Section B - American: La La Land (Chazelle, 2016) & Captain Fantastic (Ross, 2016) Flashcards
Define
Passive Spectatorship
How does it relate to La La Land?
Audience doesn’t question/engage with text or its message
Big Hollywood musical - escapism
Define
Active Spectatorship
Audience questions/engages with the text and it’s message
Arthouse indie film, encourages audience to think for themselves
Define all 4 possible readings in Hall’s Reception Theory
Dominant Reading = audience interprets and agrees with intended meaning
Negotiated Reading = audience interprets intended meaning, but doesn’t quite agree with it (makes up own mind)
Oppositional Reading = audience interprets intended meaning, but doesn’t agree with it
Aberrant Reading = audience doesn’t understand intended meaning
Define Uses of Gratification Theory
Media has no power over audiences
Audiences choose media they want to consume
Audience creates own meaning - text = ‘open’ to individual interpretation
Conventions of Musicals
Simple storylines - normally heterosexual love story
Suspension of disbelief: set in fantasy world where musical numbers appear out of nowhere
Characters outwardly expressing their hopes, dreams & emotions through song to progress narrative of serious themes
Lavish colourful sets: scenery changing from real to dreamlike
Appears set on stage - reminiscent of theatre production
What type of entertainment are musicals
Escapist entertainment
Passive watching, viewer away from every day reality
Unchallenging, passive watching
Cinematography & editing techniques in La La Land’s ‘Another Day of Sun’
Camera tracks along traffic jam of people trying to get into L.A - all queuing up for stardom, never going anywhere. Always something in their way
Camera moves like a dancer, follows them. Full immersion
Edited to look like 1 long take - whip-pan movement to seem continuous, don’t notice cuts, forget it’s a film
References old musicals - ‘Singin’ in the Rain’
Miss-en-scene techniques in La La Land’s ‘Another Day of Sun’
Bright primary colours, symbolises optimism
Shocking colour reflects Technicolor of classical Hollywood musicals (Singin’ in the Rain)
Main influence of La La Land
‘The Umbrellas of Cherboug’
Combination of fantasy and realism
Story of a man trying to start his own business, and his former lover witnesses his success with a daughter from another man
Also shot on location
Budget and global box office of La La Land
Budget - $30 mil
Global box office = $446 mil
Mise-en-scene techniques used in La La Land’s ‘Seb on Piano’
Spotlight on him playing the stuff he loves
Lighting all around him dims to darkness
Like playing a stage, reflecting ambitions
No applause - fired at the end
How active spectatorship created in La La Land’s ‘Seb on Piano’
Seb fired, though was rude to his boss: “Mutual decision, then.”
Stubborn
Did he deserve to be fired?
How is ‘playfulness and self reference’ post-modern?
How does this relate to ‘La La Land’?
Classic narratives hide they’re fictional, edited to hide cuts. Postmodern films draw attention to fact it’s constructed
Playing with narrative - Mia goes up to Seb, cuts back to first meeting on highway, then goes through his day back to piano. Prevents immersion: encouraging active audience
Experimental editing, bright colours - dancing at the observatory
How is ‘generic blurring and intertextuality’ post-modern?
How does this relate to ‘La La Land’?
Elements of other genres blend into the film, explicit references to popular culture
La La Land has lots of references to classic films throughout it - homage to old musicals
How is ‘popular media meets high culture’ post-modern?
How does this relate to ‘La La Land’?
Divisions between ‘high culture’ (opera, theatre, classic literature) and pop culture (pop music, mainstream film, video games, TV) played with
E.g: ‘Moulin Rouge’ - storylines of operas, contemporary music
La La Land - references to classic musicals, mix with modern music (Seb playing 80s songs)
How is ‘fragmentation and the death of representation’ post-modern?
How does this relate to ‘La La Land’?
Range of fragments from other texts, genres and influences. Modern audiences so used to reading media signs and messages, reading media representations has become the dominant sense of ‘reality’
Representations becoming constructs of other representations
How is ‘uncertainty and the loss of context’ post-modern?
How does this relate to ‘La La Land’?
Make us feel no generic rules any more - anything can happen. Postmodernist films challenge life or belief systems we take for granted - masculinity, femininity, politics, identity, truth, history, etc.
La La Land creates uncertainty with it’s ending - would she have been better off staying with Seb?
Define
Modernism
Art movement associated with industrial revolution, machines replacing humans. Aim create artworks that better reflected modern society
Focus on innovation/experimentation in forms, materials and techniques
Define
Postmodernism
Belief that new approaches needed to understand the present. Boundaries between fiction and reality blurred
Playfully, nostalgically and respectfully acknowledging the past
Audiences removed from conventional emotional link they have to subject matter, gain new view of it
Arguments for existence of post-modernism
How this relates to ‘La La Land’
Baudrillard:
- Postmodern products exist due to lack of originality
- All stories been told, new narratives just a variation of pre-existing ones
La La Land’s narrative = re-working of ‘The Umbrellas of Cherbourg’
Define
Pastiche
Mixing of styles, intertextual reference
Text borrows style, tone or form from other texts. Uses old styles to create contemporary product
Does Laura Mulvey’s ‘male gaze theory’ apply to La La Land?
