Thank you! :)

I originally started this blog as an assignment for coursework at university, with no other readers in mind than my lecturer. So I’m surprised and a  little overwhelmed by the amount of views and lovely comments I’ve received since starting this blog, so thank you very much to you all! I’m glad you’ve enjoyed reading it.

I finished this blog for the deadline at the start of May, and I just received my grade for it: a solid 2:1 (around a B), which I’m pleased with. I’ve enjoyed blogging, and since I’ve gathered interest in it I’m considering continuing during my second year.

By the way I’m sorry for the delay in replying to comments; since it was after the assignment deadline, I didn’t want to keep editing my blog until it had been graded.

The only thing is, all my posts so far were based on lectures I’d had in a module in my first year. If I do continue blogging, I’m not sure what I’d base it on as I’ll have different modules next year. I have some leftover notes from lectures I didn’t have time to write the first time round, so I could finish those for you. In the meantime I’ll try and think about other topics I could write about if I were to continue blogging.

Lauren x

World cinema – with ‘Nine Queens’ and ‘Goodbye Lenin!’

With the film industry largely dominated by Hollywood, it can be difficult for other films to try and break through, because of several assumptions people make about world cinema.

One reason could be because they often have a non-English language, which some people might see as a barrier. World cinema is also foreign in the terms that it breaks mainstream Hollywood conventions, so people aren’t used to different cinema styles as it offers a different kind of viewing experience. It is also less commercial than Hollywood, meaning that it gets less advertising so people aren’t as aware of world cinema films.

But although world cinema involves cinema that’s not Hollywood-esque, yet is still globally popular, national cinema is also a significant notion. It’s a way of speaking about your nation, and national and cultural specificity within the film.

The Argentine film Nine Queens (Bielinsky 2000) has had success on both a national and transnational cinema basis.

In terms of national cinema, it’s very Argentine-centred. All of the production processes e.g. the writer-director Fabien Bielinsky, the cast and crew, and the financing were Argentinian. It represents Argentina issues of the 1990s, including globalisation, western influences, economic issues and contemporary Buenos Aires of the time. It features significant locations around Buenos Aires and Argentina e.g. the hotel, the gas station and the bar, mixing elements of old and new. On a transnational basis, Nine Queens became part of a new wave of Latin American urban dramas. It was very successful on international film festival circuits, and as a result it was remade in the US in 2004 for an American audience.

The German film Goodbye Lenin! (Becker 2003) was also successful on a national and international level.

Filmed in noticeable locations around East Germany, it features major events and issues that occurred in Germany, such as the dilemmas German people faced during the East/West Germany divide because of the Berlin Wall, and the consequent events that the fall of the Berlin Wall brought about. It won 32 awards around the world, including a Blue Angel award at the Berlin International Film Festival and one at the US Comedy Arts Festival, and was nominated for 14 others including one at the BAFTA Awards and one at the Golden Globes Awards.

Bibliography:

Becker, W., 2003. Good Bye Lenin!, Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0301357/.

Bielinsky, F., 2000. Nine Queens, Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0247586/.

Authorship – with ‘Touch of Evil’ and ‘Sherlock’

There is a theme of authorship in some film or television programmes, when their authors can be recognised just through common themes or traits within their texts.

This was a product of World War 2, as France couldn’t receive American films as before so they made more of their own. This meant that people saw lots of films with the same directors who imposed their own world views on the materials, and recognised that they had their own signatures throughout their films.

A major film ‘auteur’, as these directors became known as, is Alfred Hitchcock. His films became widely known and recognised for his attention to detail and foreshadowing, and themes such as innocence/guilt and distrust of authority. Tim Burton is an example of a more modern auteur. His films tend to feature gothic themes; frequently featuring the same actors i.e. Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter; and enigmatic characters.

The director Orson Welles also has specific traits and characteristics throughout his films, for example in Touch of Evil (Welles 1958).

