Narrative Structure - Bordwell and Thompson.

Bordwell and Thompson deinfe narrative structure as being - "a chain of events in a cause-effect relationship, occurding in time and space". This means that within a narrative would start with a normal situation, then something new would come along and change it causing other things to happen and then there would be a new situation at the end.

In the case of The Shining, we start with a normal family, who then have to move away for their fathers job, the isolation and hotel drive the father insane, he tries to kill his family, they escape, he dies.

Narrative Structure - Claude Levi Strauss.

Claude Levi Strauss believed that every form of narrative structure contained binary oppostions, i.e.: Good/evil, love/hate etc. His theory can fit into The Shining.

Good-Evil.
Love-Hate.
Male-Female.
Isolation-Freedom.
Santy-Insanity.
Adult-Child.
Normal-Paranormal.
Life-Death.

Narrative Structure - Todorov.

Todorov's theory was that, at the beginning of a story, there is an equilibrium or status quo where potentially opposing forces are in balance. The equlibrium is then disrupted, starting a chain of events/problems, which are then resolved to restore order.
Equilibirum - Disequilibirum - Resolved into a new equilibrium.
In The Shining the equlibrium would be a happy family living at home, and the father going out to find some work - a typically normal view of a family. The Disequlibrium would be when he gets his new job and his family have to move away to an isolated hotel for a lnog period of time, which begins to affect them all. The resolution isn't really present in The Shining, as the family loses the father to insanity and death, and although Wendy and Danny escape - we have no idea what happens to them.

How are women represented in the horror genre?

In our lessons, we studied three different horror movies - Eden Lake, The Shining and Halloween. We watched these movies to look at the different conventions of horror, and how female characters are represented. We also looked to see if the representation of women has changed at all throughout the years, as the movies are spaced out over a few years.

In all of the movies, we looked at the ratio of women:men screen time, mostly of the main characters. The main characters are usually the ones that have the most to say, and we see them the most as they have a big part within the story.
 

In Halloween, the ratio to women:men is 50:50, which is different for a horror movie as there are usually more males within the story line. This can represent the woman as fairly equal to the men, however, within the movie we do see the females doing typical jobs for their stereotype I.e: Cooking, cleaning, babysitting. The main protagonist of the movie is female which – even though there tend to be more men within the movie itself – is typical of horror because the unexpected character usually comes out top in the end and surprises everyone. Our protagonist in Halloween is called Laurie, and although she is female and does take part in traditional female activities like cooking and babysitting, she isn’t shown as the sexual character, which is another role that women usually take. Laurie is quite a ‘tom-boy’ which I think is a reason why she can be easily accepted as the one that defeats the ‘monster’.

There are some female characters that are shown in a sexual way, and they become victims in the story line. This slightly suggests the idea that ‘if you’re a sexual person, you’ll die’ – as it connotes un-responsible teenagers. As Laurie is not a sexual character, we automatically view her as more mature.

Laurie becomes the final girl within the movie. She isn’t ever objectified as a sex object and she remains the most powerful, virginal character that overcomes the evil in the movie.

In The Shining, the ratio to women:men is roughly 40:60. Although this is very close to a fair divide to the middle, it still shows the males as slightly more dominant. The stereotypical roles in The Shining are very prominent. Wendy is the wife of Jack, and mother of Danny. In the movie she is shown as the house wife that stays at home, cooks, cleans and takes care of the child, whereas Jack is the male that goes out and provides for the family.

The use of a ‘male gaze’ is apparent in this movie, as there is a scene where we see a naked woman in one of the hotel rooms. In this case we are placed in Jack’s eyes, and he is very attracted to her. This makes us view her as a sex object, as that’s how he views her. The women in The Shining are either part of a familial role, or a sexual role.

Once again, the familial role of the woman is more dominant. Wendy and her son are the ones that manage to escape the evil that is now her husband, whereas the naked woman in the hotel room was already dead, showing that she couldn’t be a big part of the film as she was just an object.

Eden Lake is the worst movie in terms of the ratio of women:men, with the ratio being 3:8. This is very different to the other two movies. The main role of women in this movie is once again familial. Our main protagonist in this movie, is of course another woman. Jenny is shown as a familial woman, however – she has a job and isn’t virginal, which is different to The Shining and Halloween. However, even though Jenny is our main protagonist, she does not escape as the victim like in the others. We would expect her to come out on top, as she’s a strong woman with her own adult life and unlike some others – she’s not a virgin and she has a job.

Eden Lake is very male dominated. Males are the ‘monster’ of the movie, and we have a few familial roles from women, and one slightly sexual one. There is a girl that’s part of the gang of boys that are the antagonists, and she can be viewed in a sexual way. Even though she’s part of the evil in the film, she’s still got a bit of a background seat and doesn’t take part in much of the violence that occurs.



