Component 1 - Key Developments in US Film
Exam Date: TBD
What can I expect?
Just as the title of the paper suggests, the examiner's will want to know that you have a rounded understanding of how film has changed over the years.
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The paper is 1 hour 30 minutes. You should spend 50 minutes on section A 10 minutes on section B and 30 minutes on section C.
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You should ensure that you have watched the films prior to the exam and that the content is fresh in your memory.
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You will need to make sure that you are confident with being able to write about your key sequences and using media language in your answer.
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Section A will require you to have a good understanding of the context surrounding your films as well as how they compare to one another.
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Section B will be short and test your knowledge of the industry.
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Section C will require you to reflect on the critical writing about your film.
Section A - key scenes
Rebel Without a Cause, Ray (1955)
Genre
• Tag lines for the film showed a confusion about how the film should be marketed, Teen Drama or ‘B’ movie:
• “Teenage terror torn from today’s headlines” “The bad boy from a good family”
• It showed that films centred on teenagers could well be from the teenagers point of view, and appeal to teens.
• The film is from the male POV, girls are quite passive figures. Female led teen movies became more dominant in the 1990’s.
Narrative
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‘The Outsider’ is a typical narrative convention of teen genre, this trope allows the audience to experience the new school location & characters with the protagonist.
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It takes place over a 2 day period.
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Teen POV - a mistrust of authority figures, parents are overtly criticized for being too weak, or too dominant, they can’t win at all. But this message clearly appeals to the target audience.
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Sound:
The opening score over the credits indicated that genre of ‘drama’.
• Jim also tries out a tormented youth “You’re tearing me apart” persona and that of a tough guy when he attempts to punch the Juvenile Officer, resulting in a layered and much celebrated performance from Dean of a teenager searching for his identity.
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Editing
The long take during the credits of Dean lying in the road playing with the toy monkey, this allows the audience to gaze at him, identifying him as an object of desire.
* (The long take of Judy as she cries and tells her story uncomfortably forces the audience to hear her painful story.)
OPENING SCENE
MEDIA LANGUAGE
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Cinematography:
The first pan around the station lingers on Plato in the foreground.
• A combination of a slow zoom* into Judy as she cries and tells her story.
• The three ‘misfits’ are immediately bonded in this scene, often in the background of the shots.
• A very Low Angle shot is used when Jim stands to greet his parents, connoting his power over them
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Mise en Scene
The police station is claustrophobic and oppressive, most of the windows are covered in venetian blinds connoting a sense of entrapment.
• At first, Dean’s performance is that of an adorable drunk, he giggles and wails and plays with his toy. • The monkey, firstly connotes Jim is still a child, but the monkey is a wind-up toy trapped in a cycle only able to clap the symbols, this is a metaphor for Jim, also trapped in his cycle of disruption.
• Jim is identified as a father figure to Plato as he offers him his jacket.
• Judy is first seen in her striking red dress, a symbol of her womanhood.
CONFLICT SCENE
MEDIA LANGUAGE
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Cinematography:
A 180 degree vertical rotation POV shot of Jim’s mother descending the stairs towards him denotes that Jim’s world is ‘upside down’ following the death of Buzz.
• The camera tilts creating a ‘dutch’ angle as they argue on the stairs, this visualises Jim’s inner turmoil and confusion.
• Jim is usually placed in between his parents in a ‘3 shot’ as they both talk ‘at’ him, forcing the actor to turn this way and that, this adds a frantic motion to the scene that connotes Jim’s inner turmoil.
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Mise en Scene
Jim is from a ‘good’ family, we can see the home is suburban and reasonably wealthy from the use of props such as the TV.
• Costume: Jim’s red jacket is a visual link to Judy’s red outfit at the start, it symbolises danger. Jim’s parents blend into the background, their nightgowns the same hue as the walls.
• The TV simply shows static, this connotes Jim’s frustration, and he is not getting a ‘clear signal’ from his parents about how to behave.
• The staircase is a clear barrier, like prison bars.
• Jim’s father is ‘weak, a chicken’. This is Jim’s worst fear, turning into his cowardly father.
• Jim’s final act of rebellion in this scene is to kick a hole in a family portrait.
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Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Hughes (1986)
Genre:
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John Hughes is considered ‘an auteur’ of the teen genre.
