Film noir is a style or genre of cinematographic film marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism and menace. It is used primarily to describe stylised Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasise cynical attitudes and motivations.

A classical Noir movie example would be :
Touch of Evil

A Neo Noir movie example would be :
Absence of Malice

Aesthetics – An overall style. A film will create a certain aesthetic from the mise en scene and cinematography.

Aesthetic Terms 1 – realism

Verisimilitude – the appearance of being true or real.

• In This Is England, the housing and location can be verisimilitude for the audience as it might be similar to the audiences life.
  

Social realism – films aims to show the effects of environment factors on the development of character.

• In This Is England, the social realism conforms to the British contemporary social realism genre, with representation of real life, with its difficulties.

magic realism – portrays fantastical events in otherwise realistic tone

• In Harry Potter the writers sets the characters in a fantastical world of mystery

Hyperreality – an inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from a simulation of reality

• The Matrix, uses hyperrealism for example the film sucks us into the matrix or the virtual world

Aesthetics Terms 2 – Visual style

Iconography – the patterns of signs we associate with a particular genre.

• In the Bond movies, the car chase scene is normally associated with the genre of the movie.

Intertextual Referencing – two works of art overlaps. The movie overlaps with another work of art.

• In Shrek 1, Shrek is a Ogre who is assumed to be the bad guy and prince charming usually assumed to be the hero and the good guy.

Visual/sound motifs – sound motif is a recurring element that is associated with a particular character, theme, or idea.

• In Jaws, when the shark is near a theme of 2 notes of music to symbolise the shark being close.

Colour Grading – the process of manipulating and enhancing colour to achieve a desire look and mood.

• In Harry Potter and the order of Phoenix, the colour grading ends in a dark blue and murkier colour to reflect the ominous and bleak prospect of Voldemort’s reign.

Auteur Trademarks – a reference ( e.g. to an object, a character, or a happening) that is recurrent in the authors work.

• For example Steven Spielberg’s trademark would be his use of lighting, camera angles and movement.

Aesthetics Terms 3 – Tone

Pathos – referred to as an emotional appeal

• In UP, Carl griefs over his wife to increase the emotional response.

Bathos – the effect of turning a serious moment in a movie, into something completely trivial and unimportant.

• In War of The World, A Batho happens when the machine gives an ending far different to audience expectations.

Suspense – the audience’s excited anticipation about the plot or conflict.

• In Jaws suspense is used when the shark is near creating excited anticipation.

Comedy – light-hearted dramas, crafted to amuse and to entertain the audience.

• In Pitch Perfect, the genre is a comedy movie aimed to make the audience laugh, for example one of the character being called “fat Amy” as she doesn’t want to be called fat behind her back.

Dramatic Irony – The significance of a characters words or action is clear to other audience but unknown to the character.

• In Romeo and Juliet. Romeo enter the tomb thinking Juliet is dead and drinks the poison to be with Juliet in death, however wakes just after he dies.

Distancing Effect – artists never act as if there were a fourth wall besides the three surrounding them

• For example, In Ferris Bueller’s day, Ferris gives direct mode of address to the camera breaking the fourth wall.

Postmodern Humour – subvert highly regarded expectation

• In Scream, post modern is used when they ignore the formats it continually references by always being a step ahead or a step behind

aesthetic is the overall view and representation a person or place gives off due to its or their features such as clothes hair makeup etc.

realism

realism in film is the representation of realistic and authentic use of movement speech and setting, something the view can see and resonate with it being relatable.

verisimilitude: in film means the appearance being true or real.

eg- the realistic life’s of teenagers and their troubles highs and lows etc.

social realism: to give the audience a true sense of what the lives of these characters are like, and the social issues that are happening at the time.

eg- the events surrounding society ant its beliefs when this film was set.

magic realism: portrays fantastical events in an otherwise realistic tone

eg- the fantastical events within this film are shown to be realistic.

hyperreality: a condition 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.

eg- the idea that within Truman’s life none is entirely sure what real and what’s fake.

visual style: the visual style of a film is how its visuals evokes a emotional response to convey its mood or theme.

iconography: the use of recurring visual images and symbols in movies that convey specific themes, evoke emotions, and build a film’s narrative identity. 

eg- the reoccurring bunny rabbit though the film while the plot thickens

intertextual referencing: when a piece of art is mentioned, examples being a book, a poem, another film etc..

eg- the mentions of all the literature within this film

visual/ sound motifs: sound or visual elements in film that reoccur to help tell the characters story.

eg-“number one rule about fight club” repetition

colour grading: putting a filter or a certain filter over a film to suit the mood or set a tone.

eg- summery and vibrant to match the contents of the film.

auteur trademarks- a directors following theme of vibe throughout there films

eg- Jordan Peele, reoccurring theme of black representation in horror films, realistic representation of fear.

