Spectacular modern Hollywood films and left field Independent films are the focus of this topic. As well as examining how filmmakers use technical strategies to maximise the drama, excitement and emotion of these films we will also explore how their messages are constructed. The major theory linked to this topic is 'spectatorship' - the study of how audience reactions are controlled by a filmmaker's decisions.
Films: No Country for Old Men (Coen Brothers, 2011) and Captain Fantastic (Ross, 2017)
Topics to revise: Core Study Areas: Film Form, Context, Meaning and Response
Specialist Study Areas: Spectatorship and Ideology
Above are two excellent videos that examine and explain how representation is used to communicate with the audience. Mr Gardner also looks at how you can consider context and film form when looking at representation. The second video focuses on gender stereotypes and includes reference to some theory such as Mulvey's male gaze theory. Both of these videos feature excellent analysis of the films we study.