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Teen films have a critical view of authority and High School, the character of ‘Rooney’ embodies this but the Ferris’ parents are seen in a sympathetic light. High School is simply shown to be boring ‘Bueller, Bueller.....’ but not dangerous.
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The appeal of teen films is that it allows the audience, whatever age they may be, to re-live their High School Years, and in this film, it allows us to re-live high school as the most popular kid in school.
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Narrative:
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Ferris offers us an alternative to the usual ‘outsider’ protagonist that usually guides us through High School, instead we have the POV of the most popular boy in school, and the direct mode of address used places us at his side, equally popular.
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A classic Hollywood Narrative structure is used, the happy ending offers the audience pleasure and reward.
Editing Opening:
Introduction of Jeannie is staggered, with a CU of the foot tapping, then CU of hands on hips before the reveal of the face, it is the edits here (It is not a slow pan/male gaze shot) that show she is introduced as the aggressor or antagonist, she is not sexualised like Sloane.
There are a few scenes in the film that adopt a MTV/Music Video style montage, this montage actually starts with the MTV ad.
Sound Opening:
Music is used to appeal to the teen audience, to anchor the feeling of excitement and demonstrate how cool Ferris is in this scene.
Cinematography (including Lighting) Opening:
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The first time we see the parents is in
POV shot, positioning the audience as the ‘child’ in the scene. A POV rack focus is also used when Ferris looks at Jeanie.
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When Ferris opens the curtains there is a shot from the outside looking in, solidifying Ferris’ position as a privileged prince in his tower.
Mise-en-Scène Opening:
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Establishing shot is of a classically suburban, upper middle class home, a ‘white house’. This is iconographic of the American dream, complete with 3 new cars parked out front.
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Ferris’ room is filled with the trappings of an 80’s teen in consumerist America, a TV stereo, synthesizers and a computer. These were high value goods at the time (yet he repeatedly complains he was not given a car).
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Performance and breaking the 4th wall, it becomes clear that this is not a realistic approach. The audience are invited into his world, he talks to us like we are his friends, meaning that we are implicated in his wrong doing, we are passive observers yet just as guilty as him. Or are we his conscience?
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The text on screen ‘Faking out parents’, pushed the sense of postmodernism even further, Ferris is aware that he is in a film. The text is like a public service video, giving us instruction, Ferris is described as a ‘great guy’ by almost everyone in the film, this is his way of getting us to like him, we want to be his friend.
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Cinematography (including Lighting) The Parade:
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The cinematography in this scene shows off Chicago’s landmarks and the impressive architecture with a series of longshots down the parade route.
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The camera is placed in the crowd looking up at Ferris in wonder, we are part of the masses, and he is in an elevated position on the float and in society as a wealthy white male.
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Mise-en-Scène Parade:
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The American flag appears in almost all of the shots, at times it frames Ferris on the float but looks into the corners of the frame, in the reflection of windows.
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This scene is a celebration of America’s greatness and diversity, an advert for the American dream, happy smiling faces of different ages, status and race all dancing together.
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Ferris is positioned at the centre of the crowd, the heart of this joyous mass hysteria, representing that the white middle class male is ‘king’ in this culture, the crowd worship him, he can ‘do anything’. At the end of the scene Ferris brandished a silver cane - he is the ringmaster, a rock star, a hero.
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Sound Parade:
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The choice of a Beatles song implies ‘Beatlemania’ a form of hero worship.
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The sound of the crowd and the music bleeds into Mr Bueller’s office, connoting that this celebration of America, of youth, cannot be stopped and is embraced by all generations.
Comparative Study
You will also need to answer a comparative question for Rebel and Ferris. Both are 'teen' or 'coming of age' films. Rebel from the 1950s and Ferris from 1980s so there are three decades separating them. Yet the genre remains consistent, with both films containing the main conventions:
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At the heart of the film there is a conflict between ages - old vs young.
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The teenagers characters are have to deal with internal conflict relating specifically to their age - love, growing up, fitting in, friendships.
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The films promote the idea of a teen consumer - through fashion, technology and music.
Context separates these films and it worth knowing how the social, historical, political, technological context has affected these films.
