Self Evaluation
· Attainment- C I have given myself a 3 for attainment because I think I have done a fair amount on work on my independent study (med.5) which makes my understanding of the text better even though I was not allowed to attend any lessons for a number of weeks. I have also made reasonable efforts in following the teaching on med.6 although I would like to work even harder to produce better pieces of work.
Punctuality- 2 Punctuality in terms of turning up to lessons on time I am mostly on time. Punctuality in terms of handing work in on time I usually try to hand in work when its due although sometimes I am a bit late on handing work hence this is what I would like to work on to improve my punctuality.·
Submission and quality of homework- 2 As I mentioned above I always try to hand in work on time and the quality of the work is usually high standard although I still think I could improve upon it.
Ability to work independently- 2 I give myself 2 for working independently because through out this whole term I had to work independently on my study as I was not allowed in lessons hence any help from the teacher was out of the question. So I gave it my best shot by looking at the mediamacguffin blog for the work I had to do. On the other hand I think my presentation of the topic did not go as well because I had not seen any presentations from other people to ensure what was required from me.
Quality of Writing- 2 I think my quality of writing is reasonably good as all my work on the med.5 blog is explained well. I have also written an essay recently for med.6 comparing two texts so when I get my result for that I will be able to say in more detail about my written work quality.
Organisation of media Folder- 4 The reason I have given myself a 4 for media folder organisation is because I have got a folder but it is not arranged in sections very well. So during the half term I would focus on getting that done.
Oral Contribution in class has been pretty good as i have asked question and answered them too.
Standard of med 5 blog I think my med.5 blog is well detailed although I still need to keep on doing the work specifically linked to my title so I gather material which I can use for my actual essay.
Standard of med. 6 blogMy med.6 blog is not as well detailed as my med.5 blog as we have not done much work on the blog.
EBI for next term: -· Get the first draft of the independent study done to best of my ability and work on the feed back given to improve my grade for final draft.
Monday 26 January 2009
Monday 5 January 2009
First Paragraph
How women are represented in ‘Slasher’ films and are the roles of women changing in this genre? Making particular reference to Texas chainsaw massacre- the beginning (2006). "Witness the birth of fear"
Texas chainsaw massacre- The beginning a film directed by Jonathan Liebsmen was a prequel to the remake of the 1974 film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The film reconstructs the image of women just being shown as sex objects by showing women are actively involved in escaping from the horrendous situation by fighting against the villain. This essay will explore whether or not the roles of women have changed due to the changes in society and the texts which will be analysed in order to gain evidence are TCM (1974), Psycho (1960), The wrong turn (2003) and Casino Royal (2006) from a different genre. Haralambos and Holborn (2004) suggest that "the representation of women has remained the same and these portrayals will never disappear because old programmes are recycled on satellite and cable" I predict that the roles of women have definitely changed over time in all genres of cinema but in slasher films they are still portrayed as weak victims.
Texas chainsaw massacre- The beginning a film directed by Jonathan Liebsmen was a prequel to the remake of the 1974 film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The film reconstructs the image of women just being shown as sex objects by showing women are actively involved in escaping from the horrendous situation by fighting against the villain. This essay will explore whether or not the roles of women have changed due to the changes in society and the texts which will be analysed in order to gain evidence are TCM (1974), Psycho (1960), The wrong turn (2003) and Casino Royal (2006) from a different genre. Haralambos and Holborn (2004) suggest that "the representation of women has remained the same and these portrayals will never disappear because old programmes are recycled on satellite and cable" I predict that the roles of women have definitely changed over time in all genres of cinema but in slasher films they are still portrayed as weak victims.
Detailed Essay Plan
How women are represented in ‘Slasher’ films and are the roles of women changing in this genre? Making particular reference to Texas chainsaw massacre- the beginning (2006).
