Manipulated, Played, Bamboozled?
Susan Smith Nash, Ph.D.
Character / Characterization
From the moment
that you are introduced to a character, you are being influenced to draw a
certain conclusion about that character, and to start to make assumptions about
the type of person he/she is, and what actions are likely. This is often very subtle, and you’re not even aware of how emotions,
preconceived ideas, and cultural stereotypes are being played. Don’t
worry. If you were completely aware,
the movie wouldn’t be very
successful, would it? Part of the
enjoyment of a film involves your willingness to suspend disbelief and go with
the narrative intents of the film.
This is not
intended to be an exhaustive guide to how to “read” a
film. Instead, this is intended to be a
narrative of exploration and awakenings as we examine how films dealing with
themes of love and madness communicate their message(s) to you.
Type: Archetypes and myth-based characters
It’s a scene toward the end of The Graduate. The character played by Dustin Hoffman has entered a church,
after his doomed romance with Mrs. Robinson.
It hasn’t been a simply
story of a young man who is intrigued by an “older woman.” Instead, it is more complex than that, and
we have different feelings toward the protagonist than we would in the case of
a young man in a coming-of-age, sowing-wild-oats film. Why?
What do we see about him? Dustin
Hoffman is an innocent who will be eventually sacrificed for the very fact of
his youth and innocence, as well as his unspoken message of peace, and a call
to the audience to start to look at things in a new way. In a famous still from the film, Hoffman is
filmed against the church, shadows creating a giant crucifix behind him. Hoffman will be martyred for his love. Once we understand that Hoffman will be a
martyr figure, we start to assign meanings to the film. What is the film saying
about the nature of youth, innocence, and love? Will all young lovers be caught up in an inescapable martyrdom /
sacrifice narrative? We know the answer
to this as we analyze the way we begin to shape ideas and beliefs in response
to the film.
One of the most
enduring archetypes to be used in movies is that of The Hero. Joseph Campbell describes the evolution of
the archetype in Hero of a Thousand
Faces, in which he builds on the work done by Jung and Neumann. The hero usually gets to be the love
interest. At the same time, the tragic
hero is often a sacrificial figure, through which we achieve catharsis. In Gladiator,
we see the madness of a culture caught up in blood-spectacles and fights to the
death. The protagonist, who is played
by Russell Crowe, is a former officer in the Roman Army, who is now forced to
fight to the death in a coliseum-type affair, with thousands of spectators
cheering for valiant moves, drama, and carnage. It’s a sickening
spectacle. We immediately see Russell
Crowe’s character as heroic,
and thus, the expectations we have from myth and fairy tale of what constitutes
heroic behavior begin to insert themselves into the mind of the viewer. As in the case of present-day bullfights or
boxing matches, what we value in the performance is influenced by the standards
we hold for “heroic” behavior.
Archetypes can be
built on myth or on cultural / literary types.
In order for the device to be effective, one must be quite certain that
the audience will understand the full stereotype, and thus will appreciate
nuanced behaviors and deviations. In
the case of Don Juan Di Marco, the
protagonist, played by Johnny Depp, believes himself to be Don Juan, the master
of love. His behavior is so exaggerated
as to be almost a caricature of Don Juan.
Further he is in the wrong century and in the wrong place. The film is effective at establishing the
fact of the “madness” of Depp’s character, as soon as the audience realizes what Depp’s character does not: that he’s delusional in the extreme, and not Don Juan at all. But is he?
The audience simultaneously suspends disbelief, at least long enough to
let the magic occur - that through his madness, Depp’s character has true insight into the nature
of love.
Essence:
Essential beingness, inherent qualities, expectations about behavior
One of the great
divides of twentieth-century philosophers, film, and literary critics has to do
with fundamental attitudes about the nature of reality, particularly as they
apply to things, people, and institutions.
Do things have an innate “beingness,” and are they characterized by an
unchanging, intransigent “essence”?
