Fight Club 270418

17.  Explore some of the ways in which placing your chosen film within a broader critical framework has helped to develop your appreciation and understanding of specific sequences. [30]

Crisis of Masculinity



The lighting in the scene is really low key, perhaps symbolising the darkness in the Narrators mind, and the idea that he in unacquainted (or 'in the dark') about his masculinity.
In the mise-en-scene, both AngelFace and the Narrator are shirtless, giving the fight a sense of homo-erotica. This is further backed up by the narrative and the reasoning behind the fight; the Narrator is intimidated by AngelFace's beauty as it is a challenge to his masculinity, and so he wants to 'destroy something beautiful' to feel like a man again.
The diegetic sound of the punching is very primal, loud and animalistic.
The fact he is called AngelFace, rather than his real name, makes him seem like he has no identity. This is another factor which shows the crisis in masculinity.



On the bus, they see a Gucci advert/poster. This represents crisis of masculinity because it is creating the idea that men have to be well-groomed, six-pack, sharp jawline. It is a metrosexual point of view. It also makes men who don't have that figure feel like they aren't real men. Tyler says that "Self improvement is masturbation... Self destruction.." which backs up the idea that they have a crisis in masculinity. They feel the need to get really hurt to prove that they are men.
Again, the lighting is pretty low key, more so on Tyler, as he is 'the Id' (in regards of the Freudian theory) and he has darker intentions and a darker mindset about life.



Marla is an anagram of alarm. Throughout this scene, sirens can be heard in background.
Marla is kind of masculine, and is intimidating to Narrator as he is having a crisis of masculinity.
She wears all black, making her seen dark and mysterious, as well as helping her look like a physical embodiment of Narrators fears.

revision notes

14)

• agree with statement: different kind of spectatorship
• not everyone will emotionally connect or even understand what’s going on in the film

ALICE- not for children; we found it uncomfortable

-camera: jittery movements of rabbit due to stop motion when eating sawdust. -close up of rabbit’s face felt very uncomfortable due to ugly teeth/not well groomed. 

-sound: diegetic sounds were way too loud for their purpose; scary/off-putting

-also got boring during this scene; all beige colours in mise-en-scene, not attractive to the eye.

SCREEN-TESTS ANDY WARHOL - it’s boring to watch: no narrative, script, sound, nothing happening. watching someones transitioning facial expressions

people would be filmed for 3 minutes, but it would be slowed down so they end product is much longer.

-just one mid shot for a long time- no editing

KOYAAANISQATSI - not a clear narrative (even though there is one)

lots of hight angle, establishing shots

Crisis in Masculinity

Men feel like they have to protect their masculinity: they feel like they can't share emotions, they feel like they can't wear makeup, skirts, things that are seen as feminine. Men feel like they have to be the provider in the family, the source of income.

"Role of a man in a family included the following functions:
• A protector;
• A leader;
• A teacher,
But even this can be handled by women today. So, who is a man today? A hunter and protector or the nurturer, who takes a maternity leave and lives with a bread-winning wife?" 

https://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/mans-role-society-family-crucial-change-21st-century-spnsr/ 


Metro-Sexual: 'Feminine' Straight Men. "meticulous about his grooming and appearance"

 

https://www.elitedaily.com/life/culture/what-means-to-be-a-man/958158

"Suicide is now the single biggest cause of death in men aged 20–49 in England and Wales"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/11238596/A-crisis-of-masculinity-men-are-struggling-to-cope-with-life.html

Auteur Presentation Script

Projector: Title Screen Reading- "An exploration into Tim Burton's recurring use of alienated, outcast characters, and how it applies to Auteur Theory."

Speaker:  Auteur Theory is wilted down to "three areas of competence – technique, personal style and inner meaning – and links these to directors as technician, stylist and auteur." (Item 7). In simpler terms: "Great artists, everyone agrees, listen to their own idiosyncratic muses. They don’t trim their art to please either elitist snobs or the ignorant masses."(Item 10). 

"No one in Hollywood personifies his own movies as Tim Burton does." (Item 11). This quote is the basic outline of what I am trying to prove. 

Tim Burton can definitely be argued to be seen as an auteur in many ways, but the one I'll be focusing on is the types of characters he always puts in his films; lonely, quirky, outcast members of society. This is seen in many films, Edward Scissorhands being a main example of it.

