Theories in Film:
What is theory?
Theory is a system of trying to understand and explain things from a specific point of view. Theories change and develop through debate and the interchange of ideas, for example social changes and acceptances through time.
Theory is a system of trying to understand and explain things from a specific point of view. Theories change and develop through debate and the interchange of ideas, for example social changes and acceptances through time.
Types of Theory:
Auteur theory:
Auteur- A film director whose personal influence and artistic control over his or her films are so great that he or she may be regarded as their author, and whose films may be regarded collectively as a body of work sharing common themes or techniques and expressing an individual style or vision.
Auteur theory emerged in France in the 40’s, through the idea of ‘Camerá- Stylo’ (1948) founded by Astruc, who stated that a filmmaker should use his camera the same way a writer should use his pen. He rallied filmmakers to move beyond industrialized forms of cinema in favour of more personalized ways of storytelling.
Tim Burton provides an interesting study in terms of Auteur theory, as his films have a distinctive aesthetic style. This can be taken into consideration in his films “Sleepy Hollow” in 1999, and “Big Fish” in 2003. Mise en scene is a significant aspect of Auteur films, as it can decipher what type of aesthetic and vision the Auteur has. Again shown with Tim Burton, as the narrative and mise en scene of his films are often based in the woods, with dark shadows and lighting with an eerie sense, creating a foreboding atmosphere.
Auteur theory emerged in France in the 40’s, through the idea of ‘Camerá- Stylo’ (1948) founded by Astruc, who stated that a filmmaker should use his camera the same way a writer should use his pen. He rallied filmmakers to move beyond industrialized forms of cinema in favour of more personalized ways of storytelling.
Tim Burton provides an interesting study in terms of Auteur theory, as his films have a distinctive aesthetic style. This can be taken into consideration in his films “Sleepy Hollow” in 1999, and “Big Fish” in 2003. Mise en scene is a significant aspect of Auteur films, as it can decipher what type of aesthetic and vision the Auteur has. Again shown with Tim Burton, as the narrative and mise en scene of his films are often based in the woods, with dark shadows and lighting with an eerie sense, creating a foreboding atmosphere.
Marxism:
Marxism: The ideas, theories and methods of Karl Marx; esp. The political and economic theories propounded by Marx and Engels, which formed the basis for the theory and practice of communism.
Marxism was a conceived revolutionary theory that attempted to explain and expose the relations of power in capitalist societies. It was jointly founded by Karl Marx and Freidrich Engels. Together, they wrote the “Communist Manifesto” in 1848, which became the foundation of Marxism. The basis of this ideology is a classless society in which everyone is equal, and this idea has been the inspiration and meaning behind many films, mainly starting in Russia during the reign of communist leaders at the time, who pushed for communist films and cinema as a form of propaganda and a way to encourage patriotism of a communist state. This idea was later adopted in China under the rule of Mao Zedong. His wife, who was a former actress, was later appointed as Minister of Culture, and put to work purging art and literature of feudal and bourgeoisie themes, focusing on encouraging communist and Marxist themes in cinema and art.
Russian formalist, Sergei Eisenstein, was one of the first filmmakers who believed that cinema had the ability to change the attitudes of the people, and attitudes in society in general, using the theories ad works of Marxism in film making.
Marxism was a conceived revolutionary theory that attempted to explain and expose the relations of power in capitalist societies. It was jointly founded by Karl Marx and Freidrich Engels. Together, they wrote the “Communist Manifesto” in 1848, which became the foundation of Marxism. The basis of this ideology is a classless society in which everyone is equal, and this idea has been the inspiration and meaning behind many films, mainly starting in Russia during the reign of communist leaders at the time, who pushed for communist films and cinema as a form of propaganda and a way to encourage patriotism of a communist state. This idea was later adopted in China under the rule of Mao Zedong. His wife, who was a former actress, was later appointed as Minister of Culture, and put to work purging art and literature of feudal and bourgeoisie themes, focusing on encouraging communist and Marxist themes in cinema and art.
Russian formalist, Sergei Eisenstein, was one of the first filmmakers who believed that cinema had the ability to change the attitudes of the people, and attitudes in society in general, using the theories ad works of Marxism in film making.
Masculinity:
Masculinity: The state or fact of being masculine; the assemblage of qualities regarded as characteristic of men.
Males have historically been the authoritative force, making important decisions and being in power both in public and private settings. One reason as to why there is such a predominant element of masculinity on screen, is because the masculinity behind the cameras as well. The film industry was and still is mainly men, with women being hired in more fragile areas of work, such as small roles on screen, makeup artists and costume designers.
