FM2 Section C
American Film Comparison
The 立mega Man & I Am Legend
FM2 Section C
The exam board states: 1. Candidates are required to compare and contrast two films either from the same genre or dealing with a specific theme. 2. Both questions will have an emphasis on the relationship between aspects of the films' narrative in relation to generic characteristics. 3. The first question will be based primarily on narrative study. 4. The second will be based on contextual study. 5. Issues of representation will be common to both questions. This exam focuses more on macro elements within films. The macro elements of film form are different from the micro elements in that they are not physical tangible things like ‘cinematography or lighting’, but instead they concentrate on the content of the film. Macro elements are the ideas, concepts, messages and values within the film and most of these are embodied in the genre and narrative of the work.
Genre Genre is a French word meaning ‘type’ or ‘kind’ • • • •
The study of genre focuses on convention and collective meaning. It relies on a film’s conformity to a set of pre-existing conventions. Genre study groups together a large body of films according to the common attributes that make the film a typical example of its type. Genre acts as shorthand for the formula of a particular type of film.
When you find it difficult to categorise a film into a specific genre it may be because it is a hybrid genre. This means it is a mixture of more than one genre and therefore contains elements from each. For example a romantic comedy contains both funny and romantic elements. Genre is therefore a delicately balanced concept between the expected and the different. Too much of one or the other and it runs the risk of audiences rejecting it. Genre dictates audience expectation, and once used to the idea of what a film of a certain genre should be we are often not prepared to accept anything less. Write down your own definition of genre here:
Having seen so many films we are used to the way film makers use film language and often enjoy the familiarity of it all. At the same time however we are looking to be surprised with new ways that film makers use the language. An audience can want a comedy to be funny and a horror to scare them, but equally an audience can be looking for something completely new so that they can be shocked. This shows that there is a market for new ways of adapting genre and this is how genre evolves, shifting and changing over time as film makers experiment with new ideas while remaining within the same basic 2
FM2 Section C
generic framework. Certain genres come in and out of fashion over time, having a resurgence when they are given a new modern twist. Example? ______________________________ The generic study of film presents ‘pure’ genre as the ‘standard’ and other films in the same category as variations on this model. This is necessary for our viewing variety and pleasure when watching mainstream movies; after all how would an audience recognise unusual if they didn’t have usual to compare it to?
The paradox therefore regarding the genre approach to film study is that the films are the same but different each time. Repetition and difference The idea that films can be grouped together and are ‘the same but different’ relies on the concept of ‘repetition and difference’. In different terms genre is both dynamic and static. Although we can define a various types of film by referring to common attributes if all the films in one category were the same then there would be only one film in each genre. This is obviously not true and we can enjoy many films in the same genre because when it comes down to detail the films are different. Low-key lighting helped create a futuristic sci-fi setting and a noir world
and the iconic Alien
Sigourney Weaver as Lt. Ripley
Repetition within a genre can relate to plot, characters, narrative structure and certain cinematic codes, but equally the difference between films of the same genre can also be created through the unusual use of these things. Generic structures can therefore be seen in paradigmatic form, with each element interchangeable. Paradigm: a set of forms all of which contain a particular element, esp. the set of all
inflected forms based on a single stem or theme. Example film: Alien. This is a science fiction film where the hero is sent to kill the alien (this is repetition- we have seen this before) but the hero is female (this is the difference). A basic common framework exists but components within that framework alter from film to film. It is often through mise en scène that we really begin to recognise a films type. Aspects of mise en scène may typify a genre so acutely that they take on iconic status. 3
FM2 Section C
Iconography refers to the elements within a frame that are synonymous with the genre. Think of a film’s setting for instance, it is often the first iconic detail of mise en scène that helps us identify a genre. If the setting is a ‘flying saucer’ we can hazard a guess that it is a science fiction film. Once again though, it relies on formula and expectation and stereotype. Setting is just one example that film makers can use in a different way in order to play with audience expectations. E.g. horrors, such as The Blair Witch Project, have made use of forest locations. However, the differences in one area will be balanced with familiarity in another, so that audiences do not lose their Stereotype: A conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image
connection with the genre. Therefore the setting may be different, but other aspects of the mise en scène will stay the same and fit the audiences’ expectations of that genre. The audience can not always rely on iconography alone to indicate a film’s genre and other elements fuel expectation and indicate the generic formula. These include: Title Styles As the first thing we see the title styles can again aide our expectations. Titles are important as hey can often attract or repel an audience quite quickly. The colour and the shape of the letters alone can signify a lot. In some cases films can have their tiles over the establishing shots, so in this case the viewer may pay more attention to the clues in the narrative than the titles. But in other films the narrative clues are withheld and the title sequence itself takes on mysterious qualities. Music signifiers When the titles offer little in terms of confirmation of your expectations we turn to the music that usually accompanies the opening of the film. Directors can subvert this by having no music at all or music with other sounds. Different types of music act as different aural signifiers and often just by listening to the soundtrack alone we can identify the genre of the film.
