The function of narrative devices in the ending of ‘Under the Skin’

One of the main narrative devices during the ending of ‘Under the Skin’ is the flip of narrative repetition. Throughout the film, Laura, the alien, leads men into her abyss, which was inspired by Richard Wilson’s 20:50, as a predator. But at the end of the movie, a man is attacking her. Technical aspects of the film such as the low angle shot during the shopping mall sequence emphasise this predator like aspect to her, making her seem threatening to the audience. This also links to the binary opposition of men and women, which is also flipped at the end of the movie, as a man is now attacking the woman. As the motorcyclist was presented as emotionless throughout the film through his performance, having a cruel, evil and violent male at the end of the movie could make some audience members believe that the representation of men was unfair, as they were shown to be evil. Especially in comparison to Laura, who’s taking in of men was done in a non-violent way. Another narrative device during this ending sequence are the action reaction shots and the parallel action which build up tension and fear in the audience while Laura is running away, and we can see the man running behind her. As well as this, the lack of music could be considered a narrative device, as it shows the audience how they don’t need to be told what to feel or what to think, the scene is horrible enough on its own. Another way that the cinematography can be considered a narrative device are the mid-shots when Laura is running away, with tree’s in the foreground of the shot, creating the sense that the audience is spying on her, and adding to, and emphasising, the horrible and creepy emotions of the sequence.

Binary oppositions in ‘Under the skin’

The binary opposition of human and alien on ‘Under the Skin’ is both brought together and connected, as well as opposed. An example of the oppositions being opposed is the super imposed image of the close up of Laura’s human form, and the alien form, where they are facing different directions. This could be interpreted as symbolic of Laura now finding a new path in life on earth that is separate from her alien self, adding to the opposition of human and alien and how they are different. However, Laura becomes more human as she begins to feel more. For example, the close up of the fly on the window could be interpreted as a metaphor for the man she almost kills, and she feels sorry for him, and therefore saves him. She is also shown to be able to feel the connection to nature through the exploration of the ideology of Romanticism. This is shown by her running away to nature after the recognition of disequilibrium and the super imposed image of her sleeping among the extreme long shot of the forest, suggesting she feels free and connected to nature which is a human emotion. This contrasts to the mise en scene of the motorcyclist standing on the mountain, as it’s reminiscent of Caspar David Freidrich’s ‘Wanderer above a sea of fog’, which is all about the sublime, but as the motorcyclist feels no empathy and shows no sign of human emotion, we assume he cannot feel the sublime, contrasting to Laura who can despite actually being an alien, therefore bringing the opposition of human and alien together. However, empathy is also shown to not be a human trait, despite Laura learning this from humans. This was shown through the performance of the lady looking out her window when Adam’s character is forced into a car, and she does nothing, suggesting not all humans are good. This could possibly mean that Laura’s emotions are not a sign of her being more human, again contrasting the oppositions of human and alien.

The function of narrative devices in the opening of ‘Under the Skin’

An example of a narrative device in the opening of ‘Under the Skin’ is how the cinematography is used to create a jarring experience for the audience specifically during the opening equilibrium. An example of this are the sudden changes from high key lighting with high contrast, such as Laura standing by the woman, to low key lighting and shots that are jarring like the extreme close up of the ant. The sudden change from low key to high key lighting also sets up the binary oppositions of light and dark, and black and white. The director may have created a jarring experience so that the audience feels detached from the film right from the very beginning, just like Laura feels detached from society. The narrative device also makes the audience question what they are watching, which is important for the rest of the film as it tends to be quite symbolic, such as the symbol of the white van being empty during the long duration shot when Laura has left the van, symbolising how she has walked away from her old life. It’s also an example of her losing her identity because of what we can assume to be her job. This could link to the films exploration of capitalism as it’s showing how she isn’t benefiting from her work and instead suffering, which links to how not everyone benefits from capitalism.

Representation of Gender in ‘Under the skin’

The representation of gender in ‘Under the Skin’ links to the binary opposition of men and women. During the opening equilibrium of ‘Under the Skin’, the performance of the motorcyclist man is that he is emotionless. Such as, he emotionlessly picks up the unconscious woman, making the audience dislike him. This is a negative representation of men, as they are shown to be cruel and emotionless. Although the close sonic perspective noises of Laura undressing the woman add to the nastiness of her actions, and the emotionless way that she drops the woman’s head on the ground suggest the same representation for women, the film brings this down by the end of the movie feels empathy and rescues the man after physically and metaphorically stepping into the light while analysing herself in the mirror, whereas the representation of men doesn’t change by the closing equilibrium. This is because the man at the ned of the movie, is vile and cruel and aggressive. The performance of him chewing adds to his grossness, and the narrative device of lack of music shows how the scene and what he was doing was horrible enough, so it didn’t need music, as the audience didn’t need to be told what to feel. This representation of men is still that they are emotionless and cruel, therefore it is a negative representation men. They are also mainly represented as only being interested in sex, which is why they all follow Laura into her abyss black room, which was inspired by Richard Wilson’s 20:50.

Ideological analysis of ‘Under the skin’

An ideology that is explored in ‘Under the Skin’ is Romanticism. This is because Laura is shown to seek comfort in nature and make emotional connection to nature. For example, she runs to nature when she runs away. Plus, the super imposed image of her sleeping among the extreme long shot of the forest shows that she has found mental freedom in nature and connection with nature which ic a big part of the Romantics, it also links to the binary opposition of alien and human, as it emphasises how her character has become more human after feeling empathy. This is shown by her physically and symbolically stepping into the light during the long duration shot of her looking in the mirror, analysing her identity. To contrast, the motorcyclist man who has not felt empathy or become more human, cannot feel an emotional connection to nature. This is shown through the mis en scene of the extreme long shot oh him standing on the mountain which is reminiscent of Caspar David Fredrich’s ‘wanderer above a sea of fog’, which is all about the sublime, and most audience members assume that he cannot feel the sublime. The Romantics are also explored through the ideology of Romantic Primitivism as Laura loses her innocence through corruption by society. During the opening equilibrium, the performance of her staring at the ant suggests a childlike innocence and curiosity, but by the end of the film her innocence is lost because of society. The bright red colour of the fire when she is dead contrasts heavily to the white snow. As white is typically linked to and suggestive of innocence, her standing out from white could be a symbol of her loss of innocence.

Impact of narrative structure in ‘Under the skin’

An example of the impact of narrative structure in ‘Under the Skin’ is how the opening equilibrium is purposefully made to be a jarring experience for the audience. This is done through the cinematography, such as, the sudden change from low key lighting to high key and high contrast lighting, as well as, the extreme close up of the ant. All these things make it a jarring experience for the audience right from the beginning, which impacts how they view the film. It might make them feel detached from the film, allowing them to feel and understand how the protagonist Laura feels detached from society. As well as, it is making the audience question what they are watching which is important as allot of the film is symbolic and/or needs to be interpreted. Such as, the symbol of the white van that she uses being a symbol for her life and identity, and how the long duration shot of the empty van once she’s left symbolises how she has left her life and who she was. The narrative structure also has impact when you compare the opening equilibrium and closing equilibrium as it shows the films ideologies. One example of this is the ideology of Romantic primitivism. During the opening equilibrium, we see through a long shot Laura staring at an ant, this performance suggests a childlike curiosity and innocence to her. But by the end of the film, she has been corrupted and effected by society, which is what Romantic primitivism is about. For example, when she is on fire, the mise en scene of the bright red contrasts greatly to the white snow that is around her. As white has connotations of purity and innocence, her contrasting to this in her last moments could suggest her loss of innocence due to exposure to society.