Most critics agree that the strength of To Kill a Mockingbird lies in Harper Lee’s use of the point of view of Scout. This point of view works in two ways: It is the voice of a perceptive, independent six-year-old girl and at the same time it is the mature voice of a woman telling about her childhood in retrospect. Lee skillfully blends these voices so that the reader recognizes that both are working at the same time but that neither detracts from the story. Through the voice of the child and the mature reflection of the adult, Lee can relate freshly the two powerful events in the novel: Atticus Finch’s doomed defense of Tom Robinson and the appearance of the town recluse, Boo Radley. The child’s voice gives a fresh approach to looking at the racism issue in the novel. Both Scout and Jem struggle with confusion over why some people are acceptable in the social strata of their community and others are not. As Scout wisely answers Jem, “There are just folks.” The mature adult voice serves to give the reader reflections on the events that a child could not yet see.
Regarding the plights of Tom Robinson and Boo Radley, Lee draws on the symbol of the mockingbird. Both Tom and Boo are victims of the prejudices of their community. Tom, who is an innocent black man accused of rape, is convicted by a white jury even though Atticus Finch proves that the evidence against Tom is false. Boo is another victim—first, of his father’s harsh religious views, and second, of the town’s ignorance and gossip. Both men are closely related to the symbol of the mockingbird. Atticus and Miss Maudie, their wise neighbor, tell the children it is a sin to kill a mockingbird because the bird brings only pleasure to humans. When Tom is killed trying to escape, the editor of Maycomb’s newspaper likens Tom’s death to the senseless killing of songbirds by hunters and children. Later, after Atticus and the sheriff decide not to tell anyone that Boo Radley killed Ewell in defense of the Finch children, Scout agrees and equates exposing Boo Radley to the curious town to killing a mockingbird.
Two major themes dominate the novel: that of growing from ignorance to knowledge and that of determining what is cowardice and what is heroism. The “ignorance-to-knowledge” theme is developed through the characterization of the maturing children. Scout and Jem both develop understanding and an awareness of the adult world as they grow through their experiences. Lee represents children as having a fairer sense of justice than adults. Thus, when Robinson is convicted, the children are the ones who cannot accept it. Atticus’ insistence that his children learn to be tolerant and not judge people only on appearances becomes one of the moral lessons of the book.
Arrival by Denis Villeneuve subverts filmmaking’s norms and the audience’s expectations through a protagonist’s journey of discovery. Villeneuve unpacks plenty of questions towards the audience as the narrative moves forward. The protagonist, Louise, is in a position with the audience assuming a perspective that the film is told linearly. As they observe Louise aloofly pass by a crowd looking at the news of the aliens, the audience assumes that she is apathetic since her daughter, Hannah, passed away recently. Villeneuve invites the audience to attach the familiarity with linear storytelling to his protagonist—acting as a blank canvas. In a movie in which the premise hinges primarily on communication, Villeneuve utilizes the film as a medium of communication to his audience presenting the two sides of the lens of filmmaking.
Villeneuve’s method is not unique in a general way, but the specifications that composes his method to communicate to his audience amplifies and elaborates the story. By subverting the order of how the story unfolds, Arrival’s plot becomes far more robust. If films have the duality of restricting the information or providing an omniscient stance to the audience, Villeneuve amalgamates the two by restricting the information that he is providing omniscience. For example, the introductory scene is an encapsulation of Louise’s relationship with her daughter, but the audience does not find out that this scene is an introduction to Louise’s acquiescence of the alien’s non-linear language. Every aspect that Villeneuve presents is an invitation to an assumption based on expectations but is subverted once the arrival of the climax and the denouement.
Since Arrival’s narrative revolves around a focalization of Louise and on top of his invitations to assumptions, Villeneuve plays with diegetic and non-diegetic sounds, blurs the line between the two, and presents another layer of non-linear storytelling. In the scene where Louise is dreaming, sounds and echoes overwhelm the sensations of the audience on top of a symphonic orchestra playing in the background, suggesting and realizing the omniscience the audience already has. Villeneuve removes the restriction of information by mimicking the process of learning a new language through the focalization on Louise—the languages are blended and Louise experiences, for the first time, the non-linear language.
