Verisimilitude– the quality of seeming true or of having the appearance of being real.

Social Realism– It is showing a realistic representation on what life was like at that moment in time. E.G- Making a WW2 film as accurate as possible. -Saving Private Ryan

Magic Realism– E.G- Harry Potter

Hyperreality– A film set in the future with amazing technology. E.G- The Matrix

Iconography– Iconography simply refers to the pattern of signs we associate with a particular genre. An obvious example would be the combination of futuristic costumes, props, and settings in science-fiction films. 

Intertextual Referencing– it’s where a movie overlaps with another work of film. -Family Guy

Visual/ Sound motifs in film– Objects, colours, shapes, settings.

James Bond

Colour Grading– digital tools or photochemical processes are used to make videos or films look better or change the colour tone and mood. 

Auteur Trademarks– A reference (character, an angle a theme) that is recurrent to the directors work. E.G- Tim Burton

Tone

Pathos, or the appeal to emotion, means to persuade an audience by purposely evoking certain emotions to make them feel the way the author wants them to feel.

 Bathos, Anticlimactic ending. Expecting something but gets something else.

Suspense, a sequence leading up to a jump scare. Tension within the scene.

Comedy, professional entertainment consisting of jokes and sketches, intended to make an audience laugh.

Dramatic irony, occurs when the audience knows something that the characters don’t. E.G, When the Jaws music plays we know the shark is near.

Distancing Effect, Reminding the audience that you are watching a film. Breaking the 3rd wall in the film E.G, Narration, Deadpool when he speaks to the audience.

Postmodern Humour, when a comedy presents an undeceived view of life.

A overarching style and idea, including costumes and cinema and set design

Task 1 – find definitions for the following:

Verisimilitude– The idea of something appearing true.

The breakfast club, takes place in a school showing the events of a Sunday detention. Its believable as the customs are what American teenagers in the 80s would of worn along with the school which is realistic.

Social Realism – How films show how someone’s environment can change the development of the character. Emphasises the relationship between someone’s identity and there location.

This is England, shows how the current social state of England influences people into believing things that are against their morals. We see that the national front changes how Shaun sees people.

Magic Realism– This shows magical events as a normal world event, where characters accept it as a part of their life.

In harry potter Magic Realism is used to create the story line, showing that characters have magic as part of their daily life. This is used showing it in a school setting which is apart of the ordinary world.

Hyperreality – Anything that seems so real , and perhaps impossible to separate from reality.

In the Barbie Movie, the world they live in is supposed to be perfect showing how everyone can live happily carefree. The use of bright pink plastic materials and deliberately fake items shows the hyperreality to differentiate from the real world.

Visual Style

Visual style is the look or the feel of the film.

Task 2 – find definitions for the following:

Iconography – The use of a recurring symbol or image’s that can covey themes, evoke emotions or build a films identity.

In the Hunger Games it uses symbols to build up the character’s ideas and there personality’s. With the mocking jay noise and symbol becoming iconic to the movie.

Intertextual Referencing – When a movie uses ideas from a text or another piece of art.

In Shrek, it refences over popular child stories such as fairy god mother and three blind mice. This helps link the fairy-tale idea of Shrek to over movies.

Visual/ Sound motifs– A motif is a recurring story element that can highlight a moment happening in a movie.

In the movie UP a instrumental plays while showing carl and Ellies life , It also plays at the end when carl has found happiness. This music acts motif to show a important moment.

Colour Grading– Editing that creates a consistent tone of colour throughout the movie.

In the joker movie the overall tones are grey showing the depressing world that he lives is reflected in the colours.

Auteur Trademarks-A reference (e.g. to an object, a character, or a happening)

Wes Anderson has a trademark style with bright style and symmetrical shots. This makes his work easy to spot.

Task 3 – find definitions for the following:

Pathos-Pathos is a technique that seeks ton appeal to the audiences emotions, this is often used as sadness to have a emotional impact to the spectator.

In the movie the dogs purpose it shows the dog and its owner reuniting multiple times in the movie sparking emotion in the movie.

Suspense- A anxious uncertainly about what may happen.

In this scene in the shining the music, atmosphere builds tension on what way happens next.

Comedy– A genre of film which aims to amuse the audience.

In the movie home alone it makes the boy in the story try and fool the robbers creating a funny situation out of a what might have been a serious situation.

