Examine how either sound or editing is used in one sequence from your chosen film. [10]
The montage in the opening of ‘Beasts of the Southern Wild’ shows all of the best bits of the Bathtub to the audience. For example, we get to see the community aspect to the bathtub which aligns us with them. This is through the mise en scene and performance of the people of the bathtub parading down the street together, while positive folk music plays both diegetically and non-diegetically adding to the positive community feel; this is also an example of the audience being positioned with the bathtub. However, this is also an example of different responses, as while some audience members might be focused on the community aspect, others might view their actions of drinking around children irresponsible, especially since this alcohol effects their actions such as making babies race. The slow cut rate during the montage allows the spectator to develop views and opinions like these responses as they are given time to consider what they are seeing. Some viewers might be active viewers during this scene in the montage, as they may consider the benefits and downsides to the way the adults act around their children. Another part of the montage editing that can be interpreted as showing the good side to the bathtub is the part at the beginning when Hushpuppy is eating. During ‘feed up time’, she is at one with the animals as she eats with them and shares the food with them. This links to how the teacher woman said, ‘we are all part of the buffet of the universe’. This brings the binary oppositions of animal and humans together as equals, rather than opposing them. Another example of this is when we are positioned with Hushpuppy through subject positioning of the heart beat when she holds the bird to her ear and we hear it too, this performance shows that she is caring, which is a reason why we are aligned with her as an audience but also shows that she is caring towards animals.
Explore how far spectators respond both actively and passively to film. Illustrate your answer by close reference to your chosen film. [20]
The exposition of the movie is likely to be watched by a passive viewer, as it’s normal for the opening of movies to give the spectator lots of information, like ideologies and the characters values, that the spectator just needs to take in as a way of setting up the film. For example, the opening montage allows the spectator to see how the people of the bathtub value animals as equals, as Hushpuppy eats with them and shares her food with them. This is reinforced with the teacher woman saying, ‘we are all part of the buffet of the universe’. However, as the montage continues, a spectator is likely to be driven to be active, as they might question the positive and negative sides of the way that the Bathtub act around children. For example, a spectator might respond by seeing the adults behaviour as irresponsible, as the performance of the drinking around children encourages imitation from the children, and the alcohol influences their decisions and makes them do things like race babies. A different response may be that they agree that this is irresponsible, but also see the freedom and community aspect of the Bathtub. The mise en scene of everyone together, and the positive, diegetic and non-diegetic folk music provides this sense of community.
During the opening of ‘Beasts of the Southern Wild’ there is a scene where Wink and Hushpuppy are looking at the Levee. During this scene, the spectators are passive viewers as they are directly told Wink’s values on the ideology of environmentalism. An example of this, is when he calls the factories and the buildings ‘ugly’. This is part of the binary opposition of the bathtub and the Levee, as the bathtub has a lower carbon footprint than the Levee which is a reason why we are aligned with them. This opposition is emphasised with the mise en scene, as the Levee is at a distance and unsaturated, contrasting to the Bathtub which is colourful, and literally walled off, adding to the opposition. This opposition makes the spectator an active viewer, as they are inclined to compare the two ways of living, and possibly compare it to their own life too. The positioning with Wink then changes back to Hushpuppy when she comes into focus. Her voice over also provides ideas of environmentalism that she believes in, such as her confusion about how the Levee put their fish in ‘plastic wrappers’. However, a spectator might be active and consider to what level these ideas are hers, and to what extent she has been influenced by her father. Despite this, we are aligned with the bathtub as we know that being an environmentalist is a good thing.
Towards the end of the movie, when Wink is dying, the editing and sound encourages an active viewer rather than a passive viewer. The action reaction shots of Wink dying, and Hushpuppy have a slow cutting rate which means the spectator has the time to decide what they feel, consider the characters values of ‘no crying’, and decide who they are positioned with in this scene. The sound also allows the spectator to be active, as the lack of music means that the viewer is not guided or told what to feel, they decide and feel it for themselves. The active viewing continues after Wink’s death, during the funeral. When Hushpuppy is setting Wink’s body on fire, an active spectator might consider whether they believe it was right for Hushpuppy to be the one to do this, or irresponsible. A viewer might believe that it was right for Hushpuppy to do this, as exposing children to the dark side of life is inevitable and in some cases it’s not fair to shelter them. Plus, an active viewers interpretation of the symbol of the aurochs might be that they symbolise her fears or maybe even innocence, and so the performance of Hushpuppy turning round and facing them, and the long shot of them bending down to her, showed an active viewer that Huhpuppy was strong, able to stand up to her fears, and more mature than a child who needs to be sheltered from everything. Therefore, an active viewer might believe that it was right for Huspuppy to be the fire starter, as she has shown that she is capable, and her just watching, would have been going back on the way that Hushpuppy is presented to us.
