option, how far do you agree with this statement.

Plan: Introduce Tarantino and Pulp Fiction, show understanding of auteur, understanding of Bazin/auteur’s history. LINK TO QUESTION! Identify Tarantino’s experimental auteur elements. Directly address film style. Conclude concisely (auteurs and non auteurs). Focus on Pulp Fiction first, auteur second.

Essay:

In 1992, Tarantino was propelled towards success with his violent and exciting debut film Reservoir Dogs. Within two years after this, he released Pulp Fiction which again earned him fame and notoriety in the film world with a crime film still filled with the same level of profanities and violence as his previous film at a moderately bigger budget while adding a seeming randomness to the plot through its non-chronological structure. The freedom of control over his films he was given even before these successes set Tarantino up to become an auteur director. The idea of auteur theory came from the belief that certain filmmakers leave a distinctive style across their work which can be identified by the artistic or thematic elements commonly seen throughout their various films and is often described as “common traits that denote the work of a specific director”. Even though auteurs can be traced all the way back to the early years of cinema with stars such as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, the development of the theory itself came about during the 1940s/50s during the career of the film critic André Bazin who believed that auteurs focused more on mise-en-scène and “using the camera as a pen”.

An example of auteur techniques used by Tarantino is the way he shoots scenes and how he positions shots. One of the most common stylistic cinematic choices made by Tarantino with shots of driving often being shown from certain positions, such as parallel to the car windscreens both within Pulp Fiction and several of his other films with this shot being the most common shot position whenever Vincent is seen in a car in the film. Tarantino also uses a combination of cinematic and editing techniques to build tension and anticipation such as how he extends the scene where Vincent gives Mia an adrenaline shot through long time between certain cuts and using slow motion while removing any form of music.

When Tarantino’s films focus on casual conversations, they are structured in a somewhat realistic manner with everyday things being discussed at length (along with referencing films from the b and c tiers of culture). Even though this seems unnecessary, Tarantino often finds ways to link these conversations to later scenes such as how Jules explains the concepts of TV ‘pilots’ to Vincent in an early sequence of Pulp Fiction which later becomes a talking point between Vincent and Mia during ‘Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace’s Wife’ with the events at the beginning of the story of the two characters a restaurant being referenced in the same sequence before they happen. A more casual way mundane conversations are woven into the film is through having mise-en-scene related to it for the audience to take notice of such as how another of the topics covered is about burgers which are seen in the apartment and used by Jules to make small talk with Brett while Vincent looks for the briefcase. This could be seen as a fresh idea as most conventional films place a higher emphasis on exposition and instruction based dialogue to move the plot forward whereas Tarantino’s naturalistic approach to dialogue in his films which helps enhance the film and leave the audience wondering in what unusual ways conversations will continue.

One of Tarantino’s most noticeable auteur features is his use of heavily dramatic and over-the-top violence, often during action sequences. Within Pulp Fiction, this is easily seen throughout the film with how casually the main characters kill those around them with Jules and Vincent quickly killing everyone that had been present in Brett’s apartment – with Marvin’s death being both accidental and the most violent with body parts being sent across the car they were in – and how Butch guns down Vincent without a second thought later in the story. However, even though Pulp Fiction has this to a large extent, some of Tarantino’s later films exaggerate this even more such as how sword wounds in Kill Bill Volume 1 and 2 show blood spraying out of them as if they were water leaving a hose or Django Unchained (2012) which has a sequence involving a massive shootout which leaves all but a few characters dead and has Django using dying men as human shields during the fight. On top of this, Tarantino often juxtaposes violence with character reactions, music or sound effects that add a sense of levity to sequences such as how Vincent brushes off Marvin’s death as an accident or the sequence in Reservoir Dogs where the upbeat song ‘Stuck in the Middle with You’ is played while Mr Blonde brutally interrogates Nash. Despite similar levels of violence being seen in other 18 rated films, Tarantino challenges established conventions in cinema culture as these levels of gore and violence are often reserved for horror films and are rarely done so for levity which he also forces the audience to watch in order to question their position across the course of the film.