Morphing selves: “Identity
is a construct” (not real): sketchily drawn characters, protean / changeable
Mise-en-Scene
Setting and Sets
Acting Style
“Classical” (mannered) - the formality here can be
ironic, or maintain emotional distance between the audience and the
character; classical delivery can
heighten the tension and cause emphasis to be placed on soliloquies and
monologues. This style is often used in
film adaptations of plays. These
include Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, MacBeth, etc.
and My Fair Lady (based on George
Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion). Mannered acting which is not
“classical” and which does not derive from adapting a “serious” play to film, is often found in films directed by David Mamet
(Glengarry, Glen Ross, House of Games, etc.)
and Hal Hartley (Henry Fool, Trust, etc.)
“Method”
(intense, psychologically driven) - method acting is often employed by
actors in roles that bespeak intensity and fervor - just the perfect touch for
film that combine love and madness. One
cannot help but think of Tennessee Williams’ characters in A
Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, or Night of the Iguana.
“Natural” - “natural” styles predominate today’s films.
Natural acting is often counterposed by highly “unnatural” filmmaking techniques.
An example is Kenneth Branaugh’s
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The
actors are employing “natural” acting techniques, and the theme of madness
and unnatural love is emphasized by disorienting camera-work, with a great
number of point of view shots, lots of dolly work (resulting in spinning),
etc. This approach was explore with
great success by Alfred Hitchcock in Vertigo.
Costumes - Are the costumes natural, or period? Are they coordinated with each other? Do they indicate rank, social position, or
job description? Do they fit with the
setting, time period, or place of the film, or are they disjunctive and out of
place? Do they cause a cognitive
dissonance (resulting in laughter, curiosity, or sympathy), or do they
underscore the characters?
Lighting - Is it “natural” (sunlight, daylight, normal amounts of
shadows), or “noir” or “gothic” with exaggerated shadows, chiaroscuro, and
light? German Expressionism is filled
with chiaroscuro: Blue Angel, M, Metropolis, and others. Film noir is the same: Sunset Boulevard, Gilda, The Maltese Falcon,
and others. How does this impact the
mood? Are the colors natural, or
suffused in unnatural tones, such as in Peter Greenaway’s films?
Cinematography
Shots angles
¾ angle -
This shot heightens the sense that the audience has that it is privy to the
private, inner workings of the characters’
psyche. Instead of the confrontational stance that front angle positions, the ¾ angle is oblique, softer, and allows a more
relaxed examination of the possible psyche of the characters.
Front
angle - This shot is a direct, front view.
It is often used in documentaries, interviews, and scenes in which the
character seems to be addressing the audience.
This shot gives the impression, not so much of intimacy, but of truthful
representation. It provides the viewer
with the opportunity to examine the subject in a direct manner.
Side
angle - This shot is used for profiles, point of view shots, and tracking
shots - it is often used when one wants to give the impression of movement
(walking toward something, traveling somewhere). It also gives a sense of pursuit.
Shot distance
Extreme
close-up: Used for impact. Usually reserved for one or two actors in a
film. Can be confusing if the viewer is
presented with extreme close-ups of a multitude of characters.
Close-up: Close-ups are a good way to mask the
artifice of film, and to create a sense of intimacy. It encourages the suspension of disbelief with respect to a
character’s essence or “beingness,” and perpetuates the somewhat false notion that if you get “up close and personal” that you will actually know something about
the character. Close inspection of the
visual representation does not necessarily provide access to what lies
underneath; many directors use close-ups to set up expectations, which they
will promptly dash. Close-ups are often
reserved for the characters the audience is supposed to bond with and/or
project onto.
Medium
shot: This shot is a staple; it allows
the director to include important information about set, other characters,
relationships, and transition.
Long
shot: The long shot puts the
characters in relation to their setting.
This helps the narrative progress, and helps build the story. Long shots are filled with visual
information, which must be managed very carefully.
Extreme
long shot: Often used as an
establishing shot, or in a transition scene.
It pulls the viewer into the scene, place, or setting, and it guides the
eye to what is supposed to be important about the shot. It’s
a way to emphasize what is critical to the action of the film. Think of films
that feature football games. You get an
aerial shot of the game, then zoom to the key player. This lets the viewer know what he/she is supposed to be paying
attention to. Is it a certain
player? Is it the ball? Is it the owner? The extreme long shot contextualizes while emphasizing a certain
element.
Tracking: A tracking shot follows the movement of one
character or thing in motion. The rest
of the world goes by as the center of attention stays honed in on the thing or
person in the center of the frame.
Panning: Short for Panorama - the camera slowly
sweeps across the panorama. Makes
connections between elements in a scene.