Projector: Edward Scissorhands "Avon Calling" Scene (6:30-12:56) (Item 1)

Speaker: The scene opens in a suburban area, and uses natural lighting and colours that are all bright, portraying that the area is welcoming and nice to live in. This is important, as it then highlights how lonely Edward is, and how much of an outcast he appears to be. Peg tilts her wing-mirror on her yellow car (another addition to the happy and welcoming vibe set earlier in the scene) and sees Edward's House; black, gothic, dilapidated, far away from everyone else, an exterior portrayal of what Edward looks like to the rest of society. We know that this was Burton's aim from the quote; "[Burton] has produced a body of work that focuses on the outcasts of society" (Item 13). 

When Peg gets to Edward's house's courtyard, we see a juxtaposition through the background in the tracking shot (that follows Peg); the audience expects the area outside his house to look ruined whereas, in reality, it's actually beautifully well-groomed with hedge sculptures all around. The leaves are all a healthy green colour, showing that they are well looked after and are an initial sign of life. This is to make the audience aware that outside appearances aren't always a correct portrayal of the person inside. "There is an old saying that 'don’t judge a book by its cover' and Edward’s story is the perfect example of that." (Item 16).  

Moving forward in the scene, we finally meet Edward; alone, in the dark, alienated and shut away from the rest of the world. The low key lighting in the scene portrays the fear of both Peg and Edward. The darkness also highlights Edward's loneliness, thus supporting my original point from the start: Tim Burton always uses lonely, outcasted types of characters in his work. 

Focusing on the characterisation of Edward, I discovered that Burton possibly uses similar character types as he creates characters with an autobiographical portrayal as a goal. This is backed up by the quote: "A wild-haired eccentric arrives in town and demonstrates an extraordinary creativity – now where did movie wunderkind Tim Burton (wild-haired, deeply eccentric) get the idea for Edward Scissorhands?" (Item 12). There are many other quotes that support this idea, including another quote that discusses why Burton focuses on the alienated characteristics that he always uses. It states that "Burton's characters are often outsiders, misunderstood and perceived, misfits [...] And in many ways, he embodies the contradiction himself. [...] He may use Hollywood's money [to make his films]... but still makes them his way" (Item 8)

Projector: Edward Scissorhands "House Tour" Scene (16:00-17:08) (Item 1)

Speaker: In this scene, Edward is rigid, skittish and looking uncomfortable in the homely and warm-lit setting. In an interview with Johnny Depp, he stated that Edward was "almost like a dog" (Item 4) in the way that he moves and interacts with others. There is a two-shot in the scene of Edward and Peg, in which they are pretty close together; this shot shows that Edward is most comfortable around Peg as she accepted him, and welcomed him into her home. This is relevant to my research as Edward is used to being alienated and alone, so when he is accepted he finds it odd and he doesn't know how to act, thus showing the rigidness and timidness in his character. This again links to the idea that Tim Burton uses these alienated types of characters because they are true to him, almost autobiographical. This is backed up by the quote: "Burton's main characters are always linked to his own personality in some way" (Item 14). This means that Tim Burton has an emotional connection to every film he makes, as he has put part of himself into each of his films.

Projector: Edward Scissorhands "Confrontation" Scene (1:20:00- 1:22:30) (Item 1)

Speaker: In this scene, we are back at Edward's house, a setting that is a constant physical representation of Edward's emotions; this foreshadows what is going to happen in the scene. The darkness of it highlights his loneliness. The scene shows Edward protecting Kim, and consequently killing Kim's boyfriend Jim. This links to my original point, as it shows that even when Edward gets comfortable with being accepted, he ends up doing something bad and reverting back to being outcasted and lonely again. It suggests that Burton's characters never have a full sense of acceptance. This may also have an autobiographical sense, because all in all, audiences say it's "No surprise really, […] that the man behind the camera is Tim Burton" (Item 15).

Projector: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory "First Look of the Factory" Scene (28:70-39:00) (Item 2)

Speaker: "The factory itself, is like Wonka's brain; complicated, strange, fun, disturbing..." (Item 6).  The quote perfectly represets and describes the type of character that I have discussed throughout my research project so far. We see this, particularly in this scene. Wonka's interactions can be seen as fairly odd; he is uncomfortable with human contact, he gets scared of the children and doesn't know what he can and can't say to people. He is a weird, outcasted person; we see his personality through his fashion sense, he wears purple gloves to show his discomfort in physical contact. Looking at the mise-en-scene, his hair is also cut in a fashion that wouldn't be considered normal or fashionable hairstyle at the time that the film came out. The background is very plain, with a huge black curtain across the back wall. The darkness of the background could represent Wonka's loneliness as in this scene, we always see Wonka in the middle of the close-up shots (he is also the only one in these shots) that we see him in, surrounded by the darkness. In the wider context of the film, we know that it is because Wonka grew up with an emotionally unavailable father, who was a dentist. This again suggests that Wonka is another one of Burton's autobiographical characters. This quote backs this idea up: "Q: Like many of your films, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and its main character has father issues. BURTON: Yeah, I've got some problems. You might have seen me enough to realize that by now. "(Item 5). 

