Tyanne Mitchell

Assignment 26.1 Theory in Films

In this report I will be closely analysing and explaining two contrasting directors and closely analysing and explaining two different theories, whilst giving detailed examples of their work. The two directors I have chosen Quentin Tarantino an auteur and Ang Lee a queer director.

Quentin Tarantino was born in Tennessee in 1963, he moved to California at age 4. His love of movies led to a job in a video store, during which time he wrote the scripts for True Romance and Natural Born Killers. The first film that Tarantino directed was Reservoir Dogs, however he reieved a lot of critisizm in comparison to how much praise he received for Pulp Fiction.

Known for his unpredictable, random and  violent films, Quentin Tarantino’s fame was first recognized for the well-known film ‘Pulp Fiction’. He later went on to direct direct 'Inglourious Basterds' and 'Django Unchained.'

An auteur is an artist i.e. a film director whose work is creative in a way that allows them to be considered equivalent to an author of a novel or a play.

Quentin Tarantino is considered an auteur, due to his unique stylistic tone. For example, his distinctive use of comic book style violence, music, camera angles (car trunk POV shots, mirror shots, close ups on lips and feet, etc.) and his use of black and white effect, which intensifies his scenes, contribute to the auteur theory. 

Tarantino’s scenes are full of random bursting energy that gives the audience adrenaline, dialogue which is comparable to poetry and above all Quentin’s films have an end process of morals which he reveals to the audience once the film has finished.

A well-known common theme throughout his films is the revenge plot, which is shown in films such as Kill Bill, Inglorious Bastards, and Django Unchained, among others. 

Pulp Fiction is an American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino that connects multiple storylines of gangsters, criminals, and troubled individuals in Los Angeles. The narrative structure of the film is a non-linear. Tarantino wanted to include two very common stories of a man being asked to take his bosses wife out and a boxer being paid to lose a fight and then win it.

The third main story within the film Tarantino decided that he wanted to create a situation just following criminals after they had done committed crimes. It is set in America and a lot of the locations are part of American culture. These include the Diner, a small antique store and the 50s style restaurant. The lighting is fairly normal and is more just a by-product of the locations rather than having been manipulated for filming purposes. The first time we see the boss, Marsellus Wallace it is set in a dark bar and the darkness matches the tone of the scene

 in keeping with the tone of crime within the film. The film conversations between characters that contain s kind of dark humour.

Quentin Tarantino has an affect that can make people laugh at some of the most violent acts. For example, Tarantino meant for the audience to laugh at the violent scenes in Pulp Fiction such as Vincent’s accidental killing of Marvin.He intends for the audiences to laugh at how ridiculous the characters reactions are. He makes what should be serious situations into laughable situations.

However, the profound amount of blood he uses in his violent scenes heightens the effect of the violence and makes the scenes a lot more intense. 

In fact, the use of blood is a stylistic code for Tarantino. However, pulp fiction is probably one of his only films that keeps violence and the use of blood to a minimum.The only scene with the large amount of blood in it is the scene when the two main characters, Jules and Vincent are cleaning and when Jules refuses to shoot the criminal in the diner. Pulp fiction is brutal in a different kind of way compared to Tarantino’s other films, an example of the is the drug overdose and the torture scene. He leads up to these violent scenes with dialogue and then continues to lead away from the scene through the same dialogue. The film is non- chronological and contains quite violent and unnecessary scenes which are quite random for furthering the plot. Most directors will choose to cut away from the violence, however Tarantino continues with the violence and often displays the characters in the outcome of the violence and shows their reactions. 

Diegetic sound in Pulp Fiction seems to always function in more than one way. The sounds often predict negative events and also represent characters feelings and actions. An example of this is when Mia and Vince return home and they start to dance in the house when the alarm suddenly begins to go off. The alarm represents the warning that if the right code is not entered the police will be alerted. The alarm is also a warning that Vincent should leave before he tries anything with Mia which prompts the mirror talk he has with himself in the mirror, which is followed by the intense overdose scene. Also the camera techniques in this scene help make it even more tense. In this scene the close ups intensify the severity of the overdose. The first one is a close up shot of her face as the blood starts to drip out of her nose and she starts foaming from the mouth. It stays on this shot for a few seconds of silence which makes the audience think she’s dead however, when we hear Vincent appearing from the toilet in a panic, the camera angle isn’t adjusted so he can’t be seen in the shot. The next close-up shot used that added drama to the film was on Vincent Vega, before he administers an adrenaline shot to snap her out of her overdose. The close-up shot captures the fear in the characters face. You also see drops following slowly from the needle which makes the scene even more intense and strongly engages the audience. 

