In this essay I will discuss how the visual film children of men, by Alfonso Curon shows us that the self is an ever changing thing. We see this through the main character Theo as throughout the film he develops and changes dramatically as a person, as himself. This is seen through the film techiques of tracking shot/establishing shot, High angle shot and dialogue. Firstly at the start of the film we see Theo as quite a bitter and cynical person. He doesn’t care about anyone else or anything that may be going on around him. This can be seen in one of the first scenes when Theo walks into the coffee shop. Through the establishing shot we see Theo walk into the coffe shop which is full of people all watching and some crying at the news on the tv, the youngest person in the world, the last person born has been killed. It is a shock to everyone as their world is in a state of emergency. Their world is in an infertility crisis, it is slowly falling apart. The tracking shot tracks Theo as he pushes through the crowd of people to the front to get his morning coffee. He doesn’t seem to …show more content…
be sad or shocked at all. Once he got his coffee the shot shows him pushing back through the crowd of people to get out of the coffee shop with no care in the world of all the grieving people around him. It shows us how self-less Theo was and how he has learnt to block out the surrounding world and society around him. I think that it shows us that in a world that is slowly falling apart, he somehow has lost a sense of life and happiness. As if he has sheltered himself and blocked out the world for so long, that now he doesn’t know how to or what to feel. As the film goes on we start to see a change in Theo. He gets himself involved in a journey to help bring a lady called Kee and her baby that she is pregnant with to safety, to the 'tomorrow boat'. Along the journey one of his only and closest friends that has been there with him through everything is killed. At the burial Theo takes a minute to go and rest by a tree. It is there were we see the high angle shot looking down on him. This shot makes Theo look small and vulnerable. It shows us that he is broken and that he can no longer hide his emotions and feelings from the world. This is when we start to see a change in Theo himself, He is no longer selfless and bitter. We can see that he really does care, that his friend did mean a lot to him. And that he can no longer block out what is going on around him. He has opened his eyes to reality, and is now able to once again see and know how bad his world around him has got. I think that it is at this point in the film were Theo develops a feeling of determination but at the same time a feeling of doubt. Is he going to be able to protect and save Kee and her baby? Will he be able to deliver her and her baby to safety? Or is it too late. Further on in the film during the 'School for extinct' scene we can see Theo once again develop and change, During a conversation between him and Miriam as they watch Kee on swing on the swing through the broken window.
Miriam was discussing with Theo her stories from when she was a midwife and how she helped deliver the last ever born child before the infertility crisis hit. Miriam said to Theo "I was there at the end", Theo replied with "And you will be there at the beginning." This shows that Theo has hope and that he is determined to make sure Kee delivers a healthy baby and that he gets them both to the 'Tomorrow boat' safely. Theo went from not caring about anyone or anything around him. To being determined to bring a new life into the world. Kees baby will be the beginning of a new world. The baby will bring hope and joy back into the world, Theo knows this and that is why he has
the determination to complete his journey. He is no longer selfless, he cares about Kee and her baby as well as Miriam. He in a way now has a sense of being alive, a need to survive in the harsh world that surrounds him. Overall the film Children of Men has shown us through the character Theo that the self is an ever changing thing. Theo has gone from being selfless and not caring about anyone or anything else in the world, too having a sense to live. Having hope that his world will once again be a better place to live. I think that the director Alfonso Cuaron has used Theo to show us how dramitaclly somebody can change in a time of no hope. How one little thing can set someone off, and make themselves change into a better person. It shows us as viewers that no matter what is going on in the world whether it be good or bad that we can still choose who we are and what we do. It shows us that as a society today we need to be aware and be careful. Because who knows what the future holds.
"Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" Laura Mulvey asserts the fact that in mainstream films, women are simultaneously looked at and displayed. That is to say, the woman is both an object of desire and a spectacle for the male voyeuristic gaze. The male's function is active; he advances the story and controls the gaze onto the women. Interestingly, the spectator identifies with the male through camera technique and style. In an effort to reproduce the so-called natural conditions of human perception, male point-of-view shots are often used along with deep focus. In addition, camera movements are usually determined by the actions of the male protagonist. Consequently, the gaze is dominated by the active male while the passive female exists to support desire within the film. In an attempt to change this structure, Mulvey stresses the importance of challenging the "look." One way this is accomplished, is in the film Reassemblage, where the look of the camera is free from male perspective and dominated more by passionate detachment. In doing this, the filmmaker, Trinh Minh-Ha attempts to destroy the satisfaction and pleasure derived from images of women in film, by highlighting the ways Hollywood depends on voyeuristic and fetishi...
“According to Trent Griffiths the filmmaker in the frame brings to the surface on underlying tension between the filmmaker as an author of reality and the filmmaker as a subject in reality”. In the film 9\11 the Naudet brothers initially in the beginning of the film they are the authors of reality because we see them as just ordinary firefighters going about their regular lives and routines of firefighters then they later become subject in reality as they witness at first hand both crashes and the collapse of the other building they get caught in the reality. Furthermore this essay will discuss the filmmakers shifting point of view from that of the brothers to that as the new York firefighter and the witness of the aftermath. Also
Since the beginning, film has been identified by the presence of its narrative structure and the use of cinematic elements such as dialogue, props and sequence of events. In contrast, video art is known to be more experimental and its emphasis leans towards the portrayal of time, space and form. In Bill Viola’s “Reflection”, a 6-minute sequence portrays ideas of rebirth and baptism whereas Apichatpong Warasethakul’s “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” narrates a story about reincarnation. Both works do a great job at baffling viewers at first glance. However, by digging deeper, one can extract the message that both artists are trying to convey which revolves around the human condition, especially the cycle of life, reincarnation
... always is going back to the same one person like a painting. This is an attempt to create an aura by making a film that shows one man that contains creative genius, originality and uniqueness. Therefore the mass gets one political, fascist meaning and the film manipulates the mass that is dependent on those ideas of the unique leader and originality. In addition, by emphasizing one political leader, fascist film retains some of its cult value over exhibition. Since the film is not built on the focus of entertainment, there can be no room for distraction. Moreover, time within these fascism films is never ending and elevates production that depends on these traditional concepts of art. The traditional concepts of art are experienced through contemplation through distance, but this has shifted to distraction through entertainment as a loss of space and time to think.
