American Film- Carol + Moonlight Flashcards
What is the focus of the course section on American Film since 2005?
The focus is on how the films affect the spectator and what they are communicating ideologically.
What two films are studied in the course?
- Moonlight (Jenkins, 2016)
- Carol (Haynes, 2015)
What is passive spectatorship?
A film that encourages passive spectatorship meets and satisfies all genre expectations and is produced by a mainstream studio for a mass audience.
What are characteristics of films that encourage active spectatorship?
- Deconstruct or subvert genre convention
- Place anti-heroes or morally questionable characters as protagonists
- Give characters implicit or intangible motivations
- Character-driven narratives
- Narratives that challenge traditional structure
- Have ambiguous or difficult ideologies
- Explore ideologies that challenge the dominant power structures
- Encourage the audience to intellectually engage with the text
True or False: An audience encouraged to be passive may focus more on their emotional response.
True
What does examining a film’s ideology involve?
Looking at the film’s messages and ideas, including its position on themes.
What are some elements a director can use to communicate a film’s ideology?
- Cinematography
- Mise en scene
- Sound
- Editing
- Performance
- Narrative Structure
- Characters and Character Arcs
- Dialogue
What is meant by encoding and decoding in film ideology?
A director encodes an ideological meaning into a text, and the audience must try to decode it.
What types of approaches can be used to analyze a film’s ideology?
- Socio-historical Approach
- Gender
- Socio-political
Fill in the blank: The ideological critical approach allows us to examine one idea at a time to avoid feeling _______.
[overwhelmed]
What might be examined when analyzing a film from a Gender perspective?
What does the film seem to say about gender?
What is Barry Jenkins known for?
He is an African American filmmaker and auteur known for films such as Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk, and The Underground Railroad.
List some themes explored in Barry Jenkins’ films.
- Marginalised identities
- Romance narratives
- The American Black experience
What is the tone commonly found in Barry Jenkins’ films?
Bittersweet, melancholy tone.
What is Mumblecore?
A genre characterized by dialogue-heavy, character-driven narratives with naturalistic performances.
What awards did Moonlight win?
- Best Picture
- Best Supporting Actor
- Best Adapted Screenplay
What controversy surrounded Moonlight’s Oscar win?
The 2015 #oscarssowhite backlash and the La La Land incident.
What is the significance of the film ‘Moonlight’ in terms of production?
It was a low budget indie film produced by A24 and Plan B.
What is the focus of sexuality studies?
Examining the social, political, and cultural factors that contribute to the understanding of sexuality
It particularly looks at mainstream representations of sexuality outside hegemonic heterosexuality.
Define hegemonic heterosexuality.
Traditional male/female relationships in line with established gender roles
Example: monogamous partnerships between masculine men and feminine women pursuing marriage and parenthood.
What did Adrienne Rich argue in her 1980 article ‘Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence’?
Heterosexuality is not natural or intrinsic to humans but a political, ideological institution enforced to benefit the hegemonic patriarchy.
How is homosexuality portrayed in relation to hegemonic heterosexuality?
It is demonised and ‘othered’ in pop culture.
What are the ways representations of sexuality interact with hegemonic sexuality?
- Endorse HS by showing it as ideal or positive
- Endorse HS by showing alternatives as deviant or problematic
- Challenge HS by criticising it
- Challenge HS by showing alternatives as ideal or positive
What two sexual relationships are represented in Moonlight?
- Chiron and Kevin
- Juan and Teresa
What does the filmmaker do to communicate an idea?
Uses film form to encode the idea.
What is the role of the spectator in the film viewing process?
The spectator decodes the film and interprets its message.
What happens if a filmmaker uses challenging film form?
It forces the audience into being active and allows for multiple interpretations.
What is aberrant decoding?
The idea that audiences can interpret texts in multiple ways, independent of the encoded message.
List some factors that could affect a spectator’s reception of Moonlight.
- Age
- Gender
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Sexuality
- Personal Experiences
- Religion
- Up-Bringing
- Class
- Film literacy
- Geography
- Family
- Political Beliefs
What is the debate regarding a film’s ideology?
- A film’s ideology comes from the filmmaker (encoded)
- A film’s ideology comes from the spectator (decoded)
What is the emotional response of a passive spectator?
They may still experience a protagonist’s journey and feel emotionally affected.
What is one message conveyed through Moonlight about young gay black men?
They are important because they are heroes in stories.
What does the final sequence of Moonlight challenge regarding hegemonic heterosexuality?
It shows a positive alternative; homosexuality as warm, intimate, and affectionate.
What film form techniques can encourage alignment with a character?
- Closeup
- Shot Reverse Shot
- POV
- Eyeline Match
- Non-diegetic Parallel Score or Soundtrack
- Non-diegetic Voiceover
What does positioning in film refer to?
Where the audience is placed in relation to characters and how they are meant to feel about them.
Define the term ‘positioning’ in the context of film.
The process of placing the audience in relation to characters and ideas within the film.
What are the three responses a spectator can have towards a character?
- Identify
- Empathise
- Sympathise
What does the filmmaker’s use of narrative techniques influence?
It positions the audience with the protagonist through a defined journey.
What is the significance of the opening sequence in Moonlight?
It uses film form elements to link to key ideas explored in the film.
How does Moonlight offer emotional catharsis?
By evoking strong emotional responses through its narrative and character experiences.
What is the source material for the film Carol?