My independent study focuses on the representation of women in the Slasher genre looking into detail on how the roles of women have developed since the early 1970’s when the genre was discovered. I chose to look at TCM – the beginning as the main text because I feel it’s a contemporary film which shows the roles of women have changed and Texas chainsaw massacre in particular goes back a long way as it was one of the first films made in this genre in 1974. Hence I will be able to compare the two films and come to a conclusion with evidence that the roles of women have changed over the years. Another dimension to my study will be looking at the theory of Carol Clover and analysing whether or not Slasher films still have a ‘final girl’ at the end of the movies and also looking at Laura Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze. (G, TH, H)
Alongside TCM (1974) other texts I will focus on are ‘The wrong turn’ (2003) and from a different genre ‘Casino Royal’ (2006), it is vital to look at another genre to get wider knowledge on how women are represented in cinema. On the other hand it is also equally important to analyse historic texts like Texas chainsaw massacre, Psycho etc as they will give an indication of how much the roles of women have changed in the genre over the years. Casino Royal will allow me to determine if women are portrayed the same in every genre. (OT, R, H)
TCM– the beginning does not confirm the theory of Carol Clover ‘Final Girl’:
TCM – the beginning proves the theory incorrect as Carol Clover states that the final girl fights the villain and survives. In this film the final character to survive is a female but she is killed by the psychopath at the end. Although films in the slasher genre on the whole have proven the theory of Carol Clover over many years. Films such as TCM (1974) and Halloween have proven the theory correct. Clover also argues that the final female becomes masculinised through "phallic appropriation" by taking up a weapon, such as a knife or chainsaw, against the killer. This argument of Clover is shown in the film as Jordana Brewster, who is the final female to survive confronts the villain with a knife in order to escape. (OT, TH, G)
TCM- the beginning confirms to Mulvey's 'male gaze':
On the other hand Mulvey argues that the audience are forced the see the film from a male point of view, whatever gender is watching. This statement is partly true, as in TCM- the beginning (Jonathan Liebsmen, 2006), Jordana Brewster’s friend in the movie Diora Baird, who happens to be a female, is murdered. Mulvey’s Male Gaze view can be contradicted as in by a later scene in the film; Jordana Brewster’s boyfriend is killed, resulting in her being attacked by Andrew Bryniarski however she is also killed at the end by him. Another Scene which confirms Mulvey’s theory is at the beginning of the film when Diora Baird takes her t-shirt off and is shown in provocative lingerie as she approaches her boyfriend Taylor Handley for a sexual intercourse. This scene is purely there for the satisfaction of the male audience. (TH, R, A)
Representation of women:
The women have become more powerful and they are shown to be equally as dominant as men usually are. Hence this shows that women are just as strong as men. In a traditional slasher genre film the man is shown to be more masculine and comes across with no fear. Whereas now the stereotypes have some what changed as women are shown to be fighting against the evil rather than being shown helpless, an example of a film which shows that is Creep (2004) as the female protagonist is compelling towards the monster on the other hand the male is shown to be quiet indicating that he is not willing to help.
Throughout the years the representation of women has not changed drastically, however has been represented in two ways. The first is the final girl, who is the last person alive to confront the killer. The final girl is conventionally sexually unavailable, shares a history with the killer and sometimes has a unisex name. The second type of representation is voyeuristic; as Laura Mulvey argues that male spectators enjoy the sexual pleasure in the way some women are presented.
Sharon Smith Journal (1972): Women and Film "The role of women in a film almost always revolves around her physical attraction and the mating games she plays with the male character”. This quotation shows that women are used in cinema just for the pleasure of the male audience rather than them having any active role in the film. Although this as I mentioned earlier this opinion of people has drastically changed over the years. (OT, TH, R, A)
Are the roles of men getting limited?
The role of Leather face in the film TCM- the beginning is fully controlled by the character of Sheriff Hoyt almost making Leather face seem like a passive character as he is being told what to do assuming that he is not intelligent enough to make his own decisions. This role reversal of males is accepted by the audience in today’s society due to people having feminist views. (TH, M).