Dramatic Irony-Where the audience is aware of something that the characters aren’t.

We are aware that Truman is being filmed, however he doesn’t creating dramatic irony throughout the film.

Distancing Effect – Where the director purposing makes the story seem unbelievable, such as having a unfinished set or the character constantly talk to the camera.

In fleabag she often speaks to the camera, throughout the movie this pulls away from the believability that your watching a movie.

Postmodern Humour– Dark humour that is often about society.

All aspects of film form including narrative contribute to the representations of cultures and societies (gender, ethnicity and age) including the ideological nature of those representations

PERFORMANCE- Age, Ethnicity, wardrobe, Facial expressions, body language and reactions.

STEREOTYPE– a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.

COUNTERTYPE– A representation that actively seeks to subvert and challenge negative stereotypes usually of a person, group or place.

SARAH CONNNOR REPRESENTATIONS

In terminator one Sarah Connor started off as a small town “girl next door” archetype who works as a waitress. Sarah is represented as a ditsy girl who had no interest in being a waitress. Sarah’s character represents the dominant ideology of female characters in Hollywood.

In terminator 2 Sarah’s character does a complete 180 turning into a soldier almost. Sarah is spotted with many assault rifles and adorning big muscular arms. The clothing she is wearing is not showing cleavage which would usually be expected in a 90s action thriller. Sarah’s character has taken on more male characteristics like smoking a cigarette and wearing a pair of sleek sunglasses. The director James Cameron has evolved the character of Sarah Connor to be able to carry out her purpose as a fighter.

TRAINSPOTTING REPRESENTATIONS

1.WHO IS DOING THE REPRESENTATION? (DIRECTOR’S VIEWPOINT) DANNY BOYLE (DIRECTOR)

2.WHO IS BEING REPRESENTED ? (Identify specific social groups) The middle to lower class groups of Scotland who have been affected by heroin use directly or indirectly.

3.WHAT SOCIAL GROUPS ARE OMITTED FROM THE REPRESENTATIONS?- The upper class of Scotland and England. Young teenagers and children

4.WHAT MESSAGES ABOUT PARTICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS ARE BEING CONVEYED?- Tells the audience how lower class communities are affected by drug abuse and crime

5.WHICH CHARACTERS OR SOCIAL GROUPS HAVE POWER WITHIN THE REPRESENTATIONS? arguably the women. Lizzie broke up with tommy which lead him to heroin addiction. Diane coerced Mark into a illegal relationship despite only being 15. Gail denies spud sex because of an article in cosmopolitan.

6.DO THE CHARACTERS ADHERE TO OR CHALLENGE STEREOTYPES? characters like Renton challenge stereotypes with his commentary on gender and society adhering to neither male or female stereotypes

7.ARE THE CHARACTERS TYPICAL OF FILMS IN THAT GENRE?– The characters in Trainspotting break many stereotypes that are attached them, including sexual stereotypes and philosophical stereotypes and manage to show the audience that they do not think as people who are products of their environments, but as people who yearn for more outside of Scotland.

8.WHAT DO REPRESENTATIONS TELL AUDIENCES ABOUT SOCIETY AT THE TIME THE FILM WAS MADE AND/OR SET?

GENDER– Trainspotting has a unique take on gender expression throughout the film. Mark Renton quotes “1000 years from now there will be no guys and no girls, just wankers. Sounds great to me.” Mark Renton is so deep into his addiction that his ideas on gender and how society is changing could be an example of the haze that addiction has put him in. Most of the women in this film are more authoritative than the men, with the exception of Allison who was not level-headed due to her addiction.

DRUGS– Drugs on this film are represented though the middle to lower class, this is a direct reference to the Thatcherism that created a generational legacy of destruction and drug use that is still effecting Scotland today. In the film Renton says  ‘There was no such thing as society. Even if there was, I most certainly had nothing to do with it.’ Margaret Thatcher made a similar sentiment in 1987 saying ‘they are casting their problems on society and who is society? There is no such thing! There are individual men and women and there are families, and no government can do anything except through people and people look to themselves first.’ Renton indirectly quoting Thatcher shows the effect her policies had on the working class. The claim that there “is no society” is the same attitude that creates drug epidemics in the first place by making people believe that there is no place for them. In trainspotting addiction isn’t just about drugs, these men use drugs to fill a void of the empty and decrepit society they see around them, an emotional result of decades worth of corrupt politics.

SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND– When Trainspotting was released, Scotland’s is represented as a gritty location rather than a place full of Scottish history and culture. Because of this, us as the audience see a more realistic and current representation of Scottish people in the 1980s. A lot of slangs, Scottish dialect and even hints of Football culture is used/shown throughout the film that helped solidify the culture of Scotland. England or more specifically London was shown as a place of consumerism and new culture. Mark Renton got a new higher paying job selling over-priced apartments to young yuppies in London, showing the difference between the economic and class structure in England and Scotland. Mark Renton also experiences the new culture of electronic music, compared to the Iggy Pop era he was in whilst living in Edinburgh showing that Edinburgh was not as progressive as London was.

SEXUALITY – Sexuality is represented through the use of heroin. All the male characters do not have regular girlfriends apart from Tommy. When Tommy and his girlfriend break-up he subsequently gets hooked on Heroin creating a new damaging and lethal relationship. There is also a lot of female driven sexuality, we can see this through the character Diane who is only 15, but pursuing a sexual relationship with Renton.

AESTHETIC DEFINITION.- the way a film’s visual and aural features are used to create essentially non-narrative dimensions of the film, including the film’s ‘look’. Aesthetics can be understand to relate to the style, tone, look or mood of a film

Social Realism- the realistic depiction in art of contemporary life, as a means of social or political comment.

Kneecap is a social realism film as it tackles the issue of sectarianism in the North of Ireland and the characters express their troubles and bio-logical trauma which stems from colonialism through music and self-expression, all while evading the police and R.R.A.D (radical republicans against drugs)

Verisimilitude- the appearance of being true or real.

I would class this film as having verisimilitude because of Gena Rowlands incredible portrait of an unstable bi-polar mother.

Magic Realism- Magical realism portrays fantastical events in an otherwise realistic tone.

Donnie Darko would be classed as magic realism. Donnie commonly converses with Frank a bunny who tells Donnie the date at which the world will end, Donnie believes this bunny is real, which classes this film as magic realism

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.

Mulholland rive would fit into the hyperreality category as the watcher is not aware that the first half of this film is a dream and the second is reality.

AESTHETICS TERM 2-

•Iconography- the visual images and symbols used in a work of art or the study or interpretation of these. The film heavily evolves around dreams, what is real and what isn’t.

•Intertextual Referencing- the relationship between media products where one text references another text by reusing some its ideas and meanings.

I would class Almost Famous as intertextual referencing as many real-life bands including Lynyrd Skynyrd and the eagles are mentioned as if they belong in that world with the fictional band Still Water.

•Visual motif- commonly seen, repetitive symbol in a film

red roses are commonly used in American beauty to represent, love, lust, passion, murder, blood,

Sound motifs- commonly heard- repetitive sound in a film.

Gregorian chants are often heard at high tension points in the film as to make the spectator feel uneasy.

•Colour Grading- digital tools or photochemical processes are used to make videos or films look better or change the colour tone and mood. 

•Auteur Trademarks-An auteur is a director that has such a distinctive style of directing that they are considered the “author” because you can recognise their style from one clip- David Lynch as an example. A particular kind of irony where the very macabre and the very mundane combine in such a way as to reveal the former’s perpetual containment within the latter.” David Lynch has a very recognisable style of directing, as the topics he usually drifts to are on the subjects of dreams, mystery and alternate realities. He often uses the colour blue in his films.

PATHOS- a quality that evokes pity or sadness.

BATHOS- an effect of anti-climax created by an unintentional lapse in mood from the sublime to the trivial or ridiculous.

SUSPENSE- a state or feeling of excited or anxious uncertainty about what may happen.

COMEDY- film genre that emphasizes humor

DRAMATIC IRONY-  a literary device by which the audience’s or reader’s understanding of events or individuals in a work surpasses that of its characters.

VERFREMDUNG- The distancing effect, also translated as alienation effect is a concept in performing arts credited to German playwright Bertolt Brecht. Paul breaks the fourth wall talking to the audience

POSTMODERN HUMOUR- postmodern humor features jokes about serious topics like murder or war. By writing characters who make light of such topics, postmodernists highlight the dehumanization they see in their society.

