In this essay I will be discussing whether female filmmakers in Britain find it easier to make a documentary feature than a fiction feature film in the current British film industry. I will be referring to the opinions and films of Kim Longinotto, Carol Morley, Clio Barnard and Alison Stirling. I will also be looking at the statistics from film festivals and the British Film Institute, and interviews with various British female filmmakers. I will argue that documentaries are easier to make due to them being less expensive to make and not requiring a large crew. I will try to show that female filmmakers are less like to get funding for a fiction feature film due to the people that make the decisions in terms of granting funding for fiction features are men, and consequently have a male perspective, so think that a ‘female subject’ is likely to bring in big audiences and will not do well financially. I will also look at ways in which films are shown to their audience, and whether those doing the selecting of which films are shown at festival have an effect on the commercial success of a film. Therefore I will be arguing that due to there being very few women in positions of power in terms of funding and distribution for fiction feature films, that female filmmakers find it easier to make documentary features as documentaries do not need as big a budget as fiction feature films. Both documentary features and fiction feature films do very well within the British Film Industry, however I don’t believe that either are considered easy to make. Both have major barriers, whether a filmmaker is at script stage or at distribution stage, the entire process is very hard work. However, it has been suggested that the world of documentaries ... ... middle of paper ... ... Sonia Zadurian. (23/08/2013). Interview: The Selfish Giant filmmaker Clio Barnard. Available: http://news.birds-eye-view.co.uk/2013/10/23/interview-the-selfish-giant-filmmaker-clio-barnard/. Last accessed 06/01/14. Tambay A Obenson. (12/12/2011). "Dreams Of A Life" Director Carol Morley In Her own Words On The Challenges She Faced In Financing The Film FEATURES. Available: http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/dreams-of-a-life-director-carol-morley-in-her-own-words-on-the-challenges-she-faced-in-financing-the-film. Last accessed 02/01/2013. Tammy Riley-Smith . tammyphelps1 via skype. Extended Essay discussion. 10/01/1990. WFTV. (23/07/13). BFI Statistical Yearbook Shows Decline In UK Female Writers And Directors. Available: http://www.wftv.org.uk/news/bfi-statistical-yearbook-shows-decline-uk-female-writers-and-directors-16203. Last accessed 01/01/14.
Zeitgeist, 2007. [Film] Directed by Peter Joseph. USA: Released via Internet. Available at http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com. [accessed 14/03/2010]
Grainge, P., Jancovich, M., & Monteith, S. (2012). Film Histories; An introduction and reader. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Like actresses, female film executives are also paid less than their male colleagues, although they are doing the same job. Female film executives work behind the scenes on a movie and television set. An example of how female film executive are paid less is when “The studio[Colombia Pictures] paid Michael De Luca $2.4 million a year but only paid Hannah Minghella $1.5 million a year — or 37 percent less than De Luca” (Khon). This show how not only actresses, but how women in Hollywood are undervalued compared to their male colleagues. Instead of setting an example for the gender pay gap Hollywood should have to set an example for other job occupations. If women in Hollywood, a billion dollar industry, can not get equal pay than female teachers and female engineers do not have a chance to fight for equal
Narratives of documentary as a craft of expression of metaphor and the soul of rhetoric have attracted many modern film scholars (Dorst 268-281). Discussing folk life of the films of Errol Morris, Dorst feels that ‘text’ and ‘apparatus’ in a documentary limits the usefulness of hybridity as a productive theoretical metaphor. Comparing the narrative structure of documentary filmmaker William Manchester and Truman Capote, Donald Pizer suggests that documentary narrative can vary in form. Its adaptability suggests that it will continue to serve as a vehicle of experimental narrative by serious writers as well as a form of the higher journalism. Like all literary artists, the modern writer is confronted by the problem of the seemingly rival claims
In Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, Mulvey states that, “Traditionally, the woman displayed has functioned on two levels: as erotic object for the characters within the screen story, and as erotic object for the spectator within the auditorium, with a shifting tension between the looks on either side of the screen.” (Mulvey 40). A woman’s role in the narrative is bound to her sexuality or the way she
Turner, Graeme. Film as a Social Practice. 3rd ed. of the year. London: Routledge, 1999.
