What is the importance of mise-en-scène and/or sound in creating meaning and generating response in the films you have studied?

Like majority of films the mise-en-scene is vital as it creates meaning and generates response. With the films I have studied the mise-en-scene is key when creating meaning and understanding to the narrative of the three films.

 Kassovitz's (director of La Haine) use of mise-en-scene throughout the film allows the audience to generate a personal response to the film as a whole and each individual scene. The scene which takes place is Hubert's bedroom the mise-en-scene shows a lot about the character of Hubert solely through the use of props and setting. The room itself appears to be small and cramped which could represent how Hubert feels about his life in the projects, closed in and trapped, unable to escape the sad life he is living during the time of riots. The start of this scene has Hubert prepping some sort of drug to sell in order to get money, which is something his family seem to be struggling with; the fact that Hubert has resorted to selling drugs and having to prep them in his bedroom in his family home speaks masses about the severity of the situation during this time in the projects, as from this happening you are made aware of the length youths have to go to just to ensure they and their families have a roof over their heads. The close up of Hubert's hands with the pocket knife and lighter puts focus on what is happening at this point which contrasts to other parts of the film, as it is made known that drugs play a part in the lives of the youths in the projects, like in the scene where Hubert, Saïd and Vinz are sat down doing nothing and there are dirty needles on the floor, however the drug use is never a focal point of any part of La Haine. Thus the close up emphasises that, for Hubert, this is the last resort to help his family. This makes me sympathise for Hubert at this point of the film as he has to go to drastic lengths to make sure his family and live somewhat comfortably. During this scene you see Hubert's bedroom, which in all films being in a character's bedroom can reveal about said character and it's no exception for Hubert in La Haine. In the room you can see a pair of boxing gloves and some dumbbells, which display Hubert as a person who has great strength and reflects the first time you see Hubert, which was in a gym punching at a punching bag. Also a poster from the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City of Tommie Smith and John Carlos showing the black power salute as a silent protest during the medal ceremony against racial discrimination, as this is on the wall of Hubert's bedroom, his personal space shows that he proud of his race and how far its come since the worst days. The diegetic sound during this scene is very soulful and meaningful, and this creates an atmosphere for the audience to feel while watching this scene, as its so mellow and soothing it allows those watching to share the same relaxed mood as Hubert, even though his is drug induced.

Another scene from La Haine that demonstrates Kassovitz’s use of mise-en-scene to create meaning is the scene when Hubert, Saïd and Vinz go to Paris to see Astérix to get Saïd’s money. The first shot you see of Astérix’s apartment there is an obvious different between the Parisian flats in comparison to the flats in the projects. The diegetic music portrays a clear division between life in the city and life on the edge. In Paris opera music is played which is often associated with the higher classes and being cultured, yet in the projects the music is westernised rap music, which shows no links or ties to French culture. The difference in the genre of music in the two places also shows the class gap between life in Paris and life in the projects just outside of Paris. On the wall in Asterix's apartment there is a poster of the never-ending staircase illusion which represents well that the issues that thee people live in are never ending and keeping going round in circles. That there is no end to the riots in sight. This poster in Asterix's flat shows the problems of those in the projects in a subtle and artistic way. Asterix offers the boys a line of coke that he has already out on the table; the fact that Asterix has cocaine shows the difference in lifestyles and the amount of money each lifestyle has. The difference in class of drugs highlights the difference in social class, as the drugs in Paris are more expensive than the drugs used in the projects such as weed and heroin.

