Mulvey Pleasure and Narrative cinema

Mulvey Pleasure and Narrative cinema.

Mulvey states that film fascinates us and uses psychoanalysis to 'discover where and how the fascination of film is reinforced by pre-existing patterns of fascination already at work within the individual subject'. Film allows us to engage our emotions through the images that are being portrayed on the screen which can alter and or manipulate what the audience gains visual pleasure from by encoding different themes and visual cues into the text. Mulvey suggests that visual pleasure is gained by the audience by allowing them to indulge in scopophilia where the most pleasure is by looking at the human form in most instances that of being a woman which leads onto the male gaze theory. Laura Mulvey states that ‘the cinema offers a number of possible pleasures’. The idea of scopophilia allows an individual to indulge in a childlike way of looking without being judged or told of for staring at another individual. 

    

In Hollywood and mainstream narrative, it often encodes the dominant patriarchal order where men are in charge and woman are objects of visual pleasure therefore cinema uses scopophilia of the human form to allow the active male audience to engage in a childlike looking of a passive female, as Laura Mulvey states that’s ‘pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female’, without being bound by social constructs.  The male gaze makes the audience identify with the male protagonist so that both male and female audiences view the female on the screen as an object of visual pleasure rather than a character that is going to help the narrative develop and move on. Mulvey describes ‘woman as image, man as bearer of the look’ along with the fact that women in film are supposed to ‘connote to-be-looked-at-ness’. This means that filmmakers encode females into scenes to offer sexual gratification to the male spectator which helps the audience gain visual pleasure from seeing the female as a sexual object and nothing more. 

However, using the male gaze to allow the audience to indulge in scopophilia may also lead to fetishist scopophilia where the image of the woman on the screen also connotes a threat to the male spectator that needs to be relieved in order to enjoy the narrative and gain visual pleasure. From this there are only two ways in which the male spectator can escape the fear of femininity, the first being to investigate the woman, which can mean ‘transforming it into satisfying in itself’. This means to take away her mystery which can be done by fragmentation of her where the audience sees different parts of her body in an extremely sexualised way, which can lead to the audience no longer seeing her as a treat but more as an object of pleasure as they no longer see her as a whole but rather different body parts. Suddenly the woman is no longer a whole but rather sections of a body, little objects for enjoyment. 

The other way that the male spectator can escape the fear of femininity is by being denied castration which therefore portrays the female as a reassuring fetish rather than a dangerous character. This means that when a female character is portraying a potentially dangerous or threatening character such as a female superhero or supervillain, the filmmakers will then turn ‘the represented figure itself into a fetish so that it becomes reassuring rather than dangerous’. This can be done by placing them in outfit’s that leave little to the imagination such as characters like Wonder Woman or Harley Quinn. By doing this the male spectator no longer has to be fearful of castration but rather indulge in sexual gratification as the female character is turned back into a sexualised object.

The male gaze is used to ‘describe the cinematic angle of a heterosexual male on a female character’ and can be split into 3 parts, the first being the camera gaze, which means that the camera may linger on a females body either in a long shot, or multiple close ups allowing the audience to indulge longer in looking. The second is the character gaze which is where the audience sees the characters within the scene indulging in scopophilia themselves therefore making it okay for the audience to also do this. Finally, there is the audience gaze that with a combination of the camera and character gaze they feel it’s okay to sexualise the female on the screen and also indulge in a childlike way of looking the female. 

References 

•    Original essay, Laura Mulvey (1999) Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, Film Theory and Criticism, New York, Oxford UP
• Psychology Today (6^thNovember 2017) (online) available from https://www.psychologytoday.com(Accessed 7^thDecember 2018) 

How Lacan' Mirror stage theory is compossed in The Lion King

How Lacan' Mirror stage theory is composed in The Lion King 

In this clip from The Lion King it clearly links to Lacan's mirror theory when the character Simba is seen looking at his reflection in the water through a mid-shot that soon turns into a reflection of his late father Mufasa. This shows the mirror theory as the character Simba may feel unsettled as the reflection of his great fathers doesn't reflect how he feels about himself. He looked up to his late father, he respected him and admired him, he saw his father as a stable entity that he aimed to be like and wanted to take after however the way he actually feels is like a failure, never living up to his reflection. Lacan states that our inside self feels chaotic and our reflection is stable therefore we aim to be more like our one-dimensional reflection of which Mufasa represents. 

