American Film Specialist Areas Flashcards
What is the focus of the course section on American Film since 2005?
The focus is on how films affect the spectator and what they communicate ideologically.
What are the two films studied in this course section?
- Moonlight (Jenkins, 2016)
- Carol (Haynes, 2015)
What type of audience does a film that encourages passive spectatorship create?
An audience that is more focused on their emotional response.
What are some characteristics of films that encourage passive spectatorship?
- Meet and satisfy all genre expectations
- Be produced by a mainstream studio for a mass audience
- Provide a closed ending
- Establish clear characters with defined goals
- Conform to narrative logic and causality
- Focus on action-driven sequences
- Follow clear narrative structures
- Have ideological values that conform to dominant power structures
What defines a film that encourages active spectatorship?
It encourages the audience to intellectually engage with the text.
List characteristics of films that encourage active spectatorship.
- Deconstruct or subvert genre conventions
- 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 dominant power structures
True or False: A film’s ideology is solely based on its themes.
False.
What does examining a film’s ideology involve?
Looking at its messages and ideas.
What techniques can directors use to communicate a film’s ideology?
- Cinematography
- Mise en scene
- Sound
- Editing
- Performance
- Narrative Structure
- Characters and Character Arcs
- Dialogue
What does it mean when a director encodes an ideological meaning into a text?
It means the director embeds a specific message that audiences must decode.
What is an ideological critical approach to film analysis?
It allows us to examine one idea at a time.
What are some perspectives from which we might examine a film?
- Gender
- Ethnicity and Race
- Class
- Sexuality
- Age
- Politics
- Society
What is Barry Jenkins known for in the film industry?
Being an African American filmmaker and an auteur.
What are some themes explored by Barry Jenkins in his films?
- Marginalised identities
- Romance narratives
- The American Black experience
Fill in the blank: Barry Jenkins directed the film _______.
[Moonlight]
What unique visual style is associated with Barry Jenkins’ films?
Shallow focus straight-on Close Ups that break the fourth wall.
What awards did ‘Moonlight’ win?
- Best Picture
- Best Supporting Actor
- Best Adapted Screenplay
What controversy surrounded the Oscars win for ‘Moonlight’?
The 2015 #oscarssowhite backlash and the La La Land incident.
What is the significance of the film’s position on themes?
It communicates the film’s ideological stance on those themes.
What is the role of the audience’s individual identity in film response?
It influences how the audience interprets and responds to the text.
True or False: The audience’s response is entirely independent of the film’s intended message.
False.