He had an extensive theatre acting background, which led to one of his traits in his films is having more than one thing happening in a shot, giving it a deeper focus. This is certainly true of Touch of Evil, as there is a famous opening tracking shot which moves to focus on multiple things happening in the scene. Common themes in his films include rivalry between characters with one being destroyed by the other, and loyalty and betrayal. Again this is featured in this film, with conflict between a police detective and his sergeant partner, ending with them killing each other. It also features black and white contrast and extreme shadows, which are frequently featured in other films of his.

Another example of authorship is Steven Moffat’s television work. Being a writer, several traits of his appear throughout his own programmes, e.g. Sherlock (McGuigan 2010).

A lot of his stories are based around previous works or events, which he develops into his own. This is true of Sherlock, being a modern-day version of the original novels. Another characteristic is that his more recent work tends to have become darker and spookier compared to his earlier work, which applies to Sherlock, being about a consulting detective investigating sinister cases. And with Sherlock being a mystery drama it usually keeps the audience guessing about what will happen with complicated, detailed plots, another trait of Moffat’s.

Bibliography:

McGuigan, P., 2010. Sherlock. Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1475582/.

Welles, O., 1958. Touch of Evil, Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052311/.

Documentaries – with ‘Aileen: The Selling of a Serial Killer’ and ‘Ancient Egypt – Life and Death in the Valley of the Kings’

Documentaries can be used for a variety of purposes. They are useful for informing people about different aspects of the world; they can be used as propaganda, arguing one side of a point of view and attempting to get others to agree with them; and they can change people’s views of the world, to name a few.

Six documentary types can be identified, which were created by Bill Nichols in his book Introduction to Documentary (Nichols 2001):

• One of them is the expository mode, which features narration directly addressing the viewer and has a direct relationship between the images and the voice-over.
• The poetic mode focuses heavily on the visuals and the rhythmic qualities of the film.
• The observational mode is non-interventional of the documentary’s subjects, simply filming them and the events that happen.
• The participatory mode features the acknowledged presence of the camera and crew, with the film-maker speaking directly to his or her subjects.
• And in the performative mode the film-maker appears on screen, with their interaction is often the central issue.

The pictorial and aural aesthetics of a documentary are significant when analysing documentaries. There is a difference between “looking through” images, as in treating them only as a window on the world; and “looking at” images, appreciating their look more. Aspects of aural aesthetics include the importance of voice e.g. accent, class, background and authority, creating different personas within the documentary whether it’s the subjects or the narration; different modes of address e.g. voiceover, address to camera, conversations and interviews, as they all affect how the audience relates to the subjects; and music, creating different atmospheres or moods to enhance the visuals.

The documentary Aileen: The Selling of a Serial Killer (Broomfield 1994) is an example of a performative documentary, as the director Nick Broomfield is integral to its narrative.

He places “himself and the producer of the film in the story, as a way of making sense of the event”, which leads to “a more investigative and experimental type of filmmaking” (Broomfield n.d.). This is true of this documentary, with Broomfield interviewing Aileen Wuornos and her adopted mother himself throughout it.

The two-part TV documentary series Ancient Egypt – Life and Death in the Valley of the Kings (Hunt 2013) is an example of the expository mode of documentary.

The presenter Joann Fletcher directly addresses the audience, with a palpable relationship between the pictorial and aural aesthetics as she shows the audience different aspects of ancient Egyptian life while explaining them.

Bibliography:

Broomfield, N., 1994. Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer, Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103634/.

Broomfield, N., Bio. Nick Broomfield. Available at: http://www.nickbroomfield.com/Bio.

Hunt, I., 2013. Ancient Egypt – Life and Death in the Valley of the Kings. Life. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01538hs.

Nichols, B., 2001. Introduction to documentary, Bloomington, Ind: Indiana University Press.

Texts and subtexts – with ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and ‘The Ring’

A text has an obvious meaning or plot of what it’s about; what you can visibly see on screen. Sometimes they can also have a subtext – a hidden meaning that isn’t stated or shown but are otherwise there in the film or programme, with the obvious meanings standing in as a visual metaphor for the subtext.