Poor Kids is a video about three different girls who have been effected by poverty. The video interviews three girls and gets their perspective on poverty or what it means to be poor in America today. The girls that were interviewed were Brittany, Kaley, and Jasmin.
Through most of the characters’ passion for filmmaking, this movie teaches the audience the great significance of film history. Many people in modern day tend to take film and its history for granted, but they do not realize the depth and effort that mankind has put into such a development. In Hugo, the theme of film history revolves around the entire production, and the audience sees flashbacks of Georges Méliès’ past that reveal his vital role in movie-making. By investing a deep meaning to the tale, viewers start to understand the great emotional and intellectual characteristics of movies. Additionally, Hugo himself delivers a message to his counterpart characters, which also serves as a lesson for the onlookers. He shows the audience that everyone has a part and purpose in this world. Protagonist Hugo Cabret says that “everything has a purpose, even machines. Clocks tell the time, trains take you places. They do what they’re meant to do.” Voicing through Hugo, the filmmakers illustrate how every individual has a reason to live and discover their calling. With a statement about the forgotten grandeur of film history and a valuable message to the crowd regarding one’s purpose, Hugo inspires and presents itself as a noteworthy and unforgettable
In film, one of the most important channels of theme communication is through the use of cinematic techniques. The avid artistry displayed in Life of Pi, with a magic realism approach, amplified the influence of the camera angles in proving that storytelling is a means of survival. In the novel, Pi des...
Manovich explains how in the beginning of cinema, the cultural impact cinema had could not be foreseen. Because if this, the transformation and impact was not recorded systematically. With the rise of cinema, a new artistic language was born: cinematography. Even though Manovich criticizes that it was not recorded, we need a form of hindsight to see its importance and its consequences before being able to make an educated judgement about cinematography which will shape the recording of it. Manovich tries to provide “a potential map of what the field could be” (ibid, pg.11) back in 2001. I think that not enough time has passed for him to do so, however he provides a theory that can be built on. He centres his argument on c...
African cinema has evolved in multiple facets since postcolonialism milieu. Post-nationalist African cinema has transformed into a more complex network that simultaneously incorporates both global and national issues alike. Modern post-nationalist films aim to aim to repudiate a homogenized notion African Cinema while highlight the diversities in African cinema, unlike antithetical early nationalist variants which portrayed a generalized African identity. These post-nationalist film makers advocate the need for utilizing new film languages and ideals suitable to the contemporary cultural, social, political and economic situations of different African countries. Certain developments have been instrumental to this gradual cinematic evolution
E. Elias Merhige’s Begotten (1990) opens with a preface that evokes the absence of meaning of past discourse in the immediacy of the present.[1] These words, however esoteric, express the aesthetical theme of reincarnation. Primarily, this theme is evinced through the decayed and ambiguous ontological status of the image. Indeed, Merhige’s Begotten is notable for its challenging cinematography that obscures the events on-screen. Through this ambiguous ontology, and in conjunction with its own implicit theme of reincarnation, Begotten formally reproduces the physical and cultural effects of time on discourse. Furthermore, due to the ambiguous nature of the text, phenomenological responses to the film are conducive towards understanding the effects of its ontology on spectators.
about four friends who go on a journey to find a dead body to become
In the moving picture ‘Bella’ the director Alejandro Monteverde uses certain scenes to project a series of ideas and themes to the audience. In order to do so, Monteverde uses a variety of film techniques, which help to develop the narrative. One of the most important parts of the film where these techniques come into play is ‘The home scene’
The film Family Weekend was not given a fair shake. Family Weekend is story of a dysfunctional family. Eldest daughter Emily comes up with the plan of kidnapping her parents in order to save her broken family. Emily is a driven girl who is an accomplished jump-roper. Her siblings consist of her older brother Jackson (Eddie Hassell) who is openly gay, her younger sister Lucinda (Joey King) who is movie obsessed, and her youngest brother Mickey (Robbie Tucker) who has the perfect memory. Along with Emily’s crazy siblings she also has two self-absorbed parents, Samantha (Kristen Chenoweth) and Duncan (Matthew Modine). The bases of the film story are surround by the problems that go along with Emily kidnapping her parents. Critics
In our modern-day philosophy, we assume it’s natural to consider ourselves as distinctive, independent individuals. We have confidence in our irreplaceable, individual identity. Self-portraits of artists like Rembrandt, Picasso, and Van Gogh are key testaments in the respect of artistic individualism. Where conventional histories of art have plainly or subtly supposed the stress on artistic individualism starting in the Renaissance, current critical theory has stressed that the formation of the person is in reality a production with a precise social history. We intentionally or unintentionally style our individualities out of the choices our cultural contexts give.
The cinema is a source of transmission of values of various kinds, both cultural and social, as well as educational and emotional values. The responsibility of being able to reflect on what our children will perceive corresponds to the adults of reference and will be fundamental in order to develop their critical spirit and have a culture of image that allows us to reflect together on what is seen externally and internally.