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What are critical and contextual perspectives?

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What are critical and contextual perspectives?

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Critical and contextual perspectives in film.docx

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Semiotics analysis for beginners! | How to read signs in film | Roland Barthes Media Theory

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What is an Auteur? Auteur theory explained! Film & Media Studies revision

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Early filmmakers showed the world that a movie director could be an artist. But not every movie director. Because part of auteur theory is knowing how to define auteur directors. Before auteur theory, Directors were important, but the other factors were still more significant. Stars. Studios. Producers.

People referred to a 'Clark Gable movie' for example, because in the 1930's stars ruled the day. Auteur theory came in the early 1950's, and it changed all that. It shifted some power away from actors, producers, and studio moguls. It shifted power towards directors. Towards specific types of directors. And it ultimately led to a kind of director-crisis. We'll get to that later...First, let's define auteur and auteur theory.

auteur definition

What is Auteur Theory?

Auteur Theory is the idea that the director is the author and primary creative force behind a movie.

At first, it seems strange to call the director of the film the "author."

After all, Didn't someone else write it? Why isn't the writer considered the film's author? Well... we all know how Hollywood treats its writers...

Another reason is that scripts often change. So writers come and go.

Casablanca, considered one of the greatest movies of all time, has five credited writers. At least one more uncredited.

Film credits can be their own minefield to navigate, so if you want to know more on that check out this post on understanding film credits.

Back to "authorship"...

As much as everyone depends on the quality of a script the end product of a movie is a result of the execution.

And the execution?

That often comes down to the director. The director will be the one helping each department execute the script.

So if you ask who made a movie, the answer will invariably be:

The Director.

Auteur Directors

Not just any director...

Auteur theory states that the director is more than a conduit for the script. More than a conduit for the project.

The auteur director shapes every part of the movie. Their fingerprints are visible on every aspect.

Many directors, in fact, most, are NOT auteurs. Not according to Auteur Theory, anyway. There is a particular set of rules for defining a director as an auteur.

The auteur of a film is the film's true artist. The visionary behind it. The prime mover. But you can't have that credit just by being the movie's director.

Before we get into the rules, let's back up a moment. Who created all this thing in the first place?

origins of auteur cinema

Where does it come from?

Auteur theory comes from a French publication in 1954 of Cahiers du Cinema.

Cahiers definition is "book", or "notebook". The title loosely translates as "notes on cinema." The publication had been around since 1951. Then in 1954 Francois Truffaut, yes the soon to be legendary French director, wrote a scathing piece on the state of French movies at the time.

He held up as a far superior example, certain American films, and their directors.

In particular, he championed Alfred Hitchcock and Howard Hawks. It's no accident that a future filmmaker was the one to get the auteur theory ball rolling. Peter Bogdanovich would later spend years interviewing the great directors, celebrating auteur theory. He went on to make his movies.

American critic Andrew Sarris was the one who referred to Truffaut's manifesto as "Auteur Theory."

Film critic Andrew Sarris helped create the auteur definition

Truffaut famously claimed "there are no good or bad films. Only good or bad directors." Why?

The theory is that a director isn't necessarily a film artist. But an auteur is.

AUTEUR DEFINITION

What is an Auteur?

While the auteur definition in french is literally "author", in the dictionary it now reads:
"An auteur is a filmmaker whose individual style and complete control over all elements of production give a film its personal and unique stamp."
Creating meaning that only he can, using the tools of filmmaking, through the lens of his mind and personality.

A bad movie from an auteur was at least the work of an artist. The excellent film from an average director was not.

Good news Tommy Wiseau!

So why Hitchcock and Hawks? There were plenty other prominent name directors at the time.

Bigger, in fact. Even more celebrated.

The quick answer:

Hitchcock and Hawks seemed to have signature elements to all their movies.

In many ways Howard Hawks was the prototypical auteur.

Which brings us to this question:

auteur filmmaker requirements

What are the rules of Auteur Theory?

When Andrew Sarris took the auteur theory to the next level, he laid out three basic rules:

1. Basic Competency

"A great director has to at least be a good director." Which is to say that the director's movies must be technically competent.

You can't have an auteur who's movies fail to clear some of the fundamental hurdles.

Sorry, Tommy Wiseau...

2. Signature Style

"Over a group of films a director must exhibit certain recurrent characteristics of style which serve as his signature."