Aesthetic tone

pathos: an appeal to the audiences emotions. sad moments

Ethos- is a persuasive technique that appeals to an audience by highlighting credibility

bathos- anti-climax, unintentional lapse in mood.

suspense- a film that puts you on edge and unknowing of what’s to come.

dramatic irony- when the audience knows something that the character does not.

distancing effect- something to remind the viewers that it is just a story and to not get too emotionally invested in it.

post-modern humour: when a film has embraced multiple genres and embracing absurdity and breaking conventions.

The Miller and The Sweep

What makes a film good?

I believe that the question of ‘what makes a film good’ can have many answers to it; the plot, the cultural impact, the score etc. However, to me, there is not one thing that makes a film good alone. The right combination of a good plot, paired with good acting, suitable music and direction can be what does this; these aspects being the macro elements to films.

The micro elements on the other hand, are incredibly important in making a film great, despite not being obvious at first glance. For example; the way a scene is set up – the mise en scene – can impact the way the viewer depicts a film. It can be a great tool in adding plot devices or even foreshadowing that the viewer may not pick up on the first time watching. Furthermore, editing can also help with doing this. While it may not be obvious at first glance, colour grading can impact the way you are supposed to feel about characters, as well as set the general mood for the film. Schindler’s list is a good example of this; it’s an all black and white film despite being filmed in 1993, the only colour ever shown being the girl walking in the streets.

I also think that having the right score for a film is incredibly important. Similar to colour grading, music helps to impact the way the viewer is supposed to feel about a character, along with also making certain scenes feel so much more important and interesting. Music is extremely impactful in films even when they aren’t musicals, for example; The Pirates of the Caribbean. Hans Zimmer, a very famous composer in the film industry, wrote the score for Pirates of the Caribbean. I feel that the music in that film is just so captivating and that half of the movie just wouldn’t feel half as impactful if there was no music all together. As well as this, the music in Pirates of the Caribbean is so iconic and instantly recognisable because it was very influential. Another example is Coraline. The iconic ‘French’ sounding song in Coraline is actually gibberish made to sound like French, which I think just adds to the unsettling nature of the film.

Overall, I think it’s very difficult to pick out one aspect of a film that makes it good, as there are many things to think about when it comes to films.

If you to were ask the question what makes a film “good” to a group of people, you would most probably get a handful of different answers, as there are many ways to critique and view films. For example, one way someone may critique a film is through a realist approach. A realist would favour a film such as ‘Blair Witch Project’, with its shaky camera, “homemade” shots and characters which feel more like real people and not actors. Another way of viewing a film would be through the lens of mise-en-scene. Mise-en-scene critiques would focus more on the environment and the features that contribute to the scene, such as the lightning and sets, and would therefore favour a film such as ‘Blade runner’ and the futuristic, urban environment that Ridley Scott creates with her picturesque shots. Alternatively, critiques may choose to criticize a film with the ‘auteur’(author) mindset, coming from the French film studies journal ‘Cahiers du cinema’ in 1951, which is where the critique will analyse a handful of the director’s films and try to pick out any stylistic repetitions that the director may display in their films, such as favouring a certain type of score in their films. A critique may also take a formalist approach when viewing a film. A formalist critique will look at how the composition of shots comes together, and how they juxtapose and compliment one another. They would enjoy a film such as ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, with its sequences of incoherent and surreal imagery-apes and embryos, during its ending. A popular way of critiquing forms of art, not just film, would be with a feminist viewpoint. In a film, a feminist critic would look at the amount of screen time that the female actors have been given, the way in which the women in the film are presented and common stereotypes depicted in the film, which means they would favour a film such as 2023’s ‘Barbie’, with its deep, underlying message that women can be whatever they want to be, independent from their relationship with a man. Finally, in my personal opinion I think that the view and way of critiquing a film which I most agree with is that of mise-en-scene, as I think that the features of a film that do make special and “good” are the atmosphere and the environment that the director creates within the world of the film.