Projector: Sweeney Todd "No Place Like London" Scene (1:00-2:25) (Item 3)

Speaker:  The whole scene is low-key lit, and the only light that's there is blue, making it seem cold. This suggests that Sweeney is cold-hearted and emotionally distant. The background is black, which could be a representation of his 'black heart' or the loneliness that he's surrounded by constantly. The colour black is also a connotation for death. "Sweeney's basically been dead since his life was taken away from all those years before..." (Item 9)

He's also the dominant one in the shot, being closer to the camera, with a narrow depth of field, making the other character blurry. This could represent Sweeney's disregard for other people's feelings, or even their entire existence and his refusal to accept the past that sits behind him. This shows him as an outcast, as he doesn't feel emotions like 'normal' people do, again linking to my original point that Tim Burton creates alienated, outcast characters in all of his works.

Projector: Blank Screen/Ending Slide

Speaker: To conclude, Tim Burton uses alienated, outcast characters consistently in all of his works. We particularly see this in his films Edward Scissorhands, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Sweeney Todd. This tells us that he is an auteur, as he has this specific directing signature in many of his films, and audiences always know when they are watching one of his films.

La Haine & City of God

Compare the attitudes to poverty conveyed in the films you have studied for this topic

In the scene where Vinz, Said and Hubert are walking through their housing estate (project), they are wearing a 'chavvy' style of clothes. Everyone in the estate seems to be in the same boat, and everyone lives the same situation. Lots of people live in one house, because it is cheaper. The camera is a handheld camera (which places you in to the situation, and they're usually cheaper cameras), and follows the three as if they are part of the friend group. This creates a sense of community within the estate. They walk about freely, in contrast to the police who walk rigid and in formation. Crime is the main way for people to get money, usually drug selling, as this is the only thing they can do. The surrounding areas have lots of graffiti, showing that the people don't appreciate or respect their habitat. The Police treat the poor people badly, being more violent then they would be with people in Paris.

In City of God, there is a scene where the children are discussing how they would make money in the future. It is shot with a handheld camera, much like in La Haine, so it puts you (the audience) into the situation, and so you feel like part of the action. The children discuss that the main way for them to make money is to sell and produce drugs, again, like in La Haine with Hubert's occupation after his gym is burned down. As the children talk, there is a sense of community between them, as they look like they are friends with the way their body language and facial expressions portray happiness or relaxation (a sense of security) when together. The children are also wearing very poor quality and dirty clothes, suggesting that they/their parents don't have a lot of money to spend on good clothes.  This is also present in La Haine, however it's no so much 'low-quality' but more 'non-professional' and 'not-stylish'. They also have dirt on their faces to show that they don't have to privilege to clean themselves all the time.

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ANIMALS/CAGE
In both films, the ideology that people in poverty are treated like animals by police or the rest of society, and the iconography of cages is a running theme.

City of God- When Steak comes out with Lil Ze, in cage
La Haine- Said in cage when talking to Vinz's sister in opening scene.

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NEGATIVELY REPRESENTED IN THE MEDIA

Scene 2 - 53:40- On the train (beggars) 

Said looks down on the beggars. Vinz, Said, Hubert have more than the beggars in Paris. As a result of it being more expensive to live in Paris, there are more people who can't pay their own way, and result to begging. The beggar has dirty hair, no makeup, low-quality knit jumper and large coat.  She takes centre frame in the mid shot, showing that she is important in this shot. Whereas Said takes pride in his appearance (in terms of hair/jewellery) because he has more money than the beggar, despite being classed as poor himself. Said is more privileged too, as he is sitting down whereas the beggar is stood up and walking about. The setting of the train is a much cleaner look, again showing that Paris has more money and the people that live there respect and care about where they live. 

Research Project - Catalogue

Catalogue

An exploration into Tim Burton's recurring use of alienated, outcast characters, and how it applies to Auteur theory. 

