How far can it be argued that your chosen films provide a ‘realistic’ representation of the people and places they focus on? [35 marks]
The opening sequences are hugely important as, with most films, they are the introductory platform for the film and its ideologies. This is the case with City of God and La Haine, both of which have opening sequences that are reflective of the films realism.
La Haine opens with real archive footage of the riots in Paris, introducing the contemporary social issues the film is about. This archive footage, appropriately set to Bob Marley’s “Burnin’ and a-lootin’”, flows into a fictional news report that tells of a man who was badly beaten whilst in police custody, alluding to the infamous and widely publicised real-life case of Mkome M’Bowle. Thus, the film is rooted in the genre of social realism meaning that the audience already feel that the film will be realistic, and expect the film to satisfy the conventions of the genre.
When we first meet Said, the non-diegetic music that played over the opening sequence becomes diegetic, aurally connecting reality with fiction and further enhancing the realistic framework in which the film will fit into.
Furthermore, the film is given a documentary style feel through the use of real archive footage to set the scene, and the stylistic use of black and white. This allows the audience to make a connection with the film and the pre-existing conventions of a documentary, further adding to their expectations of a realistic film.
In contrast, City of God’s opening sequence uses fast paced editing and slick, stylised camera work as we follow a chicken being chased through the streets of the Favelas. Immediately, we can see that this is more cinematic than it is realistic; the sequence does not introduce any social context for the audience to latch onto, nor does it actually ‘open’ the film. We later discover that this sequence actually takes place at a later stage in the film’s narrative; instead of opening the film’s narrative, the sequence adds intrigue and acts as a plot device, once again something that serves a more cinematic purpose than it does realistic.
City of God has a somewhat non-linear narrative structure, as illustrated by the opening sequence actually taking place later on in the film. However, the most striking thing about the narrative is its large scope and time-span it encompasses. The film is set over 3 decades; raising an issue as to how realistic the film is, as it is impossible to include every incident or detail over a 30 year time span. Instead, the film uses mediation, and key moments are chosen and shown in order to portray a particular ideology, all from the one point of view; we never get a police or authority point of view, meaning that the point of view would be biased no matter how long the time-span was.
This detracts from the realism of the film as there is never likely to be a time where only one point of view or ideology exists. By only presenting one, City of God dictates what the audience will feel or align with, and makes the story seem biased as a result.
City of God has quite a prominent narrative resolution which sees the ‘bad guys’ defeated, and Rocket given his chance for a better life. This negates any sense of realism that City of God had as we now see the film as a typical narrative, or even a (crime) genre film, as opposed to something real, true and gritty. The use of 'based on a true story' at the end, as opposed to at the beginning, suggests that although it may be based on true events, not everything in the film is real, some things are dramatised or exaggerated for effect and ultimately to make a good film.
In comparison, La Haine’s narrative structure is a unique one. The film is set over around 19 consecutive hours, therefore showing almost everything the three do, no matter how mundane or boring. This is best shown by the scene where they sit outside and talk about television with a younger boy. Although this scene does not really add anything to the story or narrative, it gives the film a sense of realism as it shows how little is available to the inhabitants of the projects in terms of society, employment or education. The narrative structure of La Haine adds further realism with its lack of narrative resolution. At the end of the film Vinz is shot, and in most films this would be a catalyst for the rest of the film or a turning point, yet here the film abruptly ends, like the cameras of this documentary have stopped rolling and that is that. The lack of narrative resolution, gives the audience the feeling that this really is a ‘day in the life’ depiction, and if the cameras had been rolling a day before, or a day after, a very different yet equally realistic and gritty story would have played out in front of them.
La Haine only has a couple of unrealistic elements, one being, as with City of God, that we are limited to only one point of view; that of Vinz, Hubert and Said. We do not get to see what the police think, or do outside of interactions with the three. This was purposefully done by director Mathieu Kassovitz, whose objective was to ‘demonise’ the police in this topical film. So although done in keeping with the themes of the film, it does detract from realism by making the film one-sided.
The second unrealistic element in La Haine is that it is unlikely in real life that Said (and Algerian Muslim), Hubert (a black catholic) and Vinz (A white Jew) would be such close friends due to the difficulties that ethnic minorities faced in The Projects. Although once again this was done purposefully by Kassovitz in order to enhance the documentary style feel of the film, as we get three very different people to observe.
