Outsiders practice/plan essay
- Spectatorship, context, representation
intro:
1 - all 3 have their teenage/youth characters made outsiders by their apathetic adult figures:
- elephant shows how the high schoolers are prohibited from expressing their true feelings by apathetic. adult figures. the most prominent character john crying in empty classroom, scolded by headteacher, drunk father can't drive. Acadia comes in, asks what's wrong, he deflects, she kisses on the cheek and pursues no further; not exploring his grief with him. john stands outside people screaming, camera positioned behind them in MS, dad awkwardly pats on shoulder despite crisis as attempt to bridge emotional distance between age groups; not useful in solving the issue. gsa, teacher unable to act, pull student blood stain. alex and eric, eric mum always cut out of frame, serving them breakfast the morning of the shooting. alex plausible mental health problems, surreal sequence, sound. attitude of perhaps American society; acknowledging there is something wrong within American youth but failing to act; makes distinction between the real events of columbine shooting, youth made outsiders to supposed adult protectors. this lack of responsibility is emphasised as van sant creates irony when the two teenage shooters buy assault guns off an American website, delivered straight into their hands by an adult; thus, this issue of unrestricted gun ownership/accessibility in the USA is made apparent, this context shaping how the two shooters are products of their country's failings.
-ytmt also presents its teenage characters as alienated from adults, but with the additional factor Mexican societal status. cuaron stated how he gave as much detail to the background as he did foreground: the environment represents the wider socio-political state of Mexico and the voiceover acts as the narrator for this story, in this sense Mexico could be seen as a character. curaon personifies Mexico, not just through making the environment alive with activity, but he describes the parallel journeys between the 3 characters and Mexico as a character - just like the boys, Mexico is in its 'teenage years' slowly moving to adulthood, told through road-trip genre - genre known to be a journey, self-discovery for characters. contextual aspects are important in defining each character's representation; tenoch comes from a wealthy upper-class family, having maids, a large mansion, and a father in government, and thus he is part of the Mexican elite, and from what cuaron shows us in the wedding scene, all made up of ethnically Spanish while the Mexican indigenous serve. julio in contrast is middle class and suggested to be mixed race, living in an industrial complex in the inner city, having no father and his mother in lower economic positions than tenoch's parents. This rich contextual information, relating to how the background represents the socio-economic state of Mexico, is elaborated on by the voiceover; both boys represent two sides in the class system, their friendship not without prejudice. For example, we learn that Tenoch uses his foot to lift the toilet seat at Julio's house, and that Julio dislikes the environments of Tenoch's house. In this sense they choose to be outsiders to each other's experiences and cuaron, through the camera and integration of the voiceover, makes them outsiders to the world around them highlight the class disparity in Mexico. For example, the camera loses interest in the boy's immature exploits when driving through the city, instead lingering on the body of a migrant worker who died trying to gate to work safely as told by the voiceover. Cuaron pushes these systematic issues to the forefront alongside the characters, making them inherently linked with the context of the underprivileged Mexico around them that they choose to be ignorant to. But, this representation is suggested to be as a product of their upbringing in Mexico. Tenoch is perhaps suggested from his privileged upbringing to be alienated from his parents. When we see his mother, she is framed rom a high angle from the boys perspectives; she stands on separated stone pavers, walking between them, perhaps as a metaphor for, as an upper-class woman in mexico, her detachment from the real world, aided by her superficial communication with her son, lecturing him about social appearances. this maternal distance is enhanced by the voiceover saying how tenoch called his nanny mother until he was 4 years old. similarly, at the wedding of the president, we see tenoch's father ignore julio, patronisingly address tenoch reminding him his appearance is important, tucking in his shirt and patting him on the cheek, his countenance making him the more authorial. In juxtaposition, when the boys and Luísa embark on journey to the beach, they encounter an indigenous working-class family who are close, framed together always. this comparison emphasises how tenoch is is an outsider figure from his own family as a result of his privileged upbringing.