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Rebel Without a Cause:
The 1950’s are considered the birth of the teenager, this social group had a new identity:
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Young people had more money (a disposable income); products such as music, film and fashion were targeted at this group. They were powerful consumers and therefore a powerful ‘voice’ in consumerist America.
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Better education, which led them to question the world.
It was a time of peace, so young men were not at war, a confusing era for young men who could not identify with their war time fathers or have a war to fight and prove themselves.
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This new social group was considered by some as threatening, unruly and out of control, the film rejected and responded to this concern.
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This film was a sympathetic representation of teenagers, blaming the parents for their delinquency.
James Dean and star power:
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Dean was a new kind of actor, (method) and became an icon, and the face of a generation.
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He appeared poetic, tormented and brooding, not the usual ‘hero’ type.
More people speaking out against inequality civil rights in this time, the film demonstrated the desire for young people to do the right thing, Jim wants to confess and desires justice, it is the older generation that get in the way of this, and they do not listen.
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​Ferris Bueller's Day Off:
The US was the most powerful nation in the world, and was winning the Cold War. This feeling of invincibility can be seen in scenes like ‘The Parade’ where the whole country appears to be unified.
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In the 50’s the teenager was ‘born’ and there was an element of fear surrounding that generation, in the 80’s Teenagers do not need to battle parents, they have already won, teenagers were celebrated. However an obsession with labels and designer goods meant that status was tied into external symbols of wealth (which Ferris has in abundance).
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Generation X, were called ‘latchkey kids’ due to changes in society these teens had less adult supervision than previous generations.
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MTV was launched in 1981 and becamethe voice of the teen generation.
Historical:
• 80’s economic boom meant that teens found it easier to afford cars and such, led to selfish teens. Ferris is annoyed because he got a computer and not a car.
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Section B - Key Developments in Film and Technology
A 5 mark section which could include questions such as:
In which decade did widescreen technology emerge?
Name two ways cameras evolved during the late 1950s.
Give two examples of film studios from the 1920s.
In which decade was the first full colour feature film produced?
Name two of the five major studios operating in Hollywood in the 1940s.
Briefly describe how one example of film technology is used in one of the US films you have studied. Name the film you have chosen.
Section C - Independent Film
Juno, Reitman (2007) & Specialist writing Option C: Juno 'Get Real' by Jim DeRogatis
Most critics loved Juno but Jim DeRogatis 'hated, hated, hated this movie'.
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What are your thoughts on the film?
What are Jim's reasons for hating this film?
Can we see evidence of Jim's thoughts through our key scenes?
IF YOU NEED HELP - TAKE A LOOK AT THIS
And this...
COMPONENT 2
Exam Date: Friday 14th June (pm)
What can I expect?
This paper is also 1 hour 30 minutes. Although slightly easier than paper 1, as you need to spend 30 minutes on each section.
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For this part of the exam you will need to know the key elements of film form (cinematography, mise en scene, editing and sound as well as the context of the film (historical, social, technical, cultural, political, institutional).
In addition you will need to study a specialist area for each film.
Slumdog - narrative structure (How is slumdog's narrative structured? What makes it different from other films?)
Spirited Away - representation (How are young represented? How are women represented? How is Japan represented?)
Skyfall - aesthetics (What are the stylistic features that make this a recognisable Bond film?)
SECTION A: NARRATIVE
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
The title itself: ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ establishes the striking binary opposition between the wealthy and the poor present in Mumbai in 2006.
In the opening scene, the cross cuts between flashbacks, the torture footage and the cut to graphics and sound emulating a similar style to the game show ‘Who wants to be a millionaire?’ establishes the assumption that Jamal has cheated but also reinforces the stark contrasts of class that exist in India demonstrated in the film.
The extreme over the shoulder, canted angle close up frames Jamal’s eyes as his torturer blows smoke into his face. Alongside the strong yellow colour to the scene and an eerie atmospheric silence which automatically informs the audience that our protagonist Jamal is in danger. Text fades onto the screen with simultaneous non-diegetic sound effects; known to the audience from ‘Who wants to be a millionaire?’ summarising Jamal’s current position in the narrative and the assumption that he has cheated. This scene strongly contrasts to the footage that we see next and the action of Jamal being hit across the face is used to cut to flashbacks of Jamal appearing on the show. At this point, whilst Jamal still appears uneasy, the lighting is low level with a strong blue hue to immediately contrast with the yellow seen previously.