Tarantino’s approach to filmmaking even extends into the casting element through the way that he has a large amount of actors that he regularly collaborates with. Two notable examples of this are how Tim Roth starred in Tarantino’s first two and latest two films (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, The Hateful Eight and Once Upon A Time in Hollywood) and Pulp Fiction was the first of six Tarantino films to star Samuel L. Jackson. Along with this, Tarantino tries to cast actors who have faded from popularity such as casting John Travolta as Vincent in Pulp Fiction after his acting career took a downturn in the 1980s. Another detail about his films is how most if not all of them revolve around a large ensemble of well known actors, either in the form of a single group of protagonists or multiple stories. For the characters themselves, Tarantino often focuses his films on strong black or female lead characters such as Jules in Pulp Fiction and later ‘The Bride’/Kiddo from Kill Bill: Volume 1 and 2 (2003/2004) with the reason for this being an example of Tarantino’s auteur nature and his challenging of established conventions is due to how traditional Hollywood films – and even other forms of media – treated these groups of people at the time, especially during the 1960s and 70s when he was young (with his childhood film experiences being why he regularly constructs his film worlds in the style of the 1960s/70s from his own point of view) as several of them relegated female characters to damsels in distress and both being placed in the positions of being side characters to the main protagonist.

In conclusion, Quentin Tarantino clearly shows off his auteur qualities in Pulp Fiction and separates him from other famous film directors and definitively labels him as an auteur in the view of André Bazin. The reason this creates of a divide between Tarantino and other directors is because some directors either are not given full control over their films or do not feel confident enough in their abilities to deliver a competent movie with full control which is where the differences between auteurs and non auteurs begin.

Narrative Essay

“Unfamiliar approaches to narratives can be both difficult and exciting for the spectator.” Discuss this comment in relation to your film study.

Plan: Introduction (Tarantino and Pulp Fiction). Propp’s 7 character types (link to stock american fiction character types used in film), 31 narrative functions (story instead of plot). Toderov’s equilibrium theory (both stories and full film). Lévi-Strauss’ binary oppositions. Narrative vs plot. Narrative perspective (different POVs). Conclusion (Pulp Fiction successful for not adhering to standard storytelling).

Essay version 1:

In Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994), Tarantino uses unfamiliar narrative approaches throughout the film to confuse and excite the audience. Despite only being his second film, Tarantino felt free to experiment with the structure of Pulp Fiction’s narrative in order to form a more distinctive experience while also using his small budget effectively which led to his filmmaking success after the popularity of it and his first film, Reservoir Dogs (1992).

The 7 character types was one of Vladimir Propp’s narrative theories which is based around his research of Russian folktales which led him to the conclusion that all of them contain 7 universal characters which consist of the hero, princess, doner, helper, false hero, dispatcher and villain. However, Pulp Fiction does not use these character types and instead takes from more modern character types to add more moral ambiguity to the main characters. Despite being closest to the hero category, none of the protagonists (Vincent, Butch and Jules) are able to be separated into any of Propp’s characters but instead fit into the modern character type of antihero (although Butch comes closest to being a stereotypical hero). To some extent, it could be argued that Mia is an equivalent to a princess or damsel in distress due to her need to be saved within the story she appears in although this comes from her own mistakes rather than those of a clear villain.

Propp also created the theory of 31 narrative functions with the belief that – even if all don’t appear within a story – those that do appear in the specific order established by Propp. Like his character types, this narrative theory is seemingly incompatible with Pulp Fiction due to its non chronological structure.

Another narrative theory that is altered through the way that Pulp Fiction is structured is the equilibrium theory by Tzvetan Todorov which can be applied to events across Pulp Fiction. The theory follows the structure of an established equilibrium being disrupted, its recognition, attempted restoration of it and either the establishment of a new equilibrium or a return to the original. However, this theory is only applicable to the story of Pulp Fiction instead of its plot. The simplest example of the equilibrium theory in the film is the structure of the first story, ‘Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace’s Wife’, where the original equilibrium is Vincent acting as an escort for Mia. This is only disrupted towards the end of the story when Mia overdoses on heroin. In recognition and response, Vincent finds and takes her to the house he got it from to give her an adrenaline shot. The new equilibrium is established when she is revived, Vincent takes her home and they agree to never tell anyone about what happened.

