Film Studies 2018 - Louie Summers

Feminism - Voyeurism - Male gaze theory - Laura Mulvey - Scopophilia Class structure - Marxism - Hegemony - Put the key scene nearer the start - Too much retelling of the story - link needed info to analysis - More micro features - Superfluous language - takes away from analysis - Remember to include the ideology and its relevance from the start - Developed key scene analysis

Ideological critical approach + Binary opposition PLAN Fish tank  –  Binary opposition = paternal vs lover, uses the cover of paternity to sexually exploit Mia, a young vulnerable girl from a poor socio economic background Inability to escape dependence on men (dependence vs independence)  –  Her escape is through dance, a small act of rebellion and freedom that tragically only leads to her objectification as her dancing is sexualised showing how even small freedoms are eventually suppressed by the oppressive male We need to talk about Kevin  –  Binary opposition = Nature vs nurture, the nurture aspect as in not all woman are naturally suited to be mothers which can have negative consequences, exaggerated here to dramatic effect with the tragedy that occurs The nature aspect partly removes blame from the mother, Eve as Kevin seems unable to connect with his mother, he is naturally distant  –  The question is connection and blame lays at society's feet as t

During the 2nd act of WTTAK, Eva attempts to reconnect with Kevin through very conventional means; Mini golf and dinner. The conventionality of this request is emphasised by the non diegetic joyful christmas music as well as Eva's purple clothing. The purple clothing has very feminine connotations emphasising the maternal nature of her request to reconnect with Kevin through these conventional means, its a very typical parental activity. The music reflects the joy the characters are meant to feel in the coming activity. The nature of their relationship is also put into question in this scene, beginning with framing as we move from close ups either of them

free and unlimited in her youth, not confined by maternity or her past - reflected by the tomatoes being found around in a freeing and joyous way, people indulging in hedonistic pleasure Confined and limited by her past and maternity - linked by the tomato that is confined into cans here vs the tomatoes in the opening scene that were being thrown around in a joyous way, the tomatoes are now confined to something as mundane and dull as a shopping market shelf - Eva also were neutral coloured jacket reflecting this mundane feeling

medium shot of Kevin out the window - implies his responsibility with the Hamster in the drain pipe  Close up on the Drain overflowing - implying the hamster is in the disposal as Eva gives Celia an excuse as to where the Hamster may be  Medium close up on Kevin with a sinister smile - the spectator fills in the gaps between the hamster, the close up on the drain and camera pointing the blame at Kevin as Eva does, making it seem Kevin finds a sadistic pleasure in Eva's discovery of the Hamster while he wears this very childish t shirt that doesn't fit him juxtaposing any sinister intentions he has - also shows Eva's continued paranoid state towards Kevin - she cant accept she may of made a mistake in her parenting of the perfect Celia, we can imply that Kevin dislikes this maternal facade that Eva plays with Celia that Kevin sees through or resents as he was mistreated by Eva as a child, reminding her of her failings as a parent to him so therefore she cannot be a good

Critical ideological approach + Binary opposition  Andrea Arnold uses binary oppositions to explore the ideology of feminism in Fish tank, so looking through a feminist perspective we can better understand the use of Binary opposition within the film. One way a feminist ideology helps us understand binary oppositions in fish tank is through the feminist perspective of Connor's predatory behaviour and maturity which conflicts with Mia's presentation as prey and her immaturity. This is seen during the sex scene between Connor and Joanne that Mia witnesses through a crack in the door; using a range of micro features a strong binary opposition of predator and prey as well as maturity and immaturity is built between Connor and Mia. We see this through the micro features of mise en scene and cinematography, as an extreme close up on Mia is used in conjunction with chiaroscuro which works in tandem to paint Mia as immature and vulnerable, as the extreme close up focuses our atten