Film Analysis

Narrative Theory:

•verisimilitude - how real the world of the story appears to the audience, whether it is believable or not?

•diegesis/diegetic world - the world in which the film takes place 

•juxtaposition - placing one object next to another to create meaning

•narrative theory - theories that categories narratives and find features common to them

•verisimilitude - how real the world of the story appears to the audience, whether it is believable or not?

•diegesis/diegetic world - the world in which the film takes place

Levi-Strauss and Binary Opposition

•Levi-Strauss's binary opposition: Narrative tension is based on opposition or conflict. This can be as simple as two characters fighting, but more open functions at an ideological level

•"Cinema is a set of universal rules, a set of relations that could be described as the grammar of film"

•Levi-Strauss theorized that since all cultures are products of the human brain, there must be, beneath and surface, features that are common to all

•Structuralism attempted to deromanticize the filmmaker as an auteur and apply a more scientific approach to uncover the underlying structures of film

 Q. what theory concerns the 8 character types?

a. Propp theory 

Q. what are they?

a. hero, villain, dispacher, princess, donor, father, helper and false hero

Q. what is juxtaposition?

a. placing two opposite objects next to another to create meaning and contrast 

Q. what is diegetic sound?

a. sound within the world of the scene

 Binary Opposition

• white v black 
• rich v poor
• old v young 
• strong v weak 
• bad v good 
• wrong v right 
• criminals v police 
• female v male 
• east v west 
• upper-class v lower class 

Vladimir Propp Character Types

• the hero- Chris 
• the villain-Girlfriend=Rose/ family
• the helper-friend=Rod
• the princess or prize-feedom+escape
• the father 
• the donor-Walter
• the false hero-Girlfriend=Rose
• the dispatcher-Girlfriend=Rose
• (there is fluidity between the roles, different character types can inhabit multiple different roles)

Action+Enigma Codes-Roland Barthes

• Action codes-what will happen next...
• she falls over-will he catch her
• she has been caught-what will he do with her?
• Enigma codes 
• the audience questions why...
• why is there a shoe on the floor?

Denotation

• Is what you can see-
• For example, a red sports car

Connotation 

• Connotation is the meaning you derive from a test 
• For example, we have many different associations with the colour red such as anger, passion and glamour
• When analysing a text, it is important to consider these connotations 

Action codes in Get Out...

• kidnapping 
• camera flash gets black house guests agitated and burst out in anger
• Rose's brother attacking Chris 

Enigmas in Get Out...

• black man getting kidnapped in the opening scene 
• the stirring of the tea
• photographs of Rose (the gf) with lots of black boyfriends/girlfriends 
• gardener running at Chris
• behaviours of black characters in and around the house

Genre and Audience Pleasures

Risk Altman argues that genre offers audiences a set of pleasures 

Emotional Pleasures:

• How does the text make you feel? -happy, sad, nostalgic, etc
• Feeling angry when understanding what is happening 

Visceral Pleasure:

• Gut responses such as excitement, fear and laughter 
• Killing Roses father, and shocking scene induces excitement 

Intellectual Pleasures:

• Does it make the audience think?
• Black maid crying and laughing at the same time, makes the audiences wonder why there is so much conflict within her 

Analyse how genre conventions have been used to create meaning in a media product you have scheduled(12) 3 POINTS

point 

explanation 

evidence 

thoery

-In the movie Get Out Directed By Jordan Peele.  One of the genetic conventions which are used in the opening scene is the dark lighting, we see Joran Peele use dark lighting to creates a sense of the unknown and mystery, because of this it enhances the genre of horror, therefore this creates meaning as the audience is unaware of what is happening next.  This creates the enigma code due to the fact as this creates mystery and difficult to understand which confuses the audiences wanting them to know what is happening next.

-In the first few seconds of the opening scene, we see a black man walking along the street with only the street lamps used.

-Another media convention that has been used to create meaning in the movie Get Out is the sound that is used.  This creepy music contracts the action which the viewer sees.  The sound which we hear speeds up once we get a greater understanding of whats going on such as the man being attacked.  This encahses the genre of thriller through 

Example:

POINT 

EVIDENCE 

EXPLANATION 

THEORY 

The setting and time of night conforms to stereotypes. The scene is set on a suburban street, where the black character believes he 'stand(s) out like a sore thumb', suggesting that stereotypically the black community are of a lower class. Also, the scene is set at night, conforming to the stereotype that most crime happens at night, as that is when the protagonist is attacked. This links into the enigma code, as it makes the audience question's why this is happening, therefore the audience wonders why the black character is walking on his own at night in an area which is 

unfamiliar to him.

 

There is however a challenge of stereotypes, in terms of black on white violence. Audiences will assume the dominant representation of black characters in the media attacking white people, however the scene challenges audience's expectations, by having a black character attacked by a white character in a suburban street. The attacker does however conform to the stereotype of while power as he drives an expensive car. This links into Levis Strausses Binary opposition idea that narrative tensions based on opposition or conflict, and this is shown through these two characters fighting and the fact that the victim is black and the attacker is white. 

Identify two-technical conventions used in a media product you have studied that create specific meaning for the audience.  Explain how each technical convention creates a specific meaning for the audience.

One technical convention which is used in the film Get Out is that the opening scene is filmed in one cut, therefore is shown to be a long continuous shot.  This creates specific meaning for the audience as it creates a realistic environment, from this it creates a sense of normality for the viewer.

Another technical convention which is the lighting.  This creates a specific meaning for the audience as it encases the genre of horror and thriller and links into an enigma as we wonder what's going to happen next.

•Levi-Strauss's binary opposition: Narrative tension is based on opposition or conflict. This can be as simple as two characters fighting, but more open functions at an ideological level

•"Cinema is a set of universal rules, a set of relations that could be described as the grammar of film"

•Levi-Strauss theorized that since all cultures are products of the human brain, there must be, beneath and surface, features that are common to all

•Structuralism attempted to deromanticize the filmmaker as an auteur and apply a more scientific approach to uncover the underlying structures of film

CAMERA LAUNGAGE  -one long scene, and one cut  -mostly close up -towards the end extreme long shot	SOUND -creepy music to contradict the sound  -diegetic sound  -cricket noises  -non-diegetic sound speeds up and increases when the attack -sound doesn’t match the action-contrapuntal
EDITING	MISE-EN-SCENE  -dark lighting