Travis Bickle makes it his mission to “cleanse the filth” from New Yorks streets.

Aesthetics: The overall style, feel, and texture of a film. This can involve scenery, costume, and how they all tie in

Realism:  an artistic approach and narrative style that aims to represent life, characters, settings, and events as closely as possible to their real-world counterparts.

verisimilitude – the appearance of being real or true (in terms of world building and costume design)

social realism – drawing attention to the social and political conditions (issues) of a particular time period and location.

magic realism – portrays fantastical events in a realistic tone to successfully build a believable world for the spectator.

hyperreality – artificially created media that is perceived to be reality, a heightened reality.

Visual Style: The visual language of a film, the look and feel of the film.

iconography – the use of reoccurring visual images and symbols that convey specific themes, evoke emotions, and build the film’s narrative.

intertextual referencing – the overlap of media, utilised to support the narrative of the film. The media could be other films, music, poetry, and literature.

visual/sound motifs – a visible or audible element that reoccurs throughout the film to carry the storyline, plays a symbolic role.

colour grading -a post-production process to alter the visual appearance of the film/shot. This can either be to make it more vibrant to convey a lighter, happier narrative, or it could be desaturated to convey dullness or negativity.

auteur trademarks – a trademark style, making a directors work immediately recognisable.

Tone: The overall atmosphere or mood of a film.

pathos – appeals to the audience’s emotions, typically sadness.

bathos – an anti-climax or a juxtaposition of shots to create a humorous effect.

suspense – excitement or anxiousness created by tension.

Suspenseful because it’s a Darren Aronofsky film; paranoia, perfectionism, and horror.

comedy – provides the audience with amusement, usually consisting of explicit one-liners, or on the other hand, intellectual pieces which are implicitly/unintentionally ‘funny’.

dramatic irony – when the audience understands more about a situation that most characters do; an ‘inside joke’.

distancing effect – also known as ‘breaking the fourth wall’, is when the illusion of being an unseen spectator is shattered, the characters on screen are directly interacting with the audience.

postmodern humour – Challenges accepted notions and expectations of genre, philosophy, and humanity.

Aesthetics are the colours, shapes, and objects that can be categorised based on the emotion/feeling they evoke.

Realism

Verisimilitude – The appearance of being true or real.

Social Realism – work that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structures behind these conditions.

Magic Realism – a literary or artistic genre in which realistic narrative and naturalistic technique are combined with surreal elements of dream or fantasy.

Hyperreality –  an artificially created copy that is perceived as somehow more real than the real thing, or too real to be real.

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.

Intertextual Referencing – when a text implicitly or explicitly refers to another text, by using distinctive, common or recognisable elements of the referenced text.

Visual/Sound Motifs – a recurring story element that acts as a way to highlight a films thematic meaning.

Colour Grading – post-production process of altering the appearance of an image for presentation in different environments on different devices.

Auteur Trademarks – A directors “iconic” style of direction

Tone

Pathos – an emotional appeal to an audience.

Bathos – an effect of anti-climax created by an unintentional lapse in mood from the sublime to the trivial or ridiculous.

Suspense – a state or feeling of excited or anxious uncertainty about what may happen.

Comedy – type of drama or other art form the chief object of which, according to modern notions, is to amuse.

Dramatic Irony – a literary or film technique originally used in Greek tragedy, where the significance of a character’s words or actions is clear to the audience but unknown to the character.

Distancing Effect – breaking the fourth wall, through action, set, or sound

Postmodern Humour – Challenges accepted notions and expectations of genre, philosophy, and humanity.

Aesthetics – The overall style and feel of a film including the lighting, mise en scene, colour palate and cinematography.

Aesthetics Terms 1 – Realism

• Verisimilitude – believability within the film; how convincing the world is to the audience.

Dune is a good example of verisimilitude as the sci-fi environment feels very fleshed out which makes it feels like it could be an existing world.

• Social realism – films that aim to depict the effects of environmental factors on the development of a character.

This Is England demonstrates how children can be very naïve and impressionable, especially when faced with something tragic like a father dying in war, which is ultimately what attracted Shaun to Combo’s views in the first place.

• Magic realism – depicting magic systems in a realistic way.

While Harry Potter is very much a fantasy series, the magic system doesn’t really feel like it has any flaws, as well as being very vast in terms of what it can do.

