Q: How does cultural differences affect the representation of children in war films, shown with the films Grave of the Fireflies (1988, Takahata, Japan) and Empire of the Sun (1987, Spielberg, USA)? 

Steven Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun (1987) and Isao Takahata’s Grave of the Fireflies (1988) are two incredibly distinctive war films. They are instantly recognisable among their contemporaries, with Empire of the Sun’s impressive and respectful displays of planes and their pilots and Grave of the Fireflies’ depressing narrative of a slow destruction of a child’s life. I chose these films because I enjoy these films and I believe there can be an interesting comparison between the two. Empire of the Sun follows Jamie “Jim” Graham, as he lives through the events of the Second World War. He gets lost from his parents when the Japanese invade Shanghai and, after a series of events that involve him meeting two American hustlers, gets put into an internment camp where he lives for the rest of the war until Japan surrenders and he is reunited with his family at the end of the movie. Grave of the Fireflies, however, follows two siblings, Seita and Setsuko, through a flashback spanning the film depicting their attempt to survive in the city of Kobe after it has been firebombed by Allied forces. After losing their house and mother in these runs, they move in with an aunt that openly dislikes them. They end up leaving her and live in an abandoned bomb shelter, where Seita starts stealing food as Setsuko slowly dies of malnutrition. At the end of the movie, Setsuko dies and Seita holds a funeral for her, later dying of malnutrition himself at a train station as shown at the start of the film. 

David Fincher’s 1999 film Fight Club and Jordan Peele’s 2019 film Us are both films which offer clear allegories representing the suppression of the collective unconscious in American Society – although at evidently different eras. They are both arguably identifiable in modern film culture, from the A-list cast (including Brad Pitt and Edward Norton) and the iconic commentary on masculinity in Fight Club, to the culturally and critically acclaimed director (Jordan Peele) and the original take on the genre of horror in Us. These films have been chosen as they were made in contrasting contexts of American society, allowing the evolution of general attitudes towards the collective unconscious and its suppression to be seen. It could be argued that Us deals with similar moral and philosophical themes to Fight Club despite the twenty years which separate the two, as patterns of metaphorical representation as social commentary can be seen throughout both films. Fincher’s film follows (arguable) primary protagonist ‘The Narrator’ as his life as a consumer in 90s Delaware is taken out of his control, alongside Pitt’s character ‘Tyler’ who helps him regain his hold on his identity and purpose. However, rebellious societal chaos caused by Tyler leads him to become the antagonist, whom The Narrator eventually kills. It is revealed that ‘The Narrator’ and ‘Tyler’ are not two people but rather both aspects of the same personality, and that their lives were not ever truly separate, but one. Us also centres on warped narration and the idea of identity surrounding the collective unconscious, but in a physically different format, as a woman (Adelaide) and her family in 21^st century Santa Cruz, return to Adelaide’s ‘hometown’ on holiday, only to eventually be pursued by their ‘clones’, who have lived underground and mirrored the behaviour of their counterparts in modern civilisation; and have started a revolution against those ‘above’ to reclaim the lives they were never given (led by the main antagonist ‘Red’ who is the genetic replica of Adelaide). The protagonists finally manage to kill their respective clones, only for it to be revealed that ‘Adelaide’ was from ‘below’ the whole time, and it was she who once stole Red’s life and identity as a human in American society. 

Q: How has female representation in horror films changed over time? Using the films Friday the 13TH Part 2 1981 (Miner, US) and The Cabin in the Woods 2011 (Goddard, US)?

Steve Miner’s 1981 film Friday The 13th Part 2 and Drew Goddard’s 2011 The Cabin In The Woods are two well-known horror films. They are both staples in the Horror genre from Friday 13th’s masked killer Jason Voorhees to The Cabin In The Woods’ collection of killers ranging from Werewolves to Zombies. These films have been chosen due to their different representations of female characters and their roles within the films. Lionsgate and Goddard have stated that the Friday 13th franchise heavily influenced The Cabin In The Woods as the settings are similar as are some other aspects. Miner’s film Friday 13th Part 2 is a sequel to the first and follows Sandra, her boyfriend Jeff, Scott, Terry, Mark, Vickie, Ted, and Paul’s assistant Ginny as they enlist in a school for Counsellor’s at Crystal Lake where they are attacked by the masked killer Jason Voorhees. The Cabin In The Woods follows American college students Dana, Jules, Curt, Holden, and Marty who are spending the weekend at Curt Vaughan’s cousin’s cabin in the forest. From the lab below the cabin, Sitterson and Hadley remotely control the cabin and manipulate the students and send killers after them in order to satisfy ‘The Director’.

