How is District 9 typical of its genre(s) ?

District 9 is a hybrid of two genres because it is part Sci fi and it is also in a documentary style. This means that it is a hybrid and a strand of the post Modern theory.

Sci fi Conventions
Transformation/Body horror - A typical convention of sci fi is a transformation of a character (usually human) into something else, which is typically a human. Body horror is also common in sci fi film and this is when body parts, such as fingernail or teeth, are dismembered. This occurs in District 9 when Wikus van de Merde goes to the office bathroom to look at his teeth and fingernails. He looks into the mirror and pulls out two fingernails of his hands. This scene is also paying homage because Neil Blomkamp has specifically included this scene to pay homage to David CroenBurg's film "The Fly". This gratifies the preferred audience's viewing needs.

New technologies and their consequences - Most, if not all, sci fi films include a new form of technology and this has consequences on the world and the people that live in it. This is the case in District 9 because the arrival of the aliens also brings with it the arrival of new, powerful weapons.  This has many consequences on the world including the movement of millions of "prawns" so that MNU (a weapons manufacturer and private security) can find hidden weapons and sell them on to other companies ad arms dealers. This is proven in one of the interviews and stock footage of weapons MNU weapons testing.

Typical Iconography - Iconography is the images and symbols that are typically used in a work of art. In this case the work of art is  a film and the images and symbols can be object which are common in sci films.

Bibliography

Bibliography

1)   - www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/stereotype

2)  - Denise Sajdl – Visual Culture – The Representation of Women in Contemporary Media   - Page 6

3) - http://ts-si.org/society/24717-us-action-films-tough-girls-still-weaker-sidechicks

4) - http://ts-si.org/society/24717-us-action-films-tough-girls-still-weaker-sidechicks

5) - http://ts-si.org/society/24717-us-action-films-tough-girls-still-weaker-sidechicks

6) - www.gamestudies.org/0202/kennedy/

7) - www.gamestudies.org/0202/kennedy/

8) - http://ayjw.org/articles.php?id=747151

9) - http://ayjw.org/articles.php?id=747151

10)  - http://ayjw.org/articles.php?id=747151

11) - http://www.tulane.edu/~femtheory/journals/paper7.html

12) – The representation of women in the harry potter novels - Nina Kayser

13) - http://mollycliftona2.wordpress.com/2010/09/16/representation-of-women-in-james-bond-movies/

14) -  Bond Girls:
Gender, Technology and Film -
Michelle Adams - Georgetown University – Page 8

15) -  http://sc2220.wetpaint.com/page/Portrayal+of+Women+in+Cinematic+James+Bond

16) – http://mollycliftona2.wordpress.com/2010/09/16/representation-of-women-in-james-bond-movies/

17) - The representation of women in the harry potter novels - Nina Kayser – Page 14

How are your chosen texts typical of there genre?

Our text Sin City is a post modern film because it is a hybrid of both comic book and Film Noir genre. A convention of film noir is the cynical protagonist (propp's Character role). This protagonist doesn't care what happens to him and is willing to endanger himself because this day could be his last. This links back to the cold war and post WW2. In the cold war, the citizens of America were expecting and waiting for nuclear bombs to drop and they were expecting that  this day could be their last. So they didn't care what would happen to them because they were expecting to die soon anyway. This can be seen  when we first meet Dwight in Shellie's apartment. He is willing to beat up Jackie and his men, even though he is out numbered and he probably wouldn't survive. He then also threatens Jackie with a cut throat razor and forces his head into a toilet bowl. This shows that he does't care about himself and is willing to endanger himself, because Jackie is a violent and dangerous character.

Another film Noir convention is the Femme Fatale. A Femme fatale is usually a attractive woman who uses her body to manipulate and gain influence over a male character. She might also be quite intelligent but she recognises that she can use her body to get what she wants. This links back to WW2, where the men were away at war and this left the woman at home to do all the jobs that the men would usually do. When the soldiers came back from war in 1945, they wanted this "power" back but the woman didn't want to give the power back. This can be seen with the character Shellie, in her apartment. This scene suggests that Dwight and Shellie have slept together as Dwight has no short on. This shows that Shellie is a Femme Fatale as she is using her body to gain influence over a male character probably for protect from Jackie.

