Film Studies 2018 - Louie Summers

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

- The film opens on a frame from near the ending of the films - cyclical structure - The camera slowly pushes in on the pale white curtains that blow loosely in the wind - ghostly connotations = haunted by guilt - Accompanying this cinematography is two equally haunting sounds played over each other; the constant spitting of the water sprinkler that seems to mimic the ticking of a clock building suspense as the camera slowly pushes in; with the ghostly cries or chants that fade in and out that are asynchronous and non dietetic - just indistinguishable enough to withhold what the chants or cries mean but distinguishable enough to add a haunting feeling as it sounds like the distant cries or chants of children - inescapable guilt and or trauma - the teenagers in the gym before Kevin killed them practicing cheerleading or something similar; therefore Eva imagining the events, haunted by them - The sprinkler could also be mimicking Eva's intensifying heart beat as she walks closer t