Simba also says while looking into the water in the diegetic dialogue 'That’s not my father, that's just my reflection' which connotes to the audience that he is aware of the fact that his father is missing from his life, he is aware that there is something lacking that he feels that he will never live up to. He is constantly aspiring to be like his father but feels that he will never meet up to it, he will always only be himself as we can never live up to the image we see in the mirror or in our reflection. Within the mise-en-scene the character Simba also looks disappointed when he realises that what he is seeing is himself reinforcing the idea that we will never be able to live up the to our ‘ideal self’ of which his father is to him. 

In this clip Mufasa also represents the super ego pushing Simba to be the best possible version of himself that he can be, this is shown when his voice says in the diegetic dialogue 'Remember who you are'. This shows Mufasa to be the super ego as he is pushing Simba to be great, to do the morally right thing for everyone even if he doesn’t want to. He makes Simba see the good instead of that bad in the situation that he is in. Mufasa is helping Simba to get closer to his ideal self that he sees in his father and acts as his motivation to become the ideal entity that he sees in his reflection. 

The idea of lack within this scene from The Lion King is also encoded into the film through the use of technical conventions such as the shot types seen. There are many high angle shots looking down on Simba as he is looking up which may represent the idea that he is lacking being a dominant character which he was destined to be by becoming a king but tried to escape this fate. His ideal self sees him becoming the Lion King but instead he ran away and therefore this role is lacking in his current life. Along with this the scene uses mainly low-key lighting which connotes a dramatic effect to the scene even a mysterious feel of what could or could have been if the lack in Simba’s life disappeared and he finally reached his idea self in becoming the reflection he sees in the water, the reflection of his late father. 

At the start of the scene a physical struggle is also shown as Simba is trying to catch up to the character Rafiki, this involves close ups of Simba falling down ditches and long shots of him getting stuck in vines. This helps show the idea that his real self is chaotic and unable to match ideal calm self that his reflection will later show as he sees his father. This shows that our outside self doesn’t feel like it matches our inside self. 

Lacans Mirror stage Theory

Lacan' Mirror Stage Theory

Lacan states that the mirror stage starts from when a person is an infant and looks into the mirror for the first time and before this moment, they never saw themselves as a single individual identity but rather they just exist, before the mirror stage they are at one with everything surrounding them. He states that when an infant first sees themselves in the mirror they no longer view themselves as separate body parts but rather as a whole person that is seemingly one dimensional in the mirror. This is the exact moment that a person begins to develop a sense of ‘the self’, the person them becomes and individual identity and sees themselves as ‘I’ At this point in a person’s life they develop the conscious ego and unconscious id. 

The mirror stage can be unsettling to a person as the person on the outside doesn't represent how one feels on the inside which creates an inside self and an outside self, the one reflected in the mirror. This may also be unsettling as we don’t necessarily look how we feel. The one on the inside is ever changing and feels chaotic as they can't truly express how they feel to others around them and when we try to explain we may fail to do justice to our real intentions, and we may become oblivious to the real us. The one on the outside which is reflected in the mirror however is viewed as a stable entity which will never portray to the outside world and how one feels on the inside, they represent the super ego which a person is always aiming to be like, they aim to be more like the one-dimensional stable entity which is reflected in front of them.

Lacan states that we will always be aspiring to be more like the reflection we see in the mirror and we will do this from the start of the mirror stage and during the rest of our lives, this is the reason why we try to dress the best as possible, have a nice hair cut etc. We will always try to control our external appearance in order to appear better to others than the chaos within us. Lacan also states that because of this we will always misunderstand others and others will always misunderstand us. He states the people around us will forever be stuck seeing the entity that we perceive on the outside and that no one will ever be able to know the chaotic self that we are on the inside. People around us will never be able to experience us in the same way that we do as they only see the image we see in the mirror and not the image we have of ourselves inside. 

Lacan also suggests that because we will never be able to be like the stable entity in the mirror, we will feel a ‘lack’ in our lives. This lack may go from relationships, to our career or even a lack of motivation as we cannot reach the ‘ideal self’ that we constantly see in our reflection. We will always be lacking in one area of life and will constantly be aiming to fill this need to feel like a whole identity, to feel stable rather than a chaotic stream of consciousness.