James Monaco’s term The Spectrum of Arts refers to the different types of art, each with its own way of expressing ideas and emotions, while being interconnected. It highlights how various art forms communicate in unique ways. 

Examples include: 

• Visual Arts: Painting and sculpture. 

• Performing Arts: Theatre, dance, and music. 

• Literary Arts: Poetry and fiction. 

• Cinematic Arts: Film, blending visual and performing arts. 

All of these examples shoes expression is different ways. It refers to the wide range of art forms, each with its own unique way of expressing ideas and emotions in peoples experiences. These art forms may influence each other but still have their own unique style. The term shows how different types of art are connected, while each one of the forms offer a different way of expressing creativity. Music can also be considered as an art form as there are so many different styles and when listening to a good piece of music, is opinions based but when you find the right piece of music it can change your whole mood. Overall, what Monaco means by the Spectrum of Arts is the whole group and chain of different art forms. 

-Winter Cotillard 

What does Monoco mean by the term “The Spectrum of Arts”?  

There is no simple way of answering this question as there are hundreds of things to say about “the spectrum of arts” as it is so wide, and everyone has their own perception of the various forms of art such as:  

• History – recorded the story of race and cultures over time, leading not only the modern social sciences but also a broad narrative  

• Poetry – this form of art has been a widely loved and explored form of art ever since the roman days, recognized in those times as either: lyric, dramatic or epic  

• Astronomy – this was known as the art of “searching the Heavens” and it represents the vast range of modern sciences at the same time as it suggests one other aspect of social sciences in its astrological features, values and functions of production and interpretation  

• Dance – this form of art and many variations of it have been around for millions of years, it is a very expressive form of art, requiring skill, endurance and commitments however it was and is still used today by humans to celebrate and be able to express their emotions without the use of words  

• Music – humans have been creating music ever since the beginning of time, maybe not with a variety of instruments or music editing apps but with either objects, their voices, instruments or even the nature around them as music has been a symbol of celebration and essentially what makes people happy as there is a very large spectrum surrounding music because everyone’s ‘music taste’ is different making it the amazing art form it has come to be allowing people to express how they feel through music  

• Comedy and Tragedy – both these types of performing arts have mainly come around over the century for the entertainment of society (plays, musicals, movies etc.), these are both admirable components in performing arts as many people modernly use these as inspirations for their own future  

In conclusion, Monaco explains that Art is such a broad spectrum, meaning every person may have a different way of viewing art depending on the individual’s personality and what they view as “good” or “bad” art.  

Battleship of Potemkin 

• Historically significant film  

• Date – December 21^st, 1925 

• Director – Sergei Eisenstein  

• Genre – war/historical drama  

A bug’s life 

• Mainstream film  

• Date – November 14^th, 1998  

• Director – John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton  

• Genre – animation  

The shape of water 

• Art film  

• Date – December 1^st, 2017 

• Director – Guillermo del Toro  

• Genre – romance/fantasy  

The seven samurai  

• Historically significant film  

• Date – April 26^th, 1954  

• Director – Akira Kurosawa  

• Genre – action  

The breakfast club  

• Mainstream film  

• Date – February 15^th, 1985 

• Director – John Hughes  

• Genre – teen drama  

The wizard of Oz  

• Mainstream film  

• Date – august 25^th 1839  

• Director – Victor Fleming  

• Genre – musical/fantasy  

The magnificent seven 

• Mainstream film  

• Date – October 23^rd, 1960  

• Director – John Sturges  

• Genre – Western action  

Love Simon  

• Mainstream film  

• Date – March 16^th, 2018  

• Director – Greg Berlanti  

• Genre – teenage melodrama  

Fitzcarraldo  

• Mainstream film  

• Date – October 10^th, 1982  

• Director – Werner Herzog  

• Genre – music/action drama  

Alphaville  

• Historically significant film  

• Date – May 5^th, 1965 

• Director – Jean-Luc Godard  

• Genre – synth pop  

I think that some of the films from the table such as ‘The breakfast club’ and ‘A bug’s life’ (films I categorized as mainstream) have many different features to them which make them be considered ‘mainstream’ such as being easy to watch and follow along, suitable for a wide age range and also being loved by the audience as they are entertaining and sometimes even relatable.