• Hyperrealism – a dramatic depiction of reality/gives it a ‘perfect’ feeling.

The Barbie film depicts life in a dramatic and exaggerated way, with the beginning of it suggesting that life in Barbie world is perfect.

Aesthetics Terms 2 – Visual style

• Iconography – the use of recurring symbols, visual motifs and themes to convey meaning and evoke emotion

Water is a recurring theme throughout Moonlight, that appears throughout all three parts of the film.

• Intertextual referencing – the use of ideas or themes from other pieces of media or literature

Alice Cooper is seen in Wayne’s World, appearing as himself. This happens again in Wayne’s World 2, where Aerosmith appear.

• Visual/sound motifs – a recurring story element acting as a way to highlight a film’s meaning.

The Imperial March is an iconic sound motif that occurs throughout the entire Star Wars franchise.

• Colour grading – manipulating the colour, tone and mood of a film to enhance the impact of the story.

Though Schindler’s List was filmed in 1993, they consistently film it in black and white. However, one little girl is shown to be wearing a red coat to represent children’s innocence, though it has been interpreted in many different ways.

• Auteur trademarks – when a filmmaker has complete creative control over a film and implements their visual style in other pieces of their work.

Wes Anderson’s iconic colourful style is recurring throughout a large majority of his work.

Aesthetic Terms 3 – Tone

• Pathos – a persuasion technique that aims to appeal to the audience by evoking the intended emotions, mainly sadness.

Up utilises pathos at multiple points throughout the film, but the most famous would be the montage scene of Carl’s life with Ellie before she dies.

• Bathos – an absurd or ineffective climax.

The ending of Monty Python and the Holy Grail could be considered bathos because it leads to a very unsatisfying climax.

• Suspense – a state of anticipation towards an outcome.

The Silence of the Lambs uses suspense throughout the film effectively.

• Comedy – a genre of film where the main emphasis is on humour.

Shaun of the Dead is a very highly rated British Comedy directed by Edgar Wright starring Simon Pegg.

• Dramatic irony – a situation in which the audience or reader has a better understanding of something than the characters themselves.

Everyone watching the film Tangled knows that Mother Gothel is not Rapunzel’s mother, but she’s managed to convince her that she is.

• Distancing effect (verfremdung) – techniques designed to distance the audience from emotional investment.

Dogville uses a distancing effect/alienation to prevent people from getting too emotionally invested.

• Postmodern humour – aims to undermine highly regarded expectations.

Pulp Fiction tells the story out of the ordinary and flips our expectations of film structures.

Aesthetic – refers to the overall style and theme of the film including the texture, this refers to the beauty of the film and how aesthetically pleasing it is looks wise

Realism

Verisimilitude – the believability of the world of the film (diegesis), how real it looks compared to the normal world.

Social Realism – films which reflect a range of environments and social issues

Magic Realism – films with a realistic tone containing fantastical events bringing old stories, myths and tales to modern relevance

Hyperreality – films where everything feels overly real, an exaggerated reality to the point where it becomes hard to believe it is real

Visual Style

Iconography – the use of recurring images and symbols in films to convey specific themes or evoke specific emotions and build the film’s narrative

Intertextual Referencing – when a film overlaps with another work of art (another film, work of literature or another art form)

Visual/Sound Motifs – recurring visual or sound element used throughout the film to create meanings and representations

Colour Grading – a way of manipulating and editing raw film to maintain colour tones through the film

Auteur Trademarks – when a film “author” or director who is in full control of the making of the movie utilises the same way of filming including camera shots and angles, themes and lighting throughout most of their work

Tone

Pathos – different objects, subjects or specific elements which convey an emotional appeal, making the audience convey a sense of pity or empathy

Bathos – an anti-climax in a film, when the audience expects something to happen and something usually more underwhelming happen

Suspense – usually in correlation with anxiousness and anticipation, the spectator not knowing when and how it is going to happen

Comedy – a genre of film which mostly focus on humours moments therefore making the audience laugh

Dramatic Irony – the significance of a character’s words or actions is clear to only the spectator but not the character itself

Distancing Effect – usually used in live plays, when the character breaks the “forth wall”, it is used to distance the audience from emotional involvement

Postmodern Humour – another style of comedy including other comedy features such as parodies, irony and including both high and low art styles