Films:
Item 1- Edward Scissorhands (1990)
I chose this as my focus film because it shows a clear presence of Tim Burton as an auteur. There are many elements that show Edward as a lonely character. For example, in the opening sequence, where his home is far away from society and is all black and gothic-style. It also looks at his other auteur traits, like the highly saturated settings. This makes it a successful resource, as it portrays Tim Burton's style the most.
Item 2- Charlie & The Chocolate Factory (2005)
I chose this film, again because it shows a Tim Burton's eccentric, unique and lonely character (in the form of Willy Wonka), thus showing him as an auteur. A main example is in the scene where the children meet Wonka, and his costume is very different to the social norm. It also portrays the theme that appearances can be deceiving, which is another common element in Tim Burton films.  I found this as a successful research item.
Item 3- Sweeney Todd (2007)
This film also has the type of character that Tim Burton always creates (eccentric, unique and lonely), in the form of Sweeney, showing Tim Burton as an auteur. This film also has highly saturated settings, again, showing Tim Burton as an Auteur, but in a different way to the topic I am focusing on. This is a good film to put into my research.

Interviews:
Item 4 - Johnny Depp, Tim Burton at Arsenio Hall's talk show 1990
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4ClVG10TYg - specifically moment 1:30)
The interview shows Johnny Depp talking about how he approached the character of Edward Scissorhands. This showed that Tim Burton creates characters in such a specific way (eccentric, lonely, outcasts), and follows his director style, making him an Auteur. This has been a really useful thing to include into my resource.
Item 5 - http://uk.ign.com/articles/2005/07/09/interview-tim-burton
There is a quote in this interview where Tim Burton explains slightly where his character ideas came from, giving his films an autobiographical sense to them. He creates his characters to be lonely and eccentric, as that is what he was like as a child. From this, I know that all of his films have elements of him in each of them, making him even more of an Auteur. This makes it a really good quote to put into my research.
Item 6 - CATCF Interview, Johnny Depp (2004) 
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn_T6HRf8_Y - 0:46)
In this interview, Johnny Depp talks about how he approached the character of Willy Wonka. He describes the type of character that Tim Burton uses in most of his films, showing Tim Burton as an auteur again. Interviews are reliable resources as the people in them tend to speak the truth. This made it a really good thing to include into my research.

Books:
Item 7 - Andrew M. Butler - Film Studies - Chapter 3
This book describes the Auteur theory, so I used it to explain what it actually was. I chose this book specifically, as it gave the best description of Auteur theory that I could find. It also meant I had different types of media in my research catalogue. I also find books a really reliable source. I will be using multiple quotes from the book, making it a really useful piece of research.
Item 8 - Burton on Burton by Tim Burton -
This book talked about how Tim Burton creates his characters and how he bases them on himself. I chose it so I could give reasoning towards why he makes his characters the way he does. It also shows that even with Hollywood money and influences, he doesn't change the way he makes films. This proved to be a really useful source.
Item 13 - Tim Burton: The Pocket Essential Guide By Michelle Le Blanc, Colin Odell - 
This book discusses Tim Burton in general; his lifestyle, his past, his directing style. I was able to find a quote that talks about the types of characters he creates (eccentric, lonely). This proved to be an extremely useful quote, so I used it in my research project.

Magazines:
Item 9 - Empire Issue 223
This interview about Sweeney Todd also talks about how Johnny Depp saw the character of Sweeney Todd. The quote I used implies that Sweeney was lonely, and shows Tim Burton as an auteur (in the form of this lonely character) once again. This was a successful resource.
Item 14 - totalDVD Issue 62 (The Mad World of Tim Burton)
The magazine discusses Tim Burton's character types. It also discusses the autobiographical sense in all of Burton's films (another part of the auteur theory that I have briefly discussed). I found the quote that supports the auteur theory and so it has been really useful to use in my research project.
Item 15 - Telegraph Magazine Feb 2010
In the magazine, they refer to Tim Burton's distinct way of directing. It refers to the idea that Burton and Depp work together to make very similar, identifiable and good films. The quote I have used portrays the Auteur idea well, and so has been a really useful resource for my research project.

