Feminist Film Theory

Feminism can be described as a movement or a revolution that includes women and men who wish the world to be equal without boundaries. Feminists can be anyone in the population, men, women, girls or boys.

Feminist film theory is where women are being presented in films in a stereotypical roll. It reflects society’s view of women. Feminist film theorists can argue that cinema still only shows women for the gaze of the male audience.  
Female Stereotypes
Dumb
Bitch
Leader
Clueless
Damsel
Queen Bee
Evil
Sexual object
Mother
Housewife
Crazy Old Lady
In love
Scophilia
Scophilia is pleasure taken from looking. The male gaze is when women are presented as an image, whilst the man is the bearer of the look.
Femme Fatale
Femme Fatale characters are women who use their sexual power to trap male characters.
Female Character (Mary Shaw – Dead Silence)
Mary Shaw is the typical old lady witch character. She was a famous ventriloquist whose ambition was to make the perfect puppet. After one performance a boy in the audience shouted out that he could see Mary Shaw’s lips move. She then proved him wrong by making her and her puppet (Billy) talk at the same time. However the boy went missing the same night and Shaw was to blame. The villagers murdered her and cut out her tongue. Her final wish was to turn her body into a ventriloquist's puppet and to be buried with her 101 puppets. She then lived through her puppets. Mary Shaw is the stereotypical old lady who lives down the street that children are afraid to pass.

 

We can tell by the lighting and camera techniques how Mary Shaw is meant to be portrayed. The minimum lighting around her face creates a sense of mystery as we can’t see many of her features. There is also a spot light which follows her around the stage, this means that she is focus of the attention for us as the viewer and she is the one that the audience in the scene wants to see. The way the light is sitting in front of her creating a silhouette makes a black outline. The darkness that is the shape of Mary Shaw reflects the darkness that is in her and the puppets. A camera angle that is used is a very high shot with Mary Shaw looking down on her audience and the audience looking up at her. This shows that she is more superior as everyone else.

 

Queer Cinema/Theory within a Horror

Queer cinema is a term that I used for films that show or discuss gay or lesbian experiences. Films that show stereotypical roles of gay and lesbian characters is what is meant by queer theory. However they tend not to show their actual lives and just focus on them as the character. These types of films are still influencing the audiences and public as they are still lead to believe gay and lesbians act like these stereotypical characters in real life. Films are considered to be queer if they have not actually acknowledged homosexuality rather they have just suggested or emended it into the plot.
Stereotypical Homosexual Terms
Queen - A very flamboyant, effeminate gay man who can be considered a drama queen at times.
Drag Queen - Someone who dresses up as a woman but is still a man.
Sissie - A camp person who is not very masculine and is easily scared.
Butch - A women who is the masculine character within a lesbian relationship. She is very tom boy like.
Femme - The more female character within a lesbian relationship. 
Lipstick Lesbian - Slang term used to describe a lesbian woman who exhibits extreme feminine gender attitudes.
Soft Butch - A women who exhibits some stereotypical butch lesbian traits without fitting into the masculine stereotypes associated with butch lesbians.

Silence of the Lambs – Jame Gumb a.k.a Buffalo Bill
This character is both bisexual and transsexual. He dresses up as a woman and has been known to have relationships with men. Due to the fact that he skins the bodies of women so he can have his own female skin suit you could argue that he is also transgender as he is not comfortable being in his own skin. He has only one friend that he treats with respect and show love and affection to and that is his pet dog called Precious. This shows a stereotypical homosexual. The film Silence of the Lambs shows homosexual behaviour in other characters and not just in Jame Gumb. According to the book “Post-Theory: Reconstructing Film Studies By David Bordwell” Hannibal Lecter’s “fussy mannerisms” make him out to be portrayed as a “queen”

 

Urban Legend (1998)

Lighting Techniques

The lighting is very dark with a blue tint. There is also nearly no source of light apart from the car headlights. This creates a sense of path being lit up that they have to follow and the light it the only way out. The fact that the weather is bad with rain, thunder and lightning at the beginning shows that something bad is going to happen.

Camera Techniques
There is a high establishing shot of the car at the beginning. This shows the persons vulnerability. The quick zoom in on someone’s face at the point of scary moment shows the shock and emotion on the persons face and creates tensions and draws the audience in. The tension is also built on by the cuts becoming more frequently and a lot more jumpy.

Sound
Eerie music is played before something scary is going to happen. It starts of really subtle then builds up along with the tensions of the scene and the quicker cuts. This makes the audience feel uneasy and makes expect something jumpy to happen. Right before the scary moment happens however, the eerie music stops and the scene is silent making the audience feel relaxed again. Then a sound effect is played sharply to make the audience jump and draw them back in, this then finishes off the horror sequence.

Characters

The Killer

The killer is typically in clothes that doesn’t show any features, especially the face. The hood that they always wear over their head blacks out their face completely to leave the view in mystery as to who it is. Also the dark clothes they wear reflects the darkness inside of the. Also the fact that the killer was revealed to be main character’s best friend is typical of a horror and the way it all links up at the end as to why she is killing people and why it involves the main character.

