Oral Presenation Part 1: Genre and Audience

1) Sunset Boulevard can be seen primarily under the genre of drama and film noir, but there are many comedic scenes throughout, therefore I would place comedy under a sub-genre.

2) The dramatic displays shown throughout the film with Norma’s delusions of her former fame along with her entrapment of Joe within her desolate mansion begin to display a sort of drama-esque feel for Sunset Boulevard. Not only can Joe’s so called “love triangle” between Norma, Becky and him be strictly classified under the genre of drama, but the revelations such as Max being Norma’s former husband and the man who brought her to fame, long with the eminent murder of Joe in the end, all pay tribute to this genre. Speaking to the comedic side of the film, Joe’s blunt sarcasms and the overall creep-factor shown through the once beloved silent film star pull together into quite a few humorous moments.

3) Another work that would be closely related to Sunset Boulevard would be one of Billy Wilder’s other films falling under the noir category, such as Ace in a Hole, which was released only a year afterward.

4) Billy Wilder made Sunset Boulevard due to his interest in American culture, especially that of Hollywood at the time, for he now took his residence within Los Angeles. He knew of the film stars of the roaring 20’s and how they had mostly fallen off the radar sense their style of film had been dropped by the public. With their vast fortunes lain out before them while no longer apart of the Hollywood bustle, Wilder wondered how it was that these once great stars now spent their time, and developed Sunset Boulevard around this curiosity.

5) The creators found humor in the satirization of Hollywood and what it does to those involved within its confines. They found twisted humor in the characterization of Norma and have a love for the sarcastic found within Joe.

6) Wilder is commonly known for satirizing society and taking a humorous approach to twisted, dark and cynical situations. Sunset Boulevard is a clear fit within these characteristics.

a. This particular film greatly utilizes Wilder’s dark, cynical humor, most prominently is his portrayal of Norma and her delusions of fame and beauty, when in reality her butler/ex-husband (that combination in itself is cynically humorous) is the one writing all of her fan letters and Hollywood felt so ad for her that they dint have the heart to tell her that the picture she had written was a train wreck and would never make it. She is constantly kept in her delusion, and when Joe finally attempts to break this delusion, she ends up murdering him.

b. Within the visuals used within the film, the lighting used, or lack of, simulated deep blacks and silhouetting within the frame, such as when Max reveals that he discovered Norma and was her first husband. The lighting within this particular scene characterize Max’s guilt and shame in feeding Norma’s sickness and state of mind, and reveals to Joe everything he has done. The extravagance of Norma’s mansion as well is shown in extravagance yet deserted loneliness due to the blank space that the camera utilizes.

7) This film is trying to show that fame and fortune don’t fix everything, money isn’t the answer, in fact it distances you from reality.

8) This film seems to be directed more toward the mature teenager and adult, for the dark and cynical nature of the film along with the sarcasm and subtle changes within the larger plot twists, it would be difficult for a younger audience to decipher.

Final Project Documentary

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Concepts for Continuity

Advanced Editing Infographic

Realism, Classicism, and Formalism

Realism

As odd as it might sound, The Wizard of Oz is edited with the style of realism. As shown within this clip from the film, there are not many cuts transitioning from different shots. For the most part, the camera simply follows the movement of the actors, such as when the scarecrow rolls over and then proceeds to dance around the set. Where the director could have chosen to cut these shots and follow up different angles and perspectives, they run singular, long tapes of recording and follow the action. In the second half of the clip, the scarecrow and Dorthy converse over the topic of traveling to the wizard, and instead of cutting between close ups of each character, we remain in one view, as if standing there and watching the two speak with one another, and gives the piece a more realistic feel in the sense of that there really are not that many different angles used while cutting the scenes.

Classicism

Tim Burton's take on the classic of Alice in Wonderland really does utilize the editing style of classicism. As we watch the clip of Haymitch's proposal to Alice and her running off to chase the White Rabbit, if we pay close attention to the shots, it becomes clear that this editing style was used. There are many cuts in between dialogue as the two speak to one another, utilizing close ups on the characters. This style also enforces the reactions of the crowd as they watch the two, and follow up actions, such as when Alice looks away, we we the picture of the crowd to look through her own eyes. This sequence uses very short shots, but the meaning behind each is clear cut, and adds to the effect of the mood and enhances the story. But even when there is no dialogue being exchanged, when Alice bolts from the gazebo to chase the white rabbit, the cuts are very sharp and short, yet add a fluid movement to the clip. We see Alice, where she's running, who she's chasing, etc. It all adds to our understanding to the event that is occurring and is able to keep our interest with continuously changing angles and shot types, utilizing many different aspects that can be captured within camera work.

