Claire Denis’ visually striking ‘Beau Travail’ and David Fincher’s sardonically incendiary ‘Fight Club’ from the same year of 1999, both attempts to criticise the traditional structures of gender, specifically the dangers of toxic masculinity onto the men which perform it. Both feature films target the fragile nature of hyper-masculine performativity, and the perils which result from enacting such a mindset. As a result of this overarching theme, I have heavily referenced queer theory and Judith Butler’s ‘Gender Performativity’ theory to aid my comparison between these two films. Furthermore, I have decided upon these two films for comparison as the films were produced and distributed under different cultural contexts. ‘Fight Club’, an American film distributed under the massive conglomerate of 20^th Century Fox, is a stark contrast to ‘Beau Travail’s distribution under the minor Parisian distribution service of ‘Pyramide Films’; the alternative countries these films were produced in also furthers the bridge between these two film’s cultural contexts. Likewise, the oppositional genders of Fincher and Denis allows the subject of masculinity to be presented from the male and female points of view. 

In conclusion, the psychological horror sub-genre hasn’t changed more than it has evolved in recent times. Directors seem to aim toward creating a more vivid image of what their film’s protagonists suffer through to their audience, and hones in on the true capacity of what the human mind is able to tolerate before breaking, and what horrific acts seemingly ordinary people can be capable of.

F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu and Robert Eggers’ 2019 The Lighthouse are both distinctive fantastical horror films. Thee narrative of both films are driven by themes psychological, from the claustrophobic, swelling chaos of The Lighthouse to the Thanatophobia (fear of death) created from Nosferatu. These films have been chosen as they were made in contrasting contexts. Nosferatu was a German film made in the troubled Weimer period of the 1920s Germany and The Lighthouse being an independent American film made recently featuring big A-List actors such as Willem Defoe and Robert Pattinson, so the differences in social and economic tropes can be clearly seen. F.W Murnau’s film follows its protagonist Thomas Hutter who is sent by his “master” to finalise a deal with the mysterious Count Orlok. He then quickly finds out that Count Orlok is a vampire who has his targets set on our protagonists’ wife. The Lighthouse features a slow-burn story which induces a claustrophobic feeling as two lighthouse keepers become stranded. Tensions between the two rises as they covet the light at the point of the tower, and the story’s climax comes when both the light housekeepers meet their demise. 

Robert Weine’s 1922 film The Cabinet of Dr Caligari is a strong German Expressionist film that went on to influence the neo-Noir film genre and spawn many films that take inspiration from this such as Batman Returns and more prominently Mulholland Drive, they both stand out due to their unique stylisation, from the abnormal dimensions of the furniture in Dr Caligari to the abstract architecture of the manor in Batman Returns. These films have been chosen as they were made in contrasting contexts, Caligari being made in a different political and historical context when compared to Batman due to Caligari being made during the Weimar Republic years of 1918-33 whereas Batman Returns was made during 90’s America where the spread of communism had been stopped and everyone was celebrating the win of capitalism, so the differences in genre tropes can be clearly seen. Robert Weine’s film follows a somnambulist who makes deadly predictions that are horrifying. Later, a man and his fiancée go through a terrible ordeal because of one of his predictions. Whereas in Burton’s film, Max, an entrepreneur, and criminal Penguin team up to wreak havoc in Gotham City, Batman decides to stop them. Catwoman’s alter ego, Selina Kyle, seeks revenge on Max for trying to kill her. 

Point 3 – Representations

Throughout both of the films’ runtimes, many of the themes and representations are akin to one another, such as the representation of the human condition, familial structures, the roles of men and women, and how they’re represented appropriately to their eras.

In Kubrick’s The Shining, the narrative follows a nuclear family of three and demonstrates how the past often haunts people in their futures, and just how easily people can fall back into alcoholism and addiction, and what it does to their family and those around them – even outside of a haunted hotel with a traumatic history. This same theme follows similarly within Eggers’ film, the two men falling into alcoholism and delirium as the weeks go by, resulting in them behaving more violently and aggressively toward each other.

In both films, the human condition is a key factor that drives the plotline forward, particularly within their male characters. The mental state of both Jack Torrance – Jack Nicholson’s character – and Ephraim Winslow – Robert Pattinson’s character – are presented as increasingly fragile as each film progresses, part of this being the lack of help they received in light of their behaviours – as up until recent times, far from when both films were set, the role of a man within society was to be independent, aggressive, and dominant. Because of this, it was seen as ‘weak’ to be vulnerable, and so the men in both stories decline further into these traits, becoming more erratic until they finally break down into a murderous rage in the climaxes of their respective stories. Another part of this is the lack of understanding the men have for themselves, and the uncertainty that comes with it – something that’s played upon by the catalyst of the paranormal – the only solace they find being what both Torrance and Winslow find to be their ‘answers’ – alcohol and the lighthouse’s beacon – which they’re told to avoid and stay away from.

Women in the two films are also represented similarly, in the sense that they’re consistently objectified for the male protagonists’ sexual pleasure – such as the woman in the bathroom and the mermaids. Liesbet Van Zoonen theorises that gender is a societal construct, and argues that its meaning varies dependent on cultural and historical context – and evidently so; the stereotypes of males and females are highly reinforced throughout the plotlines. However, due to the the horrific acts the male characters in these films commit, it could be argued that it spits out the opposite image back into society – and that these types of worldviews can often lead to a sense of superiority over people that these characters deem as weaker.