Ultimately, the film is a lens to examine the human condition similar to how scientists study the aliens through a lens. Villeneuve even makes the emplacement of the glass the scientists look through similar to a movie theater. But, as the scientists—moreover, Louise, explores the non-linear language of the aliens, Villeneuve shifts the study on the audience: why do we think linearly?
Conclusion
Arrival belongs in the Top 100 films. It uses the medium of film and applies it to a familiar aspect of our lives—communication. The film is significant because unlike any other film, Arrival explores the audience as the one subjected to the lens of the camera. It applies all the audience’s biases and subverts all their assumptions. The film pushes critics to analyze a subject in a critical manner than before. It can only be unpacked with the technical diction that is learned through studying filmmaking. Because of the subject matter it explores, the filmmaking lexicon provides a more specific analysis of Arrival.
The Sixth Sense was number 89 on AFI’s Top 100 list of movies from the last 100 years. When this film was first released in theaters it was number one at the box office for a solid 5 weeks and raked in 40 million dollars (Atlantic). The reason behind The Sixth Sense’s immense success is mostly due to how well they pulled off the twist at the end. This project would analyze how the story is told in The Sixth Sense following the genre of horror from the perspectives of narrative structure, mise-en-scene, shots, sound&music, and editing.
The biggest feature of this film is the complexity of its narrative structure. The director divides into two storylines, one is the romantic story between Malcolm and his wife and another is Cole and his mother. The narration is developed between the two storylines. Early clues make audience understanding of the film into confusion. Audiences will completely understand the whole story after the disclose at the end of this film. In this film, the director used temperature several times. There are times when the temperature drops and the characters breathe white. Among them, when Malcolm approaches his wife, she wraps her shawl tightly around her in her sleep, a clue that Malcolm is dead. But we won’t know the truth until we get to the end. Most viewers will be puzzled by this clue. On the whole, the film is chronological. With the experience of Cole and Malcolm and the passage of significant time, the narrative moves from being confined to omniscience.
In the film, you see many different scenes where the director uses the style of low-key lighting in order to emphasize the dark or creepy moments that are either currently happening, or in the transition stage of close to happening. By the director doing this I feel like he does a great job in isolating the thrill in the movie and leaving his audience on the edge of their seat in desperation to know the upcoming events. Horror movies take a lot of time in working with the lighting in order to always give a darker/overcast type of look to give a night impression throughout the entire movie. For example, whenever Cole runs into his ghosts the lighting gets really dark and the violins in the background get louder. “The unusual lighting causes tension in the audience” (Fu). Also, M. Night Shyamalan has particularly made the costume of Kyra’s mother so impressive and symbolic. In the funeral scene, Kyra’s mother wears the red costume that makes her stands out of the crowd in many scenes of the film and especially in the funeral scene. Visually, it forms a sharp contrast between Kyra’s mother and others who all wear black costume, giving a deeper message to the audience about Kyra’s death and adding some weird and horrifying atmosphere to the story.
While using shots, M. Night Shyamalan makes their shots to convey varied messages and emotions to the audience. For example, in the magic scene when Malcolm talks to Cole, there uses a tracking shot that moves the camera to Malcolm. While moving, the audience only could see Malcolm on the middle of the screen talking to someone in the chair. When the shot shifts to Cole, Shyamalan makes the audience a little confused about this “magic” moment and therefore pave a deeper clue for the existence of Malcolm. Then, Shyamalan uses a lot of continuity editing in many scenes to create a sense of smooth and flow for the story. For instance, in the scene of Cole is trapped by the other two boys, the shots of Cole’s mother’s going upstairs create a high level of continuity that makes the body actions of the character natural. Besides, I also noticed the zoom shot in the funeral scene when Kyra’s father sits in front of the tape. Shyamalan seems to use a dolly shot that makes the facial expression of the man visually moves closer to the audience, which allows the audience to observe the emotional dynamics of Kyra’s father while looking and hearing the sound of the poison being poured to Kyra’s soup.
In the opening of the film, you can hear an eerie sounding violin playing and the theme of classical music carries on throughout the film. The high pitched whining of the violins really seems to put people on edge and adds to the suspense of the situation. The director uses a various amount of sounds, especially in pop up scenes or scenes that at one point lead up to being a thriller or horror scene.