Trench Coats are also common in film Noir and they act as a film noir convention and a comic book convention. The Trench coat was the typical "uniform" for a private detective protagonist that use to star in old fashioned film noir, but when the protagonist runs it also acts as a cape like super heroes. This is the perfect example of post modernism hybrid as they have mixed a convent to suit both genres of film.

How stereotypical are the representations of woman in the action genre, with particular reference and analysis of Tomb Raider, Lara Croft And Tomorrow Never Dies from the Bond Franchise

How stereotypical are the representations of woman in the action genre, with particular reference and analysis of Tomb Raider, Lara Croft and Tomorrow Never Dies from the James Bond franchise

For my research investigation I plan to discuss, how stereotypical are the representations of woman in the action genre, with particular reference and analysis of Tomb Raider, Lara Croft and Tomorrow Never Dies from the James Bond franchise. My aim within this investigation will be firstly, to question whether these films stick to the stereotypical female character roles, which have little real importance to the narrative. Secondly, whether the characters break the stereotype of a traditional representation of females and gender roles and instead portray a strong feminine character, which is in control and doesn’t rely on the male characters. Lastly I will be investigating if woman are often represented as using their body and beauty to gain power over males, rather than their minds and intellect. To assist my analysis I will apply the theories of The Male Gaze by Laura Mulvey and Prop’s Narrative theory alongside Post Feminism.  

 

A dictionary definition of representation describes it as “a widely held but fixed and over simplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.”(1) Women, in the past, have had a very obvious stereotypical representation within film that has developed somewhat throughout time. “Women were a symbol of family, Keywords associated with women some 50 years ago were children, home and household” (2). This sums up the stereotypical and traditional representation of women that, you could say, is still held in modern society and represented within film. However, producers have to be subtler if they represent these issues as we live in a modern world, where stereotypes can be frowned upon.

 

The narrative of Tomb Raider depicts a young, attractive and athletic woman living in a large mansion and having two male servants at her command. This does contrast to the stereotypical representation of women because it represents a woman who has power over males, which is unusual in modern action films. However, to discover if this film totally opposes the stereotype representation I need to apply Propp’s theory to see if Lara advances the narrative and therefore breaks this stereotype. Lara could be given the role of hero, as she is the character that under takes the quest to search for “The Triangle of Light”. This suggests that she should be able to advance the narrative. This role is usually taken by a strong, dominating male character so it is unusual that a woman undertakes this role. “Findings showed that 58.6% of VFACs (violent female action characters) were portrayed in a submissive role to the male hero in the film, and 42% were romantically linked to him.” (3) This demonstrates that it is quite rare for a woman to be the dominant character in the action genre as well as only acting as a goal for the male characters, but does this statistic apply to Lara Croft? “Women continue to be shown as sidekicks to more dominant male heroes” (4) It is a common held belief that woman are given the role of sidekick (A role in Propp’s theory), or “sidechick” (5) and don’t add to the narrative. To discover whether Lara’s Character is a female hero and therefore whether she advances the narrative I analysed a key scene in the text where both she and the illuminati agents are trying to collect a piece of the triangle of light. Lara uses her intelligence to work out the 2000-year-old puzzle, that men could not, and then uses a battering ram like device and her momentum to destroy the crucible that holds the first piece of this magical triangle. She manages to do this before the male villain (another of Propp’s roles) and she manages to escape with it, while defending herself against both the male illuminati agents and resurrected stone temple guardians. This implies that she is not a damsel in distress that is often seen in action films and that she can defend herself against many strong male characters and this clearly dictates the narrative. Lara can be seen as intelligent as well as being physically strong.