Explore how far spectators respond in the same way to a film. Illustrate your answer by close reference to your chosen film. [20]
The opening of ‘Beasts of the Southern Wild’ attracts different responses from spectators. At the very beginning, as it’s an exposition, most spectators are passive as the audience are told and shown directly characters ideologies and values. For example, how the people of the bathtub view themselves as equal to animals shown by the beyond close sonic perspective, subject positioning of the heart beat sound when Hushpuppy listens to the birds heart beat showing she cares for animals (making spectators aligned with her), and how during the ‘feed up time’ sequence in the montage, Hushpuppy eats with the animals and shares her food with them, this directly shows spectators that Hushpuppy values animals as equal to human, and the binary opposition of animal and human are brought together instead of opposed. As this is a passive sequence, most spectators would feel the same response, which is probably a respect for the way that Hushpuppy is caring for animals especially the bird because of her performance. However, as the montage sequence continues, spectators might start to respond in different ways. For example, according to Hall’s theory, the preferred response when the community are together drinking on the street is probably that the Bathtub is a positive place, where community is important, which is a response that some spectators would have. A reason why, is the performance of everyone being together emphasising the community feel, and the positive feel that the non-diegetic and diegetic folk music has on the scene. However, an oppositional reading and response (Hall), could be that the adults act irresponsibly, especially considering they are around children. They might believe that the performance of them drinking alcohol, encourages the children to do the same; children can be drinking, but most spectators assume it’s water. Plus, the drinking influences the adult’s actions, such as making them race babies, Therefore, a spectator’s response could instead be that the bathtub has irresponsible rules or lack thereof, rather than a good and free place. However, the most common response is probably the negotiated reading (Hall), where spectators combine these two attitudes about the bathtub.
The motif and symbol of the aurochs encourage a range of readings and responses from the audiences. Ad there true meaning is never explained explicitly, all active viewers would end up creating and attaching their own meaning to this symbol, therefore creating different responses between each individual. One response of the aurochs is that they symbolise Hushpuppy’s childhood and/or fears. This is because throughout the film, they keep appearing and re-appearing until the end when she stands up against them. The performance of her standing up against them, and the long shot of the aurochs kneeling down to her, shows that she has conquered the fears and/or difficulties that they represent, or maybe her childhood and innocence, as she says ‘I’ve got to take care of my own’, suggesting she is growing up. This line also adds to the theme of self-reliance, that the people of the bathtub have shown to have as a value throughout the movie. The response that the aurochs are a symbol for her childhood is reinforced with the music box non-diegetic music that plays one note at a time when Hushpuppy turns around and faces them, as the song has connotations of innocence and childhood. However, another response that active viewers might have of the aurochs is that they represent the environmental problems, which adds to the ideology and theme of environmentalism that is explored throughout. This is because the aurochs came from the melting ice, and so they could be a symbol for the environmental problems that the world, but especially the bathtub have to face as they have to deal with floods. Hushpuppy standing strong against them, shows that she is able to deal and cope with the environmental problems, despite being a child, as the representation of children in this film is that they are strong and don’t need to be sheltered. This is an example of being aligned with Hushpuppy, as she is shown as brave as well as varying which is shown earlier in the film, such as how she cares for animals.
Another scene that encourages different responses from spectators is the catfish sequence; as there are many possible responses to this sequence, the viewer is active, as it’s difficult for someone to passively take in information during this scene, as nothing is explicitly said to the spectator. A possible response is that the reason that the cat fish building seems so lovely and warm, such as the mise en scene and cinematography of the brightly coloured fairy lights, is because we see everything from Hushpuppy’s perspective, we are positioned with her, and she is looking for something good and pure which is reflected by what she see’s and therefore what we see. The low-level camera work reinforces this positioning with Hushpuppy, and how we see the world from her perspective. This is why the camera focuses on the performance of the hugs, because Hushpuppy is looking for motherly love and so that’s what the spectator see’s too. However, this might not be interpreted by all spectators. Instead, a viewer might be focusing on the women like Hushpuppy’s mother and creating responses to her specifically. The preferred response is probably how Hushpuppy is imagining this woman is her mother, and she is looking for a mother figure. However, an oppositional reading and response is that Hushpuppy imagined her mother being there, and that the woman she interacted with wasn’t even there at all. The cinematography of the bright light when they walk into the kitchen could suggest a dream, and all the references to the mother like the alligator and the beer and the repeated camera angle of her back could be to show the spectator that Hushpuppy is imaging her mother is there. The shot of the air, as stuff floats from the pan, could suggest that the woman isn’t actually there as she cannot be seen, just like earlier in the film when Hushpuppy pretends to be talking to her mother but instead when the camera turns to the chair, she cannot be seen. Plus, after the woman leaves, Hushpuppy is in the same position as she was before, these proxemics could suggest to some spectators that she never moved at all, and instead imagined the whole thing.
Georgia Newman Film Studies 