This film is said to be one of the great 100 scenes and I can easily see why. The director does a very well job while making the movie when it comes to stay on track and is very persistent with the storyline. by the director doing this, I feel like he reduces the confusion that can be easily assumed in a movie that jumps around a whole lot. By analyzing films like these we gain a deeper understanding of what it takes to create a great film. By using specific vocabulary it helps us understand what the words truly mean deeper than just a definition. We are also all on the same page when it comes to an understanding of terminology and gets to practice what we are taught in class.
Sims, David. “How ‘The Sixth Sense’ Conquered Hollywood in 1999.”
The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 6 Aug. 2019, www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/08/how-sixth-sense-conquered-hollywood-1999/595558/.
Nichols, Mackenzie. “’The Sixth Sense’ Turns 20: M. Night Shyamalan and Haley Joel Osment Tell All.” Variety, 2 Aug. 2019, variety.com/2019/film/news/the-sixth-sense-turns-20-m-night-shyamalan-haley-joel-osment-1203259434/.
The scenes of this movie are very important and play an important role in the overall plot of the story. Each individual segment displays suspense and makes the viewer anticipate the upcoming scenes to come. The overall plot is described thoroughly throughout the movie and without close attention the movie may seem confusing. When the mirror is re-discovered can be seen as the most important scene in the film. Everything following this scene will later lead to the climax and falling action(s) of the evil mirror. This selection of work would be easy for me describe, due to the movie being very interesting and action packed. Each segment is suspenseful and truly fun to watch.
Special effects are also evident in this film. This film revolves around the illusion of something being there but it actually isn’t. The characters of this story has flashbacks during encounters of the mirror. Special effects are used to show the flashback while the character just stares in the mirror. The film is exposed multiple times, allowing these flashbacks to just appear and disappear with a close of the camera lenses. The mirror then posses their mother without the crowd actually seeing it. One scene shes normal than with the flip of a switch darkness comes, then she re appears as a demon, displaying obvious special effects .
A way to analyze the segments of this film, you’d have to break the film into smaller more explainable chunks. The movie can be looked as broken into 3 chunks. Life prior, during, and after the encounter of this evil mirror. Some chunks are spoken in past tense but during present time, something similar to a flashback. These chunks are unified by action due to the mirror and all characters being present in each segment. Some segments are in fact out of order. During some scenes the producer would have the character experience a in dept flash back, allowing the viewer to build a logical bridge between the two actions. The producer also kept the actual meaning of the mirror away from the viewers to create a more dramatical suspense feeling. If the meaning was revealed earlier than the movie wouldnt be as interesting. The mirror can be seen as metaphoric towards the genre of horror. Whenever the mirror is seen, it can be labeled as a symbol of horror. As in film, the only actual scary parts described , only occur when the mirror is present in the film. This metaphoric comparison ultimately prepares crowd for a jump when this mirror is visible .
In my opinion this film wouldn’t be considered a great film due to it not having a signifigant impact on the overall genre of horror. The cinematography of this film is elite and usage of each individual segment plays a role in the huge success this movie had. Oculus is a tightly enacted chamber drama that just happens to include supernatural phenomena. By analyzing films critically, it allows viewers to get a better and well rounded understanding of the film prior to watching it. This way of analyzing films also allows the viewer to grasp a more enhanced ,thought out ,analytical conclusion.
Once my ideas where posted , I was told to not see the movie as horror but to us the mirror as a metaphor for horror. The movie doesn’t start off scary, and in fact doesn’t get horror like until the mirror is re discovered . My classmate is maybe stressing that only when the mirror is apparent, there is horror evident. With this in consideration I was able to revise and add more needed information to validate the point my classmate made. My comments also showed the benefits of using the method of chopping segments. I was able to give one of my classmates an example of using this method. It was easier to do this, becasuse it allows you to chunk up inforamtion and give it all at once, without confusing the viewer. This method better shaped my essay and hopefully our group essay!
The Sixth Sense is a well-loved classic thriller movie from 1999. It was directed by M. Night Shyamalan and had Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Os as the leading roles. The story centers around an 8-year-old boy, Cole Searthat (Haley Joel Os) has a supernatural ability to see dead people wherever he goes. A successful child psychologist (Bruce Willis) that gets a little too wrapped up in his work, finds Cole and makes it his sole mission to help him through his problems. The reason behind The Sixth Sense’s immense success is mostly due to how well they pulled off the twist at the end. The movie started off with a graphic scene of an old patient breaking into the psychologist’s home and shooting him in the stomach. Before finding out what happens to the psychologist the plotline introduces the boy and you kind of assume that he just healed from his injury.
