Laura Mulvey's male gaze (1975)

"In her 1975 essay "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema", Laura Mulvey introduced the second-wave feminist concept of "male gaze" as a feature of gender power asymmetry in film. The concept was present in earlier studies of the gaze, but it was Mulvey who brought it to the forefront. Mulvey stated that women were objectified in film because heterosexual men were in control of the camera. Hollywood films played to the models of voyeurism and scopophilia. The concept has subsequently been influential in feminist film theory and media studies."

"Mulvey's essay also states that the female gaze is the same as the male gaze. This means that women look at themselves through the eyes of men. The male gaze may be seen by a feminist either as a manifestation of unequal power between gazer and gazed, or as a conscious or subconscious attempt to develop that inequality. From this perspective, a woman who welcomes an objectifying gaze may be simply conforming to norms established to benefit men, thereby reinforcing the power of the gaze to reduce a recipient to an object. Welcoming such objectification may be viewed as akin to exhibitionism."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaze#The_.22male_gaze.22_in_feminist_theory

Media Investigation - The Dark Knight Rises feminist view

"Anyway, while there are a few failures, my overall reactions to the gender situation are positive. The two main female characters, Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) and Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) are strong, independent, and pretty much badasses. It was a shift from the previous main character in Nolan's Batman universe, Rachel Dawes, who much more fell into the stereotype of the goodhearted woman who needs to be saved."

"I guess I'll get out of the way what I didn't like about the gender situation first. The movie failed the Brechdel test epically, as the only two women don't really ever converse. In fact, besides Selina Kyle and Miranda Tate, it's almost like Gotham is totally devoid of women. For example, major scenes involve a bus load of orphans (no really!) who are all male, an all male football team, and a police force of 3000 where I didn't spot a woman among them. And the main villain, Bane's, crew is all dudes too. And of course, when the movie only contains two thin, sexy, able bodied white women, it's a universe where women of color, fat women, women of differing abilities and looks, are almost nonexistent."

"It feels like a case of female exceptionalism--where Tate and Kyle are created to be so interesting, but we're not sure how Nolan views women in general. Additionally, both women have a physical relationship with Bruce Wayne at different points in the film, which was disappointing to me and felt unnecessary to the story. Honestly--I was puzzled what that element added at all."

"Kyle, much like the Black Widow in The Avengers, uses her femininity to her advantage and preys upon the sexism of the men she encounters to get ahead. In the end, she also becomes an ally to Batman and they work together to ultimate success. At first I was disappointed when Batman saved Catwoman, but later, she saves him too. Again, similar to The Avengers it displayed a sense of teamwork between the men and women instead of an unequal balance of power."

http://www.nerdyfeminist.com/2012/07/the-dark-knight-rises-women-can-be.html

The Dark Knight Rises/Superman - Film posters

Media investigation: Coursework question

Has the representation of females evolved in the comic book genre, playing particular attention to The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and Superman (1978).

Sin City - How your chosen texts use genre conventions?

Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez's 2005 film Sin City is a hybrid, combining film noir, comic book and horror. It is a post modern text, combining film noir genre conventions such as the use of shadows, mistrust and paranoia, combined with comic book classic conventions, including the Propp character roles, of a hero and villain (s).

Analysis 1:

In the opening scene, a man and a woman are shown standing on a rooftop in Sin City. The woman character is represented as a femme fatale, which is a classic character role in film noir. She is wearing a long red dress, red lipstick, and is seen smoking. The colour connotations show danger and passion, which is characteristic of a femme fatale, in addition to being beautiful and untrustworthy. Her red dress stands out against the black and white background, showing she has some importance. The female character walks to the end of the balcony, with a high camera angle, showing her power and authority. This angle also immediately gives the viewer an establishing shot of the urban environment location. The non-diegetic sound of sirens also gives us an idea of the crime in the city, which is also supported by the title of the film, Sin City.

The non-diegetic music of the scene emulates Jazz music, which is a common convention in film noir, as the original film noir films were made at a time where Jazz music was very popular, around the 1940's, Creating a romantic feel between the pair, over the diegetic sound of the characters speech. The male character is first to speak, with non-diegetic speech, giving us an insight into his personal thoughts. Voice overs are a common convention of the film noir genre, and are used to demonstrate the protagonist character's thoughts, views and personality. The self narration allows the viewer to hear things which the other characters are unaware of, giving the viewer a more personal knowledge and more information. When the male character shoots the female character, the film breaks away from the typical femme fatale character, this combines the usual narrative convention, and provides genre differences.