The Tomb Raider text is an adaption of the very popular video game series, released in 1998. “There is no doubt that Tomb Raider marked a significant departure from the typical role of women within popular computer games” (6). These games were hugely different to other popular games at that time as it allowed the audience, mainly young males, to control a young, athletic and beautiful woman opposed to an equally strong male character. This may sound like a positive that a strong female character has finally been created in a virtual world dominated by males but in fact it could be the exact opposite. “Each of her provocative curves was as much part of the game as the tombs she raided.” (7) These video games allowed young males to control a young and sexy female character. Its success could be down to theories such as Mulvey’s male gaze, as the audience will look at Croft as voyeur.“Two key insights which appear relevant to Lara are Mulvey's argument that the female body operates as an eroticized object of the male gaze and the fetishistic and scopophilic pleasures which this provides for the male viewer”(8). “Video games allow the player more free choice than a film” (9). In a film the audience are forced to watch the shots that the director choses, whereas in a video game it is up to the player. They get to choose where they want to go and where the camera is; this is a big factor when it comes to Lara Croft and her body image as it allows the audience to gaze and linger at the females curves in whatever perspective they desire. “She is probably most well-known for Barbie-like proportions, which are exaggerated even for Barbie.” (10) The Lara croft video games allow the player, usually males, to manipulate the camera angles to gaze at Lara’s over exaggerated proportions and gain pleasure from them.

 

This theory can also be applied to my text. There are several scenes where the camera lingers over her body before it moves onto the next shot. “In the case of film, control of the camera and therefore the control of the gaze is almost always firmly settled in the male sphere.” (11) In the first scene of the film Croft is exploring what looks to be an ancient tomb, as she steps through the threshold she surveys the area while walking down a set of steps. There is then a 5 second shot of her bare thighs as she moves around the tomb. A minute after this shot there is another shot of her bare thighs. This proves that some aspects of the film employ the voyeuristic male gaze theory and that they try to satisfy the male objectifying croft and not just relying on her personality. “There is an identification of the sexual with the female body.” (12) In the modern age directors have to be discreet when applying the male gaze to women, this can be seen in Lara Croft. In this scene Lara’s guns are attached to her thighs. This means that they can direct the gaze of the viewer at her thighs and her guns; this shot is obviously there so the viewer can look at her thighs but the guns makes it more subtle.

 

James Bond films have always been famous for the Bond girls. “The phrase ‘Bond Girl’ usually spurs up an image of an attractive woman in beautiful clothes capturing the attention mainly of men”(13). The camera techniques really emphasise their purpose of visual pleasure by the use of pans up and down the woman body or slow motion shots. This puts the audience in the position of a male and forces them to look at woman the way a male would. “She is being watched without her knowledge: the female is subjected to the male gaze by both Bond and the audience”(14). This can be seen in the text Tomorrow Never Dies. After meeting Elliot Carver (the villain) at his party, Bond retires to his hotel room. There, he sits and waits for Paris Carver (A Bond Girl). After a short dialogue sequence they embrace and a long shot depicts Paris removing her dress and revealing her almost naked body. The camera shot forces the audience to look at her body through the eyes of a male, by using close ups and camera movements, such as pans, it forces the audience to look at the women body in a sexual way. Paris is using her body rather than her intelligence to gain an advantage over bond reinforcing the Mulvey’s male gaze theory. Using Strauss’s binary opposition this contrast to the character Wai Lin, who rejects Bond’s attempt at seduction. After Bond and Lin escape Carver men on a bike, they have a clothed shower together and try to release the handcuffs that are holding them together. When Bond tries to seduce her, Lin manages to pick the lock, with her earring, and says “Don’t get any ideas, I work alone” before handcuffing Bond to a drainage pipe. Here she clearly rejects Bond’s advances and escapes from him into a village square. However, eventually after they have killed Carver, Lin gives in to the temptation and makes love to Bond. Which shows that even some of the strong, independent woman are itemised by Bond. “Even women were initially portrayed to be independent and strong-willed, having a stern attitude towards men eventually succumbed to Bond’s charm.” (15). This however links to the theory of post feminism, which suggests that woman can be strong and independent, as well as using their sexuality for their own gain. This applies to Lin because she can be independent and complete her mission, but she can also use her body to achieve what she wants.

 

Applying Propp’s character theory to my text the ‘Bond Girls’tend to act as the princess, who acts as a reward for the hero when they have completed their quest. This is the case for many of the Bond films as they act as sexual relation to Bond.

