City of God -Film Form

How is the decline and deterioration shown in the film through the Mise-en-scene?

The decline and deterioration of the Favela's is portrayed through the Mise-en-scene in the opening scene by the City of God sign in the 70's, which is seen to be vandalised and covered in graffiti whereas in the flashbacks of the Favela in the 60's, the City of God sign is clean and free of vandalism which is a visual representation of the gradual decline and deterioration. This is also shown by the decline in the brightness around the Favela, represented in the scenes in the 60's where the houses around spread horizontally which the sun beams through where they're playing football. Whereas in the beginning scenes in the 70's the Favela is more dismal and dull as it is surrounded by the buildings which tower over the City of God,  emphasising the gradual deterioration of the Favela as minimal sunlight seeps through showing how dark the community has become. 

what are the main connotations behind the montage of shots which show L'il Dice become L'il Ze?

The montage shots of L'il Ze, where he is shooting people over the time whilst he is growing up, carries connotations that he is evil as he enjoys this by the smile shown when he shoots them also shown by his menacing laugh. This also shows that he is gradually becoming more out of control and therefore unstoppable leading to him gaining more power over people as they now fear him. Also the montage shots of L'il Dice shooting innocent people is at night, which carries connotations of death, darkness of the soul and loss of faith. Following this montage, it is shown that he is participating in a ritual in which he sells his soul to the devil, this carries connotations of darkness and evil as 'rituals' support the devil in comparison to the church which it is the opposite for what the rituals stand for - which is evil makings allowing L'il Dice to then become L'il Ze. 

The Diving Bell & the Butterfly -Mise-en-scene

How does the Mise-en-scene create meaning throughout the film?

Throughout the film the frequent use of Icebergs, portrays Jean Bauby's life in which the Iceberg carries connotations of power, significance and coldness, presenting his life before stroke as he was an Elle magazine editor therefore he was significant and powerful within his occupation. Also the frequent use of the dream sequences of the Diving Bell is a portrayal of himself in which represents  how he is trapped in his own body unable to move. Also the dream sequences of the 'butterfly' is another a portrayal of himself but instead his mind. In which the butterfly carries connotations of freedom and creativity. Also the use of voiceovers portrays the frustration of his paralysis as he is unable to speak he can therefore only communicate through his left eye even though he is still actively speaking in his mind.

How do the representations and role in the scene of Jean-Do shaving his father and the scene where his children visit him switch and alternate?


In the scene where Jean-Do is shaving his father, he is represented as lively and energetic, but also in control as his fathers vulnerability is portrayed through this scene, by the use of close up shots. In the scene where his children visit him on the beach he is now unable to move and speak presenting him like his father, to be vulnerable and static as they are both stuck. His father being stuck in his apartment and Jean-Do being stuck in his own body. This draws parallel to the earlier scene of him shaving his father as he is now incapable of being lively and energetic showing that a lot can change in a same amount of time, as these scenes were days apart from each other showing the drastic changing character of Jean-Do.

Significance of the Icebergs

Throughout the film the frequent use of the imagery of icebergs is shown, which is a representation of Jean-Dos life. The icebergs carry connotations of power and significance whichever is then seen to break away by the images of icebergs falling which could represent Jean-Do beginning to gain back his humanity due to his condition therefore becoming less cold as a human and feeling less powerful, in the credits of the film the iceberg is then seen to be in  reverse, to which could suggest that the cycle of life has begun again as at the end of the film Jean-Do does die, but also could suggest that even though his condition of locked in syndrome did lead to him feeling less significant he still gained his power through this and regained back his humanity in result of the stroke.

The Diving Bell & The Butterfly -Narrative

How does the narrative of the film and its structure reflect the key themes and messages of this story?


The monotonous narrative of the film reflects the life of Jean-Dominique Bauby who suffered a stroke leading to locked-in syndrome. His life is portrayed through the repetitiveness of the films structure in how he lives out his days doing the same thing emphasising how he is restricted in his own body, only capable of blinking one eye in which is they key to how he communicates. The non-chronically narrative in the film is reflected throughout, by the use of flashbacks -when showing Jean's life before the stroke, and is also reflected through dream sequences for example his dreams of the 'diving bell' which is a portrayal of himself in which its represents his body in how he is unable to move and also the dream sequences of the 'butterfly' is also a portrayal of himself but of his mind. In which carries connotations of freedom and creativity.

Inception and Captain Fantastic -Spectatorship

Spectatorship 

 Spectatorship -  is the active response of someone when viewing a film by engaging with it and forming a response whereas an audience of a film is just viewing it passively without engaging or responding.

The factors which affect how spectators respond to the film is ;
- their age, gender, ethnicity
- how the film is consumed whether it is alone or in company, at home or in a cinema
- their personal experiences
- their social, political, cultural beliefs.