Some of the Key scenes I will be focusing on in detail:
The main scene I will focus on from the historic text is a famous scene from Psycho (1960) directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The shower scene is where Janet Leigh is having a shower and she is murdered by a mysterious killer, as much as it is part of the story the scene is purely there for the male gaze. Another scene which I will analyse during the course of this essay is of Diora Baird in TCM- the beginning taking her t-shirt off so the audience can see her in provocative lingerie, this is another scene which attracts the male audience. On the other hand there is a big difference in the explicit content of this scene and the shower scene from Psycho, it can be said that the society has become more modern and more explicit content in films is becoming acceptable. The values in the 60’s era were that women were not exposed as much as they are today. From the same scene of TCM- the beginning I would also like to point out how the male character’s hands are tied up to the bed showing that the women is in control. This shows the changing roles of women in this genre. (OT, H, R, TH)
Books
1. The cinema Book
2. Clover’s book on Men, Women, and Chain Saws
3. Brian Murphy : monster movies
4. Mulvey, Laura, 1975,-'Visual pleasure and narrative cinema'
Websites
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psycho_(1960_film)
http://www.newline.com/properties/texaschainsawmassacrethebeginningrated.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slasher_film
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Texas_Chain_Saw_Massacre
http://firefox.org/news/articles/12/1/Review----Texas-Chainsaw-Massacre-The-Beginning/Page1.html
My independent study focuses on the representation of women in the Slasher genre looking into detail on how the roles of women have developed since the early 1970’s when the genre was discovered. I chose to look at TCM – the beginning as the main text because I feel it’s a contemporary film which shows the roles of women have changed and Texas chainsaw massacre in particular goes back a long way as it was one of the first films made in this genre in 1974. Hence I will be able to compare the two films and come to a conclusion with evidence that the roles of women have changed over the years. Another dimension to my study will be looking at the theory of Carol Clover and analysing whether or not Slasher films still have a ‘final girl’ at the end of the movies and also looking at Laura Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze. (G, TH, H)
Alongside TCM (1974) other texts I will focus on are ‘The wrong turn’ (2003) and from a different genre ‘Casino Royal’ (2006), it is vital to look at another genre to get wider knowledge on how women are represented in cinema. On the other hand it is also equally important to analyse historic texts like Texas chainsaw massacre, Psycho etc as they will give an indication of how much the roles of women have changed in the genre over the years. Casino Royal will allow me to determine if women are portrayed the same in every genre. (OT, R, H)
TCM– the beginning does not confirm the theory of Carol Clover ‘Final Girl’:
TCM – the beginning proves the theory incorrect as Carol Clover states that the final girl fights the villain and survives. In this film the final character to survive is a female but she is killed by the psychopath at the end. Although films in the slasher genre on the whole have proven the theory of Carol Clover over many years. Films such as TCM (1974) and Halloween have proven the theory correct. Clover also argues that the final female becomes masculinised through "phallic appropriation" by taking up a weapon, such as a knife or chainsaw, against the killer. This argument of Clover is shown in the film as Jordana Brewster, who is the final female to survive confronts the villain with a knife in order to escape. (OT, TH, G)
TCM- the beginning confirms to Mulvey's 'male gaze':
On the other hand Mulvey argues that the audience are forced the see the film from a male point of view, whatever gender is watching. This statement is partly true, as in TCM- the beginning (Jonathan Liebsmen, 2006), Jordana Brewster’s friend in the movie Diora Baird, who happens to be a female, is murdered. Mulvey’s Male Gaze view can be contradicted as in by a later scene in the film; Jordana Brewster’s boyfriend is killed, resulting in her being attacked by Andrew Bryniarski however she is also killed at the end by him. Another Scene which confirms Mulvey’s theory is at the beginning of the film when Diora Baird takes her t-shirt off and is shown in provocative lingerie as she approaches her boyfriend Taylor Handley for a sexual intercourse. This scene is purely there for the satisfaction of the male audience. (TH, R, A)
Representation of women:
The women have become more powerful and they are shown to be equally as dominant as men usually are. Hence this shows that women are just as strong as men. In a traditional slasher genre film the man is shown to be more masculine and comes across with no fear. Whereas now the stereotypes have some what changed as women are shown to be fighting against the evil rather than being shown helpless, an example of a film which shows that is Creep (2004) as the female protagonist is compelling towards the monster on the other hand the male is shown to be quiet indicating that he is not willing to help.
Throughout the years the representation of women has not changed drastically, however has been represented in two ways. The first is the final girl, who is the last person alive to confront the killer. The final girl is conventionally sexually unavailable, shares a history with the killer and sometimes has a unisex name. The second type of representation is voyeuristic; as Laura Mulvey argues that male spectators enjoy the sexual pleasure in the way some women are presented.