The horror genre makes great use of subtext in films or TV, making the obvious frightening subjects seem a lot scarier to try and get a physical reaction from the audience. Often it isn’t usually the actual monster that we’re scared of e.g. vampires or werewolves because they don’t exist, but it’s the deeper meaning applied to them that we can then apply to real life that makes them scary. Some horror films took advantage of some events that frightened some people and happened during that time, and based their subtexts around those to scare their viewers. An example of this is from as early as 1931 with Frankenstein (Whale 1931), as it played on the concern of the increase in the number of tramps during the Great Depression in the 1930s, and so embellished Frankenstein’s monster with some traits a tramp might have. This subtext gave the character of Frankenstein’s monster a deeper meaning to scare their viewers more. Another example of this is from The Exorcist (Friedkin 1974) . It came out just after the teenage revolution in the 1960s, which “saw the birth of the teenager and life was never the same again” (Anon 2003), so a lot of the fear created when people watched the film in that time was not about a girl becoming possessed, but the subtext of the parents watching being scared of what their children can do.

There are some common horror ‘monsters’ which have specific subtexts that can be applied to everyday fears, instead of just the creatures being the main scary attraction. Subtexts that can be applied to vampire films include darkness and unseen, unnatural things; unfamiliarity and strangers; and sexual fears. Werewolves are also regularly featured as horror creatures, and subtexts for them include a fear of what we’re capable of and what we’re not in control of; changes in your personality and of your unconscious mind. Ghosts in horror films tend to represent subtexts and fears of death and regret, with the past physically coming back to haunt you.

The American programme Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Whedon 1998) makes great use of subtext.

Buffy takes the fears of young adults, such as relationship and school problems, and gives them supernatural metaphors which blow them out of proportion, making it seem scarier. This can clearly be seen at the start of the episode ‘Innocence’ from season 2. Buffy had had an intimate moment with her vampire boyfriend Angel at the end of the episode before, and lost her virginity to him. However a curse put on him means that he loses his soul after experiencing a moment of true happiness, so when this episode begins the curse takes hold; he goes missing and meets with his old vampires who are intimidating Buffy and her friends. When he comes back Buffy notices the change in his behaviour, and immediately comes to the conclusion that his cold and distant behaviour is due to their intimacy the night before. The supernatural elements of Angel’s vampire transformation in this scene emphasises the subtext of Buffy’s apprehension of their relationship.

The Ring (Verbinski 2002),  is another example of the way subtext is used to scare the audience further, a horror film about a journalist investigating rumours about a videotape that kills people a week after they’ve watched it.

One of the biggest subtexts I think is prominent in this film is the fear of harm coming to your family or friends, as the journalist’s son accidentally watches it so she races to remedy his curse. And the inevitability of death is another subtext, as the people who watch it can’t get rid of their curses unless they make a copy of the video for another person to watch, therefore cursing those people too.

Bibliography:

Anon, 2003. My Generation: The Rise of the Teenager. BBC. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nationonfilm/topics/family-and-community/teenagers.shtml.

Friedkin, W., 1974. The Exorcist, Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070047/.

Verbinski, G., 2002. The Ring, Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0298130/.

Whale, J., 1931. Frankenstein, Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021884/?ref_=sr_5.

Whedon, J., 1998. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Innocence. Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0533448/.

Film and TV representation – with ‘Modern Family’ and ‘The Dark Knight’

Representation is a major issue in film and television, as it can be applied to many subjects in them e.g. characters/people and their gender, sexuality, age and race; places, objects and events to name a few. As the text and the subjects within them are a constructed reality, the creators have complete control over how the subjects are represented as on screen.

If the creators get the representation right, then they’d hope that their audience will interpret the text and the representations within it as a ‘preferred reading’, as “the producers can position the audience and thus create a certain amount of agreement on what the [representation] means” (Wilson 2000). However, this can be difficult to achieve. Not everyone will interpret a representation the same way, because there are different factors which affect how a viewer will read the representation e.g. their cultural background, their viewing context, where they’re watching the text and who with etc.

There are several questions that a viewer could ask themselves while watching a text to help them think about what the subjects are representing. These include:

• What is being represented?
• How is it represented? Using what codes/conventions?
• How is the representation made to seem natural/unnatural?
• Why are they there? Narrative function, preferred reading(s)?
• Whose representation is it? Whose interest(s) does it reflect?
• Who is the representation aimed at? How do you know?
• How did you respond to the representation? Was your response different to others? How do you account for the differences?
• What other representations could it be compared to?