A consistent realistic element throughout both films is the portrayal of violence, as we see the level of violence realistically depicted. With City of God, violence is rife in Rio, and it is shrugged off as if it is nothing when it is committed; Lil Ze even kills his friend merely because he is annoying him, and children are using weapons and violence from a young age, thus illustrating the lenient attitudes toward violence. In contrast, La Haine portrays the level of violence accurately by having very little violence actually occur in the film, with Kassovitz' ideologies portrayed as most violence we see is committed by the police, and the fact that one gun causes such uproar between Said, Hubert and Vinz, suggesting it is uncommon in civilians.
Finally, the representation of poverty greatly separates the films and shows how one film is much more realistic than the other.
In City of God, poverty can be seen to be 'cosmetic'. The true horror of poverty, especially in Rio, does not come across through the mise-en-scene. Despite being set in an impoverished area, we see people with money to waste on drugs, wearing nice - sometimes designer - clothes, never going hungry etc... This 'sugar coats' the true reality of poverty and hugely detracts from the true meaning of the film, thus affecting its realism.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, La Haine portrays poverty in a subtle way using several signifiers. For example, Said has to steal a hotdog because he doesn't even have 50 Francs, and both Vinz' grandmother and Hubert's mother are sewing clothes when we see them which suggests they are either making clothes to sell for money or for their family to wear, or they are repairing clothes, as they cannot afford to buy them. This portrays an aesthetic, not cosmetic, representation of poverty that, due to how subtle it is, gives us conscious understanding of the character's situations and a sense of gritty and vulnerable realism.
To conclude, it is clear that both films have realistic representations in individual ways, however La Haine - with it being a social realist film - is much more realistic and true to the time period and events it is based upon. City of God may be based on a true story, but the overly cinematic feel and the use of dramatised elements detracts from the possibility of a genuinely realistic representation.
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How far has your wider film studies learning contributed to a better understanding and appreciation of your chosen film? [30 marks]
In 2012, Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo was voted number 1 in the BFI’s (British Film Institute) critic’s poll of the greatest films of all time. Whilst its success and brilliance is not disputed, it is only when studying the film in depth did I gain more of an appreciation and understanding for the film, particularly with the specific choices Hitchcock made.
In her study ‘Visual Pleasure and the Narrative Cinema’, Laura Mulvey presented the theory of ‘the male gaze’ which states that female characters occupy two functions within narrative; As an erotic object for the characters within the story, and as an erotic object for the spectator within the auditorium. Therefore, female characters are to be looked at and are passive, whilst the male characters occupy the role of the ‘gazer’ and are active. The male characters, or ‘gazer’, projects his fantasy onto the female form, something styled in accordance with his tastes, and as a result women connote ‘to-be-looked-at-ness’, they are to be looked at and displayed as a sexual object.
In Vertigo, ‘the male gaze’ is best illustrated by the scene at Ernie’s Bar, where we see Madeleine for the first time. The scene opens with a MCU shot of Scottie which slowly pans around to a voyeuristic shot of Madeleine from behind, immediately encouraging us to gaze at her. Madeleine is painted as alluring and captivating, both Scottie and the audience (literally through the use of the tracking shot) are drawn to her. As the camera tracks toward Madeleine the music swells and drowns out the restaurant chatter, emphasising her importance and reinforcing the romantic nature of the scene. The use of the colour red also suggests romance, along with love and lust, but also a sense of danger, as it fills the screen and surrounds Scottie and the spectator. Madeleine’s green dress, meanwhile, stands out and is a motif representing Scottie’s obsession with Madeleine, which at this point is just beginning.
Madeleine occupies the role of an erotic object for Scottie and the spectator; the POV shots of her represent Scottie’s inability to take his eyes off her, often without her knowledge, whilst another shot from Scottie’s POV allows him and the spectator to gaze at Madeleine’s face and thus her beauty close-up, still without her knowing she is being ‘gazed’ at. Madeleine is presented as the ideal woman and an erotic object to Scottie (and the spectator), she is ‘idealised’, illustrated when she leaves, as she is framed perfectly in the doorway, like a painting; she is a work of art in the eyes of Scottie. Finally, Madeleine walks past a mirror as she leaves meaning there are two of her present at the same time, thus meaning that both Scottie and the spectator get to voyeuristically gaze at her in more than one way, once again without her knowledge.
Scottie’s growing obsession for Madeleine, further illustrated the first time he follows her, is evidence of his Castration Anxiety. Developed by Sigmund Freud, in literal terms Castration Anxiety is the “conscious or unconscious fear of losing all or parts of the sexual organs, or the function of them”. However, the anxiety/complex can also be metaphorical; where a masculine feature is removed. This could result in the subject being degraded, insignificant or dominated. Usually, mean will go to great lengths to ‘cure’ this weakness, often by proving sexual dominance or virility. In the case of Scottie, from the beginning of the film we see Scottie occupy several typical ‘feminine’ roles. The opening scene sees him fall where two other men were quite capable, and he is left hanging helpless, like a damsel in distress. He is a policeman whose job is to protect others, but he himself is shown to need help. From this he develops two physical weaknesses; acrophobia and vertigo. This event metaphorically castrates Scottie, and thus makes him passive.