The scene allows the viewer to immediately connect with Jamal, spikes our desire to see his journey and learn about how this character could have achieved this win. Whilst this narrative might be considered as a conventional Hollywood story remaining true to Todorov’s theory of structure resulting in a the classic happy equilibrium, Boyle’s intentions to show a more positive representation of the slums in India rather than the more traditional poverty stricken representations offered is also achieved.
SECTION B: REPRESENTATION
SPIRITED AWAY
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Spirited Away, released in 2001 and set in Japan, shows us the journey of a young girl as she faces her fears of the new and shows us the strength of her values to transport herself home. In Spirited Away young people are represented in a modern way as Chihiro is the lead protagonist which challenges the normal conventions. The first shot is a point of view shot and immediately informs the audience that the narrative will be from her perspective and, therefore, that the audience should identify with her character.
There is sequence in the film which shows Chihiro working in the bathhouse. She is instructed, by Yubaba, to attend to a customer believed to be a stink spirit due to his appearance and aroma. Chihiro, as the younger character, does as she is told but it is clear that Yubaba and the other workers do not have very high expectations of her abilities. There is a point of view shot as she reaches in to the spirit and locates, what she believes to be, a thorn in the spirit’s side. It cuts to an extreme long shot as Chihiro begins to pull the thorn revealing Yubaba above; a visual demonstration of her authority in the scene. As Chihiro pulls the thorn, it becomes clear that in fact it is a bicycle handle. Lin joins Chihiro and Yubaba then instructs others to support them as more rubbish pours out from the spirit finally revealing that the spirit is in fact a wealthy river spirit and not a stink spirit at all. This is a turning point in the film as Chihiro is now represented as a leader and held in high regard by the other older characters.
In another scene we see a more traditional view of young people as Haku’s loyalty and values are questioned. Haku is accused of stealing a valuable item from Zeniba. There is a two shot of Chihiro and Haku (in dragon form) which indicates the strong connection that has grown between them. Haku is bleeding and the stark red colour of the blood contrasts with his white body. The white could connote the idea of innocence and purity which is now tainted by his actions signified by the red blood. Haku is unable to talk and is shown from high angle which makes the audience look down on him and question his true nature which, up to this point, has been more heroic. Despite this, Haku does return to save Chihiro once more by bargaining for her freedom. Overall, Miyazaki presents the young characters as the main protagonists in the film.
SECTION C: AESTHETICS
SKYFALL
Bond films have almost become their own genre but Skyfall, with its sophisticated cinematography, gives a new accent to the action thriller by exploring the psychology of the relationship between controller and controlled, between M and James Bond.
Important sites; https://cinema-fanatic.com/2010/07/27/auteur-of-the-week-sam-mendes/
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Explore how the cinematography and lighting help to create the film's 'look'.
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Skyfall is part of the James Bond film franchise and thus has a very specific 'look', The film is an action film but the conventions of a Bond film are now so firmly established that it could be argued that the films are their own genre.
In the opening scene we see an extreme long shot of Bond in low level lighting. He appears as a silhouette. Despite this, he is still recognisable as Bond as this links to the iconic shot of Bond as he appears in the opening credits of previous Bond films.
The audience understand that he is coming back out of the shadows and stepping into the light as his new challenge awaits him. The rest of the film has a theme of new vs old and perhaps this suggests that Bond bridges this gap.
In a later scene in which Bond meets the antagonist; Silva, there are low angle shots of Silva to connote his power and sense of control over Bond Although Silva is shown as a higher figure, symmetrical shots are used to connote Bond’s continuing sense of control , even when in a seemingly weak position. The audience have come to learn that that Bond will always find his way out of a seemingly impossible situation and this again supports that 'look' and feel of a classic bOND film. Low key lighting is used during the scene and is effective, particularly as Silva is walking towards Bond as the shadows created around Silver connote his destruction and power to create and leave chaos behind him wherever he goes. Shot reverse shot is used throughout their conversation to show the viewer the rising tension and persistent rivalry between them. When Silva begins to walk towards Bond, a slow zoom is used over Bond’s shoulder to connote his importance to Bond and the switch in focus from hero to villain.
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