Positions the characters within a place or setting. Can be used to develop a sweeping sense of
self, or to create the illusion that the place is as important as the character.
Zooming: This can be subtle or quite abrupt and
obvious. The zoom gives one an
opportunity for camp - it should not be exaggerated, or else will ALSO convert
itself into camp (!). Think Basic Instinct - do you remember the
famous crossing-the-legs, uncrossing-the-legs scene? Imagine a zoom at that moment - now THAT would be a memorable
moment of camp!! Examples in Vertigo include the scene in the art
museum in front of Portrait of Carlotta.
The camera zooms in on Madeleine's coiled hair at the back of her head,
and then on Carlotta's hair, which is arranged in the same way. The camera leads the eye to make the
connection. Later, in Judy Barton's
room, the camera zooms in on her necklace, followed by a flashback to the
portrait, and Carlotta's neckace (which is the same). The audience realizes that Scottie has put two and two
together. The game is up.
Focus
Deep Focus - a technique that
flattens out perspective and depth. All
items seem to be at the same depth.
Thus, there is no particular visual emphasis based on the one thing that
is in focus.
Montage
Establishing shot: This
is the first shot in a series of shots.
This is important because it includes critical visual information that
allows the viewer to start making assumptions about the nature of the
characters, the place, the probable outcome of various narrative
possibilities. For example, there is an
establishing shot Romeo+Juliet that
places Juliet behind an aquarium. She
is looking at fish. The first
impression is one of wonder, beauty, and magic, as the brightly colored
tropical fish swim about, and her face is distorted by the water. The establishing shot shows her room, her
beauty, and it also reflects her existential state. She is simultaneously viewing her own fish bowl, as the audience
is subconsciously made aware that she is trapped in a fishbowl not of her own
making or choosing.
Shot / counter shot: If this occurs from one person to another, it gives a sense of
the connection between the two individuals, and their reaction on each other.
Reaction shot: This allows the viewer to see the reaction that a person has to
another person, event, or thing.
Sometimes the reaction is a surprise.
Sometimes it is expected. Your
own reaction to the reaction lets you know how effectively you have
internalized the dominant archetype, or how you expect the narrative to
unfold. You may come to realize how you
are already hostage to genre or type expectations. It gives you insight into the impact that a person or event has
on another. Strip away the skin and see
the psychological mechanisms at work.
Jump cut / quick cuts: First
used by the French New Wave - Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless is
generally credited with having the first jump cuts and quick cuts. A jump cut is what it suggests - a jump or
saltus in the action, and one gets the feeling that intermediary steps or
chapters have been left out. You, the
viewer, get to fill in the blanks.
Music video directors have made heavy use of the jump cut, including Baz
Luhrmann (Romeo+Juliet) and Alex
Proyas, the director of The Crow. Jump cuts and quick cuts allow the viewer to
make connections, and to be suffused with a sense of inescapable past, if the
jump cuts involved flashback scenes.
Editing pace: Quick
cuts lead to a fast pace, as do some tracking and point of view shots. Panning shots can slow down the pace. How quickly do the scenes change? How many are there? How wildly different are them from each
other? The editing pace is critical in
establishing the emotional baseline of the film.
Sound
Dialogue - Is the dialogue clear and easy to
understand, or is it somewhat muffled or obscured by background noise, so you
have the sense that you are overhearing a conversation?
Background -- Is the background noise obtrusive and
inescapable, or is it only obvious at certain times? For example, do you hear background noise when the characters are
outdoors, but inside there is none?
Special effects - Not only do special effects allow for
heightened impact, they also allow viewers to make connections and to ascribe
larger-than-life abilities to primary characters.
Score - Critical for providing audio clues / cues to
the audience to indicate suspense, repetition of motifs, meanings in the film.
Diegetic sound (scream,
gunshot) - Perhaps
the film that best illustrates this is Brian De Palma’s Blowout. The sound of a blowout is actually two
sounds - a blowout and a gunshot. Later, the sound of a scream is used in a
parallel manner at the end of the film.
Sound bridge - Sound bridges often function as motifs;
they are recognizable snippets of score that surge forth in transition from
scene to scene, or as action fades to black.
Sound bridges are also used to emphasize transition.