Overall, from studying these three movies we can see there are slight connections. It’s usually a female protagonist that comes out as the survivor at the end of the movie, and there are generally more males than females. However, all horror movies are different and some challenge these conventions. The fact that women are shown as either familial, domestic or sexual hasn’t changed, and each of these movies show women in different ways. There’s no clear definition of a woman in any of them.

Don't Be Afraid of The Dark Trailer

This trailer is another that includes a long period of darkness. From the beginning of the trailer, a messave 48 second of it is in complete darkness, with a creepy whispered voice over - from who we expect to be someone involved in the movie.
The music that does appear in the trailer is very quiet, except for some spikes of loud metallic noises. Also, a lot of the trailer in spent in nearly silence which is very creepy. The audience is sat waiting for something to happen, and they know that when it does, they'll be a loud noise that will make them jump.
The use of intertitles is very clever in this one, as you see bits of the movie WITHIN the letters, not the words seperating different shots.
The trailer really doesn't reveal much at all, which will make people want to see it to find out what's going on.

Let Me In Trailer/

I thin that this trailer can challenege the typcial conventions of horror, for example: the music is quite upbeat and isn't the kind of music you'd expect there to be. It's not creepy and doesn't create suspense, and it stays the same the whole way through. There isn't any voice over.
Although, the trailer does contain a lot of the typical horror use of darkness, especialll when there are some shots of a man in a tunnel, where it's very dark and you can hardly see anything. This creates suspense.
There are a lot of fast cuts involving action - where you can see what's happening, but not everything, which is typical of horror to draw the audience in.
The intertitles are also the kind you'd expect to see as they're quite dark in background with white writing that really stands out.

Devil Trailer

I studied the trailer for 'Devil'.
This trailer includes a few horror conventions.
At the start of the trailer the camera shows us a city, but it's upside down. This creates a sense of unease and makes the viewer feel uncomfortable as it's not natural to see things in such a way.
The trailer contains really soft music which connotes innocence and contradicts the regular kind of music you'd expect to hear in a horror movie.
The intertitles change throughout the trailer, the first type don't really seem to relate to a horror movie - but the second set are red with a different font and are placed over a black background wwhich fits horro conventions.
The trailer often has periods of complete blackness, where we just hear what's going on - i.e.: screaming. This is unusual for a horror trailer as people can lose interest if they're not seeing anything, but this trailer manages to get away with showing quite long pieces of just black.
Towards the end an elevator bell noise is used over fast cuts of lots of action, which creates suspense.

The Last House On The Left - A Horror Trailer I Found Interesting.

This is the trailer for The Last House on the Left.
I really like all the fast cuts and the way the camera keeps close to all the characters, with lots of close ups to their faces and to certain objects.
I also really like the intertitles as they're simple.
I really like the fact that the cuts get faster as the trailer comes to an end, and how you actually get to see quite a bit of action within the movie.

Differences between teaser and theatrical trailers.

I think the most obvious difference is the length of each one, most teaser trailers are quite short and show fast cuts of the movie, not really including much dialogue or information about what the movie is (hence the word teaser).
Teasers can give the audience the genre of the movie, and a general idea of what it's about. They give enough information to make the audience want to see it, and sometimes the lack of information can make them want to see it more.

Theatrical trailers tend to be longer, show more characters, more dialogue etc. They can also include intertitles to give more information about the movie. I tend to find that when I watch a theatrical trailer, I decide then and there whether or not I'm interested in seeing it, whereas I'll research a teaser trailer as they get me more interested.

UK Film Distribution.

"Audience-focused distribution is, and will remain, vital to the prospects of individual films, and to the industry as a whole" - Lord David Puttnam CBE, President, Film Distributor's Association.

The main task of a Distribution company is to indentify and deliver the largest target audience for different films.

Distribution is highly competitive business, as companies are fighting for their productions to become the best known to gain the highest public interest. It's vital for the survival of the film industry. Without it, the public wouldn't be aware of new productions, and would cause a massive loss of money. The aim of a Distributor is to exploit the full potential of each product.

Each movie has it's own Distribution plan, which can be expensive and risky. A detailed understanding of the target audience (gender, lifestyles, media consumption patterns etc) are needed to help the Distributors figure out how and where to promote as particular film.  The most important strategic decisions a Distributor makes are when and how to release a film in order to optimise its chances.

"It is clear to me that films only achieve their extraordinary potential when they are able to reach global audiences, week in, week out" - Lord David Attenborough, CBE.

Market research can be conducted to probe audience reactions, i.e.: a test screening, after which the viewers complete questionnaires.

When planning a release, Distributors have to consider certain factors, some being:
- Competition.
- Is it a prospective market blockbuster, or specialised.
- Star power.
- Are cast members available for premieres.
- Is it a film for a holiday period.
- Is it a film with hopes of award nominations.
- What certificate will the film have.

