Film Criticism

Film Assignment Overview Your assignment is to critically analyze the class film, using a formal method of film criticism. It is very important that you NOT write a movie review. You are to assume that your readers have already seen and are very familiar with the film. Therefore, do not include any plot synopsis or character and scene descriptions in your paper.

Critical Analysis Your job is to conduct a critical analysis of the class film. In everyday usage, when the words “critical” or “to criticize” are used, it implies that something is being evaluated in a negative manner. However, when “criticism” is used in an academic sense, as we’ve been doing throughout the semester, remember that it means to analyze something in depth, using higher-level critical thinking. It does NOT necessarily imply a negative point-of-view on the subject at hand.

Film Review versus Film Analysis We are NOT writing a film review for this paper. The goal or purpose of a film review is to help readers decide whether they want to see a movie. Therefore, film reviews provide the following things for the reader:  A plot synopsis—what happens in the movie A discussion of the movie’s target audience A list of which stars appear in the movie An evaluation—an overall thumbs-up or thumbs-down

Film Review versus Film Analysis Instead, we ARE writing an academic film analysis for this paper. A film analysis differs from a movie review in that it contains No plot synopsis No discussion of the target audience No focus on the movie stars No personal evaluation of the movie Film Analysis focuses on the film as a “rhetorical artifact,” which is an academic term that means that the film is assumed to have meanings and messages beyond its surface appearance and entertainment components.

Approaches to Film Criticism: Contextualist Approach Realist Approach Formalist Approach

Rough Definitions A formalist approach looks at the film itself, its structure and form. A realist approach examines how a film represents “reality.” A contextualist approach to analysis always considers a film as part of some broader context.

Contextual Approach Considers a film as part of some broader context This can be society at large, the particular culture, time, and place that created it, the director’s personal life and previous body of work, or various psychological and/or ideological contexts Requires examining multiple films to determine context Examples: Culturalist – place it was created Auteurist – director’s body of work Psychological – often identifies plot elements with theories of psychologists Feminist – concentrates on the portrayals of women in a film Marxist – attempt to associate characters and events in a film as representative of class Generic – looks at a film as a representative of a genre

Realist Approach Definition in film studies: ‘A style of filmmaking that attempts to represent the look of objective reality as it’s commonly perceived.’ Examines how a film represents “reality” Some films attempt to make techniques “invisible” to viewers so the characters and situations are always the primary focus - Realist Others attempt to use cinematic techniques to replicate a certain type of reality the filmmaker wants the audience to experience - Formalist

Formalist Approach Definition in film studies: ‘A style of filmmaking in which aesthetic forms take precedence over the subject matter as content. Time and space as ordinarily perceived are often distorted. For Formalism, film is an art because its properties are exploited to express filmmakers’ own vision’ Looks at the film itself, its structure and form a formalist approach will focus primarily on internal evidence. a narrative analysis will examine how a film employs various narrative formal elements analysis of specific formal techniques might concentrate on a film’s use of mise en scene or photographic composition, camera movements, editing choices, sound in relation to the image, etc. Focused on the formal, or technical, elements of a film: i.e., the lighting, scoring, sound and set design, use of color, shot composition, and editing. Formalism, at its most general, considers the synthesis (or lack of synthesis) of the multiple elements of film production, and the effects, emotional and intellectual, of that synthesis and of the individual elements. For example, take the single element of editing. A formalist might study how standard Hollywood "continuity editing" creates a more comforting effect and non-continuity or jump cut editing might become more disconcerting or volatile.

Realism & Formalism Film realism - the Lumière tendencies Recording reality without changing it Film formalism - the Méliès tendencies Recreating reality or presenting a new, different reality

Lumiére-Melies Chart (Realism) (Formalism) LUMIERE MELIES The Blair Witch Project Spiderman Full Monty The Gold Rush Documentary Fantasy

Problems of Film Realism Film as representation of reality What is filmed is not reality itself but its image A person who appears on the screen is not herself but her image. An object who can be seen on the screen is not itself but its image.

Problems of Film Realism René Magritte’s painting of Ceci n’est pas une pipe (This is not a pipe) The picture is not the pipe itself, though it is life-like, but it’s an image.

Problems of Film Realism A film re-presents objects and people Or re-traces (an event); re-calls (an event); re-produce (reality), re-enact (an event/reality); re-fer to (an event / reality), re-build (reality); re-construct (reality): re-stage (reality / an event) Film is realization in ‘second-time’ around; thus actions are suffixed with -re; spatially and temporally different from what it shows.

Problems of Film Formalism Even fantasy is constructed on our perception of reality. It is impossible to create a world totally detached from reality.

Problems of Film Formalism Even a creature from Mars have two eyes, a nose, a mouth, two arms, fingers, and two legs.