-while in the babadook sam is made an outsider to his mother's struggles as she wont communicate her grief with him, not even celebrating his birthday because it was the day her husband died. the creature of the babadook can be seen as Amelia herself, her grief taking over her life; the babadook is never shown to interact with sam and he is the one to constantly remind Amelia of its presence and how it will consume her - literally by the babadook being a physical presence, but implied metaphorically as her mental illness. thus, sam suffers from his mother's lack of emotional connection or interest in him, which plausibly suggests why he has behavioural issues, which in turn alienates him from his peers. for example, at his cousin's birthday party, he is ostracised by the other children, his female cousin bulling him at having no father and how he is unloved. the low angle versus high angle framing on sam emphasises his weaker position, while his cousin stands in the doorway of the treehouse aligned with the other children outside. when he pushes her out, his reasonings are ignored, everyone rushing to his cousin's aid. So, like elephant, his issues are ignored by the adults he depends on, but his issues are personal rather than systemic like elephant and ytmt, and thus not determined by any socio-political context.
these examples of alienation of youth from the adult figures they depend on for support show how the outsider children's issues are from a product of the adult's apathy and lack of understanding determined from their contextual environment evident in real life.
2 - a focus on gender adds to how the characters are made outsiders relative to their contextual cultures.
elephant archetypes, subversion shooters - gun laws failings as a product. ytmt machismo male gaze misogyny failings as a product - lusia represents, no male gaze, brings change. babadook Amelia failed mother, framing, genre, society
-elephant presents its characters as vague concepts of American highschool archetypes - coinciding with gender - van sant encodes this through character attitudes and appearances - Stuart hall - and we decode it, affecting how we view their function hierarchy in the film. van sant casted real students and many names are their own, therefore this real life context affecting the character's representation. vagueness makes us outsiders to them as they are to us. literally confined in the two walls like they're confined to their archetypal blueprint, various tracking sequences long-takes unusual in films, creating a mundane atmosphere van sant establishes this well - archetypes coincide with gender, jocks Nathan and benny; their first intro the camera is static 2 boys jostling at MS in frame outside on football pitch - these American associations of their archetype - no real sentimentality, much like how tenoch and julio behave. we track him walk down corridor passing 3 socialite 'it girls' we decode from their reactions to him and their presentations, we see his girlfriend, intimate low-key lighting CU, heterosexuality. a hierarchy is established amongst this mundanity. Alex and Eric subvert this establishment of gender. introduced in same minimal preliminary: follow john, the precious tracking sequence somewhat foreshadowing something perhaps sinister from the dark lighting and liminal corridor, but van sant makes it very ambiguous, and when john goes outside he meets the two shooters emerge in militant clothing and duffel bags, the spectator siding with john's accusatory reaction; the slow-motion editing of john playing with his dog engages us to become active before seeing the two enter. despite the fact this disrupts what we've seen, the absence of non-diegetic music or sensationalised camerawork means the spectator has not been guided to feel a particular emotional response other than the same confused reaction as john. their clothing connote hyper masculine violence rather than protection , and their appearances push them as the new outsider figures; later we realise their character representations, like every other student, also experience a lack of support by parental figures. Similarly, ytmt:
-ytmt male leads confined to gendered machismo expectations from their 2000s Mexican culture and are a product of those attitudes, which, like elephant, depending on a spectator's situated culture, could be regarded as failings. male gaze to Luísa, hounding in on her, cheating on each other's girlfriends - hotel scene, performance, dialogue. Luisa in hindsight seems to be an object of sexual desire to the spectator, but gradually we realise most of the shots are told from her pov and she is only objectified by the boys' gaze in relation to Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory; she is a voyeuristic object for the boys, but curaon, despite being a male director, lays sympathy with Luísa's journey. she is allowed the space to cry alone, her true feelings masked to the boys, exampled when she calls her cheating husband in a phone box, the boy's playing foosball reflected in the glass while she cries, their juvenile behaviour contrasted with Luísa's mature sadness. this representation of Luísa makes her more realistic and isolated tot he spectator, positioning as an outsider figure, separated through the composition as they are through emotion. Luisa narratively functions - in relation to propp's character functions - as a helper, as she provides the two boys a freedom to express and mature naturally, the final homoerotic scene where they both sleep together finalising their journey. she also functions as a guiding parental figure that boys are absent from. when they reach the symbolic 'heaven's mouth' beach, the boys become disappointed because they never intended a fracturing of their egos, macho masculinity, or revelation of their repressed homosexual desires brought about by Luisa. thus they feel lost there because it cats as a metaphor for their coming of age stories where they are faced with the harsh realties of adulthood rather then their perceived exceptions of macho manhood in sexually conquering an older woman. in contrast Luísa feels at peace at the beach, her single shots in the freedom of the ocean finalising her outsider positioning now she has come to terms with her own sense of mortality from her terminal illness rather than confided to her societal gender expectations. so, at the end of their journey, Luísa has helped the boys and herself move away from the expectations of Mexico's machismo gender roles, cuaron providing sympathy to these outsider characters, stressing the importance of compassion and understanding, represented by Luísa, in order for there to be positive change.
