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Home , Andrew Shim, Brad Dourif, Chanel Cresswell, Inception, Jo Hartley, Michael Socha

COMPONENT 1A: HOLLYWOOD 1930- COMPONENT 1B: HOLLYWOOD COMPONENT 1C: BRITISH FILM 1990 (VERTIGO & ONE FLEW OVER THE AFTER 2005 (INCEPTION & AFTER 1995 (TRAINSPOTTING & CUCKOO’S NEST) FRANCES HA) )

Auteur (Bazin) Auteur (Bazin) Spectatorship Spectatorship Narrative Narrative Studio System Ideology Ideology Ideology Ideology Art of blocking a scene Social realism Postmodernism Mumblecore Performance Performance ‘The Hitchcock Blonde’ Anti-authoritarian Simulation Persona Social Realism Social Realism Fetishism & necrophilia Psychoanalysis Mise-en-abyme B/W cinematography Britpop Nationalism Voyeurism Dystopia Demographics Spectatorship Character arc Thatcherism Femme fatale Analogy – Vietnam Alignment Indie Hollywood Aesthetic Character arc Patriarchy Distinctive stylistic Allegiance Demographics Feminist critique Aesthetic Hays Code features Audience positioning Feminist critique Auteur Auteur Vertigo/Acrophobia Binary oppositions (Levi- Passive/active Mass/niche Cult fandom Political context Aesthetic Strauss) Preferred, negotiated, Preferred, negotiated, Adaptation – Irvin Welsh Franchise? Classical Formalism Ideology oppositional oppositional Counter-culture Far Left vs Far Right Hitchcock Blonde Subvert/challenge Auteur Auteur - dialogue Franchise? Open/closed ending Zolly shoot (dolly zoom) Postcolonial (Gilroy) Spectacle Dystopia Dramatic irony Intertextuality Composition Psychoanalytic Male gaze (Mulvey)

Vertigo One Flew Over The Inception Frances Ha Trainspotting This is England (1958, dir: Alfred Hitchcock, Cuckoo’s Nest (2010, dir: , (2012, dir: Noah (1996, dir: Danny Boyle, (2007, dir: , Paramount) (1975, dir: Milos Forman, Legendary/Warner Bros) Baumbach, Pine District Channel Four Films) /FilmFour) Fantasy Films) Pictures) Renton (Ewan McGregor) Shaun () Studio System Era New Hollywood Era Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) Frances (Greta Gerwig) Spud (Ewen Bremner) Combo () Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller) Lol (Vicky McClure) (1930-60) (1960-90) Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) Sophie (Mickey Sumner) Begbie () Milky () John ‘Scottie’ Ferguson Randle McMurphy (Jack (Ellen Page) Dan (Michael Esper) Eames () Lev () Diane (Kelly Macdonald) Woody (Joseph Gilgun) (James Stewart) Nicholson) Saito () Benji (Michael Zegen) Tommy (Kevin McKidd) Cynthia () Madeleine Elster (Kim Candy Starr (Mews Small) Yusuf (Dileep Rao) Rachel (Grace Gummer) Smell () Novak) (Louise Robert Fischer (Cillian Patch (Patrick Heusinger) Judy Barton (Kim Novak) Fletcher) Murphy) Midge Wood (Barbara Bel Billy Bibbit (Brad Dourif) Mal () Geddes) Turkle (Scatman Crothers) Miles () Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore)

EDUQAS A LEVEL FILM STUDIES KNOWLEDGE ORGANISER

COMPONENT 2A: WORLD CINEMA COMPONENT 2B: DOCUMENTARY COMPONENT 2C: SILENT FILM COMPONENT 2D: EXPERIMENTAL (PAN’S & CITY OF GOD) (STORIES WE TELL) (BUSTER KEATON COMPILATION) (PULP FICTION)

Critical debates: The Auteur Formalism Critical debates: The realist significance of digital Non-linear narrative Historical/political context and the expressive. technology in film. Postmodernism Composition Vaudeville Filmmaker’s theories Indie Hollywood Production design Auteur Grierson – actuality. Composition Ideology Slapstick Kim Longinotto – invisible role Audience positioning Auteur Persona of documentarian. Intertextual reference Context Aesthetic Nick Broomfield – Houdini – ‘Buster’ Vintage soundtrack participatory and Femme fatale Pan’s Labyrinth0 Chaplin/Laurel & Hardy/Lloyd performative. Fatty Arbuckle/Virginia Rappe (2006, dir: , Wild Dialogue / screenplay Bunch/New Line, Spain) Peter Watkins – docu-dramas Long shot vs close up Ofelia/Princess Moanna (Ivana Baquero) and faux-documentaries. Cue cards vs gesture Mass/niche Vidal (Sergi Lopez) Michael Moore – participatory Stereotypes - star persona Mercedes (Maribel Verdu) and performative. Two-reelers Director Persona Fauno/Pale Man (Doug Jones) Cult fandom Doctor Ferreiro (Alex Angulo) Metanarrative Dramatic irony Garces (Manolo Solo) Truth as merely a concept Pedro (Roger Casamejor) Subjectivities of Buster Keaton Pulp Fiction Carmen (Ariadne Gil) representation One Week (1920) (1994, dir: Quentin Tarantino, The Scarecrow (1920) , US) Stories We Tell Vincent Vega (John Travolta) City of God The High Sign (1921) (2012, dir: , US) Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) (2002, dir: Fernando Meirelles, O2 Cops (1922) Michael Polley (Himself/Peter Evans) Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) Filmes, Brazil) Sarah Polley (Herself) Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis) Rocket (Alexandre Rodriguez) Diane Polley (Herself/) Marsellus Wallace (Ving RhMES) Li’l Ze (Leandro Firmino) Susy Buchan (Herself/Lani Billard) Lance (Eric Stoltz) Li’l Dice (Douglas Silva) John Buchan (Himself/Justin Goodhand) Mark Polley (Himself/Seamus Morrison) The Wolf (Harvey Keitel) Bene (Phelipe Haagensen) Joanna Polley (Herself/Allie MacDonald) Jimmie (Quentin Tarantino) Shaggy (Jonathan Haagensen) Harry Gulkin (Himself/Alex Hatz) Fabienne (Maria de Madeiros) Knockout Ned (Seu Jorge) Pumpkin () Carrot (Matheus Nachtergaele) Honey Bunny () Angelica (Alice Braga) Comparing Hollywood Eras: Classical (1930-60) with New (1960-90)

Classical Hollywood New Hollywood

Context Context - period of US cinema production between 1930 and the 1960s • period of US cinema production between 1961 and 1990 dominated by five big studios who controlled film production and • the big studios were losing money - many had to be sold to larger distribution corporations ‘realistic’ film style, where style is subordinate to narrative (i.e. trying to • a period where new writers and directors could fund controversial or tell a simple story) challenging films because studios were ready to take risks film actors marketed as ‘stars’ - contracted to studios • film narratives dominated by character and realistic situations emergence of directors as auteurs who became like stars themselves. American auteurs, influenced by French New Wave; first generation of filmmakers who had attended film school, so formally educated in cinema • stylistic experimentation - more expressionistic use of camera, editing, etc.

Classical Hollywood Style New Hollywood Style - Before cinema, the main visual narrative form for over a thousand • Just as the French New Wave of the 1960s were inspired by the years had been theatre. cinematic style of directors they celebrated as auteurs, so the directors - Early film tried to capture the power of live theatrical performance, so of New Hollywood, would take inspiration from Nouvelle vague films a film often felt like a play/musical etc performed to camera, with few like Breathless (Godard, 1960) and Jules and Jim (Truffaut, 1962). cuts or variation in camera angle/distance. • These films were populated by dissolute, morally ambiguous - This was known as the ‘Tableau Style’ - where the action was filmed in characters who embarked on casually sexual relationships with other static long-shot, with all elements crammed into the frame, and staging outsiders. to add depth and movement to the film. • They also utilised lighter, more mobile cameras to increase the range - In the early 20th-century filmmakers like DW Griffith, influenced by of camera movement and film on location. Russian cinema, began to experiment with close-ups, and medium • New Hollywood was also influenced by Italian Neo-Realism. shots, and with adventurous editing techniques. - These were films by directors like Rossellini and Visconti who - Classical Hollywood style continued to experiment with camera angle, portrayed a ruined Europe, devastated by two world wars, and the distance and movement, but use to ‘continuity’ editing to create an bleak lives of people scratching out an existence. easy-to-understand, fluid narrative. • Films like Bicycle Thieves (de Sica, 1948) used non-professional actors - David Bordwell identified two main areas of Classical Hollywood style: and actual locations around a bombed-out Rome to tell stories about devices and systems. These create an ‘invisible style’ that creates a poverty-stricken characters who try to retain their dignity. sense of realism. • Often the scenes would involve cool observation of the characters engaged in pedestrian or un-dramatic tasks that captured a sense of ‘real-life’.

Classical Hollywood Devices New Hollywood Devices - continuity editing • ‘New Hollywood’ films also often display these, as well as other, - use of match-on-action, shot reverse-shot and 180 degree rule to stylistic traits. make action ‘flow’ between shots • frustration or challenge to ‘continuity’: unusual camera angles, jump- cross-cutting between action in different locations cuts, breaking 180-degree rule, breaking fourth wall, expressionistic - to expand ‘cinema space’ beyond the two dimensional screen montage. Deliberately tries to unsettle the spectator ‘objective’ cinematography. • lighter cameras means there is a greater range of camera movement - Use of establishing and master shots to establish space; and unusual angles - expressionistic cinematography. More CU and - lots of medium shots; over-the-shoulder POV. extreme C or sometimes events shot in ELS to add mystery/confusion - Functional rather than expressionistic cinematography • less use of match-on-action, shot reverse-shot or ‘invisible’ editing composition techniques -places human facial expressions and gestures at centre of frame • asynchronous, looped or expressionistic sound design • long periods realism without dialogue/music - or some sections that fuse music (often pop, - synchronous sound to convey info through dialogue, rock or not traditional score) with images - realism through foley sound; • shot on location - in real rooms, diners, hotels, on the streets etc. - dramatic, incidental music to convey character emotions. Creates sense of realism • explicit sex, violence, nudity and drug taking • naturalistic acting and performance style: ‘Method’ acting where the actor ‘becomes’ the character, not performing to the camera; dialogue in group scenes often overlaps or is mumbled. Forces spectator to concentrate.

Classical Hollywood Systems Narrative/Themes - linear, chronological narrative structure of plot • narratives are disjointed, elliptical and lack closure. Critic Tom - time moves in a uniform way (except for clearly indicated flashbacks) Berliner said there is a “focus on irresolution’; plot lines and character clear and simple narrative logic arcs aren’t concluded in a satisfying fashion - beginning, middle and end, with events obeying cause and effect • background and subplots often intrude on main plot, unbalancing the goal-oriented characters with clear (realistic) psychological motivation narrative. Berliner said the films show “a perverse tendency to - actions creating narrative progress integrate, in narratively incidental ways, story information and stylistic cinematic space is created through composition that places human devices counterproductive to the films’ overt and essential narrative facial expressions and gestures at the core of the story through: purposes” - centring (characters in centre of frame • characters are often anti-heroes: daringly amoral, ambiguous, - balancing (symmetry between characters on screen) occasionally violent but also tender, vulnerable and romantic. Often - depth (foreground and background), directed as if they are addressing criminals, homeless or other outsiders, struggling against mainstream the spectator (like in theatre). conformist culture • stories that attack, criticise or subvert authority - the (creative, rebellious) individual vs (oppressive, dehumanising) society is a theme Madeleine’s Carlotta obsession is evident in her hairstyle, her necklace, her flowers and her suicidal actions. Scottie’s stalking is shown through cracks in doorways and POV shots.

Connotations of colour: Midge (yellow), Madeleine (green), Scottie (red). The interactions between colours acts as subtext in the narrative. Scottie wears green (revealing his desire for Madeleine) and he clothes her in his colour (red) on rescuing her and Midge tries to fulfil Scottie’s fantasy by wearing red and painting herself as Carlotta. Scottie’s nightmarish visions of trauma represented in kaleidoscopic red.

CONFRONTED REALITY BY TRUTH

John ‘Scottie’ Ferguson Madeleine Elster Judy Barton Midge Wood Gavin Elster (James Stewart) (Kim Novak) (Kim Novak) (Barbara Bel Geddes) (Tom Helmore) Scottie’s friend and ex-fiancée. The protagonist of the film. “Madeleine” is actually a role played The true identity of the woman The film’s anti-hero. Gavin Scottie is a former detective by Judy, who is impersonating Gavin who impersonated Madeleine in Pretty and very capable, Midge is an old college Elster’s wife. Romantic and ethereal, who quits his job when he the first half of the film. Judy is an artist who makes her acquaintance of Scottie “Madeleine” is supposedly haunted by develops severe acrophobia, living designing women’s who has married into a long-dead relative Carlotta Valdes and played the role of Madeleine at or fear of heights. He is a undergarments. She is a seems bent on committing suicide the behest of her one-time lover, wealthy shipbuilding family. romantic who rejects reality mother figure who is still in against her own will. Madeleine Gavin Elster. She is malleable, He is calculating and love with Scottie and in favor of illusion. His becomes Scottie’s love interest and lonely, and a bit hard. She is manipulative, exploiting obsession with the ideal represents the ideal woman to him. willing to surrender her own represents everyday reality. Scottie’s weakness to woman fuels much of the identity so that Scottie will love achieve his own goals. action of the film. her. KEY FILMS BY HITCHCOCK BY ERA & KEY CHARACTERS IN ‘VERTIGO’

1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s The 39 Steps (1935) Shadow of a Doubt Vertigo (1958) Psycho (1960) Frenzy (1943) (1972) The Lady Vanishes (1938) Notorious (1946) Rear Window (1954) The Birds (1963) The Man Who Knew Too Rope (1948) North By Northwest (1959) Marnie (1964) Much (1934) Sabotage (1936) Spellbound (1945) Strangers on a Train (1951) Torn Curtain (1966) Suspicion (1941) Dial M for Murder (1954) Rebecca (1940) The Trouble With Harry (1955) [VERTIGO NARRATIVE STRUCTURE] Todorov Equilibrium Disruption Recognition Repair New Equilbrium

McKee Exposition Inciting Incident Progressive Complications Climax Resolution

Narrative - Scottie retires as - Gavin asks Scottie to follow his - Scottie rescues Madeleine from a - Scottie’s obsession with Madeleine - Scottie forces her up to the bell detail a detective after wife, Madeleine claiming she is suicide attempt (jumping into Fort continues (much to Midge’s concern) who tower to admit her deceit. vertigo halts a in danger. Point’s bay). even paints herself as Carlotta to stir - Scottie gets to the top of the bell rooftop chase - Scottie follows her to the grave - They travel to Muir Woods and Scottie from it, but to no avail. tower, conquering his acrophobia leading to the of Carlotta Valdes, a flower Cypress Point together. - He bumps into Judy who seems like a and vertigo. death of a fellow shop, the Mission San Francisco - They kiss at the oceanside. She brunette version of Madeleine. - Madeleine is revealed as the policeman. de Asis and the Legion of Honor recounts a nightmare set in - He stalks her up to hotel. double for the real Madeleine that - Midge tries to art museum where she gazes at Mission San Juan Bautista. - Surprisingly, they have a romance which Gavin murdered and had Judy help him get over a portrait of Carlotta (who - Madeleine runs into the church leads to Scottie dressing her up as cover for his crime up the bell his vertigo but all committed suicide) and watches and up the bell tower. Madeleine (same clothes, hairstyle, make tower. attempts fail. her enter McKittrick Hotel. - Scottie’s vertigo returns, up). - Madeleine cannot cope with the - Gavin reveals that Carlotta is Madeleine plunges to her death. - - One detail (a necklace) triggers his shame of her complicity with the Madeleine’s great-grandmother. Death is declared a suicide (Gavin memory that Judy is in fact Madeleine. crime. On seeing a nun, she either does not fault Scottie but he stumbles back shocked or commits becomes clinically depressed). suicide. [NARRATIVE/CHARACTER ARC]

Character Goals Obstacles Success/failure

Scottie • To fall in love and save Madeleine. • Madeleine seems possessed. Failure: despite finally wooing Madeleine and figuring out Gavin’s plot, (protagonist) • Conquer his vertigo. • Judy will not embody Madeleine. Madeleine stumbles/commits suicide when coming confronting her complicity • Trauma over vertigo is reinforced several in the plot. Despite managing to conquer his vertigo, he has lost the one he times. loves.

Midge • To woo Scottie. • Scottie cannot perceive her as anything Failure: she cannot be seen by Scottie as an erotic figure, and all her attempts (sidekick) other than a maternal fifure. through care and psychoanalytical methods fail.

Judy • To get on with her life. • Scottie seems obsessed with her – she Failure: Scottie figures out that Judy really is Madeleine, overcome with shame (sidekick) cannot move on without their romance. for acting as a double to cover Gavin’s murder of his wife leads her to stumble/suicide. She can’t help but fall in love with Scottie, but it is a Madeleine • To trick Scottie. • Scottie’s obsession is both what she loves destructive infatuation leading to her downfall. (princess) • To fall in love with Scottie. and what she wishes to run from.

Gavin • To use Scottie as a foil for his • Scottie’s suspicions of a conspiracy Success: he manages to get away with the crime, at least until the end of the (antagonist) murder of his wife. film. Scottie now knows the truth.