Representation can also be seen as a process, beginning with reference, who/what is being depicted and who/what it’s based on; then production, including extra textual information and other things seen in the scene (e.g. mise-en-scene) that can contribute to a representation; and reception, the influence on the interpretation and the factors involved.

Stereotypes are commonly found in representations, being a standardised, simplified textual picture or attitude. They are handy for creators because less screen time is spent showing the audience what they’re like, as the audience are already familiar with a stereotype. However, that does mean that some stereotypes are shown everywhere and are easily recognised, so it can be hard to break away from them. It can be refreshing to show a stereotype being broken or moved away from in a film or television programme.

In the first episode of the TV programme Modern Family (Winer 2009), there is a range of representations.

A major one is the representation of age. One of the young boys in the show, Luke, is portrayed as immature and childish. He mocks his sister having a boyfriend, whereas the other young boy, Manny, presented is more mature. Rather than thinking that relationships are repelling, he has a crush on an older girl, and tries to ask her out. Also, Manny’s mother Gloria and her husband Jay struggle with how people react to their age differences. While watching Manny at a football match, Jay was mistaken for Gloria’s father, and Jay later decides to buy some new clothes to try and appear younger.

Gender is also represented in this episode. Claire and Gloria are less stereotypical representations of women, with Claire taking control in family situations and Gloria is very outspoken and overenthusiastic. Phil, Claire’s wife, is also perhaps less stereotypical of men, with Claire instructing him with what to do.

The film The Dark Knight (Nolan 2008) has two main characters of the opposite gender, who themselves represent different male and female characteristics.

Rachel, Bruce Wayne’s love interest, is independent and has a successful law career, although she does play the part of helpless damsel in distress throughout the film. Bruce Wayne shows a range of characteristics through his different personas. When he appears as himself he’s represented as an arrogant billionaire, owning flashy gadgets, cars and a helicopter. However his Batman alter-ego shows a completely different side to him. He’s physically strong and powerful, with strong moralities about good and evil and compassion for victims of crime.

Bibliography:

Nolan, C., 2008. The Dark Knight, Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/.

Wilson, K., 2000. Audience. Mediaknowall. Available at: http://www.mediaknowall.com/as_alevel/alevkeyconcepts/alevelkeycon.php?pageID=audience.

Winer, J., 2009. Modern Family. Pilot. Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1444504/.

Fantasy and the Fantastic – with ‘Awake’ and ‘Narnia – The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’

Fantasy as a genre is “the imagining of things that do not exist in reality” (Oxford University Press 2004), and is usually linked to other genres such as horror, science-fiction and adventure.

Like realism, fantasy can be identified in different ways. Form, style, subject matter and tone can all present fantasy, but fantasy is most commonly used as a narrative or a thematic device e.g. featuring alternate realities or manipulating time and space, or through iconography frequently associated with fantasy films and programmes. This can include magic and mythology, the use of special effects or Computer Generated Imagery to create a fantasy world, and in language unique to the film or programme e.g. in names of characters or places.

Animation is often used to show fantastical films or programmes. Anything can be created on-screen, so it’s easier to design imaginary worlds and creatures with animation rather than struggling to make a physical version in reality. Impossible physics can also be implemented in animations rather than reality e.g. manipulating gravity, size and mortality to suit the text.

But where does realism end and fantasy begin? Although we can view these as opposing ideas, i.e. realism representing reality and everyday life, and fantasy being imaginary and fictional, they can also co-exist together in fantasy texts, and often do.

An example of this is in the television programme Awake (Killen 2012).

It features a man alternating between two parallel lives following a car crash, but they both represent realism. Both of the realities bleed into each other as Mark, being a police detective, is able to solve crimes using information from both realities that would’ve been impossible to solve without. It also features unusual editing that breaks away from conventions, further separating it from realism.

The Narnia films represent fantasy in an entirely different way.