-babadook does not explore gender as poignantly as the other films but Amelia, as arguably the primary outsider figure, can be regarded as a 'failed' mother by her wider society at points during the film, which is determined by how society treats single mothers at large. kent wanted to explore the 'taboo' subject of single motherhood in the film in coexistence with madness, which is why the horror genre is important when considering Amelia's representation in the film. she is repeatedly framed in single shots juxtaposed to group or low angle shots and ostracised, pitied, or ignored when asking for help. Tainted with the sinister aesthetics of horror, when she goes to the police to report the babadook's graphically brutal book about Amelia and her son, her anxiety is not treated seriously. There are no OTS shots bringing Amelia and the police officer together, first introduced in a wide shot, the desk separating Amelia from the group shot of officers, first sneering at her complaint, her eyeline drawing our attention to the babadook's clothes hung behind the police officer. This furthers her outsider representation as those she should be protected by are positioned alongside her threat, a sinister tune that connotes a children's lullaby accompanying this imagery, and we decode this to be a warning, foreshadowing the babadook's control and presence in Amelia's life. similarly at her niece's birthday party, Amelia is framed in a high angle single shot juxtaposed to the group shot of other mothers framed from a low angle, positioning them as antagonising and separate from Amelia and thus her experiences. Their patronising comments connote how they view her as a failed mother, pitying her rather than offering any support themselves, their unified dark costume positioning them as one unit hounding in on Amelia, making her the fore-fronted outsider. Therefore, through the horror genre, Kent offers a critique on how society treats single mothers represented by the 'failings' of Amelia.
Conclusion - echo highlight empathy and how this is represented babadook, Luísa, independent films realism endings for 2, don't attempt to solve issues but we engage with them.
all 3 films highlight the need for compassion, understanding, and freedom to express true feelings in a society that ignores and undervalues these sentiments. van sant presents this less distinctly, with the juxtaposition of the high schooler's intimacy against the apathy of the adult figures they depend on for security and support. cuaron highlights this need for compassion through the character of Luísa who helps the boys mature from their misogynistic attitudes, repressed homosexual desires, and machismo ideology determined from their socioeconomic Mexican upbringing and apathy of adult figures. kent, while much more personal in its representation as the narrative is stylistically told through Amelia's perspective, still highlights the need for compassion to yourself and others when suffering from grief or mental illness, even when society is largely apathetic to the struggle, as well as the additional factor of single motherhood and the need for compassion, communication, and honesty with children in order for a relationship to thrive. thus, kent also puts responsibility on the individual as well as society, as she described to be drawn to 'the darkness within ourselves'. while, in elephant, the teenagers are powerless to incite a real change, as well as the boys in ytmt who are pressured by authority and therefore society to conform. the endings of each are largely ungratifying for the spectator because, as independent films, they are realistic; in ytmt both boys enter adulthood unsuited to them once Luísa dies, in elephant the camera retreats from a shooter pointing his gun at two students, and in the babadook, Amelia nurtures the babadook in the basement as a metaphorical healing from her grief. But, the directors aren't interested in attempting to solve the issues determined by each film's context; from the subversion of a 'happy ending' we are provoked to engage with and reflect on these real life issues.
