Today I’ll work on my missing blog posts (mise en scene preliminary task)

French new wave was an artistic film movement that originated in the 1950s in Paris, France. French new wave rejected the then-popular classic Hollywood which more often then contained an easy to follow narrative created by big studios which relied on grand set design and well-known actors. French new wave gave birth to auteur theory as it focused on putting the power back into independent filmmakers’ hands.

French New Wave rejected the idea of a strong narrative and preferred to use imagery to make the viewer think and question complex ideas about the world around them such as existentialism and the absurdity of existence which is why it’s easy for many of these films to go over the average viewers head and be disregarded as abstract nonsense.

Today, i’m going to finish my comparative draft!! 🙂

Fritz Lang’s 1927 German film Metropolis and Bong Joon-ho’s 2013 Korean- Czech Snowpiercer are both distinctive science-fiction films. They are incredibly useful films for the showing comparisons between both class-struggle narratives and the dystopian science fiction genre. These films have been chosen as they were made in contrasting eras and cultures so the development of these themes can be clearly seen. It can be argued that Snowpiercer is inspired by Metropolis, as many similar aspects can be seen in the two. Lang’s film portrays a lower-class violent revolution of workers in a utopian city that overworks them to the point of death while director Bong’s film deals with a lower class of environmental refugees fighting to overthrow their oppressive upper class.  

Luc Besson’s 1990 French film La Femme Nikita and Paul Verhoeven’s 1992 American film Basic Instinct are both distinctive neo-noir????? films that feature the classic ‘femme fatale’ character trope as central characters, although developed very differently. They are incredibly recognisable, from the classical cut-throat villain in Basic instinct, to the violent action featured in La Femme Nikita.These films have been chosen as they were made in contrasting cultures, so the separate representation of the character trope can be clearly seen.

Mathieu Kassovitz 1995 French film La Haine and Menhaj Hudas 2003 British film Kidult- hood are both distinctive working-class coming of age films. They are incredibly recognizable, from the forgotten suburb of Paris in La Haine, to the hellish depiction of west London that appears in Kidult-hood. I have chosen these two films as they were made in different countries and both tackle problems in society that impact the working-class youth such as police brutality in La Haine and gang culture in Kidult-hood. The depiction of class divide can be seen clearly in both films. It can be argued that Kidult-hood is inspired by La Haine as many similar aspects can be seen in the two. La Haine follows the three protagonists Vince, Abdel, and Hubert battling everyday issues in their council block on the outskirts of Paris after their friend was beaten unconscious by police. Kidult-hood also follows a group of working-class youth in west London on a day off school in memory of a classmate who committed suicide. The film covers subjects of organised crime, drugs, teen pregnancy and racial profiling.

 To what extent do the directors in Woman on a verge of a nervous breakdown (1988) and Love Actually (2003) show patriarchal structures? 

Pedro Almodovar’s 1988 Spanish film Woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown and Richard Curtis’ 2003 British film Love Actually are both distinctive Drama and romance films. Both films are evident to show the change and role of woman in society. These films have been chosen as they show the contrasting views and patriarchal structures through the role of female actresses in the film. Curtis’ film is a multi-narrative film which follows multiple characters who are predominately male and their lives through the Christmas period. Almodovar’s film follows a female protagonist, Pepa who chases her ex-lover who leaves her suddenly and then eventually realizes that she dependent and stronger on her own. 

Bong Joon Ho’s 2019 film Parasite and Robert Eggers’ 2019 The Lighthouse are both distinctive horror films. They are incredibly psychological, from the bait-and-switch comedy veneer of Parasite, to the claustrophobic, swelling chaos of The Lighthouse. These films have been chosen as they were made in contrasting contexts, Parasite being South Korean and The Lighthouse being American, so the differences in genre tropes can be clearly seen. Joon Ho’s film follows a trio of families attempting to get by around an opulent suburban mansion, eventually resulting in a violent storm of intrigue which breaks all three families. The Lighthouse also features a slow-burn story of mystery and death, but a different narrative, as instead a pair of lighthouse keepers become stranded. Tensions between the two rise as they covet the light at the point of the tower, and the story slowly comes to a head as one kills the other. 

Martin Scorsese’s 1980 film Raging Bull and Clint Eastwood 2004 Million Dollar Baby are both distinctive boxing movies. I have chosen them as Raging Bull is a deconstruction of boxing movies, and arguably one of the most famous, and Million Dollar Baby is a reinvention of the genre and focuses on a female protagonist. Both films are American and address the topic of gender in boxing, however, in different ways. In this essay I will be comparing and contrasting how these films contribute to the evolution of the genre and its portrayal in gender.