Based on the 1952 romance novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith
The novel is significant for its representation of LGBTQ+ themes.
What film format was used to shoot Carol?
Shot on Super 16mm film
This choice contributes to the film’s aesthetic and nostalgic feel.
Who was the director of the film Carol?
Todd Haynes
Haynes is known for his contributions to queer cinema.
What societal issue does Carol primarily address regarding sexuality?
Society is the problem - not their sexuality
This challenges the traditional narratives surrounding homosexual relationships.
List the key themes explored in the film Carol.
- Sexuality
- Romance
- Attraction & Desire
- Societal pressure & expectation
- Class
- Rebellion and Choice
- Motherhood
- Public vs Private
Define hegemonic heterosexuality.
Hegemonic heterosexuality is a political, ideological institution enforced to benefit certain power dynamics
It often marginalizes alternative sexualities.
What did A. R. argue about heterosexuality in her 1980 article?
Heterosexuality is not natural or intrinsic to humans
This challenges the perception of heterosexuality as a default sexual orientation.
What are the three key sexual relationships represented in Carol?
- Carol and Therese
- Therese and Richard
- Carol and Harge
True or False: Carol endorses hegemonic sexuality as ideal or positive.
False
The film challenges hegemonic representations of sexuality.
How does Todd Haynes’ work fit into the transition of queer cinema?
He presents established pop culture figures in experimental ways
This represents a shift from radical to subversive queer cinema.
What is the significance of the opening scene in Carol?
It aligns audiences with homosexuality and represents lesbian experience as romantic and beautiful
This challenges the notion of homosexuality as ‘other’ or ‘deviant’.
What can limit our understanding of a film when using a single ideological approach?
It can reduce a film to only being about one idea
This can obscure the richness of the film’s narrative and themes.
Fill in the blank: Carol can also be read as a ______ film.
[genre]
Different interpretations can reveal varied meanings.
What are Todd Haynes’ aesthetic characteristics?
- Inconsistent aesthetics
- Reference the familiar with the unfamiliar
- Postmodern and ironic uses of film form
- Intertextual references
- Bricolage of film languages
- Themes of surveillance and intrusion
What personal factors can affect a spectator’s reception of a film according to Stuart Hall?
- Age
- Gender
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Sexuality
- Personal Experiences
- Religion
- Up-Bringing
- Class
- Film literacy
- Geography
- Family
- Political Beliefs
How might conservative values affect one’s response to Carol?
A lack of empathy for Carol choosing to leave the family unit
This reflects the influence of personal beliefs on film reception.
What are the potential criticisms of using an ideological framework to analyze Carol?
- It closes us off to other possible approaches
- It limits emotional response impact
- It overlooks aesthetic and stylistic elements
Argue that using Sexuality as a Critical Ideological Approach in relation to Carol has been useful by analyzing a key sequence.
The representation of queer identity challenges hegemonic norms
Specific sequences can illustrate this impact.
What is a counter-argument to using a single ideological framework in film analysis?
It closes us off from other ways of reading the film
Genre, Gender, and Class frameworks also provide valuable insights.
What does the closing sequence of Carol highlight regarding its themes?
It links to key ideas of sexuality, gender, and class
Analyzing film form elements can deepen understanding of these themes.
What historical context is reflected in the aesthetics of Pan’s Labyrinth?
The Spanish Civil War and Franco
This context deeply influences the film’s narrative and visual style.
What is a key scene that should be analyzed in relation to the aesthetics of Pan’s Labyrinth?
Final Sequence
This scene is crucial for understanding the film’s themes and aesthetic choices.
What is one counter-argument regarding the aesthetics of Pan’s Labyrinth?
The aesthetics may reflect the universal idea of coming-of-age and the transition to adolescence
This perspective shifts focus from socio-political contexts to personal growth.
What is another counter-argument related to the aesthetics of Pan’s Labyrinth?
The aesthetics may reflect Del Toro as an auteur
This highlights the director’s unique style and thematic preoccupations.
To what extent might different audiences respond differently to the same film?
To a significant extent, due to the complicated nature of the individual spectator and/or challenging, ambiguous film form and/or covert ideology
Audience interpretation can vary widely based on personal experiences and perspectives.
What is a contrasting possibility regarding audience responses to films?
Different audiences might be manipulated into the same specific, shared response due to the power of film form and/or narrative positioning and/or clear film form and/or overt ideology
This suggests that some films can create a unified emotional or ideological response.
How might active audiences respond to complex messages about sexuality in films?
They might respond to the films’ complex messages about sexuality
Active engagement with the material can lead to diverse interpretations.
What is another way certain audiences might interpret the text of a film?
To other ideological readings, emotional response, aesthetic, etc.
This indicates the multifaceted nature of film interpretation.
What should be checked to ensure a paragraph analyzing a film is effective?
It should start with a clear argument, debate or idea
A strong opening sets the tone for the analysis.
What technical aspects should be included in the analysis of a film?
At least ten uses of film-specific language
This enhances the specificity and depth of the analysis.
What should be included in the second half of a film analysis paragraph?
Technical evidence to back up counter-arguments or wider explorations
This strengthens the overall argument and shows thorough understanding.
What is an important aspect of wording in a film analysis paragraph?
The specific wording of the question should be used throughout the paragraph
This ensures the analysis remains focused and relevant.
What elements could contribute to the texture and depth of a film analysis?
Quotes, contextual references
These elements provide additional layers of meaning and support the argument.