Institutions and • Hitchcock began his film career in the 1920s, during the Silent Era. Before becoming a director, he worked as a screenwriter and art director, so he understood how to write inspirations and build mise-en-scène effectively. • The first ten feature films he made were silent, and he famously said: “The sound could go off and the audience should still have a perfectly clear idea of what is going on” • He also worked at UFA Studios in Berlin, where he learnt the techniques of German Expressionism. • This Modernist style of filmmaking aimed to represent the inner states of characters through unusual camerawork, lighting and editing. A good example is The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (1920). • Soviet cinema was also a strong stylistic influence. Hitchcock particularly utlilised what is known as the ‘Kuleshov’ technique of montage editing where an intercutting images can change the meaning of a sequence. He used this to build emotional intensity between characters and show point-of-view. For a director fascinated by spectating and voyeurism, this technique can be used to unsettling effect to make the audience feel complicit with disturbed characters • He also worked mainly in black and white - only his final 15 out of 54 features were in colour. This means when there were technological advancements in cinema, he took advantage of them fully and added another level of cinematic experience to an already rich text. • In his UK films, Hitchcock had taken a key creative role in every area of film production: from sets and costume, to script, cinematography and editing, and music. He brought this approach to Hollywood when he moved there in 1940. This was unusual in the Studio System where directors were more like stage managers than artists.

Technology • Sound - Hitchcock was the first to make a British ‘talkie’: Blackmail (1927). He utilised music and foley sound effects to create ‘sound-bridges’ that link the action (e.g. the scream of a maid discovering a body becomes the sound of a bus horn that awakens the killer), use of ‘off-camera’ sound effects to extend the world of the film, and expressionistic sound design (e.g. the famous ‘knife’ scene.) • Camera technology - Hitchcock took advantage of lighter film cameras to extend the range of photographic movement and angle. This enabled his camera to ‘swoop’ around a scene, almost like it is another character; or to immerse us entirely in a character’s viewpoint. His powerful use of close-ups utilised the emotional intensity generated by CUs of faces to imbue inanimate objects with significance approaching symbolic. • Colour: Hitchcock took advantage of the richness of Technicolour to work colour motifs into his films, particularly the conflict between greens and reds in a range of films.

Narrative • Hitchcock experimented with a number of narrative techniques: • non-linear narratives: plots that involved ‘reveals’ told in flashback or forwards • ‘kettle’ locations: action is limited to one, increasingly claustrophobic location such as in Rope (1948) and Rear Window (1954) • plots involving ‘everymen’ accused of a crime they didn’t commit or accidentally stumbling on a criminal conspiracy. Characters are often ‘ordinary’ people caught up in events beyond their control.

Themes • Themes Auteurs often return to particular themes or issues and explore them using different characters and plots. One of Hitchcock’s main themes was that of looking itself - how we look at other people, how it feels to look through someone else’s eyes, what pleasures we get from that. In many of his films, but especially Rear Window, Vertigo and Psycho, the main character voyeuristically observes others (apparently) without their knowledge. Critics have said this is Hitchcock exploring the nature of cinema itself: all film spectatorship is voyeuristic; we the audience watch (in darkness) the personal lives of other people who aren’t aware they are being observed. • Other consistent themes across his films are: • taboo sexuality (he once described Scottie in Vertigo as a “necrophile - a man who wants to have sex with a dead woman”) • doubles and dual or mistaken identity e.g. Strangers on a Train (1951) • ‘the wrong wo/man’ - protagonist is wrongly accused of a crime, framed, or mistaken for someone in a dangerous profession. E.g. North By Northwest (1959) • ordinary people suddenly plunged into extraordinary (and dangerous) situations e.g. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) • distrust of authority: from politicians to the police, people in authority who we are told to trust are actually sources of danger and fear • beautiful, blonde women in peril. Hitchcock seemed to have a fetish for blonde actresses and an urge to them endangered. He once said “Blondes make the best victims, they’re like the virgin snow” • charming villains - instead of being thuggish and ugly, the villains are often suave, welldressed and handsome e.g. James Mason in North By Northwest.

Hitchcock as • Hitchcock was one of the first directors to market himself as not just a film director, but as a kind of ‘star’. There is still a soundstage in Hollywood with the famous ‘brand’ caricatured profile of his face and a giant signature on the side. He used a variety of publicity stunts (such as forbidding audiences entry to Psycho after the film had begun) to create a buzz around each new ‘Hitchcock Product’. Often the trailers for his films wouldn’t initially feature any clips from the film itself, it would just feature Hitchcock himself, explaining in his trademark drawl about his film. He also appeared in a small cameo in every film he made. His ‘brand’ was further extended into a TV drama series, Alfred Hitchcock Presents that ran from 1955-65 (and was resuscitated in the 80s).

Hitchcock as Lengthy, silent sections (story told Expressionistic use of camera, editing, Use of intercutting to create ‘Kuleshov’ Innovative camera angle and movement ‘auteur’ – visually) mise-en-scene, sound effects, colours effect (zoom, dolly etc) signature style

Narrative and Ordinary people plunged into dangerous Doubles, imposters, dual or mistaken Non-linear structure: flashbacks/ Distrust of authority themes situations identities forwards, sequences etc

Taboo sexuality Protagonist wrongly accused of a crime Blonde women in peril Charming but sociopathic antagonist or on the run [KEY SCENES IN VERTIGO – TEXTUAL ANALYSIS SCAFFOLD] Film Still Denotation Connotation Macro analysis

The extreme close up shot of an …symbolises the state of acrophobia and the cycle of The director’s intention is to create an unnerving tone eye under a red lens effect with mental health dysfunction which are key themes in the and the effect on the spectator is to be beguiled and an animated spiral graphic on narrative. The non-linear use of dream sequences that disturbed in equal measure. The unhinged non-diagetic the iris… echo this introduction introduce a psychoanalytic orchestral score by Bernard Hermann heightens aspect of narrative. dramatic tension (a Classical Hollywood convention).

The medium two shot of Midge …highlights her maternal approach to conversing with The director’s intention is to show that their friendship discussing with Scottie: “it’s a Scottie. As his ex-fiancée, their dynamic is not lacks chemistry but also introduces the male gaze brassiere, you know they are, flirtatious; she seems to take care of Scottie like a theme (Scottie’s desires). The spectator may be amused you’re a big boy now…” vulnerable man. by the light-hearted discussion on fantasy. Midge’s associated colour is yellow, Scottie’s is red and Madeleine’s is green.

The low angle two shot of Gavin …which depicts Gavin as a powerful man in charge. The director’s intention is to establish the business Elster and Scottie positions Gavin Gavin represents the charming but sociopathic world as a patriarchal sphere. The dynamic between above Scottie in his mahogany antagonist. Scottie is merely an ordinary bachelor these men is one where tussling for power is a game of office… plunged into dangerous situations. sorts. This is represented by a complex blocking of mise-en-scene.

The profile shot close up of …establishes her role as a femme fatale who seduces The director’s intention is to glamorize Madeleine to Madeleine in a restaurant with Scottie with her beauty. The swell of non-diagetic ensure that Scottie will fall hopelessly for her. The her blonde hair up, in a black orchestral music signposts this moment as significant; spectator may swoon at the artistic composition of her dress with a green shawl as she Scottie and Madeleine’s ‘meet cute’. The red that beauty. Hitchcock subverts the objective walks past Scottie… surrounds her connotes Scottie’s desire. cinematography of Classical Hollywood with the repeat use of close-ups.

The point-of-view long shot of …represents Madeleine as deeply thoughtful in her Hitchcock intends to highlight the significance of tiny Madeleine sitting in front of a appropriation of the figure of Carlota. Scottie is details (connotations of colour), the deeper meaning of painting of Carlota Valdes, beguiled by the enigmas of her complex psyche. seemingly unimportant props and the idea of life wearing her hair the same way imitating art. When Scottie stalks her, diagetic silence and with similar props such as a resounds and shots linger at length. necklace and flowers…

The long shot of Scottie rescuing …emphasises him as a ‘knight-in-shining-armour’ who Hitchcock gives Scottie agency to achieve his desires Madeleine from drowning with has entered her life in a heroic manner. The ‘blonde and woo Madeleine, appealing to the male desire to the backdrop of the Golden Gate woman in peril’ stereotype is reinforced by these attain their ideal woman. The spectator may vicariously Bridge… scenes. live through Scottie’s character, aspiring to be like him.

The close-up of Midge’s self- …acts as a devil in the detail when Scottie observes it. This romantic gesture from Midge is misinterpreted portrait wearing Carlota Valdes’ He feels that this is a psychological breach from Midge, from Scottie as she realises that she has muddied the dress… who has accessed his obsession and tried to waters of his psychic despair. Films like Amelie are appropriate herself as the object of desire. influenced by the Hitchcockian trope of beauty and horror in details.

The profile silhouette of Judy in …echoes a similar shot (motif) of Scottie seeing Scottie’s perversity is depicted by his desire to change her apartment with a green glow Madeleine in profile for the first time in the restaurant. Judy into Madeleine down to the finest detail (blonde from the hotel’s neon sign The uncanny resemblance of Judy’s profile to hair, same clothing). Later, details such as her necklace lighting up the room… Madeleine’s reveals that she may be the same person. (Kuleshov effect montage) reveal her role as a double. Green is representative of both Judy and Madeleine for a reason.

The long shot of Judy’s …recalls the spectre of Scottie’s past and fulfils his Hitchcock reveals his own perversity through the transformation into Madeleine perverse fantasy. Judy is actually Madeleine, but characterisation of Scottie and his deification of this as she emerges from the Scottie’s insistence on changing her into his vision of moment with non-diagetic musical swells. The glow of bathroom transformed in a Madeleine echoes necrophilia.` green around her treats her objectification as a ghostly green light… haunting spectre; a realisation of Scottie’s (and Hitchcock’s) uncanny fantasy. It is plausible to interpret Scottie as a fetish psychopath.

The point of view dolly zoom …reinforces his vertigo and repeats the traumatic sense The repetition of this motif compounds his trauma shot of Scottie looking down the of nausea he feels in this type of scenario. His fear of because Madeleine seemed to commit suicide and he spiral clock tower from a great falling is represented by this shot. The shot-reverse was unable to save her. Rather than be cured of height… shot between Scottie’s reaction and this scene adheres acrophobia, the condition is compounded by repeat to Classic Hollywood continuity techniques. trauma. His decision to return to scenes of trauma in order to break through is a psychoanalytic approach. J.P. McMurphy Nurse Ratched Chief Bromden Billy Bibbit Dale Harding () (Louise Fletcher) (Will Sampson) (Brad Dourif) (William Redfield) The film’s protagonist. He was A shy patient. Billy has a bad stutter Nurse Ratched is a middle-aged Chief Bromden is the son of the College-educated patient and sentenced to six months at a former army nurse. She rules her and seems much younger than his chief of the Columbia Indians and a president of the Patients’ prison work farm but faked a ward with an iron hand and masks thirty-one years. Billy Bibbit is white woman. He suffers from Council. Harding helps mental health illness to end up in her humanity and femininity behind a dominated by his mother, one of paranoia and hallucinations, has McMurphy understand the an asylum. He acts as the stiff, patronizing facade. She weakens Nurse Ratched’s close friends. Billy is her patients through a received multiple electroshock realities of the hospital. dominant force challenging the voluntarily in the hospital, as he is psychologically manipulative program treatments, and has been in the Although he is married, Harding establishment and the ultimate afraid of the outside world. designed to destroy their self- hospital for ten years, longer than is a homosexual. He has saviour of the victimized esteem. any other patient in the ward. difficulty dealing with the patients. KEY CHARACTERS IN ‘ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST’overwhelming social prejudice. Washington (Nathan George)

Dr John Spivey (Nathan George)

Martini (Danny Taber Charley Cheswick Candy Starr Turkle DeVito) (Christopher Lloyd) (Sidney Lassick) (Mews Small) (Scatman Crothers) Nurse Pillbow (Mimi The film’s protagonist. He was The first patient to support A beautiful, carefree prostitute The black nighttime orderly for Sarkisian) sentenced to six months at a prison McMurphy’s rebellion against Nurse from Portland. Candy Starr Nurse Ratched’s ward. Mr. work farm but faked a mental Ratched’s power. Cheswick, a man accompanies McMurphy and the Turkle is kind to Bromden, Fredrickson health illness to end up in an of much talk and little action, other patients on the fishing trip, untying the sheets that confine asylum. He acts as the dominant drowns in the pool—possibly a (Vincent and then comes to the ward for a him to his bed at night, and he force challenging the establishment suicide—after McMurphy does not Schiavelli) late-night party (along with Rose) naively goes along with the and the ultimate saviour of the support Cheswick when Cheswick Bancini (Josip Elic) that McMurphy arranges. night-time ward party. victimized patients. takes a stand against Nurse Ratched. Ellis (Michael Berryman) Scanlon (Delos V. Smith Jr.)

The motif of both McMurphy (failing) and Chief (succeeding) attempting to break the marble basin from its foundations is symbolic of rebels seeking to break down deeply rooted systems of authority.

The significance of the circular narrative establishing shot of the landscape encapsulates the full arc of the narrative. The freedom of nature in binary opposition with the asylum and Chief’s final break for freedom in honour of McMurphy. [OFOTCN NARRATIVE STRUCTURE]

Todorov Equilibrium Disruption Recognition Repair New Equilbrium

McKee Exposition Inciting Incident Progressive Complications Climax Resolution

Narrative Nurse Ratched runs Randle McMurphy The battle of wills between The secret overnight party, where McMurphy is lobotomised so detail an orderly insane gets transferred from McMurphy (wanting to Billy sleeps with Candy and everyone Chief puts him out of his asylum where a prison farm to the watch the play-offs, illegal gets drunks leads to Billy getting misery (suffocating him with patients religiously asylum and assumes bus/boat trips, parties) and sanctioned (Ratched says she will a pillow) and honours his follow a routine of it will be less the inflexible Ratched tell his mother what he’s done) memory by escaping by ‘medication time’. restrictive but is escalates until all patients which leads him to committing putting the marble basin surprised how much are affected by it. suicide and McMurphy attempting through the window. Ratched control Ratched has. to strangle her as a result. survives with a neck brace. [NARRATIVE/CHARACTER ARC]

Character Goals Obstacles Success/failure

McMurphy • To get a light sentence in an asylum. • Nurse Ratched’s stranglehold of Failure: he is lobotomised (but inspires (protagonist) • To challenge the psychologically oppressive power over the asylum. Chief to rebel). system within the ward (and escape).

Chief • To break free from colonial chains. • Beyond Nurse Ratched, colonial Success: he escapes the ward throwing (sidekick) • To connect with people he can trust. oppression. the basin through the window.

Nurse • To maintain order in the asylum and keep • The rebellion that McMurphy Success: McMurphy is lobotomised Ratched characters psychologically ‘under the thumb’. inspires. (but his legacy leads to rebellion). (antagonist)

Director’s • Milos Forman ( 1932) grew up in the former Czechoslovakia (today’s Czech Republic) until 1968 when he moved background to America to escape the Soviet invasion of Prague. – Milos Forman • In his own words, he said “I feel admiration for rebels because I lived twice in totalitarian societies” • His parents were arrested by the Gestapo and sent to a concentration camp, leaving the young Forman an orphan. • Czechoslovakia became part of the Soviet Bloc after World War II, but despite a corrupt and repressive government, Forman and a number of artists formed a liberal counterculture known as the Czech New Wave. • Other filmmakers of this movement were Vera Chytilová (Daisies, 1968) and Jaromil Jires (The Cry) Institutions • Films of the Czech New Wave were all markedly different in style and structure, but they all experimented with other forms (documentary and verité), and dealt with social conformity and political repression with absurdist humour. • In 1967, Forman made The Fireman’s Ball that used the institution of a volunteer firefighting group to explore incompetence and corruption at a larger political level - and was banned by the authorities . • This encouraged Forman to look for filmmaking opportunities abroad, and he was in Paris when the liberalising Prague Spring movement was brought to an end by Russian tanks in 1968. He moved to Hollywood that year. Stylistic • Unlike some other ‘auteur’ directors like Coppola, Ridley Scott or Spike Lee, Forman doesn’t have a ‘signature’ visual style. Nor does he use experimental or unsettling camera or editing styles like in other films of the New Hollywood. Instead he obeys many Classical Hollywood rules of continuity to create a naturalistic feeling. • In the script and performances of his actors, Forman does share style with other New Hollywood directors like John Schlesinger (Midnight Cowboy, 1970) - encouraging a ‘Method’ or naturalistic approach that reflects ‘real life’. • For the Czech New Wave, naturalism was an ideological decision that rebelled against the State-sanctioned cinema • Forman has also said he wants to show “all the faces in the crowd,” telling the stories of a whole group of characters not just the protagonist. • in terms of screenplay development, Forman does demonstrate an auteur-level of control over the material. He has said that writing the script is “half of directing” - he spent nearly five months, working five days a week with Peter Shaffer to write the screenplay for Amadeus (1982). Thematic • Auteurs often return to particular themes or issues and explore them using different characters and plots. This is where Forman could be more classed as an auteur. A consistent theme is the struggle of the Individual vs Society: • Valmont (1986) and The People vs Larry Flynt (1996) featured protagonists whose permissive attitudes and sheer lust for life bring them into conflict with a repressed and conformist society . • “unappreciated iconoclasts” - Man on the Moon (1999) celebrated the life and work of unconventional comedian Andy Kaufman, whose work would often deliberately discomfort and shock the audience . • The struggle of a creative genius against conformity, such as Amadeus (1982). • Authority figures who no longer believe in their own authority. • Capturing ‘eras’ of American underground culture, exploring both the rebellious nature of subcultures and the failure of these rebellions, in films like Taking Off, and Hair (1979). New Continuity disrupted Unusual use of Asynchronous or Real-life locations Naturalistic acting Hollywood in editing – jump cuts camera distance, expressionistic sound style Traits angle and design and music movements Explicit language, Rebellious Anti-heroes (morally Traditional values Critical of authority sex, violence individuals struggling ambiguous) challenged against conformity [KEY SCENES IN OFOTCN – TEXTUAL ANALYSIS SCAFFOLD] Film Still Denotation Connotation Macro analysis

(a). The long shot of Nurse (a). gives the impression that the asylum (Oregon She is represented as a matriarch in the narrative, but Ratched (Louise Fletcher) State hospital) is like a prison. arguably not a wise and empathic one. The producer’s entering the ‘Cuckoo’s Nest’ intentions are depict Nurse Ratched as an antagonist which asylum through a wire gate. (b). highlights the haunting nature of her steps. could lead to complex and divergent readings from For better or worse, Ratched is a force to be spectators. The ritualistic nature of ‘medication time’ alludes (b). The diagetic sound of her reckoned with. to religious traditions of Catholic communion during mass as footsteps as she enters the patients join in an orderly queue, and one has the Nurse silent ward early in the morning. place the pill on his tongue.