Unlike the other theories mentioned, the theory of binary oppositions created by Claude Lévi-Strauss is more applicable to Pulp Fiction in its intended way. Binary oppositions is similar to the idea of character types but is used to split characters into various categories for a broad range of concepts with including good or evil/hero or villain, young or old, and rich or poor. Within Pulp Fiction, the main use of binary oppositions that propels the plot is the opposition of gangsters and non gangsters which gives the characters their motivations with Jules and Vincent (gangsters) being sent out to retrieve the briefcase that acts as a MacGuffin in the first and last stories of the film whereas Butch (a non gangster) is motivated by his honour to win his boxing match and escape from the gangster while also later choosing to save Marsellus (the lead gangster) towards the end of ‘The Gold Watch’.

Even though they are intrinsically linked, the differences between plot and narrative alter the way the film is interpreted. Plot is the version of a film’s events as presented within the film itself regardless of whether or not it plays out in chronological order. On the other hand, a film’s narrative is the way that information about the events is communicated to the audience across the course of the film. Along with this, the narrative is often presented as being from a specific interpretation of what happens within the film.

The narrative perspective of Pulp Fiction is based on the restricted viewpoint. The restricted viewpoint follows the narrative of a film from a first person point of view. This is noticeable in Pulp Fiction through how the audience only learn important information when the characters do, such as how they only find out that Vincent is in Butch’s apartment when his gun is seen and he comes out of the bathroom where he is then shot by Butch. This perspective also forces the audience to reflect on what they have seen earlier on in the film given the way that the events of the film are structured with the main example of this being in the first and last sequences of the film (both set in the dinner) where the dialogue that is said by Honey Bunny at the beginning of the robbery is altered between the two sequences to show how the perspective has shifted from Pumpkin and Honey Bunny in the opening sequence to Jules in the closing sequence.

In conclusion, Pulp Fiction’s (Tarantino, 1994) use of unconventional narrative technique and its refusal to adhere to standard storytelling is one of the reasons for its success due to how unique it made the film to audiences at the time.

Essay version 2:

In 1992, Tarantino was propelled towards success with his violent and exciting debut film Reservoir Dogs. Within two years after this, he released Pulp Fiction which again earned him fame and notoriety in the film world with a crime film still filled with the same level of profanities and violence as his previous film at a moderately bigger budget while basing his characters on various Hollywood clichés. 

Tarantino uses modern character types as a template to model his characters around. The main example of this is how all three of the protagonists fall into the category of antihero due to the actions they perform to add moral ambiguity to the characters across the film which is done by Tarantino in order to manipulate the audience to sympathise with characters that would usually be disliked or feared in the real world. Another way that Tarantino uses characters is by basing them around the fundamental character stereotypes and add slight nuance to them to prevent them from becoming generic. This contrasts to the traditionalist theory of the 7-character types by Vladimir Propp who believed that all characters fit into either hero, princess, villain, false hero, helper, dispatcher or donor. This is likely done to separate Tarantino’s work from what had come before and create a more compelling narrative. 

Tarantino also uses a non-chronological narrative in Pulp Fiction as a way to experiment with the structure of the film while creating a distinctive experience with sequences that leave the audience intrigued. The unconventional nature of the film allows for a more episodic feel to the events which is enhanced by using intertitles to separate the main stories in the film. This approach to filmmaking leads to another of Propp’s theories being incompatible (the 31 narrative functions) as the plot does not allow for the functions to appear in the specific order established by Propp even though it could be argued that some of his narrative functions do in fact appear in the film. 

Even though it is likely a coincidental inclusion, Pulp Fiction uses an altered version of the equilibrium theory by Tzvetan Todorov. The theory follows the structure of an established equilibrium being disrupted, its recognition, attempted restoration of it and either the establishment of a new equilibrium or a return to the original. However, due to the non-chronological structure, this can only be applied to the stories of Pulp Fiction instead of the plot or narrative. The simplest example of the equilibrium theory in the film is the structure of the first story, ‘Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace’s Wife’, where the original equilibrium is Vincent acting as an escort for Mia. This is only disrupted towards the end of the story when Mia overdoses on heroin. In recognition and response, Vincent finds and takes her to the house he got it from to give her an adrenaline shot. The new equilibrium is established when she is revived, Vincent takes her home and they agree to never tell anyone about what happened. Tarantino places the disruption of the equilibrium near the end of the story as a way to build anticipation within the audience as – due to dialogue in the story’s prelude and early in the story itself – they expect something to go wrong during the events onscreen. 