Yes - Mia’s audition, take perspective of director’s chair, see her audition, what female stars go through
No - Mia’s perspective of Seb playing piano. Watches him play more than he watches her
Define
Jackie Stacey’s ‘Star Gazing’ theory
Focused on appeal of female stars to consider ways women get pleasure from characters constructed for male gaze
Argued women don’t feel inequality. Instead, inspired by films stars and characters actively change their lives and lifestyles
Gain pleasure either:
- Escapism (Hollywood Glamour)
- Identification (See yourselves as that character)
How does Jackie Stacey believe women identify with female characters?
- Identification process takes place in mind of female viewer, watching female character
- Transcendence. Female viewers put themselves in place of glamorous film star
- Mulvey previously argued cinema only offers this experience for males, as female audience lacked strong female characters to identify with
How does Jackie Stacey believe women were inspired by female stars?
Hollywood film stars provided female spectators with unattainable, sexual images of idealised femininity
The female viewer see female star as role model, something to aim for
How does ‘La La Land’ relate to Jackie Stacey’s ‘Star Gazing’ theory?
Mia - female viewers more likely to look up to her as form of escapism - glamorous women trying to become an actress, female audience can aspire to be her
Seb - male viewers can aspire to be him as well - hopeful they can get their own dreams
How does ‘La La Land’ celebrate the audience experience?
Mia = Seb’s spectator, revels in experience of consuming art: jazz, cinema, 80s pop, theatre. Dancing at Seb playing 80s music - loves being in the audience
Takes these as inspiration to create something new - her own play
How are extreme long shots used to create meaning in ‘Captain Fantastic’?
Opening shot- establishes and romanticises nature. Much smaller shots of urban landscape - claustrophobic
Wide bird’s eye shots - passive spectatorship
How are shots repeated to create meaning in ‘Captain Fantastic’?
Ben’s close-ups in rear view mirror repeated throughout film: establishes how he is somewhat distanced from his family, needs to connect to them
How is hair symbolic in ‘Captain Fantastic’?
Ben shaves beard as a sign of being a changed man, no longer stubborn and will protect his family
Bo shaves his head -> mark change in lifestyle & identity
How the family’s costumes create meaning in ‘Captain Fantastic’?
Funeral scene - mourners dressed in black, whilst they wear bright, colourful clothes and unusual outfits (Zaja’s gas mask). Jacks calls Ben “some hippy in a clown outfit”
- Shows how they celebrate life when someone dies, when the rest are very upset
Binary opposition between them and the mourners, and between Ben and the church
How does lighting create meaning in ‘Captain Fantastic’?
Harsh lighting on basketball court when Bo and Rellian discuss Ben
Contrasts naturalistic lighting in rest of film - blackness -> gravity of difficult conversation, whether their dad is “dangerous” or not
How narrative in ‘Captain Fantastic’ creates meaning?
Film book-ended with ‘rite of passage scenes’ that contrast the family and mainstream lifestyles
- Start, Bo eats a deer heart on his 18th birthday, covered in mud body paint
- End, Bo goes off to Uni after getting a pep-talk from his Dad
How editing creates passive spectatorship in ‘Captain Fantastic’?
Matt Ross (on avoiding conspicuous editing): "Only afterwards say "wow that was a oner. They never cut". I don't want to notice that when I'm watching. I want to feel the intention of it." - Wants film to just be viewed as a story, not a construct
How Ben’s hallucinations create meaning in ‘Captain Fantastic’?
Hallucinations of Leslie breaks film’s editing techniques, other-worldly
Visual softness, choral religious music, lighting effects make her appear, fade away and re-appear like an angel. Ben sees her as an angel watching over his family
How music creates meaning in ‘Captain Fantastic’?
Bagpipe music on bus suggests army -> battle.
Ben - “So they know we’re coming.”
How theme of acceptance presented in ‘Captain Fantastic’?
Rell wants to be like rest of society, unlike rest of siblings: “Why can’t we celebrate Christmas like the rest of the world?”
- Plays violent video games with his cousins
- The others try to ‘rescue’ him from his grandparents’ house
Bo wants to go off to University, hides letters from his father. Scared of what he would think
How theme of parenting presented in ‘Captain Fantastic’?
Film explores different parenting approaches and challenges them
Ben is liberal, kids think for themselves, but outcasts from society. Harper’s kids are included in society, but are stupid brats
Ultimately, kids decide how they want to be raised, choosing their father over their grandparents
People looking for alternative to raising city kids - what values do you want to teach your children?
How theme of gender presented in ‘Captain Fantastic’?
All kids perform same tasks, taught same skills: roles not gendered in film
Closing scene implies integrate into mainstream society - Zaja has “feminine” costume and styling for 1st time in narrative
Which animation studio influenced ‘Captain Fantastic’?
Ross: “I wanted to create something that was psychically hopeful. I think Pixar does this very well. Their movies are emotional without being empty. They’re sentimental but they earn it.”