(a). The close up of Nurse (a). reinforces her smart presentation and her The idea of painting a matriarch as an antagonist suggests Ratched during a group therapy militant emphasis on routine. that Milos Forman has a patriarchal agenda in the session with mental health representation of strong women. Forman grew up in patients totalitarian societies in Czechoslovakia (Gestapo during WWII and Soviet Bloc after 1945). A familiar trope of his (b). Her hair is immaculately (b). It is clear that she has high expectations and oeuvre in the Czech New Wave film movement is to critique pinned, her nurse hat is placed runs a tight ship, although this is represented as authoritarian structures of power, even on a micro scale like in her hair and her uniform is insidious rather than professional in this narrative. in an asylum. Ratched becomes a personification and spotless. Her facial expression is architect of social oppression. (Take note: Forman does not stern and dominant. have a signature visual style like Hitchcock, only thematic).

The medium long shot of …acts as McMurphy’s first attempt to reach out to McMurphy acts as an unlikely protagonist in the narrative. McMurphy getting Chief to carry fellow patients. McMurphy acts as a narrative Whilst ’s novel focuses on Chief, the film chooses him on his shoulders during a catalyst. He pleaded insanity to a statutory rape to make McMurphy a central character. A post-colonial basketball game… charge in order to get moved to an asylum. Whilst critique may criticise the platforming of a white male over a he initially believes that he’s got an easy ride, he Native American,. Despite this, Chief remains the through- quickly becomes aware of the psychological line of the narrative: the asylum as an allegory for the austerity of the asylum. oppression of Native Americans by colonialists.

The medium shot of McMurphy …reinforces the notion that McMurphy is unable One of Forman’s signature themes is to have rebellious trying to dislodge a marble basin to break free. characters who struggle against an oppressive society. after a bet is made that it is McMurphy is unable to break the marble basin from its impossible… foundations, but he inspires Chief to later on in the film. Unable to break free himself, he inspires others to rebel. The continuity editing style …is indicative of the style of Cinema Verité, Forman’s oeuvre as an auteur is evident when comparing which cuts between cutaways to emphasising realism and authenticity over the this to The People Vs Larry Flynt (1996). McMurphy is a other patients’ reaction… artifice of technically complex approaches. problematic character with a heroic cause much like Larry.

The over-the-shoulder medium …highlights the clash between these two Instead of representing McMurphy’s hysteria as dangerous, shot of Randle McMurphy (Jack characters. Ratched maintains a deadpan Forman illustrates an oppressor/oppressed dynamic alluding Nicholson) arguing with Nurse expression as she enforces rules whilst McMurphy to authoritarian eras of Republican government in 1970s US Ratched as she won’t let the becomes animated and frustrated. under Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. The ideology of the patients watch the World Series director is anti-authoritarian, positioning Ratched as Nixon on TV as it will disrupt their Jack Nicholson’s method acting style varies from and McMurphy as an anti-war Vietnam activist. Forman routine… other Stanislavski influenced performers (Day empathises with the iconoclast and is alienated by the Lewis, Brando). He does not inhabit the role off set Establishment. His political agenda is represented through but prioritises authenticity in his portrayal. patterns of representation.

The medium shot of Candy in a …emphasises how she is a creative, sexual and The objectification of Candy is not rebuked in Forman’s red dress joining asylum patients sensual character who acts as a catalyst whose representation. She becomes a symbol of desire for the on an illegal bus trip… presence stirs the patients out of their dull and patients and sexual liberty is celebrated as a rebellion drab routine. against the oppressive conservative values of the asylum. Negotiated readings may challenge the need to adhere to film noir stereotypes of femininity in film with Candy as a femme fatale. Patriarchal undertones may be interpreted due to adhering to the male gaze.

The close up of McMurphy …depicts the harrowing practices of asylums that The film’s BBFC certificate is an ’18’ partly due to gratuitous receiving electroconvulsive use severe methods in order to command depictions of electroconvulsive treatment (beyond swearing, therapy as retribution for taking obedience. sex references and other violence) acts as the main reason the patients on a bus/boat trip… the film is not a ‘15’. These scenes are more disturbing due to The revelation that Chief can speak prior to the their realism (akin to Cinema Verité filmmaking methods). treatment acts as the first narrative twist that sheds light on the enigma of Chief as a character.

(a). The medium close-up of (a). suggests that she wishes to maintain The foreshadowing nature of this shot with cutaways of Nurse Ratched turning off the psychological control as she leaves. McMurphy as he plots partying with liquor and women. lights at the end of her shift as Despite the misdemeanours of various mental patients, it is she gazes intensely at patients Ratched who is represented as the menacing antagonist, revealing Milos Forman (and the original novelist Ken Kesey) (b). The low lighting gives the (b). highlights her severe mentality. for their anti-authoritarian agenda. The oppressive stern Ratched an austere aura institution acts an allegorical microcosm of wider society. and her dark clothing

The medium shot of Billy being …highlights the extreme lengths that Nurse Ratched’s idea that disobedience to authority is a dragged by ward guards into a Ratched will go to psychologically manipulate and psychological flaw that must be remedied by behaviourist room to be detained after oppress patients. The emotional blackmail of the methods is a Conservative ideological position that believes having sex with a woman the dialogue “what will your mother think when I tell that authority and control will lead to a more harmonious night before… her?” shows the lengths she will go to quell any society. In 1970s New Hollywood, glamourous Studio System rebellious traits in the patients. representations were subverted in favour of gritty, authentic depictions. Billy’s diagetic screams… …act as a form of grotesque social realism.

The long shot of R.P McMurphy Male violence against women is brought to life in This scene tests the spectator with regards to any level of tackling Nurse Ratched to the this shot as McMurphy becomes hostile and misogyny in their psyche: do they cheer on McMurphy as he ground and attempting to aggressive yet still is represented as at least abuses Ratched, or do we empathise for Ratched (regardless strangle her to death over Billy partially sympathetic in the narrative. of any controversial methods of psychotherapy) as she Bibbit commits suicide in part becomes a victim of assault? The uncertainty with regards to due to Ratched’s psychological When McMurphy enters a vegetative state with Forman’s ideological intentions in this scene make this bullying, is one of the most the retribution of electro-convulsive therapy, Chief sequence all the more disturbing. disturbing shots in a harrowing puts him out of his misery, suffocating him with a film. pillow (a merciful killing in the same manner as George shooting Lennie in ‘Of Mice and Men’.

The medium close-up of Nurse …highlights how even an act of extreme violence McMurphy has been lobotomised for his assault, the Chief Ratched in a neck brace for the cannot contain Nurse Ratched from her escapes soon after suffocating McMurphy to death as an act denouement of the narrative as authoritarian role on the ward. of compassion and Ratched is presented as a unique classical music plays… antagonist that the spectator has complex emotions towards. Useful Theories for Inception / Frances Ha Question

Spectator/ideology terminology to consider: Social self - Make meaning in ways similar to those with similar ideological formation. Cultural self - Makes particular intertextual references based on the bank of material s/he has Private self - Carried the memories of his/her own experiences and who may find person significance in a film in ways very different from others. Desiring self - Brings conscious and unconscious energies and intensifies to the film event that have little to do with the film's 'surface' content. The ‘Self’ – Our response from the film draws on the whole of the Self (social, cultural, private, desiring). Encoding - The directors intended meaning is encoded based on his/her ideologies, aims and intentions. along with the technology available to them. Decoding - The directors intended meaning is encoded based on his/her ideologies, aims and intentions. along with the technology available to them. Scopophilia - Sexual pleasure derived chiefly from watching others when they are naked or engaged in sexual activity; voyeurism. The male gaze - The audience is put into perspective of a heterosexual man. e.g. a scene focusing on the curves of a woman's body. Recognition - Simply the spectator's acknowledgement of a particular character. Alignment - The (objective) perspective presented to the spectator by the camera. Allegiance - The (subjective) position of spectator's moral approval of character's actions. Our emotional engagement with the characters. This depends partly on the moral evaluations we make about the character's actions and personality. Preferred reading - The message is fully accepted. Negotiated reading - On the whole, the view is agreed with but slightly altered. Oppositional reading - people disagree with the message and reject it. Focalisation - When the subject is made our sole focus through camera work and soundtrack - to make us focus on them and respond emotionally. Subjectivation - Spectator is emotionally engaged but with awareness of techniques to elicit this response from them. Distanciation - Spectator is aware of the 'made' aspect of the work. Passive spectator – preferred reading of text / susceptible to encoded messages. Active spectator – reacts, questions, debates, challenges messages in any given film text. Polysemy – multiple meanings, open to interpretation from spectators in different contexts. Audience positioning – how producers manipulate spectator to respond in specific ways. Mass audience – mainstream film production for many audiences. Niche audience – indie film for specific demographic. Emotional contagion – to mimic others and converge emotionally. Dominant ideology – The view of the world that tends to prevail in a given time and place. Consciousness raising – A film that raises awareness about a specific cultural or political issue. Hegemony – Dominance. Alienation – Emotional distancing. Hierarchy of voices – Platforms of representation mediated by those in power. Inception as a left-wing film Inception as a right-wing film

Representation of Capitalism: Saito’s whole motivation Saito wants to break up Fischer’s market for the mission is to prevent the Fischer’s controlling dominance (using industrial espionage) to almost all the energy in the world. This is an anti- encourage free market capitalism (a right capitalist sentiment that implies corporate control can wing, pro-capitalist approach). have a bad effect on the world.

Cobol Industries, who initially commissioned Cobb’s The wider economic effects of the team’s team to break into Saito’s mind, are a threatening, mission are never really discussed. The only characters are CEOs of massive corporations - or the thieves they employ. The ‘little people’ are rarely seen.

The bland, faceless and interchangeable architecture of The mise-en-scène could be said to global capitalism is utilised by Cobb and his team to fetishise the style of corporate America: construct environments and costumes that Fischer will mirrored skyscrapers, men in sharp find ‘real’ and believable. The cities and locations in the business suits, limos, company jets, swish dream could be anywhere: Dubai, , Hong Kong, minimalist cocktail bars and hotels. As Chicago. This could be seen as an aesthetic one critic said “who knew would representation of the anonymising effect of look this dull!” globalisation.

Representations of family: Cobb’s family structure is Cobb’s family structure is portrayed as unorthodox: Mal, the traditional mother figure has taken disruptive - and implied as unhealthy for her own life to escape her family (which she believes all concerned. Cobb’s father warns him aren’t real - or which don’t feel real enough to her); the that the children are forgetting him; Cobb father, Cobb, is on the run; and his father takes care of himself is tormented by the fact he can’t the children. be there due to the actions of his psychotic/neurotic wife. This could be read as a very conservative and patriarchal view of family: that what is needed is the stabilising, loving father figure (which is what Robert Fischer also lacks in his life)

Representations of Gender: Both men and women are The male characters all take traditional portrayed in a way that challenges stereotypes. Cobb is a roles - businessmen, bodyguards, thieves, ‘flawed hero’, whose guilt is personified by Mal. Despite soldiers; sons and fathers’ relationships being a very masculine hero is some ways (reckless, are also foregrounded (the effect of quick-thinking, capable) he is also vulnerable and in need Mal’s suicide on her children isn’t really of support (especially from Ariadne). Robert Fischer is discussed, but the absence of Cobb from also portrayed as a male character left with trauma due their lives is). One could argue that many to the relationship with his father. The other male of these are part of Fischer’s characters also play with ideas of masculinity depending subconscious, so reflect his values and on which level of dreaming they are on. E.g. Eames, who lifestyle; but in ‘reality’ the men mostly seems quite camp and affected in ‘reality’ becomes a behave in stereotypically heroic and ridiculous action hero in the snow fortress sequence. masculine ways: driving fast cars, These elements question gender roles, how they are shooting bad guys, fist-fighting in zero constructed, and to what extent performed. gravity. This offers a very patriarchal view of the world. [KEY SCENES IN INCEPTION – TEXTUAL ANALYSIS SCAFFOLD] Film Still Denotation Connotation Macro analysis

The slow motion medium …triggers the kick which sends him layers up in Japanese businessman Saito has set up shot of troubled protagonist, the dream. Cobb’s team are professional mission himself as an initiation for a Cobb, falling from a chair extractors that perform corporate espionage using bigger job: inception (hoping to break into a filled bath as non- experimental military technology to infiltrate the up the energy conglomerate of ailing diagetic whirrs punctuate subconscious of their targets and extract valuable competitor Maurice Fischer, to convince the fall… information through a shared dream world. son/heir Robert to dissolve father’s company). Inception is a heist narrative with a sci-fi twist. He identifies the simulation of the rug not matching reality,

Cobb’s motivation for “inception” – Saito to clear Cobb’s The totem is a symbol which is used to help extractors criminal status which prevents him from returning home identify if they are still in a dreamworld or the real world. to his children – this exposition acts as a New Equilbrium The postmodern concept of hyperreality and the uncanny stage of an Experimental Blockbuster narrative. is explored, as simulations of reality are presented.

The tilting establishing shot The wide angle shot of her placing According to Uses & Gratifications Theory, these set piece sequences of a cityscape architecture two mirror doors opposite of each appeal to the spectator’s cognitive needs (complex psychoanalytic and folding on top of itself. creates a mise-en-abyme effect philosophical portrayals of the subconscious) as well as their desire for Ariadne is one of the team (infinite copies) and acts as an escapism and spectacle. An intertextual reference to sequences that of “inceptors” preparing for extended metaphor for the show the mainlining of drugs to enter the dreamworld, echoes 1962 sci- manipulating the metanarrative. fi classic, La Jetee, which consists only of a montage of photographs and dreamworld as an architect a poetic voiceover. assigned with creating a Active spectatorship is maze-like dream layer in required to mediate Fischer’s mind. such a complex narrative.

The direct address wide …highlights the self-conscious nature Nolan aligns the spectator towards Cobb as leader of the mission and angle shot of characters in of the metanarrative. Cobb rebukes Ariadne as the precocious, wide-eyed recruit. The spectator’s allegiance the sub-conscious starring at Ariadne for recreating real locations towards Cobb is challenged by Mal’s stabbing of Ariadne in the dream Ariadne, only for Mal to as this could lead to space. Mal is just a projection of Cobb’s subconscious (committed suicide approach and stab her the blurring between in real life) but projection is dangerous as a (leading to her waking real and simulated psychological manifestation of Cobb’s guilt instantly from the worlds – hyperreality (complicit in Mal’s descent into madness). dreamworld unscathed)… and the curse of Ariadne declares: “that’s quite a ‘the uncanny’. subconscious you’ve got there!”

The crane shot reveal of Whilst Arthur trains the Architect This could be perceived as an intertextual reference to Penrose Stairs paradoxical architecture Ariadne, the walls seem to be closing which influenced Escher’s perspective defying artwork. The limitless where Arthur and Ariadne in on Cobb (wide angle shot) when he circular quality of these steps stand on a perspective meets with Eames and must escape has a hyperreal quality altering staircase… authorities which acts as an apt - wanted metaphor for Inception’s man for self-reflexive metanarrative. espionage Motifs in Inception frequently crimes. refer to postmodern concepts of the simulacra.

The close-up two shot of …uses proairetic codes to represent The spectator is aligned towards Cobb, who indulges in romantic Cobb and Mal inside layers the subconscious: each memory in memories of his late wife. Mal has died, but she lives on in his sub- of a dreamworld indicating Cobb’s mind is accessible like a lift to conscious. Spectators may identify with the Cobb’s psychological by floors with lift access… each floor. Ariadne is spying on rumination, but may be alienated by this unsympathetic, obsessive trait, Cobb’s memories highlighting the and not offer their allegiance to the protagonist. Cobb is a flawed hero theme of voyeurism: peoples’ desire whose projections are volatile due to his to know each others’ rumination. The darkest floor of his subconscious secrets, often is anniversary night, where Mal has trashed the without permission. room and commits suicide (cannot distinguish dream/real) – postmodern condition.

