Looking at Movies
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Transcript of Looking at Movies
Looking at Movies
Active vs. Passive Viewing
• What is the difference between passively watching a movie and actively looking at a movie?
• What is the benefit to being an active viewer?
• Movies shape the way we see the world, and movies can tell us much about the society that created them.
What is a Movie?
• What is the difference between the terms ‘movie,’ ‘film’ and ‘cinema’?
• One characteristic all films share is narrative.
• Narrative exists when a sequence of images is employed in a cause-and-effect arrangement.
• Films are constructed from a series of still images or shots.
• These shots are then joined or edited to control what and how the viewer sees.
• How does cinema differ from live theatre in terms of controlling the audience’s eye?
Ways of Looking at Movies
• Formal Analysis• Cultural Analysis
Formal Analysis
• Breaking down a scene or entire movie to identify the tools and techniques used.
• Identify the effect these tools and techniques have on the audience.
Formal Analysis – Cinematic Language
Some examples…• “Invisibility” • Fade-out / Fade-in Example 2 Fade Out Fade In - YouTube
• Low-angle Shot Citizen Kane - Low Angle Shot - YouTube
• Cutting on Action Video Assignment: Match Action - YouTube
• How do theses effects affect the audience?
"The Limey" Peter Fonda's Death Scenes
Cultural Analysis
• “Cultural Invisibility” – Appealing to shared belief systems – The status quo– The illusion of being controversial or provocative
• Implicit Meaning– Below the surface of the movie– An association, connection, inference– Based on the explicit meaning– An interpretation of the events – something
arguable
• Viewer Expectations– Influencing factors: friends, reviews, previews,
commercials…– Assumptions: genre, director, actors…– Your interpretation of a movie is affected by how
your expectations are manipulated by the movie– Name a movie you went to see where your
expectations were not fulfilled. What was your reaction?
• Approaches to Cultural analysis– Feminism– Marxism– Post-colonialism– Existentialism– Specific social issues