I think aesthetics refers to how a world or character is presented to the viewer and the story it tells through that. It refers to the overall style of the film and the feel of it and the themes it may present.

Realism

Verisimilitude in film is “similarity to the truth”- the appearance of something being true or real- and in film is how much the viewer can believe that something truly takes place in the film.

I put the Dead Poets Society (1989) because it is a good representation of being a student in a private school in the 60’s and just the timeframe of that period.

Social-Realism

This sub-genre of realism seeks to capture society in a specific and accurate way and aims to to draw attention to socio-political conditions of the working class to critique the power structures behind it.

I chose Billy Elliot (2000) as my example for social realism in a film because it includes a realist depiction of British people and society and it explores certain socio-political conditions such as the 1984’s miners strike, gender stereotypes and the problem of police violence.

Magic Realism

Magic-Realism is a genre that portrays fantastical events in a realistic tone. It works with tales such as fables, myths, and folk stories. However despite the fantasy elements, magic-realism maintains a realistic view of the world so well that in some cases it blurs the line of speculation and reality.

The Princess Bride (1987) is my example for magic realism because it has a wide variety of fantastical elements such as fairy tales, knights and magic, but it also maintains a heavily realistic tone throughout the whole movie and is not fully fantasy.

Hyper Realism

This is a genre in which what is real and what is fiction are seamlessly blended together so that there is no clear distinction between one ends and where another begins.

Visual Style

Iconography = This is the visual images and symbols used in a work of art or the study or interpretation of things. For example the lamb which represents Christ and the dove which represents the Holy Spirit.

Intertextual Referencing = This is the point where two works of art overlap- such as reusing its ideas and meanings and making it something of their own. Since art is so subjective it is very common for this to happen.

Visual/Sound Motifs = This is a recurring visual or sound that occurs in a film. This can help add story to the film or let the viewer be aware of a characters feelings.

Colour Grading = This involves adjusting and enhancing the colours and tones of a film to create a specific mood or atmosphere.

Auteur Trademarks = This is when a film-maker has a very distinctive and personal style that is reflected within their creative choices. This is also due to them having full authority over their films. There are many examples of this, such as Sofia Coppola’s focus on women with a pastel, elegant palette, Quentin Tarantino’s non-linear storytelling and sharp dialogue, and most distinctively Wes Anderson’s vibrant and quirky style:

Tone

Pathos = This is an appeal to an audience’s emotion- it purposely evoking strong emotions within them like anger or sadness. This can be in forms of inspirational music in the background or just dialogue.

Bathos = Bathos is a sudden, often humorous drop in tone during an anti-climax. It usually appears in satirical genres or used for intentional comedic effect.

Suspense = This is a common technique used in many films to evoke an audience’s excited anticipation about plot or conflict or to heighten an eerie, scary scene. It elevates tension and is a very good use of tone.

Comedy = Comedy in film is not only a genre but it is also used in other non-comedic films to elicit laughter from an audience and to lighten the mood in stressful moments. There can usually be a comedic-relief character that fills in this role. There are plenty examples of comedic films such as Step Brothers, 21 Jump Street, Zoolander and Airplane!

Dramatic Irony = Simply put, this is when the audience knows something that the characters in the film do not. An example would be a character in a horror going into a room where we know the killer awaits.

Distancing Effect (Verfremdung) = This is also known as “alienating an audience” and can also be shortened to the “v effect”. Invented by playwright Bertolt Brecht, he wanted to ‘distance’ the audience away from the action so that they could not feel emotionally invested in the characters but rather reach an intellectual understanding with them.

Postmodern Humour = Typically this refers to to humour that features jokes about serious topics like murder or war to make light of the topic. It is a fiction that deals with depressing complexities of modern life in a humorous tone. A film most known for this is Blade Runner (1982) by Ridley Scott.

definition: a set of principles that are associated with an artistic taste. (i.e. colour grading, costuming, set locations and sound)

realism–

Verisimilitude: Something that is sticking to reality, being true to life or realistic. Example: Yes God, Yes.

Social Realism: Something that aims to draw attention to a real societal or political issue. often sets out to critique these issues. Example: The Millionaire Tour

Magic Realism: A realistic narrative is combined with surreal aspects of fantasy. Example: The Shape of Water

Hyperreality: the inability to distinguish simulations of reality from reality. Example: The Matrix

Visual style–

Iconography: the use of a recurring visual images/symbols in a movie that convey themes, help the narrative or evoke an emotional reaction in the audience. Example: in ‘On a Clear Day’, the sea/pools/bodies of water are shown repeatedly throughout the film to represent the guilt Frank feels for his son’s death, and how he’s dealing with his midlife crisis.