The medium two-shot of …declaring “you mustn’t be afraid to Two types of masculinity are represented here: Eames (the macho alpha Eames entering the frame dream a little bigger darling”…acts as male) and Arthur (the sensitive beta male Metrosexual). Their with Arthur and an comic relief to break the tension. personality clash highlights two common identities with regards to automatic weapon… Repair: team realise mission is high gender. Arguably, Nolan aligns the stakes with risk of life in Limbo. spectator towards Eames as the dry and witty Forger but the spectator Disruption stage of narrative: Fischer’s may have allegiance with the subconscious is heavily militarized sidekick Researcher Arthur who is (wide angle long shot of freight train mocked to the point it is hard not to charging through rain-soaked city streets sympathise with him. as Fischer is held in a taxi at gunpoint.

The special effects gravity- Cause and effect between dream • Layers of dreamworld: Reality on Plane (Level 1), Van Chase with defying fight sequence layers – the car tumbles on Level 2, Chemist Yusuf (Level 2), Hotel with Point Man Arthur (Level 3), involving Arthur and lower levels experience gravity Snow Fortress with Eames (Level 4), Limbo with projections… defying situations – temporality Cobb/Ariadne/Fischer/Mal’s projection (Level 5). (time) is also manipulated – 5 seconds • ‘The kick’ knocks inceptors up the dream layers and the trigger is The parallel editing shots in Level 1 could be 100 years in Level Edith Piaf’s Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (intertextual reference: between layers of the 5 limbo – it is a high stakes extraction Marion Cotillard who is Mal played Edith in a French biopic). dreamworld as all team mission as death could lead to being • Limbo is represented by ruins, where members try to synchronise trapped in Limbo forever. Mal and Cobb were stuck for many years. their incepting efforts. - Repair stage of the narrative – last attempt to incept the mind of Robert Fischer Jr.

The wide angle medium two ‘Inception’ refers to planting an idea • Non-linear narrative that shifts frequently between past, present, shot of Robert Fischer Jr. in organically in a subject’s brain which future and layers of the dreamworld – distinctive colour gradients Level 5 limbo meeting his leads to a fundamental change. in cinematography is the only sign which helps the audience father on his deathbed in Strategy: access relationship with the distinguish between these layers – the narrative is meant to be like order for inceptors to alter a father (Eames’ idea) – instead of his a complex maze with Nolan as the architect demanding active key memory with a will and father calling him a “disappointment” spectatorship to engage with its material – however, there is a childhood memory of a in real life, the scene on his death bed enough spectacle for the passive spectator to engage without windmill. will reveal that his father was truly having to deconstruct these hermeneutic codes. proud of him. • Inception conforms to Hollywood Mainstream New Equilbrium – the Intended result: Robert Fischer Jr. will spectacle influenced by conventions of the inception was a success, all dissolve the Fischer conglomerate, Heist sub-genre but also is far more conceptually survive, and Cobb is choosing a compassion rather than an experimental and cerebral than most. Nolan could seemingly reunited with his elitist life, paving the way for be perceived as an auteur who is intellectualising son and daughter as a competitor Saito to form an oligopoly. Hollywood cinema on a £200 million+ budget. reward. • Final Hermeneutic code, the spinning top leitmotif – is this reality? [INCEPTION NARRATIVE STRUCTURE]

Todorov Equilibrium Disruption Recognition Repair New Equilbrium McKee Exposition Inciting Progressive Complications Climax Resolution Incident Narrative - Dominick "Dom" - The team - Despite these setbacks, the team continues - Ariadne kills - Upon detail Cobb and Arthur abducts with the mission. Mal's arrival at Los are "extractors": Fischer, but - Eames impersonates Robert's godfather, projection Angeles they perform they are Peter Browning, to suggest Robert reconsider and wakes Airport, corporate attacked by his father's will. Robert up Cobb passes espionage using armed - Yusuf drives them around in a van as the rest with a kick. the U.S. experimental projections are sedated into the second level, a hotel Revived at immigration military from his dreamed by Arthur. the fortified checkpoint technology to subconscious, - Cobb persuades Robert that he has been hospital, he and infiltrate the which has been kidnapped by Browning, and that Cobb is his enters a safe Professor subconscious of specifically subconscious protector. room to Miles their targets and trained to - Cobb persuades Robert to go down another discover and accompanies extract valuable defend against level to explore Browning's subconscious (in accept the him to his information such intruders. reality, it is a ruse to enter Robert's planted idea: home. through a shared - The team subconscious). a projection - Using Mal's dream world. takes Robert - The third level is a fortified hospital on a of his dying old totem—a - Their latest and a wounded snowy mountain dreamed by Eames. father telling spinning top target, Japanese Saito to a - The team has to infiltrate it and hold off the him to be his that spins businessman warehouse, guards as Saito takes Robert into the own man. indefinitely Saito, reveals that where Cobb equivalent of his subconscious. - While Cobb in a dream he arranged their reveals that - Yusuf, under pursuit by Robert's projections remains in world but mission himself to while dying in in the first level, deliberately drives off a limbo to falls over in test Cobb for a the dream bridge, thus initiating his kick too soon. This search for reality— seemingly would causes an avalanche in Eames' level, and Saito, the Cobb impossible job: normally wake removes the gravity of Arthur's level, thus other team conducts a implanting an Saito up, the forcing Arthur to improvise a new kick members test to prove idea in a person's powerful synchronized with the van hitting the water. ride the that he is subconscious, or sedatives - Mal's projection emerges in Eames' level synchronized indeed in the "inception". needed to and kills Robert; Cobb kills Mal, and Saito kicks back to real world, - To break up the stabilize the succumbs to his wounds. Cobb and Ariadne reality. but he does energy multi-level enter Limbo to rescue Robert and Saito, while - Cobb not observe conglomerate of dream will Eames sets up a kick by rigging the hospital eventually its result and ailing competitor instead send a with explosives. finds an aged instead joins Maurice Fischer, dying dreamer Saito in his children Saito wants Cobb into LIMBO: a FLASHBACK limbo and in the to convince world of - Cobb reveals to Ariadne that he and Mal reminds him garden. Fischer's son and infinite went to limbo while experimenting with the of their heir, Robert, to subconscious dream-sharing technology. agreement. dissolve his from which - Sedated for a few hours of real time, they - The father's company. escape is spent fifty years in a dream constructing a dreamers all - In return, Saito extremely world from their shared memories. awake on the promises to use difficult, if not - When Mal refused to return to reality, Cobb plane and his influence once impossible, used a rudimentary form of inception by Saito makes the job is done to and in which a reactivating her totem (an object that a phone call. clear Cobb's dreamer risks dreamers use to distinguish their dreams apparent criminal forgetting they from reality), and reminding her subconscious status, which are in a dream. that their world was not real. prevents him - However, after waking up, the inception had from returning taken root and Mal still believed that she was home to his dreaming. In an attempt to "wake up" for children. real, she committed suicide and framed Cobb - A team of for her death to force him to do the same. “inceptors” are - Facing a murder charge, Cobb fled the U.S., gathered by leaving his children in the care of his father- Cobb. in-law. - Through his confession, Cobb makes peace with his guilt over Mal's death. Modernism – philosophical movement – Music video and Simulacra and Simulation transformations of 20th century postmodernism (Baudrillard) society – rejected certainty of Enlightenment - the ‘three minute culture’ – - Blurred boundary between thinking and religious belief – “make it new” – the MTV generation length the real and imagined stream-of-consciousness novel, abstract art, of peoples’ attention spans – - Distinction between media self-conscious style, experimental form, fast editing, intense imagery and reality has collapsed rejection of realism – creative revolution - Relevant theory: - Reality defined by images (science, art, technology) – power of human Lyotard/Baudrillard/Jameson and representations beings to create, improve and reshape – ‘structures of feeling’ and - This meta-conceptual realm environment – progress and growth ‘cultural logic’ is a form of hyper-reality emphasised. - Guy Debord - Society of the - Deals with the ambiguity of Post-modernism – as cultural production spectacle – overly visual polar opposites – artifice peaked, post-modernism became a new culture that pursues high and authenticity movement that critiqued the modernist era levels of stimulation with scepticism, deconstruction and a post- structuralist mode of analysis – it is marked by a cyclical return to previous styles but adding Causality – many stories no new contextual meaning through bricolage. longer follow a structured cause-and-effect pattern but mess with linearity and consequence – some stories Deconstructing – picking decide to subvert the notion apart media to find out the of ‘meaning’. motive and purpose of a Meta-narratives – disjointed product, to the point of narrative structures that play abstraction with casuality and linearity – Subversive – challenging the usually associated itself with conventions of previous JEAN avant-garde movements. media – anti-conformist in BAUDRILLARD nature Hybridity – the blurred What is post-modernism? boundary between high The zenith of cultural production culture and popular culture – – culture ‘eats itself’ – everything genres blend, sources of has been made – therefore, influence vary – media forms culture must remake itself in are juxtaposed abstract and cyclical forms of self-reference - Many artistic products are influenced by its predecessors to the point of parody, homage and Hall-of-mirrors/ paradoxical ‘Truth’ is merely a concept intertextuality – from Escher’s drawn – there is no right or wrong, merely - anything can be art architectural illusions, to interpretations - Reflection of an ‘alienated’ story-in-a-story-in-a-story – propaganda or ‘taste’ are the society – personas and narratives – to oxymoronic deciding factors regarding which characters are reinvented (ie. notions such as ‘loving hate’ – ‘truth’ prevails at any given time Madonna, Michael Jackson, ambiguity and illusion reigns - Sense of reality dominated by David Bowie) as the pursuit for in the post-modern world media images identity subverts conventions Hierarchies of taste - - - Cultural forms can no longer hold Blurring of high and low up a mirror to reality because culture to create new reality itself is saturated by meaning advertising, films, TV, video games Bricolage Self-conscious – one could and print media - fusing two cultures can change its argue that post-modern - Truth claims via images are more meaning – punk socialists thinking is very narcissistic – problematic thanks to Photoshop (particularly bands like The Clash) looking in on oneself, taking technology – reality is distorted to would have a very different ethos to one out of an experience and either beautify or implicate, swastika sporting neo-Nazi punks into the theoretical – sometimes unrealistically - Iconography can be adapted when conceptual art for conceptual - Mediation – media reality is the combined with icons from another art’s sake (the Emperor’s new reality – society must mediate cultural expression, and therefore New Clothes effect) between cultural forms in order to create a very new meaning decide on the prevailing ‘truth’ [FRANCES HA NARRATIVE STRUCTURE] Todorov Equilibrium Disruption Recognition Repair New Equilbrium

McKee Exposition Inciting Incident Progressive Complications Climax Resolution

Narrative Frances - When Sophie decides - - She visits her Sacramento - She returns to Vassar, - The romance of detail Halladay is a she wants to relocate to hometown Christmas her alma mater, to work friendship is 27-year-old her dream neighborhood where she sees her family as a waitress and emphasised between dancer who of Tribeca, Frances is and reconnects with high summer RA, but finally Frances and Sophie. lives with her unable to afford it and is school friends who are returns to and - Benji starts talking to best friend forced to find someplace more successful. reconciles with Sophie Frances after the Sophie in else to live. - Frances laments her lack of after crossing paths at a show and calls her Brooklyn. - As a result, she moves money, her poor prospects party. ‘undateable’ but in a to Chinatown and shares as a professional dancer, - Sophie argues with way where he seems an apartment with her and her increasingly Patch and they break to fancy her now. friends Lev and Benji. strained relationship with up. Sophie.

[NARRATIVE/CHARACTER ARC]

Character Goals Obstacles Success/failure

Frances 1: To maintain a close friendship 1: Patch is settling down with Sophie. 1: Success – Sophie and Patch break (protagonist) with Sophie. 2: Her mediocre ability and wandering up. 2: To succeed as a dancer with her mentality. 2: Success – she directs her own own show. dance show which impresses.

Sophie (sidekick) To get married and settle down Her fallout with Frances which means that Success – friends reunite. with Patch and help Frances move they can no longer be friends. on.

Colleen Wants to see Frances find her Aware of Frances’ limitations as a dancer – Success - gives Frances the (helper) career niche as a dance unsure how she can help. opportunity to lead her own show. teacher/performer/writer.

Patch To settle down with Sophie. Her close friendship with Frances. They move Failure – Frances and Sophie finally (antagonist) away so that Frances is not near. reunite and Sophie dumps Patch.

Other characters: Benji, Rachel, Nessa, Lev – all encounter Frances as acquaintances with different reactions. Benji patronises her as ‘undateable’ but gradually becomes more impressed by her. Frances attempts to replace Sophie with Rachel, who doesn’t play fight the same way, Nessa is a high society yuppie who briefly takes Frances under her wing only to be distanced by her, and Lev initially flirts with her and fails to bed her despite being a ‘stud’ type and then just becomes an acquaintance/friend. [KEY SCENES IN FRANCES HA – TEXTUAL ANALYSIS SCAFFOLD]

Film Still Denotation Connotation Macro analysis

The long two shot of …highlights the awkward, child-like Oppositional readings of the sub-genre of Frances and Sophie and nerdy quality of the genre as well mumblecore as included in S&S is play-fighting in the as Frances’ and Sophie’s friendship. “synonymous with smug hipsterism, park with lo-fi black suggestive of endless, self-indulgent navel- and white gazing from characters who were almost cinematography... invariably white, straight and middle-class”.

The long shot of …depicts Frances as an Preferred readings of the genre will discuss Frances and her ‘everywoman’ whose trials and how their “low-to-non-existent production average ballet tribulations are met by the majority values have a wry and self-conscious interest dancing… of society. She is no superhero, in the everyday trials and tribulations of damsel in distress or profound young Americans struggling to come to terms historical figure, she is just making with the often dispiriting realities of her way through everyday life. adulthood”.

The medium two …which the spectator is uncertain if it The conversational improvised style of low shot of Frances is a date or two friends hanging out tension interactions echoes films by John having a meal with and getting to know each other. Lev’s Cassavetes, John Sayles and Richard Lev… failed attempt at seduction as Linklater. Noam Baumbach is dipping into a Frances makes a duck noise when he celebrated slice of indie cinema melodrama. puts his hand on her shoulder highlights the awkwardness of their interaction.

The over-the- …plays on Frances’ jealousy of their At the inciting incident (Stage 2 Disruption) shoulder shot of closeness. She mimics their in the narrative, Frances argues with her best Sophie play-fighting interaction, but tension in the scene friend Sophie about her leaving the city with with Patch as Frances escalates as a result of Sophie’s news. Patch. This means that Sophie must become observes… more independent and is ultimately more lonely as a result.

The long shot of …includes cringey conversations Issues of class are explored in this table Frances and her old between Frances as an awkward scene but highlight the role of meritocracy high school friends at wanderer who hasn’t found her place on those that succeed and others that fail to the dinner table… yet and former friends who are now find their place in society. At Progressive engaged in elite society. The film Complications stage (Stage 3 Recognition), explorers the role of the inbetweener Frances becomes aware that her limbo yet to settle down. means she has fallen behind by comparison.

The wide angle group …highlights her unprofessional work At the climactic stage (Stage 4 Repair), shot of Frances at a mentality but also with a wide-eyed Frances encounters Sophie in a friendship university function as sincerity which transcends naivety. style ‘meet cute’ where their serendipitous a waitress who Her happy-go lucky personality meeting leads to reuniting and the break-up persistently breaks supersedes her flaws because it is so between Patch and Sophie. These mundane working etiquette to endearing. coincidences are indicative of mumblecore talk to guests… conventions in Mutual Appreciation.

The medium close-up …illustrates that their friendship is Their chemistry is platonic, but it is two shot of Frances the true romance of the film. prioritised over relationships. Negotiated and Sophie lying in readings could debate over whether there is bed together… a suggestion of a bisexual connection between the two that goes beyond the platonic, and that the film could have been clearer about this ambiguity.

The long shot of …highlights Frances’ creative growth The New Equilibrium illustrates Frances’ Frances’ as she now gains fuller purpose in her progress. Her character arc develops from a choreographed and career-based identity. childish dance teacher to a choreography curated group director. Whilst she remains in a middling performance… existence, she has gained some independence, not fully tied to Sophie as her sole identity. Frances Sophie Dan Lev (Greta Gerwig) (Mickey Sumner) (Michael Esper) (Adam Driver)

Frances is a happy-go lucky dance Sophie is Frances’ best friend. Dan is Frances’ ex-boyfriend. When Lev is a flirtatious, stylish, school apprentice who is in limbo They have an argument once Dan attempted to buy a cat for the young New Yorker whose about what to do with her life. Sophie’s relationship with Patch two of them to live with, France felt charms do not woo She becomes increasingly lonely becomes serious. The intimacy of the relationship was getting too Frances. When he touches as her best friend has a their friendship acts like a non- serious too quickly and broke up Frances’ shoulder after a relationship which causes a rift sexual relationship and is the with him. Dan then met someone night out, she flinches, and between them. Frances goes on film’s core element. else and moved on as a result. he realises that their an existential search as a result. chemistry is merely platonic. KEY CHARACTERS AND DETAILS FOR ‘FRANCES HA’

Rachel Colleen Nessa Patch (Grace Gummer) (Charlotte d’Amboise) (Justine Lupe) (Patrick Heusinger)

Frances becomes friends with Colleen is the Head of the Dance Nessa is Dan’s new girlfriend once he Patch is Sophie’s Rachel once Sophie has moved school where Frances is an splits up with Frances. She is a New boyfriend who on. Frances’ attempt to replicate apprentice. She is aware that York socialite with an upper-middle unwittingly causes a the zany antics of her former Frances is not a natural dancing class background and has an rift between these friendship fail with Rachel who is talent but still helps Frances find aspirational ethos. best friends when more reserved in her her niche within the company. their relationship gets demeanour. more serious.

