Winter's Bone
Debra Granik 2010
Cinematography
[Meaning & Response (Aesthetic)
Mis-en-Scene
Sound
Performance
Meaning & Response (Representation)
Editing
Context Issues
Invites different readings
Passive Spectatorship
Active spectatorship
Not conventional doesn't follow Hollywood #
More explicit than implicit
Audience caught off guard
Tells stories about nesh communities
Not normally what Hollywood is doing #
Vertical integration
Horizontal integration
20th century fox do everything
Lots of small companies help to make the film and then a big company buys it
Could be shown in documentary context
Documentary photography
Washes mums hair
Shoots Squirrel
Washes
Cooks food
Hand held camera
Naturalistic use of camera #
Seems to glide
Mind of it's own
Independent film
Winter's Bone got funded by private investors, tax breaks and hedge funds
Then it gets distributed by a studio
Shots of objects and activities
Gives context and paints a tableau of contextual details
Naturalistic and believable
Start of film, school scene
Babies sex ed
Ree looks condescending because she is already doing it by raising her siblings
Cadets with guns
Children are marching around
One of the girls says hello to Ree, maybe she was part of the group but could no longer attend due to having to look after her brother and sister
Ree looks through the window, like she wishes to join them
Children sticking and gluing
Ree is a mother figure, she is caring
Children are shown as having fun in the scene, reality is it's hard work
Ree has three options for her future
Bring up a family
Get into drugs
Join the army
They are united, move with purpose, order, presentation and pride, which is what the military want
Ree also wants this
Veterans are very important in America
Set in Missouri
Stereotypical rednecks
Cuts her dads hands off with a chainsaw
Deer carcas
Shows resilience
Graveyard scene, trying to find a new burial
Natural Lighting used
Adds to the naturalistic aesthetic of the film
Naturalistic
Women
Men get the woman to do their dirty work for them
Women are the ones who fight Ree
They do the dirty work
Men
Controlling
Criminals
Strong
Corrupt
ineffectual
There is a blurred line between good and bad
Bad have done good and the good have done bad
Invisible editing #
Carries on documentary feeling
Adds context
Sound of the wildlife around them
Naturalistic
Tableau
Added by using naturalistic sounds and documentary sounds
Banjo sounds used throughout the film
Signifier of the area they live in
Music
Bar country band playing
Family playing music together
Diegetic - source is visible on the screen
Dogs
Stay in packs
Like Ree staying close with her family
Fend for themselves if they have to
Ree does this throughout the film
Can be very aggressive
Represents mentality of the community
Dogs are alway barking within the film, especially when she goes to people's houses
Implies that people are willing to fight for what they believing
People want their voice to be heard, like the dogs
When outside dogs can normally withstand harsh environments
Like Ree is withstanding the harsh environment, as in actual environment but also the community
Dogs chained up
Represents Ree's lack of possibilities for her future, may always be chained to home
Winter's Bone is active because people have to ask questions throughout the film, interpreting all the implicit information in their own ways.
Shown information which the characters have not been shown
A lot is at stake
Goes against the male gaze #
Ree wears baggy clothing and most of the women do in the film
None of the female characters are sexualised in anyway
Not there for male gaze
Have a clear role in society
Have a pivotal role
Stron
Independent
opposite to 'traditional' women
Different Readings
Preferred reading
Winter's Bone
We are aligned with Rhee and rout for her,We want Rhee to do well
Definition: Simple readings of the film (aligned with text)
Negotiated reading
Winter's Bone
Gender is the biggest factor that affects this
Within exam need to express how my own gender affects my reading of the film
Definition: Mostly aligned with the text but own circumstances influence views
Oppositional reading
Winter's Bone
Example: Rhee should have stayed at home and tended to her siblings instead of trying to fix everything.
Definition: Goes against the text completely, does depend on peoples circumstances
Aberrant reading
Stuart Halls philosophy
Winter's Bone
Example: People could focus on the gender aspect of the film too much, resulting in them not taking notice of the actual plot
Definition: Text is interpreted completely wrong
Scenes
Truck Scene
Mis-en-scene
Editing
Sound
Cinematography
Spatial relationship
Makes audience aware of female and male layers in the house
Rhee has to ask for permission to go in
The husband/boyfriend wearing motocross gear
Makes us question their relationship because it seems like he doesn't do much the wife does everything
This is when the circumstance of women acting traditional comes in because the women do look after the husbands
Stop sign
Placement of characters, makes us question their relationships
Tracking shot
Of Rhee walking
we are going with her on her jounrey
Encourages a relationship between spectator and charcater
Question where she is going
Actively on her side
Wind chimes
Contextual information
Makes us question if she should go
Camera is there before her at the door
Waiting for her
as a spectator it makes the gravity of the scene more obvious
House is masculine inside
Spiritual
Quiet
Shows the mans dominance
Understood that his wife should be good to him
Close up
Of Rhee when she asks to go inside
Spectator feels confined
Long shot of Chuck showing his whole body
Can see his structure, implying his dominance
Pov of Rhees friend Gail
Of Rhee falling onto the bed
puts audience in Gail's perspective, making us feeling closer to Rhee, while showing the close friendship they have
Bedroom, feminine space
Light and warm tones
Shots get closer and closer to Rhee and Gail as they talk
Intimate
Shows close relationship they have
Shows how much Rhee is relying on Gail
Diagetic sound
Heavy metal is playing when she comes up to the house
Implies masculinity within the house is more dominant
Naturalistic
Gails baby
Rhee holds the baby, showing her mothering instinct
Links to when she sees the people at the school with babies
Her friend has gone down one of the three routs Rhee could choose and that's raising a family
Rhee get's left with the baby, linking to her being left with her brother and sister
the baby isn't Rhee's linking to how her brother and sister aren't her children
When Rhee is left with the child there is a lot of negative space
Isolates Rhee, showing how alone she is in her life and how no one is looking after her
Gails walks back in through the door
Back from the 'man's world'
Shows how the women in the film are only allowed to see men's world through doors and do not experience it themselves
Show's how easy it is for the men to drag the women into their world without letting them fully in
Showing how most women do the dirty work for the men in the movie
Naturalistic
Invisible editing
Stays in tune with the documentary feel of the film
First Meeting with Teardrop