Levi-Strauss - Binary Oppositons:
There are binary oppositions in this film narrative such as..
- good v evil
- authority v anarchy
- society v situatio
- adult v youth
- fear v happiness
- light v dark
- freedom v entrapment
- deliberate v acciental death
- family v individual
- warm v cold
- conviction v casual
Roland Barthes - action/enigma codes:
In this film there are many action and enigma codes which is one of the reasons i thought the film carried so much suspense throughout.
Examples of action codes (we see an action and want to know what's next):
- Kale (main character) and his Dad crash. Are they still alive?
- Will Kale's bad behaviour in school lead to something?
- Why is Kale put under house arrest?
- When Kale and his friend are caught watching the girl next door, is she going to confront them?
- When Kale is caught watching Turner (the villain), is he going to be in trouble?
- When Kale's mum goes to Turner's house, what is going to happen to her?
- When Kale goes over to Turner's house, is he going to die?
Examples of enigma codes (raises questions in the audience's minds):
- Why is there a secret room in Turner's house?
- Why was Turner buying a shovel?
- Why was Ronnie (Kale's friend) in Kale's closet?
- Why was there blood on Turner's window?
- Why was Turner's car damaged?
- Why did Turner kill the rabbit on his lawn?
Tzvetan Todorov’s- narrative structure: (main examples of the narrative structure)
• a state of equilibrium (the normal) - Kale and his dad went out for a normal days fishing.• a disruption by an event -the car crash led to the death of Kale's father
-Discovery of the killer living next door
• recognition of the disorder -Kale punched his teacher
-Kale witnesses blood splattering on the window.
- an attempt to repair the disruption -put on house arrest
-tries provide evidence of Turner's killings (technology)
• a new state of equilibrium -death of the killer
-Kale's release from house arrest
As the theory shows, the new equilibrium is very different from the first as his father has died and he has a relationship with the girl next door.Vladimir Propp - Character types:
1. The villain -Robert Turner
2. The hero - Kale, and he is motivated because he is stripped of all of his priveleges when on house arrest and so he turns to voyeurism.
3. The donor- Kale's mum- she gets close to the villain and takes away Kale's priveleges.
4. The helper- Ronnie and Ashley
5. The princess- Ashley and Kale's mum (it was Turner's plan to kill Kale's mum but Kale saved her).
6. Her father- Kale's mum rewards him in new equilibrium
7. The dispatcher- Kale's dad and Ashley. Dad's death urges Kale to make his dad proud and Ashley encourages his voyeurism.
8. The false hero- the police officer
Fatal Attraction:
Levi-Strauss - Binary Oppositions:
There are binary oppositions in this film narrative such as...
- good v evil
- family v individual
- freedom v entrapment
- social well being v loneliness
- psycho v housewife
- guilt/fear v obsessivness
- life v death
- sex v love
- marriage v fling
- forgivness v revenge
- innocence v conscience
- light v dark
- jealousy v contentment
- responsibility v reliability
Roland Barthes - action/enigma codes:
Examples of action codes (we see an action and want to know what's next):
- Alex has a knife behind her back- is she going to stab him?
- Alex and Dan go back to Alex’s flat- are they going any further?
- Alex is following Dan home- is he going to see her?
- Alex takes the child home from school- is she going to kill the child?
- In the climax to the film who is going to be killed, Alex or the wife?
Examples of enigma codes (raises questions in the audience's minds): - When Dan is at Alex’s flat, what is she going to do to get him to stay?
- Will Dan’s wife find out about their affair?
- Is Dan going to continue with the affair?
- Why did Alex kill the bunny?
- Why was Alex following him home?
- Why did Alex want to buy Dan’s old apartment?
- Why is Alex’s bedroom so plain?
- Will the wife forgive Dan for his affair?
- Is Alex really pregnant?
Tzvetan Todorov’s- narrative structure: (main examples of the narrative structure)
· The state of equilibrium- the idyllic yet normal family life Dan possesses.
· The disruption- the introduction to a tempting female, Alex.
• Recognition of the disorder –they have an affair
• An attempt to repair the disruption – Dan tells his wife of the affair
• A new state of equilibrium –The family remain together and Alex is out of their life, although the relationship between Dan and his wife, Beth, is affected by this disruption.
Examples of thwarted attempts to try and restore the equilibrium:
- Disruption- Alex tells Dan she is pregnant
- Recognition of the disorder- Dan wants an abortion
- Attempt to repair the disruption- Dan intrudes Alex’s flat to find evidence which proves she is actually pregnant
- Disruption- Alex kills the child’s bunny
- Recognition of the disorder- the family is very upset and finds the rabbit boiling over the cooker.
- An attempt to repair the disruption- Dan finds Alex and threatens to kill her if she interferes with his life any longer.
Vladimir Propp - Character types:
1. The villain –Alex Forrest
2. The hero –Dan Gallagher, and he is motivated to stop Alex from ruining their stable family life.
3. The donor- Beth (the wife), as she meets with Alex, which highlights the severity of this affair and how dangerous Alex really is.
4. Helper -?
5. The princess- Beth (it was Alex's plan to kill her).
6. Her father- Beth – rewards him with a stable family life once more
7. The dispatcher- Alex! She is so obsessive that she drives Dan to kill her.
8. The false hero- ?
No comments:
Post a Comment