Semiotics Approach Analyzes the symbolism and meaning of some aspect of the film. Generally focuses on one element and analyzes its symbolic use throughout the film Elements are symbolic or representative of more than their surface suggests Cinematography Mise-en-Scene Editing Sound Films are full of things that you can analyze semiotically, looking for ways that these things could be symbolic or representative of more than their surface suggests. Here are some concrete ideas: Color Light Costume/Props Music Editing

Structuralist Approach Theory that elements of human culture must be understood in terms of their relationship to a larger, overarching system or structure Emphasizes how films convey meaning through the use of codes and conventions not dissimilar to the way languages are used to construct meaning in communication. examines the people and their actions and relationships in the film, or the ideologies or structures of the film Films depict intricate character studies and relationships, and they are often guided by particular philosophies. Mythology & Folklore Political & Ideological & Sociological Sructural criticism looks at things like the inner workings of characters and their relationships. It can also use major theories in various academic fields of study to analyze what’s going on in films, such as psychology, sociology, political science, economics, or literature.

Semiotics & Structural Unlike formalism which is interested in what a text means, semiotics/structural analysis looks into 1) how a text comes to “mean” (how language constructs our sense of reality), and 2) how a language system functions and operates. While structuralism is more of a systematic approach (done or acting according to a fixed plan or system) to literary study, semiotics focuses on the analysis of significance in all manner of texts literary and cultural. In essence, structural semiotics is interested in a full range of signifying practices, from body language, fashion trends, photography, film, etc.

Film Criticism: Sample Analyses Chapter 11 Film Criticism: Sample Analyses His Girl Friday Chunking Express North by Northwest Man with a Movie Camera Do The Right Thing The Thin Blue Line Breathless Meet Me in St. Louis Tokyo Story Raging Bull

© 2013 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Sample Analyses Narrative films, alternatives to narrative form, documentary, and analyses that emphasize social ideology will be examined. All of the films discussed can be analyzed in other ways as well. These analyses are examples of strategies that you can apply in your writing. © 2013 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

The Classical Narrative Cinema: His Girl Friday Segmentation shows the pace of character interactions contribute to the overall pace. Deadlines within the plot and the clash of character traits and goals propel the cause and effect. Time and space are subordinate to cause and effect. Telephones play an important role in cause and effect. © 2013 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

© 2013 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. North by Northwest Using classical narrative patterns, a strict time scheme and motifs keep the narrative unified. Point-of-view shots offer a degree of subjectivity. Continually emphasizes surprise and suspense through careful manipulation of the hierarchy of knowledge. Hitchcock also uses climactic sequences. © 2013 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

© 2013 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Do The Right Thing Stretches traditional Hollywood conventions while still upholding conventional techniques. Setting and a limited time frame unify the plot. The main causal action falls into two lines: Sal’s relations with the community and Mookie’s personal life. Cinematic technique loosely uses the continuity system and emphasizes the community as a whole. Style also stresses the underlying problems in the community. © 2013 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

© 2013 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Do The Right Thing Characters create goals sporadically. Will conflicts be resolved peacefully or violently? Lee’s choices emphasize the community as a whole. © 2013 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Narrative Alternative: Breathless (À Bout de souffle) A classic story line presented nonclassically. Rejects classical Hollywood causality. Classic film technique is also rejected, using instead location shooting, and natural light and sound. Often breaks away from traditional editing techniques. © 2013 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Tokyo Story (Tokyo Monogatari) Spatial and temporal structures are emphasized over narrative events. Camera and editing patterns involve using a full circle. Taken together, film technique suggests a different relationship among setting, duration, and story action than exists in a classical Hollywood film. © 2013 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Chunking Express (Chung Hing sam lam) Involves six characters in two distinct stories presented side-by-side. The lines of action in the two parts aren’t linked causally, which forces you to seek other connections. Motifs link the two stories, as does the theme that change is a part of love. © 2013 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Documentary Form and Style: Man with a Movie Camera Takes the “kino eye” idea as the basis for the film’s associational form. Exploits the power to control our perception of reality by means of editing and special effects. Draws a connection between the camera and human actions. Explicit and implicit meanings may be missed by viewers who aren’t familiar with Russian. © 2013 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

© 2013 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. The Thin Blue Line Uses narrative form, but not in a wholly linear way. Form and style shape our sympathies subtly and ask us to reflect on the obstacles to arriving at the truth about any crime. It is both an account of what really happened while sending the message that persistent inquirers can eventually arrive at truth. © 2013 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Form, Style, and Ideology: Meet Me in St. Louis Reinforces certain aspects of a social ideology: American values of family unity and home life. Dialogue, stylistic devices, and mise-en-scene contribute to the feeling of a happy family life. Referential, explicit, implicit, and symptomatic meanings all emphasize the social ideology. © 2013 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

© 2013 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Raging Bull There is both sympathy and revulsion towards Jake. Narrative and stylistic strategies make Jake a case study in the role of violence in American life. The narrative organization of incidents and motifs suggest that male aggression pervades American life. Stylistic techniques depict the violence as disturbing but also mesmerizing. © 2013 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.