Independent films are generally realistic and determined by the wider contexts of the film's creation. The ending of each film is largely an ungratifying but realistic ending for each character determined by the discussed contexts of each film. The final scene of YTMT shows the two boys, now supposedly men, forced into an apathetic adulthood - more like their parents they distanced themselves from - unsuited to them. Their first and final framing is a wide shot, both opposite each other, a contrast to their usual side-by-side framing. The voiceover confirms their disconnection from each other, saying how 'going for a cup of coffee was easier than making excuses to avoid it', and how 'they will never see each other again'. Through dialogue, we learn they go into their expected paths relating to their societal status: Tenoch taking economics at his father's request and Julio taking biology at community college, both leading them to good paying careers rather than following their true passions. Generally in conventional Hollywood films, the wider world centres around the characters and when a new equilibrium (Todorov) is given to the characters, it is usually a gratifying ending with a takeaway moral. YTMT isn't interested in that; cuaron wants to show the story of Mexico, in its teenage years, through the coming of age of the two boys. Their parental expectations are determined by their represented contextual socioeconomic place, and as representations of two sides of Mexico's class system, this ending is one cuaron suggests would occur in the real world. Out of all 3 films, this one is the most out of place to what preceded it; the boys were loud, adolescent, joking, their excited energy reflected in the the colourful world around them. In complete juxtaposition, they are subdued in the ending, the colours are grey and bleak, and the camerawork static and distanced: this is now real life for them.
In contrast, Elephant's ending is coherent with the nature of the film; throughout, the characters are one-dimensional archetypes: each character, including the antagonising shooters, are introduced in the same minimal preliminary, no music, sensationalised camerawork or editing, no thrills, and very little spectator attachment to characters even though they're treated sympathetically by the director. One shooter, Alex, points his gun at two archetypal popular kids - Nathan and Carrie - who hide in the school's freezer - the dead meat perhaps an intentional metaphor for the murdering of the innocent. Alex taunts them while the camera simply retreats - a reverse of the usual tracking - before transitioning to a blue sky; the same type of shot as the opening. Thus, van sant invites us to feel no difference between the shooting and the world that existed before it. Like Tambien, despite this horrific change in the characters' lives, the world continues, and each director makes no attempt to solve those issues relating to the context of each film's creation - Mexico's socioecomic systemic expectations and America's school shootings - but, through the ungratifying and unexpected endings, as a subversion of the 'happy ending', we are provoked to engage with these issues.
The babadook is divided in its reception of the ending. most spectators, like myself, believe the retreat and nurturing of the babadook in the characters' basement is an effective metaphorical conclusion to the film's representation of grief; the antagonising babadook, as representative of Amelia's maternal grief, being nurtured and hidden - but present - in the basement where all Amelia's physical memories of her dead husband lay show how grief cannot be forgotten or repressed, and in order to heal from it, it must be acknowledged, accepted, and cared for. Some, in just seeing the babadook as a villain needing to be killed and conquered, find this ending ungratifying or out of place, but, in context of the film's exploration of mental health, the representation of the babdook antagonising Amelia as someone unwilling to acknowledge him and thus her grief - like how she kept telling sam that the babadook isn't real and not to talk about it to other people - is an effective reading on how mental illness is treated by wider society. In this sense, Kent does attempt to solve the issue, and so, in contrast to elephant and y tu mama, the ending is generally more gratifying, and if ungratifying to some, it is still a 'realistic' one in the context of the treatment of mental illness determined by wider society.
So: All three films represent their outsider figures as determined by their contexts of the film's creation. YTMT is the most reflective of the Mexico it represents and thus the outsider characters representations are most determined by the culture of (2000s) Mexico, most prominently through machismo gender roles and in turn the male gaze, and the socioeconomic factors determining the character's attitudes, upbringing, and privileges in society, in turn making them outsiders to the world and underprivileged communities around them. Elephant's character representations of the archetypal outsider high schoolers are determined by American conventions of higshchool encoded by van sant and having most prominently an attitudinal alienation from adult figures as a consequence of the lack of action and empathy to such youth based around a school shooting - the 1999 columbine shooting and its profound affect on American society. the babadook has a more individual gaze on its contexts of mental illness, having the babadook creature as a representation of grief/depression shown through the lens of the affected Amelia refusing to accept her struggles; her perspective on the wider world, including her son, being determined by her mental illness and how wider society treats it. From these issues, each director highlights the importance of compassion, freedom to express, and understanding in a society that ignores and undervalues these sentiments
Comments
Post a Comment