“Women in the film add a sexual aspect to the plot” (16). However, this may not be the case for the character Wai Lin as she has a key part in the narrative and she could be classed as the sidekick. In the final scene of the text, Bond is captured by the villain and is just about to be killed. Lin then manages to create a distraction that allows Bond to escape. This shows that Lin, as the sidekick, is an important character/part of the narrative because without her Bond would have been killed and failed his question.

However, even Wai Lin can be seen as helpless and as a “damsel in distress”. When Bond and Lin first enter the stealth boat, Carver’s henchman capture Lin. Bond then continues to sneak around the boat and plants a remote controlled grenade next to a set of explosives. He then sneaks into the control room and manages to take Henry Gupta (a technology terrorist) hostage. Bond then trades Gupta for Lin and then detonates the grenade and destroys part of the boat making it visible on radar. This scene shows that even though Lin is clever and is very important to the narrative, she still relies on males for help and to rescue her. This proves that she is not completely independent and does not totally break the gender role. This can also been seen later in the text when Lin is captured by Stamper (Carver’s General).

 

Lara Croft marks a step forward in representing females film because it shows a strong, intelligent, independent and dominant female character and this is unusual in modern film. She plays an important part in the narrative by reuniting the “triangle” and defeating the male villain in a one on one fight, showing that she breaks the character roles and is not a “passive” female character that are so common in the modern action genre. However, there are several scenes in the text where her body is subjected to the male gaze, which shows that she doesn’t totally break the stereotypical representation of woman. This may be present to gratify the male audiences consumption habits.“A high number of people often still promote the image of women as sex symbols today. Examples of these films are Lara croft and James Bond. “(17). The representation of woman in Lara Croft is sometimes similar to that in Tomorrow Never Dies. The character Wai Lin can be compared to Croft, as she too is a strong and independent woman that doesn’t always rely on male characters. However, she is also subjected to the male gaze and is sometimes objectified by Bond. Paris Carver contrasts to these two women because she is only used for her body and she totally relies on the other male character. She offers no advance to the narrative and only acts as a distraction away from the main plot. To summarise female representation is progressing, but still contains some traditional roles and expectations, which one could argue reflects progress but not reformed society gender roles.

Three Social realism conventions and scenes to show them

Conventions.
The social realism genre aims to give a accurate "representation of real life with all its difficulties." Many techniques are used to make the films as realistic as possible. These include:

1. Handheld camera

A hand held camera is often used in social realism films to make them more realistic. For example when someone walks they're field of view changes, this is then reflected by using the hand held camera movement.  This is used in many scenes in the film Fish tank. A example of this is when Mia has just brought Keira back to her house. Mia is walking down a road when she sees Connor approaching in his car. She jumps over a fence at the side of the road and then starts to run away from him. The camera, which is film side on, then starts to move quite violently up and down as she is running. This camera shake shows the viewer what it is like to be running like the character and therefore makes the scene more realistic to the viewer. 

2. The use of Diegetic sound

Most social realist films only contain Diegetic sound, this is sound that is in the scene. This is not added in later in post production (editing). This makes it more realistic because we only hear what we would hear if we were actually in the scene. In most scenes the viewer sees the source of the sound or noise. This maybe the person that is speaking or maybe a speaker or music device. This film is typical of its genre because it contain the use of diegetic sound, when Mia is practicing her dance for the competition in the abandoned flat. We (as the viewer) see the source of the music that she is dancing to. We see a close up on the music device, which is a pair of speakers plugged into a CD player on the window sill. 

3. Shallow depth of field (shallow focus) 

This film is typical of its genre because a shallow focus is often used. A shallow focus means that only one person/object is in focus and the rest of the scene is out of focus. This is used in social realist films because it is how our eyes see things in real life. This is used when Mia is in the scrap yard looks for car parts with the boy. The camera pans round the scrap yard and a wall of cars. The camera is behind Mia. Mia is only thing in focus and the wall of cars are out of focus. 

Sin City - Applying Propp and Todorov

Does Propp apply?