Sharon Smith Journal (1972): Women and Film "The role of women in a film almost always revolves around her physical attraction and the mating games she plays with the male character”. This quotation shows that women are used in cinema just for the pleasure of the male audience rather than them having any active role in the film. Although this as I mentioned earlier this opinion of people has drastically changed over the years. (OT, TH, R, A)
Are the roles of men getting limited?
The role of Leather face in the film TCM- the beginning is fully controlled by the character of Sheriff Hoyt almost making Leather face seem like a passive character as he is being told what to do assuming that he is not intelligent enough to make his own decisions. This role reversal of males is accepted by the audience in today’s society due to people having feminist views. (TH, M).
Some of the Key scenes I will be focusing on in detail:
The main scene I will focus on from the historic text is a famous scene from Psycho (1960) directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The shower scene is where Janet Leigh is having a shower and she is murdered by a mysterious killer, as much as it is part of the story the scene is purely there for the male gaze. Another scene which I will analyse during the course of this essay is of Diora Baird in TCM- the beginning taking her t-shirt off so the audience can see her in provocative lingerie, this is another scene which attracts the male audience. On the other hand there is a big difference in the explicit content of this scene and the shower scene from Psycho, it can be said that the society has become more modern and more explicit content in films is becoming acceptable. The values in the 60’s era were that women were not exposed as much as they are today. From the same scene of TCM- the beginning I would also like to point out how the male character’s hands are tied up to the bed showing that the women is in control. This shows the changing roles of women in this genre. (OT, H, R, TH)
Books
1. The cinema Book
2. Clover’s book on Men, Women, and Chain Saws
3. Brian Murphy : monster movies
4. Mulvey, Laura, 1975,-'Visual pleasure and narrative cinema'
Websites
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psycho_(1960_film)
http://www.newline.com/properties/texaschainsawmassacrethebeginningrated.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slasher_film
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Texas_Chain_Saw_Massacre
http://firefox.org/news/articles/12/1/Review----Texas-Chainsaw-Massacre-The-Beginning/Page1.html
Thursday 1 January 2009
Historical Texts
Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho released in 1960 provided early inspiration for the Slasher genre as it was nominated for four academy awards and is still regarded today as one of Hitchcock's best films and highly praised as a work of cinematic art by international critics. Psycho provided early inspiration although one of the first authentic slasher films was ‘Black Christmas’ alongside ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ both released in 1974.
Psycho (1960)
Scene: - Shower Scene
Analysis: - This scene is very stereotypical of the horror and slasher genre as it shows a woman being killed, the perceptions of women being weak, helpless etc have become fixed stereotypes accepted by the society over time although now directors are beginning to subvert these stereotypes by giving women more active roles and this could be due to the society believing in Femanist views which state men and women have equal rights.
The scene starts of with a close up shot of a woman in the shower which could be percieved as the male gaze as the woman in the shower is supposedly naked. Most of the shots are extreme close-ups, except for medium shots in the shower directly before and directly after the murder. The combination of the close shots with the short duration between cuts makes the sequence feel longer, more subjective, more uncontrolled, and more violent than would the images if they presented alone or in a wider angle.
There is no dialogue been said for the entire duration of the scene, the only source of sound is the screeching violins, violas, and cellos which is considered to be non-diegetic sound as it’s a soundtrack edited afterwards which the director believed intensified the scene. This is where the historian texts of this genre are different to the modern texts. In the modern films of this genre there is a lot of dialogue to express the characters feelings in tense situations. Women in TCM – the beginning are shown to be more strong whereas from this scene of Psycho it can be said that women in that era were portrayed as easy targets hence this shows that the genre has developed and the roles of women have subverted.
The shower scene features only three nearly subliminal frames of film showing penetration and the blood in the scene is in fact chocolate syrup, which shows up better on black-and-white film, and has more realistic density than stage blood. These features compared to the contempary texts show that the films of that era didn’t have huge budgets and the technology was not advanced either to show something as realistic as we see today hence this is another change which has occurred in this genre over time.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
This was one of the first films of the Slasher genre and later many sequels of this original story were made. The similarities between this historic text and the contempary text which I am analysing is that firstly the film starts off with a group of friends on a road trip and how everything planned for the future is ruined when they are captured by a cannibilistic family and there is also a final girl to survive out of the group although the only difference in the ending of the two films is that the final girl from the historian text survives and flees from the house of horrors whereas the final girl from TCM – the beginning is killed by leatherface showing victory of evil. The two films also had different directors, the 1974 version was directed by Tobe Hooper and the latest 2006 sequel was directed by Jonathan Liebsmen through their difference in approach and the changes in society the two films were different although being part of the same series.
