Unfinished business

The Matrix creates (at the time) the refreshingly innovative idea of not only an alternate reality, but also questions what makes ‘reality’ real. It brings a world full of cohesive, and at the time, brand new technology to the table.  Throughout the film, The Matrix raises many questions, but gives little answers. From the beginning, the audiences is given little context, and less background about our protagonists. Introductions are made, but characterization is far from being given. Most of the dialogue in the beginning of the story centers on Neo being told of this faceless prophet. Neo is given hints at reality, but is never given any real explanations before he makes his life-altering decision. Slowly but surely, bits and pieces of reality are revealed to us, creating a general picture of the real world and the Matrix. The clearest distinction made is the distinction between reality, a post-apocalyptic world where artificial intelligence has enslaved humanity, and the Matrix, the artificial reality that the enslaved mind has been born believing in. With the creation of these two worlds, the more Neo discovers about the state of the world and himself, the more the audience is left wondering about the future and how they will change in relation to each other.

 

One of the major elements of the film that contributes to The Matrix’s momentum and intrigue is technology. At that time, the internet had just gained worldwide usage, though it was still a relatively new concept. Many people were still getting used to the idea of the ‘world wide web’ and software technology. The Matrix took this relatively new concept and expanded it to new proportions. Not only is the internet and intelligent technology present, but it dominates society. These ideas challenged everything we knew to be true, and created a need to pursue this technology driven society. Within the computer-generated world, characters are able to ‘download’ new skills into their virtual selves, and transport back into reality by picking up a phonecall. Within their reality, the rebels are able to hack into the computer mainframe, fly a war hovercraft, and use an electromagnetic pulse device to fight off the machines. These new technologies help fuel our need for answers for questions within the film, and for our curiosities regarding the future.

 

Another element adding to the mystique is the overall aesthetic of the characters. In the Matrix, the rebels are dressed in sleek all black skin-tight clothing distinguishing them from the attire of the people still trapped in the virtual world. They don dark, (Morpheus is the only one who wears reflective glasses without temples) almost sporty sunglasses, hiding their eyes as well as their emotions. The sunglasses are not present when they return to reality, where their true selves and emotions reside. While their attire is dark and polished, it draws much attention. They are both subtle and striking at the same time, drawing the audience’s attention and creating a desire to access their concealed emotion.

Some of the biggest questions raised revolve around Neo’s assumption (or rejection) of the role of ‘The One’, leader of the rebellion and savior of mankind. Morpheus hints at importance of Neo’s presence within their group early on, but for most of his time spent in the real world, he doesn’t believe Morpheus’s prophecy. He only fully realizes the extent of Morpheus’s belief when the oracle tells him of the choice he has to make, as well as the consequences of his decision. Questions are consistently being raised—Who is Morpheus really? Will we get a more in-depth look at this AI regime? Where is Zion, and how much of mankind remains? What does survival without earth’s resources look like? Finally, the huge question—will Neo end the rule of AI and liberate mankind? The film does a remarkable job of hinting at these questions/potential problems, and skillfully evades answering them. This system of lingering curiousity and doubt creates a slow thirst for resolutions—a thirst that only a sequel can quench.

 

 

 

SOS: Save our society!

In Ridley Scott’s Alien, several themes are explored revolving around the central Capitalist ideology. Throughout the film, money, power, and strength are the major deciding factors, and help drive the plot forward. From the beginning, we are introduced through conversation to a world in which money takes precedence on human beings, and we are privy to the hierarchy that exists within the crew. When the ship is notified of a possible SOS message from a nearby planet, many of the blue-collar workers immediately voice their opinions regarding pay and their role in the matter. This is our first glimpse of a Capitalist structure within the world of the film, as this conversation is purely motivated by profit. In many ways, Alien manages to both portray and challenge the Capitalist Ideology.