Fernando Meirelles' City of God also creates meaning and response through it's use of mise-en-scene throughout the film, however I believe that the montage scene of 'The Story of the Apartment' creates strong meaning as well as generating response through Meirelles' use of mise-en-scene throughout the scene. The scene starts with a dissolve that establishes that the next piece of footage is a flashback that tells the story of the appartment that is used throughout the film. The start of the flash back the apartment is lit with high key lighting that sets the feeling of a warm and homely environment which is what the apartments was although it was being used as a drug den it was so that Dona Zelia could support her family.  As the narrative darkens so does the lighting and the appearance of the apartment; as the cross dissolve from it being Dona Zelia's apartment to Big Boy taking control of it the mise-en-scene changes to a more dangerous, and illegal looking place to be, when Big Boy pulls Dona Zelia out of the apartment she grabs onto the table cloth pulling it off the table and all the items falling to the ground showing that being in the drug business won't turn out well, your whole world will come crashing down, Meirelles (director) took this concept and made it real through her trying to hold onto what she has before it all falls within a matter of seconds. This part of the montage shoes how little the men of the favelas think of the women, as although it is Dona Zelia's apartment Big Boy just takes advantage of her and takes over her home; however in the 10 years alter documentary it stated that although there  hasn't been a massive amount of progress in the situation of life in the favelas women are becoming to get stronger and starting to gain more rights/respect than what they had in 2002 when City of God was made  As the scene progresses the mise-en-scene changes the audiences perception of what is happening, because as Big Boy takes over, the apartment loses its homely look and starts to look like an empty shell of a home; which, in my eyes, is what happens when drugs become a big part of somebody's life, they begin to lose sight on everything that is truly important and only focus on the drugs that are taking over they lives. The knife that is lodged into the table, I feel, shows this point well as its unsafe to have a sharp object half stuck into a table, in a home like when the apartment belonged to Dona Zelia that would never have happened due to it being her and her daughters' home, however when Big Boy throws her out and it is no longer hers, there is no need for it to be a safe environment because they are using the apartment as their den for their drug business which is also shown in this part of the montage as when Carrot hands drugs over to one of the neighbourhood kids they use as dealers. The whole of this scene shows through the cross dissolves of the mise-en-scene changing as drugs take over family life and life in general.

The second scene I feel uses mise-en-scene to create meaning and response is the scene where Lil Zé makes Steak and Fries shoot one of the runt as it creates such a strong response because the setting of the scene is obviously a real favela like the whole film so it attracts the audiences ethos to be touched by the reality they’re shown through this film. Also the two runts being backed into the corner shows that there is no escaping people like Lil Zé’s gang while living in the favelas and they were to be feared, in the 10 years later documentary the younger of the two runts revealed that while filming City of God he was made to fear Leandro Firmino (Lil Zé) as a person rather than his character, so while shooting this scene the younger runts fear would have been real not acting, this brings a feel of verisimilitude to this scene; this being what creates a strong response from the audience as knowing the child is really in fear while filming brings out an emotional attachment to the character and in a woman’s case her motherly instincts would kick in and would be hit hard emotionally by this scene and want to protect the child in the film. Also this scene has a shallow depth of focus making the gun in Lil Zé’s hand the focal point of this scene, hinting that this scene will not end well because the gun is the main focus. Not only does this scene generate a response for the audience but also the actors, as after being in this emotionally heavy scene Darlan Cunha (Steak and Fries) couldn’t talk about being in this film when asked about it in the 10 years later documentary because it was too real for him.

How useful has a particular critical approach been in gaining a deeper understanding and appreciation of your chosen film

Fight Club is a polysemic film so not one approach alone could explain the film. I think the crisis of masculinity helps to explain the first third of the film with the self-help groups, and the Freudian approach helps with the second third with fight club. Although both approaches help explain aspects throughout the entire film. 

The scene in which the Narrator is at the self-help group for testicular cancer, I believe, offers a great amount of insight into the crisis of masculinity; which was a big deal during this time (1999). This scene is set in a basketball court, a place often associated with masculinity and competition, but in this case it's as if all the men have given up and are in a sports hall talking about their feelings which is a very stereotypical feminine thing to do. Bob from the support group is the epitome of the crisis of masculinity, he had lost his testicles to cancer and due to hormone imbalance he grew breasts. Bob is essentially a woman, the ultimate cry of loss of masculinity. This  implies that the crisis of masculinity is a big part of society during the 90s and the time of Fight Club. The irony of this scene only highlights the crisis happening, a group of men in a basketball court without balls, both basketballs and their testicles. They're in a male dominated environment without one of the things that makes them men and instead are crying about their feelings and their family.  Also the scene when the Narrator and Tyler have left the bar after the Narrator's condo blew up and he needed a place to stay; Tyler tells him to "cut the foreplay" which also applies to the cris happening with them men during this time because, once again, foreplay is thought of to be a feminine way of beating around the bush to get what they want, thus portraying the Narrator as feminine through his use of  'foreplay' as Tyler puts it. The Narrator is definitely portrayed as the most feminine, other than Bob, especially when it comes to jealousy, towards Angel Face in particular. The scene when Tyler splits the group up shows the Narrator's jealousy really well, he says "I am Jack's inflamed sense of rejection" as Tyler pays more attention to Angel Face than him and his feelings are written on his face. To wear your feelings on your sleeve isn't seen as masculine, so for the Narrator to be so open and obvious about his feelings isn't helping the crisis happening surrounding masculinity. As well as the crisis of masculinity being obvious about the fragility of masculinity, there's the homosexual undertone to the whole film. The concept of fight club seems to be a euphemism for being gay, like in Kenneth Anger's Fireworks the men are all being aggressive towards each other while trying to disguise their sexual orientation. The rules Tyler gives in fight club also hint towards a cover up of sexuality; the rules being not to talk about fight club, like you wouldn't openly talk about a homosexual relationship if you were unsure of your sexuality, only one fight at a time, two to a fight, and to take off shirts, shoes and belts, all point towards a euphemism of sexuality as it all results to shirtless men wrestling each other to the ground. Also when Tyler and the Narrator are walking down the street there is a focus on the male body through the adverts, there is the Gucci advert with the male underwear model on which in any other film would perhaps have been a female underwear model but due to the context of Fight Club and the crisis of masculinity being a running theme throughout the use of a male model highlights the crisis and questioning. 