His ‘feminine’ role in the film is reinforced by the next scene; we find out he has to wear a corset, a typically feminine garment, for his injury, and he questions what hangs on Midge’s desk; a bra. To this, Midge replies “You know about these things. You’re a big boy now”. This paints Midge as more motherly and platonic than anything romantic in Scottie’s eyes, something reinforced by her predominantly wearing yellow and light, pastel colours; she does not stand out to Scottie (and thus the spectator) the way Madeleine eventually will, thus meaning she presents no opportunity for Scottie to ‘cure’ his weakness.
Essentially, Scottie is emasculated and must regain his masculinity. In the next scene, Gavin presents him with the perfect opportunity to do so; save Madeleine. Gavin demonstrates dominance over Scottie, and he is the complete opposite to Scottie in almost every way. Scottie is submissive, shown by him refusing a seat but taking one anyway after Gavin insists. They circle each other in the room, and eventually we see Gavin from low angle shots, and Scottie slightly high angle, once again emphasising Scottie’s weak nature in comparison to Gavin. By taking a seat and eventually succumbing to Gavin's request, he fails in his attempts to assert any masculinity. He has allowed himself to become ‘passive’ and manipulated (and thus feminised) by a stronger male character in Gavin. Scottie sees Madeleine as someone whom he can save, and in doing so he would regain his masculinity and ‘cure’ his weakness (his castration anxiety).
The use of the doppelganger/double, also a common theme of Hitchcock’s work, is an element of psychoanalysis used in Vertigo as a way to represent conflict and also the ‘repressed’ aspects of a person. The ‘double’ does not have to be literal, although a literal example in Madeleine/Judy is present in Vertigo, it can be done through repetition, such as repetition of events, locations or particular themes/motifs.
For Scottie, Judy represents the ‘apparition or double of a living person’, that person being Madeleine. Having seen his physical weakness (Vertigo) prevent him from saving Madeleine and thus prevent him from curing his castration anxiety, Scottie sees Judy as the perfect opportunity to revisit the ‘repressed’ inside him and finally ‘cure’ himself.
For this, however, everything must be the same as it was with Madeleine. Scottie changes how Judy looks so that she is the exact double of Madeleine, and then the film revisits several of the locations and events that Madeleine and Scottie had experienced. This ultimately ends in Judy’s death at the bell tower, much like “Madeleine’s” ‘death’, and Scottie is finally cured.
The use of repetition is also vital here, specifically with the ‘spiral’ motif, which is something that reoccurs often throughout the film. The spiral signifies a never-ending, perhaps downward, turn of events. For Scottie, we know he is experiencing one, and we see spirals often until he is cured. Madeleine’s hairstyle, the fact that Scottie appears to drive in spiral, the ‘vertigo’ shot that represents his weakness; they are all spirals. The lack of ‘vertigo’ shot at the end of the film ultimately tells us that Scottie is cured, and he is no longer experiencing the ‘spiral’ in his life.
Repetition and the doppelganger/double is also a common theme of Hitchcock’s work, along with obsession, punishment of women, suspense, and the audience as a voyeur to name a few. All of these are present in Vertigo, giving reason for Hitchcock to be considered as an Auteur.
It has been speculated that Vertigo is somewhat autobiographical, as it ties together most of Hitchcock’s themes and personal touches. Most notably, Hitchcock was known for his use of female leads, and Kim Novak occupies this spot with her role as Madeleine/Judy. There are parallels to be considered between the way Judy is treated by Scottie, and the way Hitchcock treated Novak. He allegedly made all decisions for her, even when cameras were not rolling, such as choosing who could speak to her, and making her wear costumes he knew she would not be comfortable in. Novak has commented that she felt the iconic grey suit would be ‘very confining’ and ‘hard to act in’, but Hitchcock was insistent she wore it, much like Scottie is insistent on Judy.
The similarities between Hitchcock and Scottie are illustrated perfectly in the final scene, with Scottie’s “He made you” speech to Judy. We have watched Scottie mould Judy into Madeleine, when in reality Hitchcock was moulding Novak into his ‘ideal’, using the form of fantasy (film) over reality.