Audio/verbal signifiers Certain genres have their own verbal speech pattern. In other words we expect the characters to speak in a certain way depending upon the type of film. The actual dialogue and the tone in which they are expressed are again indicators of genre. For example period costume dramas will often have a literary quality and gangster films will contain a lot of expletives or slang.
In summary, iconography, titles, music and audio signifiers all help us to identify the genre and to sum up our expectations of it. This is why these key elements are used to great effect in film trailers, as it is often the identification of the genre that will tempt us into the cinema. An unusual use of these elements can have a similar effect. 4
FM2 Section C
Task: Watch the opening sequences to both films again. Note down what elements in the first few minutes signify the films genre to the audience. The Omega Man
Title Styles
Music signifiers
Iconography
Audio/verbal signifiers
I Am Legend
Title Styles
Music signifiers
Iconography
Audio/verbal signifiers
How can we define the action genre? Fill in the table below with what elements you think an action film has to have
Mise en scène
Performance
5
FM2 Section C
Cinematograph y Editing
Sound
You will need to refer to sequences from the films in your exam. Note below key sequences from each film that place it within the action genre. The Omega Man
I Am Legend
6
FM2 Section C
Do you think The Omega Man or I Am Legend have elements of any other genres in them? If so, which genres? Genre: Elements:
Genre: Elements:
Despite being ‘the same film’ the films do differ in their appearance (as well as the story, but we’ll get onto that later). How do they differ in their appearance, and why?
Narrative Narrative- a story or description of a series of events The film’s content is often seen as the primary focus and audiences tend to view the stylistic or micro qualities as secondary to this. Thus the sequence of events, which is the narrative, keeps us engaged with the film. In film studies there is a distinction between story and plot. Plot: refers only to the actual events on screen including any non-diegetic materials like titles or credits. Story: refers to the actual events portrayed on screen plus those events which form part of the story, but are not on the screen. Events which do not appear on screen can be events which are implied or referred to and which we the audience need to know about to make sense of the film. Narrative therefore can be a combination of both story and plot and is the term used to refer to the sequence of events. The sequence of events in narrative cinemas revolves around the concept of ‘cause and effect’. There is a distinction between the two types of ‘time’ in films Screen duration- how long the film lasts
Temporal duration- the period the narrative covers
7
FM2 Section C
Narrative patterns and narrative theory Propp Vladimir Propp published his Morphology of the Folk-Tale in 1928, he studied folk tales and legends from many different countries and noticed that they tended to be very similar, they seemed to be about the same basic problems and the same basic character types cropped up in most of the folk tales. Based on his study, he identified a set of basic character types and spheres of action, which he called ‘functions’. He focused on the way that characters in folk tales tended to be types rather than individuals. The eight character types are: 1. The villain, who opposes the hero 2. The hero, or character who seeks something, usually motivated by a lack of something (money, love etc.) The hero doesn’t have to be heroic in the way most people would understand it – heroes can be male or female, brave or cowardly. 3. The donor, who provides an object with some magic property. 4. The helper, who aids the hero 5. The princess, reward for the hero, and object of the villain’s schemes. Again, this is not necessarily a beautiful damsel in distress – the princess can be male! 6. Her father, who rewards the hero. 7. The dispatcher, who sends the hero on his way 8. The false hero, who tempts the hero away from his quest Tzvetan Todorov Todorov’s theory is a relatively simple one and goes something like this: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
A state of equilibrium (all is as it should be) A disruption of that order by an event A recognition that the disorder has occurred An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption A return or restoration of a NEW equilibrium
Here narrative is not seen as a linear structure but a circular one. The narrative is driven by attempts to restore the equilibrium. However, the equilibrium attained at the end of the story is not identical to the initial equilibrium. Branigan Branigan describes an outline of how any narrative will work: 1. 2. 3. 4.
