No Country For Old Men

Question 1

What comprises a mainstream movie

Answer 1

1. made by a major studio
2. large budget
3. made for profit
4. rooted in the traditions of classical Hollywood

Question 2

What are the aspects of the Western genre

Answer 2

1. “too proud to run”
2. isolated and self-governed towns
3. police are heroes
4. took on a moral dimension
5. represented American decency
6. were a mythological touchstone of American values

Question 3

How similar is NCFOM’s visual aesthetic to a Western genre

Answer 3

1. Set in the deep South
2. costume (Stetson hat)
3. accents

Question 4

How different is NCFOM’s visual aesthetic to a Western genre

Answer 4

1. no isolated town
2. no standoff
3. nobody wins
4. villain escapes
5. Anton’s outfit
6. the West is vast, barren, and empty

Question 5

what is the cinematography of the desert in NCFOM

cinematographer Roger Deakins

Answer 5

burnt-out orange and blanched out beiges

Question 5

what is the cinematography of urban areas in NCFOM

Answer 5

garish, manmade, fluorescent (tubes used)

Question 6

What is NCFOM’s aesthetic

Answer 6

the changing West

Question 7

What was Roger Deakins inspired by

Answer 7

traditional westerns and the changing west

Question 8

Why might active spectators not give allegiance to Sheriff Bell

Answer 8

they don’t believe he will uphold the law

Question 9

Why would a spectator place allegiance with Llewelyn Moss

Answer 9

he would use the money to be a better husband and is presented as a traditional western hero

Question 10

What is the significance of the lack of score in NCFOM

Answer 10

1. limited soundtrack cues
2. ‘remove safety net’
3. spectator can focus on cinematography and performance

Question 11

Why is there a lack of score in NCFOM

Answer 11

forces the spectator to be active

Question 12

How does the costumes in NCFOM influence alignment

Answer 12

1. address typical genre conventions
2. preconditioned that dark=bad and light=good

Question 13

How does sparse dialogue contribute to NCFOM’s aesthetic

Answer 13

develops the use of ellipses in the narrative

Question 14

what does a slow editing pace suggest about America

Answer 14

1. law and order is outdated
2. slow in understanding their global posiiton (live in the past)

Question 15

how is Anton’s gender represented

Answer 15

1. is neither masculine or feminine in a traditional western sense
2. reflects a post-modern villain
3. undefined actions, just evil

Question 16

how is Moss’ gender represented

Answer 16

1. represents modern masculinity (traditional+untraditional)
2. morally ambiguous

Question 17

how is Bell’s gender represented

Answer 17

1. tries to represent traditional masculinity
2. gender ties with age

Question 18

how are women represented in NCFOM

Answer 18

1. affected by men’s actions
2. narratively insignificant
3. women don’t romanticise the past

Question 19

how is Bell’s age represented

Answer 19

1. places himself in danger by romanticising the past
2. in his world there is a clear good and evil
3. always one step behind
4. older characters are traditionally wiser yet he isn’t

Question 20

how is traditional masculinity represented in NCFOM

Answer 20

as something unattainable and left in the past