This one is pretty self-explanatory. If a director isn't doing this, then he's not an auteur.

You need to know it's Howard Hawks just by looking at it. Hawks is a great example because he made movies across genre. Hell, he practically defined every genre.

The gangster genre with the original Scarface.

Romantic comedy with Bringing Up Baby.

Westerns with Red River.

Adventure with To Have and Have Not and Only Angels Have Wings...

Hawks' oeuvre is one genre-defining classic after another. The common thread to each? The Hawks signature elements.

It's also interesting to note that Howard Hawks was not celebrated by his peers, this piece goes a little deeper on how auteur theory changed the perception of Hawks and why.

3. Interior Meaning

"Interior meaning is extrapolated from the tension between a directors personality and his material."

Hmm. Huh?

It seems what Sarris meant here was that the director's innermost soul must come through in the movie.

One of the only ways to know that is what the director went through to get the movie made. Did he have to fight hard against a studio for certain things? Or against the script? Are there specific moments that go beyond a familiar stylistic flourish? Moments that feel more like a little piece of that filmmaker up on the screen?

An example of this might be a moment distinct to the director, but that doesn't belong in the movie. An odd thing to celebrate... but more on that later...

Interior meaning is a tricky thing to get at with a director. How do we know what strange elements they came up with... or where odd little accidents?

That's the LAST rule, or guideline, to defining auteur directors.

That vagueness is what leaves open the great debate that can rage on and on...

best auteur directors

Who are Greatest auteur directors?

Think of it as a debate over who is the greatest one-on-one basketball player. Some people will say it's Michael Jordan. Some younger people might say Lebron James.

But the problem with those types of debates is that they cross an uncrossable distance of time and space. We can never see prime athletes matched up against one another across eras.

But...

We can judge great movies, from great directors at the height of their powers, against one another.

Auteur directors? Kubrick, Fellini, Welles, Ford, and Hitchcock

How does Spielberg stack up against Hawks? Scorsese vs. Ford?

Let the debates rage on!

Who's the better auteur Hitchcock or Tarantino?

Well if you ask me, a writer-director doesn't really fit within the auteur definition.

Why? Isn't a writer-director a much more obvious choice for an auteur?

Maybe.

But the strictest auteur definition applies to directors only, as they are the ones imbuing a written source with a unique artistic interpretation. In other words, an auteur director uses only their directing skill to create meaning.

Auteur or noteur?

Who are the best auteur directors?

So Quentin Tarantino really isn't an "auteur" in a classic sense . But Steven Spielberg could be. This goes against the assumption that an auteur is "artsy" versus a more commercial director like Spielberg who churns out audience-friendly mainstream fare.

To be clear: Wh y is Spielberg more an auteur?

Because whether he starts with a script about dinosaurs or the Holocaust, his stamp will be all over it.

Tarantino conceives of all his films on the page first. So, of course, his stamp is all over it.

This probably won't make Tarantino very happy. But it's the truth if you consider the classical source of the term.

Although, if you ask most people of Tarantino has a signature directing style, the answer would be a resounding "YES." But if you dig deeper, you could make the case that Tarantino's signature style is really found in the writing - and he upholds this writer's vision when directing.

It's okay Quentin! We still love you even if you're not a film auteur!

It's also part of the auteur backlash. Because this distinction is a bit silly.

Billy Wilder is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. He made movies in every genre, same as Hawks. His films have his signature qualities.

Wilder co-wrote most of them, if not all of them. In fact, he started out as a writer. This is part of why he was such a great filmmaker. You could make the case that he was a more "complete" storyteller than Hawks.

What about Paul Thomas Anderson? Or Wes Anderson?

How can Hawks and Spielberg be on a auteurism scale that excludes Wilder and Tarantino?

Hmm. This type of endless coffee shop debate is what makes auteur theory so interesting and timeless.

AUTEUR THEORY HATERS

Why do some people hate auteurs?

Many people are not fond of the reductionist qualities of the auteur definition, or any similar theories.

Critic Pauline Kael led the charge against auteur theory. She and Sarris went back and forth over the subject.

Not before she poked some large holes in it.

John Huston, for example, was an excellent director of Hollywood's golden age who "gets no love" from the auteur theories and theorists.

Instead, he's passed off as having made actors films. Kael dismisses this as being arbitrary.