Plot Summary - Frances • Genre – Comedy / • Writer-Director – Noah lives in New York, but she Drama / Romance. Baumbach, Greta Gerwig doesn't really have an (co-written). apartment. Frances is an • Cinematic apprentice for a dance movement – • Year – 2012. company, but she's not Mumblecore. • Country – USA . really a dancer. Frances has a best friend named • Production • Main actors - Sophie, but they aren't company – RT - Greta Gerwig – Frances. really speaking anymore. Features, Pine - Adam Driver – Lev. Benji Frances throws herself District Pictures, - Michael Zegen – Benji. Scott Rudin (Michael Zegen) headlong into her - Mickey Sumner – dreams, even as their Productions. Sophie. Benji is a typical hipster New possible reality dwindles. • Distribution - Grace Gummer – Yorker who is understated Frances wants so much companies – IFC Rachel. but thoughtful. He finds more than she has but Films (US), - Michael Esper – Dan. Frances fascinating but we lives her life with Metrodome Other characters – Nessa, are unsure if their chemistry unaccountable joy and Distribution (UK). Patch, Waitress, Colleen. is platonic or anything else. lightness. [TRAINSPOTTING NARRATIVE STRUCTURE] Todorov Equilibrium Disruption Recognition Repair New Equilbrium McKee Exposition Inciting Progressive Climax Resolution Incident Complications Narrative Introduction Renton meets Home porn video Moves to London Renton collects the detail to group Diane. theft (literally crossing a bridge money from his safe taking heroin, Baby’s death (Sick (London Bridge) and runs away. stealing and ‘Attempts’ to Boy) Tommy’s death swindling. quit heroin Renton is not going Heroin exchange – to jail – Spud goes Renton leaves with the Worst toilet in Spud job down. money whilst Begbie and Scotland interview Heroin withdrawal. co. are asleep (Spud is shocked). Getting rid of Sick Boy and Begbie.

Other • Postmodernism (Britpop cultural references [Iggy Pop, Underworld], breaking the fourth wall with Renton, considerations hyperreality of ‘cold turkey’, Baudrillard’s simulacra and simulation). • Gritty kitchen sink realism (Loach, Leigh) with surreal sequences which reflect the experience of a drug addict. • Film noir (The Public Enemy in the Hays Code era who gets his comeuppance) but Renton gets away with it theft – he is a problematic complex hero. • Auteur theory – Danny Boyle – distinctive stylistic signature. • Post-Thatcherite – rejection of free market capitalist survival of fittest paradigm – “there is no such thing as society”. NARRATIVE/CHARACTER ARC Character Goals Obstacles Success/failure

Renton #1: To get a hit #1: Not enough money Success – escapes the dangerously violent Begbie and (anti-hero #2: To woo Diane #2: She’s too young the criminal Sick Boy with enough money to make a protagonist) #3: To not get caught #3: All his friends are going down new life for himself. #4: To get clean #4: Life without heroin is boring – #5: To get a job and make a living easily tempted #5: The old way of life

Spud To get by and spend time with The trouble his friends get him into. Failure – witnesses Renton escape – probably stuck (sidekick) the guys with Sick Boy and Begbie.

Sick Boy To live the high life, to hustle, to Baby’s death, addiction issues Failure – he has ended up in calamitous situations over (sidekick) be a know-it-all and over with Begbie.

Diane 16 going on 30 (growing up too Her youth (she wants to be a woman Ambiguous – she is an underage schoolgirl who sleeps (princess) fast) not a girl) with Renton but her reaction to Renton’s shock about her age is not shown beyond the school gates.

Begbie To be top dog, to be toughest, Everyone trying to appeal to his Failure – he is a slave to his psychopathic nature and (antagonist) no-one matters but himself and humanity, undermined by drug addicts destroys everything in his path. his alcoholism IDEOLOGY Left-wing Centre-ground Right wing Far Right

Socialism Liberalism Neoliberal and Traditional Conservative Fascism, Communism, Totalitarian

No such thing as the Freedom of expression Thatcherite Conservative (80s), New Labour (90s) Violence towards the opposition in undeserving poor Identity politics Free market economics and meritocracy - pull the name of any cause (extremist Liberty and equality yourself up by the bootstraps mentality ideology). Equality of opportunity not outcome Law, authority, hierarchy - war on drugs

Humanising of marginalised Boyle’s nuanced attitude Renton becomes an estate agent (free market – Begbie – psychopathic violence, people in society – so many towards drug culture, class, self-employed businessmen - entrepreneur) sadistic, transphobic reaction. Scottish people below the gender politics etc. Sick Boy (business swindler, hustler) All male characters - women as poverty line. Feminist interpretation – conquests (misogyny). Even a heroin addict should Diane as a smart, powerful The chaotic lifestyle of Renton and be considered a key member self-assured teenage co. (anarchist). of society. woman. Anarcho-capitalist illegal rave culture [KEY SCENES IN TRAINSPOTTING – TEXTUAL ANALYSIS SCAFFOLD] Film Still Denotation Connotation Macro analysis

The point-of-view shot of a driver This highlights the The non-diagetic soundtrack is of a who has been stopped by a protagonist’s role as a rebel punk icon Iggy Pop singing ‘Lust For running shoplifter anti-hero with a heroin addiction who Life’ as Renton’s voiceover dictates a Renton giving direct address. The will do anything to score the poem with a series of imperatives intertitle Renton appears. next high: the live fast, die called ‘Choose Life’. This occurs as the young ethos in motion. Exposition (Stage 1) or Equilibrium of the narrative.

The medium shot of Renton diving Director Danny Boyle wishes to However, oppositional readings of the into a faeces-ridden toilet in ‘The represent the grotesque life of text suggest that the film glamorizes Worst Toilet in Scotland’ before it heroin addiction in Scotland drug culture with its banter and pop cuts to an underwater sequence as which highlights drug use as a culture references. he searches for his suppository. cautionary tale.

The extreme close up of the …highlights a core theme in A similar focus on the intake of hard heroin baking process with a Trainspotting: hardcore drug drugs is also present in the spoon of powder heated… use and drug addiction. The postmodern Tarantino film Pulp fact that the spoon is grubby, Fiction (1994, US). illustrates their grimy lifestyle.

The long shot of Diane in school …reveals that she is underage. This theme in connection with heroin uniform as Renton is eating This is particularly disturbing addiction is meant to highlight how breakfast at the dinner table with as Renton met her at a club extreme both things may be: being a her parents… the night before and they had ‘skag’ addict and a paedophile. This sex. scene is Stage 3 of the narrative (Recognition).

The long shot eyeline match shot …depicts coming off heroin as Renton is positioned as the of Renton in cold turkey at the an absurd nightmare with unsympathetic protagonist. His room’s perspective distort with a hallucinations and grotesque method of dolly zoom… moments of suffering.

The slow panning shot to reveal …which is made more tragic Boyle’s cautionary tale remains that Tommy dead in a squalid because Tommy only found heroin destroys lives. There is an apartment after a heroin overdose heroin due to his friends, and intertextual reference of an Iggy Pop with a sweet cat wondering was fairly ‘straight edge’ poster in the background as one prop around… beforehand. in a sparse and unfurnished room. This could suggest that the rock’n roll dream is dying.

A close-up of antagonist Begbie …emphasises his psychopathic Boyle positions Begbie as the screaming violently after his nature: the need to live life antagonist of the narrative. He is an football team wins… aggressively which in turn alcoholic rather than a heroin addict, intimidates his friends, which suggests that commentary particularly Renton. which simply villainises heroin addicts in inaccurate, as there are many anti- social alcoholics as well.

The long shot of all Sick Boy, …gives the impression that This shot acts as an intertextual Renton, Spud and Begbie walking they are gangsters about to reference to the Beatles’ ‘Abbey Road’ across a street in Central London land a serious drug deal. They vinyl cover. This scene is the ‘Repair’ all suited and booted… come across as rock’n roll (Stage 4) of the narrative. rebels when in reality, they are just naïve fools.

The medium shot of Renton taking ….shows that he has a way out This is Stage 5 of the narrative: the money out of his safe… of his situation. He may be a New Equilibrium. The mirroring effect criminal, but one that the of the cinematography echoes a audience are more likely to postmodern trope known as the mise- identify with and root for as an en-abyme effect. anti-hero. Renton Spud Sick Boy Begbie (Ewan McGregor) (Ewen Bremner) (Jonny Lee Miller) (Robert Carlyle)

Antihero protagonist and saner Naive and childlike, Spud is both the A slick, promiscuous, amoral con artist, A violent psychopath, Begbie member of his group. He narrates his whipping boy and only real source of and Renton's oldest friend. He picks up terrorises his "friends" into daily life – from supporting his heroin comfort among Renton's circle of women with ease and flaunts this going along with what he says, addiction with dole money and petty friends; they feel genuinely protective quality in front of his friends. He is often assaulting anyone who angers theft to interacting with the "normal of him, even as they repeatedly mock on the lookout for potential scams, and him. He expresses loyalty to world" – with a cynical, black- and take advantage of him. Spud despite his friendly, charming facade, his friends though he humoured eye. He is capable of fitting represents the product of a society he generally regards the women he considers junkies to be lowest in well enough to common society, is indifferent to social ills; he uses heroin seduces with little more than contempt. form of life, despite being relatively good-looking and of above- because it feels good and because the He becomes even more amoral after addicted to alcohol, and the average intelligence, but is simple truth is that he would not be the death of his daughter Dawn, who adrenaline of violence. misanthropic and depressed using able to achieve anything even when asphyxiates while her mother Alison He is part of the YLT (Young heroin to escape life and find meaning. sober. and Sick Boy are on a heroin binge. Leith Team) street gang. SYNOPSIS & KEY CHARACTERS IN ‘TRAINSPOTTING’ Plot Summary – A wild, Diane freeform, Rabelaisian trip Director – Danny Boyle (Kelly Macdonald) through the darkest recesses of Producer – Andrew Edinburgh low-life, focusing on Emerging from a nightclub after shunning Macdonald Mark Renton and his attempt to Writers – Irvin Welsh the advances of a clubber, she is pursued give up his heroin habit, and how by Renton with an of desperation. She the latter affects his relationship (novel), John Hodge responds to his pathetic chat-up attempt with family and friends: Sean (screenplay) with an icily cruel speech that leaves him Connery wannabe Sick Boy, Year – 1996 totally crestfallen. When she leaves her dimbulb Spud, psycho Begbie, Country – US 14-year-old girlfriend Diane, and taxi door open for Renton to follow, it Genre – Drama becomes apparent that the knock-back clean-cut athlete Tommy, who's never touched drugs but can't Production company – may have been merely a device to help being curious about them... establish sexual power over him. Channel Four Films

Tommy (Kevin McKidd) Swanney (Peter Mullan) Gail (Shirley Henderson)

Mr. Renton (James Cosmo) Allison (Susan Vidler) Mickey Forrester (Irvin Welsh)

Mrs. Renton (Eileen Nicholas) Lizzy (Pauline Lynch) Dealer (Keith Allen) [THIS IS ENGLAND NARRATIVE STRUCTURE]

Todorov Equilibrium Disruption Recognition Repair New Equilbrium

McKee Exposition Inciting Incident Progressive Complications Climax Resolution

Narrative - In 1983, on the last - Combo, an older - Shaun finds a mentor - Combo becomes depressed - The film cuts detail day of the school , returns to the figure in Combo, who in after Lol, Woody's girlfriend, forward to Shaun, year, 12-year-old group after a prison turn is impressed by rejects him when he admits who is in his Shaun gets into a sentence, accompanied and identifies with that he has loved her since bedroom looking at fight at school with by a knife-wielding man Shaun. they had sex years before. a picture of his dad a boy named called Banjo. - Shaun goes with - To console himself, Combo who died in the Harvey after the - A charismatic sociopath, Combo's group to a buys cannabis from Milky, the Falklands conflict. latter makes an Combo expresses National Front meeting. only black skinhead in Woody's - He is reflecting on offensive joke about extremist English - After Pukey expresses gang. the incident and his father, who was nationalist views doubt over their racist - During a party, Combo and brooding about killed in the - This leads the group to and nationalistic Milky bond while intoxicated, what happened, Falklands War. split, with young Shaun, politics, Combo throws but Combo becomes with his mother - On his way home, the belligerent Pukey, him out of his group increasingly bitter and envious Cynthia assuring Shaun comes across and Gadget, who feels and sends him back to when Milky shares details of him that Milky will a gang of young bullied by Woody for his Woody. his many relatives, be all right. led by weight, choosing Combo - The gang then engages comfortable family life and - Shaun is then Woody, who feels over Woody's apolitical in bigoted antagonism happy upbringing, everything shown walking sympathy for Shaun gang. of, among others, that Combo lacked. near the beach and and invites him to shopkeeper Mr Sandhu, - Enraged, Combo enters a throwing his St join the group. a Pakistani shopkeeper frenzied state and brutally George’s Flag, a gift - They accept Shaun who had previously beats Milky unconscious, while from Combo, into as a member. banned Shaun from his Banjo holds down Shaun, and the sea. shop. Meggy watches on in horror.

[NARRATIVE/CHARACTER ARC]

Character Goals Obstacles Success/failure

Shaun - To find a father figure after his dad’s - Woody is a flawed father figure and Combo is the worst Failure – the group he ends up belonging (protagonist) death in the Falklands war, to make possible example. He may have a girlfriend but she is way too to are extremist sociopaths. He makes new friends, to get a girlfriend. old for him, and his new friends are leading him astray. the right decision and leaves.

Combo - To get back together with Lol, to lead - His sociopathic tendencies scare those closest to him. Woody Failure – Combo goes back to jail after a (antagonist) the gang and to start up a racist leaves the group when he becomes racist. racist beating of Milky, and Lol rejects nationalist movement. him.

Milky - To settle in as a small-time drug - Combo becomes increasingly racist towards him and he Failure – Combo nearly murders him. (helper) dealer and generally affable member quickly becomes isolated by Combo’s evil motives. Thankfully, Milky just survives. of the gang.

Woody - To lead the gang, bring Shaun into - The return of Combo sours everything with the group – he Failure – he cannot protect Shaun even (helper) the group and have a good time decides not to get involved, aware just how evil he is. though he tries. growing up and having a laugh.

Lol - To have a happy life with Woody and - The return of Combo makes her a target for his dangerous Failure – Combo sours all the joy from (helper) the gang and bring Shaun into the affection (they had a relationship when she was underage). the group. group.

[IDEOLOGY]

Left Centre Centre-right Right Far Right

Socialism Liberalism Liberal Conservative Traditional Conservative Fascism and Nationalism Democratic Socialism Neoliberalism Capitalism Statism Libertarianism Authoritarianism Social Democrat Libertarianism Socialism

No such thing as the Freedom of expression New Labour Law, authority, Anti-immigration undeserving poor Identity politics Thatcherite hierarchy, tradition Jingoistic Liberty and equality Multicultural Conservatism Pull yourself up by the Racist For the many not the few Corporate Free market economics bootstraps mentality Dictatorial rule Federalist Equality of opportunity War on drugs but not of outcome Military industrial Meritocracy complex (Neocon)

Woody is arguably a Socialist Meadows may have Margaret Thatcher represents the neoliberal / Combo embodies this or Anarcho-Socialist character. wanted to make a soft conservative orthodoxy of the English 1980s as movement. case for the legalisation shown in the first montage. of cannibas use. [KEY SCENES IN THIS IS ENGLAND – TEXTUAL ANALYSIS SCAFFOLD] Film Still Denotation Connotation Macro analysis

The medium shot of sample …shows her efforts as Prime The film was made in 2004 but depicts footage of Margaret Thatcher in a Minister (1979-92) to act as a life in the Midlands in the 1980s, during tractor… ‘woman of the people’. She the Thatcherite era which include the miner’s strike, Falkland’s War and free market capitalist neoliberal/ Conservative drive.

The two shot of Woody consoling …depicts their opposition as Woody seems ideologically Shaun with a mocking impression middle and upper-class representative of Anarcho-Socialism, of Harvey (Shaun’s bully) as a posh people who undermine them. whose petty crimes of vandalism are idiot… against the establishment (Thatcherite policy) that has arguably oppressed them.

The two shot of Shaun after he has …which becomes more The gratuitous close-ups of their ‘snogged’ his new girlfriend Smell disturbing by how young and snogging including the noises are with an age gap (12/15)… boyish he looks and how post- meant to be grotesque highlighting the adolescent she seems. awkward of a first kiss. Meadows highlights the naivety of youth. An oppositional reading may find these representations exploitative.

The close up of Combo as he gives …may be full of charisma and The director’s intentions are to show political speeches with shot- impassioned rhetoric, but the carcinogenic effect of those who reverse shots to show the becomes increasingly platform themselves whilst spreading reactions of Woody, Milky, Lol, concerning as racist toxic ideologies. Woody feels coerced Shaun and other people present… nationalist ideologies are by Combo’s rabble rousing and realises spouted against foreigners. that the party has stopped.

The long shot of a nationalist …depicts a political meeting Meadows wishes to show the fine line gathering at a local village club that showcases grassroots far between hard left and far right with the St. George’s flag as a key right nationalist movements. ideologies which both give a populist symbol… ‘Common enemy’ tactics message for those disenfranchised against multiculturalism exist within the working classes against the on the far right. establishment.