The scene ends with dramatic rain, both visually and in sound. The rain only begins just as the male character is about to kill the female character. This is pathetic fallacy, and a common convention of the comic book genre.

Analysis 2:

This scene features Marv killing Kevin, and contains many conventions of the horror genre, including blood, low key lighting, weapons and emphasised sound.

Marv is wearing a trench coat in this scene, which is a convention of film noir. Trench coats were often worn by protagonists in film noir, as they were some form of detective or private eye, giving an element of mystery. Marv removes his trench coat just before he kills Kevin, which is a convention of the comic book genre, as it acts as a long flowing cape, showing him to be a hero, however he removes his metaphorical cape, as he knows that he is about to do wrong, and is not being a classic hero.

The low key lighting covers Kevin's face, hiding his facial features. This is a convention of the horror genre, hiding his identity, creating tension and giving the audience a sense of unease. Kevin's eyes are an icey blue colour, which are originally the only aspect of his face clear to the viewer. His face is then shown in colour properly, perhaps showing that his power is decreasing and his identity has been discovered. Kevin's slick movements and long nails suggest animalistic behaviour.

Marv tortures Kevin by removing his limbs, and then feeding his remains to Kevin's dog. This is part of the comic book genre as Kevin does not make any noise and keeps the same facial expression throughout (blank), which is very unrealistic. The fight scene is also comic book, as the sound of the movements are very exaggerated, and the characters appear unphased by the violence, showing Marv's superhuman strength.

Conclusion:

Overall, the three genres (film noir, comic book and horror) of the film show their genre contentions through the mise-en-scene, similar traits of the same genres, and the technical aspects. All of these factors show that the film is a hybrid of these genres.

Fish Tank - 3 scene analysis

Andrea Arnold's 2009 drama film, Fish Tank is a social realism film. Here I will be analysing three scenes from the film, where the film introduces the main protagonist, Mia.

Analysis 1:

(First 4 minutes of the film - 00:48 - 04:00)

This scene begins with the diegetic sound of Mia breathing heavily, suggesting that she has been running from something, but the reason why is later confirmed later in the film. It then cuts to an establishing shot of where she is, which gives the viewer an idea of her location. This is accompanied by diegetic sound of the urban environment and street below. This is supported by an panning shot of the landscape, with Mia still in the frame, showing housing tower blocks. The scene then cuts to a tracking shot, confirming Mia's environment, via the urban environment location, and her clothing, as she is wearing a vest, jogging bottoms, hooped earrings and chains, instantly stereotyping her as a 'chav', also the other people around her e.g. children playing/screaming. Most of the camera angles are handheld, or point of view shots, which is a very common element of the social realism genre conventions.

The mise-en-scene at the beginning of the scene gives us an idea of Mia's character, as her clothes suggest her background and social class. She makes a phone call, and her accent/language also tells us that she is working class or under class, as she states "Ring me back you bitch". Her southern accent and very informal language throughout the scene also gives the viewer an idea of her upbringing and education, as she is a 15 year-old girl and is instantly swearing.

The last part of this scene shows Mia confront her friend Keeley, and a group of girls dancing. Again, the camera is handheld, in a documentary type style. The narrative throughout the film is basic, and we are instantly introduced to the main character, seeing events from her point of view, telling us that the film is about Mia, as social realism films are about events and issues of everyday life. The music at the end of the scene also creates an urban environment, as the girls are dancing to hip-hop music and dressed very provocatively, with low-cut tops, shorts, hooped earrings and trainers. There is also a group of lads watching the girls dancing, going against the Laura Mulvey (1975) male gaze theory, applying the female gaze. Mia is also violent to one of the girls, head butting her after a confrontation, showing violence within the young girls and environment.

Analysis 2:

(The scene just after Mia has sex with Connor - 1:22:20 - 1:25:45)

This is the scene just after Mia sleeps with her Mother's boyfriend, Connor. Mia wakes up to the sound of her Mother crying, and goes into her room. The sound of the scene is all diegetic, including the speech, footsteps running and Connor's car driving away.