Other problems with the theory are that it seems to champion lesser films. A bad movie by a great director is notable because it has some of his signature elements.

Another quality that has come under fire is the idea of the interior meaning.

If a director forces his 'style' upon a movie where it might not belong, is he a "good" director?

The auteur theory says yes.

DEFINING AUTEUR THEORY

Auteur theory endgame

The auteur theory was part and parcel of the first generation of cinephiles.

The study of film and film directors became more and more popular. Film schools sprung up.

This is John Ford. Does he look like he cares about auteur theory examples?

Early directors like Hawks and John Ford, saw what they did as something of a trade. Not an art form.

When Peter Bogdanovich followed them around with a notepad, they thought he was crazy.

The generation of movie fans that became directors started churning out the movies of the 1970's that would become classics.

Scorsese. Coppola. Friedkin. Altman.

Auteur theory breaking point

Auteur theory consequences?

Things reached a breaking point. Studios started handing these auteurs huge budgets, and some of the results were catastrophic.

After The Deer Hunter director Michael Cimino got a blank check from United Artists.

The auteur theory was starting to pay big.

But Cimino's attention to detail left the production in ruin. It bankrupted the studio. United Artists was sold to MGM.

Cimino's career never recovered.

Meanwhile, something else was happening in film. Other members of that generation made the first true blockbusters... Jaws in 1975 and Star Wars in 1977 showed Hollywood a better way to make money.

Auteur theory changed the way people think of directors and movies.

It went to some extremes at times, but the fundamental notion that a filmmaker is an artist comes directly from auteur theory. The idea that studying a director and his or her work can make you better also came out of it.

But there is a limit to what the Director's power should be. Without checks and balances in place, things can veer into disaster.

A production is a group effort. The finished product is the result of coordinating many artists and technicians. Boiling it down to one person and placing their influence above everyone else makes for bad movies.

The original auteurs themselves would agree.

Up Next

How to easily copyright a script

Auteur theory also applies to writers (or at least it should). And that means protecting your original written works. Next up, we'll discuss the easiest and most ironclad way to how to copyright your scripts.

Do you want claim credit over your own work? Then make sure to copyright your script ASAP. We'll show you how.

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The Ultimate Guide to the Best Auteur Directors

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A definition of auteur theory, what it really means, where it comes from, who are the best auteur directors, and why it all matters.

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Background

Introduce yourself to Queer Theory

So, what is Queer Theory?

Queer Theory basically says, "Hey, remember how we were all taught that blue is for boys and pink is for girls? And that 'normal' families have exactly one mommy and one daddy? Yeah, that's complete rubbish and we need to re-educate ourselves."

Before we get to some of the pertinent language and terminology, let's start with a Queer Theory definition.

QUEER THEORY DEFINITION

What is Queer Theory?

Queer Theory subverts traditional institutions of society that are based on the heteronormative model of human sexuality, and acknowledges the broad spectrum of sexuality, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

In other words, Queer Theory gives us the option of believing that Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie are a married couple rather than two platonic friends sharing an apartment.

So, Queer Theory subverts heteronormative power and messaging (e.g., "Queer bad/Straight good") by offering positive representations of Queer characters in media like television and cinema.

QUEER THEORY EXPLAINED

Queer Theory terminology

Let's continue with some terms we use to talk about Queer Theory. You've probably heard most, if not all, of these terms but it's important to establish these concepts as we move forward.

While historically a derogatory label, Queer Theory has reclaimed the word to acknowledge the wide spectrum of human sexuality and gender identity. The following video explains this really well.

Queer Explained

Heteronormative

In our society, we have been conditioned to see other humans as either male (masculine) or female (feminine), and heterosexual ("Straight"). As a result, we have been taught that sexual relationships are "normal" only when they exist between two people of the opposite sex.

To quote Eugene Wolters, "The ideas we have in our head about what constitutes male-ness, female-ness, and what constitutes "normal" are all socially constructed."

Queer Theory actively subverts this conditioning. In fact, some Queer people feel that Gay and Lesbian people are too "assimilated" into the heteronormative social construct.

Billy Porter * Queer icon

Non-Binary

Non-binary folks identify as neither male or female, Gay or Straight, masculine or feminine. Or they may identify as all of those simultaneously. Non-binary is also called genderqueer or genderfluid.

Queer Theory * Reading Group

Cisgender

The opposite of transgender. Someone who is cismale or cisfemale has had male or female sexual organs since birth.