Political contexts of ‘Captain Fantastic’
Running for president:
Trump = right wing, Sanders = left wing, Clinton = moderate
Left and right wing selling different versions of anti-establishment
Ben and Jack represent ideologies viewpoints - both dislike that, as Ben says, “the powerful control the lives of the powerless”
Institutional contexts of ‘Captain Fantastic’
Sought funding from producer Lynette Howard Taylor at Sundance film festival
Success and wide-release due to word of mouth and reviews alone: typical of indie films
How ‘Captain Fantastic’ encourages use to think about who we want to side with
Encourages alignment with Ben through is hallucinations of Leslie (close-up P.O.V.s, intimate)
Both sides - consider pros and cons of Ben’s and Jack’s lifestyle for themselves. Spectator’s own experiences and ideologies influence their viewpoint
Ross: “No one in this film is the villain… (Jack) is antagonistic… but he is not the antagonist”
“His love is different but just as legitimate”
What is the audience expectation of an indie arthouse film?
How does this relate to ‘Captain Fantastic’?
Audience expects left-wing politics
Balanced approach of film questions audience’s expectations
How does ‘Captain Fantastic’ question American Society?
Kids enter mainstream society and say “everyone is fat”
Kids pretend to be a Christian cult to disconcert police officer
Recurring quotes = “power to the people”, “stick it to The Man”
How is self-improvement portrayed in ‘Captain Fantastic’?
Importance of diverse education - kids study academic subjects (literature, politics, quantum physics), creativity, survival skills and physical fitness valued highly. Encourages methodical, structured lifestyle
How does Ben’s character develop throughout ‘Captain Fantastic’?
Stubborn, opinionated, caring. Mixed response to him
Learns to accept modern society more, and listens more to his children, treating them more like people
How does Bodevan’s character develop throughout ‘Captain Fantastic’?
Kind, intelligent, awkward, angry on the inside - wants a normal life. Root for him
Argues with his dad until they listen to each other
How does Rellian’s character develop throughout ‘Captain Fantastic’?
Rebel child, angsty, angry, goes against his father
Tries to leave family, but accepts his family’s lifestyle
How does Grandpa Jack’s character develop throughout ‘Captain Fantastic’?
Grieving for his dead daughter - blames Ben for it, wants custody of his kids
Foil to Ben - but does accept that the kids want to live with him
How does ‘Captain Fantastic’ fit the tropes of a ‘road movie’?
Framing of characters within mirrors: Ben keeps being framed in his rear view mirror
Narrative of a quest: quest to stop their mother’s funeral, give her the send off she wanted
Exploration of social constructs of home, work and family: different opinions and sides shown on perspective of parenting
Iconography of vast, open landscapes: used of both nature and of American highway (contrast)
How is spectator alignment created in the opening scene of ‘Captain Fantastic’?
Initially aligned with the deer - motivated shots of eyes watching through foliage. Sense threat deer is facing, fear for it
Family covered in mud - monstrous, threatening, less humane -> difficult to identify with. They then go and wash themselves and play in the river. More human, align with them
How is grief presented in ‘Captain Fantastic’?
Ben straight up tells his kids that their mum killed herself. Treats them like adults, make sure they understand rather than sugarcoat it. Doesn’t tell Rellian off for acting out aggressively
Harper and her husband lie to their teenage kids about what happened to Leslie. Tell them she got sick and died, making subject of mental illness taboo
Conflict about this in the dinner party scene
Different perspectives shown with strengths and weaknesses
How do visual cues create spectatorship in the dinner party scene of ‘Captain Fantastic’?
Framing - Ben is framed to be literally dividing the frame. Camera behind him, kids on one side, rest of family on the other. He is dividing this family - active response
How do audio cues create spectatorship during Leslie’s cremation in ‘Captain Fantastic’?
Song “Sweet Child of Mine” - we sit back, watch and listen to the performance, enjoy it. Don’t question what we’re seeing: have fun alongside family, passive spectatorship
Dominant response to ‘Captain Fantastic’
Audience question their viewpoint, accepts other viewpoints, maybe even changing their own
Negotiated response to ‘Captain Fantastic’
Audience question viewpoint, but does not change it to allow new ideas in
Oppositional response to ‘Captain Fantastic’
Audience doesn’t question their viewpoint, but further reinforces they are correct
How La La La merges classic musicals and real life
Film shot almost entirely on location: idea of old school musical grounded in reality
Use of real, ugly locations - Freeway 105 (opening), Rialto Cinema (first date)
Use of bright colour - fairytale
How La La Land merges past and present
How does this create ideology?
Mise-en-scene combines contemporary with vintage elements, film caught between past and present
Modern care, except for Seb’s
Mobile phones, billboards in vintage style
Film trying to give message of how we need to bring the past into the present (conservative). Big Hollywood studio - doesn’t criticise dominant ideology
How has the ideology of ‘La La Land’ been criticised?
Representation of gender, race and lack of LGBT characters Not acknowledging how a return to the past only benefits white middle class 30s 'Fred and Ginger’ films = traditional glamour and romance, but hide racial discrimination, gender inequality and homophobia of time period Seb wants to return to world before jazz was political; racist L.A. during 40s. Black and latino jazz fans beaten and killed by mobs because of the clothes they wore.