The handheld tracking camera movement following Mia as she is running from the flat to Connor gives the film a sense of realism, and almost allows the viewer to see the events unfold from Mia's point of view. The diegetic sound of Mia's heavy breathing also gives a sense of realism to the scene.

At this point in the film we already know about Mia's character and social class, however this is supported by the furnishings in the flat, the location of the flat, and the clothing of Mia, her little sister and her mother, which is a part of the mise-en-scene.

Mia goes on a mission to track down Connor, and as she is walking down the street, her friend Billy attempts to speak to her. The camera angle is handheld and at constant eye level, with high key lighting, showing realism, as most of this scene is filmed outdoors.

Analysis 3:

(Last scene of the film - 1:57:27 - 1:59:28)

This scene is the last scene of the film, where Mia is leaving London to go and live with Billy in Wales. Mia is shown walking through a door with the sign "Fire Exit" sign, showing that she is finally escaping her life in the tower block.

Applying to Propp's theory, Billy acts as a hero, as he is helping Mia to escape her life in London and the troubles of the recent events. As the car is driving away, Mia's little sister, Tyler shouts "Bye you skank, don't forget to text me, say hello to the world for me", suggesting that as Mia is escaping from her mundane life, her sister is trapped there in the 'fish tank', unable to escape as she is so young.

As the scene ends, a balloon in the shape of a loveheart is seen floating away from the tower block, again, suggesting that the balloon is representing Mia, and is finally escaping from the tower block, however Mia would probably repeat her mistakes in Wales, as her Mother has set a bad example to her from a young age, of having numerous boyfriends, drinking and smoking.

The sound of the scene is completely diegetic, until the end titles, and the camera movement is handheld, giving a sense of realism.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the film/these three scenes contain many conventions of the social realism genre, including the completely diegetic sound and handheld camera movements. The narrative is simple throughout, applying to Todorov's theory of equilibrium. The only real problems within the film begin when Connor arrives and disrupts the equilibrium. The new equilibrium occurs when Mia escapes to Wales with Billy, finally suggesting a happy ending for Mia.

Fish Tank exam question

A1: To what extent are your chosen texts typical of their genre?

My chosen text is the British social realism film, Fish Tank. The film gives a realistic portrayal of society and life for the under class. Social realism represents real life, including all of the difficulties involved. Films within the genre are usually gritty drama, set within an urban environment, showing the struggles of everyday life. The film technique is very realistic also, allowing the viewer to relate at certain points, by effects such as hand held camera.

Fishtank is typical of its genre, using conventions of the genre. Some of these conventions include handheld camera movements, diegetic sound, shallow depth of field, non-professional actors, urban location shooting (non studio) and wider social issues. These conventions all show its genre and makes it appeal more realistic to the viewer. In the scene where Mia is chasing Connor, the camera action is hand held tracking, allowing the viewer to almost feel as though they are there. In another scene where Mia is confronting Connor after visiting his house, there is a shallow depth of field, as she is in the foreground, and is in focus, whereas the background is not, which once again, is natural, appearing more genuine and real. Long shot and mid-shot camera angles are used often, with point of view shots and eye level shots, again, allowing the viewer to relate to the scene. Facial expressions are often shown as close-ups, to emphasise the emotion that the character is going through, allowing the viewer to relate and empathise. This makes the viewer feel empathy, as they are shown the hardships of Mia's life and feel closer to her and her life situations, as the techniques used appear more factual. Even the name of the film suggests that Mia is trapped in a metaphorical fish tank and is unable to escape her life of growing up in an East London council estate, facing everyday problems, which she is unable to break free of, which is supported by her love for a horse she finds on a caravan park which is chained to a post. Mia empathises with the horse, perhaps because she feels the same way, as she is unable to break free, very similar to the horse. Although Mia is not physically tied up, she is unable to escape her under class lifestyle, and it is unlikely that she ever will. The general location is around East London, with no studio shots, used by major Hollywood blockbusters. This again shows realism. The environment is urban, with the other characters shown to be very similar to Mia in dress sense and language. Another representation of the underclass is money issues, as in numerous scenes Mia asks Connor for money, for example when she goes to his workplace asking him for money for alcohol, when she tells him that she has no money for a train fare home, and when she steals money from his wallet, in all scenarios, she eventually attains money from Connor. Showing that Connor is financially stable.