The first one, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (Adamson 2005), shows four children being evacuated during World War 2 to an old house in the countryside, and they soon discover an entire magical land in the back of a wardrobe. Although it features some elements of realism e.g. representing the events of World War 2 accurately with a bombing raid and evacuation, much of the film is entirely fantastical. It has elements of magic, with the Witch having a magical staff and Lucy, one of the children, having a bottle of magical liquid that can heal any injury. It features unusual names of places and characters that are unique to the fantasy world of Narnia, and it uses lots of CGI to create fantasy creatures and places e.g. talking animals, dwarves and the Witch’s palace.

Bibliography:

Adamson, A., 2005. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363771/.

Killen, K., 2012. Awake. Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1839683/.

Oxford University Press, 2004. The Oxford English minidictionary 6th ed., Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press.

Film and TV realism – with ‘The Celebration’ and ‘This Is England’

It can be hard to produce realism in film and TV. In fact, “realism is a stylistic choice. It is the decision to use artifice in order to emulate reality. Realism can never be real.” (Etherington-Wright 2011). But despite the fact that films and TV are mediated, the creators can choose to take some steps to make them reflect realism as accurately as possible.

Realism was first introduced when the Lumiere brothers produced their own camera in 1894. They made short clips of real-life events, such as factory workers leaving at the end of the day and a train coming into the station. It then evolved to the French Poetic Realism in the 1930s, which featured working class characters, authentic settings and long takes with little editing. Italian Neo-Realism came next between 1945-52, introducing location shooting, non-professional actors and ‘ordinary’ characters. British Social Realism, beginning in the 1960s with the British New Wave, focused particularly on ‘kitchen sink dramas’ and events and themes relevant to the time they were set in. Modern day realism features documentaries and factual programmes on all kinds of topics, soap operas about ordinary people, taboo subjects and with ongoing narratives, and reality TV, a combination of information vs. entertainment.

But what actually goes into making a text appearing true or real? This can be broken into 3 types of realism. Content is one, with real people or characters, settings and experiences being shown. Form and style is another, including the use of hand-held cameras, natural lighting, location shooting and natural performances. And subject matter and tone is another type that can be identified, about whether the text has relatable or controversial/taboo topics and a positive or negative tone.

In fact, a pair of directors were so passionate about realism in film that they created a film movement  called Dogme 95, and made a set of rules called the ‘Vow of Chastity’ to abide by “to combat predictable plots, superficial action and cosmetic technological trickery” (MovieMail.com):

1. Filming must be done on location.
2. Only diegetic music must be used.
3. The camera must be a hand-held camera.
4. The film must be in colour.
5. Optical work and filters are forbidden.
6. The film must not contain superficial action.
7. Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden.
8. Genre movies are not acceptable.
9. The film format must be Academy 35 mm.
10. The director must not be credited.

The Celebration (Vinterberg 1998), a Danish film, was the first Dogme 95 film produced and so follows the set of rules above.

It is filmed with hand-held cameras on location instead of within a studio, and it is in colour and doesn’t feature filters. The events are chronological and realistic instead of superficial, and it doesn’t fit into an alternative genre than drama. Only diegetic sound and music is used, and the director is not credited in the film.

It also features more general factors of realism, including content realism like featuring realistic characters and settings, using handheld cameras and natural lighting, and relatable topics like family ties and conflict as well as controversial ones like abuse.

This is England (Meadows 2007) is a British social realism film, and also features different types of realism.

A lot of the realism created is through the content of the film. It features real people, as it is based on the director’s life experiences from when he was younger and real people he knew. Even the main character’s name, Shaun Fields, is a parody of the director’s name, Shane Meadows. It also references real events that happened at the time it was set, like a montage of archive footage from 1983 at the start of the film and further references to the Falklands War and The National Front throughout it. These all help to make the film look true-to-life, as it is based on real events. The film’s form and style are used to create a realistic feel. It’s shot on locations and uses lighting naturally occurring within the film. It also features several little-known or non-professional actors which enhances the realism. The themes are relatable, for example the loss of a parent and bullying, which makes the film easy for the audience to relate to their own lives. And there are some controversial themes too, such as violence and racism, which show the social unrest of the time.