As the film continues and the characters develop, the audience begin to connect with the corrupt characters in the film. An example of this connection is with the character of Vincent Vega, a paid killer addicted to drugs. Even though this character should be unlikeable, Tarantino gives him a laid-back personality which makes him one of the favourite characters. 

As the film continues and the characters develop, the audience begin to connect with the corrupt characters in the film.

The combining of Tarantino’s three stories complicates the commonly used linear structure for movies and presents the film in an interesting. An example of how this plot structure creates interesting results is with Vincent Vega who is killed in one scene in the movie reappears again at the end.

 I feel the film as an Action/Thriller film is very eccentric however enjoyable. Although its very different from most films in its genre it is effective because of how original it is.

It has all the elements of a thriller such as an exciting and mysterious plot, interesting characters, tension and as it is a crime-based thriller has a lot of criminal activity to fit the genre and appeal to the intended target audience. 

There are various types of film theories that define directors filming choices and give their creative work meaning. Another interesting theory I have chosen to explore is the feminism and film director, Ridley Scott is a prime example.

Ridley Scott, born on 30 November 1937 is an English film director and producer. He had his breakthrough in the industry with the sci-fi horror film ‘Alien’, his other works include the neo-noir dystopian, Blade Runner, Gladiator, and The Martian.

Ridley Scott is behind some of cinema’s most strong, heroic and rebellious female characters. For example, Sigourney Weaver's appearance in ‘Alien’ and also the infamous Thelma and Louise.

Thelma & Louise came out in 1991 and was a very significant film for feminists in multiple ways. Specifically, Thelma & Louise shows examples that feminists find important including positive images of women and issues of gender and genre

The strongest connection to feminism may be its representation of female friendship between the pair. Thelma and Louise are not only the main characters but their bond is the title of the film. As a duo, they represent women’s lives beyond men and romance which contrasts with the opening of the film in which Geena Davis’s Thelma illustrates the stifling life of the traditional housewife, which she escapes with Louise.

Thelma & Louise challenges normal images of the female gender shown in most films which made it interesting. it focuses on outlaw life, living on the road, and violence. One of the key scenes of violence in the film involves one of the women defending the other against attempted rape which highlights the gendered struggles of women which strengthens the feminist implications in the film. 

The use of filming techniques used in this movie to intensify certain situation and heighten the effects of the characters actions or facial expressions. For example, in the scene where a distressed Thelma has returned to the car after an abortive attempt to 'phone and tell her husband what has happened. We see Thelma sitting in the car, looking in the rear mirror and wiping away the tears, she begins to                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        repair her make-up and the audience see a blurry figure moving in the background. Thelma sees the figure in the mirror she realises that it was the cowboy from earlier asking for a lift. As the camera follows his movement viewers can see the emotions running across Thelma's features and know she is attracted to him.

Sound is used in a very effective way throughout the film whether it is the country and western music or the sound of the road in the background. The sounds are used to emphasise what is going on in each scene.

There are a lot of close-up shots throughout the film as we need to be able to read the expressions of the actors and actresses. In order to give pace and excitement to the film, cutting is one of the methods used as a way of advancing the action. In one particularly scene it was cut from the women driving on the road to a computer screen where data is appearing in the form of names and addresses and the sheriff's voice is heard reading off Louise's name and address and we know he has found out who the women from the scene of the crime are. We now know he will soon be on their trail as it cuts back to them, unaware and continuing on their journey. The use of cuts also develops the plot and gives the film atmosphere and excitement.

To give the feeling of the movement in the film we often see close ups of the back of the women’s heads and their hair blowing in the wind which makes the audience feel like they are in the car and on the journey with them.

The final scenes of the film during the police chase the women are driving along the Grand Canyon and the audience are led to believe that the women will make it to freedom but, but unfortunately this is not the case. As both the women and the audience are unaware that the police are waiting for the women. The women are trapped and the noise of the loud helicopter heightens the effect of the intense situation.

In the last moments of the movements Louise turns to Thelma but the women know that giving up their freedom is not an option for them. The audience are not shocked when Louise turns to Thelma and Thelma says they should "go on", and they join hands and drive off the cliff. It is an ending in some ways similar to that in Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid as we don't actually witness their final death but we know that that is what likely happened. The audience experienced the women’s whole journey and began to feel affection towards the women and are happy that they chose to keep their freedom. The concluding scene was satisfying and enjoyable.            

Overall, I have explored my selected directors and justified why their work

is defined by particular theories. Both films were very different, however interesting and they also contrasted which allowed me to give a wide range of points and examples about each film.