The medium close-up two shot of …which illustrates the Meadows’ representation of these two two Islamic Pakistani boys are extremist attitude of white boys as innocent and wrongly threatened with racial abuse by nationalists against scapegoated (just like the shopkeeper) Combo’s nationalist gang which multiculturalism. highlights his rebuke against includes Shaun… extremism. Preferred readings would show that Meadows has an important progressive intention.

The close-up of Milky smiling …showcases the dignity in Milky is sympathetic and wrongly defiance at Combo’s threats, civil rights, that when marginalised figure in the narrative. aggression and racism… someone is racially abused, This climactic scene (Stage 4 ‘Repair’) they can still stand tall and be highlights the brutality of nationalism proud of who they are. but also the profound pacifist nature of Milky, who has a powerful grace.

The low angle medium shot of …highlights his physically The foreshadowing regarding his Combo limbering up as he talks to threatening and intimidating character builds up tension in this Milky about privileges… nature. scene as we anticipate his violence against Milky. The tone of the scene shows how easily extremism can ingrain itself in culture.

The point-of-view shot of Shaun …highlights the deification of Shaun was easily manipulated by looking at a picture of his father militarism but also the Combo through using the anger Shaun who died in the Falklands… tragedy of politicians who had against his dad’s death which could send soldiers to their graves. be transferred into the nationalist cause. Combo’s methods were propagandist in nature.

The long shot of Shaun throwing …is a final symbolic gesture This is Meadows’ message: to rebuke St. George’s flag into the sea… which rejects the extremism dehumanisation of ‘the other’ of nationalist anti-immigrant wherever it crops up, and how scapegoating. patriotism can be misused for jingoistic causes. Shaun Combo Lol Milky Woody (Thomas Turgoose) (Stephen Graham) (Vicky McClure) (Andrew Shim) (Joseph Gilgun)

Having lost his dad in the Falklands Upon release from prison, a 32 year Lol (Woody’s girlfriend) shaves Woody and Milky were the leaders of a Woody was the leader of a rather War, he had a hard time fitting in at old Combo returns to Woody and the Shaun’s head to make him a true gang of skinheads including Gadget, Kes large gang of skinheads. One friend of his school. He was a 12 year old gang at a party at Gadget’s house, skinhead, but is reprimanded by and Pukey. Milky is a warm, calm and his was Combo, though the friendship school boy who joined a skinhead and is greeted warmly. It was here Cynthia, though she nevertheless friendly member of the gang. Being the was somewhat strained due to gang led by Woody. However, Combo that Combo met Shaun, a new thanks the group for cheering Shaun only black member, he becomes the Combo's racist nature and tendency is an old friend of Woody's, returned member of the skinhead group, up and buying him clothes. Later, focus of Combo's racial hatred. Later to bully Milky. At one point, Woody from prison and divided the gang by whom he takes to a National Front Combo returns to the group after a Milky met Combo and agreed to get and Combo got into trouble with the introducing racist views to them. meeting where they become three year prison sentence he served some cannabis for him, to the chagrin of police, but only Combo was sentenced Shaun, wanting to make his father members of the political party. He is for Woody, and shares an uneasy Milky's girlfriend, Pob. Milky and Combo to prison while Woody went free. proud, sided with Combo and a violent psychopathic racist whose reunion with him. When she was 16, smoked together, but the night turned Woody would hold a sense of attended National Front return raises hell and endangers she had one night with Combo which sour when Combo calls uses racial slurs gratitude towards Combo from then meetings. This takes him into a Shaun’s future, both physically and he has become obsessed with. against himand violently beat him on. Woody’s girlfriend is Lol. criminal underworld. mentally. unconscious. SYNOPSIS & KEY CHARACTERS IN ‘THIS IS ENGLAND’

Cynthia Meggy Pukey Nicholls Kelly (Jo Hartley) (Perry Benson) (Jack O’Connell) ()

Smell Banjo Mr Sandhu Trev (Rosamund (George Newton) (Kriss Dosanjh) (Danielle Watson) Hanson)

Gadget Lenny Harvey (Andrew Ellis) (Frank Harper) ()

Plot Summary - 12 year old Shaun lives with his widowed mother in a small town in Britain. His father, an army officer, was one of the Falkland casualties. A loner, he is befriended by some older skinhead youth, who shave off his hair, date an older young woman, and subsequently introduce him to ex-convict Combo. Shaun unwittingly volunteers to be part of Combo's gang, and is taken to a meeting hosted by Britain's right-winged National Front, which openly advocates ethnic cleansing; re-defines Racism as Reality; and Nazism as Nationalism. Combo then takes his followers on a spree of sword and knife-wielding terror, looting a corner store run by Sandhu, all eventually get stoned and violence ensues.

Director – Shane Meadows. Writers – Shane Meadows. Year – 2006. Country – UK. Genre – Crime / Drama. Production company – FilmFour, UK Film Council, Warp Films, Big Arty Productions, EM Media, Optimum Releasing, Screen Yorkshire. [SHAUN OF THE DEAD NARRATIVE STRUCTURE]

Todorov Equilibriu Disruption Recognition Repair New Equilbrium m

McKee Exposition Inciting Incident Progressive Complications Climax Resolution

Narrative - Shaun is a - After he fails to get - By morning, a zombie apocalypse has - Zombies break into - Six months detail salesman dinner reservations overwhelmed London, but Shaun and Ed are the pub. after the at an and suggests they go slow to notice until they encounter two zombies - David is outbreak, electronics to the Winchester, in their garden and kill them with blows to the disemboweled, and an civilisation has store with the pub at which they head. enraged Dianne grabs returned to no spend most of their - They form a plan to rescue Shaun's mother, David's leg and rushes normal, and direction in evenings, his Barbara, and Liz, then wait out the crisis in the into the horde. surviving his life. His girlfriend Liz breaks Winchester. - The zombified Pete zombies are used colleagues up with him. - They escape in Pete's car, and pick up Barbara appears and bites Ed, as cheap labour disrespect - After the break-up, and Philip, who gets bitten shortly after. after which Shaun and him, he Shaun drowns his - They then use Phillip's car to pick up Liz and her shoots Pete and sets entertainment. does not sorrows there with friends Dianne and David. Philip makes peace fire to the bar. - Liz has moved get along his housemate and with Shaun before turning into a zombie. - The fire sets off the in with Shaun, with his best friend Ed. At - The group abandons the vehicle and continues rifle ammunition while while Shaun stepfather home, their on foot, sneaking through backyards and evading Shaun, Liz, and Ed flee keeps the Philip. housemate Pete, zombies by pretending to be them. into the cellar, where zombie Ed complains of a bite - They seek refuge inside the Winchester, where they contemplate tethered in his wound from a Shaun discovers that the Winchester rifle above suicide. shed, where they mugger and Shaun the bar is functional. - Ed volunteers to stay play video games and Ed playing - Barbara reveals she has been bitten and turns behind with the rifle together. Electro at four o'clock undead after giving Liz and Shaun her blessing. while Shaun and Liz in the morning whilst - David attempts to shoot Barbara, but Shaun escape through a hatch he has to fill in at stops him, causing them and the rest of the that opens to the work; he berates group to start arguing. street. Shaun to get his life - Liz is able to stop them, and Shaun, distraught, - The Army arrives and together. is forced to shoot Barbara. guns down the remaining zombies.

[NARRATIVE/CHARACTER ARC] Character Goals Obstacles Success/failure Shaun To get back Told by Pete that he needs to grow up, Success: he staves off the (protagonist) together with Liz, Liz breaks up with him because he is too zombie and Liz is hang out with Ed immature and Ed holds him back from impressed by his heroism and drink at the growing up. Then there’s a zombie and gets back together Winchester apocalypse, so he must survive. with him. Shaun stays friends with now zombified Ed. Liz To move on with Shaun is stuck in a rut but can’t let her Success: Shaun learns to (princess) her life or help go, ‘man up’ and she survives Shaun learn to take zombie apocalypse. responsibility. Ed To hang out with Pete and Liz are unimpressed with him Failure/success: becomes (sidekick) Shaun and have a and feel he holds Shaun back. a zombie but still gets to laugh. hang out with Shaun. David To woo Liz. In a relationship with Diane and is love Failure: killed by zombie (antagonist) rivals with Shaun. apocalypse, Liz didn’t see him that way. Zombies To eat human flesh. Characters like Shaun and the gang. Failure: finally defeated (antagonist) when the army arrives. Other characters: Diane, Pete, Barbara, Philip – most of them eventually get eaten by zombies although Shaun’s parents patch things up with him. [KEY SCENES IN SHAUN OF THE DEAD – TEXTUAL ANALYSIS SCAFFOLD]

Film Still Denotation Connotation Macro analysis

The medium shot of the …depicts Shaun as a The Tarantinoesque use of an centrally framed deadbeat loser whose eclectic soundtrack to convey protagonist Shaun smoking average life is too the scene originates from a cigarette in ‘The mediocre for Liz – video horrors like Dawn of the Dead, Winchester’ pub whilst a games, pub, dead-end and 80s tunes like ‘Ghost shot-reverse shot reveals job, scruffy appearance, Town’ from band The Liz dumping him… lazy. Specials, ‘Panic’ from indieboys , two The panning wide angle …who act like Shaun in tunes by glam-pop band shot during the opening being zombified by the Queen, two from 90s indie credits with checkout everyday drab rockers Ash. These all position assistants acting like experience of suburban the audience towards a synchronised zombies… middle-class life. Generation X and Millennial spectator demographic. The wide angle two shot of …builds suspense and Director Edgar Wright works Shaun and Ed singing the increasing number of with his comedy duo from the theme tunes as they spot a signs that these hit TV show silhouetted man (now characters are in the ‘Spaced’ in which these two zombified) in the distance throes of a zombie leads act as if they are in a stumbling as if drunk... apocalypse. buddy movie. The high angle shot of …which highlights them Pete has already been Shaun and Ed at the bottom as vulnerable to positioned as an antagonist of the stairs nervous that intimidating forces. who tells Shaun to “sort your Pete may have been turned life out” as a flatmate who has into a zombie… had enough with his childish antics. The wide angle shot of …positions Shaun as the The composition of characters Shaun with his crew of leader of the group. in the frame highlights friends in a line from Despite being presented Wright’s deliberately framed foreground to background as a ‘loser’, he seems to cinematographic style and his behind him… be taking control. snappy, rhythmic editing.

The wide angle shot of a …celebrates B-movie Intertextual references to horde of flesh-eating gore in a postmodern Dawn of the Dead, Night of zombies breaking their way manner, exploring the the Living Dead etc. but with a into ‘The Winchester’ juxtaposition between comedic take on the sub- where Shaun and the gang the real and the genre. have hidden… simulated. The medium two shot of Liz …highlights Shaun’s There are allusions to the and Shaun bruised and character arc from loser action genre in this scene. bloodied with ‘The layabout to assertive Winchester’ on fire behind hero and protector. His them and Shaun wearing a narrative arc is headband like Rambo… redemptive.

The wide angle shot of …reinforces a key trope This scene progresses a motif Shaun and the now in the film: the romance of Shaun and Ed by the zombified Ed in the cellar of friendship, which is a television but that their playing video games… distinctive auteur friendship remains beyond feature of Wright films. Ed’s transition into becoming a zombie. COMPONENT 1A: HOLLYWOOD 1930- COMPONENT 1B: HOLLYWOOD COMPONENT 1C: BRITISH FILM 1990 (VERTIGO & ONE FLEW OVER THE AFTER 2005 (INCEPTION & AFTER 1995 (TRAINSPOTTING & CUCKOO’S NEST) FRANCES HA) THIS IS ENGLAND)

Auteur (Bazin) Auteur (Bazin) Spectatorship Spectatorship Narrative Narrative Studio System New Hollywood Ideology Ideology Ideology Ideology Art of blocking a scene Social realism Postmodernism Mumblecore Performance Performance ‘The Hitchcock Blonde’ Anti-authoritarian Simulation Persona Social Realism Social Realism Fetishism & necrophilia Psychoanalysis Mise-en-abyme B/W cinematography Britpop Nationalism Voyeurism Dystopia Demographics Spectatorship Character arc Thatcherism Femme fatale Analogy – Vietnam Alignment Indie Hollywood Aesthetic Character arc Patriarchy Distinctive stylistic Allegiance Demographics Feminist critique Aesthetic Hays Code features Audience positioning Feminist critique Auteur Auteur Vertigo/Acrophobia Binary oppositions (Levi- Passive/active Mass/niche Cult fandom Political context Aesthetic Strauss) Preferred, negotiated, Preferred, negotiated, Adaptation – Irvin Welsh Franchise? Classical Formalism Ideology oppositional oppositional Counter-culture Far Left vs Far Right Hitchcock Blonde Subvert/challenge Auteur Auteur - dialogue Franchise? Open/closed ending Zolly shoot (dolly zoom) Postcolonial (Gilroy) Spectacle Dystopia Dramatic irony Intertextuality Composition Psychoanalytic Male gaze (Mulvey)

Vertigo One Flew Over The Inception Frances Ha Trainspotting This is England (1958, dir: Alfred Hitchcock, Cuckoo’s Nest (2010, dir: Christopher Nolan, (2012, dir: Noah (1996, dir: Danny Boyle, (2007, dir: Shane Meadows, Paramount) (1975, dir: Milos Forman, Legendary/Warner Bros) Baumbach, Pine District Channel Four Films) Warp Films/FilmFour) Fantasy Films) Pictures) Renton (Ewan McGregor) Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) Studio System Era New Hollywood Era Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) Frances (Greta Gerwig) Spud (Ewen Bremner) Combo (Stephen Graham) Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller) Lol (Vicky McClure) (1930-60) (1960-90) Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) Sophie (Mickey Sumner) Begbie (Robert Carlyle) Milky (Andrew Shim) John ‘Scottie’ Ferguson Randle McMurphy (Jack Ariadne (Ellen Page) Dan (Michael Esper) Eames (Tom Hardy) Lev (Adam Driver) Diane (Kelly Macdonald) Woody (Joseph Gilgun) (James Stewart) Nicholson) Saito (Ken Watanabe) Benji (Michael Zegen) Tommy (Kevin McKidd) Cynthia (Jo Hartley) Madeleine Elster (Kim Candy Starr (Mews Small) Yusuf (Dileep Rao) Rachel (Grace Gummer) Smell (Rosamund Hanson) Novak) Nurse Ratched (Louise Robert Fischer (Cillian Patch (Patrick Heusinger) Judy Barton (Kim Novak) Fletcher) Murphy) Midge Wood (Barbara Bel Billy Bibbit (Brad Dourif) Mal (Marion Cotillard) Geddes) Turkle (Scatman Crothers) Miles (Michael Caine) Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore)

EDUQAS A LEVEL FILM STUDIES KNOWLEDGE ORGANISER

COMPONENT 2A: WORLD CINEMA COMPONENT 2B: DOCUMENTARY COMPONENT 2C: SILENT FILM COMPONENT 2D: EXPERIMENTAL (PAN’S LABYRINTH & CITY OF GOD) (STORIES WE TELL) (BUSTER KEATON COMPILATION) (PULP FICTION)

Critical debates: The Auteur Formalism Critical debates: The realist significance of digital Non-linear narrative Historical/political context and the expressive. technology in film. Postmodernism Composition Vaudeville Filmmaker’s theories Indie Hollywood Production design Auteur Grierson – actuality. Composition Ideology Slapstick Kim Longinotto – invisible role Audience positioning Auteur Persona of documentarian. Intertextual reference Context Aesthetic Nick Broomfield – Houdini – ‘Buster’ Vintage soundtrack participatory and Femme fatale Pan’s Labyrinth0 Chaplin/Laurel & Hardy/Lloyd performative. Fatty Arbuckle/Virginia Rappe Film noir (2006, dir: Guillermo Del Toro, Wild Dialogue / screenplay Bunch/New Line, Spain) Peter Watkins – docu-dramas Long shot vs close up Ofelia/Princess Moanna (Ivana Baquero) and faux-documentaries. Cue cards vs gesture Mass/niche Vidal (Sergi Lopez) Michael Moore – participatory Stereotypes Ensemble cast - star persona Mercedes (Maribel Verdu) and performative. Two-reelers Director Persona Fauno/Pale Man (Doug Jones) Cult fandom Doctor Ferreiro (Alex Angulo) Metanarrative Dramatic irony Garces (Manolo Solo) Truth as merely a concept Pedro (Roger Casamejor) Subjectivities of Buster Keaton Pulp Fiction Carmen (Ariadne Gil) representation One Week (1920, dir: Buster (1994, dir: Quentin Tarantino, Keaton, Metro Pictures) Miramax, US) Stories We Tell The Scarecrow (1920, dir: Buster Vincent Vega (John Travolta) City of God (2012, dir: Sarah Polley, US) Keaton, Joseph M. Schenck Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) (2002, dir: Fernando Meirelles, O2 Michael Polley (Himself/Peter Evans) Productions) Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) Filmes, Brazil) Sarah Polley (Herself) The High Sign (1921, dir: Buster Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis) Rocket (Alexandre Rodriguez) Diane Polley (Herself/Rebecca Jenkins) Keaton, Joseph M. Schenck Marsellus Wallace (Ving RhMES) Li’l Ze (Leandro Firmino) Susy Buchan (Herself/Lani Billard) Productions) Lance (Eric Stoltz) Li’l Dice (Douglas Silva) John Buchan (Himself/Justin Goodhand) Mark Polley (Himself/Seamus Morrison) Cops (1922, dir: Buster Keaton, The Wolf (Harvey Keitel) Bene (Phelipe Haagensen) Joanna Polley (Herself/Allie MacDonald) Joseph M. Schenck Productions) Jimmie (Quentin Tarantino) Shaggy (Jonathan Haagensen) Harry Gulkin (Himself/Alex Hatz) Fabienne (Maria de Madeiros) Knockout Ned (Seu Jorge) Pumpkin (Tim Roth) Carrot (Matheus Nachtergaele) Honey Bunny (Amanda Plummer) Angelica (Alice Braga)

COMPONENT 2A – WORLD CINEMA – EUROPEAN FILM – PAN’S LABYRINTH COMPONENT 2A – WORLD CINEMA – EUROPEAN FILM – PAN’S LABYRINTH COMPONENT 2A – WORLD CINEMA – EUROPEAN FILM – PAN’S LABYRINTH [KEY SCENES IN PAN’S LABYRINTH – TEXTUAL ANALYSIS SCAFFOLD]

Film Still Denotation Connotation Macro analysis

The medium shot of the …highlights her imaginative The film is set in the historical protagonist Ofelia holding books in personality and love of context of World War II in Spain deep focus to reveal Mercedes narratives. She enjoys the during Franco’s fascist regime in and Vidal on arrival… fantasy world of books which 1944. helps her to escape the brutal reality of dictatorial Spain during WWII.