 

References. 

·     Lacan Online.com (13^thSeptember 2010) (online) Avaliable from http://www.lacanonline.com(accessed 2^ndDecember 2018)

How Freud's theory of the self is composed in The Emperor's New Groove.

How Freud's theory of the self is composed in The Emperor's New Groove.

The ego- The ego in this clip is represented by the main character Kronk as he is mainly seen in a mid to close up in the middle third of the shot between the devil version of himself and the angel version of himself on either sides of his shoulders which draws the audience’s attention to him in the middle. In this mid to close up shot he represents his own ego as he is trying to find a balance between the two versions of him on his shoulders and is consciously aware of the decision he is trying to make. As well as this his facial expressions in the mise-en-scene have the look of confusion which represents him trying to find the balance and gain a sense of reality between the two separate parts of his psyche. Kronk also says in the diegetic dialogue "You guys are sorta confusing me' which represents to the audience that the id and the superego are taking over and distorting reality until finally Kronk, the ego takes control again in making them both disappear within the mise-en-scene taking back a normal sense of reality. Kronk gives a balance between the id and superego and behaves in a more rational and realistic way.

Also, with in the diegetic dialogue Kronk asks “what does that have to do with anything’ which also represents the idea that he is trying to bring his thoughts back to reality rather than being distorted by the id who is trying to take control. 

The superego- The superego in this clip is represented by the second character to enter the scene which is the Angel Kronk on the right third of the screen, being on the right side of the screen may be extremely significant by the fact that the superego tries to make a person take the morally ‘right’ path. This character instantly represents the superego due to the fact that angels often connotes a person’s moral principles and the need to be a good person, the need to do the right thing and the need to be perfect.  Angel Kronks aim is to make Kronks behaviour more civilized, he does this by saying in the diegetic dialogue 'you're not just going to let him die are you'. This has been encoded to represent him pushing Kronk to be a better version of himself and to do the morally right thing. Even the devil Kronk says that the Angel Kronk will lead him own a path of Righteousness which the superego is supposed to do to a person. The superego aims to make one better then they already are and turn them into their ‘ideal self’ which an angel often connotes. 

The id- The id is represented by the last character in the clip, the Devil Kronk shown on the left third of the screen. The reason why this character represents the id is because it’s trying to lead Kronk down a path of temptation and giving into his instincts and desires, which the devil often connotes to an audience. The Devil Kronk wants Kronk to just walk away from Kuzco in order to gain instant gratification of pleasure in a job being done. The Devil Kronk also represents the id as he is dressed in all red as a part of the mise-en-scene which connotes lust and desire of which the id seeks to satisfy these feelings to gain the instant gratification that comes with this. 

Even down to the order in which the id and superego exists the scene represents the strength and power that they both have. The id is supposed to be the strongest part of the personality as this is innate in our behaviour from birth and will ultimately be our primary driving force therefore the id is shown in the scene to be the last to leave therefore showing how the id represented by Devil Kronk, is the most dominant force and will fight to be more dominate and controlling than the superego represented by Angel Kronk.

Freud's theory of 'the self'

Freud's theory of 'the self'

The Id –

This part of the personality is innate, its present in a person from birth and related to our primitive instincts. The reason for the id being there from birth is for the fact that it controls a person’s primary drive for pleasure seeking and needing instant gratification as well as the avoidance of pain. An example of this is a baby needing food, they don't understand that they need to wait therefore they may cry in order to get the instant gratification of relieving the unpleasant feeling of hunger as they haven't yet leaned how to balance their desires. Freud suggests that the id 'acts as the driving force of personality'. The id controls the desires and urges of a person and is often more dominant than the superego and has more control on a person’s driving force, it is instinctive and childlike. The id is described as being the strongest aspect of one’s personality. The id can also be linked to addiction problems as the id craves anything that will relive the unpleasant feeling of withdrawal such as cigarettes or alcohol addiction.

Freud suggests that the id is unaware of the passage of time and the external world which is the reason to why we have the desire for instant gratification and to be relieved of unpleasant feelings straight away. The idea of Freud’s id is still used within psychology today and within film as it helps us to understand our unconscious motivations and driving forces as we go about our daily lives. 