EXAMPLES OF QUEER THEORY

Watch Queer Theory in action

Queer Theory shows us that there have always been Queer characters in cinema, though in the early days, Queer characters were often "coded" to be hidden in plain sight.

A Brief History of Queer Cinema

Until recently, openly Queer characters were nearly always portrayed as camp buffoons, predatory deviants, or tragically doomed to die before the final credits.

One notable exception is the film The Maltese Falcon(1941).

Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre) is introduced to the story as decidedly Queer. True, Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) takes advantage of Cairo's smaller size and roughs him up a lot. But Sam's abuse of Cairo has nothing to do with Cairo's Queer identity and everything to do with him being part of the criminal gang that tries to cheat, frame, and kill Sam.

Joel Cairo * The Maltese Falcon

Ma Vie En Rose

This Belgian-French film is arguably the best representation of transgender children ever depicted. 7-year-old Ludovic has always known she was a girl even though she was born into a boy's body. The film portrays the family's struggle to come to terms with Ludo's gender identity as they face being ostracized by their friends and community, and even Ludo's attempt at suicide to give her family peace.

Ma vin en rose

Ellen

The ABC sitcom Ellen had the title character, Ellen Morgan (Ellen DeGeneres), come out publicly. This made Ellen Morgan the first openly Queer lead character on network television.

It might be difficult to understand what a huge deal this was at the time. But both Ellen - and Ellen - broke through the Queer barrier and created space for other Queer characters to exist in mainstream media. Let's look at some of them.

Ellen Comes Out

Todd Chavez - BoJack Horseman

Todd Chavez (voiced by Aaron Paul) is one of the first openly asexual main characters. People who are asexual (called the "ace" community) don't experience physical sexual desire. The character's self-discovery was an important ongoing storyline.

Todd Comes Out * BoJack Horseman

Sherlock

The eponymous (Benedict Cumberbatch) in the BBC series of the same name was also depicted as asexual. While one could argue about why Sherlock is asexual - that his is a conscious choice ("I don't do that!") to keep his mind "pure" and undistracted - but the modern BBC version of Sherlock Holmes is asexual nonetheless.

Sophia Burset - Orange is the New Black

Sophia is one of the first transgender characters to be portrayed by a transgender actor (Laverne Cox). Sophia's story is one that helped a lot of people understand what it means to be transgender, and spotlighted the issue of being transgender and incarcerated.

Sophia Gets Attacked * OITNB

Pose

The FX network show isn't the first mainstream series where multiple characters are Gay, Lesbian, or transgender. But it is the first where all the Gay, Lesbian, and transgender characters are played by Gay, Lesbian, and transgender actors. This is a direct influence of the showrunners being Gay, Lesbian, and transgender themselves.

Withering Weeds * Pose

Steven Universe

The overtly Queer themes in this award-winning, animated sci-fi fantasy are important for Queer children learning to navigate their own sexual identities. Queer kids get both positive representation of loving relationships, as well as happy endings for characters they identify with.

Steven Universe Explains Queer Theory

Marshmallow - Bob's Burgers

Marshmallow (voiced by David Herman) is a transgender sex worker whom Bob (H. Jon Benjamin) befriended during his brief stint as a cab driver. Marshmallow has since become a recurring character and is always happy, friendly, and just as supportive of the Belcher family as they are of her.

Marshmallow is Beautiful * Bob's Burgers

In general, Bob's Burgers is a network TV show that routinely shows the Belchers to be unfazed by a character's sexual identity or sexual orientation, which is a stark contrast from the usual sitcom treatment.

Bob Gets Asked Out

Elena Alvarez - One Day at a Time

Elena's story is drawn directly from the personal experiences of the show's writers. As a teenager attending a Catholic high school, Elena goes through the stages of coming out to herself, coming out to her religious and conservative family, and coming out publicly.

Throughout this storyline, the show depicts Elena's family as being wholly supportive of Elena even while they may be privately confronting their own prejudices. More importantly, Elena is allowed to have the same relationship failures and successes as any other sitcom teenager.

Elena's Story * One Day at a Time

Bree - Transamerica

Transamerica (2005) uses the road trip genre to spotlight the numerous challenges transgender people face, not the least of which is the bureucracy they must wade through in order to receive sexual reassignment surgery.