Both Mathieu Kassovitz’s 1995 film La Haine and Danny Boyles 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire depict life in low-income neighbourhoods, and the hardships the characters must face. They are both from different cultures and portray the differences living in the projects in Paris (La Haine) and the slums in India (Slumdog Millionaire). These films have been chosen due to the clear distinction to how both diverse cultures live, and deal will different situations. Focussing on three main protagonists in a twenty-four-hour time period Vince Hubert and Said, La Haine represents the youth in Paris who attempt to fight against police brutality. Whereas in Slumdog Millionaire, it tells the story of an orphaned boy, who lives in poverty throughout his whole life until becoming a contestant on the show ‘who wants to be a millionaire’ and wins due to the knowledge he has acquired over the course of his life.  

Introduction- 

Akira Kurosawa’s 1958 film The Hidden Fortress, and Travis Knight’s 2016 film Kubo and the Two Strings are two films that follow different interpretations of the hero’s journey. Both are inspired by Japanese history and culture, The Hidden Fortress taking from the Sengoku era and Kubo and the Two Strings being inspired by a mythical version of the Feudal era. These films were chosen because they have similar sources of inspiration but enough of a historical and cultural difference to influence their portrayal of the monomyth. Kurosawa’s film follows Matashichi and Tahei after failing to make a profit from a war between two clans. They end up meeting Makabe Rokurōta, a general currently in hiding, and who offers them a deal to help take the disguised Princess Yuki to the neighbouring territory Hayakawa, in exchange for gold. Kubo and the Two Strings, follows young boy Kubo on his journey, alongside a talking monkey and a warrior beetle to find a magical set of armour in order to fight his grandfather, The Moon King. 

Nicholas Rays 1955 film rebel without a cause and Greta Gerwigs 2017 film Ladybird are both distinctive coming of age films both staring famous actors from their time, James dean and soarise Rohan. These films have been chosen as they’re from very contrasting eras of the coming-of-age genre, Rebel without a cause is a 1955 film focused on Jim starks life in a new town as he bonds with a local girl called Judy and troubled classmate Pluto who all have problems with their own families as Judy’s dad doesn’t see her as a little girl anymore, Pluto’s mum is never home leaving his nanny to look after him while Jim deals with his overbearing father who he doesn’t see as a real man, as well as Jim getting into trouble with Judy’s boyfriend buzz and all his friends ultimately leading to Pluto’s death. Gerwigs debut film Ladybird is about local girl Christine (Ladybird) as she tries to navigate friends, relationships, and her family mainly her relationship with her mother during the summer while she’s trying to get into a prestigious collage far away from her family and the hometown she thinks she hates.

Introduction

Introduction

Minelli’s 1956 film Lust for life and Ron Howards 2001 A beautiful mind both depict the harsh realism of mental illness. Lust for life tells the story of Vincent Van Gogh’s struggles during his short life whilst on the other hand A beautiful Mind brings the point of view of John Nash mental illness to light. These films perfectly portray two different ways of viewing mental illness, Minelli’s focuses on an outside view of the life of Vincent Van Gogh whilst Howards focus on putting the audience into the perspective of John Nash showing the experiences and episodes he went through.

Q: How has the Film Noir subgenre changed over time using the films Sin City (FrankMiller, Robert Rodriguez, 2005, USA) and Lady from Shanghai (Welles, 1947, USA)?

Introduction: 

In Miller and Rodriguez’s 2005 film ‘Sin City’ and Welles’ 1947 film ‘Lady from Shanghai’. Both films are widely recognisable as being significant in ways in which they incorporate elements from film noir and apply them to technical and narrative elements. With Sin City and its use of digital visual effects to create the unique visual effects seen throughout the film, and ‘The Lady from Shanghai’ with its use of well-known actors and methods seen in classic Film Noir. These films have been chosen for their applicability to the film noir subgenre and the contrast and influence of the cultural context at the time the film was made. 

How is the male gaze portrayed in the films Basic Instinct (1992, Verhoeven) and Vertigo (1958, Hitchcock) and how has this changed over time? 

Paul Verhoeven’s 1992 film Basic Instinct and Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 film Vertigo both explore the subjection of women in film. Both films are recognised for their representation of the femme fatale and the theme of the male gaze while the women are massively objectified in both films. These films have been chosen because of the contrast in the perception of the role of women in different time periods and how the trope has developed showing how powerful the role of women really is. Basic instinct follows a detective, Nick Curran as he investigates the murder of a rockstar-the “villain” of the film- Catherine Tramell was sleeping with the rockstar therefore leading her to be the main suspect-also leading to curran and Tramell’s intense relationship. Vertigo follows another detective, “Scottie” who has a fear of heights, who is hired to help prevent the suicide of his friend’s wife. “scottie” ends up falling for the women and becoming dangerously obsessed with her.