Film Studies: US Films Comparison

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/feb/21/crazy-heart-film-review
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/jan/18/the-wrestler-review-mickey-rourke
http://www.timeout.com/london/film/darren-aronofsky-on-the-films-behind-the-wrestler-1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wrestler_(2008_film)
http://www.timeout.com/london/film/crazy-heart
http://www.metacritic.com/movie/crazy-heart

The French response to The Wrestler (quoted in the New York Times):

'The Wrestler', directed by Darren Aronofsky in a European new-realist style, will not open in French theaters until February, but it won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival, and French critics in particular raved about Mr. Rourke:

“More of a freak than ever, more impressive as well, he is the physical incarnation of the American landscape, its dreams, its violence, its loneliness and we only come to realize this every three years, each time he attempts a comeback,” is how Philippe Azoury, of Libération, put it in September. (Who here even knew Mr. Rourke has a new movie every three years?)

Mr. Azoury had still more to say. “What he gives here, physically, in terms of wacko masochism (wrestling with broken glass, staple gun and barbed wire) as well as spattered sensitivity, is without equal."

(Alessandra Stanley, New York Times)

Narrative - You can use Todorov, Levi-Straus and Propp to deal with a question on narrative. Also the following will help you to respond. (You don't want to simply tell the examiner what happens in the story. You want to explain how the story is structured and fits in with narrative theories.)

What is Narrative Structure? Narrative structure is really about two things: the content of a story (i.e. what a story is about) and the form used to tell a story (i.e. how a story is told). Two common ways to describe these two parts of narrative structure are: story and plot.

Story refers to the raw materials of dramatic action as they might be described in chronological order in a film. Plot refers to the form of storytelling, or the structure, the story follows. An example may be helpful.

If we want to analyze narrative structure, we can use Who? What? and Where? questions to look at the story or content of a movie. ‘How?’ questions are used to examine plot structure. So, to describe the story in Star Wars, for example, we would need to answer the following questions:

· Where is the story set?

· What event begins the story?

· Who are the main characters?

· What conflict(s) do they face? (What motivates them to behave the way they do?)

· What happens to the characters as they face this conflict?

· Who wins the conflict?

· What rewards do they receive?

To describe the plot structure of the movie, we would need to answer these questions:

· How is the major conflict in the story set up?

· How are the main characters introduced?

· How is the story moved along so that the characters must inevitably face the film’s central conflict?

· How is the dramatic confrontation set up as the film draws to its close?

· How does the film resolve most of the major conflicts set up at the outset?

From the audiences’ perspective, story and plot refer to the different ways movies construct meaning for spectators. Story is about trying to determine the key conflicts, main characters, setting, and events in a movie. Plot is about determining the stages at which key conflicts are set up and resolved. What’s interesting about most of the movies made in Hollywood is that, while the stories may change, the plot structure is virtually identical in most of the movies made by Hollywood. According to Bordwell and Thompson, the plot is what we explicitly see and hear while the story includes information that is inferred (suggested) to the viewer.

The most common narrative structure in mainstream films is called the Classical Narrative Structure.

The Classical Narrative Structure

The Classical Narrative Structure is called this because it is the way most movies are made in Hollywood. It’s not classic because it is the oldest structure of storytelling or the best, but the most common. It is the storytelling structure in Star Wars, Buster KeatonÕs The General (1926), The Matrix (Andy and Larry Wachowski, 1999), and any number of other films we might think of. It’s based on a three-act format that organizes the story in the following way.

Act I The Setup

Here, we are introduced to the main characters in the story, their goals, and the obstacles they are likely to face to achieve their objectives. The main conflict in the story is introduced, as well as the major antagonist (the villain) who will stand in the way of the protagonist’s (the hero’s) objectives.

We can call Act I in a movie the Hook. It sets up the story so that the film engages the attention of the audience and suggests the story’s likely development. Act I generally takes up about one quarter of a film’s total length.

Act II The Development

Here plot complications are added to the story. An increasing sense of urgency is created when the main characters encounter obstacles that stand in the way of their journey. The second act generally occupies the middle two-quarters of the film and it often includes a false resolution to the main conflict set up in Act I. Once the false resolution has been encountered, the action in the movie generally points inevitably toward a necessary climax.

