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