The crisis of masculinity, I believe, helps to explain the events of the film and why the characters, majority of them being male, act the way they do and say the things they say; but the Freudian approach to this film, in my opinion, explains the relationship between the Narrator, Tyler and Marla Singer. The title sequence all happens in the Narrator's head. Which straight away implies just that, the whole film is in his head and that none of it is actually real. This idea relates to the Freudian approach of trying to understand Fight Club, the idea that Freud had involved the human psyche having more than one aspect, that all develop at different stages in our lives. To relate Freud's theory to the characters of fight club Tyler would be the id, who we want to be, Tyler even says "I look like you want to look" which is a blatant sign that Tyler could be a part of the Narrator. A scene that explains the Freudian relationship between the Narrator and Tyler is the scene when the pair leave Lou's bar through the back before Tyler gets the Narrator to punch him. At the start of this scene both characters are stood outside of the bar but in between them is a split in the door putting a clear divide between them, which could represent the split in the Narrator's personality that makes Tyler real. The scene when the guy asks if he could be next to fight while out the back of the bar and the Narrator turns to Tyler for an answer the depth of field changes and Tyler the one who is in focus, this displays who is in control of the situation, so when the Narrator is in focus he is the one in control of the himself and the situation but when Tyler in focus he has taken full control; this usually happens when things get a bit more intense, at points where the id would want to make an appearance making things a little less serious, like during fight club  during the rules it's Tyler that is mainly in focus or taking control of the scene because as a whole fight club is a rather childish idea as it is just a place to fight with other people to make them feel secure in their own masculinity and sexuality, so this would be a perfect time for the id to take control. Marla could be a representation of the superego, as she is the one who tries to balance the Narrator and his thoughts about Tyler. When Project Mayhem is about to go down Marla turns up at the house looking for Tyler but the Narrator shouts at her about Tyler not being there and she leaves knowing that as the superego she can no longer balance out the thoughts provoked by the childish behaviour of the id/Tyler. The superego is meant to control the id's childish impulses, so in this theory Marla is meant to control Tyler's impulses, which is why it's Marla and Tyler that have sex rather than Marla and the Narrator as it would be Tyler – as the id - that has the sexual impulses, due to selfish nature of the id and the need of self-satisfaction and being driven by the need of pleasure, which Tyler/id gains from sex with Marla/superego.  

To conclude, due to Fight Club being a polysemic film both the crisis of masculinity and the Freudian approach allow a deeper understanding of the film and the happenings of the film. The crisis of masculinity explains why the Narrator went to the self-help groups, why fight club came about, and how fight club helps hide the questioning of sexuality. Yet the Freudian approach towards this film allows a deeper understanding to the relationships between the Narrator, Tyler and Marla and how they all integrate and work with and against each other. 

Would Tim Burton's use of a gothic style in his films make him an auteur?

