Ideology - an idea or belief, held by a group of people. Films also hold ideologies, but these are not intrinsic, and instead are encoded by the director
Conflict - two or more ideologies that directly oppose one another. This form of opposition can also be referred to as a diametric or binary opposition
What ideological perspective does each film encode?
Battle of Algiers - the misuse of power leads to corruption
District Nine - The scars of apartheid are still felt in society today
Whiplash - There is danger in achieving perfection, and the pressure of the education system is needlessly cruel
Each of these films features a complex male protagonist, who is defined by the complexity of his character and the richness of his personality. He does both good and bad things, and undertakes an ideological journey, confronting a variety of diametrically opposed ideological issues in order to explore their own agency.
However, in all three of these films, the representation of women is rather different. In each of the films, there is significantly less representation of women, and in each and every case, arguable females play subordinate roles that are accessory to the agency of the male protagonists.
Ultimately, this clear issue is rendered invisible due to stereotypical functions of gendered individuals in society, and all three of these films are manifestations of patriarchal hegemony. While all of these three films deal with big and problematic issues, they still almost completely omit women from any serious role, and therefore reinforce certain societal expectations
Symbolic annihilation - where a certain group is completely or almost completely omitted from a film. This leads to a massive inequality, where one group is seen as being superior through their very existence.
Representation, gender, ideology, conflict: the breakup montage
- The costume, casting and performance of Nicole is fascinating. The combination of film language here constructs a representation of innocence. This is anchored through the MES of her costume, with her chunky sweater and popped collar is connotative of a school uniform, and childishness. Her large eyes and mannerisms also reinforce her youth, and reinforces a hegemonic expectation that women should be submissive and otherwise listen to the whims of men
- Melissa Benoist is hegemonically attractive, which allows the target audience to feel empathy for her. This reinforces a problematic ideological perspective on women: that only hegemonically attractive women are sympathetic to the audience. Yet another example of patriarchal hegemony!
- Does the fact that Andrew is able to go out with this woman more impressive to the audience ? And does this reinforce Nicole's function as Andrew’s accessory? Does she lack any form of agency? (yes)
- Immediately before this, Andrew is replaced with with the stereotypical jock archetype character of Connolly. Connolly’s bright red t-shirt forms a diametric opposition to Andrew’s bland and camo green t-shirt, which constructs two completely different personalities. Connolly is taller, muscular, and has a masculine and chiselled facial structure that is very different to Andrew’s. Connolly is also more popular and relaxed in his body language
- Andrew and Fletcher’s relationship is quasi romantic, and throughout the film, Andrew’s desire to please fletcher has sexual connotations
Bonus question: A film’s protagonist is crucial in shaping the spectator’s response to narrative conflict. Discuss this in relation to the film’s you have studied. You must draw comparisons.
Knee jerk reaction - the protagonist in all three films is essential to shaping the spectator’s response to narrative conflict, as in each case the director has positioned the spectator with the protagonist to align us with the ideologies of the protagonist
Plan
Ali Dupont
Protagonist
Murray Smith
Stuart Hall
Cinematography
Todorov - equilibrium
Wikus
Andrew
Syd Fields
Fieldsian narrative structures
Fletcher
Althusser - IDA
bell hooks
WA shot
Levi strauss - binary oppositions
CU
Tracking shot
MS
Performance
Body language
Naturalistic
Othering
Antagonist
Dichotomous
Diametric opposition
Allegory
Hybrid genre
Dystopian
Juxtaposition
Bricolage
Lighting
Costume
Introduction (DAC)
Narrative conflict refers to how a story is told through technical elements in order to construct a series of binary oppositions that are essential in aligning the response of the spectator. Perhaps the most convenient way of presenting this conflict is through the use of a clear and easily identifiable protagonist. In this essay I shall argue that in all three films, the role of a protagonist is used to closely align the spectator to the ideology of the director, in order to make explicit the clear ideological juxtapositions of the narrative. To explore this point, I shall refer to Battle Of Algiers, an Italian/Algerian neorealist political drama, District Nine, a highly unconventional science fiction film that uses allegory and bricolage to construct a highly manipulative ideological perspective, and Whiplash, a more conventional Hollywood film that uses precise montage to attack abuse in the education system.