How has P.J. Hogan used film techniques to convey the central ideas in Muriel’s Wedding to his audience?
P.J. Hogan effectively conveys the key ideas of identity and individuality, achieving dreams to prove a point, and marriage equating to success in Muriel’s Wedding through the extensive use of film techniques. Muriel’s atypical identity and individuality ostracise her from her friends was shown through Hogan’s use of costuming, juxtaposition and the film’s soundtrack. Due to being ostracised, Muriel’s dream to be married intensifies as she strives to prove herself and her mother Betty dreams of her family’s happiness to prove they are not useless which the director portrays through characterisation, costuming and cinematography. The idea
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Muriel dreams of being married. Upon being ostracised she strives harder to attain her dream to prove to Tania and her friends that she can be just as successful as they are. When Muriel meets Rhonda, she lies about her impending marriage to the fictional “Tim Sims” to appear successful. Hogan’s use of Rhonda’s dialogue praising Muriel for being “amazing” because “someone wants to marry” her further supports this belief. Hogan’s characterisation of Muriel also has her decide to change her name to ‘Mariel’ and to further distance herself from ‘Muriel’ whom she considers “stupid, fat and useless” and refuses to go “back to being her again”. Muriel is so desperate to be married that she marries David, a complete stranger, and Hogan’s use of dialogue on her wedding day claims that she “showed” Tania and her friends that she is “as good as they are”. Another character who wants to achieve her dreams to prove a point is Betty, Muriel’s mother. She dreams of happiness for her family to prove to them and her husband that they are not “useless” contrary to Bill’s claims. When Betty hears Muriel has a job interview at a locksmith, Betty believes its “wonderful”. Betty’s support of Muriel conveys that she has not given up on her. Hogan’s use of cinematography portrays the effect of Bill’s negative comments on Betty and his children, through a mid-shot which pans across the family to show their miserable faces after labelling them as “useless no hopers”. Costuming used by Hogan furthers Betty’s lack of pride in her appearance, to represent that Betty has given up on her dream due to constant berating by her husband. Hogan’s film presents characters who attempt to achieve their dream to prove a point: that they are not
Film Response of Muriel’s Wedding Muriel’s Wedding is a contemporary comedy set in a small Australian town. This enables the film to explore many of the Australian ideologies through the discourse of its characters and film techniques. The value that I’ll be focusing on is the various aspects of mateship portrayed in the film. Mateship is considered to be an integral part of the Australian persona.
Scene: Janie’s loneliness, desire for marriage and naive nature leads her to an ill-advised, and as a result brief, marriage to an older man named Logan Killicks. This demonstrates both her love longing and her lack of experience with love. Still, terrible as the marriage is, it is a learning experience.
Muriel’s Wedding is a movie about self-discovery and learning from mistakes. Although the film is melancholic in places, it is hilarious in others and provides the audience with an intriguing and enjoyable viewing
Janie's outlook on life stems from the system of beliefs that her grandmother, Nanny instills in her during life. These beliefs include how women should act in a society and in a marriage. Nanny and her daughter, Janie's mother, were both raped and left with bastard children, this experience is the catalyst for Nanny’s desire to see Janie be married of to a well-to-do gentleman. She desires to see Janie married off to a well to do gentleman because she wants to see that Janie is well cared for throughout her life.
This is because the reader knows that she was married to the previous caretaker of Fablehaven in the distant past. She also doesn’t change throughout the book. Another side character is the antagonist Behumat that Muriel unleashes on Fablehaven. This character is static and flat. Muriel plays a significant role in the plot of Fablehaven because she
The film Wendy and Lucy, directed by Kelly Reichardt, presents a sparse narrative. The film has been criticised for its lack of background story, and as a short film, much of the story is left to the viewer to infer from what is presented in the plot. However, Wendy and Lucy is able to depict the intimate relationship between Wendy and her dog as well as reflecting more broadly on the everyday, and commenting on the current economic state of the film’s setting in America. This essay will examine how film form contributes to the viewer’s awareness of the story in Wendy and Lucy and allows a deeper understanding of the themes presented. The aspects of mise-en-scene, shot and editing and sound in the film will be explored.