Item 1: Corpse Bride (2005)

I chose this as my focus film because it shows how Burton uses his well known gothic style in order to give the film and eerie yet romantic feel, this is done widely though his use of mise-en-scene and characters. The main characters in this film Victor and Emily both strongly physically visualise the gothic influence Burton has for his films. In this film Burton based it off a 19th century Russian folktale; a young man (Victor) accidentally pledges his wedding vows to a corpse bride (Emily) 

Item 2: Edward Scissorhands (1990)

This film also shows Burton's gothic influence when directing, through using his own personal feelings from his teenage years he created the character Edward Scissorhands (Johnny Depp) who is seen as an outcast throughout in the perfectly perfect suburban neighbourhood; Edward portrays the impulses Burton had of wanting to touch and communicate but nothing able to though Edward literally could not touch or communicate due to the situation of having no hands. The use of gothic influences is used to show the barrier between Edward and his want to communicate with the other neighbours but not actually being able to.


Item 3: Sweeney Todd (2007)

Sweeney Todd shows a traditional Victorian gothic style which applies to Burton's use of gothic influences in his films. After being wrongly found guilty of a crime Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp) was sent to Australia, 15 years later he returns as Sweeney Todd and eager for revenge, he teams up with Mrs Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) and uses the unfortunate who enter his barber shop as meat for her pies. With this being set in Victorian England the gothic influence that Burton usually directs with works perfectly with the plot and era of the narrative.

Item 4: Theories of authorship – John Caughie (Book)

I chose to use this book to help me with writing my presentation script because it discusses what auteurship is and how relevant the term is; I feel this will be very useful for quotes when I’m trying to prove my point of Burton being an auteur in my presentation script.

Item 5: Film Studies - Andrew Butler (Book)

I chose to use this book as an item to help me when writing my presentation script excuse it describes the auteur theory which is what I'm trying to find out, whether Tim Burton is classified as an auteur because of his distinctive gothic style that tend to run through many of his films. Thus, I think this book will extremely helpful to quote from in my presentation script.

Item 6: Tim Burton (March 2003)

This post on Senses of Cinema gives a wide range on information on many of Burton's films and his style, directing and mise-en-scene. I think this will be useful to reference when trying to prove a point in my presentation script.

Item 7: The Influences and the Gothic Style of Tim Burton (January 2012)

This blog post on animationbegins.wordpress.com clearly states Burton's influences that encourage his gothic style in film making and how he got into the world of directing. This blog post will be extremely useful for quotes when writing my presentation script as it has very usable quotes from Helena Bonham Carter who has not only worked with him on multiple occasions, she is also his partner. 

Item 8: Tim Burton: 'I've never made a scary movie' (October 2012)

This article on the BBC News website will be very helpful when it comes to writing my presentation script as it states that although the dark and eerie appearance of Burton's films may put off some people from watching or letting children watch his films that his films are made to project personal experiences, especially in the case of Frankenweenie which is the film talked about in this article; and when he makes the films they aren't intended to be 'scary'.

Item 9: Directors' Trademarks: Tim Burton (December 2014)

This article on cinelinx discusses about the trademark of Tim Burton's films that make them easy to identify. It explains how its not just the mise-en-scene that gives off a gothic vibe, its also the characters look and the character's personalities. This article will be helpful when finding quotes to put into my presentation script as it has a variety of different points that relate to answering my question.

Item 10: Auteurs: 7 Movie Directors Who Have Their Own Unique Style (August 2015)

(Number 5) I chose this online list of auteurs because it offers information on not only does it mention a silent film that has influenced a number of his films and the German expressionist film maker Fritz Lang but also what it is about his film that make them so recognisable to an audience. These features of the list are what made me believe that this item will be useful to pick out quotes from when I need them for my presentation script.

Item 11: A Dark Auteur - film review blog (May 2009)

This online review of Tim Burton's directing discusses the gothic look of Burton's films and how he creates it and why he uses the gothic influence and look as a juxtaposition to the other aspects in his films. This review will be helpful when I'm writing my presentation script as it has a lot of information that will be useful when finding out quotes that will aid in answering my question.


Item 12: Tim Burton: From Visionary to Iconic Director (March 2010)


This video on watchmojo.com's YouTube channel discusses the way that although Burton didn't start out as the easily identifiable director with his gothic presentation it is how he gained recognition in the film industry by submitting his own short side projects to film festivals, that have now lead to the success as a director he has now. I feel as though this will be useful to an extent when I'm looking for quotes and pieces to put into my presentation script.

Item 13: Auteur of the Week: Tim Burton (August 2010)

This online blog post I feel will be helpful when I'm looking for quotes and ideas for my presentation script because it offers information that with help me progress the points i'll be making throughout my script. As it states points that on my own I would not think of when discussing Burton's work as a director such as the marketing of the merchandise related to his films and how distinctive Burton's style is and how he makes it almost feel as if the world he has made is real.