The ego – 

This part of the personality develops second as a child begins to grow and starts to learn the difference between right and wrong from seemingly moral role models such as a person’s parents. The ego is able to set the id in the right direction but never has full control due to the id being a part of a person’s instincts and the ego only developing through socialisation. The ego creates a sense of rationality within a person so that they aren't completely driven by the need for instant gratification and allows a person to evaluate situations as well as planning and organising. The ego also acts as a balance or a judge between the id and superego so that a person isn't completely driven by either their urges or their criticisms. The ego is "the rational part of our brain' that helps us navigate daily life and to not always give in to our impulsive nature and allows us to act in a consistent way rather than irrationally. 

The ego begins to develop as an infant is exposed to the world around them allowing them to make better choices such as instead of gaining instant gratification, they may wait in order to gain a greater reward at a later time. Depending on how strong a person’s ego develops and the environment that they are exposed to the ego can help in resisting social pressures while balancing the id and superego to develop a better cause of action for a great outcome of different situations. The ego develops in order to keep us acting stable.

The Superego-

The superego is the part of the personality that develops last after a person learns the difference between right and wrong, it develops and becomes a person’s conscious leading them to make morally right choices. It controls a person’s moral code, pushes a person to do the right thing and has a need to make a person come across as seemingly perfect. The superego tries to persuade 'the ego to turn to moralistic goals rather than simply realistic ones and to strive for perfection'. The superego consists of two parts which are the conscious and the ideal self. The conscious will make a person feel guilty if they give into the id too soon or if they shouldn't have at all such as indulging on a craving. The ideal self creates an unrealistic view of a perfect person and tries to make one aim to be like this such as a way to behave in society etc. Again, if one doesn't live up to the ideal self then the superego can be made to feel guilty even if the ideal self is an impossible way for a person to act. 

The superego acts as an ethical component of one’s personality and develops due to how they are raised by their parents and the punishments the receive from doing ‘wrong’ things. An infant begins to understand the moral codes of those around them and therefore start taking these ideas onboard themselves to develop their own superego. The superego takes the longest to develop and can develop right into young adult hood as one may begin to change their moral code and alter their own views as they become more exposed to society and social pressures. 

Bibliography/references

·     Very well mind (20th November 2018) (online) available from https://www.verywellmind.com (accessed 26th November 2018) https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-id-2795275

·     The Guardian (7th March 2009) (online) available from https://www.theguardian.com (accessed 27th November 2018)

·     Simply psychology (2016) (online) available from https://www.simplypsychology.org (accessed 27th November 2018)

·     Encyclopaedia Britannica (20^thJune 2017) (online) available from https://www.britannica.com(Accessed 28^thNovember 2018) 

·     Psychology Today (12^thJanuary 2010) (online) available from https://www.psychologytoday.com(accessed 28^thNovember 2018) 

Health and saftey concerns

Health and safety concerns 

One major health and safety concern of using a camera is water damage especially when using electrical cables that are either attached to a camera or when charging the cameras battery. Water can be a serious hazard for electrical equipment as it can cause an electrical shock if someone comes into contact with the damaged equipment as it will send an electrical current into the persons body and may cause serious harm. A way that this can be avoided when using cameras or lighting equipment is making sure that none of the electrical wires are exposed and are protected by an outer layer of plastic that is undamaged with no cuts or anything that could expose the wires in anyway. Another way that this can be avoided if you are aware of a water spillage is by turning of the power and moving camera and lighting equipment to try and reduce any water damage that may occur.

Another health and safety concern that can occur when using camera to record things such as tracking shots or a moving person is making sure that the floor/path being used is clear of any objects that may cause obstruction that may cause a person to trip. This was one of the concerns when making our own short of 'Behind the door' for both version 1 and 2 as both involve someone walking down a dark corridor. We had to make sure that there was no objects blocking the persons path which meant that we had to remove stray bits of paper on the floor that the person could have slipped on and made sure that they wasn't causing an obstruction.