Beginning the mid 1920s, Hollywood’s ostensibly all-powerful film studios controlled the American film industry, creating a period of film history now recognized as “Classical Hollywood”. Distinguished by a practical, workmanlike, “invisible” method of filmmaking- whose purpose was to demand as little attention to the camera as possible, Classical Hollywood cinema supported undeviating storylines (with the occasional flashback being an exception), an observance of a the three act structure, frontality, and visibly identified goals for the “hero” to work toward and well-defined conflict/story resolution, most commonly illustrated with the employment of the “happy ending”. Studios understood precisely what an audience desired, and accommodated their wants and needs, resulting in films that were generally all the same, starring similar (sometimes the same) actors, crafted in a similar manner. It became the principal style throughout the western world against which all other styles were judged. While there have been some deviations and experiments with the format in the past 50 plus ye...
Stanley, Robert H. The Movie Idiom: Film as a Popular Art Form. Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc. 2011. Print
Distinctively visual language and cinematic techniques highlight to the responder the particular literal and metaphorical experiences characters are faced with, within a text. Peter Goldsworthy’s novel Maestro, Don McLean’s song ‘Vincent’ and the intriguing film Australia by Baz Luhrrman, explore the ways in which the human experiences of an individual’s connection to landscape is fundamental in shaping one’s sense of identity, personal growth and development. Composers further explore the realisation that our lives can be enriched by an understanding and appreciation of art as well as a deeper understanding of the importance of love and lust. The depiction of characters is conveyed through distinctively visual images to highlight the subsequent development of courage and resilience leads responders to a deeper understanding of how human experiences can create a sense of individuality.
BIBLIOGRAPHY An Introduction to Film Studies Jill Nelmes (ed.) Routledge 1996 Anatomy of Film Bernard H. Dick St. Martins Press 1998 Key Concepts in Cinema Studies Susan Hayward Routledge 1996 Teach Yourself Film Studies Warren Buckland Hodder & Stoughton 1998 Interpreting the Moving Image Noel Carroll Cambridge University Press 1998 The Cinema Book Pam Cook (ed.) BFI 1985 FILMOGRAPHY All That Heaven Allows Dir. Douglas Sirk Universal 1955 Being There Dir. Hal Ashby 1979
Neill, Alex. “Empathy and (Film) Fiction.” Philosophy of film and motion pictures : an anthology. Ed. Noel Carrol and Jinhee Choi. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2006. 247-259. Print.
...successful collaboration of sound, colour, camera positioning and lighting are instrumental in portraying these themes. The techniques used heighten the suspense, drama and mood of each scene and enhance the film in order to convey to the spectator the intended messages.
...ejudice and realizes her faults she develops towards Darcy and is then prepared for a more fulfilling happy marriage.
Emma's personality is largely shaped by the nature of her upbringing. Emma had no motherly figure guiding her as she grew up, due to the fact that her mother passed away at a young age, and her governess, Miss Taylor, became her best friend instead of an authority over her. At the start of the novel Miss Taylor gets married to Mr. Weston, leaving Emma with her despondent and hypochondriac father, Mr. Woodhouse. Although Mr. Woodhouse often confines Emma to the house because of his paranoia of her being harmed, he gives her little guidance. Emma becomes accustomed to being the "princess" of her house, and she applies this role to all of her social interactions, as she develops the ability to manipulate people and control them to advance her own goals. Emma views herself with the highest regard, and feels competition and annoyance with those who threaten her position. Emma has much resentment toward Mrs. Elton, as Mrs. Elton becomes a parody for Emma's mistakes and interactions. Mrs. Elton's attachment to Jane Fairfax is much like Emma's attachment to Harriet Smith; both Mrs. Elton and Emma attach themselves to young women and try to raise their...
For my second media critique, I chose to focus on the 2011 film Bridesmaids. Bridesmaids is a comedy written by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, directed by Paul Feig. With grossing almost $300 million worldwide, 44 nominations, and 11 awards won, Bridesmaids has been a relevant film in popular culture over the last three years (“Bridesmaids”).