Given the film’s focus on the crime genre, Pulp Fiction divides its characters into two categories – notably gangsters and non-gangsters – to present a look at the more casual elements lives of gangsters rather than just the intimidating way that hit-men and similar criminals are presented in other crime films while also propelling the plot forward by giving the characters their motivations as the first and last stories commence with Jules and Vincent (gangsters) retrieve the briefcase that acts as a MacGuffin in their stories, whereas Butch (a non-gangster) is motivated by his honour to win his boxing match and escape from the gangsters but also choose to save Marsellus (the lead gangster) towards the end of ‘The Gold Watch’. This links to the established narrative theory of binary oppositions by Claude Lévi-Strauss (similar to the idea of character types) of showing contrasts in the two categories of various concepts. 

Even though they are intrinsically linked, the differences between plot and narrative alter the way the film is interpreted. Plot is the version of a film’s events as presented within the film itself regardless of whether or not it plays out in chronological order. On the other hand, a film’s narrative is the way that information about the events is communicated to the audience across the course of the film. Along with this, the narrative is often presented as being from a specific interpretation of what happens within the film. 

The narrative perspective of Pulp Fiction is based on the restricted viewpoint in order to build mystery within sequences and anticipation in the audience. The restricted viewpoint follows the narrative of a film from a first-person point of view and highly noticeable in Pulp Fiction through how the audience only learn important information when the characters do, such as how they only find out that Vincent is in Butch’s apartment when his gun is seen and he comes out of the bathroom where he is then shot by Butch. This perspective also forces the audience to reflect on what they have seen earlier on in the film given the way that the events of the film are structured with the main example of this being in the first and last sequences of the film (both set in the dinner) where the dialogue that is said by Honey Bunny at the beginning of the robbery is altered between the two sequences to show how the perspective has shifted from Pumpkin and Honey Bunny in the opening sequence to Jules in the closing sequence.

In conclusion, Tarantino’s of refusal to follow standard narrative theories and tropes in favour of using unorthodox techniques is one of the reasons why Pulp Fiction was so successful as it was able to use the narrative to its advantage to intrigue its audience in a way that had not been done before.

Component 2b — Documentary Film (Filmmakers’ Theories).

“To what extent can it be said that your chosen documentary is shaped by the filmmaker’s approach? Refer to at least one filmmaker’s theory you have studied.”

Plan:

Introduction: Discuss the beliefs of Bill Nichols, specifically how he sees all films as documentaries, mention his 6 Modes Of Documentary Films, mention how Sisters In Law (Kim Longinotto, 2005) fits into his Observational Mode.

First point: Discuss Kim Longinotto’s use of Documentary Filmmaking and why she uses the Observational Mode, make mention of Sisters In Law.

Second point: Explain how her views link to the way that the events and themes of Sisters In Law are explored throughout the film such as how she does not give the audience context behind the events of the film which forces the audience to actively participate in the film.

Third point: Further explain this with direct examples from specific sequences of the film and how they are influenced by Longinotto’s theories.

Conclusion: Discuss how the theories of filmmakers can help enhance the audience’s viewing experience and make mention of how Longinotto’s style compares to that of other documentary filmmakers such as Micheal Moore.

Essay:

Often, films tread a fine line between the classifications of Fiction films and Documentary films. As a result, one of the main theories created by the famous film theorist Bill Nichols is the belief that “all films are documentaries” and his philosophy seemingly applies to any film due to how he believes that “even the most fantastical fiction film provides information about the culture that produces it”. Along with this, another of his well known theories is the Six Modes of Documentary Films which categorises films commonly accepted as documentaries into six distinct groups: expository, poetic, participatory, preformative, reflexive and observational modes. An example of a director that uses the observational mode is British filmmaker Kim Longinotto who uses the mode as a starting point for her own theories.