1) One element in Inception that might affect the different responses that spectators have is Ariadne's character in the film, because she is represented as one of the most dominant characters this may evoke different responses for spectators. For example, spectators who are older may have a negotiated response to her character as they may believe that stronger females wasn't the norm in a society when they were growing up but they may accept that in today's society there is more equality and freedom for women and are gaining to dominance, because of this the older generation of spectators may still disagree the representation of her character but accept that this is what todays society is like. Also Ariadne's character might evoke a different response if the spectators are feminists, because of this they might have a dominant response when responding to this film because her character is portrayed as the stronger character in comparison to Cobb's character, they would completely agree with the way her character is presented because this reflects today's society.

Another element in Inception that might affect the different responses that spectators have is the theme of Capitalism. This is portrayed negatively in the film because the storyline is the destruction of capitalism by corporate espionage, because of this people from working class backgrounds or people who have no knowledge of what capitalism entails they may not respond in the same way that someone from a more privileged background would because those who understand capitalism or are a capitalist themselves would have an oppositional response when watching this film because they would completely disagree with what Cobb's jobs is and what the film is about. Whereas those who aren't capitalists or aren't aware of the capitalistic society may have a dominant response when watching Inception because they believe that the portrayal of capitalism in the film is bad and so may agree with Cobb's views.


2) One element in Captain Fantastic that might affect the different responses the spectators have is the portrayal of Ben's character. Ben is represented as the stronger character in Captain Fantastic as he is the decision-maker in the film because he controls the lives of his children. Some spectators when watching this film may dislike Ben's character and may have a oppositional response if they are maybe from a younger generation disagree with the way he is bringing up his children. The younger generation of spectators may dislike Ben because he is a father trying to control his children lives by making them grow up isolated, away from society. Also people who perhaps don't have any children may have a negotiated response when responding to Ben's character because although they might disagree with the way he is bringing up his children the spectators won't be able to empathise with Ben because of this factor.

Another element in Captain Fantastic that might affect the different responses that spectators have is how the theme of capitalism is reflected throughout the film. Spectators may have an oppositional when responding to the film if they hold capitalists beliefs, because of Ben's negative portrayal of Capitalism and the effect of a capitalistic society people who are themselves capitalists will perhaps dislike his character because of this. Whereas those who share Ben's beliefs may have a dominant response when responding to this film if they agree with the way he was bringing up his children and also agree with his views of capitalism.

Inception and Captain fantastic - Gender representations

Using examples from both films, outline how inception and captain fantastic represent gender, commenting upon how stereotypes are challenged and reinforced.

In Inception gender stereotypes are somewhat reinforced, this is represented by the male dominated cast in which there are only two leading female characters. This reinforces the stereotype that woman are seen are less superior and that males are the more important gender in society. However this is challenged by the female characters because Ariadne and Mal are both portrayed as the most dominant characters in Inception, for example in the scene where Ariadne is first introduced to Cobb he places her in a dream in which she begins to gain the control when she is manipulating her surroundings which leads Cobb asking her questions, this represents him as weak in comparison to her, challenging the stereotype that females are in fact weak but in todays society females are gaining more importance and equality. Mal also challenges this stereotype of females by the control she has over Cobb, an example of this is seen throughout the film when she is seen in the dreams as a projection which leads Cobb to lose control of his reality making him a flawed male character in the film emphasising Mal's authority in the film reflecting today's society.

In Captain Fantastic the gender stereotypes are mainly challenged, this is shown by the equally dominated cast of males and females, in which both males and females in the film are equality portrayed through the characters of Ben and his children which there are three females and three males. The gender stereotype is challenged in this film by the representation female children : Vespyr, Kielyr and Zaja. An example of this challenge is equal role they have as a family, in the opening scene it shows that male and female characters both train together and hunt together which portrays their characters as powerful but also portrays that they have equality and are both as superior as each other, reflecting todays society in how females are gaining more freedom and equality. The stereotype is also challenged in Captain Fantastic by Ben's character, he is portrayed as a powerful male but he is also represented as weak an example of this is the loss he suffers over his wife's death and how he is unable to bring up his children in a way that is beneficial for them when in fact he is putting them in danger by isolating them away from society. This portrays him as a flawed male character in the film which challenges the stereotype that males are more powerful that females and females are weak.

Inception -Social contexts

How does the film mirror the way video games are constructed?

The film mirrors the way video games are constructed by the frequent use of lifts which represents the different levels of video games and the different dream states they are in also represents the layers of the video games. The use of green screen depicts the unrealism of video games and how they alter reality for example the scene in the hotel where Arthur is trying to fight the projections.

How is a crisis in masculinity shown in the film?

Crisis in masculinity in shown in inception by the portrayal of increased gender equality, the female characters gain of superiority in the film when Ariadne controls the dream that Cobb has put her in makes Cobb's character less dominant in comparison to ariadne showing their crisis in masculinity, and also the control Mal has over Cobb because of her death and how he sees her projections in the dream shows his male trauma by the loss he has and the loss of his role on his children's life.