The image of males in film has changed over time, and varies depending on the role. According to Dr. Caroline Heldman, there are 4 different types of masculine roles shown on screens. The first, and most common, is the strong silent man who is always in control, usually the main character, and very rarely emotional. Another is the superhero or hero character, who often engages in high levels of violence. In addition, there is the masculine role of the thug, which are predominantly men of colour who partake in street violence and more dangerous activities. The last role is the “man-child”, who is a young man usually going through adolescence. They physically do not mirror the ideal body type of a masculine figure, however they display masculinity in other ways, through the degradation of women, and partaking in risky and clumsy activities such as drinking and partying.
Males have historically been the authoritative force, making important decisions and being in power both in public and private settings. One reason as to why there is such a predominant element of masculinity on screen, is because the masculinity behind the cameras as well. The film industry was and still is mainly men, with women being hired in more fragile areas of work, such as small roles on screen, makeup artists and costume designers.
The image of males in film has changed over time, and varies depending on the role. According to Dr. Caroline Heldman, there are 4 different types of masculine roles shown on screens. The first, and most common, is the strong silent man who is always in control, usually the main character, and very rarely emotional. Another is the superhero or hero character, who often engages in high levels of violence. In addition, there is the masculine role of the thug, which are predominantly men of colour who partake in street violence and more dangerous activities. The last role is the “man-child”, who is a young man usually going through adolescence. They physically do not mirror the ideal body type of a masculine figure, however they display masculinity in other ways, through the degradation of women, and partaking in risky and clumsy activities such as drinking and partying.
Genre Theory:
Genre theory: A particular style or category of works of art; especially a type of literary work characterised by a particular form, style or purpose.
Steve Neals Genre theory- Steve Neale’s theory of Repetition and Difference. Steve Neale states that genres all contain instances of repetition and difference, difference is essential to the to the economy of the genre.
Neale states that the film and it’s genre is defined by two things:
Popular cinema relies on audiences finding pleasure in difference and repetition i.e. recognition of familiar elements and the way those elements are linked in an unfamiliar way or the way that unfamiliar elements might be introduced.
Genre is constituted by specific systems of expectations and hypothesis which spectators bring with them to the cinema and which and which interact with the films themselves during the course of the viewing process.
Genre: Westerns- Western is a genre of fiction which tells stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, often centering on the life of a nomadic cowboy or gunfighter armed with a revolver and a rifle who rides a horse.
A fistful of dollars - Symbolic codes:
Camera angles: Frequent use of worms eye view to portray main character as powerful and intimidating.
Camera movement: Limited to slow pans and tilts, mostly still shots.
Editing: Straight cuts with occasional crossfade, mixture of longer and shorter shots, depending on the amount of action in the scene.
Lighting: Natural daylight
Costume: cowboy hats, cowboy boots, collared shirts, long pants, gun holsters.
Props: Pistols, cigars
Hair and makeup: Tanned characters with male characters usually having facial hair
Colours used: Natural earthy colours such as beige, brown, white, black.
Titles and Credits: Written in masculine font and capitalised.
Dialogue: Serious and aggressive tone for main actor, short sentences.
Steve Neals Genre theory- Steve Neale’s theory of Repetition and Difference. Steve Neale states that genres all contain instances of repetition and difference, difference is essential to the to the economy of the genre.
Neale states that the film and it’s genre is defined by two things:
- How much is conforms to its genre’s individual conventions and stereotypes. A film must match the genre’s conventions to be identified as part of that genre.
- How much a film subverts the genre’s conventions and stereotypes. The film must subvert convention enough to be considered unique and not just a clone of an existing film.
- To guarantee pleasure and meaning for the audience.
- To offset financial risks of film production by providing collateral against innovation and difference.
Popular cinema relies on audiences finding pleasure in difference and repetition i.e. recognition of familiar elements and the way those elements are linked in an unfamiliar way or the way that unfamiliar elements might be introduced.
Genre is constituted by specific systems of expectations and hypothesis which spectators bring with them to the cinema and which and which interact with the films themselves during the course of the viewing process.
- To the film’s production team (producer, director etc) genre provides a template.
- To the film’s distributors genre provides assumptions about which audiences they should be marketing to.
- To the film’s audience genre identifies a liked or disliked formula and provides certain rules of engagement in terms of anticipation of enjoyment.
Genre: Westerns- Western is a genre of fiction which tells stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, often centering on the life of a nomadic cowboy or gunfighter armed with a revolver and a rifle who rides a horse.
A fistful of dollars - Symbolic codes:
Camera angles: Frequent use of worms eye view to portray main character as powerful and intimidating.
Camera movement: Limited to slow pans and tilts, mostly still shots.
Editing: Straight cuts with occasional crossfade, mixture of longer and shorter shots, depending on the amount of action in the scene.
Lighting: Natural daylight
Costume: cowboy hats, cowboy boots, collared shirts, long pants, gun holsters.
Props: Pistols, cigars
Hair and makeup: Tanned characters with male characters usually having facial hair
Colours used: Natural earthy colours such as beige, brown, white, black.
Titles and Credits: Written in masculine font and capitalised.
Dialogue: Serious and aggressive tone for main actor, short sentences.