Kim Longinotto has used the observational mode of documentaries in each of her films due to how she never intrudes on events happening in front of the camera with the aim of capturing “objective reality”. Along with this, she is never seen interacting with those she films as she feels that ordering people to do specific things and that action will flow much more naturally if there is no influence from those filming it. Her most famous documentaries often show the hardships women face in underdeveloped areas of the world, such as how Sisters In Law (Kim Longinotto, 2005) explores how women in Cameroon are discriminated by its legal system. The reason she chooses subjects like this is because she sees women standing up against tradition and oppression fascinating and motivating. Another view that she expresses in her films is the refusal to retake any shots as it would result in the need to attempt to reconstruct the action that had already taken place which would lead to the scene losing its realism.

These views are expressed throughout Longinotto’s film Sisters In Law. This is most obvious with the fact that it focuses on 4 court cases of abuse against women along with the female lawyers involved with them. In these events, the camera is rarely – if ever – acknowledged by those being recorded which leads to the cases coming to the same result as if the documentary wasn’t taking place which leads to the fulfilment of the observer acting as a neutral party to events as the observational mode intends. As well as not interacting with those filmed, Longinotto also refuses to directly tell the audience the significance of the film’s events and instead allows for the audience to work it out for themselves as the film naturally progresses. In a similar way, she only gives the audience information necessary to understand the documentary (which is often delivered clearly through the actions of those filmed) in the hopes to inspire them to actively research the topics and ideas presented within the film, such as how in the opening shot she does not give context to where the documentary takes place or what it is about.

Kim Longinotto’s ideas are shown clearly in the way each event is handled. An example of this is in the transitions between the different court cases such as how as soon as the trial involving the rape of Sonita Maundre is concluded, the film moves on straight to the next court case which may leave the audience confused as to what happened after the trial. This contrasts to other modes of documentaries as most documentaries (regardless if they’re TV or film based) would give either a narration or a piece of text to explain the events that followed. However, the lack of such information not only allows for the film to flow more seamlessly between actions but also reinforces the idea of Longinotto and the film crew are passive observers who have no effect on the events taking place and are unaware of what happens next. Along with this, she often only uses simple shots such as wide shots to allow a larger focus on the events in the film.

In conclusion, knowing of filmmakers’ theories help to establish a closer link between an audience and a film by allowing them to have a deeper understanding for the film and being given an insight into the mindset of the individual director. Longinotto’s specific theories make Sisters In Law unique to other documentaries watched such as the expository mode displayed in Fahrenheit 11/9 (Micheal Moore, 2018) or the preformative mode of The War Game (Peter Watkins, 1965), both of which directly impact the events they show – with the events of The War Game being completely fictional – whereas Longinotto sees no need to alter events to achieve a desired goal.

Component 2b — Documentary Film (The Significance of Digital Technology)

“Portable, digital cameras, digital sound recording equipment and non-linear digital editing have had a very significant impact on documentary film.” How far has digital technology had an impact on your chosen documentary film?

Plan:

Introduction: Give an overview on digital technology in film as a whole along with how directors have reacted to its implementation.

Sisters In Law: Give a brief overview of the film. Digital technology allows for more natural dialogue during interviews and events in the film and how it allows for an enhanced experience. Use of digital technology behind the camera.

Conclusion: Sum up points mentioned and quickly compare it to wider use of digital technology in films.

Essay Version 1:

Recent developments in film technology have led to the film industry becoming more and more digital. As a result, its implementation has caused debates among respected and famous directors but most have begun to include it in their films due to their versatility. However, some directors still favour original style film based cameras.

Sisters In Law (Kim Longinotto, 2005) is an Observational Documentary based on four court cases handled by female lawyers in a village in the African country of Cameroon, mainly involving abuse of women and children which is used to show how patriarchal parts of the world still are and how it is being overturned. Digital technology has been used in the documentary to more easily capture events such as the court cases themselves by seamlessly starting and stopping at the start and end of the action. This would not have been possible with film cameras as they would take more time to begin recording and would result in the events seeming artificial and fake due to the need to stop and start recording in order to add more film into the camera. It also makes the camera less obstructive to those involved and some rooms may have been too small for film based cameras to be used. Use of digital sound recording allows for a more immersive experience for the audience by allowing for them to hear everything that is said clearly. It also allows for the inclusion of ambient sounds to solidify the reality of the documentary.