In The Sixth Sense, the lighting andsound during the suspenseful parts are created to trigger a deeper reaction in the audience. From sound and music, in the opening of the film you can hear an eerie sounding violin playing and the theme of classical music carries on throughout the film. The high pitched whining of the violins really seems to put people on edge and adds to the suspense of the situation. Another aspect that adds suspense is how light or dark a certain scene is. For example, whenever Cole runs into his ghosts the lighting gets really dark and the violins in the background get louder. “The unusual lighting causes tension in the audience” (Fu). The director uses a various amount of sounds, especially in pop up scenes or scenes that at one point lead up to being a thriller or horror scene. Seeing from lighting, in the film you see many different scenes where the director uses the style of low-key lighting in order to emphasize the dark or creepy moments that are either currently happening, or in the transition stage of close to happening. By the director doing this I feel like he does a great job in isolating the thrill in the movie and leaving his audience on the edge of their seat in desperation to know the upcoming events. Horror movies take a lot of time in working with the lighting in order to always give a darker/overcast type of look to give a night impression throughout the entire movie.
The biggest feature of this film also is the complexity of its narrative structure. The director divides into two storylines, one is the romantic story between Malcolm and his wife and another is Cole and his mother. The narration is developed between the two storylines. Early clues make the audience understanding of the film into confusion. Audiences will completely understand the whole story after the disclose at the end of this film. In this film, the director used temperature several times. There are times when the temperature drops and the characters breathe white. Among them, when Malcolm approaches his wife, she wraps her shawl tightly around her in her sleep, a clue that Malcolm is dead. But we won’t know the truth until we get to the end. Most viewers will be puzzled by this clue. On the whole, the film is chronological. With the experience of Cole and Malcolm and the passage of significant time, the narrative moves from being confined to omniscience.
While using shots, M. Night Shyamalan makes their shots to convey varied messages and emotions to the audience. For example, in the magic scene when Malcolm talks to Cole, there uses a tracking shot that moves the camera to Malcolm. While moving, the audience only see Malcolm on the middle of the screen talking to someone in the chair. When the shot shifts to Cole, Shyamalan makes the audience a little confused about this “magic” moment and therefore pave a deeper clue for the existence of Malcolm. Then, Shyamalan uses a lot of continuity editing in many scenes to create a sense of smooth and flow for the story. For instance, in the scene of Cole is trapped by the other two boys, the shots of Cole’s mother’s going upstairs create a high level of continuity that makes the body actions of the character natural.
The film is highly logical. There will not be too much contradiction between plot arrangement and plot composition and the end. While watching the movie, the audience will not question the logic of the plot. As the basic elements of suspense horror movies, the strong visual impact and the scary music effect are fully used. this film is said to be one of the great 100 scenes and I can easily see why. The director does a very well job while making the movie when it comes to stay on track and is very persistent with the storyline. by the director doing this, I feel like he reduces the confusion that can be easily assumed in a movie that jumps around a whole lot. By analyzing films like these we gain a deeper understanding of what it takes to create a great film. By using specific vocabulary it helps us understand what the words truly mean deeper than just a definition. We are also all on the same page when it comes to an understanding of terminology and gets to practice what we are taught in class.
Sources:
Sims, David. “How ‘The Sixth Sense’ Conquered Hollywood in 1999.”
The film The Sixth Sense could easily be considered one of the greatest films made. While watching this film I was looking at it through many different perspectives and feel as if the director focused on perfecting the same topics i was looking to analyze and determine how great it actually was. although i had a lot to choose from, the topics I focused on in the film the Sixth Sense are the lighting, and the sounds and music emphasized in the film.
In the film you see many different scenes where the director uses the style of low-key lighting in order to emphasize the dark or creepy moment that are either currently happening, or in the transition stage of close to happening. By the director doing this I feel like he does a great job in isolating the thrill in the movie and leaving his audience on the edge of their seat in desperation to know the upcoming events. Horror movies take a lot of time in working with the lighting in order to always give a darker/overcast type of look to give a night impression throughout the entire movie. For example, even when you see cole at school conversing with his teacher the shadows from the clouds outside give it a gloomy day look inside classroom. If i was to just join the movie at the time exactly i would have the perception that I was watching a scary movie just by the lighting of the film.