Intertextual reference: When a movie will reference another text (movie, play, tv show, book). Example: Sawyer in lost using many references as nicknames, i.e. calling Charlie ‘Oliver Twist’. He is also often seen reading books which he will then reference.

Visual/Sound motif: A recurring story element that helps to forward the films thematic meaning. (it can be represented visually by shapes, colours, objects and settings. or audibly as distinct sounds, music or noises). Example: In Lord of the Rings, whenever the hobbits get reflective on The Shire, its theme will play in the background, the instruments in it often changing to reflect the way it is being reflected on by the characters.

Colour Grading: tools that are used to make films look better or artificially change the colour to suggest tone or mood. Example: In Pet (2016), whenever Seth is in the basement with Holly, the lighting is made cooler and darker to reflect both Seth’s and Holly’s mindset while down there.

Auteur Trademarks: A filmmakers distinct artistic approach to their film making. Example: Wes Anderson’s movies are always very bright and eccentric. for example, his movie Isle of Dogs, specifically when they’re on land with the humans rather than with the dogs.

Tone–

Pathos: objects that are incorporated into a film to create an emotional appeal in the audience, often one of pity. this can be used to connect with the audience. Example: the Episode ‘Fire + Water’ from Lost, where the audience is shown the character Charlie from a different light as he is trying to save Claire’s baby from things he is hallucinating, which appear to the audience as surreal flashbacks.

Bathos: An anti-Climactic moment. (where a serious moment is being built up to a nothing climax, it can sometimes be done by accident or done for comedic effect). Example: When Mike in Five Nights at Freddy’s is around the office, the audience is made to think that one of the Animatronics will be waiting for him but it is actually a small toy that scares him.

Suspense: When a movie creates a sense of anxiety, anticipation and unease in the audience. it is most often used in thrillers. Example, when Holly is being stalked by Seth as he finds her at her work in Pet(2016).

Comedy: when something is done to make the audience laugh. Example: the Honda odyssey scene from Deadpool and Wolverine.

Dramatic Irony: when the audience has knowledge of something that the characters in the movie/tv show do not. Example: the Pet (2016) scene where Holly talks to Seth, coaching him on how to get rid of Nate, who has no idea that Seth is behind him.

Distancing Effect (verfremdung): breaking the fourth wall. reminding the audience they’re watching a movie. Example: Ferris Bueller’s day off

Postmodern Humour: humour that goes against common ideas in relation to society, genre and humanity Example: Seed of Chucky, specifically the character Glen/Glenda.

Aesthetics is the style and tone of a film.

Realism

Realism is an attempt to make the audience believe in the world the film creates

Verisimilitude – When a film conveys a sense of truthfulness and realism, sometimes requiring suspension of disbelief

Intruder (1989, Scott Spiegel)

The Hitcher (1986, Robert Harmon)

Social Realism – The movie displays a social environment and its impacts on the characters in it.

Perfect Blue (1997, Satoshi Kon) – Kon uses the film to critique the Japanese idol system and how celebrities are treated.

Magic Realism – Surreal and fantastical elements have been incorporated into an otherwise realistic setting

Carrie (1976, Brian De Palma)

Hyperreality – A film in which the reality portrayed is exaggerated, or is “too real to be real”

The Matrix Reloaded (2003,The Wachowzkis)

Visual Style

Iconography – Use of reoccurring visual symbols that convey emotion and provide symbolism

Lady Vengeance (2005, Park Chan-Wook) – the colour white is used in the movie to show purity, revenge and devotion.

Intertextual Referencing – When a film incorporates aspects of another work (another film, book, series, poetry etc)

The Crow (1994, Alex Proyas) – The graphic novel the film was based on was heavily inspired by the band Joy Division and quoted song titles in the artwork frequently, and the film itself quotes classic literature like ‘Paradise Lost’ and Edgar Allen Poe’s ‘The Raven‘

Visual/Sound motifs – Recurring element in a film to help the story like announcing a character, punctuating a plot point or highlighting a theme

Suspiria (1977, Dario Argento) – Suspiria uses a lot of unnatural red and blue lighting, creating a dreamlike feel and being used to announce the appearance of supernatural forces or death

Colour Grading – changing the colour of footage in post production to create a constant colour scheme or to represent a theme

Manhunter (1986, Michael Mann)

Auteur trademark – a visual technique used prominently by a particular director that an audience can use to recognise as their work

Phantom Of The Paradise (1974, Brian De Palma) – De Palma uses split screen often in his works

Tone

A films tone is how it portrays its subject matter and how the audience should feel while watching the film

Pathos – Something in a film that invokes pity and compassion in the spectator

Stand By Me (1986, Rob Reiner) – Gordie dreams that his father tells him he should have died instead of his brother

Bathos – an effect of anticlimax

Se7en (1995, David Fincher) – The main antagonist of the film turns himself in

Suspense – When the director creates anticipation and anxiousness in the audience during tense scenes

Black Christmas (1974, Bob Clark)

Comedy – aspects in a film intended to make a spectator laugh and entertain them

Scary Movie (2000, Keenen Ivory Weyans)

Dramatic Irony – When the audience knows something a character doesn’t

Woman Of The Hour (2023, Anna Kendrick) – The audience knows Rodney is a killer. Cheryl doesn’t.