And though Bree is portrayed by a cisfemale actor (Felicity Huffman), the character Bree is fully developed and three-dimensional without ever being reduced to a punchline.

Trailer * Transamerica

David Rose - Schitt's Creek

David's (Dan Levy) sexuality is never an issue in the entire CBC series. The comedy regarding his relationships is approached in the same way as that of his sister Alexis (Annie Murphy), a lot of which emerges from any sexually active adult living with their parents and siblings.

Let All Be With Us

In one storyline, besties David and Stevie (Emily Hampshire) discover that they're both dating the same guy, Jake (Steve Lund). David and Stevie argue over which one of them has to dump Jake, but eventually they both do when Jake suggests they all become a "throuple."

First I Love You

David ultimately finds true happiness with business partner and later husband Patrick (Noah Reid). Again, David's character arc is directly connected to showrunner Dan Levy being Queer himself.

Practice Queer Theory

Think about what we've learned

It's important to understand that demographics are rapidly changing. People understand and are more accepting of every stripe of human being than ever before, and inclusivity matters.

This opens up incalculable opportunities for new stories to be told and new characters to be revealed. And with the flood of new distribution points like Disney+, AppleTV, etc. the demand for content is higher than it has ever been.

Telling Queer stories in a realistic way is a natural progression of cinema, but it requires experience of and connection to the Queer community. That means hiring Queer writers to reveal those stories, Queer directors to bring those stories to life, and Queer actors to represent the real people whose stories are being told.

UP NEXT

How to avoid stereotypes in movies

In today's more progressive landscape, stereotypes in movies and TV are being identified and addressed like never before. Here are some tips on how you might recognize and avoid making any unfortunate assumptions and generalizations that lay the foundation of stereotypes.

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Queer Theory - How TV and Film Challenges Social Norms

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So, what is Queer Theory? Queer Theory basically says, "Hey, remember how we were all taught that blue is for boys and pink is for girls? And that 'normal' families have exactly one mommy and one daddy? Yeah, that's complete rubbish and we need to re-educate ourselves."

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Critical Perspective: Feminist Film Theory 

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Critical Perspective: Feminist Film Theory 

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Theory

Where did the male gaze come from?

What is the male gaze? Filmmaker and theorist Laura Mulvey first coined the term "the male gaze" in her seminal 1973 paper Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. Mulvey's essay, published two years later in Screen magazine, was written for an academic audience so it can be a little difficult to understand.

Let's try to break down her main points, one by one.

THE MALE GAZE

"In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female."

First of all, Mulvey was talking about how our society is structured by, and for the benefit of heterosexual men (i.e., "the Patriarchy"). Men are considered the "active" do-ers of the world, while women are expected to take a more "passive" role supporting the men and/or men's goals.

Bond's co-stars are passive helpers

In the context of cinema, it's mostly men who write the films we watch, mostly men who make those films, and it is men who are usually the target audience.

Therefore, men are usually given the lead in the stories themselves while female characters are assigned functions that are limited to serving the goals of those male protagonists.

Remember, Mulvey was writing an academic paper for an academic audience. So, when she talks about "pleasure in looking," she's referring to the notion (taken from psychology) that part of why we love movies is because we enjoy watching people without being seen ourselves.

While we may or may not agree with that idea, it's important to understand for getting into Mulvey's next point.

THE MALE GAZE

"The determining male gaze projects its fantasy onto the female figure... with [her] appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact."

"The determining male gaze" is what happens when we put it all together.

Men writing the films, men making the films, men being the protagonists, and men being the target audience all combine into a unified - heterosexual male - perspective of female characters.

In other words, we all been conditioned to adopt the male gaze because that is the way we were "raised" by traditional cinema.

THE MALE GAZE

"Traditionally, the woman displayed has functioned on two levels: as erotic object for the characters within the screen story, and as erotic object for the spectator within the [cinema] auditorium."

Female characters must perform their story function while also adhering to the heterosexual male sexual fantasy - though not always in a literal way. Simply being beautiful (or "sexy") is all that's needed.

Let's clarify with an example. In the following scene from, Gisele (Gal Gadot) and Han (Sung Kang) have been tasked with getting the bad guy's fingerprints.

This scene is a perfect illustration of what each aspect of Laura Mulvey's male gaze looks like in practice.