Though many thrillers make use of dramatic irony, giving the audience a glimpse into the future of the characters, Alien leaves us almost completely in the dark. Not much information is given regarding the ship’s “employers,” only that they are this background source of power and influence that helps drive the crew into the hands of the aliens. This is a strong representative of the corporate power present in our lives that don’t necessarily get the attention that they should. We are also not given much insight on the aliens; they are the violent, strong presence on the screen that only rarely makes it appearance on screen, and otherwise stays hidden to build suspense. While films often create shots from the monster/killer’s perspective to create fear, Scott keeps us blind until the most opportune moment. From my perspective, the audience takes on this feeling of blindness both from moments in the film and from the themes that emerge to represent society.

The first of these themes is the role that gender plays in the context of the film. Though the crew is majority male, Scott picks a female lead, and a strong one at that. Ripley represents an evolution in the female character—she is neither the “ideal” woman (according to the American Capitalist Ideology), nor is she the erotic, “desired” woman—who embodies a strong woman who doesn’t necessarily conform to the models created by media and society. Though she breaks these stereotypes, the director doesn’t hesitate to make even more commentary using these female roles. It is almost immediately evident that though Ripley gets along well with the other crew members as a comrade, she is rarely taken seriously as an authority figure. She often attempts to take on the role of leader, only to be ignored or to have her suggestions neglected. (until the end of the film) A second female character amongst the majority male crew creates a very specific type of commentary about women. Her character, often in hysterics, speaks to the stereotype of weak, helpless, panicked women. Her role in the film acts as nothing other than a tool to create suspense, fear, and even pity amongst the audience.

 

Another prevalent theme within the film is the almost constant presence of violence. From first contact with the alien species till the end as Ripley escapes the ship, all problems in the film are met with violence. Without attempts at understanding, relating, nor studying the alien species, the humans’ only solution is to attack. Not only in scenes with the alien, but regarding the android, problems are presented and then resolved with violence. In the scene with Ripley and Ash (the android), when Ripley discovers Ash’s true intentions, he immediately attempts to kill her. Conversely, when the crew discovers his mutiny, they immediately dismantle and burn him. The way violence is presented within the film simply helps perpetuate the notion that all problems can be solved with violence.

As we explore the meaning of these themes in conjunction with Capitalism, we may find that these go very much hand in hand. The both strong and weak portrayal of women speaks to both personal initiative and the representation of the Ideal Female as only a wife and mother in society. The consistent violence and betrayal speaks to the settling of the land and the corrupting nature of money. Through these themes, as well as the way the crew and their intentions are portrayed, Alien has created a self-aware Capitalist world, quick to comment on the ways in which its structure is bound to fail.

 

Illuminating meaning

In Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Spielberg consistently creates lasting images; as we see the spaceships for the first time, the screen fills with frames of bright flashing lights, motifs of color, and distinct sound. Focusing specifically on artificial light in the film, notice that light plays an integral part in creating atmosphere, but more importantly meaning and symbolism. Artificial light, mostly coming from electronics and technology, through mimicry and parody seem to create and highlight the connection between human and extraterrestrial. We find that light in the film often creates images that resemble other existing images; this creates a focus on the eerie similarities between earth and non-earth objects and people.

Image systems using light begin with the blackout, creating a sense of mystery but also hinting at a lack of knowledge in reference to the extraterrestrials—the people in the blackout are “in the dark”. In Jillian’s house, bright beams from outside and flickering lights from Barry’s toys fill the frame with pandemonium and confusion. As Barry goes to investigate the strange lights and sounds, close up shots of light from the open refrigerator and bright beams spilling from the doggy door leave traces of an extraterrestrial presence, causing Barry as well as the audience to wonder what’s outside. Barry eventually opens the front door, filling the house with light and outlining Barry’s tiny silhouette against the overwhelmingly large red-orange unknown.

In the scenes leading up to Roy and Jillian seeing the spaceships for the first time, light is used to playfully hint at the coming encounter. Before the scene where Barry leaves the house to chase the spaceship, we catch a glimpse of light casting shadows of the trees on the window drapes and creating long finger-like shadows.