Lighting equipment may also be a big part of health and safety concerns because the wires may cause a trip hazard or the lights themselves may become too hot and may overheat the subject that is being filmed. When using lighting equipment that needs to be plugged into a power source a wire or multiple wires can be used and if not safely secured can cause a trip hazard therefore securing the wires will reduce the risk of injury to a person and will allow things to operate more effectively.  Also making sure that the lighting doesn't get to hot is a big part in looking after the health of the subject being filmed as they may also become overheated which may cause them to feel discomfort and may even feel dehydrated. In order to avoid this lights must be turned off when not being used and make sure that there are refreshments available to all who may be involved. Lighting equipment can overheat regardless of whether they need a power source or if they are used as portable lighting so it is essential that they are looked after and cared for properly.



Fire hazards are also a major concern when it comes to health and safety as it is a hazard for everywhere not just within media productions, because of this numerous plans must be put in place in case of a fire. One plan that can be put in place in order to protect peoples heath and safety is by having  fire extinguisher near by / within the room so that a fire can easily be put out if needed. Along with this clearly marked fire exists must be put in place for people to easily evacuate the building if needed.

Research

• Film Sourcing (2018) (online) available from https://www.filmsourcing.com (Accessed 1st November 2018) - https://www.filmsourcing.com/filmmaking-health-safety-keeping-your-cast-and-crew-safe/
• Open Channel (October 2005) (online) available from http://www.openchannel.org.au/ (accessed 5th November 2018) http://www.openchannel.org.au/safety-checklist-for-film-and-television/
• The phoblographer (1st April 2018) (online) avaliable from https://www.thephoblographer.com (accessed 5th November 2018) https://www.thephoblographer.com/2011/04/01/the-phoblographers-checklist-on-how-to-not-kill-yourself-in-a-photo-studio/

New wave film

New wave film brief

In our new wave film we have decided to try and incorporate the knowledge of both Hong Kong and French new wave films to demonstrate that we have a deeper understanding of a wide range of new wave texts.  We will be taking inspiration from the French film ‘Breathless’, the Hong Kong film ‘Chungking Express’ and maybe some inspiration from Easy Rider for our editing.

One of the technical conventions we will be using from the French new wave is ambient lighting, this is because it will be easy for us to recreate and will allow us to make our own new wave film look as realistic as possible and add a sense of verisimilitude. We will also use lighting to help us play around with black and white colour and normal colour to show a contrast in the mood of the two characters within the mise-en-scene.

We will also try to use double framing within the mise-en-scene as this is a common convention in Hong Kong new wave films particularly in the film ‘In the Mood for Love’, we will do this as it has connotations of isolation and entrapment. We will try to recreate this using object such as doors and windows to further enforce the entrapment.

Another way we will take inspiration from the new wave films is by using liberation of the camera from the tripod as apart of the technical conventions, we will us all hand held shots in order to convey a sense of realism as many new wave films often aim to do this as they want to break away from conventional film making and create a realistic narrative.

We will also try to use two character archetypes of a happy, upbeat, positive character and another of a sad, isolated, cynical character to show a contrast in the way people view love as love is a common narrative theme in both Hong Kong and French new wave films and how it affects people differently. We will also be adding text to the shot in the editing process to show the characters internal dialogue. We will use jump cuts for the happy character to represent the excitement that love brings to them and a wide angle shot to give the connotations of the isolation love can bring to the other sad character.

For the soundtrack we will use a mixture of both diegetic and non diegetic sounds in particular the song ‘ New York herald tribune’ from the film ‘Breathless’ and keep cutting between diegetic and non diegetic sound as this is a common convention in the French new wave.

Planning.

I have decided to shoot any bits of film needed for my own new wave film on just a camera and no other equipment as majority of new wave films are recorded purely on a handheld camera  in order for the text to be both experimental and convey a sense of verisimilitude which I will attempt to recreate. I will also do this as it can allow me to be true to the new wave conventions instead of going along with the rules of traditional film making. This will also allow me to create an effective postmodern text.

As well as only using a handheld camera I have chosen to only use small quotations instead of using a full scrip which I will attempt to add by translating the quotes into Chinese to be as authentic of Hong Kong new wave cinema as possible. I will also attempt to add these quotations by recording either the voice of siri or the voice of Google translate in order to create my own version of a postmodern text of a Hong Kong new wave film.