Introduction of setting and characters Explanation of state of affairs Initiating event Emotional response or statement of a goal by the protagonist 8
FM2 Section C
5. Complicating actions 6. Outcome 7. Reactions to the outcome Overall then we can see that one argument is that just like in genre; there are set patterns that can remain the same within narrative. Task: Fill in the table below by applying the different narrative theories to the two films. Narrative theory
The Omega Man
I Am Legend
Breaking the rules These narrative theories help us to understand the formulaic nature of mainstream film making, but this is also where theories have their limitations. As with other aspects of film making, the narrative structure can be messed around with and the rules can be broken. Two examples of this are Pulp Fiction and Memento. Both these have a non-linear narrative structure as the narrative is not told chronologically. The more non-linear a film is in revealing its narrative the greater the demands it put on its audience, this can result in a variety of pleasures like simply trying to keep up with the plot and trying to solve the mystery by piecing together the pieces of a story like a jigsaw.
9
FM2 Section C
There are other narrative devices used within film as well. Many films have a narrative agent, which is a person or thing that carries the story and leads the viewer through it. The audience can align themselves with the narrative agent who can sometimes take the form of a narrator. A narrator can do this by being a (main) character within a film and being the subject of it or by telling the story of a character in the film, in which their storytelling may employ the use of a voiceover. The audience tends to trust a non-diegetic voiceover as it speaks directly to them. When the audience are told a story from one characters perspective this is a restricted narrative. The audience is only allowed to know what this character knows and will only be present in scenes when that character is present. This has the effect of the audience discovering the plot as it unfolds and having to work out what happens.
Voice-overs and interior monologues where a character withdraws from the action and comments on events in voice-over. What a character might say in the privacy of his or her own head might be completely different in language, tone and content from what someone would say out loud. For a voice-over, decide upon not only what is said and how it is said, but also the reliability of the voice –over narrator – is this version of events different from what the visual elements of the film suggest? (See Taxi Driver)
Travis the existential Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)
existentialism A movement in twentieth-century literature and philosophy, with some forerunners in earlier centuries. Existentialism stresses that people are entirely free and therefore responsible for what they make of themselves. With this responsibility comes a profound anguish or dread. Søren Kierkegaard and Feodor Dostoevsky in the nineteenth century, and Jean-Paul Sartre, Martin Heidegger, and Albert Camus in the twentieth century, were existentialist writers. (Ref: Dictionary.com)
Are either of the films’ characters existential? Why?