It is obvious that Vertigo was a film Hitchcock cared about deeply and connected with on a deep personal level, as everything had to be perfect, even down to the shoes Novak wore. As well as this, another theme that seeped into the film, the punishment of women, is something Hitchcock was guilty of. He was known to be strict, seeing actors as those would should be ‘treated as cattle’. Tippi Hedren, star of The Birds, was allegedly subjected to gruelling hours with live birds whilst filming that film, showing that Hitchcock’s harsh and obsessive treatment of Novak on the set of Vertigo was not a unique occurrence.
Therefore, from Vertigo we can learn a lot about Hitchcock as a person and a visionary. Without doubt he was a creative genius, but it appears that a lot of this genius stemmed from personal experience, and this was not always positive on screen or off it.
To conclude, I would say that my wider film studies learning has vastly increased my understanding and appreciation of Vertigo, particularly my understanding, as I am aware of the deeper meanings of the film, of which there are several. The connotations that tiny details have are able to give insight into psychoanalysis and Hitchcock himself to make the film a piece that can be responded to in several different ways.
In her study ‘Visual Pleasure and the Narrative Cinema’, Laura Mulvey presented the theory of ‘the male gaze’ which states that female characters occupy two functions within narrative; As an erotic object for the characters within the story, and as an erotic object for the spectator within the auditorium. Therefore, female characters are to be looked at and are passive, whilst the male characters occupy the role of the ‘gazer’ and are active. The male characters, or ‘gazer’, projects his fantasy onto the female form, something styled in accordance with his tastes, and as a result women connote ‘to-be-looked-at-ness’, they are to be looked at and displayed as a sexual object.
In Vertigo, ‘the male gaze’ is best illustrated by the scene at Ernie’s Bar, where we see Madeleine for the first time. The scene opens with a MCU shot of Scottie which slowly pans around to a voyeuristic shot of Madeleine from behind, immediately encouraging us to gaze at her. Madeleine is painted as alluring and captivating, both Scottie and the audience (literally through the use of the tracking shot) are drawn to her. As the camera tracks toward Madeleine the music swells and drowns out the restaurant chatter, emphasising her importance and reinforcing the romantic nature of the scene. The use of the colour red also suggests romance, along with love and lust, but also a sense of danger, as it fills the screen and surrounds Scottie and the spectator. Madeleine’s green dress, meanwhile, stands out and is a motif representing Scottie’s obsession with Madeleine, which at this point is just beginning.
Madeleine occupies the role of an erotic object for Scottie and the spectator; the POV shots of her represent Scottie’s inability to take his eyes off her, often without her knowledge, whilst another shot from Scottie’s POV allows him and the spectator to gaze at Madeleine’s face and thus her beauty close-up, still without her knowing she is being ‘gazed’ at. Madeleine is presented as the ideal woman and an erotic object to Scottie (and the spectator), she is ‘idealised’, illustrated when she leaves, as she is framed perfectly in the doorway, like a painting; she is a work of art in the eyes of Scottie. Finally, Madeleine walks past a mirror as she leaves meaning there are two of her present at the same time, thus meaning that both Scottie and the spectator get to voyeuristically gaze at her in more than one way, once again without her knowledge.
Scottie’s growing obsession for Madeleine, further illustrated the first time he follows her, is evidence of his Castration Anxiety. Developed by Sigmund Freud, in literal terms Castration Anxiety is the “conscious or unconscious fear of losing all or parts of the sexual organs, or the function of them”. However, the anxiety/complex can also be metaphorical; where a masculine feature is removed. This could result in the subject being degraded, insignificant or dominated. Usually, mean will go to great lengths to ‘cure’ this weakness, often by proving sexual dominance or virility. In the case of Scottie, from the beginning of the film we see Scottie occupy several typical ‘feminine’ roles. The opening scene sees him fall where two other men were quite capable, and he is left hanging helpless, like a damsel in distress. He is a policeman whose job is to protect others, but he himself is shown to need help. From this he develops two physical weaknesses; acrophobia and vertigo. This event metaphorically castrates Scottie, and thus makes him passive.
His ‘feminine’ role in the film is reinforced by the next scene; we find out he has to wear a corset, a typically feminine garment, for his injury, and he questions what hangs on Midge’s desk; a bra. To this, Midge replies “You know about these things. You’re a big boy now”. This paints Midge as more motherly and platonic than anything romantic in Scottie’s eyes, something reinforced by her predominantly wearing yellow and light, pastel colours; she does not stand out to Scottie (and thus the spectator) the way Madeleine eventually will, thus meaning she presents no opportunity for Scottie to ‘cure’ his weakness.
