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Film Studies - Section B - "Get Out" and "Carol" -…

- - - - Pleonastic diegetic sound of cup and spoon clinking, creates tension, this motif is established here
      - Dramatic non-diegetic sound placed when Chris falls into the sunken place, capitalises on tension
    - - Flashback has a gauze placed over it, warping of the edges also adds to the dreamlike feel
      - Shallow depth of field shows what is and what isn't important
      - Camera progressively zooms in on the conversation, builds additional tension
      - Chris surrounded by negative space when he falls into sunken place, long shot shows his isolation, also shows his entrapment
    - - Gesture code
        
        Chris' eyes tense up, showing his anxiety from the hypnosis
        
        Chris starts scratching at the armchair, consistent motif of comparing black people to animals, categorising their behaviour
  - - - Props
        
        Bingo cards used to euphemise the situation, make light of it, and also demonstrate its secrecy
        
        Portrait picture of Chris is reminiscent of a funeral portrait picture, cements the idea of the death of his identity
        
        This is similar to the idea of slavery, and when the people became slaves, their identities were destroyed and their cultures were also eviscerated, a similar idea is shown here
      - Dress code
        
        Dress code of audience is similar to that of a funeral, further emphasising the idea of the death of the identity of Chris
      - The dress code worn by Chris and Rose are casual and informal, juxtaposing the dress code worn by characters in the "auction" sequence
    - - Proxemics
        
        Dean Armitage placed centrally, framed in the middle as a way of allowing the audience to understand that he is the focus of the shot, show he is important
      - Depth of Field
        
        Varying depths of field are used to show what the focus of each shot is throughout the sequence
    - - Anxious / chilling music played throughout this sequence and the meanwhile sequence, similar to teacup and spoon sound
      - Sequence doesn't consist of any dialogue, adding to the secrecy of the ordeal and the events occurring
      - The meanwhile sequence juxtaposes the sound used in the "auction" sequence, as the sound is slightly friendly sounding and uplifting, this juxtaposes the events going on in the auction sequence
  - - - Mirror theory
        
        An audience might see themselves and their own personal ideals in a character in a film, e.g in a protagonist
        
        The imperfect distorted reality of a film creates an idealised character
    - - "Male gaze"
        
        Women are the recipient of being looked at, the observant object, whilst men are the observers
      - Berger / Soloway
        
        John Berger adds to this by suggesting that men are used to looking, whilst women are used to being looked at
    - - Social
        
        Make meanings in ways which are not very different from others with a similar ideological formation to other people
      - Cultural
        
        A spectator might make different intertextual references to other films / pop culture based on their understanding of other pop culture
      - Private
        
        Carries the memories of a person's own experiences and ideas, which are very different to other people's ideas and perspectives of a film
      - Desiring
        
        Bring conscious and unconscious energies to a film's content that have little to do with the film's narrative
      - PSCD
    - - Recognition
        
        Identify who the protagonist is
      - Alignment
        
        Align with the protagonist's goals
      - Allegiance
        
        Form an emotional bond with a character
      - RAA
    - - Uses and Gratifications theory
        
        Films are watched for four main reasons
        
        Diversion
        
        Escapism from the real world
        
        Surveillance
        
        Education
        
        Social Relationships
        
        Creating friendships with others / reinforcing relationships with others
        
        Personal Identification
        
        To form one's own personal identity
        
        DISS
    - - Reception Theory
        
        Media producers will place hidden codes and message which the audience must find and decode to interpret with their own understanding
        
        Comprised of three components
        
        Preferred reading
        
        The dominant / hegemonic reading, audience understand the message and agrees with it
        
        Oppositional reading
        
        Audience understands the message of the film but decides to disagree with it
        
        Negotiated reading
        
        Audience agree with some aspects of the messages put out, but also disagree with some aspects of it
        
        PON
  - - - Making connections between Childish Gambino and life as an African-American
      - "Stay woke" - stay awake (don't submit to hypnotisation") and also stay liberal
    - - Animalistic imagery is constantly placed throughout the film, to make black people seem like the "other", and make out white people as being the predators
      - Dean Armitage discussing deer as pests
        
        Indirectly referencing Black Americans and other people from different cultural backgrounds and how they are "pests"
        
        When Chris hits the deer with his car, Rose does not react, which foreshadows her emotional detachment regarding murder and killing others
    - - Dean claims he isn't racist / political racist
        