Fish Tank includes many conventions typical of its genre, social realism. Therefore allowing the viewer to feel more involved in the storyline, in addition to being able to relate to the characters in some scenarios.

Todorov theories of The Dark Knight Rises

"All texts follow similar narrative structures". The Dark Knight Rises, the third instalment in the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy contains the 5 stages of the narrative Todorov theory.

1. A state of equilibrium.

Bruce Wayne has become a social recluse, rarely leaving his estate. After taking the blame for Harvey Dent's crimes in the last installment, with a tarnished reputation, Batman feels compelled to intervene to help the city as they struggle with Bane's plans to destroy the city.

2. A disruption of order.

Bane aims to destroy the city, attempting to reveal the truth of who Harvey Dent really was. He also plots to steal a reactor from Wayne Enterprises. Bane injures Batman, taking him to a foreign prison, where escape is virtually impossible.

3. Recognition the order has been disrupted.

Bane lures the cities police officers underground, then collapses the exits, resulting in a lack of legal authority in the city. After killing the Mayor, he kidnaps a physicist, to convert the reactor core into a nuclear bomb. Holding the city hostage, exiling the wealthy and the powerful.

4. Attempt to repair the damage.

After months of re-training and after escaping the prison, Batman enlists the help of Selina, Blake, Tate, Commissioner Gordon and Lucius Fox to help stop the bombs detonation. Bane is defeated, however the bomb is only remotely destroyed.

5. State of new equilibrium.

With no way to stop the detonation, he hauls the bomb into the bay. The bomb detonates and Batman is presumed dead, honoured a hero.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The film 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' is typical of its genre through the iconographies, narrative aspects, representations, ideologies and technical conventions that it uses. There are many other similar aspects, making its genre easily identifiable.

Iconographies - The film uses iconography to establish the genre. Iconographies are visual symbols, that the audience decode to establish the genre of the text. Western films use many different iconographies to establish the genre, for example the costumes that the characters wear, with the typical cowboy wearing a stetson, jeans, a shirt and spurs. With the personality of each character being tellable by their clothing, as the villains usually wear mostly black clothing. Another iconography used are props, with handguns being the most common prop in western films, in addition to sheriff badges, cigarettes/cigars and horses. The location of western films is also crucial, with most set in isolated locations and saloon bars. Monument Valley in America was a popular filming location in western films. These visual codes allow the reader to establish the genre of the text almost instantly, and adjust their expectations accordingly.
        
Narrative aspects - The audience of the text will be able to identify the genre through the storyline and narrative aspects. Western films usually contain the same basic storyline, with a villain arriving in town, and stand offs with the hero and the villain, with the hero usually winning and receiving female attention as the prize. The title of the film "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" implies the Propp theory. This is confirmed in the above clip, as there are 3 characters having a shoot out, with it being clear who are the good and bad characters by features such as clothing and actions, although there is no dialogue til the end if the scene. This is binary opposition, as it shows the two different types of characters against each other, in the form of the hero and the villain.

Representations - In Western films, males are over represented, as they are shown as strong and always participating in violence, whether being shown as a bad character, or a good character in a position of trust, such as a sheriff or a hero, showing that whether a good or bad character, violence is shown in all types of characters. Women characters in the films are often a prize at the end of the violence, for the hero character to gain. They are shown as damsels in distress, sometimes taken/kidnapped by the bad character and are saved by the hero, with the outcomes usually ending positively for the 2 main characters, the hero and the princess.

Ideologies - Although each Western film has a different storyline, ideas and beliefs, the basic plot is the same, and often contain males fighting to hold their power, which appears to be the main theme in Western films. Western films are also set in a similar location and feature the same type of music, props and clothing, easily making films easily identifiable as being part of the western genre.

Technical conventions - The music of the film also helps to determine the genre. The music in Western films is usually instrumental to build tension, or with slight singing, but in a different scenario. The diegetic sounds are usually rather sharp and sound slightly muffled, due to the technology at the era they were filmed in. The camera angles are usually fast cuts in the shoot outs, as demonstrated in the video clip above. The fast cuts of extreme close-ups to the eyes are edited in post-production and are to create suspense for the viewer. Western films are usually shot in the same kind of way.