Essentially, Scottie is emasculated and must regain his masculinity. In the next scene, Gavin presents him with the perfect opportunity to do so; save Madeleine. Gavin demonstrates dominance over Scottie, and he is the complete opposite to Scottie in almost every way. Scottie is submissive, shown by him refusing a seat but taking one anyway after Gavin insists. They circle each other in the room, and eventually we see Gavin from low angle shots, and Scottie slightly high angle, once again emphasising Scottie’s weak nature in comparison to Gavin. By taking a seat and eventually succumbing to Gavin's request, he fails in his attempts to assert any masculinity. He has allowed himself to become ‘passive’ and manipulated (and thus feminised) by a stronger male character in Gavin. Scottie sees Madeleine as someone whom he can save, and in doing so he would regain his masculinity and ‘cure’ his weakness (his castration anxiety).
The use of the doppelganger/double, also a common theme of Hitchcock’s work, is an element of psychoanalysis used in Vertigo as a way to represent conflict and also the ‘repressed’ aspects of a person. The ‘double’ does not have to be literal, although a literal example in Madeleine/Judy is present in Vertigo, it can be done through repetition, such as repetition of events, locations or particular themes/motifs.
For Scottie, Judy represents the ‘apparition or double of a living person’, that person being Madeleine. Having seen his physical weakness (Vertigo) prevent him from saving Madeleine and thus prevent him from curing his castration anxiety, Scottie sees Judy as the perfect opportunity to revisit the ‘repressed’ inside him and finally ‘cure’ himself.
For this, however, everything must be the same as it was with Madeleine. Scottie changes how Judy looks so that she is the exact double of Madeleine, and then the film revisits several of the locations and events that Madeleine and Scottie had experienced. This ultimately ends in Judy’s death at the bell tower, much like “Madeleine’s” ‘death’, and Scottie is finally cured.
The use of repetition is also vital here, specifically with the ‘spiral’ motif, which is something that reoccurs often throughout the film. The spiral signifies a never-ending, perhaps downward, turn of events. For Scottie, we know he is experiencing one, and we see spirals often until he is cured. Madeleine’s hairstyle, the fact that Scottie appears to drive in spiral, the ‘vertigo’ shot that represents his weakness; they are all spirals. The lack of ‘vertigo’ shot at the end of the film ultimately tells us that Scottie is cured, and he is no longer experiencing the ‘spiral’ in his life.
Repetition and the doppelganger/double is also a common theme of Hitchcock’s work, along with obsession, punishment of women, suspense, and the audience as a voyeur to name a few. All of these are present in Vertigo, giving reason for Hitchcock to be considered as an Auteur.
It has been speculated that Vertigo is somewhat autobiographical, as it ties together most of Hitchcock’s themes and personal touches. Most notably, Hitchcock was known for his use of female leads, and Kim Novak occupies this spot with her role as Madeleine/Judy. There are parallels to be considered between the way Judy is treated by Scottie, and the way Hitchcock treated Novak. He allegedly made all decisions for her, even when cameras were not rolling, such as choosing who could speak to her, and making her wear costumes he knew she would not be comfortable in. Novak has commented that she felt the iconic grey suit would be ‘very confining’ and ‘hard to act in’, but Hitchcock was insistent she wore it, much like Scottie is insistent on Judy.
The similarities between Hitchcock and Scottie are illustrated perfectly in the final scene, with Scottie’s “He made you” speech to Judy. We have watched Scottie mould Judy into Madeleine, when in reality Hitchcock was moulding Novak into his ‘ideal’, using the form of fantasy (film) over reality.
It is obvious that Vertigo was a film Hitchcock cared about deeply and connected with on a deep personal level, as everything had to be perfect, even down to the shoes Novak wore. As well as this, another theme that seeped into the film, the punishment of women, is something Hitchcock was guilty of. He was known to be strict, seeing actors as those would should be ‘treated as cattle’. Tippi Hedren, star of The Birds, was allegedly subjected to gruelling hours with live birds whilst filming that film, showing that Hitchcock’s harsh and obsessive treatment of Novak on the set of Vertigo was not a unique occurrence.
Therefore, from Vertigo we can learn a lot about Hitchcock as a person and a visionary. Without doubt he was a creative genius, but it appears that a lot of this genius stemmed from personal experience, and this was not always positive on screen or off it.
To conclude, I would say that my wider film studies learning has vastly increased my understanding and appreciation of Vertigo, particularly my understanding, as I am aware of the deeper meanings of the film, of which there are several. The connotations that tiny details have are able to give insight into psychoanalysis and Hitchcock himself to make the film a piece that can be responded to in several different ways.
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