In conclusion, Sisters In Law is a clear demonstration of how digital technology has assisted and enhanced the film industry. The main place this is displayed is through the manoeuvrability of the camera which allows it to naturally fit into the small buildings within the town. However, the ways that digital technology is used in the film are simple with the pieces of technology coming across as being tools and nothing more unlike other films. However, it can be argued that digital film in general has led to films being weakened in quality by an increase in amateur filmmakers having more access to create their own film.

Essay Version 2:

Recent developments in film technology have led to the film industry becoming more and more digital. As a result, its implementation has caused debates among respected and famous directors but most have begun to include it in their films due to their versatility. However, some directors still favour original style film based cameras. Sisters In Law (Kim Longinotto, 2005) is an example of the more subtle ways that digital technology can be used.

Sisters In Law is an Observational Documentary based on four court cases handled by female lawyers in a village in the African country of Cameroon, mainly involving abuse of women and children which is used to show how patriarchal parts of the world still are and how it is being overturned.

Even before the filming process starts, digital technology is shown to be a highly valued tool in the different production processes of Sisters In Law (Kim Longinotto, 2005). The main example of this is the differences in prices between film cameras and digital cameras with the latter being far cheaper but just as effective (if not more so) as the former. The price of recording on film based cameras then dramatically increases when the fact of film only having limited space is considered with 11 minutes worth of film sometimes costing £800, this is avoided with digital cameras due to their greatly expanded space to hold more footage through digital means. Along with this, a majority of types of digital technology are more accessible to use than their non digital equivalents which allows for smaller film crews to be behind the camera during the main production/filming process for important events which often take place in small rooms.

The film itself immediately displays its use of digital technology by using a hand held shot to give an overview of the location the film is based in. This is significant as the shot seems to have been taken from within a car standard to the time and location instead of a specific type of camera car used for similar road shots taken for other films and TV shows which helps make the filming of shots like this seem more inconspicuous due to people not behaving differently due to seeing the camera recording their actions. It is likely that Kim Longinotto (the film’s director) decided to do this in order to help establish the environment these events take place in and show the film’s realism. A jump cut is then used to bring the viewer into the events themselves.

Digital technology has been used in the documentary to more easily capture events such as the court cases themselves by seamlessly starting and stopping at the start and end of the action. This would not have been possible with film cameras as they would take more time to begin recording and would result in the events seeming artificial and fake due to the need to stop and start recording in order to add more film into the camera. An example of this is the genuine emotion that is expressed during the scenes when the accusation of the abuse of the young girl Manka at the hands of her guardian is explained to the prosecutor Vera Ngassa along with the following trial.

Another element of the documentary film that would have been harder to achieve if recorded on film cameras is the use of long shots throughout the film. As mentioned above, film cameras can only hold a limited amount of reels at a time and it is a cumbersome process to load more into it which has made long shots rare and difficult to pull off, especially in a naturalistic form of cinema such as Observational Documentaries. In contrast, digital cameras are not limited by external forms of recording to the same extent which allows for long lasting shots which is used in this documentary to either record all the events that take place in small rooms or remain of people of significance within the trials themselves such as the prosecutors and those on trial to see their reactions to what is stated.

Recording the events of the film isn’t the only way digital technology is used within the film. In post-production, the use of this sort of technology makes the editing process far easier. Unlike the process of editing film stock – which requires the pieces of film to be cut apart and stuck together to place shots in the order they’re intended to be shown – editing digital footage can be done on computers and not only streamlines the process by making it faster (to the point of being able to be done in conjunction with the filming process) but also allows for more precision as if a mistake is made, it is still possible to recover footage that would be lost if the same mistake was made editing film reels. This is a significant help to Longinotto as observational documentaries often don’t allow for re-shoots given the lack of influence they have over events that ultimately happen on screen.

In conclusion, Sisters In Law (Kim Longinotto, 2005) is a clear demonstration of how digital technology has assisted and enhanced the film industry. The main place this is displayed is through the maneuverability of the camera which allows it to naturally fit into the small buildings within the town. However, the ways that digital technology is used in the film are simple with the pieces of technology coming across as being tools and nothing more unlike other films. However, it can be argued that digital film in general has led to films being weakened in quality by an increase in amateur filmmakers having more access to create their own films.

Mock Exam (Global Film)