Representation

Representations are the ways in which films portrays particular people, communities, experiences or ideas from a particular ideological perspective. Fundamentally, how do the films present the world to the spectator?

Within the films studied, the identification of representation should be informed by a sense of context. You will study key relevant examples of age, ethnicity and gender from their chosen film. It is important to remember that representation includes what is left out of a film, as well as what it contains.

Questions on Representation

• How does the film challenge or reinforce stereotypes?
• What is emphasised by the representation?
• What does the representation neglect to tell us?
• Is a particular group being under-represented or omitted entirely? Why?
• What are the dominant messages of the film and how are these reinforced by representations?
• What dominant ideologies are being presented or criticised by the representation on screen? • What are the film’s social and political contexts?
• How are the elements of film form used to construct the representation?

Aesthetics

A film offers two principal pleasures: one is the pleasure of ‘story’; the other is the pleasure of sensory spectacle, otherwise known as the aesthetic. To study film aesthetics is to ask questions about all those things in the film (for example, lighting, music, camera movement, set design, editing rhythm) that are there primarily to offer texture to the film. Stylistic choices can be described as ‘artistic’ and point to a focus on film as a medium that invites appreciation of elements which are, strictly speaking, not essential for the telling of the film’s story.

A slight variation on this explanation is the following: often we forget the story of a film over time but hold on to particular moments. This is a recollection of the aesthetic – the memorable moments of ‘cinema’ which are brilliantly achieved, deeply affecting and often much referred to.

You may look at the film as a piece of art, commenting on visual elements such as contrast, colour, lines, framing, grain, tone, lighting, negative space, focus, pattern, balance/imbalance.

At the heart of a study of film aesthetics are the “elements of film”: Cinematography, mise-en-scène, sound, performance and editing. The shot-by-shot choices made by the filmmakers provide the basis for a study of the aesthetic character of the film in question. It may also be interesting to look at the stylistic influences on a film. Cultural and Institutional contexts may also be points of focus, where the style of the film reflects these contexts, for example Classical Hollywood or Soviet filmmaking in the 1920s.

Aesthetics Starter Questions:

• How are the elements of film form used to create aesthetic effect in this sequence?
• Does the beauty of this moment in the film also propel the narrative forward?
• Does the narrative pause to allow the spectator to appreciate the aesthetic qualities of the film?
• Does the decision to create a strong aesthetic effect suggest something about the film’s key message?
• Is the aesthetic effect in this sequence typical of this filmmaker?
• How is the pace of the film being managed?
• How is the look of the film being created?
• How is sound design contributing to effect and audience response?
• How is choreography of actors within space being exploited?
• How is set design contributing to the film at any given moment?