Propps character theory suggests that there are eight main character roles. He discovered these by studying fairy tales. These character roles are 

• Hero
• Sidekick
• Villain 
• Donar 
• Princess
• father 
• False Hero 
• Quest Giver 

Most of these character roles can be applies to Sin city in some form. 

Hero

In Sin City there are many heroes. There are three main Heroes 

1. John Heartigan      2. Marv        3. Dright 

These heroes try to complete their missions for the common good, They may have a violent way of completing their missions an sometimes it may not seem very hero like (when marv is torturing the mercenary) but they are trying to be "good"

Villain 

There are also many heroes in Sin city, there are many more villains than there are heroes. 

Some of them include

1. The members of the Roark family (junior, senior and Uncle)     2. Jack (Jackie Boy) 

3. Manute  (The man with the Golden Eye)

These villains commit many evils deed which make people fear them. The heroes of the genre try to vanquish the villains and stop them  from committing more evil deeds. 

False Hero

There is possibly a false hero in this film. A False hero is some one who betrays the hero, so that they can benefit from it. 

Becky could be classed a false Hero as she betrays her friends in old town by telling Manute that the inhabitants of old town have killed Jack, thus breaking the agreement between them and the Mob. 

She turns in her friends because the villains threaten her mum. 

Does Todorov Apply?

Sin City - Genre Conventions

 For the exam i will pick three conventions from Film Noir and three conventions from Comic book to analyse. I will the have to pick a scene for each genre convention.

Film Noir

Femme Fatale Character role - A femme fatale is a film noir genre convention. A femme fatale uses her body and her sexuality to "control" the male characters and get them to do what they (the woman) want.
This can be seen in the character Goldie/Wendy. Goldie can only be seen in one scene, where she is sleeping with Marv. She is using her body and her sexuality to get the Marv to do what she wants. She needs protection from Roark's men so she sleeps with Marv to gain protect from him.



Cynical Protagonist character role - Another film Noir genre convention is a Cynical protagonist. This is the main character (usually male) who doesn't his life and always sees the worst in the world and in them selves. They often have flaws and the use of a narrative voice over gives us a insight in to their mindset and reflects the real life situation that was happening at the time in the 1940's.
A example of this can be seen when Marv visits his social worker. Marv has just escaped the police, so he goes to see his social worker. While they are talking he takes several pills to help his control his mental state, one of his flaws, and he also says "Hell is waking up each day and not knowing why you're here". This shows that Marv is a cynical and looks on the bad side of things. This quote also refers to the cold war, which was happening when the original film noir genre was created, because the citizens of America were expecting nuclear bombs to drop at any moment.



High contrast , Low key lighting - High contrast and low key lighting are a major film noir contrast. The high contrast means that there is a big difference between the whites and the blacks in the frames.

A example of this is in the first scene where the assassin is standing on the balcony. This lighting style means that half and his face is in light and half of his face is in the dark. This means that us (as the audience) don't know if he is evil or whether he is good.

Comic Book 

Super human strength - Super human strength is a comic book convention which is often applied to the heroes or villains. This is a unnatural amount of strength that is impossible for normal people to possess.
A example of this is in Marv. Just after Goldie has been killed, a squad of police come after Marv to arrest him. He bursts through the doors and as he does, the door shatters into pieces. He then continues to beat up several police officers and then jumps down the stair and grabs the bannister half way down. He then throws himself over the bannister and carries on running. This shows that he possess superhuman strength as no normal person would be able to do.


Hero and nemesis - In the comic book genre, there is a Hero (the main Character) and a Villain (the heroes nemesis). The heroes objective is to vanquish the villain and save the city or the world. This genre has been applied into the film sin city. There are many heroes in Sin City and each one has a nemesis, who is their main villain. John Heartigan's nemesis is Roark junior.


High use of Special effects/Non- Diegetic sound -  Another convention is the use of special effects. Non - Diegetic sound is sound that is not in a scene of a film. This is often used fight scenes and action scenes to emphasise the damage and violence that is going on.
This can be seen in the scene where Marv is fighting Kevin. When Marv hits Kevin in the face a loud hitting sound is created when he makes contact. Usually it would not be that loud but in post production, the editors add a non - diegetic hitting sound to emphasise it.

