Thursday 20 December 2012

District 9 - A Postmodern Film?

Discuss the issues of representation of gender and race?
Discuss how typical the text is of it's genre?
How is the film post modernism?
What is the text contextual cultural content in the text?

GENDER:
In the opening scene of District 9 the use of screen graphics introduce the characters to the audience giving name and job description this highlights a negative representation of women as the women's job description is 'wife' 'mother' where all the males will have 'project manager' 'Head of MNU' this represents women negatively as they hold no stable job or have income from a job or intelligence. However the men are represented negatively this is portrayed in the dominating violent morals they hold, having no emotions in the actions they take reference to the scene where 'Smit' is happy to make his daughter suffer while he gains income by her sufferings.



Tuesday 4 December 2012

Fish Tank - Exam Question - Typical Genre

"To What Extent Are Your Chosen Texts Typical OF Their Genre?"

My chosen text is Fish Tank this film lies under the genre of social realism following Todorov's equilibrium to keep to the linear narrative as the equilibrium keeps to the narrative in which the audience can understand giving a linear structure this narrative is used to reflect on the happenings at the time. Social realist films are made to educate an audience of the minority, in this case the working / underclass.This is portrayed within the linear narrative a typical genre conventions used throughout the film for example in one particular scene a clear use of cinematography reflects the social realist genre by using a hand held camera keeping everything in shallow focus this is used in the scene where Mia see's Connor brining her mother home as Mia walks down the stairs the camera jots with every movement she makes demonstrating the common convention within the genre of social realism as it reflects every movement of the protagonist to what she see's.Diegetic sound is prominent within Fish Tank this is a typical convention used within Social Realism films this is used in the same scene as Mia shows Connor her dance we are reminded that this film is a social realist film due to the constant reminding of the diegetic sound , this is used throughout this scene  due to making the audience see the day to day life of the working/ underclass the iconography used shows a portable CD player to what typical to when the film would be made an MP3 would be used reflecting the representation of the minority the sound quality of the diegetic sound through the speakers is poor and tinny reflecting the income, reflecting what the protagonist hears. Natural lighting is used within this scene again to remind the audience that it is a social realist film and we are watching someone else's lifestyle being the working / underclass by using natural lighting it allows the viewer to see exactly what the protagonist sees. All theses conventions contrast each other and work together in demonstrating a clear representation of social injustice reflecting the transformation of society of the time this is shown within the miss-en-scene in the film showing an urban decayed council estate in which the protagonist is effected by showing what Mia sees and hears as this doesn't manipulate the audience into being forced into feeling a certain emotion they are allowed to think and feel how they want about the film which is what social realist films want to active.