Led by Laura Mulvey, feminist film critics have discussed the difficulty presented to female spectators by the controlling male gaze and narrative generally found in mainstream film, creating for female spectators a position that forces them into limited choices: "bisexual" identification with active male characters; identification with the passive, often victimized, female characters; or on occasion, identification with a "masculinized" active female character, who is generally punished for her unhealthy behavior. Before discussing recent improvements, it is important to note that a group of Classic Hollywood films regularly offered female spectators positive, female characters who were active in controlling narrative, gazing and desiring: the screwball comedy.
In ways documentary films are similar to fictional films. Both types of films have infinite possibilities of topic choices to choose from and have a crew to influence and manipulate the film so that it can be accepted the way they want it represented. However, documentary films are created to be works of informative and factual art. Fictional films, although they may stem from the ground of truth, they branch into the realm of unrealistic entertainment (316).
With many different genres and types of filmmaking, it can result in a large variety of stories and conflicts. Nevertheless, film has always brought people together as a society. If there is one thing everyone can notice about films is the achievement in style and directing. The three directors talked about in this paper are the most successful at delivering a breathtaking style and direction to their films. Baz Luhrmann, Wes Anderson, and Martin Scorsese have produced and directed films over decades and each film as impacted not only the United States but worldwide. With the unmistakable trademarks that each director has, it is very easy to feel sucked into the world in which they are shaping around you and the story. Because of these three directors, the film world and industry has been revolutionized for many centuries to come.
Women’s roles in movies have changed dramatically throughout the years. As a result of the changing societal norms, women have experienced more transition in their roles than any other class. During the period of classical Hollywood cinema, both society and the film industry preached that women should be dependent on men and remain in home in order to guarantee stability in the community and the family. Women did not have predominated roles in movies such as being the heroin. The 1940’s film Gilda wasn’t an exception. In Gilda, the female character mainly had two different stereotypes. The female character was first stereotyped as a sex object and the second stereotyped as a scorned woman who has to be punished.
Todd, Kennedy. "Off with Hollywood's Head: Sofia Coppola as Feminine Auteur." Academic Journal 35.1 (2010): 1-37. EBSCO eBook Collection. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. .
Traditional ideations of film and documentaries have been to create scripts that are structures to fulfill a set idea. The challenge with scripting an idea is that the script writer(s) have a subjective view of the documentary. The vastness of documenting a situation is restricted by the script making it impossible for a documentary film to capture objective realism in their work.
In this article, Jones discusses the marginalization of motion pictures, yet touches on the great aspects of film, and how these aspects can expect to survive in the future. Major topics that Jones addresses are: developments in video narrative through flawless storytelling, the use of digital tools for film restoration and preservation, and an audience shift from film to digital. These points detail the love and appreciation that goes into filmmaking, and how the narratives, despite having changed formats throughout the years, have been able to survive and appear to be timeless. Jones also further discusses the idea of using audiovisual material to create narratives appealing. He details how the stylistic approach of a film, and the techniques like cinematography and editing, can enhance and provide for a greater narrative. In summary, the sum of the parts of a film are what make the entire experience, which not only makes for a great film, but for a lasting story as
The film industry has always been somewhat of a dichotomy. Grounded firmly in both the worlds of art and business the balance of artistic expression and commercialization has been an issue throughout the history of filmmaking. The distinction of these two differing goals and the fact that neither has truly won out over the other in the span of the industry's existence, demonstrates a lot of information about the nature of capitalism.
Feminism is a movement that supports women equality within society. In relation to film, feminism is what pushes the equal representation of females in mainstream films. Laura Mulvey is a feminist theorist that is famous for touching on this particular issue of how men and women are represented in movies. Through her studies, she discovered that many films were portraying men and women very differently from reality. She came up with a theory that best described why there is such as huge misrepresentation of the social status quos of male and female characters. She believed that mainstream film is used to maintain the status quo and prevent the realization of gender equality. This is why films are continuously following the old tradition that males are dominant and females are submissive. This is the ideology that is always present when we watch a movie. This is evident in the films from the past but also currently. It is as if the film industry is still catering to the male viewers of each generation in the same way. Laura Mulvey points out that women are constantly being seen as sexual objects, whether it is the outfits they wear or do not wear or the way they behave, or secondary characters with no symbolic cause. She states that, “in traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote it-be-looked-at-ness.”(Mulvey pg. 715). Thus, women are nevertheless displayed as nothing more than passive objects for the viewing pleasure of the audience. Mulvey also points out through her research that in every mainstream movie, there is ...