Notice how the very first thing Gisele does to accomplish her part of the mission is strip down to her bikini. Next, the camera shifts to super sexy slo-mo to catch each tiny movement Gisele's body makes - which gives us time to notice that many of the other women in the frame are just as scantily clothed.

A Woman's Job * Fast Five

Because this is Han's point of view, the camera lingers on Gisele's every move from a slight distance. But ultimately, we punch in on her bum because that's where the bad guy puts his hand - which is what Gisele wants to happen.

We accept all this because we know Gisele is in on the whole thing - that it's her idea, even. But in fact, the character of Gisele is being used to achieve something the male protagonist needs.

Now that we have a sense of what to look for, let's practice being able to recognize the male gaze.

Practice

Recognize the male gaze

We know that the male gaze objectifies female characters. But more importantly, the male gaze also reaffirms the power of the Patriarchy to use women as props in service of the heterosexual male narrative.

Mulvey quotes director Budd Boetticher

In other words, a female character doesn't have to be overly sexualized to be the object of the male gaze, Mulvey explains. What matters is that she incites (passive) the male protagonist to take action (active) toward his ultimate goal.

Mulvey wrote her essay some 50 years ago, so she was mostly referring to the Classical era of mainstream cinema. Let's look at an example that fits Mulvey's references a little better.

is a traditional family film that was released in 2019. Though 21st century Jasmine has her own goals and stands up for herself throughout the film, she is still objectified by the story and every man in it.

Princess Jasmine * Aladdin

To her Sultan father, Jasmine (Naomi Scott) is a precious artifact locked away for safekeeping. To the villain Jafar (Marwan Kenzari), Jasmine is a valuable commodity to be obtained for greater power and influence.

And to Aladdin (Mena Massoud), the hero, Jasmine is a prize to be won. Which he ultimately does, with the help of his trusty sidekick, Genie (Will Smith).

The other element of the male gaze we need to talk about is the camera itself. Where we place the camera, and what we include in the frame ( camera framing), is just as important to how we view female characters as the way they are written in the screenplay.

recounts the story of how multiple female on-air talent at Fox News came forward to disclose how they had been sexually harassed (or worse) by sexual predator Roger Ailes (John Lithgow).

Bombshell * Kayla's "Audtition"

Notice that, rather than placing the camera so the audience identifies with Kayla (Margot Robbie), the woman being victimized, the director's choice of camera placement - and particularly of framing - has us identifying with the sexual predator instead.

And let's compare these scenes from two different James Bond films.

In Die Another Day, Halle Berry's "Jinx" is objectified by both James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) and the camera in the same way as Gisele in Fast Five, including the sexy slo-mo.

Jinx Scene * Die Another Day

But when Bond himself emerges from the water in Casino Royale, there's no slo-mo, no binoculars. In fact, the cross cutting between Bond (Daniel Craig) and the woman with the horse (Catarina Murino) tells us that they make eye contact, not that she's ogling his body.

Okay, so now that we know what the male gaze looks like, even when it's not overtly sexual, what can we do to switch things up?

Innovate

Subvert the male gaze

We subvert something by taking away its power, especially in the context of a long-accepted social construct, like the Patriarchy. With this in mind, how can we subvert the male gaze in our filmmaking choices?

One way is to draw attention to it; and a good way to do that is by swapping genders. Take a role a woman always plays and cast a man instead.

Marilyn Monroe * The Archetypical Bimbo

For example, the Bimbo is a character women have been playing since films first had sound. What the Bimbo lacks in intellect is more than balanced out by her physical attractiveness.

But unless she's Marilyn Monroe, who made an entire career playing this character, the Bimbo usually has very little function in the overall plot.

She is sometimes the "love interest" (i.e., lusted after) for one of the male characters, but her main purpose in the story is eye candy for the male audience members.

Ghostbusters subverts the male gaze by casting Chris Hemsworth to play the Bimbo instead. Hemsworth's Kevin Beckman is the only male of the group, is lusted after by Erin (Kristen Wiig), and he's dumber than a box of rocks.

The Receptionist * Ghostbusters

Kevin also gets possessed in the final act of the film by the (dead) bad guy, Rowan - which is still very much a part of the usual male gaze tropes. Doing something to the "love interest" is a standard plot point that draws out the hero to the final confrontation.

Kevin Possessed * Ghostbusters

In other words, Rowan possesses Kevin, not because of anything Kevin personally says or does, but because it's a way to attack the Ghostbusters and force them into the final battle sequence.

