Even though Mulvey presents some intriguing points on how psychoanalysis affects the way gender is viewed in regards to the look, her writing is restricted and one-dimensional in comparison to Constance Penley’s article, “Feminism, Film Theory, and the Bachelor Machines” (1985). Penley begins by focusing on the idea of the “bachelor machine:” a practice used from approximately 1850-1925 where, “numerous artists, writers, and scientists imaginatively or in reality constructed anthropomorphized machines
Based on McKenzie Wark’s game theory written in his article called “Agony (On the Cave)”. Games, like our society, have its own rules that everyone should follow without questioning. Everyone is treated equally and can’t escape from these rules’ controlling power. The relationship between rules and games is also revealing in the film Wreck-it Ralph. The film talks about the main character, Ralph, leaving his own game, escaping to the “Sugar Rush” game, fighting with Turbo, and finally solving a big
Feminist Film Theory and Silver Linings Playbook Silver Linings Playbook, is a film directed by David O. Russell, that follows a former teacher named Pat (Bradley Cooper) who is released from a psychiatric hospital for bipolar disorder after an eight month stay. His main goal after his release is to win back his ex-wife, Nikki (Brea Bee), whom he caught cheating for another man. Having been emotionally distressed for what had happened, he violently attacked the other man, almost killing him, which
Auteur Theory Continues to be an Important Part of Filmmaking The auteur theory is an idea or principle, which states that the film is a reflection of a director’s creative personal vision, as if to say the he or she is the primary author (which in French, means “auteur”). This theory first came to be in 1954, by a French film director named Francois Truffaut. The auteur theory’s birth was through the French New Wave, which was a group of new French filmmakers during the 1950’s and 1960’s. In the
Enemies Within is a film that was produced and written by Trevor Loudon. This film was released as a documentary in attempt to warn American citizens against the conspiracy theories about the infiltration of communism and Islam into their government. The conspiracy theories are described throughout the film and have many similarities, but there are distinct differences between them. The credibility of the film is questionable, but if it is to be taken at face value, then it does have worldwide implications
The theory of auteurism arose in France in the 1940s “derived from the cinematic theories of André Bazin and Alexandre Astruc and was dubbed by the American film critic Andrew Sarris” (Filmstudies24, 2017). It is a theory focusing on the involvement of directors in films and how they shape these films relating to artistic style, collaboration, and individual creativity. To be recognized as an auteur a director must have a specific defining style to their work, a clear vision that guides the film, and
Auteur theory Andrew Sarris was an American film critic.He wrote notes on the ‘Auteur Theory’ in 1962 which he believes are the criteria to become a film auteur. Auteur theory is said to be the starting point of a film but it doesn't have one specific definition. According to sarris, an auteur has three central aspects as he believes a director must have. This essay will explain Sarris’ three central aspects and examine Alfred hitchcock’s film ‘Rear window’ (1954) to determine if Hitchcock is an
Differential Association Theory The film “Blow” covers many different topics of differential association theories. The attitudes, the values, and the motives for criminal behavior as learned behavior. The film Blow, goes into the start of a young kid name George Jung, his parents want him to have values and live a wonderful life for himself. George is raised with father owning his own business, a stay home mother. A young boy gets older and even though they struggle financially his parents make
The movie Rebel Without a Cause represents both gender theory and queer theory. Gender theory is how you present yourself, how do you move, small behaviors is more of a performance. The production code was in forced and forbade any mention of homosexuality. They were able to insert restrained references to Plato's homosexuality and attraction to Jim, by including the pinup photo of Alan Ladd on Plato's locker door, and Plato's adoring looks at Jim. Rebel Without a Cause is the story of a troubled
A true representation of history in film is almost impossible to achieve, this is due to the limitations of source materials the filmmakers who create the films have. In the modern day, photographs and video footage of historical events are available but these resources don’t depict everything which has happened. Emotion and what happens in historical events are two of the main things that these resources do not depict, what happens in event and human emotion can only be experienced by either people