Distancing Effect (V-Effekt) – When the audience is reminded that they are watching a film and are “alienated” from the world of the film

The Muppet Movie (1979, James Frawley) – Dr. Teeth reads the films script

Postmodern Humour – when a film subverts mainstream audience expectations

Return Of The Living Dead (1985, Dan O’Bannon) – The film subverts the standard horror movie format at the time by making the main cast a group of punks and low wage workers and giving them personalities and depth

Realism

Versimilitude: the believability or semblance of truth in a work, even if that work doesn’t reflect real-life accurately. Example: ‘The Wolfpack’ (2014). Uses the real-life people who experienced the events shown in the film, adding to the versimilitude in the film.

Social Realism: when a film tries to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structures behind these conditions. Example: ‘The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner’ (1962). The main protagonist uses running as a way to mentally reflect upon his political thoughts and realises the class divisions within in England.

Magic Realism: when a film portrays fantastical events in an otherwise realistic tone. Example: ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (2016). Tells a realistic story simultaneously with a fairytale.

Hyper-reality: a film in which what is real and what is fiction are seamlessly blended together so that there is no clear distinction between where one ends and the other begins. Example: ‘The Matrix’ (1999). The virtual reality medium is used to illustrate the concept of hyper-reality, which is what the majority of the film is based upon.

Visual Style

Iconography: the use of recurring visual images and symbols in movies that convey specific themes, evoke emotions, and build a film’s narrative identity. Example: ‘Schindler’s List’ (1993). The recurring symbol of the girl in the red coat, which represents the persecution of innocence and the needlessness of war.

Intertextual Referencing: when films over lap with another piece of literature or an idea. Example: ‘Shrek’ (2001). Throughout the ‘Shrek’ franchise many fairy tales and other pieces of literature are referenced, such as the characters of Pinocchio or The Three Little Pigs.

Visual/Sound Motifs: A recurring visual or aural element that is link to a thematic meaning. Example: ‘Psycho’ (1960). Throughout the film, the character of Norman Bates is frequently seen with images of birds or actual taxidermized birds. This foreshadows to the viewer the twist ending that his mother is dead and that Norman has been preserving her since her death.

Colour Grading: Manipulating contrast, colour, saturation and other aspects to match scenes that are shot under different conditions or that have similar thematic content. Example: ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ (2015). The film of ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ has an amazing orange hue throughout and was done by director George Miller’s wife Margaret Sixel. It was a risk as she had never edited a film before but Miller wanted a woman’s take on editing. She ended up winning an academy award for Best Film Editing in 2015.

Auteur Trademarks: a reference (a character, an angle, a theme) that is recurrent in the author’s work. Example: ‘The Shining’. Stanley Kubrick’s auteur style is marked by grandeur and meticulous craftsmanship. His style consists of striking symmetry, innovative lighting techniques and detailed set designs whose visual depth mirrors the thematic depth of most of his films.

Tone

Pathos: To appeal to the audience’s emotion. Example: ‘The Lion King’ (1994). The scene in which Mufasa dies by the hands of his own brother, Scar, is sure to evoke some emotion from the audience as someone in the audience has surely lost a parental figure.

Bathos: When a film’s tone starts out serious and then turns trivial. Example: ‘War of the Worlds’ (1953). The ending of the film ‘War of the Worlds’ is definitely anticlimactic and bathetic, as the Martians die to microbes in the atmosphere that their immune systems were unprepared for. This delivers an unexpecting ending for the audience.

Suspense: The audience’s excited anticipation about the the plot or the conflict, which may be heightened by a violent moment or a stressful scene. Example: The Conjuring (2013). The scenes in which the family first arrive at the house are rather suspenseful, due to the set design of the film, which utilises narrow staircases, low ceilings and an unsettling atomsphere.

Comedy: ‘Make ’em laugh’ films designed to elicit laughter and excrete humour from the audience. Example: ‘The Three Amigos’ (1986). A personal favourite comedy film of mine, featuring Steve Martin, Chevy Chase and Martin Short, in which Three actors travel to a Mexican village to perform as their movie characters, the Three Amigos. However, the community thinks they are actual gunfighters and asks them to stop a group of bandits.