When the audience is told form a point of view of many different characters (objective narration), we embark on an unrestricted narrative. This means the audience has access to information the characters are maybe unaware of. Thus has the effect of filing the audience with anticipation in wondering when the characters will find out. Do the two films break the narrative rules or use any other elements? 10
FM2 Section C
Barthes Barthes was interested in concepts such as negotiated meaning between institution and audience. He argued that the reader produces new meanings when reading a text, making use of previous experiences as well as the text itself. So, for example, when watching a film about an airline, individuals’ ‘meaning’ depends as much on their own experiences of airlines and films as on the text itself. The cultural context of consumption becomes as important as the content of the text, he described texts as ‘networks’, which relates closely to current multimedia texts such as websites and the different ways in which a ‘surfer’ interacts with these non-linear texts. The two main codes that you need to know about for Barthes are the Enigma (hermeneutic) code which refers to those plot elements that raise questions on the part of the viewer. In its most basic form, it is the hook or mystery to be resolved for an audience, e.g. in serials which make use of ‘come back next week to find out what happens’ technique, or in trailers for new films. The second code is the Action code (proairetic) code, which refers to mere actions –those plot events, which lead to other actions. For example, a gunslinger draws their gun on an enemy and we wonder what the resolution of this will be. We wait to see if they will kill the other person or not. Suspense is therefore created by the action and not by a mystery which the viewer wises to have explained. What enigma and action codes are in the two films?
What symbolic codes are present in this image?
Lèvi-Strauss’ theory on narratives revolving around conflict, which is inferred through opposites within the story is one way of decoding referential codes. See how many binary opposites below are present in either film and how these themes raise themselves. Use the space overleaf to make notes. Claude Lèvi-Strauss Levi-Strauss (pronounced Lev-ee, and no relation to the Jeans guy) was a structural philosopher. What interested him was how much of our world is described in terms of opposites. In his theory he introduced the notion of binary oppositions as a useful way to consider the production of meaning within narratives. He argued that all construction of meaning was dependent, to some degree, on these oppositions. 11
FM2 Section C
Examples of binary oppositions found in some moving image narratives might be: Good vs evil Humanity vs technology East vs West Dirt vs cleanliness Control vs panic One vs many/the mass Communism vs capitalism
Male vs female Nature vs industrialisation Dark vs Light Movement vs stillness Order/law vs disorder/anarchy Religion vs science ? any other ?
How are these referenced? OMEGA MAN
I AM LEGEND
Overall both films follow a similar narrative structure. Why do you think this structure was chosen?
Does anything surprise you about the narrative of both films? Messages and Values Films often offer the filmmakers the opportunity to express their own messages and values, and reflect the messages and values of the societies they inhabit. Similarly audiences watch films and understand the messages and values on screen through the filter of their own values and beliefs. Messages are deliberately placed communications within a film that are intended to be read, or de-coded by an audience, and which should then affect the spectator’s individual understanding of the film. A message may be explicitly expressed (perhaps by having a character spell it out) or may be implicitly expressed and in need of interpretation, for instance women in a film being shown as victims and receiving summary punishment at the hands of men – is this a hidden message from the director? Explicit messages are normally straight forward with little opportunity for misinterpretation. Implicit messages are more complex and their understanding is reliant not only on how they have been ‘coded’ into the film, but also on the spectators own experiences and belief system. 12
FM2 Section C
Values are an expression of what an individual or society considers important, in terms of social behaviour, laws, attitudes, beliefs etc. Values are of course both changeable and relative to each other and situations where they are applied. Systems or sets of values can be expressed as an ideology (a belief system), which, again, can be an individual ideology or an ideology defined by society. It is perfectly possible for an individual to hold their own set of values within a broader set of values belonging to a society. Thus someone could accept the broad values of a democracy while being a tyrant in their own home. What messages and values do you think the directors of The Omega Man and I Am Legend are trying to send out and in which sequences are they apparent? Messages and Values
Film/Sequence
Messages and values are represented within a single film and are built on and challenged or reinforced by the messages and values represented in other films within the same or similar groupings. Aspects of everyday life are represented in film, and may conform to an understanding of how these aspects usually appear, or may challenge this understanding. What is important is that representations are not simply accepted as being the way things are, but are considered either as symptoms of society’s attitudes and values, and/or as deliberate constructs designed to achieve a desired outcome and positioning the spectator into accepting the messages and values being expressed. The relationship between film and the everyday world is one in which representations are constructed and messages and values are placed within the film to be extracted, explored, considered and compared with the representations of our own ‘real life’ experience offers us. It is as this point that meaning is developed, or negotiated fro a film, and it is in this context of a meeting point between the real and the unreal that concepts of pleasure and of beliefs are introduced. Without understanding how meaning is produced and messages and values are conveyed then film remains separated from the everyday world, a world that proceeds points of reference, experience, and a context for the film to be placed against, and which itself may be explained a little as it helps explain a film. Messages and values are at the heart of film, and are at the heart of societies from which they come, and so with pre-existing relationship, placing both the film and the wider world at the centre of study would seem to be the only logical approach to making sense of both. 13
FM2 Section C
Do you think films can ever be viewed separately from the outside world? If not why not?