After Mulveys theory was published, during the 1980’s many feminists who began to look for the meaning of female spectatorship raised many debates about the male gaze. (Stacey,1994, p24) As Rosemary Betterton enquires, “what kinds of pleasure are offered to women spectators within the forms of representation…which have been mainly by men, for men?” (Betterton, 1985 p4). Similarly, David Rodowick stated, “Mulvey discusses the male star as an object of look but denies him the function of an erotic
identity of the body writing.” (Barthes 1466) The basis for Barthes’ argument is the writing of Ferdinand de Saussure, particularly the discourse on signification and authorship in Course in General Linguistics. Within the scope of Saussurean theory, a viewpoint can be ascertained that is conceptualized for applicability to The Death of the Author. Saussure begins his introduction to this topic by defining language in a way that concurs with Barthes’ use of it. Language is the “social side
states his theory of the gaze by illustrating a dynamic within “power relations” and disciplinary in his work ‘Discipline and Punish – The birth of the prison’, written in 1975 which analyses the social and theoretical mechanisms stating the changes in the Western penal systems such as prisons and schools, which contain apparatuses of power within
week my mother and I decided to rent a "woman's film," Fried Green Tomatoes. We sat mesmerized for 1 hour and 45 minutes by the narrative played out upon our small screen. However, as I realized by our discussion after the film, we had two very different experiences. While she enjoyed the film as a story about two "best friends," I read this friendship as an obvious lesbian relationship hidden within the repressed text of a popular, commercial film. A few months later, at a screening of Silence of
Films like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Imitation of Life all possess strong performative elements that allow their viewers to evaluate the characters in the these films in somewhat unique ways. With these films, the term “performance” seems to be a relative. The primary female characters in both films perform both on and off the stage. The way these women perform off of the stage provides the viewer with an additional layer with which to understand them. This layer opens windows through which we
roamed these places. It traces Japan’s transition from the middle ages to modernity and it gives us a grey view of conflict between man and nature, where man is struggling desperately to survive in a world made more hostile by conflicts among them. The film follows the journey of a Prince, Ashitaka, who was cursed by an animal god turned demon, whom he had slayed. The curse had made him inhumanly strong which would eventually consume and destroy him. This forces him to travel to the land of the demon’s
of looking, viewing, and spectating. Over time, film critics and scholars alike have explored this concept and what drives it. What exactly defines the fascination with looking? What motivates the spectator? What does the object being looked at signify? These are all questions that have been examined and discussed since the beginning of film; however, one question that is still being answered is how gender affects the look. Most psychological theories that have been applied to cinema are centered on
Laura Mulvey is a feminist film theorist commonly known for her controversial essay, “visual pleasure and narrative cinema” written in 1973. This piece went on to be published in the influential British film journey screen. (Hein,2008) Her written views have achieved to shift the perception of film theories conventional structure known as psychoanalytic, which were written about by Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan. Lacan was to have primarily came up with the theory and was originally identified
25, 2013 and stars the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill and Margot Robbie. While on face value The Wolf of Wall Street looks like a film about excessive cocaine binges, long evenings filled with men with cigarettes, large portions of alcoholic consumption, having many sexual escapades with various women and even dwarf tossing from time to time, the film is deeply rooted in perception gender within the genre of The Wolf of Wall Street. The word ‘genre’ is rooted into a similar category as ‘gender’
What are the issues of watching and voyeurism in film? The intention of this essay is to discuss both films (The Truman Show, 1998 and Rear Window, 1954) alongside established theoretical criticism (Laura Mulvey and Norman K. Denzin) in an attempt to demonstrate how the issues of watching and voyeurism, as seen in todays mainstream Hollywood cinema, both engages and entices the spectator and to look at how the definition of the voyeur has changed. Before entering into a discussion about voyeurism