Throughout Act II, Cause-Effect Relationships propel the main characters along. Cause-effect rela- tionships involve actions that force a reaction on the part of some character, leading to a new action and reaction, and so on.

Act III The Resolution

In the final segment of the film, the results of the story’s main conflict come to dramatic con- frontation. This is called the Climax. It is the point where key struggles are waged and an eventual victor is determined. In Hollywood films, needless to say, the eventual victor is usually our hero.

Following the climax, Closure is introduced into the story, which simply means that all the major conflicts, issues, or ideas in the story are resolved. The so-called Hollywood ending is the most popular kind of closure in the classical narrative structure. Films with this kind of conclusion usually close with a sense that the protagonists in the film live happily ever after.

Resolution - This question is also about narrative but focuses on the ending of the film. You can still use the theories above but the examiner will expect you to consider how satisfying the ending is. Does it 'tie up loose ends'? Is it an 'open' ending that may lead to a sequel? Is it a happy ending (classical narrative) or a sad one? Is it an ambiguous ending where the spectator is uncertain about what happens next? Is it a circular narrative, where we return to the start of the film? Were 'alternate' endings filmed which change the narrative from the released film? Was the ending changed as a result of preview screenings? What messages and values can we take from the ending?
Representation - questions about representation often focus on gender but you could also be asked to comment on the representation of social groups or places. Read more about the concept of representation here http://howardschoolmedia.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Representation
Gender - questions about gender are normally associated with representation, but you could be asked about whether your characters fulfil typical gender roles in the films.
Messages and values - films are not just entertainment; they convey messages to the spectator (you). These messages can be intended by the director (a preferred reading) or open to your own interpretation (a negotiated reading). A message could be something like 'war destroys people's lives' in a film that shows the impact of war on a family. "The Shawshank Redemption" carries the message that you should never give up hope. A value is something that humans think is important. So a film that is about a reformed criminal might be promoting the value of honesty. Similarly, the story "A Christmas Carol" supports the value of human kindness and generosity as opposed to greed and selfishness. You will need to identify messages and values in your films and give specific examples from scenes that illustrate your points.
Britishness - this may be represented in characters, locations, iconography, language, props, clothing, dialogue, accents etc. You will only find this question in Section B and you should think about the aspects of your two films that make them distinctively British (or not).
Locations - this type of question is really about representation. How do the locations used contribute to the film and what do they represent. For example, a film that uses London as a location may use landmarks that represent wealth and glamour such as Canary Wharf, or landmarks that represent history and tradition such as the Houses of Parliament; or it may show the grimy backstreets of the East End to represent working class London. You need to be able to identify scenes from your films that make effective use of locations and explain where the locations are and what message and values they communicate.
Mise-en-scene / style - this question is one that invites you to analyse individual scenes. It's a good question because there's so much you can write about, e.g. performance, dialogue, props, costumes, locations, sets, lighting, colour, etc. To answer this question well you have to have a detailed knowledge of key scenes within your films and be able to micro analyse them. You could just write about one scene from each film as long as you consider each of the two scenes in detail. Sometimes a mise-en-scene question is 'disguised' by the use of the word style instead of mise-en-scene. If you see a question that asks you to write about the style of your films, you can still write about mise-en-scene but you might also compare the films to other films that have a similar style. Style can also be applied to representation, narrative and messages and values, so potentially it is a broad question.
Genre conventions - for a question about genre conventions, you first need to identify the genre. Your films are horrors and dramas about men whose 'glory days' are behind them. Genre conventions can be seen in the iconography of micro features (camerawork, sound, mise-en-scene and editing) and in other areas, including narrative, representation, gender, messages and values, Britishness or 'American-ness' and themes. You will need to give examples drawn from these areas and any others that you can think of. You can make some references to similar films too.
Context questions want you to consider your wider reading about the film; the people who made it, the stars and where it was made.

As you can see, these question areas are all linked in some way and whatever question you answer, you will probably be writing about representation, narrative, and messages and values.

Film Studies

Labels

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Thursday, 18 April 2013

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Wednesday, 9 January 2013

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