As an added bonus, Rowan also revels in the experience of what it's like to be physically strong and attractive.

TROPE DEFINITION

WHAT IS A TROPE?

A trope is a story element (character, plot point, etc) that is so common, it's immediately recognizable. Similar to a cliché, but not necessarily with the same negative connotations.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle also does a good job of subverting the male gaze. In this story, a group of high schoolers are magically sucked into a video game where they appear as their game avatars.

This means casting adult actors to play teenagers. Jack Black plays the avatar ("Shelly Oberon") chosen by Bethany (Madison Iseman).

Bethany Learns to Pee * Jumanji

In general, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle calls out many of the tropes common in video games, not the least of which is how the male avatars are all fully covered while Martha's avatar, Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan), is wearing only a crop top and skimpy shorts.

In the following scene Martha is sent to distract the male guards so her friends can sneak into the aircraft hangar. They watch her from a distance waiting for their chance.

Martha's Sexy Dance Fighting * Jumanji

This scene subverts the male gaze on multiple fronts. First, because the teenage Martha has no idea or experience of how to be "sexy." So she does her best to imitate the tropes we've already discussed.

Meanwhile, the camera simulates watching her through binoculars, giving us her friends' perspective in the same way we saw earlier in Die Another Day. But unlike Bond, Martha's friends are not titillated by her body in the slightest.

In fact, they express concern for her well-being. What's more, the "non-player character" guards are totally ignorant of the male gaze and so are incapable of even understanding what Martha is doing.

Conclusion

Remember these things

So, let's recap. The main thing to remember about Laura Mulvey's male gaze is that it's the perspective of the heterosexual male fantasy.

In writing, the male is the strong, confident protagonist and the female characters are there to serve his story. Female characters can be overly sexualized objects of desire, or simply there to tend to his wounds and support him in reaching his goal.

In filming, the male gaze is represented by the camera. It lingers over the female body in ways meant to titillate both the male protagonist and the audience. It frames the female body in sections and dehumanizes her.

UP NEXT

How to avoid stereotypes in movies

The same way the male gaze promotes a certain ideology about females characters, other stereotypes also persist. Let's briefly go over the stereotypes that the film industry has perpetuated along with some films and TV shows that are redefining the cultural landscape.

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How Does the 'Male Gaze' Work and How Is It Subverted?

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What is the male gaze? Filmmaker and theorist Laura Mulvey first coined the term "the male gaze" in her seminal 1973 paper Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema . Mulvey's essay, published two years later in Screen magazine, was written for an academic audience so it can be a little difficult to understand.

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What is Genre in Film?

First, let's define genre

There are literally dozens and dozens of movie genres. And each of them have aspects that define them as a genre or subgenre. Before we dive into those, it's important that we first get a solid understanding of the genre definition.

GENRE DEFINITION

What is genre in film?

Movie genres are stylistic categories that organize films based on criteria such as the setting, characters, plot, mood, tone, and theme. A film's main genre category will be based on where the majority of the content lands. A sub-genre is a smaller category that fits inside a particular genre. Often this is a mixture of two separate genres, which known as hybrid genres. Genres and subgenres change over time and are informed by one another.

What is genre defined by?

Genre Characteristics

Setting

One of the more significant determining factors to a genre is setting. Setting is ultimately the time and place of a story. Setting is either outwardly articulated to us, or discretely suggested to us. It can be suggested by weather, clothing, culture, architecture, etc.

For example, if you close your eyes and envision an empty, dusty landscape with a saloon and a few stables, what genre does your mind immediately jump to? Odds are it's a Western.

What does genre mean in the Old West? * Quigley Down Under

If you envision space with a shuttle floating through it while planets gaze behind it, you might immediately think of science fiction. For more setting examples, don't forget to check out our blog post.

Setting can even be a character within a film that affects how we experience the story. This video by Now You See It dives into the importance of setting in storytelling and how setting can be an extension of a genre.

Settings are Characters, Too * Genre conventions

Setting is an important aspect of how a film might fall into a specific genre. A lack of intention with setting in a film can weaken a story and the audience's experience of the film. This is why an entire department is dedicated to fleshing out the details of a story's setting - the art department.

The art department is in charge of the production design of a film which directly affects the setting. Check out our video on production design to better understand what facets of filmmaking fall under this umbrella and how it impacts the construction of a film's setting.