The wide angle deep focus shot of …sets the authoritarian tone of Guillermo Del Toro’s auteur Vidal at the head of the table for a Vidal’s leadership, whose exact signature involves a detailed banquet with other fascist manner is indicative of a fascist production design where mise-en- soldiers… scene is meticulously arranged and the composition is framed purposefully. In this scene, he represents the excess of elite society in a fascist regime.

The medium-close up two shot of …highlights her nervousness This mentality is indicative of a Carmen (foreground) and Vidal around him. Her body language patriarchal system of governance (background) at the dinner table… is submissive and fearful: her and marital dynamics. Carmen is at head is down, her attire is the mercy of Vidal, whose authority meticulously formal and she must not be questioned within complies with the etiquette that fascist ideological praxis. Vidal expects.

The extreme close up of red ink …acts as a premonition of a The supernatural aspects of the which permeates on the page like bleeding, potentially fatal near narrative highlight the lines between blood… miscarriage of Carmen. reality and the fairy tale. However, this film subverts conventions of the fairy tale genre with gory and grotesque elements that make for an adult film.

The close up of a grotesque …depicts the monstrous Del Toro’s auteur signature involves antagonist (the Pale Man) with underworld that Ofelia must monstrous creatures who represent eyes inserted into his palms… encounter in order to earn her the fantastical, imaginative, and at place as Princess Moanna. times, horrific underworlds within magical realms. Del Toro subverts this representation in The Shape of Water with a sympathetic ‘monster’.

The extreme close up of a pocket …reiterates the importance of Del Toro’s auteur signature includes watch that Vidal holds… time to Vidal and the narrative. motifs which can become an allegory He demands promptness, for the narrative, as well as the expects perfection and analyses political context surrounding it. meticulously. It also represents During WWII, the Gestapo were how he monitors others with renowned for oppressive suspicion and authority. surveillance methods against their opposition.

The close-up two shot of the Faun …gives the impression that this The dark cinematography has an and Ofelia… creature might be evil due to his ominous tone yet it seems that Del monstrous, demonic Toro wishes to subvert the appearance, yet he turns out to spectator’s expectations with be a guide for the underworld regards to the complexities of who wishes to help Ofelia find characterisation. her calling.

The long shot of Ofelia, now …is the dramatic payoff for a This acts as the New Equilbrium of transformed into her role as bleak narrative. She, her family the narrative with a redemptive Princess Moanna in the fairy tale and the whole of Spanish character arc for Ofelia who world where she meets her society have suffered during transforms from a rebellious rich girl mother and father again… WWII, but in this fantasy world, to a responsible and selfless woman. there is an afterlife filled with Her tale is similar to Chihiro in happiness and a new form of Spirited Away. Both films act as a justice. rites-of-passage for young girls destined to become heroines. Introduction - spend no longer than 2 minutes introducing film, year of production, production company, director, chosen film sequence (opening sequence in ‘Cidade de Deus’ favelas), key characters, stage of the narrative etc. and contain links to the question such as ‘reflect its production context.’ Relevant theory: Todorov’s narrative (equilibrium, disruption, recognition, repair, new equilibrium) – circular narrative (chapters).

Film form (micro features) - editing: frenetic, breaking 180 degree rule of continuity (Cinema Verite influence), in sync with music, slow motion and freeze frames. - cinematography: high contrast lighting, gaudy aesthetic, handheld camera, extreme close up, canted angle shots., low angle shots of gangsters, birds eye view of favelas, tight walls. - mise-en-scene: favelas (shanty towns for Africans and homeless veterans), kids in ragged clothing holding guns, chickens roaming, honking cars, sweltering heat, sunny city. - sound: non-diagetic Brazilian samba music (Seu Jorge), diagetic sounds of sharpening knives, shouting kids, honking horns. - performance: introduction of teenager with camera, Rocket (protagonist) and gun-toting gangster, L’il Ze (antagonist).

Connotations - chopping chicken heads: threatening, claustrophobic, unhygienic, hustler culture. - upbeat Samba music: frenetic, lively culture – never dull, often chaotic. - teenage gun with machine guns: the loss of innocence is exploited in poor Brazilian communities, crime endemic. - slow motion introduction of L’il Ze: announces him as a notorious criminal - police running away from gang: streets are owned by gangs not authorities. [KEY SCENES IN CITY OF GOD – TEXTUAL ANALYSIS SCAFFOLD] Film Still Denotation Connotation Macro analysis

The frenetic, tightly framed …creates an impression of Rio This sequence frames the Rio favelas montage sequence includes de Janeiro’s Brazilian favelas life as a vibrant and dangerous culture beheaded chickens, sharpening as a raw and anarchic where the chicken could act as an knives, non-diagetic samba music community filled with violence, allegory for those growing up in a and kids in the favelas chasing poverty and vibrancy. shanty-town of crime: vulnerable in a down chickens and teenage claustrophobic context. ganglords fire pistols into the sky…

The parallel editing sequence of …highlights a frightening The calm of L’il Ze’s gang chasing and shooting confrontation between two Rocket’s at a runaway chicken (handheld institutions of power: law interaction camera) and Rocket and his friend enforcement vs favelas. Danger contrasts the discussing his new life as a is reinforced by the direct manic journalist/photographer, only for address of Ze and his gang aggression of him to be caught in the middle of a pointing guns. The favelas has L’il Ze. police vs gang stand-off… far more power than the police.

The 360 degree panning shot of …which presents Rocket as an Intertextual reference Rocket stuck in the middle of a adolescent caught between two – Sergio Leone Westerns gang/police stand-off with a worlds: bourgeois society as a - close-up parallel edits. camera (time manipulation effects journalist, and a favelas boy - Quentin Tarantino – slow-motion/fast-forward) who grew up on the streets. – use of freeze frames and intertitles (elliptical edit to ‘THE SIXTIES’)

The birds-eye-view shot of Shaggy …highlights the backstory of the Contrasting cinematography (one of the ‘Tender Trio’ who favelas and the run-in they have between different eras distinguishes robbed motels and gas trucks) is had with law enforcement. The past killed by police, sending resentment of the police runs from present – shockwaves throughout the deep in the favelas. 60s with yellow/ favelas community… sepia hues.

The medium two shot of Angelica …creates a glamorous tone for Rocket’s rites-of-passage is kissing Rocket’s cheek on the ‘THE SEVENTIES’ era prompted represented by romantic desire of an Copacabana beach sitting next to by intertitles. Cinematography unattainable woman. Angelica is each other in bathing costumes… has distinctive multi-colored ultimately wooed by the ‘Playboy’ glow to distinguish itself from Bene, as Rocket’s interaction with sepia hued Sixties. her does not develop beyond friendship, despite his wish for more.

The parallel editing shots of a low …reinforces his character as - Elliptical edit between young L’il Ze angle close up of L’il Ze as a intimidating, psychopathic and (L’il Dice) and as a teenager with a murdering kid to a ganglord brutal. He is the arch-antagonist matched cut is to highlight his murdering teenager… of the narrative who is a evolution into a fully fledged criminal menace with no conscience for by trade. his crimes.

The close up shot of Bene smoking He is represented as a Bene represents the weed and creating smoke cloud fashionable and at times party animal who highlights his role in the narrative effeminate Metrosexual that everyone wanted to as the cool ‘Playboy’ bachelor who other gang members mock but be like: a DJ, a local is far more charismatic than L’il Ze. also idolise with envy. legend and all-round cool guy.

The wide angle long shot of L’il Ze …emphasises L’il Ze’s role as a The contrast between L’il Ze as a shooting two young boys’ right merciless psychopath. His powerful gang member and his feet in a favelas corner whilst violence towards children shows inability to woo women at parties laughing with a crowd of gang that he has no conscience. This shows that his psychopathic members present. is his regime. The streets have demeanour masks his vulnerabilities. no mercy.

The parallel editing sequence of …has new significance the This sequence has been repeated at L’il Ze’s gang chasing and shooting second time around. Rocket is a the Repair stage of the narrative as at a runaway chicken (handheld journalist who showcases the well as the Equilibrium stage, camera) and Rocket and his friend favelas gangs for Rio’s creating a circular narrative effect. discussing his new life as a newspapers. He has a significant With new context, we perceive this journalist/photographer, only for media role beyond simply being event in Rocket’s life as not just a him to be caught in the middle of a a passer-by stuck in the middle coincidence, but a profoundly pivotal police vs gang stand-off… of a stand-off. moment that impacts the future of the favelas and his role within it.

The high angle close up shot of Lil Ze no longer seems intimidating, The new equilibrium has been Ze with multiple bullet wounds he is beyond vulnerable. His established. Rocket evidences the dead on a favelas street, murdered destructive power has been end of the Ze regime by a rival gang of children. Rocket purged forever. heralding the dawn takes a photograph of him. of a new era in Rio. STORIES WE TELL

COMPONENT 2B – DOCUMENTARY– STORIES WE TELL [KEY SCENES IN STORIES WE TELL – TEXTUAL ANALYSIS SCAFFOLD]

Film Still Denotation Connotation Macro analysis

The wide angle deep focus Highlights the Reflexive mode and Sarah’s role as documentarian is to play of a sound recording studio metanarrative nature of the SWT the mediator. Grierson’s defines with Sarah and Michael documentary. Polley is creating a documentary as ‘the creative treatment Polley in the recording stories about stories, mediating on actuality’. Applied to SWT, to booth in the distance. Polley the process of representation that authentically portray her family history does not use ‘voice of God’ goes beyond the specific and those involved in the story of the narration, opting for her anecdotes within the account. Polley family. The non-linear narrative stepfather Michael to VO. structure provides an enigmatic account.

The so-called stock black- …mythologises the late Diane as a Polley seemingly attempts to “present and-white footage of Diane charismatic figure who has left a factual information” (Bordwell and Polley with the non-diagetic whirlwind of unresolved family Thompson) about Diane to respond to. sound of Bon Iver’s indie- enigmas that Sarah wishes to Notions such as the reliability of folk track ‘Skinny Love’… deconstruct as documentary form and objective truth (40% is Super 8 archive an investigative are explored with the representation of footage). documentarian. Diane and the Polley family.

The Talking Heads (medium Emphasises Sarah’s attempt to The mode of documentary could be close-up) montage of family represent multiple sides to Diane’s perceived as ‘Participatory’ based on member that Sarah Polley’s story. Subjectivities of Sarah’s involvement in the story. interviews throughout the representation are present in the documentary (Susy, John, retelling of Diane’s story. Every It includes: handheld archive footage, Mark, Joanna, Harry). Harry interviewee has their ‘truth’ about photographs, reconstruction footage, (Sarah’s biological father - who Sarah’s father is and how they The documentary uses a ‘Talking Heads’ only voice of dissent of feel about the process of the premise. The framing of Michael Sarah’s framing of the doc). documentary. elevates him as most important.

The voiceover narration by The fictional context of the play, The story-within-a-story framing echoes Michael who gives an told in anecdotal form by Michael, metanarratives that create a self- autobiographical account of highlights the artifice present reflexive intertextual map, highlighting his experiences with Diane within the frame of this the richness of story (they first met in a Theatre documentary. Allusions to Sarah’s as a fuel for life and Production)… Jewish heritage feature in understanding representation of WWII in the play. human nature.

Stock footage from a 1964 …acts as an intertextual reference Spectator film starring Sophia Loren, to represent Diane. There are as voyeur ‘Marriage Italian Style’ with parallels as Michael may not be looking the line “one of the three is Sarah’s biological father, it could behind closed your son”… be that Harry had an affair with doors into Diane. Sarah provides feminist Polly family reading of mystery. secrets.

60% of footage is The blurred line between ‘Poetic’ documentary mode less about reconstructed using Canon authentic archive footage and ‘objective truth’ of Harry as biological 1014 AZ, Canon 1014XLS and reconstructed footage is father, mediating stepfather Michael as Nikon R8 with the illusion of ambiguous. The film reveals actors Sarah’s authentic father. The subjectivity a fly-on-the-wall archive playing the role of Diane and of framing reveals a deeper truth of the footage quality. Michael – telling these apart is role of father beyond the factual. intentially ambiguous.

The roving camera on an Renov’s ‘Four Tendencies’ (record Hyperreal postmodern representation of image of Sarah Polley on / reveal / preserve, persuade / different layers of simulation probes at acting set as a cavewoman promote, analyse / interrogate / to the nature of non-fiction documentaries checking her mobile phone express) are all present in SWT. and how ‘truth’ is messages whilst a voiceover presented in multiple of an anecdote about her forms and how versions reflection on her family can lack reliability. history…

The medium shot of Mark …reverses the Intertextual reference: ‘Medium Cool’ Polley asking Sarah “What is role between where the camera turns towards the this documentary really interviewer and audience at the denouement to elicit about? / Am I breaking the interviewee. The active spectatorship fourth wall here, turning the ‘Performative’ role of and reinforce the camera around?” documentarian is reinforced akin artifice of simulated to Broomfield or Moore. filmic representation.

Geoff Bowes declares “I The metaphorical rug is pulled This Canadian documentary used Sony have to tell you that we did from the spectator as the CineAlta HDW-F9OOR digital camera sleep together once” after documentary spent the duration footage for Talking Heads scenes which saying earlier in the framing Harry as the biological acts as a contrast to archive and documentary that his father, but the enigma over Geoff’s reconstruction footage. dynamic with Diane was involvement remains at the New always just friendship. Equilibrium. Its flippant framing is comically portrayed. THE HIGH SIGN THE SCARECROW COPS ONE WEEK FilmStill [COMPONENT 2C [COMPONENT the house missing, houseoneonlymissing, thefor another to hit. 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Cinematography Mise-en-scene Editing Sound Performance