Dramatic Irony: A plot device to highlight the difference between a character’s understanding of a given situation and that of an audience. Example: ‘Jaws’ (1975). Throughout the film, there are moments where the audience knows the shark is there, when the characters do not.

Distancing Effect (Verfremdung): When a character reminds the audience that they are watching a play, rather than making it more realistic. Example: ‘Palindromes’ (2004) in Palindromes, Solondz uses the alienation effect to create a space for discussion over what abuse can look like from a child’s perspective

Postmodern Humour: When a comedy presents a thoroughly undeceived view of human life. Example: ‘Wayne’s World’ (1992). Uses post modernist humour to discuss the fragility of the media.

Reframing is the general change in a person’s mindset, whether it be a positive or negative change.

Throughout Joker, cinematography is used effectively to create a sense of chaos within the films diegetic world.

Here, the camera is used to position the spectator.

This suggest to the spectator that.

This reframing of the central character.

PEEL Structure

The structure of the paragraph shows a clear structure of point, evidence, explain and link to spectator.

-point-evidence-explain-link

1. Phrases/vocab: Diegetic, reframing, stylised,
2. Diegetic – in the world of the film
3. Catharsis is strong emotions being released, e.g the audience feeling justified or relieved by a characters fate or actions
4. Reframing – to change the way a thing or a character is thought of by the spectator
5.  Throughout Joker, cinematography is used effectively to create a sense of chaos within the film’s diegetic world. This is particularly evident in the scene towards the end of the film where Arthur is shown in a low- angle, close-up looking out of the police car window and reacting with glee at the riots taking place around him. Here, the camera is used to position  the spectator as not only connecting with Arthur, but now looking up to him. This suggests to the spectator that the tables have turned and Arthur, who was earlier depicted as pathetic and sad, is now depicted as powerful and heroic. This “reframing” of  the central character” has a potentially cathartic effect on the spectator who has, up until this point, been encouraged to sympathise with Arthur’s point of view as a victim of circumstance. The deliberate and stylised use of this slow-motion reaction shot, enables the spectator to get a sense of poetic justice being served: Arthur is now on his way to prison.
   Yellow = Point, Green = Evidence, Blue = Explanation, Purple = link

1. Pick out the phrases/vocab you think impressive

Poetic justice- a fitting consequence for someone’s actions

Define

Diegetic- something occurring within the context of the story and able to be heard and seen by the characters

Cathartic- expressing and letting go of a strong emotion through a activity or experience.

Reframing- the general change in a persons mindset, whether it be a positive or negative change.,

Connote- imply or suggest a idea or feeling in addition to the literal or primary meaning.

How is paragraph structured- identify the PEEL structure.

Purple- point. Green- evidence. Blue- explain. Red- link.

1. ‘ Throughout Joker, cinematography is used effectively to create a sense of chaos within the film’s diegetic world’, ‘This reframing of the central character has a potentially cathartic effect for the viewer’, ‘This suggests to the spectator that…’
2. Diegetic – (of sound in a film, television programme, etc.) occurring within the context of the story and able to be heard by the characters. This includes sound, characters, landscapes etc…
3. Cathartic effect – Trying to make the viewer have an emotional response, such as cry
4. Reframing – Shifting your perspective in a conflict or situation
5. The first sentence of the paragraph is the point in this response. The second sentence is the evidence and rest of this response is them explaining the effect this has on the viewer.

“To create a sense of chaos within the films diegetic world”

DIEGETIC-  narrative techniques and elements in a fictional work. Appearing in the context of the film.

CATHARTIC EFFECT- involving the release of strong emotions through a particular activity or experience

REFRAMING- To change the way something is expressed or considered

CONNOTE- to imply and suggest meaning, along with a primary view.

•Throughout Joker, cinematography is used effectively to create a sense of chaos within the film’s diegetic world. This is particularly evident in the scene towards the end of the film where Arthur is shown in a  low- angle, close-up looking out of the police car window and reacting with glee at the riots taking place around him. Here, the camera is used to position  the spectator as not only connecting with Arthur, but now looking up to him. This suggests to the spectator that the tables have turned and Arthur, who was earlier depicted as pathetic and sad, is now depicted as powerful and heroic. This “reframing” of  the central character” has a potentially cathartic effect on the spectator who has, up until this point, been encouraged to sympathise with Arthur’s point of view as a victim of circumstance. The deliberate and stylised use of this slow-motion reaction shot, enables the spectator to get a sense of poetic justice being served: Arthur is now on his way to prison.