Item 14: The Imagination of Tim burton (May 2010)

I think that this online article on Asethetica Magazine will be helpful to me when I'm writing my presentation script because it mentions his stop motion films and how he's made the aesthetic suit his own style as well as mentioning how Burton expresses feelings and emotion through the use of cinematography rather than straight out saying it in the dialogue, especially in films like Edward Scissorhands.

Item 15: Tim Burton: The Rolling Stone Interview (November 2015)

This interview with Rolling Stone offers a lot of information that will be useful for quotes when I write my presentation script, as it offers more of an insight to Burton's way of thinking when directing a film and how he connects to the characters in the films; I feel as though these connections and feelings he has towards them makes the filming more personal thus making the films run certain way alongside each other without any kind of legitimate connection other than Burton being the director.

Item 16: Danny Elfman on Tim Burton, The Simpsons and his return to singing live (October 2013) 

This post on the Guardian online I feel will be helpful to me when I'm writing my presentation script because it notes on the relationship between Burton and Elfman, who has scored on many of Burton's films adding to the distinctive aura of Burton's films. With Elfman working on numerous Burton films it's now expected for the scoring of Burton's films to be eerie and weird like what Elfman has done in previous films.

Item 17:  Elfman on the Ups and Downs of his Relationship With Tim Burton (July 2015)

This article from the Huffington Post explains the relationship between Burton and Elfman as Elfman has scored all of Burton's major films apart from Sweeney Todd and Ed Wood. That alone gives information I'd use in my presentation script as it suggests that Burton uses the same sort of sound for all his films and using Elfman each time allows for the sound of his films to be somewhat the same without being identical.  


Item 18: Edward Scissorhands - Hollywood Backstories (August 2008)

This YouTube video gives a lot of insight on the making and backstory of Edward Scissorhands. With Edward Scissorhands being one of Burton's most popular films to date, it offers Burton's thoughts and reasons behind the making of Edward Scissorhands. I chose to this item because I feel like it will become useful when I'm writing my presentation script.

Item 19: The 10 Best Tim Burton Movies (So Far) (August 2012)

This post on Paste an online magazine, gives a countdown of what can be seen as Burton's best 10 films he had made at the point of publishing. I chose this post because as well as showing how the films that follow the most of Burton's convention all fall within this list it offers explanations as to why those films were chosen. I feel like this will be useful to me when I'm writing my presentation script as for Edward Scissorhands is offers a view from Burton himself.

Item 20: 107 Facts About Nightmare Before Christmas! (ToonedUp #52) (October 2015)

This video on ChannelFrederator YouTube channel offers information on Burton's influences and reasons behind certain choices behind The Nightmare Before Christmas which ultimately give an insight to Burton's directorial style.

Item 21: Top 10 Tim Burton Movies (August 2013)

This video from watchmojo.com will be very useful when writing my presentation script because it offers information as to why certain films are in certain places in the list and the three films I have chosen to discuss are all in the countdown list thus I will be able to use the video to help prove my point.

Item 22: The History of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2008)

I think this post on timeout.com will be useful for quotes and information when I’m writing my presentation script because it gives the background to the ‘legend’ of Sweeney Todd and I feel this will be helpful when I’m discussing how Burton brought the legend to life in his film adaptation.

Rejected Items

An Analysis of Tim Burton's Work (blog)

I rejected this item because it doesn't give any helpful insight for me to be able to use it to answer my question in my presentation script.

Interview: Tim Burton (Slant magazine)

I decided to reject this item and to not use it for my presentation script because it doesn't offer any information I'd need to answer my question, I feel there's no relevant information to do with his distinctive style of directing.


Tim Burton: A Look Inside His Visual Imagination (Open Culture)

I rejected this item because it didn't offer me the information on Burton's directorial style I needed for my presentation script. 

Filmmaker Tim Burton Discusses His "Corpse Bride" (about.com)

I chose to reject this item because although it gives information about how Burton felt while film this in comparison to his other stop motion films and working relationships with Jonny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, I don't think it will be useful when writing my presentation script.

Dark Shadows Interview: Director Tim Burton (YouTube)

I rejected this video because it doesn't give the information I was looking for to help with writing my presentation script.