Point 2 – Homage/Pastiche

The Shining is considered to be a postmodern film, exhibiting various themes such as the paranormal, family, and isolation. Kubrick displays this with his disorienting use of claustrophobia throughout the Overlook Hotel’s layout, through the labyrinth of endless corridors and his use of colour to further develop the atmosphere. Another concept also present throughout his film is what is now known as a liminal space – a transitional area; such as an airport, shopping centre, and in this case, a hotel – a place that should be full of people, that is completely deserted. Audiences often find this imagery discomforting, placing more unease on them as they watch the narrative unfold. These two ideas manage to forge an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia that can be felt throughout the film, further increasing the tension as Jack Nicholson’s character falls victim to the supernatural forces eating away at his sanity before the film’s climax.

Eggers’ film gives pastiche to some of these themes in one way or another, recycling themes of isolation and the paranormal and implementing it into a tale full of ancient folklore and mythology. In an interview with /Film, Eggers specified that for a previous film, The VVitch, he took great influence from The Shining, which clearly still has an effect in The Lighthouse. This effect can be seen through Eggers’ use of sound and the consistent droning of the lighthouse, imitating Kubrick’s use of the typewriter’s constant clicking in different scenes across The Shining to stir anxiety in his audiences. Similarly, Eggers also uses a storm to keep his characters isolated from the rest of the world, following the theme of the supernatural, almost as if the island itself won’t let the men go, as the hotel did to Kubrick’s characters. The Lighthouse also captures a strong sense of claustrophobia through both its 1.19:1 aspect ratio and the use of a digitally added monochrome filter. These two elements cause an audience to experience similar emotions of entrapment that Eggers’ characters feel stuck on the island, leaving them further distressed by the grotesque imagery combined with the dark and brooding colour palette.

Eggers’ pays homage to classic film with his use of the 1.19:1 aspect ratio in The Lighthouse, which is strikingly close to the 4:3 aspect ratio that was most commonly used during the late 20th century – when The Shining was released. It should be noted that whilst Kubrick’s film was shot in a 1:1.85 ratio, it was displayed on screens with a 4:3 ratio at time of release.

https://www.slashfilm.com/542687/the-witch-influences-the-shining/

Point 1 – Genre

Christian Metz, a French film theorist, theorised that genres go through a cycle of four stages as they develop – the experimental stage – where the codes and conventions of a genre are founded – the classic stage – where these set conventions become iconic and staples of the genre – the parody stage – where the films become self-aware and begin to mock these tropes – and the deconstruction stage – where the rules of the genre are broken more carelessly, and sometimes where “hybrid genres” are formed as a result. (On screen quote) “The laws of genre are derived from earlier examples of that genre” Christian Metz, Film Language: A Semiotics of the Cinema [1974]).

Both The Shining and The Lighthouse could be considered to be within a ‘classic stage’ of psychological horror’s development, as they follow a very standard plotline of the genre – people go to an isolated space, someone slowly loses their sanity in this space due to external or internal factors, before attempting – sometimes succeeding – to kill one or more people.

Despite this basic breakdown of the two films, they are still vastly different when it comes to their visuals and approaches to cinematography, which completely revises the way in which the audience perceives and feels about each film as it plays out.

Psychological horror thrives on the human emotion of empathy, which it utilises to stir up feelings of anxiety and fear within a viewer as opposed to the regular use of jump scares, gore and disturbing visual imagery seen in classic horror. While a lot of psychological horror films make use of disturbing imagery, it’s often done in such a way that twists and focuses on the human form – such as Eggers’ grotesque use of nudity filming acts society declares as shameful, and the deranged mannerisms often used by Kubrick’s characters.

Summarise what Astruc meant by the term "Auteur" and give some examples of the films cited by the movement as being created by Auteur directors.

Alexandre Astruc, wanted to find directors that shared their own perspective through use of lighting, camerawork, staging, editing, and the story. He called this concept of individualism “auteurism,” deriving largely from Astruc’s explanation of the concept of caméra-stylo (“camera-pen”), where the director, is more to be considered the “author” of the movie.

Taxi Driver – 1976

Travis, an ex-marine and Vietnam veteran, works as a taxi driver in New York City. One day, he decides to save an underage prostitute from her pimp in an effort to clean the city of its corruption.

Breaking the Waves – 1996

In a small and religious coastal town, a simple, devoutly religious Scottish woman, Bess McNeill (Emily Watson), finds a partner in an oil rig worker from Norway, Jan Nyman (Stellan Skarsgard). However, the relationship grows strained when Nyman breaks his neck in a horrific work accident on the rig and becomes paralyzed. Unable to perform sexually and suffering mentally from the accident as well, Jan convinces Bess to have sex with other men, which she comes to believe is God’s work.

Submarine – 2010

Oliver (Craig Roberts) is a Welsh teen who has some things on his mind. First is losing his virginity before his 16th birthday. He sets out to woo his feisty classmate Jordana (Yasmin Paige). Then Oliver focuses on holding his family together. His father (Noah Taylor), a depressed marine biologist, seems unequal to the task of preventing Oliver’s mother (Sally Hawkins) from succumbing to the dubious charms of a spiritual guru (Paddy Considine) from down the road.

Identify at least two other classic French New Wave films

Hiroshima, mon Amour – 1959

The deep conversation between a Japanese architect (Eiji Okada) and a French actress (Emmanuelle Riva) forms the basis of this celebrated French film, considered one of the vanguard productions of the French New Wave. Set in Hiroshima after the end of World War II, the couple — lovers turned friends — recount, over many hours, previous romances and life experiences. The two intertwine their stories about the past with pondering the devastation wrought by the atomic bomb dropped on the city.

The 400 Blows – 1959

For young Parisian boy Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud), life is one difficult situation after another. Surrounded by inconsiderate adults, including his neglectful parents (Claire Maurier, Albert Remy), Antoine spends his days with his best friend, Rene (Patrick Auffray), trying to plan for a better life. When one of their schemes goes awry, Antoine ends up in trouble with the law, leading to even more conflicts with unsympathetic authority figures.