 Some of the quotations I will attempt to use are;

• "Embrace the void and have the courage to exist" 
• "We were strangers when we met and we were strangers when you left"
• "Time is running out, time is expiring" 
• "Why must thing end, why must things expire?"
• "The city feels like a dark blur in the underbelly"
• "I no longer walk with you but I'm always reminded of the past" 

I have decided to try and use quotations such as these as many of the narrative themes in the Hong Kong new wave revolve around meeting strangers, time, specifically time expiring and of characters constantly being reminded of the past. 

Some of the shots I plan to get while filming are ones such as close up of clocks in order to signify the importance of time withing Hong Kong new wave films and for the audience to decode that there is a sense of time running out. I also plan to add long shots of people walking through a city / town as this is a common setting within the cinematography of Hong Kong new wave films. One of the final shots I plan to get is a point of view shot of someone walking in order for the audience to gain the gratification of personal identity as they can feel as though they are apart of the text itself.

Lastly for the soundtrack I would like to have diegetic sounds of the city such as cars, transport and other sounds often associated with the city to allow for the audience to gain the gratification of entertainment as well as gaining a sense of verisimilitude. As well as this I plan to add non diegetic drum sounds as this is a common occurrence in the soundtracks of Wong Kar Wai's films in particularly the film Fallen Angels 1995.

 
I also researched the weather for Coventry, where we was filming in order to plan on appropriate clothes to wear as well as equipment needed in order to protect the camera from damage such as water damage, like covering it with a plastic bag when it was raining, which it did throughout the day.  

New wave film - City Waves


Evaluation of new wave film (Strengths, weaknesses, camera and lighting).

One strength of my new wave film the use of technical conventions I managed to use in my own text in particular the wide range of shot types I was able to recreate. I managed to get a bird eye view in order to add an establishing shot, long shots of people walking in the city, close ups of someones feet walking and multiple dutch angels particularly when showing a clock. This is a strength as it allows the audience to get more involved in the films as they can get a wider feel as to where the film is set and therefore gain the gratification of entertainment. Another reason that this is a strength is because it allowed me to show demonstrate my knowledge of shot types and also meant that i could demonstrate how to use certain shot types. I think that the most successful shot type however were the various dutch angles I managed to capture. A reason that I think that these shot are most successful is because they are commonly used in Wong Kar Wai's work in order to connote the feeling of disorientation people feel in the city and the audience can also decode this in my own postmodern adaptation.

Another strength of of my new wave film is the use of lighting I managed to get which consisted of both high and low key lighting. I used a range of high and low key lighting as this was used as part of the mise-en-scene in Wong Kar Wais Chungking Express. By using these lighting style I was able to encode different feelings into the film such as high key lighting when a mid shot is shown of a painting of Wonder Woman saying 'She can do it' allowing me to encode a positive powerful feel to the shot. Later on I used low key lighting when Showing an isolated section of Coventry city which allowed me to encode a hopelessness feel to my film and even a bad mood of which the people of Hong Kong felt leading to the handover.

However a weakness of my film is the extremely fast paced editing during the middle of the train journey and the pumpkin due to the fact that it may be little too fast. Although many films in the Hong Kong new wave use fast paced editing my own may be too much that could disorientate the viewer meaning that they may struggle to gain the gratification of entertainment. If I was to recreate this I would slow down parts of the editing to allow for the film to flow more smoothly allowing the audience to not be as confused by the film and understand what is happening within in.

Another weakness of the film is that I was unable to recreate the double framing which is a iconic part of In the Mood for Love's cinematography. This was a weakness as it meant that I was unable to encode the feeling of isolation an entrapment within the film which is often a common narrative theme in the Hong Kong new wave. If I was to recreate this I would try and make better use of doors and windows in the mise-en-scene to further encode the feeling of being trapped.

A final strength of my new wave film is that I was able to show a range of depth of field from shallow to deep. I was able to do this by adjusting the aperture and F scale. By changing the aperture to being low with a low f scale allowed for a shallow depth of field when showing a close up of the pumpkins hat. By making the aperture higher I was able to capture a deep depth of field particularly when walking through the city and long shots of others walking in the city. This was a strength as it allowed me to demonstrate a deeper understanding of camera techniques.