Bibliography:

Etherington-Wright, C., 2011. Understanding film theory, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Meadows, S., 2007. This Is England, Available at: http://www.imdb.co.uk/title/tt0480025/.

MovieMail.com, A Beginner’s Guide to Dogme 95. Movie Mail. Available at: http://www.moviemail.com/film-shop/collection/509-A-Beginner-s-Guide-to-Dogme-95/.

Vinterberg, T., 1998. The Celebration, Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0154420/.

Film and TV genre – with ‘Let The Right One In’

Genre is a common way of categorising media texts. Everyone knows the difference between horror films, sci-fi programmes and chick flicks. But genre goes deeper than simply naming different categories.

Genre is useful for the TV and film industry – it gives creators ideas about the structure and style of programmes by following genre conventions. By advertising the film/TV programme a certain way, marketers can appeal to a specific target audience who are interested in the genre it’s promoted as, and schedule it to attract a particular audience. The more niche the audience is, the easier it is to mould the film/programme around their tastes. And because the audiences are interested in that particular genre they’ll want to watch it and talk about it with other fans, therefore spreading awareness about it.

Films and TV programmes also have textual components from which the genre can easily be recognised. One of the major ones is the setting; the place where the text’s events are happening is a major giveaway e.g. a sci-fi film might be set in space or in the future. Iconography is signs and symbols we associate with certain genres, so they can give hints about the genre, for example in an action film we could expect to find iconography such as car chases, explosions and guns. The tone or style of a film or programme could also give away the genre. A children’s show would typically be bright and colourful to attract viewers of a young age, while a supernatural programme might have a darker, more sinister tone with low-key lighting.  Stereotypical characters can also be found in certain genres. In horror young women and teenagers are usually victims, while men/children/other beings are usually the ones scaring the victims in the films.

The Swedish film Let The Right One In (Alfredson 2008) has obvious conventions of the horror genre. It was marketed heavily as horror, with the main colours on the DVD cover being stereotypical horror colours – red, black and white.

The red usually signifies blood and danger within horror, and black could represent the unknown or the darkness of the film genre. The use of white also represents the cold setting of the film, and makes the black and red stand out better. It had reviews such as “vampire film”, “haunting”, and “best horror film”, and the film is described on the back of the DVD as being “brutal, bloody and tender”, and “disturbing and darkly atmospheric”, clearly advertising the film as horror. The film also has a 15 age certificate rating from the BBFC, which could attract a horror audience as it would be scary enough to prevent children under 15 years old from seeing it.

The film also has iconography that is associated with horror films. They are usually set in everyday places, making them scarier as the audience believe it can infiltrate reality. Let The Right One In is typical of this, as it features death and gore in normal places like homes, schools and parks. It also features typical iconography of horror, specifically vampire stereotypes. The vampire doesn’t physically age, needs to kill for blood, and can’t go out in sunlight. The tone is cold and creepy, set by the bright snow during the day scenes and the numerous night and sinister scenes. And although not all of the character roles are stereotypical of horror, some roles are conventional. The vampire is a child, which is similar to other classic horror movie ‘monsters’ like The Exorcist (Friedkin 1973) and The Omen (Donner 1976), and some of the victims that Hakan chooses to murder for blood for Eli are teenagers.

Bibliography:

Alfredson, T., 2008. Let the Right One In, Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1139797/.

Donner, R., 1976. The Omen, Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075005/.

Friedkin, W., 1973. The Exorcist, Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070047/.

Character and performance – with ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Gavin and Stacey’

Actors bring a film or programme to life with their performances of the characters. A lot of different factors influence how a character comes across on screen. One of them is how the character is written in the script. This is the beginning of the creation of a character, and is something for the actor to build on. The actual performance of the character is important, as it shows how the actor has agreed with the director to portray the character. Character conventions also play a part, as viewers will have expectations of what a character will be like. The character could follow or break a particular stereotype, so it would be interesting for viewers to see what they do. Background knowledge about a particular actor could also influence how an audience perceives their character. An actor could be typecast a lot, so the audience would know what to expect of their character when they see the film.

