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

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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 

3rd September

Assimilation is the act of people conforming to another culture so they do not get discriminated against.

People that keep their own culture because of it being respected or their own choice is multiculturalism.

La haine clip- forced assimation because their culture is not accepted by the police 

Four lions clip- forced assimilation by terrorists 

Cultural diversity 

DEBATE-

Multiculturalism has been tried throughout history 

There should be a combination of both 

Learn about other cultures, become open minded 

No diversity.. Except class

If there is assimilation with culture the original ethnicity will always be higher in class 

France=assimilation 

1.the history of French immigration 

2.the characters and key events of the film 

3.the modern attitudes in France 

La Haine & Assimilation

City of God- Lil Ze Scene Analysis

This scene is connected to the corruption of child innocence in Brasil, as although the leaders may die the children are taught to fight for survival by killing for power. If they do not do this it is more likely they will be killed, as innocent The police are also shown in this clip, as being corrupt as they are dealing with the 'drug lord' Lil Ze. The police are the people who deal the weapons through Brasil's gangs.

24th June 2014

20th June 2014

13th June 2014

3rd June 2014

German Expressionism influence on Tim Burton

Tim Burton is a modern day director, famous for his 'original' gothic style in his films. However when looking at his influences, it is clear that his style may not be so original and has in fact been adapted from silent films made in Germany after the First World War. The theory in that Burton’s authorship has been adapted from films during this time challenges whether any director has their own original style of film.   

  Tim Burton's films “dark shadows” is a vampire film, which incorporates the usual gothic style as in all of Burton's films. The main character played by Johnny Depp is a vampire however does not have the stereotypical traits of one. This is because the film is comical, and a family film so it has been made to be watched by children. In comparison to his previous films like "corpse bride", "dark shadows" uses much more bright colours and more blatant comedy. The film “Nosferatu” was made in 1922, it is a silent film about a vampire. The film was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stokers “Dracula”, however the film still became very famous. Similarly to Dark Shadows, the narratives are very similar as they both follow the vampire as the main character but the genres differ as “Nosferatu” is a horror where as Burtons adaptation is mocking the vampire character by making him weak and shy. Authorship is the idea of a director having a specific way in which they direct their films and how they make it ‘their own’. The German Expressionism in art around the 1920’s was the result of a corrupt society. After the War the country had lost everything to France etc. The people were in poverty and the films were there to provide a message. The film and art often patronised the state of the country. 

During my research I want to find out whether the Director Tim Burton, really is original or whether his films are just adaptations of films during the expressionism period. The film “Nosferatu” may have been adapted from Dracula, to target the German audience and be apart of the Expressionism. The adaptations and influences taken from these films have to fit the current audience to sell. This is why I believe Burton’s authorship has developed since his first films. “Corpse Bride” was made in 2005, an animated picture. The film creates more messages than humour however still makes the ‘dead’ humorous and continues to make the unrealistic style as it is animated. I believe that Tim Burton has adapted his style of authorship with humour to sell to audience as otherwise it is very dark, and  where as after the war in Germany people enjoyed this, the audiences taste changes depending on the culture and society.  

  

Bibliography/ Filmography:

• Horror Film: Creating and Marketing Fear-University Press of Missisippi
• The Haunted Screen:Expressionism in the German Cinema and the influence of Max Reinhardt- Lotte.H. Eisner
• Nosferatu - F.W Murnau
• Dark Shadows- Tim Burton
• Corpse Bride- Tim Burton