Screenplay – Ideas already started, finishing screenplay in next couple weeks

Cinematography – Locations are almost sorted as most of film is in isolated location

Director – Main character Phoebe is 17 as well as 2 siblings of the family so wouldn’t be too hard to cast. Maybe a single parent as that would be easier to cast – maybe a parent?

Next Meeting: Finish screenplay, have definitive locations and cast characters

This film supports some of the ideas of the poem, the “White Man’s Burden” to try and modernise and civilise the undeveloped world, in this case, 19th century which was opened up for trade by the US in the mid 1800s after 200 years of isolation from the world. Western influences is apparent in this film from the government structure, to the military, to the social customs and the suppression of traditional classes like the Samurai. However, unlike most countries conquered by western civilations during this time, Japan embraced modernisation instead of reject it, as before the US arrived to Japan, the nation had a prosperous economy and had a steady diplomatic government and therefore were able to hire many European and American technical experts to catch up with rest of the developed world.

Definitions:

Subaltern – The suppression of expression of the lower and colonised classes – being dependent on European influences

Orientalism – The portrayal of Asian countries and cultures from a prejudged western perspective, tending to generalise these cultures and in turn ignoring and eroding their differences

Diaspora – This is the voluntary widespread movement of people from their native homeland

Exoticism – The process of finding a unique cultural custom from a different culture arousing or exciting from the western coloniser’s perspective

Mimicry – This is the practice of the people of the colonised imitate the customs (clothing, language, politics, education etc.) of the coloniser

Otherness – The way a group neglects or marginalises another group from society. Classifying the other group as “other” stresses the fact they’re inferior and as a result carries onto the way the represent others, in the form of stereotypes

Reframing the Male Gaze

The film ‘The Hunger Games’ is a great example on the re-framing of the male gaze as the main protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence volunteers in the place of her sister, Primrose, to participate in a tournament with those involved being forced to fight to the death until one remains. She is shown to be non-passive for doing this as in most films, the women is portrayed as weak as well as showing a lack of courage. Throughout the film, her character and female side characters break the stereotype of being visually sexual as Katniss wears neutral tones of clothing, not to mention it being concealing and loose. within the film, Katniss is shown to be able to be independent and able to handle herself in intense situations as not only does she save herself, but also male competitors which breaks the notion of women being dependent on men as well as men being their protectors.

Male Gaze vs Female Gaze

The male gaze is employed all throughout this film; the main protagonist, Cameron who has the desire to win the heart of Bianca Stratford, who is shown to be the target of many male side characters because of her stereotypical sexual looks and body language. This is the same for other main and side female protagonists such as Kat Stratford as she dances sexually at a house party in the film.

Black Panther, released in 2018 uses many examples of the female gaze in the film. For instance, Eric Killmonger and Black Panther challenge each other to ritual combat. In this scene in particular, the female gaze is prominent as both characters have a very masculine appearance to the due to their muscular physique and their violent and aggressive tendencies.