35mm/65mm The MacGuffin – The Briefcase - Sally Menke (1953 –2010) was behind the - Opening credits - non- 1. Jules Winnfield (Samuel L Jackson) cinematography - Driving force of the narrative and a editing of Pulp Fiction - long-time diagetic S/T – Dick Dale & - most profound character arc – professional Traditional catalyst for conflict – arguably collaborator in Quentin Tarantino’s work, His Del Tones (Misirlou) - killer who (incorrectly) quotes Ezekiel 25:17 attitude to contains Marsellus’s soul and and edited all his films until she died. radio static – non-diagetic when he carries out murders for Marsellus filmmaking – becomes a priceless object to those - Sally Menke’s cutting style was a crucial morphs into diagetic sound – once a hidden figure emerges from the frequent use of who encounter it – the enigma of its element in Tarantino’s work. of Kool & The Gang’s Jungle bathroom, shoots and misses him wide angle shots - contents is open to interpretation. - Pulp Fiction follows editing style of Walter Boogie (gives the – he believes it is ‘divine intervention’ and auteur feature: Murch’s ‘Rule of Six’ - principles made to impression that Jules and decides to turn his life around. QT’s love of Important prop – The Gold Watch convey good visuals within storytelling – Vincent are switching - he quotes (incorrectly) Ezekiel 25:17 to cinema is - Priceless to Butch but irrelevant Menke adheres to them. between songs whilst Pumpkin but gives mercy not vengeance at represented in even to his girlfriend, Fabienne – - During the scene that Vincent injects Mia driving) – the use of freeze the denouement – he is spared. film production represents his family legacy, enough with an adrenaline shot after overdosing, frame on Honey Bunny and 2. Vincent Vega (John Travolta) technique as that he would risk his life to retrieve Menke switches between an extreme close- the abrupt sound edit into - high-functioning gangster with heroin much as narrative it. up, then cuts to a close-up of the needle, the opening credits track is addiction. content. and then cuts to Mia’s lifeless face. both darkly comic and - from beyond the grave – killed by Butch Drab, suburban apartments - Menke accompanies this by a parallel increases the sense of but is resurrected thanks to a non-linear Low-lighting, high - The mundane realism of LA settings editing dolly zoom shot between characters spectacle. narrative (endpoint is a mid-scene) – walks contrast that feature in the narrative (with the as if a gun-toting standoff in a 1970s Leone - The use of a sound bridge out of diner unscathed at denouement. - Neo-noir exception of the glamorous Jack Western. between Butch’s childhood - lacks empathy over murderous day job but aesthetic that Rabbit Slim’s) creates a dichotomy - Edits in sequence timed to a 1-2-3 rhythm (picking up the gold watch has moral code not to succumb to alludes to pulp between everyday life and a violent in time with the soundtrack. This editing from Koons) and the bell at temptation for infidelity (having sex with fiction written by underground that permeates reality. style brings authenticity in tone to rile up the Coolidge vs Wilson Mia) out of fear and respect for boss, Raymond tension and suspense. boxing match – semantic Marsellus. Chandler and Yellow dominant production design - Murch’s principle - captured in is during link connecting past and - character arc – does not give up crime Dashiell Hammett - Props, settings and costume the scene that Butch escapes from Zed but present. lifestyle after ‘divine intervention’ and pays – seen most frequently allude to the gold eventually returns to save Marcellus. Butch - The diegetic patter of the price. vividly in scenes aesthetic (gold watch, the briefcase) takes his revenge, however, Menke and dialogue has all the informal 3. Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) with Esmerelda Tarantino both play their part in blocking the intonations and emphases - femme fatale with a near death experience and Butch in the Professional killers in suits revenge scene by using movement and cut you expect from everyday – flirts with Vincent and toys with forbidden taxi, the - Similar costume to Reservoir Dogs scenes. conversations rather than – Louise Brooks costume (Pandora’s Box) – kidnapping of but Vincent and Jules have less - Menke follows an untraditional editing staged Shakespearean once saved by syringe of adrenalin, game of Butch and swagger. technique to follow a crooked storyline, grandstanding. sex takes second place to a reality check – Marsellus in the - The Wolf wears a suit in pristine which gives the audience an opportunity to - The diagetic noise of arc: reflects on fragility of life. Mason-Dixon condition with upright posture to connect the dissimilar events and timeline. gunshots, swearing and 4. Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames) basement, Lance’s highlight his professionalism in Through the film - beginning with robbery at screams of agony from the - enigmatic, powerful, merciless boss who is drug den as contrast with Vincent and Jules. restaurant, Butch’s ‘Gold Watch’ story pain of violence create an anally raped by Mason-Dixon pawn shop Vincent tries to where we witness Vincent’s death, and audible coarseness which owners – spares Butch for saving his life out revive Mia by Drug dealers in dressing gowns denouement (end), we’re taken back to discomforts the average of honour. stabbing her with - There is no glamour in the diner events (circular non-linear narrative) - spectator. 5. Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis) the giant syringe, representation of dealers like Lance – Vincent alive beyond the grave as diner - The use of Surfer music - the noble character who wants to honour Marsellus and his eating bowls of ‘Fruit Brute’ cereal robbery takes place. connects to the LA context his father’s memory – series of near-death mob in the empty slouching around the house watching - Menke breaks the rules of editing, allowing of the narrative – 1960s/70s coincidences with Marsellus, Vincent, stripclub doing TV. Tarantino to use continuous and stealthy tunes – nostalgia – Mason-Dixon pawn shop, Wilson in boxing business. camera angles and strays from the 180- recontextualising past art match – survives on “Grace” Chopper with Red blood splatter degree rule. into present interpretations Fabienne at end of “GOLD WATCH”. - in basements, cars, apartments, - Menke uses fading to black rarely in Pulp (postmodern). 6. Captain Koons () boots, drug dens, daytime, night- Fiction, but when it is used it is to illustrate - Dialogue excerpts are - the dispatcher/helper who leads Butch on time, on the road – nowhere is safe the passage of time between the action included on the S/T to his path by giving Butch his father’s gold in the Tarantinoverse from violence (elliptical edit). emphasise the poetic value watch as a child. and the artistry of its slasher style - Menke didn’t edit her cuts to Tarantino’s of the script. 7. Zed and Maynard gratuity. soundtracks but would tweak her editing - Use of conflicting tones – - arch-villains – gang-rapists, Confederate after Tarantino laid the tracks over it. Al Green’s ‘Let’s Stay nationalists, kidnappers – own a gimp who Together’ over Marsellus’s is enslaved in their basement – murdered by bribe of Butch. Marsellus and Butch. - ‘Son of a Preacher Man’ underscores theme of temptation Mia/Vincent. [REPRESENTATION]

Ethnicity Gender Auteur Context/institutional

• Heavy use of the racist term “nigger” • Contentions over whether QT is a “male • Non-linear narratives • Budget = $8.5 million, Box office = $200 even by white characters – Spike Lee has feminist” (due to giving great roles for • F-word laden (265 in Pulp Fiction) ’18’ million worldwide. challenged Tarantino who feels he is women) or “covert misogynist” (foot rated films. disrespectful and exploitative of black fetish male gaze and women as victims • Soundtracks underpinning narrative • Miramax’s first fully funded film history (accusations of cultural of violence). construction (producer Harvey Weinstein). appropriation). • Vibrant yellow aesthetic • Mia – does have power and is clearly in • Hyperreal Tarantinoverse (elements of • Tarantino’s A Band Apart production • Inclusive director who casts Black and charge of her own destiny (despite realism juxtaposed with supernatural comp named after 1964 French New Asian men and women in his films – Pulp heroin overdose) – something Vincent undertones) Wave Godard film Bande a Part. Fiction: Jules and Marsellus Wallace – clearly is not – she is not a conventional • Retro costume, props and settings criminals with a moral code. femme fatale or stereotypical gangster’s • Revenge fantasy narratives • The film was originally the property of moll – backstory as a failed actress • Meticulous intertextuality: pastiche and Columbia Tristar but fell out of favour • Marsellus - developed beyond a intriguingly developed in conversation bricolage while still in the development stage. stereotypical mob boss – seems calm with Vincent – never shot a scene with • Representation of femme fatales and collected, a man to be respected, her husband – uses cocaine heavily – • Re-appropriates low-brow film culture • Pulp Fiction was the first major not unhinged. His wife is his weakeness – bored thrill-seeker – erotic dance • Subverting genre conventions – neo-noir production of Miramax once they had never see them together (a rift encounter with Vincent – sexually • Allusions to French New Wave been bought by Disney in 1993 for $60 perhaps?) – violent jealousy over a consummated affair would have led to • Postmodernism – ironic, intertextual, million). henchman giving her a foot massage – Vincent’s death. self-referential, homage and pastiche, passions rage over cool exterior – he playful and stylish, style over substance, • Bruce Willis signing onto the picture retains calm even after being sodomised. Age subversive representation, ambiguous guaranteed good overseas sales due to ideological agenda, rejection of grand his waning but still potent star status • Jules – only character with • No obvious juxtapositions between narratives. meaning the picture soon went into transformative journey – epiphany and young and old – youngest are 20- • Collaborative role of Sally Menke and profit. revelation after so-called near death something students who Vincent and actors who re-appear in many of his films ‘divine intervention’ sets him on a new Jules kill – out of their depth in a world (Samuel L.Jackson, Uma Thurman, path – changes his quoting of Scripture where innocence is crushed. Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth) (same verse – but from vengeance to • Elderly characters are wise and dignified mercy) – final scene: spares Pumpkin out – Mr Wolfe and Captain Koons – both of moral seriousness. quirky – Jules not Vincent gains maturity through his encounter with Mr Wolfe and ‘divine intervention’, Vincent maintains immaturity and ultimately, death.

[KEY SCENES IN PULP FICTION – TEXTUAL ANALYSIS SCAFFOLD] Film Still Denotation Connotation Macro analysis

The wide angle long shot of Pumpkin …conveys a juxtaposition between innocuous Tarantino as auteur and Honey Bunny discussing their discussion and their criminal history as - The use of the long take. robbing exploits until Pumpkin asks armed robbers. Their flippant manner of - Informal anecdotal dialogue. “People never rob restaurants, why discussing their crimes as something casual - Pumpkin’s Hawaii shirt not?” whilst having coffee and is jarring. This scene establishes the - Wide angle cinematography (Panavision Panaflex cigarettes in Hawthorne Grill. equilibrium of the narrative. Platinum Camera and C Series Anamorphic Lens) - Filmed on 35mm celluloid.

- The medium shot Jules and Vincent - The long take gives a sense of two friends French New Wave influence discussing continental branding of who are simply shooting the breeze. • Inconsequential dialogue (banter about inane burgers in chain stores with reference - Here, QT is challenging scriptwriting topics) – reminiscent of Godard’s French New Wave to the metric system. conventions and breaking rules of continuity films such as Breathless. - How late capitalist commodities float with intent – it is a master of the craft who • Foreshadowing - counterpoint between light- free of what they signify knows the rules well enough to know how to hearted conversation and their role as professional break them for effect. killers. • Postmodernism - Burger chains as globalised signifiers of late capitalism.

The wide angle long shot Jules Jules plays with Brett’s expectations. Is it a The MacGuffin discussing with Brett his meal: Big social visit or an execution? Briefcase with Marcellus’s soul (hyperreal: intertextual – Kahuna Burgers (a Hawaiian burger Suspense builds – downs drink of Sprite Kiss Me Deadly and OUATIA). joint). Jules takes a bite and shares the whilst staring him down. Ezekiel 25:17 - Ironic Biblical appropriation ‘Royale With Cheese’ anecdote of Enigma is broken with the dramatic globalised marketing strategies for punctuation of the murder of Roger as he Burger King. Marvin stands up against states “oh I’m sorry, did I break your the wall. concentration?”

New Intertitle: “VINCENT VEGA & The slow pace of Marsellus’s dramatic Metaphysics and postmodernity MARSELLUS WALLACE’S WIFE” pauses and the poetic nature of his request The significance of the Band-Aid on Marsellus’s neck – is The direct address POV shot of create an enigmatic mood, and the delay of the film’s MacGuffin (in the briefcase) in fact Marsellus’s Marsellus giving bribe money to Butch seeing Marsellus adds to the anticipation. soul? to fall down in the fifth in the boxing Only the back of Marsellus’s head is The jump cut – used in French New Wave in films like ring. The jump cut to an over-the- revealed. On first viewing, the significance of Bande a Part which broke continuity editing (180 degree shoulder shot of Marsellus telling the Band-Aid is unknown. line of action) rules. Butch “fuck pride”. Scene establishes Marsellus as an intimidating mob boss, and the concealment of his face creates a mythology around his persona.

The wide angle shot where Mia draws Ironic retro dialogue saying words like The hyperreal Tarantinoverse an extra-diegetic square whilst “daddio” and “cool cats” highlights their Self-referentiality as a polysemic postmodern trope. declaring to Vincent “don’t be a appreciation for vintage culture. square”… Intertextual Godard Intertextual: references: Shoot The Pianist Godardian close- Pierrot Le Fou ups of Mia’s feet.

The direct address POV shot of Butch’s world is framed around marine “THE GOLD WATCH” chapter Captain Koons telling the story of military duty, the sacredness of little things Scene inspired by wanting to pass on everything about retrieving Butch’s father’s gold watch and what it means to be a man according the war to his son, from Apocalypse Now. (survived WWI, WWII and Vietnam alpha male masculine ideals. Sub-narrative within a multi-story narrative – intersecting War) on the battlefield to give back to Koons represents a surrogate father figure plot web. him. after Butch’s father dies in the Vietnam War. The rejection of television and the postmodern condition Butch watching cartoon Clutch Cargo Semi-autobiographical (QT raised by single explored through Butch’s character. before Koons’ story becomes more mother). absorbing.

The over-the-shoulder shot of Butch Dramatic punctuation of editing – pop tarts Recurring motif with Vincent’s semi-automatic as trigger for violence. Bad things happen when Vince is on the toilet shotgun as he returns from the toilet. Vincent plays the fool in the narrative – an 1) Jules and Vincent meet Pumpkin and Honey Cut to: pop tarts emerging from incompetent professional killer. Bunny robbing the diner. toaster, and Butch’s instinctive 2) Mia overdoses. response – shooting Vincent. 3) Butch is waiting to kill him. Butch is searching for the watch in his Intertextual reference: reads apartment only for Vincent to be sent pulp fiction Modesty Blaise on toilet. by Marsellus to kill him.

The underexposed medium two shot Underworld of Mason-Dixon pawn shop Bad nihilism – transgressive grotesque of Butch and Marsellus gagged with (debased, hell, grotesque) in binary Intertextual references: rape scenes in A Clockwork snooker balls by Zed and Maynard in opposition with Jack Rabbit Slim’s Orange and Deliverance. the basement of the Mason-Dixon (glamourous, utopian, dreamlike) – uncanny Bad nihilism (Mason- pawn shop. figure of Gimp is a reducto absurdam of the Dixon pawn shop) and Confederate flag in human being diminished entirely to the fun nihilism (Jack Rabbit Slim’s). pawn shop suggests status of commodity. When Butch escapes from gimp they are racist – weapon (axe, chainsaw, sword, redneck hillbillies. gun) suggests slash subgenres.

The medium two shot of Jules and The collision between a mundane activity Self-reflexive postmodern style Vincent in blood-soaked suits drinking like drinking coffee and the after effects of • Tarantino - cameos like Hitchcock. a cup of coffee at Jimmie’s house in extreme violence is intentionally comic and • Tarantino stars in sequence, playing the kitchen… jarring. with Keitel’s persona and legacy (from Scorsese’s Mean Streets). • Controversy: Tarantino’s use of the n word comes across as cultural appropriation.

The over the shoulder shot of The enigma over contents of the briefcase is MacGuffin, the uncanny and ‘blind spot’ in hyperreality Pumpkin looking in amazement into often interpreted as the soul of Marsellus “If the briefcase’s magical presence seems to gesture the briefcase which Jules has opened… Wallace with the plaster on the back of his toward another kind of movie than the kind of movie PF neck as a foreshadowing signifier. is, it is precisely because its symbolic role in the film is to suggest an object beyond the limits of language or Role of the circular/non-linear narrative representability: the ‘blind spot’ in hyperreality.” Vincent’s non-linear survival at denouement despite dying mid-narrative acts as a hyperreal miracle – narrative transcends causality to resuscitate his role – irrational and postmodern. Modernism – philosophical movement – Music video and Simulacra and Simulation transformations of 20th century Western postmodernism (Baudrillard) society – rejected certainty of Enlightenment - the ‘three minute culture’ – - Blurred boundary between thinking and religious belief – “make it new” – the MTV generation length the real and imagined stream-of-consciousness novel, abstract art, of peoples’ attention spans – - Distinction between media self-conscious style, experimental form, fast editing, intense imagery and reality has collapsed rejection of realism – creative revolution - Relevant theory: - Reality defined by images (science, art, technology) – power of human Lyotard/Baudrillard/Jameson and representations beings to create, improve and reshape – ‘structures of feeling’ and - This meta-conceptual realm environment – progress and growth ‘cultural logic’ is a form of hyper-reality emphasised. - Guy Debord - Society of the - Deals with the ambiguity of Post-modernism – as cultural production spectacle – overly visual polar opposites – artifice peaked, post-modernism became a new culture that pursues high and authenticity movement that critiqued the modernist era levels of stimulation with scepticism, deconstruction and a post- structuralist mode of analysis – it is marked by a cyclical return to previous styles but adding Causality – many stories no new contextual meaning through bricolage. longer follow a structured cause-and-effect pattern but mess with linearity and consequence – some stories Deconstructing – picking decide to subvert the notion apart media to find out the of ‘meaning’. motive and purpose of a Meta-narratives – disjointed product, to the point of narrative structures that play abstraction with casuality and linearity – Subversive – challenging the usually associated itself with conventions of previous JEAN avant-garde movements. media – anti-conformist in BAUDRILLARD nature Hybridity – the blurred What is post-modernism? boundary between high The zenith of cultural production culture and popular culture – – culture ‘eats itself’ – everything genres blend, sources of has been made – therefore, influence vary – media forms culture must remake itself in are juxtaposed abstract and cyclical forms of self-reference - Many artistic products are influenced by its predecessors to the point of parody, homage and Hall-of-mirrors/ paradoxical ‘Truth’ is merely a concept intertextuality – from Escher’s drawn – there is no right or wrong, merely - anything can be art architectural illusions, to interpretations - Reflection of an ‘alienated’ story-in-a-story-in-a-story – propaganda or ‘taste’ are the society – personas and narratives – to oxymoronic deciding factors regarding which characters are reinvented (ie. notions such as ‘loving hate’ – ‘truth’ prevails at any given time Madonna, Michael Jackson, ambiguity and illusion reigns - Sense of reality dominated by David Bowie) as the pursuit for in the post-modern world media images identity subverts conventions Hierarchies of taste - - - Cultural forms can no longer hold Blurring of high and low up a mirror to reality because culture to create new reality itself is saturated by meaning advertising, films, TV, video games Bricolage Self-conscious – one could and print media - fusing two cultures can change its argue that post-modern - Truth claims via images are more meaning – punk socialists thinking is very narcissistic – problematic thanks to Photoshop (particularly bands like The Clash) looking in on oneself, taking technology – reality is distorted to would have a very different ethos to one out of an experience and either beautify or implicate, swastika sporting neo-Nazi punks into the theoretical – sometimes unrealistically - Iconography can be adapted when conceptual art for conceptual - Mediation – media reality is the combined with icons from another art’s sake (the Emperor’s new reality – society must mediate cultural expression, and therefore New Clothes effect) between cultural forms in order to create a very new meaning decide on the prevailing ‘truth’