Films are a visual representation of the words in a screenplay. The director and actors of a film collaborate together to properly embody the characters the screenwriter had in mind when writing the script. The way a character is presented in the film influences the audience’s perception of the character. In the films Fargo and Casablanca, actors utilize various acting tools and character elements to influence the audience’s perception throughout the film.
There are various forms of acting an actor can choose to use in a given scene. Representational acting is when the actor decides to show a thought or emotion in terms of what it would look like using representative gestures. William H. Macy employs this style of acting in the movie Fargo. Macy’s character, Jerry Lundegaard, is furious that his father-in-law is unwilling to contribute to a real estate deal his character is unable to afford. Instead of displaying the anger solely in an internal fashion, the directors and Macy elected to also use big, physical movements. Macy rapidly scrapes the ice off his windshield in a manic manner and screams in the parking lot to express his anger (22:10). This form of acting is very visual and ensures that the audience understands the emotion a character is experiencing.
Presentational acting is a direct opposite of representational acting. Presentational acting is when the actor personalizes what is going on inside the character and presents the emotion as the real thing. There are not any extravagant movements to display the emotion. Humphrey Bogart elected to use this other style of acting in the film Casablanca. To exhibit his sadness, Bogart makes several minute movements. He looks down at the table and stares off into space for an e...
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...he parking complex. His face does not wince in pain as he yells at the parking attendant to open the gate (1:09:10). Buscemi displays the significance of the objective of his character in this scene to the audience through his intense focus on getting out despite undergoing extreme physical conditions.
The audience’s perception of a character’s personality and thoughts in Fargo and Casablanca are influenced by the actor’s method of playing a character two-dimensionally, choice in the style of acting (representational or presentational acting), portrayal of a discovery in the moment, resolution of a conflict (objective/obstacle/action), and overcoming of an extreme physical condition. Through their performances using various acting tools, the actors are able to ensure that the audience perceives the characters in the way the screenwriters and directors have in mind.
The Importance of Posture and Gesture for the Performer in Relation to Greta Garbo From Camille
The concept of emotional labour has often been referred to as being the performance of emotionally acting. Emotional acting can be split into two different categories; surface acting and deep acting. Surface acting is described as being the act of expressing an emotion without actually feeling that emotion (Hochschild 1983), which includes actions that are used to cover any negative emotions with positive actions. An example of this would be a bank teller who smiles continuously at a customer even though the customer has been very rude. Deep acting is another form of emotional labour which can be further split into two different types of emotional actions; the first is to exhibit the actual emotion that yo...
Many people in life, present themselves to society in a manner in which they want to be seen. Maybe an employee wants to be seen as a hard working person, so when the supervisor is around, they might act busy. Or sometimes, when a person wants to be accepted, they present certain attributes to make them look good. Erving Goffman believed that “we present a certain self or face when in the presence of others”. He called these actions the key concepts of dramaturgy. The movie Grown Ups provides many examples of these key concepts.
If you were to ask any person what acting was, they would most likely give you an answer along the lines of: portraying the life of another person, talking and acting like a character, bringing a fictional or representational character to life. While actors may appear to be inseparable with their characters while one is watching them perform, once they go home and take off the stage makeup, they change; Mark Ruffalo is no longer a 10-foot green monster, and Bradley Cooper is not a sadistic bionic raccoon. However, Konstantin Stanislavski, a Russian actor and writer of the late 19th and early 20th century, felt as if these actors should adopt the characteristics of their character as best they can in order to be able to actually become the characters
In Browne’s essay, he describes what he calls the “position of the spectator”, and suggests that cinematic techniques can constitute a connection between a given character(s) and the spectator. Browne values less of what David Bordwell believes to be important in narration, the syuzhet (Bordwell 1986). Browne believes the connection between the spectator and the character(s) solidifies less through narrative techniques, the syuzhet, than through cinematic means, for instance, cinematography. The composition of a shot can allow the audience to see over the shoulder of a given character, thus positioning the spectator in the character’s approximate point of view. Likewise, action or dialogue from another character can be shown from the approximate field of vision of the character that is linked with the spectator. (Browne 1986).
Berger and Luckmann’s The Social Construction of Reality and Irving Goffman’s The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life analyze human interaction in the context of actions we perform and the meanings that such actions take in social environments. I will analyze Goffman’s account of modification of the “self” through performance within the context of Berger and Luckmann’s hypothesis. The theatrical performance metaphor looks at how socialization and experience affect the use of fronts, expressions, and expressions given off.
Modern day directors use a variety of methods to hold ones interest. Ethan Hawke and Kenneth Branagh’s created versions of Hamlet that shared some similarities, but ultimately had many differences in respects to an audience’s appeal. An appealing movie is one that has an alluring ambiance and an intellectual stimulus. With these two movie versions, a setting and a mood forced an audience to acquire specific emotions, but Ethan Hawke’s version generated emotions more strongly and effectively. Also, these movies had extremely different uses of music and visuals, but both movie versions incorporated them well for the ambiance it tried to obtain. Finally, both movie versions drew characters to captivate the audience; however in Ethan Hawke’s version, the characters were used so effectively that it was easy to feel involved with them. While both these versions of Hamlet had a captivating ambiance, Ethan Hawke’s version was more appealing due to the intellectual incentive that it offered.
