“Gattaca” and “Truman Show”
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TRANSFORMATION OF MEANING OF ARCHITECTURAL SPACE IN CINEMA: THE CASES OF “GATTACA” AND “TRUMAN SHOW” A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate School of Engineering and Sciences of Izmir Institute of Technology in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Architecture by Seçkin KUTUCU January 2005 IZMIR ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I have to thank to my advisor Assist.Prof. Emre Ergül for his patience, supports and belief that I could conclude this work. I have to express my thanks to Assist Prof. Dr. Önder Erkarslan, my co-advisor, for his advices. Prof.Dr. Ahmet Eyüce and Assist Prof. Dr. Can Özcan who have helped with their critics. I am grateful to my dear wife for her patience and for her great support. I am thankful to my friend and colleague Ebru Yılmaz, who is always so generous for sharing her time and knowledge with me. And finally, I express my gratitude to my mother and father for their beliefs. iii ABSTRACT This study aims to expose the transformation of meanings of architectural space in cinema films and the transformative impact of cinema. And in this exposition, Andrew Niccol’s Gattaca (1997) and Peter Wier’s “Truman Show” (1998) films have been analyzed in case study in order to uncover the meaning changes of architectural spaces that have taken place in film medium. Since the early 20th century, cinema has developed into an influential mass communication tool due to the advancements in technology. The cinematic and photographic tools have been designed basically as instruments for receiving and recording of images at the beginning but then addition to the functions of recording, they are used in the re-production of reality. In the past, architecture had been influenced from other image and visualization techniques in presentation and representation of space like pictorial perspective. And it is inevitable that it has been under the influences of cinema in the re-production and the representation of space It is essential for architects to be aware of the transformative impact and features of film medium in the representation of space. And In this dissertation the primary visions of the two disciplines on space, architectural space and cinematic space have been comparatively studied. Key words: architecture, cinema, space, representation, architectural space in films, transformation of space iv ÖZ Bu çalıma, sinema filmlerinde yer alan mimari mekanın geçirdii anlam dönüümlerini ve sinemanın dönütürücü etkilerini tartımayı amaçlar. Bu balamda, Andrew Niccol’un “Gattaca” ve Peter Wier’ın “Truman Show” filmleri içinde yer alan mimari mekan ve binaların uradıı anlam dönüümleri örnek çalıma içinde incelenmitir. Sinema 20. yüzyılın balarından itibaren, teknolojinin geliimiyle etkili bir kitle iletiim aracı olarak gelimitir. Sinema ve fotografik araçlar, ilk önceleri görüntüleri yalnızca algılamak ve kaydetmek amacıyla ortaya çıkmılardır, ancak zamanla gerçekliin yeniden üretiminde kullanılmılardır. Geçmite mimari mekanın, kaçılı perspektif gibi temsiliyet biçimleri ve prezantasyon tekniklerinden etkilenmesi gibi, gerçekliin yeniden üretimini beyaz perdeye yansıtan sinemadan da etkilenmesi kaçınılmazdır. Bu yüzden mimarların, sinemanın mekanın temsiliyeti üzerindeki dönütürücü etkisi ve sinemanın ortam özellikleri hakkında bilgi sahibi olmaları gereklidir. Bu tez çalıması sinema ve mimarlık disiplinlerinin ortak noktası olan “mekan” üzerinedir. Sinemasal mekan ve mimari mekan, film ortamında karılatırmalı olarak ele alınmıtır. Anahtar sözcükler: mimarlık, sinema, mekan, temsiliyet, filmlerde mimari mekan, mekanın dönüümü v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....................................................................................iii ABSTRACT............................................................................................................iv ÖZ ............................................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES..................................................................................................ix LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................x Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................1 1.1. Aim of the Study and Definition of the Problem...............................3 1.2. Method of the Study ..........................................................................6 1.3. Assumptions and Limitations ............................................................7 Chapter 2. PERCEPTION OF SPACE IN THE CINEMA AGE...........................9 2.1. The Cinema Age and Space...............................................................9 2.1.1 Changes and Shifts in the Spatial Perception .............................11 2.1.1.1. The Rebirth of Pictorial Space..........................................11 2.1.1.2. Instrumental Space............................................................12 2.1.2. Notions of Time-Space and Speed.............................................13 2.2. Photo-montage and Engineering of Art ...........................................14 2.3. Perception in the Cinema Age: Reception and Shock ....................16 2.3.1 .Perception of Space in Real Time and Reel Time.....................17 2.3.1.1. Stadium .............................................................................20 2.3.1.2. Punctum ............................................................................20 2.4. Cinematic Concepts in Constituting Space......................................21 2.4.1. Space in Cinema: Representation of Filmic Space....................22 2.4.2. Continuity ..................................................................................24 2.4.3. Movement ..................................................................................25 2.4.4. Dimension and Depth ................................................................27 2.4.5. Perspective ................................................................................27 2.4.6. Time ..........................................................................................30 vi 2.5. Cinematic Tools in Constructing Space...........................................32 2.5.1. Montage ....................................................................................32 2.5.2. Framing......................................................................................35 2.5.3. Camera Movements and Camera Angles ..................................37 2.5.4. Lighting and Color ....................................................................38 2.5.5. Shooting Techniques and Lenses ..............................................39 2.6. Experiencing Space Through a Cinematic Tool (Camera)..............39 Chapter 3. REPRESENTATION OF SPACE IN CNEMA: A NARRATIVE IMPACT ..............................................................................................42 3.1. Space asa a Symbolic and Metaphysical Notion in Cinema............44 3.2. Icons and Iconographic Space in Cinema .......................................47 3.2.1. Definition of Icon.......................................................................47 3.2.2. Iconography in Cinematic Narration .........................................47 3.2.3. Iconographic Instances in Genre Films .....................................48 3.3. Metaphor and Metonymy in Representation of Space in Cinema...50 3.3.1. Metaphor ...................................................................................50 3.3.2. Metonymy .................................................................................50 3.3.3. Metaphor and Metonymy in Cinema.........................................51 3.4. The Uses of Cinematic Space as an Ideological Apparatus ............53 3.4.1. The Concept of Genre in Cinema .............................................53 3.4.2. Genres and Narration.................................................................54 3.5. Myths ...............................................................................................57 3.6. Ideology in Films.............................................................................58 3.6.1. Definitions .................................................................................58 3.6.2. Ideology and Meaning in Cinema..............................................59 3.6.3. Cinema as a Distributor of Thoughts.........................................64 3.6.4. The Relationship between Ideology and Cinema ......................64 3.7. The Stylistic Parameters of Ideological Spaces ..............................66 3.8. Modern Architecture and Urban Metaphors in Tati’s Films ...........68 Chapter 4. CASE STUDY: “GATTACA” and “TRUMAN SHOW”..................70 4.1.Gattaca: A Bureaucratic-Fascist Future in Minimalist Concrete Shell ..................................................................................................75 4.1.1. Film Analysis in Context of Cinematic Techniques..................77 vii 4.1.1.1. Andrew Niccol’s Approach to Filmmaking and Space ....77 4.1.1.2. Film Techniques ...............................................................79 4.1.1.3. Elements of Space and Time ............................................79 4.1.1.4. Furniture, Costumes and other Objects of Design............81 4.1.1.5. The film: Storyline in Gattaca ..........................................82 4.1.2. Film Analysis in Context of Cinematic Architecture ................84 4.1.2.1.