Production Design Genre Characteristics * Subscribe on YouTube

Just like setting can determine a movie's genre, so can those who inhabit the setting - the film's characters.

What is Genre Determined By?

Characters

Even with a story, plot, and setting locked in, a film needs characters to execute the experience. Character tropes or stock characters are typically a tell-tale sign of a film's genre - not only physical characteristics, but internal characteristics as well. A character's desires, behavior, or personality may lend itself to a specific genre.

For example, in the crime genre, audiences have grown to love the anti-hero. An anti-hero is a narrative protagonist who is defined by their own self-interest and who generally lacks the qualities we expect from a hero.

Anti-Heroes: What Makes Them Different?

A character that is an anti-hero works incredibly well within the crime genre because they will ultimately have to make a choice between their own self-interest or the greater good, which is a story everyone loves.

Try thinking about the romance genre. Odds are there are a few tropes that come to mind. Perhaps the manic pixie dream girl, the bad boy, or the heartbroken are all types of characters that we see all the time.

There are numerous factors of a character that will lend itself to different genres. This may be what motivates them, the principles they abide by, or simply their age.

Characters alone, of course, do not define a film's category. They largely must fall within a specific type of plot (more or less) to really fall into a film genre.

Genre Conventions in Film

Plot

A plot refers to the main events in a story composed as a connected sequence of events. This is the execution of the chain of events that happen in a story.

While there are overarching plot structures that transcend categories such as the three act structure or the Hero's Journey, how these structures are executed within the plot is what can determine the film's genre.

For example, let's take a look at our beat sheet breakdown of Interstellar. In this video, we analyze how the film's plot utilized popular plot structure, but utilized big science-fiction ideas to dial in the familiarity while avoiding cliches.

To recap, while Interstellar can neatly be broken down into the Save the Cat 15-beat structure, the execution of these plot points is what makes it a science-fiction film. For example, the rising action becomes more sci-fi like when the stakes are raised to epic proportions, a common aspect of science-fiction.

Another way to look at this is how two films can both follow a traditional three act structure. How these films differ is determined by how specific aspects are executed such as the rising action.

Interstellar Beat Sheet

Say Film #1's rising action involves two characters going on a road trip together and slowly falling in love.

Film #2's rising action consists of a jewelry thief putting together a team for the ultimate heist.

Both film's abide by this plot structure, but the execution of the structure is what makes one a romance and the other a crime film. The execution of a film's plot will rely heavily on the story's backbone - the theme.

Genre Characteristics in Film

Theme

Every good film has a central topic or message within the story. This is the film's theme. A theme is often called the backbone of a story because it is essentially what the audience will walk away with once the credits roll.

Different film genres often cover the same themes. This in and of itself is not inherently bad storytelling as long as the film avoids consistent cliche. For example, romances typically have themes focused on love, science fiction may work with themes centered hubris, and action films may deal with themes around vengeance.

In this video, we looked at Logan, one of the best Neo-Westerns and how it's characters, setting and themes all work together.

When writing your own story or screenplay, it pays to understand the components of genres. While a poor genre film can undoubtedly be cliche, a great one film can be a classic. Genre is a way for storytellers to communicate with an audience as a story progresses. Ultimately it gives audiences expectations that filmmakers can fulfill or subvert, both of which are opportunities for great storytelling.

Up Next

Ultimate Guide to Movie Genres

Want to dive a bit deeper into specific genres? Check out our next article where we analyze dozens and dozens of different categories found throughout film and television.

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VIDEO: What is Genre - The Elements of Genre Explained

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Movie genres are stylistic categories where a particular movie can be placed based on the setting, characters, plot, mood, tone, and theme.

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Stuart Hall's Representation Theory Explained! Media Studies revision

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Example of applying critical perspectives to a film.

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Example of applying critical perspectives to a film.

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📖 MyBib – A New FREE APA, Harvard, & MLA Citation Generator

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Automatically create bibliographies, references, and citations in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and more with our fast and free citation generator.

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Please use this guide to help you incorprate research correctly into your essay. You also need it to write your bibliography at the end.

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How to write an essay with the simple BIG/small answer technique

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Please remember you need to write in the academic style for this essay.

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Summarising, paraphrasing & plaigiarism 

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Summarising, paraphrasing & plaigiarism 

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This is useful. It's from college.