Every film also has a Marketing plan, who's objective is to create visibility, raising awareness and interest. A key component that helps a Marketing plan is word of mouth - social recommendation is very important and can be the most powerful trigger for a cinema visit. A combination of good word of mouth and advertising is a big help for films.

A variety of different media is needed to advertise to target audeinces. I.e: posters, trailers, online, mobile, radio etc.

The use of a well-known and popular actor can sometimes be critical to movie interest. Using a poster advertising the main character of the movie is very good for helping increase its public appeal.

Movies can also gain attention through editorial coverage, as the public tends to accept independently-written news stories. A publicity team arranges media interviews with available members of the cast, and publicists compile kits for journalists, including cast, biographies and facts etc.

Merchandising can also be used to raise awareness for movies, but getting the audience involved in film. Merchandising can include action figures, ringtones, clothing, screen savers, calendars, games, soundtracks and books etc.

Narrative Structure - Propp.

In class we've looked at four different Narrative Theorists, and tested them out by applying their ideas to 'The Shining'.

Propp.
Propp looked at 100's of Folk Tales and identified 8 character roles:


1 - The Villain.
2 - The Hero.
3 - The Donor.
4 - The Helper.
5 - The Princess.
6 - Her Father.
7 - The Dispatcher.
8 - The False Hero.

We discovered that some of these character types fit into the 'The Shining'. For example:


The Donor/Helper - Dick Halloran.
Halloran can be seen as the 'Donor' character in the movie as he helps Danny discover that he has the gift of 'The Shining', and towards the end of the movie (even though Halloran loses his life) the Snowcat he travelled to the hotel in, is later used as Wendy and Danny's escape vehicle.


The Hero - Wendy and Danny.
Wendy and Danny fight back against Jack. Danny leads him into the maze and tricks Jack by brushing away his snowy footprints, and escaping. Jack dies in the maze, which means that we can see Danny as the hero for defeating him, and Wendy for fighting back throughout.


The Princess - Wendy.
The Princess is generally seen as a 'prize' to The Hero, and as Danny gets out of the maze, Wendy is there to escape with him.


The Villain - Jack/The Hotel.
Jack is seen as the main Villain in the movie, as he goes insane and tries to kill his family. However, we can also personify the Hotel as a Villain, because if it wasn't for all the 'supernatural' activity during their stay, then maybe nothing would've happened.


Other ideas of Propp's also fit the plot of the movie. For example:

Propp's theory is that, at the beginning of a story, a 'prohibition' or 'rule' is set up, which is then broken. In 'The Shining', the rule is - "Do not go in Room 237" - which is of course, broken, as Danny and Jack enter the room.
 

A problem with Propp's theory is that, his list of 31 Narrative Functions work, until we reach these points -

20 - RETURN: Hero returns;
21 - PURSUIT: Hero is pursued (pursuer tries to kill, eat, undermine the hero);
22 - RESCUE: Hero is rescued from pursuit (obstacles delay pursuer, hero hides or is  hidden, hero transforms unrecognisably, hero saved from attempt on his/her life);
23 - UNRECOGNIZED ARRIVAL: Hero unrecognized, arrives home or in another country;
24 - UNFOUNDED CLAIMS: False hero presents unfounded claims;
25 - DIFFICULT TASK: Difficult task proposed to the hero (trial by ordeal, riddles, test of strength/endurance, other tasks);
26 - SOLUTION: Task is resolved;
27 - RECOGNITION: Hero is recognized (by mark, brand, or thing given to him/her);
28 - EXPOSURE: False hero or villain is exposed;
29 - TRANSFIGURATION: Hero is given a new appearance (is made whole, handsome, new garments etc.);
30 - PUNISHMENT: Villain is punished;
31 - WEDDING: Hero marries and ascends the throne (is rewarded/promoted).

Propp's list of Narrative Structure fits the movie well, up until these points, because once we've applied the list to 'The Shining', Jack is already dead before these ones can be applied. However, you could say that number 31 applies as the movie technically ends in a Funeral.

The Return of the Repressed - Sigmund Freud.

'The Return of the Repressed' is the process whereby repressed elements, preserved in the unconscious, tend to reappear, in consciousness or in behavior, in the shape of secondary and more or less unrecognizable "derivatives of the unconscious." Parapraxes or symptomatic actions, are examples of such derivatives.
Freud always emphasized the "indestructible" nature of unconscious material, as likewise the irreducible character of memory traces. If we have no memories of events during the first years of life, this is because of the repression that affects them. In a sense, all memories may be said to be retained, their recollection depending solely on the way in which they are cathected.

Parapraxes - A Freudian slip, or parapraxis, is an error in speech, memory, or physical action that is interpreted as occurring due to the interference of some unconscious ('dynamically repressed') wish, conflict, or train of thought.

Cathected - Charged with mental or emotional energy.