Friday the 13th (1980)
This was an American horror film directed by Sean S. Cunningham, it was inspired by the success of John Carpenter’s Halloween. Although the film was not received well by the critics, it grossed over $39.7 million at the box office in the United States and went on to become one of the most profitable slasher films in cinema history; it was also the first movie of its kind to secure distribution in the USA by a major studio, Paramount Pictures.
The music was also an important element of the film as the decision was made that the music will only play alongside the killer so it would not "manipulate the audience" into thinking the killer was present when they were not. The music of the film was really effective as when something was going to happen, the music would cut off so that the audience would relax a bit, and the scare would be that much more effective.
The title of the film certainly appealed to the target audience as in that era people strongly believed in the superstition that number 13 is irregular and targets the completeness of 12.
Psycho (1960)
Scene: - Shower Scene
Analysis: - This scene is very stereotypical of the horror and slasher genre as it shows a woman being killed, the perceptions of women being weak, helpless etc have become fixed stereotypes accepted by the society over time although now directors are beginning to subvert these stereotypes by giving women more active roles and this could be due to the society believing in Femanist views which state men and women have equal rights.
The scene starts of with a close up shot of a woman in the shower which could be percieved as the male gaze as the woman in the shower is supposedly naked. Most of the shots are extreme close-ups, except for medium shots in the shower directly before and directly after the murder. The combination of the close shots with the short duration between cuts makes the sequence feel longer, more subjective, more uncontrolled, and more violent than would the images if they presented alone or in a wider angle.
There is no dialogue been said for the entire duration of the scene, the only source of sound is the screeching violins, violas, and cellos which is considered to be non-diegetic sound as it’s a soundtrack edited afterwards which the director believed intensified the scene. This is where the historian texts of this genre are different to the modern texts. In the modern films of this genre there is a lot of dialogue to express the characters feelings in tense situations. Women in TCM – the beginning are shown to be more strong whereas from this scene of Psycho it can be said that women in that era were portrayed as easy targets hence this shows that the genre has developed and the roles of women have subverted.
The shower scene features only three nearly subliminal frames of film showing penetration and the blood in the scene is in fact chocolate syrup, which shows up better on black-and-white film, and has more realistic density than stage blood. These features compared to the contempary texts show that the films of that era didn’t have huge budgets and the technology was not advanced either to show something as realistic as we see today hence this is another change which has occurred in this genre over time.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
This was one of the first films of the Slasher genre and later many sequels of this original story were made. The similarities between this historic text and the contempary text which I am analysing is that firstly the film starts off with a group of friends on a road trip and how everything planned for the future is ruined when they are captured by a cannibilistic family and there is also a final girl to survive out of the group although the only difference in the ending of the two films is that the final girl from the historian text survives and flees from the house of horrors whereas the final girl from TCM – the beginning is killed by leatherface showing victory of evil. The two films also had different directors, the 1974 version was directed by Tobe Hooper and the latest 2006 sequel was directed by Jonathan Liebsmen through their difference in approach and the changes in society the two films were different although being part of the same series.
Friday the 13th (1980)
This was an American horror film directed by Sean S. Cunningham, it was inspired by the success of John Carpenter’s Halloween. Although the film was not received well by the critics, it grossed over $39.7 million at the box office in the United States and went on to become one of the most profitable slasher films in cinema history; it was also the first movie of its kind to secure distribution in the USA by a major studio, Paramount Pictures.
The music was also an important element of the film as the decision was made that the music will only play alongside the killer so it would not "manipulate the audience" into thinking the killer was present when they were not. The music of the film was really effective as when something was going to happen, the music would cut off so that the audience would relax a bit, and the scare would be that much more effective.
The title of the film certainly appealed to the target audience as in that era people strongly believed in the superstition that number 13 is irregular and targets the completeness of 12.
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