Nayani Vijayaratnam Evaluation As part of my Film Studies coursework portfolio, I created a creative artefact titled ‘Abused’ which explored my thesis of how the representation of women has evolved from 1940’s to present day in Hollywood. My main aim was to portray how social and political factors have influenced the perception of women in film and how females have overcome these limitations over the years to take on superior roles within contemporary film. Within my textual analysis I focused on the different technical aspects that were used in films such as The Help (2011), A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) and Lucy (2014) to identify a change in the representation of women from vulnerable to dominant, which influenced me within my own production, to create my protagonist Aisha Malya who develops throughout my artefact from being presented as oppressed to being superior. In order to aid the process of forming this representation through the 4 technical aspects I created various planning and research resources, which was integral to the overall success of my key frames. Doing this allowed me to be organized and work in a chronological order, ensuring that I have considered all significant elements such as the location (location report) and the cast (casting considerations), which allowed me to compare several options before finalizing my choices. Furthermore the planning and research tasks, such as the treatment, allowed me to identify my target audience and recognize the factors, which would ensure that my artefact would be, suitable for and enjoyed by my audience, which was the primary goal of my creative artefact. As I focused on the evolvement of women in films my target audience is primarily young females as the main topics discussed was feminism and abusive relationships-which one in four women are affected by. Due to this, I wanted to create a strong message that women should be treated as equals and use my protagonist, Aisha, as an example as she becomes stronger as the narrative unfolds, which I believe my audience could learn something from (uses and gratification). This refers to Tessa Perkins theory that representations contain some elements of truth, which is why although my main goal was to gratify and entertain my target audience, I also wanted to educate them through exhibiting a clear message about domestic abuse and express how women’s rights have transformed within from the 40’s era to present day within society as well as films. I auditioned various actors which I had considered for the role of my protagonist Aisha Malya and antagonist Denian Ray, taking note of each individuals’ strengths and weakness in order to assess and compare their overall performance, mainly focusing on their ability to express emotions and body language. This enabled me to choose the candidates most suited for the characters, successfully. I came to the conclusion to cast Christine Sandford (18) Filipino/White and Gerald Recaj (19) Albanian/ White as they had known each other previously and therefore were more comfortable when taking on the role of being in a
Nayani Vijayaratnam long term relationship. As well as this, having worked with them previously I was aware of their skills, which made the filming process much easier as everyone had a good level of communication. Aisha is as a countertype as she begins to challenge the expectations of a woman as she defies Denian; I created this representation through the mise-en-scene of a knife, which connotes her power and superiority, which Aisha uses to survive against Denian. Similarly, this is depicted in The Hunger Games as Katniss relies on weapons to survive the games. However both Katniss and Aisha portray weakness to begin with as Denian is able to overpower her, beating her to the ground, while Katniss misses the target and therefore gets laughed at by male authority. Both examples depict the different ways in which a man has undermined a woman. This is shown to the audience through their facial expressions as Aisha shuts her eyes screaming out in pain showing her weakness while gaining sympathy from the audience as they are shocked and disgusted by Denian’s behaviours towards his girlfriend. A similar reaction is gained from the audience within The Hunger Games when Katniss misses the target she is shocked as her mouth drops open, which makes the viewers feel sorry for her as she trained hard for this moment. In addition to this I have used mise-en-scene through Barthes symbolic code as the bottle of alcohol reflects Denian’s personality as he has to rely on alcohol to get through the day and provide him with a form of escape from reality which is ironic as Aisha is the character who is in need of escape as she is trapped in an abusive relationship, this conforms to the stereotypical idea that abuser within a relationship often acts like the victim in order to guilt trip their partner into staying with them, which I discovered from researching further into abusive relationships after watching a documentary called, ‘Murdered by my boyfriend’. The fact that the alcohol is poured down the drain, which is shown through a medium close up, symbolises Aisha’s freedom from Denian but also the downfall of their relationship. A similar concept is seen in The Help as Celia gives Minny a drink which is demonstrated through a wide shot, portraying how Celia breaks away from the stereotypical conventions of how white authority should treat minorities as their servants and not friends of a equal level, in this case the bottle, rather than signifying the destruction of a relationship, it symbolises the creation of a new unexpected friendship. Cinematography is used establish a new equilibrium as Aisha has now gained full control over her life. The use of a low angle illustrates her standing over Denian on the floor, which creates a binary opposition (Levi Strauss) as she was previously on the floor. I was influenced to depict this change in authority through the use of
Nayani Vijayaratnam angles after analysing Lucy (2014), as a low angle is used to show the female protagonist standing over her kidnappers body as she escapes the cell, the same way Aisha manages to escape Denian’s abuse. The low angle clearly depicts Aisha as a countertype as the audience is able to identify her strength and authority over Denian. The change in the representation over the years is further reinforced through the cinematography used within A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) A high angle is used to highlight the female protagonists, Blanche and Stella’s, lack of value and weakness within they’re household as Stanley looks down on them at the table. This is further reinforced by his dialogue of ‘I’m the King’, emphasizing his male arrogance and dominance over the women, presenting a clear binary opposition between the portrayal of women in 1950’s and 2014 (Lucy). I decided to follow a linear narrative, as it would allow the audience to understand the conventions I have depicted easily. I have incorporated Todorov’s theory, as there is equilibrium when Aisha enters, which is disrupted by the conflict for power between her and Denian. Although a new equilibrium is found as Aisha has attained superiority, I decided to leave the ending a mystery which conforms to Pan Cooks Hollywood theory and creates an enigma (Barthes Hermeneutic Code) of whether Denian lives or dies, as well as leaving the audience questioning what will happen to Aisha, who they sympathize with and have grown to like. By using these theories I was able to depict a development in the portrayal of women over the years while keeping the audience engaged. If I were to reconstruct my artefact again, I would have changed the location as the kitchen was small and therefore limited my creativity and imagination. In addition to this I would have extended the narrative in order to provide my target audience with an answer to the character’s endings, which may gratify the audience’s curiosity as well as providing me with the opportunity to display more examples of how the representation of females has changed, However, overall I believe I was able to create an artefact, which explored my thesis fully and clearly portrayed an effective use of planning and research in order to successfully portray the development of women within films. Word Count: 1371