Formalism

This clip from the Hunger Games clearly shows through the use of formalism while creating this scene. Adrenaline is supposed to be rushing, blood is supposed to be pumping, and death is supposed to be coming. Therefore, smooth, clear cut shots and cuts just aren't going to "cut" it as our main character is about to rush into, very possibly, her death. Therefore the picture itself is very shaky and sporadic, and the cuts have to match. As the timer counts down, we get images of the area around the characters, the cornucopia, the characters themselves, supplies, weapons, etc. This style of cutting sporadically between objects and close ups and random yet logically important objects flash across the screen all add to the anxious, adrenaline-pulsing mood of the scene.

Location is Character

Commentary

Media's Vision of Reality

Media is one of the best ways in which our portrayals of the world we live in get out to the general population. It utilizes our senses of sight and sound and deals with our emotions in a way that it can captivatingly get a point across without much effort on our part. The artistry that goes into creating each and every shot to a film or any aspect in which film is utilized (ie. tv, internet, etc.) creates effects that cause us to react in a certain way in which the director intended. Through the director vision, we experience their "shared vision of reality", delving into topics and genres in which they feel will best get their point across on thematic subjects, or just humanity and morals in general.

One topic I would like to delve into is that of gender roles and how each of the sexes is portrayed within the media. Women, specifically, have a variety of stereotypes branded upon them (as do men and a every type of person in general, but just focusing on women for the moment). Women typically are seen as the house keepers, the mothers, the caregivers of the family. They stay home and cook and clean and have a very old fashioned ideals. While the other end of this spectrum is the very revealing, skinny, showy sexy side of women that is portrayed in the media, always showing that we are not skinny enough, your "this" isn't like "that", you aren't pretty enough, you'll never be enough, etc. It sets a very set and impossible "Barbie Doll" image that is virtually impossible to duplicate and sets standards to a ridiculous level. One example that shows this side of media and the impossible figure in which society has created for women, and how we should just learn to accept and be ourselves is the movie 200 Pounds Beauty, where a girl, in hopes of impressing the guy she likes but doesn't feel like she do that because she is over weight (even though he felt for her to begin with), got a surgery to remake her body until she was petite and socially "gorgeous", but turned into an ugly person inside, and the guy ended up liking the old her better. This movie is trying to convey to us that we shouldn't let society shape us, but that we should shape ourselves and accept who we are, because when you try to be something you're not, nothing ever goes right.

The next topic I want to discuss are simply resurfacing themes that I've noticed throughout a variety of media types. Topics such as acceptance in general (a main example being that of homosexuals, such as in Glee), our fascination with the upper class (mostly in watching them flip out on each other and their overall dramatic lives), along with our appeal to heroism, but not only that, but also seeing the side of the antagonist in a way that the villain is the main character. Violence is also another aspect of media that we have become extremely desensitized to.

Going into one of media's favorite themes, the search for acceptance, there are multitudes of examples of films and shows where the main character is driven by the need to only feel accepted by their peers or their family or just by the world in general. They want to feel important, like they have purpose, like they are wanted. The television show Glee is a popular example in which a bunch of outcast misfits and people from basically all different areas and groups/cliques within the school join together to make something beautiful and find acceptance from each other.

As stated above, the deep characterization within both heroes and villains is an intriguing topic to explore from all angles. We've all seen the stereotypical hero movie, where the good guy beats the villain and gets the girl, but what is fascinating is when films take us into the stories of each and every character, good and bad, and explains their stories and situations and experiences so that the lines between who is truly good and who is truly evil is blurred. For in reality, is anything ever so black and white? One great example for such blurred lines of characterization is the show Once Upon a Time (which i highly recommend), tat delves into each and every story book character you can think of and intertwines all of their stories so beautifully that you can't get enough and you need to know what happens next.

As a last note, violence is something that media has been dishing out to us ever sense we were children. Cartoons such as Tom and Jerry along with the Looney Toons were especially violent, and even children shows today, even Pokemon, show sides of violence to solve our problems. The amount of blood and gore relayed within most modern film footage today can be utterly revolting. The fact that we have been desensitized to such utter savagery to the point where we seek out blood and gore within films is sickening to an extent, and it is embedded within us at a young age. Most people find any sort of violence within film to be extremely entertaining, along within real life, but this has been programmed within us be society sense we were children and if you think about it, is rather disgusting.

As a total, media portrays to us society's norms and expectations, along with a directors outcry against these certain ideals. It is a mesh of calls to action along with messages hidden within deeper plots and and themes and ideas that we can all relate to and sympathize with. Media is our societies way of connecting us all together, but the question remains, are each of these connections a good influence upon us?