Investigation draft

How stereotypical are the representations of woman in the action genre, with particular reference and analysis of Tomb Raider, Lara Croft and Tomorrow Never Dies from the James Bond franchise

For my research investigation I plan to discuss, how stereotypical are the representations of woman in the action genre, with particular reference and analysis of Tomb Raider, Lara Croft and Tomorrow Never Dies from the James Bond franchise. My aim within this investigation will be firstly, to question whether these films stick to the stereotypical female character roles who have little importance to the narrative, for example a damsel in distress. Secondly, whether the characters break the stereotype of a traditional representation of females and gender roles and instead portray a strong feminine character, which is in control and doesn’t rely on the male characters. Lastly I will be investigating if woman are often represented as using their body and beauty to gain power over males, rather than their minds and intellect. To assist my analysis I will apply the theories of The Male Gaze by Laura Mulvey and Prop’s Narrative theory. I will apply these theories to assist my three above objectives. Another theory I will apply is binery opposition to the James Bond franchise as there are usually two women: A strong, dominant woman and a more passive woman, binary opposition will allow me to compare and contrast these woman to see how their representations differ from each other.

               

 A dictionary definition of representation describes it as “a widely held but fixed and over simplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.”(1) Women, in the past, have had a very obvious stereotypical representation within film that has developed somewhat throughout time. “Women were a symbol of family, Keywords associated with women some 50 years ago were children, home and household” (2). This sums up the stereotypical view of women that, you could say, is still held in modern society. However, producers have to be subtler at how they represent this issue as we live in a modern world, where past feminism is frowned upon.

Tomb Raider was a revolutionary film, when it was released. It depicts a young, attractive and athletic woman living in a large mansion and having two male servants at her command. This does contrast to the stereotypical representation of women because it represents a woman who has power over males, which is unusual in modern film. However, to discover if this film totally opposes this representation I need to use Propp’s narrative theory to see if Lara advances the narrative and therefore breaks this stereotype. Lara could be given the role of hero in Propp’s theory, as she is the character that under takes the quest to search for “The Triangle of Light”. This suggests that she should be able to advance the narrative. This role is usually taken by a strong, dominating male character so it is unusual that a woman undertakes this role. “Findings showed that 58.6% of VFACs (violent female action characters) were portrayed in a submissive role to the male hero in the film, and 42% were romantically linked to him.” (5) This demonstrates that it is quite rare for a woman to be the dominant character in an action film as well as only acting as a goal for the male characters, but does this statistic apply to Lara Croft? “Women continue to be shown as sidekicks to more dominant male heroes” (5) It is a common held belief that woman are given the role of sidekick (A role in Propp’s theory), or “sidechick” (5) and don’t add to the story other than to act as a reward for the male hero. To discover whether Lara’s Character is a female hero and therefore whether she advances the narrative I analyzed a key scene in the film where both she and the illuminati agents are trying to collect a piece of the triangle of light. Lara uses her intelligence to work out the 2000-year-old puzzle and then uses a battering ram like device and her momentum to destroy the crucible that holds the first piece of this magical triangle. She manages to do this before the villain (another of Propp’s roles) and she manages to escape with it, while defending herself against both illuminati agents and resurrected stone temple guardians. This shows that she is not a damsel in distress that are often seen in action films and that she can defend herself against many strong male characters. This character shows that she can advance the narrative she can stop some dangerous people from potential destroying the world.    

In hindsight, Lara croft looks like a strong and dominant female character that doesn’t need any help from the male characters. She is strong, clever, athletic and violent, which are all the characteristics that many male heroes have. However on further analysis this may not be the case. One of the last scenes in the film shows the villain blackmailing Lara to reunite the triangle in order to reverse time and save Alex West with who she is romantically involved. This clearly shows that’s she is not always in control of the situation all the time and she has to obey a dominant male. This characters late in the scene, when she reunites the triangle as this starts a race between the protagonist and the villain. The Race takes place in a mystical cloud like location with the Triangle in between the two of them. She manages to beat the villain to the target and then reverse time back to the moment when West dies and then fatally wound the villain. This shows that she can be a dominant character and that she is able to defeat many male characters.