Articles/Websites:
Item 10 - The Guardian Film Blog October 2016 (https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/oct/18/tim-burton-diversity-artistic-genius)
In this interview, the Guardian talk about Tim Burton's actors. I chose this article, because it references Tim Burton to being seen as a great artist, which supports the Auteur theory. This makes it a good resource to use.
Item 11 - Tim Burton: I Love All Monsters 2012
(http://ukscreen.com/articles/interviews/tim-burton-i-love-all-monsters/)
In this article, it talks about Tim Burton's personality and directing style. I found it's opening quote useful, as it enclosed my whole auteur theory ideology into one quote, and something that I wanted to use as part of my research. It shows Tim Burton as an Auteur, as it talks about his distinct style, making it a good resource to use.

Reviews:
Item 12 - Edward Scissorhands Review - The Telegraph 2014 (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/11298442/Edward-Scissorhands-review-a-true-fairytale.html)
In this review, the Telegraph start by giving a brief overview of Edward Scissorhands, and it's characters. I chose the article, as it perfectly describes the type of character that is in all Tim Burton films, thus supporting the Auteur Theory. This makes it a really good resource, and because it's an review, it shows the true feeling of the audience.
Item 16 - https://letterboxd.com/dragonknight/film/edward-scissorhands/
In this review of Edward Scissorhands, the writer discusses the themes and emotions that are portrayed in the film. It gives a brief overview of the film. I chose to use a quote from it, as it perfectly fit with what I was trying to argue, and it describes an ongoing theme in all Tim Burton characters, thus supporting my argument that Tim Burton is indeed an Auteur.

Rejected Resources

Films: Alice in Wonderland (2010) - I didn't use it because all the characters have relationships (between families and friends), and there isn't a clear character that is unique or lonely, and so doesn't fit with my auteur theory. It wasn't useful at all.
Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iog0HTVutW0 - The interview didn't talk about characterisation or directing, but instead spoke about the process of making films, and the relationship between Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. This makes it an unsuccessful resource to use.
Review: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/tim_burton/ - I didn't use this resource because there wasn't any clear quotes or paragraphs about Tim Burton's characters. It was more a profile on Tim Burton himself. This wasn't a good resource for me to use.

Research Project - Auteur

Tim Burton's "Lonely Man" Character

An exploration into Tim Burton's recurring use of alienated, outcast characters, and how it applies to Auteur theory. 

auteur theory quote from book (item 7):

 " Sarris isolates three areas of competence – technique, personal style and inner meaning – and links these to directors as technician, stylist and auteur. " /

"Great artists, everyone agrees, listen to their own idiosyncratic muses. They don’t trim their art to please either elitist snobs or the ignorant masses." - [Item 10] / 

Focus: Edward Scissorhands - 'Avon Calling' Chapter 3
-doesn't conform to the 'normal' lifestyle
-live far away from everyone (isolated)
-skittish (like a dog)
-slowly learns to love, but even then his deformity made him different to everyone else
-wears makeup to fit in
-doesn't like human contact
-animalistic - dog [item 4] /

"A wild-haired eccentric arrives in town and demonstrates an extraordinary creativity – now where did movie wunderkind Tim Burton (wild-haired, deeply eccentric) get the idea for Edward Scissorhands?" [Item 12] /

"No one in Hollywood personifies his own movies as Tim Burton does." [Item 11] /

"He has produced a body of work that focuses on the outcasts of society" [Item 13] /

"There is an old saying that don’t judge a book by its cover and Edward’s story is the perfect example of that." (Item 16) /

we also see this in....
Charlie & The Chocolate Factory
-Willy Wonka is a lonely man
-skittish
-doesn't like human contact
-lives far away from everyone
-doesn't have relationships with anyone
-seen as a 'weirdo'
-learns to love
-animalistic - monkey


[Item 15] /



"the factory itself, is like Wonka's brain; complicated, strange, fun, disturbing..." [Item 6] /

" Q: Like many of your films, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and its main character has father issues. 

BURTON: Yeah, I've got some problems. (He laughs) You might have seen me enough to realize that by now. " - IGN Interview [Item 5]

[item 14] /

Sweeney Todd? 
-lost his family
-outcast
-he's weird in a different way: "Sweeney's basically been dead since his life was taken away from all those years before..." - Johnny Depp - Item 9
-sly
-seen as a weirdo
-lonely man
-animalistic - fox

this may be because... Tim Burton was very alienated himself, autobiographical with his characters:
"Burton's characters are often outsiders, misunderstood and misperceived, misfits encumbered by some degree of duality, operating on the fringes of their own particular society, tolerated and pretty much left to their own devices. And in many ways, he embodies the contradiction himself. [...] He may use Hollywood's money [to make his films]... but still makes them his way" Item 8 /