In the image below, Roy reads in his car, as the headlights of cars continue to come up behind him before driving around his car. Roy is oblivious to the fact that an alien spaceship with lights very closely resembling the cars’ headlights come up behind him before taking off into the sky. In a later scene, as Roy read a map, shadows cast yet more finger-like shadows on the paper, foreshadowing a possible form of another. In the film, light plays on confusion, creates mystery, and often even reinforces the idea that not everything is as it seems.

In yet another shot of Roy in his truck, Roy stares up into the sky at what (in this image) looks like it could be the moon, but is actually the beam of light from the spaceship.

Although this scene doesn’t have any specific light motif, it captures the significance of Roy’s exact recreation of Devil’s Tower, and again the similarity between the known and the unknown, and the connection between man and alien.

The climax of the film, the actual meeting with the extraterrestrials is the scene where the film focuses most on light motifs. Helicopters shine lights on the mountain as they search for Roy and the other escapees, from the illuminated clouds, the many spaceships fly into the landing area creating colorful blinking patterns in the sky, the mother ship lands from above—a striking vessel of light and overwhelming power. In addition, the mimicked five-note tune is not only played, but displayed in flashing colors on a large electronic board. This act of the humans attempting to mimic not only the sound, but also their light only further exemplifies connection.

In the last scene, as the aliens land, the frame is mostly comprised of light from the spaceship creating silhouettes of both the aliens and the humans. The overwhelmingly bright light envelops the entire landing site, and for a moment the aliens resemble small children. As they walk further into the light, the audience can better see their exaggerated features, and long thin limbs. At first contact with the humans, we are able to see both sides equally, finally sharing the same light without shadow nor mimicry.

Forbidden Desire

Searching for heroes and villains in Forbidden Planet proves a difficult task, as the characters themselves are trying to do the same. The film takes us to an unknown world, where we struggle to make sense of the inhabitants and their surroundings, all whilst trying to parse the real from the imaginary. Throughout the entirety of the film, our protagonists seek out answers concerning the mysterious and violent force that lives on the planet, only to come to a disturbing discovery.

Though our Captain J.J. Adams leads the expedition, seeking out survivors and commanding the crew and the heart of Altaira, most of our questions and the mystery surrounding the planet seem to revolve around the lone surviving scientist Morbius. Morbius initially strikes the audience as suspicious, as he thoroughly warns the captain against landing, only to take great lengths to prove his safety and contentment on the planet. He then goes on to explain the reason behind his fellow colleagues deaths, citing only his happiness on the planet as the reason for his survival, and prompting the audience to temporarily mark him as liar and potentially the villain. Probing deeper into Morbius’s past and his research, the Captain finds out about the ancient race and their legacy of knowledge. For every burning question and accusation, Morbius supplies an honest and well-supported answer, leaving the Captain, the crew, and the audience looking for a new villain.

In “Heroes and Villains in American Film”, Dr. Ken Burke discusses the hero-villain spectrum and the themes in films associated with each decade. Burke’s creation of a spectrum makes identifying characters much less difficult, as some of the most memorable characters in the film world tend to be those who fall somewhere in between a hero and villain. Morbius’s character falls on the spectrum closer to the villain, as we make the startling discovery near the end of the film that he is responsible for the deaths on Altaira. Burke goes on to talk about the fact that the 1950s gave way to a lot of cynicism in film, and the creation of the anti-hero and anti-villain. Forbidden Planet gives us insight into the American culture at the time. The skepticism embodied by the Captain can be found throughout the film, as he continuously questions Morbius about his motives.