Representation Representation covers People, Places and Events. (PPE people, remember to PPE!) Task: Note down the key characters in the films and how they are represented. Character/film
Represented how? In which sequence?
Representation also covers places and events. Note down which places and events are represented and in which sequences.
Film and place or event
Represented how? In which sequence?
14
FM2 Section C
Representations can, and do, change over time though. The representation of race is the most obvious within the two films.
EXTENSION ACTIVITIES Context Both films are adaptations of a book. Wikipedia has the following entry on it: I Am Legend is a 1954 science fiction/horror novel by Richard Matheson about the last man alive in Los Angeles. It was influential on the developing modern vampire genre as well as the zombie genre, in popularizing the concept of a worldwide apocalypse due to disease, and in exploring the notion of vampirism as a disease. The novel was a success and was adapted to film as The Last Man on Earth in 1964, as The Omega Man in 1971, and twice as I Am Legend in 2007.
EXTENSION TASK _ In Your Own Time – Do some research and improve your boader conceptual understanding. Here’s a good start, use the internet and download this handout from the Section C US Film Comparison Task: Log onto http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Legend. Note down the differences between the book and the film. Why do you think the film versions are different?
Contexts for the two films The Cold War • •
Log onto the following web pages: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/coldwar.htm and click on the link ‘What was the Cold War’. http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/coldwar/context.html 15
FM2 Section C
Read the pages and then summarise what the Cold War was below
Viruses and disease Log onto: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandemic Read the definition of what a pandemic is and then scroll down and read the section on ‘Concern about possible future pandemics’. Note down what concerns there are about diseases within the world today
How are these two contexts apparent within the films? Film
How is the context shown?
Why are the contexts different for each of the films?
16
FM2 Section C
Task: Read the DVD Monthly article- The World According To I Am Legend. (also available in course folders)
What context information does it give and what does knowing this add to the experience of watching the film?
Q. What do you notice about the representations of race within the two films?
Blaxploitation films Log onto: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaxploitation and write a paragraph summarising what Blaxploitation films are.
How do you think the context of Blaxploitation films fits in with The Omega Man?
Why might the representation of race changed in I Am Legend?
17
FM2 Section C
18
FM2 Section C
Exam practice Example questions are: •
Discuss some of the similarities and differences between the two films you have studied for this topic with particular reference to narrative and genre features.
•
How far do the two films you have studied for this topic present similar messages and values?
As you can see they will NOT mention the two films we have looked at as there are other options. It is up to you to state which films you have studied. If you do not mention a minimum of two films your grade will be capped at a low C- even if you write a grade A essay. Task: 1. Chose one exam question and write out a spider diagram plan for it. 2. Look back at what the exam board are expecting you to know and make sure you include these in your essay as well as answering the question. It sounds hard, but really it’s just a matter of making sure you interweave them. See p.1 or www.WJEC.co.uk 3. Now make a flow chart and organise your plan into it so that it answers the question in a logical way. Other links that may be of interest http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20164894,00.html http://warehouse.carlh.com/article_153/
19