28/11/2014

Pans labyrinth- 

Puberty - inninxe dying

Power of men is destroying nature 

Nature is symbolised as women 

Vagina tree 

Theoughout the film nature dies- men and facism

Life can only thrive in a woman

Patriarchy- womens power 

Birth mark moon- royal identify, moon is full at the end, her transformation as a woman, life cycle and menstrual cycle 

Beauty is miss leading- the faun gets more beautiful but more aggressive 

The pale man scene- she picks the shabbier door with the prize

Colour schemes- blue=cold hard reality

Gold=fantasy, royal &pale man, caution and mystery 

Green=the world of the faun, nature 

The colour palettes bleed together at the end- reality showing through 

The holy trinity- sits on her father's side, royal importance 

Three- symbolises Mars, Greek god of war 

The fairies are seen again at the end- the test was in her mind, shows the mental effect it's had on ophelia, after life

Men grow women- farmers

2.2 representation-poverty 

Urban experience of each character 

'LE pen' binary opposition 

Art gallery- division of classes

 Police-

The lower class present Liberty equality and fraternity more than the higher classes- when they are the one with power in the country 

Vince-

03 October 2014

How does the narrative create meaning in Pans Labyrinth?

The narrative of "pans labyrinth" although having an element of the fantasy genre, it does not follow the CHN (classic Hollywood narrative). The binary opposition of the main character, ophelia a little girl, from her point of view is Vidal as he is a suggested villain. His characteristics suggest he is a stock character because of his want for power and sadistic behaviour. Using stock characters similar to propps theory, suggests that the narrative will follow the typical structure of a fairytale. The director however kills ophelia by her step dad to create the audiences realisation of the issues occurring in Spain at this time. There is a not constant conflict between ophelia and Vidal, as the underlying conflict is between the spanish soldiers and the rebels. The war and op helipad mum becoming ill because of her pregnancy is what causes ophelias fantasies to occur so that she can escape reality.  The message to the audience from this may be that we use film and other sources to also distract ourselves from the real issues in reality.

In comparison to "la haine" which was filmed in a much more realistic way, "pans labyrinth" although the technique could be seen as subtle, the message when realised is more shocking. 

19th September

Narrative;
Propp's Characters? - Why?

Do they follow the CHN?
-BME
-Stock Characters
-Psychological motivation
-Cause/Effect
-Binary Opposition

A2- CONTEXT AND MESSAGES - WHY HAS IT BEEN DONE?
Directors- wants to get their message out

Narratives are similar in different cultures because of old folk stories.

Todorov- Equillibrium

1. Equillibrium
2. Disruption
3. Recognition
4. Repair
5. Reinstatement

Levi Strauss- Binary Opposition

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

La haine-

Kassaitz- critical and political 

Challenges the narrative

Realistic characters
Propp's theories vs. Realist approach
Vinz-bad boy, aspirational gangster (taxi driver) KEY SCENE- Mirror
Hubert- helper, vigilante, reformed hero
Said- sidekick

Saiid- point of view
When his eyes close, the film ends
Weak, imasculine
"so far so good", has not yet fallen into the viscous circle
It is repeated at the beginning and the end
Challenges his weak character as he is the last person standing alive
Hubert- Said- Police man = trapped in the middle

The film happens in 1 day
Cycle, clock, one day, the world at the beginning
"So far so good", eventually it will end bad however they reassure themselves

Vinz is white, he escapes the beating in the police office

Battle of the Algers- France invaded Algeria
The Satif Massaca- killing civillians
Binary opposition- French and Algerian
You get a mixed view
Hipocracy of assimilation- liberty equality fraternity

2 people killed who influenced the film
Introduction- documented riots

Themes-
Fraternity
Entrapment
Violence- police

Film Narrative Timeline- Cause and Effect

Equillibrium, Disruption & Resolution?
From the beginning of the introduction it is clear that there is no equilibrium as the opening credits show the riots and violence happening in France. The disruption occurs throughout the film, so it does not follow Toldorov's theory. Near the end, the audience are made to think their will be a resolution, however the main characters get shot. By not having a closed resolution to the film it reminds the audience that 'stories' like this are still happening.

Hubert following fraternity ends being shot, and Saïd is shown to begin the cycle at the end.

Cause & Effect?
Although there should typically be good karma, as Vinz does not use the gun for bad there is not so it doesn't follow the usual cause and effect structure. Instead the characters are shown to be in a circle, which is caused by the political situation rather than what they do.

Timeline

-Abdel a friend of the main character Vinz has been brutally attacked by a police man before the riots and is now in a coma

-Police loses his gun

-Vinz finds it, and vows to kill a police if his friend dies in hospital(gains respect)

-Said meets Hubert, a black boxer and introduces him to Vinz

-They go to Paris- having trouble with police throughout their trip

-They are informed that Abdel is dead

-They go to a roof top gathering and are confronted by plain-clothes policemen and then racist anti-immigrant skinheads

-Vinz goes to carry out his vengance, however he cannot do it

-Early in the morning the trio split up to go home however, the same policeman that Vinz had previously insulted.

-The policeman kills Vinz, and following this Hubert and the policeman shoot each other.

17th September

Cultural context
The directors point of view and how it effects the film- internet, books, other films, interviews

NEXT LESSON: CITY OF GOD BACKGROUND AND CULTURE

Narrative- look for events and metaphors to events
Pans Labyrinth- fantasy events, metaphorical

Types of narrative- hollywood
Would we be surprised to find that global film use hollywood narrative?
Does it follow as global cinema if it does?

The characters drive the narrative.
Motivation
Propp- Fairytale- Pans Labyrinth
Propp doesn't apply to La Haine
La Haine uses realism

5th September

1.) what makes the character a hero "stock character"?

Saving the country/world- universal appeal

US protectors- super powerful 

All men 

Sacrifice and morals- your interpretation of what's good and bad

2.)why are costume and style important?

Make clear who's the villain and hero

Style lets you know the genre of film and the franchise (marvel)

3.)who are we aligned with?

The hero because we see him go through a struggle and watch him overcome it

4.)what is being re-presented?

Saving the world 

We need a protector 

Conflict is resolved through war and violence

We do not negotiate with terrorists 

3 films from 1 franchise.

Captain America

Iron man

Transformers

The audience are made to think that they should let people fight for them

Captain America is a personification of America- it is your protector and trustworthy 

Technology, money, intelligence- the American dream

Conclusions - they use the films to justify their actions

French Revolution - 

People with the money didn't pay taxes deep debt due to funding the American revolution 

Third estate said they would leave and make their own national assembley 

Abolished privileges for nobles 

Women's march forcing King Louie to move to Paris