Main Character - Brenda Bates
This is the one that no one believes. They witness most of the killings and they end up being the reason why people are being killed. They tell be people the killer and as the film progresses people usually give up on them and ignore them. They tend to do some investigation of their own and go looking for the killer. They normally make false actuations as to who the killer is. They also survive in the end but usually have a near-death experience before they get rid of the killer.

The Helper/Clever One - Paul Gardener
This character will usually assist the main character and help them work out the mystery. They are one of the only people who believes them throughout most of the film. The character in particular is a reporter for the college. He purposely goes around looking for clues and facts on the mysteries and the urban legends. This character writes the articles that people don’t want to read or believe in. In the end, they and the main charter, defeat the killer.

Non-Believer/Arrogant - Damon Brooks

This is often the male character. They come across as arrogant and superior over others. They act like they aren’t scared of anything and are very cocky. They convince other characters that they are over reacting and there isn’t anything to be scared of. These characters are usually the first to be killed, and that is exactly what happens in the film. At the start of the film the audience are reassured by this character with them being the voice of reason. But when they’re killed the audience will lose all sense of security.

Female Victim
We feel sorry for this character the most. Even though there is a lot death of characters in the film, this one affects the audience the most. She is seen as the vulnerable that we feel sorry for. She is also a bit ditsy and that makes us feel sorry for her she can’t help herself. They are usually blond and attractive. Their death doesn’t normally come first but when it does it is the most graphic and gruesome. This is exactly what happens in the film as she is one of the last to die. She becomes trapped by the killer and in the end has nowhere to run and accepts her fate. This exaggerates her vulnerability.

Key horror moments

Car driving on a deserted road - This shows the victims isolation and vulnerability.

False safety - She runs to the car to escape only to get murdered by the killer.

Disconnected phone - This is a classic convention of a horror. This emphasises her vulnerability as she can’t get help.

Weapon - There is always a weapon used in a horror. This is typically used by the victim or the killer.

Car ran out of fuel - This eliminates the victims escape route.

False Accusations - In most horrors the main character accuses someone who is close to them as being the killer. The audience believe this and automatically think this is the killer. They then save the day as the killer’s real identity is shown and the help the main character at the end.Urban Legend (YouTube)

Silence of the Lambs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discuss 3 points within the film where semiotics was being used. How did these relate to the genre?

In the opening scene I can denote that there is a sign on the tree, saying, “Agony, Pain and Love-It.” I can then connote that it gives the audience the idea what the film might be about. Also Clarice’s story of the screaming lambs and Hannibal asking is they have stopped screaming the icon which makes the title iconic. Hannibal Lecter is the Icon in the film and makes the film iconic. The F.B.I logo is a symbol and it symbolises safety and control.

Discuss in detail how the genre was communicated in the opening scene of the film using genre analysis.
The location was in a dimly lit forest. This shows isolation and gives the scene a creepy feel. There was a woman running and at first we are not sure if she is running away from something. She is also alone which shows vulnerability. There is a lot of sound such as heaving breathing, and running through leaves. There is also eerie and tension building music in the background.

How is the main female character portrayed in this film?

She is the main focus of the film. She is very strong character which contradicts other female stereotypes. However she is main involvement was to be used by the F.B.I to get information. She is subjected to a lot of stares and harassment. In some scenes she is considered an object rather than a person. She is very pretty and attracts attention from most of the males in the film.

How is queer theory relatable to some of the characters in this film?

Jame Gumb (a.k.a. Buffalo Bill) is the main antagonist in the film. He skins the bodies of women in an attempt to make a woman suit of his own. He is bi-sexual and transgender and known to have relationships with men. Not only does he want to wear women's skin, he wants to become a woman; he dresses in women's clothes and tucks his penis behind his legs to appear female. This shows he does not feel confident in his own skin and has to be in someone else’s. Also Hannibal’s fussy mannerisms show him as a queen.   

What was the most memorable scene for you from this film and why?
The scene where Hannibal escapes is the most memorable scene because it’s what the film leads up to. Throughout the whole of the film it is predictable that he will escape. The eerie – yet calm – music in the background keeps us as the viewer fixed and still relaxed as Hannibal is still calm and collected. Hannibal shows the classic traits of a psychopath, he appears to be normal showing no sign of emotion. As the viewer we are let into the secret that Hannibal is hiding something in his stomach as he forces is back up behind the screen.

It is then the usual procedure of the officers to bring in Lecter’s food and they hand-cuff him to the railings. We know that Hannibal is hiding something to pick the lock and sit and wait for him to escape. The reason why this is the most memorable scene for me is because of the way Lecter handled himself. There was no emotion shown as he was killing the officers. There was a glimpse of relief in his eyes when he was constantly hitting one of the officers over the head until dead. His plan of escape was very complex so we can tell that this was very well thought out by Hannibal and must have took some time. This also shows how who the film was leading up to this moment.

Any other comments?

From my own knowledge there is a bird called “The Starling” bird which Clarice’s last name. The starling bird is small yet strong. We can see how this relates to Clarice’s character when she steps into the elevator. She is surrounded by men towering over her making her look very small. They are all wearing red shirts whereas Clarice is wearing blue. This all relates to my earlier question about how the female character is portrayed.