The most interesting aspect of Morbius’s character is that throughout the film, he manages to switch between roles, so much so that by the end of the film, I wasn’t exactly sure whether I considered him a hero or a villain. Though the audience is quick to suspect Morbius as the villain, it’s the rare moments of emotion and concern that make us hesitant to come to a conclusion. This is exemplified in one of the many moments that Morbius is alone with his daughter, speaking about the Earth crew. Altaira has just informed her father that members of the crew have been murdered by the force on Altaira. Away from the Captain and his crew, we catch a glimpse of his honest reaction to the situation—concern, anger, and fear. There are many of these moments where Morbius shows genuine concern for the safety of the crew, and gives them numerous warnings about the dangers of the planet.

These moments, as well as his obvious love for his daughter start to push his character away from being labeled “villain”. In the ending scene, as our protagonists are being chased by what we discover is a tangible monster created by Morbius’s Id, the Captain shouts these realizations at Morbius in an attempt to make him comprehend his villainy. He struggles greatly with this idea that he could be the source of these monstrous acts, but eventually is able to accept and stop the monster within him. After considering these last moments in the film, as well as his last words, I came to the conclusion that I fully consider Morbius the anti-hero of the film. Looking at the film in its entirety, Morbius provides nothing but support and advice to the Captain and his crew, despite his subconscious desires. Though the argument could be made that these violent subconscious desires are proof that he is the villain, the same argument could be made for anyone who’s ever had any negative thought or dark desire–humans are inherently selfish, and this is not proof of their bad (or good) character. In addition, his last act is entirely unselfish, as he attempts to save his daughter and the Captain, as well as to save mankind of the burden of the Krell technology.

Fragile strength

In the film Notorious directed by Alfred Hitchcock, plot is almost insignificant compared to striking personalities of our protagonists. The story follows Alicia and Devlin, two very strong-willed characters who fall in love despite their differences. The film creates a setting as well as direction for the story, but as soon as the characters are situated in Rio, we become more concerned with their interactions and emotions than with the overall plot and story arc. The audience is immediately immersed in their relationship, privy to their feelings both seen and hidden, and witness their growth as people and as lovers.

In The Power of Film, Howard Suber talks about characterization whilst asking the question, “whose story is it?” Though both our male and female leads play central roles in our story, Alicia is especially dynamic–she’s emotional, confident, and unafraid to bare her soul to the world. The audience really feels as if the story being told is hers–our beginning scene has reporters surrounding her asking her questions. Her character’s dynamism is complemented by Ingrid Bergman’s acting–her expression, as well as her body language help the audience not only understand Alicia’s strength but also her vulnerability. In the beginning of the film she is portrayed as this strong, and very confident woman; she is very forward with Devlin at the party where they first meet, and later is not at all afraid when she and Devlin get pulled over by the police. In their initial encounter, she fearlessly sports a cropped zebra top, drunkenly chatting with Devlin and telling him how much she already likes him.

I feel that Alicia’s character embodies a trend in strong female leads in films during that time period. Near the tail end of World War II after women had played a major role in the workforce, these depictions of independent, strong women began popping up in media and especially movies. Alicia represents the powerful and capable woman, being given a vital role in spy operation in addition to being able to make her own decisions romantically. (At least initially) She demonstrates her power through sex appeal, manipulating Sebastian to get more information. As the story progresses, she loses motivation to act close to Sebastian; she begins to lose her power as she finds that her relationship with Sebastian is pushing her further away from Devlin. However, Alicia’s character is not only admirable because of her strength, but because of her vulnerability. Not vulnerable in the sense that she needs to be rescued by anyone else, but vulnerable because she chooses to open up to the people she cares about. In the scene at the horseraces, Alicia and Devlin meet secretly to discuss when she breaches the subject of her and Sebastian having slept together. She tries desperately to shock him into reacting with his feelings, but he pushes her further away instead. This moment speaks largely to her character for many reasons. She very forwardly tries to force a response out of Devlin, and when she fails she does not attempt to hide the fact that she’s heartbroken. She openly sheds a tear lamenting, “if you only once had said that you loved me.”

