FILM THEMES – “What’s it really about?” Film as Ideas These are the ideas that are present in a film and answers the question: what is the film really about? The main reason artists create their art is because they have something to say. Film is an art form that can be seen by the target audience as primarily an entertainment, but this does not mean that nit is without other qualities. Many writers and directors are using film to say something about the world we live in or the nature of being human. These themes could be conveyed in a novel, play or a poem, but some artists find the medium of film to be the right one to use because it is powerful, it can reach a very large audience and it can last a long time in the popular imagination. Ken Loach, in a film called Kes, created such a film. Although it may seem dated now, especially to a young audience used to widescreen colour film and very lively Hollywood blockbusters, it still says something today about society and individuals. The character of Billy Casper still exists. Question: • Think about some recent films that you have admired. What are the major themes in these films? Do you think they say something about society today? If you can’t think of a decent movie consider either The Matrix, Cloverfield, or The Happening. Film and Representation When we watch a film it will present to us a story, people and ideas. The way in which a film deals with its content is very important as it seems to portray the real world and can consequently reinforce, contradict or change views or attitudes, which we may or may not already, hold. So we must always realise films do not present the real world exactly as it exists but one which is constructed by a creative group of people who have their own views and attitudes of the world in which we live.
TEXT/Film Issue/Theme
Producers ENCODE
Audiences DECODE
Because writers, directors and producers want to say something about the world their films are usually encoded with ideas and attitudes. We have to sometimes think very carefully about what those ideas may be or why they are important. We have, in turn, to decode these messages and values. A film such as Saving Private Ryan may show the horrors of war and may make people understand what it was like to be going through such a terrible episode in world history. But this is not all that the film might be saying: as a representation of America it could be interpreted as a statement about the superiority of the American nation or an even blunter statement that they won the war. Some British or European viewers may disagree with this view of a true historical incident, even though some British films may have given an equally biased representation of British soldiers during the war.
Saving Private Ryan (Steven Spielberg, 1998) The Four Major Representations The four major representations are: 1. 2. 3. 4.
GENDER AGE RACE SOCIAL CLASS
Through these four major ways of looking at a media text we can begin to understand what is really going on. To show you how we do this we are going to look at one specific area: gender. This refers to the sexual categories of male and female, and the sexual orientations of heterosexual and homosexual.
Representation and Masculinity
CASE STUDY: James Bond 007 We are going to look at masculinity and the movies and first of all the sub-genre of the James Bond films. How does the hero portray what it is to be that particular kind of man? Look at any of these films, from Dr.No to The World Is Not Enough or Casino Royale, and see what we can identify about the construction of the hero, James Bond. This hero possesses a number of qualities: He is physically very fit He is highly intelligent He is resourceful He is good looking He is sexually active He is attractive to women He is admired by other men He is a connoisseur of taste He is brave He is loyal to his country So, what questions do we ask to begin to analyse this representation? 1. Are all of these qualities unquestionably positive? 2. To what degree is this portrayal a stereotype? 3. To what degree is he merely a fantasy or a piece of male or female wish-fulfilment? 4. Is there anything serious in the messages he sends out? 5. Is he in any way a role model for young boys/men? So what?
Questions Compare him with other super-heroes. How do they compare? What similarities might you see? What conclusions can you come to about masculinity in this type of film? What kinds of men do they portray how do they represent masculinity?