Typically, the relationships between theatre and film are encountered--both pedagogically and theoretically--in terms of authorial influence or aesthetic comparisons. In the first method, an instructor builds a syllabus for a "Theatre and Film" course by illustrating, for example, how Bergman was influenced by Strindberg. In the second method, the aesthetic norms of the theatre (fixed spectatorial distance and stage-bound locations) are compared to those of the cinema (editing and location shooting) to determine which art form is better suited (or "superior") to which material.
As an audience, we become involved in the plot not through learning about characters’ backgrounds and traits. Instead, we learn information at the same time through the mechanics of the plot and editing. We are made to work to understand the workings of the plot. As we watch the film unfold, the editing takes the along for the ride rather than watching from a distance. the audience and characters sweat together as surprises arise in the well-thought out plan and the way the movie ...
made in. Some incorporate them into the plot, some use them as allegories, and some satirize them.” Without an influence or connection to relate with the audience, the film would have no dimension. When seeing a movie, viewers are always going to search for an underlying meaning or message that could connect to their lives today. Although most
He believed that we manipulated the way other’s see us in order to socially construct the ‘self’. Goffman’s dramaturgical approach is described as so due to the fact that he uses drama analogies when talking about social interaction; for example, the fact we are all ‘actors’, using ‘scripts’ and ‘props’. He further went on to state how we pursue to present a particular image of ourselves to our ‘audience’, for us to do this, we must intently look at how our audience respond to our ‘performance’ and whether or not this is convincing enough for them, if not, changes will be made accordingly. By using our ‘props’ such as make-up, clothing as well as using our language, gestures, tone of voice, us, as people, can socially construct our self for the person we want our audience to believe, we, in fact, are. He believes that in our ‘theatre’ there is a ‘front’ we use, which is the role we are acting out, whereas, ‘backstage’, we can almost step out of this role and act ‘ourselves’. For example, a lecturer will fill their put up their ‘front’ when doing their job, however, when they are ‘backstage’ they can drop the ‘act.’ Goffman’s idea of roles is different to other ideas in sociology of what our roles are—such as in Functionalism, in which it is believed that our roles are tightly ‘scripted’. Whereas, Goffman believes that like a stage actor is not really
Adopted into sociology by Erving Goffman, he developed most terms and the idea behind dramaturgical analysis in his 1959 book The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. This book lays out the process of human social interaction, sometimes called "impression management". Goffman makes the distinction between "front stage" and "back stage" behavior. “Front stage" actions are visible to the audience and are part of the performance. We change our hair color, eye color, complextion. Wearing make-up, the way our hair is styled, the clothes we wear. The demeanor we present to the world to the. All of these things lead to an outward appearance of what we want others to think we are. People engage in "back stage" behaviors when no audience is present. We whine and moan about the customers we deal with. Hair goes un-styled, make is wiped off. Clothing is comfortable and unrestricting. When a person conducts themselves in certain way not consistent with social expectations, it is often done secretly if this ...
For example, Lumet added facial expression into the film when he added the part where the third juror began to cry and ripping a picture of his son after thinking about his son. (Lumet). His facial expressions shows his frustration and sadness while he was trying to support his opinion. By utilizing facial expressions in the film, the audience can easily determine how a certain character feels. Thus, the audience has a sense of empathy, causing them to relate to the character more and getting a better understanding of the scene. This effect is only present during the film where facial expressions are seen. While in the play, it wasn’t present because the play doesn’t directly tell the reader the facial expressions of each character. Instead the reader must analyze the text to understand each of the characters’ expressions. Overall, facial expression have a huge role in movie because it shows the feelings of the
Movies take us inside the skin of people quite different from ourselves and to places different from our routine surroundings. As humans, we always seek enlargement of our being and wanted to be more than ourselves. Each one of us, by nature, sees the world with a perspective and selectivity different from others. But, we want to see the world through other’s eyes; imagine with other’s imaginations; feel with other’s hearts, at a same time as with our own. Movies offer us a window onto the wider world, broadening our perspective and opening our eyes to new wonders.
Movies are a great version of storytelling because they make stories more relatable and memorable. Storytelling is one of the most powerful capabilities humans possess. It can be used to motivate, dominate, and influence people. The scope and power of storytelling has grown immensely from its roots in stories told over the campfire. It now covers every dimension of human emotion and endeavor. This makes stories incredibly relatable and influential in that one can relate to the emotions that are being depicted and can, if wanted to, be influenced by the decision the character made. Before movies were invented, people relied on speaking and “the written word” to hear stories. Each person visualized the story’s characters, sets, and actions differently. Moviemakers have moved a step further in the way of storytelling. They take it upon themselves to physically set up the sets, give faces to the characters, and sh...