Though Alicia and Devlin are both strong characters, the audience witnesses Alicia’s strong personality become her ally in love as Devlin’s strong personality becomes his opponent. She openly flirts and speaks her mind, garnering the affections of both Devlin and Sebastian. He instead chooses to use his strength as a way to shield himself from his own feelings. Her honesty and openness contradicts Devlin’s character, who chooses to do the opposite–Devlin is only honest about his feelings near the tail end of the film. Over the course of the film, we watch as the two leads switch roles–Alicia loses more and more of her independence as well as her willingness to tell the truth, and Devlin chooses to declare his love for her.

This ending uses the “damsel-in-distress” appropriately, as both characters are gaining parts of themselves they’ve lost. Devlin gains the ability to express how he feels at this climatic moment, and Alicia memorably is liberated from the suffocating environment that the Sebastians have created to contain her.

 

 

In the dark

In Citizen Kane, one of the most prominent components of Mise-en-scene is lighting. Throughout the film, lighting creates a consistent atmosphere and emphasizes the actions as well as the relationships between characters. The fact that the film is in black and white makes lighting particularly effective as highlight and shadow come across starker in contrast without color to distract. Backlighting is used heavily, and creates very stark silhouettes of characters often from the furthest point from the camera. Welles’s creation of these silhouettes adds to the mystery of the film. I was particularly struck by the film’s choice to use very little dramatic irony. The characters are just as much an enigma to us as they are to the other characters. From the very beginning, in the opening scene of Charles Foster Kane’s death, both he and his nurse’s faces are hidden and cloaked in shadow. Silhouettes hide expression, keeping the emotions and feelings of the characters a mystery. The main pursuer of Kane’s story, Jerry Thompson, often has his back to the camera. We are not privy to his thoughts nor his motivation for so persistently pursuing the truth. Notably, there’s a scene where Thompson goes to read Walter Thatcher’s memoirs in hopes of finding some answers. In this scene, a single beam of light illuminates Thompson reading at a long table, as two other faintly lit figures stand beside him. Often very thin strands of light illuminate parts of the figure—in this case Thompson’s glasses—identifying the character, but still keeping their thoughts a mystery. I was also intrigued by the way that shadow is used both as a tool to exaggerate expression as well as to exaggerate meaning in a scene. This is exemplified in the exaggeration of Kane’s expressions—shadows thicken and darken his already angled brows, and deepen the hollows and lines of his face—creating deeper fury and exasperation. The same is true of highlights, as they create darker shadows and show the juxtaposition between light and dark—power and weakness. Probably one of the most outstanding moments in the entire film for me was the fight between Kane and Susan Alexander. In this scene, Susan has just read the bad review of her performance by Jedediah Leland, and is furious. Fuming, she insists that she wants to quit singing for good, but Kane refuses. He tells her she must sing, and steps forward to tower above her, cloaking her in his shadow. This moment is crucial as it magnifies Kane’s power and her weakness, showing it in a very physical and real way. Shadow and highlight exaggerate meaning as well. In the moment that Alexander decides to leave Kane, we watch as she walks away from him, back to the camera. As she’s leaving, she walks in a out of shadow, representing her wavering determination to leave him. She ultimately walks into complete shadow, no longer in sight. I thought this scene was interesting not only because shadow is imbued with meaning, but also because of the meaning associated with perspective. As Thompson is later questioning Kane’s butler, we see the scene from a different perspective. Instead of disappearing into shadow, Alexander is walking outside into the light. From his perspective, she’s disappearing from his sight into the dark. From hers, she’s finally found freedom outside. Throughout the film, lighting is used in conjunction with blocking to create separation both physically and emotionally. In a climactic moment, when Kane is making the crucial decision to betray Susan Alexander and save his reputation or to stay with her, all the characters are illuminated while Kane is in shadow. All the characters are blocked at different distances away from the camera as well, creating this heavy sense of separation. The weight of Kane’s decision is that much more obvious when he is “alone” with no one beside him.

Lighting is crucial in the telling of Citizen Kane, and in many ways helps intensify and highlight the emotions of our protagonists which would not otherwise be obvious.