Movies: what they are about and what they are really about
HND in Media
(Moving Image)
Unit 37: Film Studies
Movies what are they about-What are they really about?
This unit asks to think differently about movies. Cinema is a mass medium, this means that it communicates to hundreds, thousand and sometimes millions of individuals. What is there in cinema that interests many seemingly diverse individuals? This unit asks you consider unashamedly popular films as significant vehicles for social discourse
In studying the James Bond, Our Man Flint and Austin Powers we will
- Identify the similarities in content and structure to be found in each of the films
- Evaluate the claim that the characters of Bond, Powers and Flint attempt to project a normative view of gender
- Discuss the “gentleman adventurer” story as the site for an ideological contest about what it is to be a modern perso
Why take such a theoretical approach?
There are various ways of studying cinema. We could take a very technical approach and study the technology that makes cinema possible. Alternatively we might study the construction of individual films or a collection of movies. We might profitably spend time on the looking at various genres. The approach taken in this unit asks you to think about entertainment as a fundamental human activity. It is where individuals and communities “re-create” themselves. This approach asks you to consider the simple act of going to the cinema as participating in an important communal dialogue. And the product of such a conversation is the crystallising of ideas that inform our collective behaviour.
According to Dr Helena Sheehan all human societies engage in storytelling and all engage in myth- making. The latter is the place where the values and norms of a community are voiced and a preferred view of that society projected.
Summary of outcomes
To achieve this unit a learner must:
1. Demonstrate understanding of how the “Gentleman Adventurer” projects “preferred” gender roles
2. Demonstrate understanding of the work of Helena Sheehan in analysing the Gentleman adventurer story
3. Compare 3 examples of the Gentleman Adventurer story. Note the similarities in plots, treatment of principal characters and iconography to be found between each of the films. Do this as background research for the creation of your own version of the “Gentleman Adventurer” story
4. Undertake a close reading of both the novel and movie of Goldfinger
5. On completion of your research produce the following:
- Make a pitch on how you will rework the narrative (oral presentation plus written summary of 100 words)
- Write a script in a professional comic book format (10-12pages of up to 36 images)
- A new version of Ian Fleming’s narrative Goldfinger in photo story form (10-12 pages of up to 36 panels) and MI6 website
All of the work requested in point 5 to be produced in a team of 3 students
Content
In our study of The Gentleman Adventurer Story we will undertake 2 discrete modes of thinking. These are:
The analytical mode where we make use of the work of Helena Sheehan and others to identify the structure of this story form, its cinematic and literary lineage together with its status as a social barometer.
The experimental mode in which we either
- attempt to create a contemporary version of the form or
- try to subvert the form by using its structures to undermine this type of story
In the analytical mode we will pay attention to the repeating iconography of the Gentleman Adventurer film. That is what sets, costumes, locations and props occur in almost every example of this type of film? To do this we undertake a synoptic visual analysis of several films.
2 Wider theoretical models
Underpinning this unit is the notion that that there is no such thing as mere entertainment. Movies are one of the devices that a society uses to create a community’s idea of itself, its shared history and the norms by which it is regulated. The most powerful of these techniques is the process of myth- making.
3 Researches
You are asked to undertake the following:
- View one example each of James Bond, Austin Powers and Flint
- Read the novel Goldfinger
- Prepare notes on the re-presentation of male and female genders in both the movie and the novel.
You are asked to undertake this research with 2 objectives in mind.
First make a presentation in which you demonstrate your ability to isolate the systems of gender presentation in this narrative.
Second use your research to re-work Goldfinger. In this you address the following question. Is it possible to retain the storyline and mise en scene to be found in the Gentleman Adventurer Story and yet have it project a different range of values?
4 Presentations
Presentation is an important part of academic and professional life. This unit asks you to develop skills in the following forms of presentation. This includes:
1. An oral presentation of what you take to be the structure of the Gentleman Adventurer Story.
2. An oral pitch outlining a teams new version of the Goldfinger narrative
3. A script for a photo story of Goldfinger.
4. A version of the Goldfinger narrative told in a photo story form.
All presentations must adhere to best industry practice.
Assessment
The table below specifies the way in which you will be assessed. It also tells you should produce for the assessment. To gain a pass you must;
Outcome criteria What you need to demonstrate
demonstrate an understanding of how meaning is created in cinema In your first oral presentation you will demonstrate that you
I. Have viewed examples of the Gentleman Adventurer Story
II. Have read the set text from the James Bond series
III. Can use the work of scholars to identify the recurrent structures of this form
IV. A visualisation of a new version of the Gentleman Adventurer Story:-this can be a complete story board or photo story.
Make use of the work of Helena Sheehan In a written proposal you will pitch a new version of Goldfinger. In this presentation you will identify the values of the story form and state how will use them in a modified version of the Gentleman Adventurer Story.
Present a new version of the Gentleman Adventurer Story in a profession scripting format. You will adapt the narrative of Goldfinger. In creating your story you must demonstrate knowledge of the structure and content of the Gentleman Adventurer story even if you are subverting it.
To gain a Merit
Outcome criteria What you need to demonstrate
demonstrate an understanding of how meaning is created in cinema
In your first oral presentation you will demonstrate that you
I. Have viewed examples of the Gentleman Adventurer Story and identified common narrative design to be found in variants in the story.
II. Have read as Goldfinger from and the identity the way in which the gender of the principal character is projected.
III. Can use the work of Helena Sheehan to identify the recurrent structures of this form
IV. A visualisation of a new version of the Gentleman Adventurer Story. This should make explicit use of the structures found in the analysis of the Gentleman Adventurer.
Make use of the work of Helena Sheehan and Claude Levi Strauss You will write a proposal for a new variant of The Gentleman Adventurer Story. This will be presented in a “pitching session” in which you will first :
• Take one example of the Gentleman Adventurer Story and describe its structure
• Select an issue from within the form that may be addressed in a new version of the story
• Select a format for the expression of this new version and argue the virtues of your selection
Present a new version of the Gentleman Adventurer Story in a profession scripting format. You must demonstrate skill in using the tropes and techniques allowed by the format in presenting a new version of the Gentleman Adventurer tale. You must adhere closely to the plot of this form while emphasising different aspects of the narrative.
Distinction
Outcome criteria What you need to demonstrate
demonstrate an understanding of how meaning is created in cinema In your first oral presentation you will demonstrate that you
I. Have viewed examples of the Gentleman Adventurer Story
II. Have succinctly deconstructed the presentation of Gender in Goldfinger
III. Can use the work of Helena Sheehan. to identify the recurrent structures of this form
IV. A visualisation of a new version of the Gentleman Adventurer Story: - in photo story form.
Make use of the work of Helena Sheehan and Claude Levi Strauss In a written proposal you will pitch a new variant of The Gentleman Adventurer Story. In this presentation you will identify the values of the story form and state how will use them in a modified version of the Gentleman Adventurer Story.
Present a new version of the Gentleman Adventurer Story in a professional scripting format. You will select one of the formats indicated above and draft a new version of the Gentleman Adventurer Story. In creating your story you must demonstrate knowledge of the structure and content of the Gentleman Adventurer story even if you are subverting it.