        This line is scripted by the family for him to say as a way of luring them in (like prey) to get the "prey" to trust him
    - - Dean makes the link between Jesse Owens and his father's loss to Jesse Owens in the 1936 Olympics, in which Hitler was humiliated as his "master race" lost to a person of African descent, which drove his father to rage and influenced his son to continue this
    - - One of the characters asks Chris this question, relating to intimacy
      - bell hooks' book "We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity" relates to this, suggesting how black men should assimilate to white areas of society, and how black men are objectified and commodified
  - - - The audience is "sutured" into Chris' perspective, as this is shown in the "sunken place" scene, in which the viewer sees into Chris' inner psyche, as well as POV shots
        
        Audience aligns with Chris' emotions and thoughts
      - key points of this theory
        
        POV / eyeline shots
        
        Continuity editing
    - - The film critiques the performative nature of racial identity, showing how character like Rose will create allyship as a way of manipulating Chris
    - - The film uses horror elements to create emotional responses from the audience, e.g fear
      - Moments of intense emotion in the film amplify the film's commentary on racial exploitation by linking it to the universal fear of losing autonomy in society
- - - - Dress code
        
        Therese
        
        Dichotomy - black and white dress code, demonstrates the conflict in her mind regarding her sexuality, also makes her look younger
        
        Carol
        
        Wearing grey (combination of black and white), red shirt underneath + red hankerchief shows her hidden passion for Therese leaking out
      - Props
        
        Carol juxtaposes Therese's age by smoking a cigarette confidently
      - Gesture codes
        
        How each character holds a cigarette
        
        Carol
        
        Confident + experienced, shows how she's older than Therese
        
        Therese
        
        Inexperienced / lack of confidence, shows her age
        
        Looks up and around frantically, shows her nerves, adds to the idea of power dynamics
    - - Use of negative space for high angle of shot of both Therese and Carol, creates an awkward atmosphere
        
        Use of chiaroscuro lighting
      - Framing of the scene in general subverts filmic conventions, framed awkwardly
      - The camera zooms in on the characters as the conversation continues, shows growing confidence in the characters
      - Carol blocks part of the camera's frame sometimes throughout, adds the awkward atmosphere
      - Camera tilts up and down depending on the focus of the camera, as a way of demonstrating power dynamics throughout this sequence
  - - - Dress code
        
        Therese has quite a masculine dress code, black waistcoat and green jumper
        
        Carol wears a large fur coat, and a matching red scarf and cap, showing her subtle passion for Therese, and these elements are essentially "hidden" by the large fur coat
        
        Colours of Therese's dress code links to the props in the toy shop, showing a sense of belongingness
    - - Use of shot-reverse-shot of each character's perspective shows that this sequence isn't inherently from Carol's perspective
      - Over the shoulder shots are either slightly panning up or panning down, depending on the perspective of the character
        
        Further emphasising the idea of power dynamics of the two characters and their relationships
  - - - "Hotel Room" and "New York Movie"
    - - 1950's street photography
      - Muted tones, reflections and layered compositions
        
        Hidden emotions and fragmented perceptions
    - - Melodramas, "Carol" pays homage to his melodramas, such as "The Imitation of Life", known for visuals and critique of social norms
    - - Source novel for "Carol" is an important piece of queer literature
      - "The Price of Salt"
    - - Female gaze
        
        Film focuses on the perspective of two female protagonists, reversing Laura Mulvey
    - - Queer spectorship
        
        Visibility of desire
        
        Identification and empathy
        
        Queer reading are always possible
        
        Queer spectatorship is not limited to queer people only
      - Doty highlights the fluid and subversive nature of queer spectatorship as an active process
    - - Desire for another
        
        Therese experiences Lacan's "objet petit a", as Carol is the unobtainable object of desire, as Carol is an idealised figure, and that this desire can never be truly satisfied
      - Mirroring and identity
        
        As Therese becomes a more self-asserted and confident person as the film progresses, this fits in with Lacan's idea of "the mirror", in which people will build their own identities through the development of relationships with others
    - - Performative gender roles / gender as a social construct
      - Intersectionality
        
        How gender, sex, race and social class all cross each other in shaping spectatorship experiences
      - Repetition and imitation of gender
        
        Gender is maintained in people's identities through the consistent day-to-day repetition of this construction
      - Openness to subversion and fluidity
        
        As gender is a social construct, it is open to reflexivity and malleability