Additionally, there is a significant difference between the portrayal of a character on TV and in film. On TV, a character can gradually be revealed over the course of a series as the audience would be shown new aspects about them in each new episode. But in films the director has far less time to portray a character, so any character changes would be more dramatic and sudden. The character would undergo a transformation and gain self-knowledge throughout the film in a shorter time than TV.

In the book Engaging Characters – Fiction, Emotion and the Cinema (Smith 1995), three steps are introduced to creating a response from characters. One of them is recognition, which is “the spectator’s construction of character: the perception of a set of textual elements”(Smith 1995: 82), the act of turning what we see on screen into something we understand. Alignment is another, when “spectators are placed in relation to characters in terms of access to their actions, and to what they know and feel” (Smith 1995: 83), gaining access into the character’s world and seeing things from the character’s perspective. And allegiance is “the moral evaluation of characters by the spectator” (Smith 1995: 84), making certain judgements as to a character’s moral outlook of the world.

More basic information can also create a character, such as their name, key relationships with other characters, their back story, goals and desires, and their function within the narrative of the text. It is interesting seeing how much of a character can be created from the first episode of a series, for example in Breaking Bad (Gilligan 2008), we see the main character Walt undergo a huge change in his life which is what the series is based on.

He learns that he has cancer, so he begins developing drugs with a former pupil, Jesse, to make more money for his family. His backstory is that he’s lived the same mundane, stressful life, so with the news of his cancer he wants to make more money, and perhaps also look for more fun and excitement. His key relationship with Jesse, his former student, drives the narrative as the whole series is based on them being partners in drug-dealing from this first episode. Smith’s three steps of creating a response from characters can also be applied. He can be easily recognised as a character, as he’s originally an ordinary man trying to provide for his family and also working in a school, family and school being things everyone can identify with. We can align with his point of view, seeing how he has money problems with his family, and being told that he doesn’t have long left to live after being diagnosed with cancer leads to him being more impulsive, and so he begins making drugs as a result of these. And we see his moral outlook on the world – he cares greatly for his family, so he’d even illegally make drugs and risk getting arrested to provide for them.

Jesse is another protagonist in Breaking Bad. His key relationship with his former teacher Walt is the foundation for the whole series, which is established from the first episode. We learn about his backstory and goals from it, that Walt failed Jesse in chemistry years ago and that he only agrees to work with him because he blackmailed him into it. He also says that he makes drugs for the money. He can be recognised as a criminal, a rebel, which isn’t something everyone can identify with. This means that it can be interesting for an audience to see things from his perspective, as they might not be used to his alignment. And he’s a criminal because he makes a living from selling and using drugs, which again aren’t morals that everyone agrees with, but makes him a more unusual character to watch.

In Gavin and Stacey (Gernon 2008), the characters’ relationships are the narrative of the series.

About a young couple and their two families, we learn a lot about them just from the first episode like Breaking Bad. Gavin lives in Essex with his mum and dad, and grew up with Smithy, his best friend. Stacey lives in Barry, South Wales with her mum, and is best friends with Nessa. They often spoke on the phone at work, and agreed to meet in London with their friends, and end up being in a relationship. Their relationship is key to the series, as it brings their two families together and is the basis for the narrative. They have the same goals, to meet each other and start a relationship, which ends up being successful. The themes of love and relationships are widely recognised and relatable, and we get to see the events from both Gavin’s and Stacey’s perspectives, seeing how much the date means to the both of them and how much they want it to work. And we see how Gavin and Stacey have different morals to their friends i.e. about meeting people from the others’ cultural background. Gavin and Stacey are open-minded, but their friends mock the culture the others are from, especially Smithy, which is used to comic effect in the episode.

Bibliography:

Gernon, C., 2008. “Gavin & Stacey” Episode #1.1 (TV episode 2007), Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0921216/.

Gilligan, V., 2008. “Breaking Bad” Pilot (TV episode 2008), Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0959621/.

Smith, M., 1995. Engaging characters: fiction, emotion, and the cinema, Oxford : New York: Clarendon Press ; Oxford University Press.