Along the importance of the lighting in the film, I also feel like the sound effects and music used in the film are definitely essential in aspirations to make the movie as creepy and scary as can be. The director use a various amount of sounds, especially in pop up scenes or scenes that at one point lead up to being a thriller or horror scene. When you hear the banging coming from the top of the staircase during the house party being thrown, you hear an echo that sounds as if it passes through the entire house. The director does a great job here at using one of the most creepiest knocking noises you could imagine in a home that huge. I feel like if the director used any other pitch it wouldn’t fit the context correctly and would more than likely confuse his audience. Not only does the director do a good job of emphasizing the sounds, he does a great job at emphasizing the silent parts. In a scary movie the silent before the obligatory scene is so essential to adding suspense in the film. For example, right before the scary lady vomiting pops up in the “do not enter” tint with cole, there is complete silence in the film and the pop up is so sudden that im sure it even scares the director when he watches his own movie.
this film is said to be one of the great 100 scenes and i can easily see why. The director does a very well job while making the movie when it comes to stay on track and being very persistent with the story line. by the director doing this, i feel like he reduces the confusion that can be easily assumed in a movie that jumps around a whole lot. By analyzing films like these we gain a deeper understanding on what it takes to create a great film. By using specific vocabulary it helps us understand what what the words truly mean deeper than just a definition. We are also all on the same page when it comes to a understanding of terminology and get to practice what we are taught in class.
The Sixth Sense by M. Night Shyamalan is an American supernatural horror drama film in 1999. The story tells the story of a nine-year-old boy Cole Sear claims to see dead people. Malcolm Crowe is a psychiatrist who survives from a shot by his former patients failed treatment. With the help of the doctor, the little boy finally lost his fear of ghosts, know how to get along with those ghosts, went out of his world and tell his true feelings to his mother. However, when audiences think it is a happy ending, the director let the boy’s mouth tell audiences that the psychiatrist already dead in the shot a year ago.
The film is highly logical. There will not be too much contradiction between plot arrangement and plot composition and the end. While watching the movie, the audience will not question the logic of the plot. As the basic elements of suspense horror movies, the strong visual impact and the scary music effect are fully used.
The biggest feature of this film is the complexity of its narrative structure. The director divides into two storylines, one is the romantic story between Malcolm and his wife and another is Cole and his mother. The narration is developed between the two storylines. Early clues make audience understanding of the film into confusion. Audiences will completely understand the whole story after the disclose at the end of this film. In this film, the director used temperature several times. There are times when the temperature drops and the characters breathe white. Among them, when Malcolm approaches his wife, she wraps her shawl tightly around her in her sleep, a clue that Malcolm is dead. But we won’t know the truth until we get to the end. Most viewers will be puzzled by this clue. On the whole, the film is chronological. With the experience of Cole and Malcolm and the passage of significant time, the narrative moves from being confined to omniscience. The audience is getting more clues.
Is it worth it to look for hidden philosophical meaning in a mystical thriller? And is it possible to talk about the psychological subtext of events unbelievable from the point of view of a rational person: the appearance of ghosts, mysterious graffiti, bloody cuts? Any of us mockingly dismisses such an assumption: horror films are just spicy seasoning that adds taste to the dish of our everyday life. The director of “Gothic” Mathieu Kassowitz decided to challenge this opinion, but as far as he succeeded – the audience and critics still argue.
The atmosphere of the film
The main thing in “Gothic” is not a detective component, although the classic killer maniac, hiding under the guise of a psychiatrist, makes us remember the outstanding psychotherapist, esteemed Dr. Hannibal Lector. But the terrible “god” and the owner of a correctional institution for mentally ill criminals, Dr. Douglas Gray, appears in the frame for a while – only to die under the blows of an ax.
The mysterious dark atmosphere of the film has a very real explanation, there is no place for joy and hope in the insane asylum for criminals. Torrential rains, dark colors, uniforms of medical personnel, sore eyes of patients everything fits together in one picture, like pieces of a puzzle. The desperate look of the unfortunate girl Kloia, who prays for help, but meets only with a blank wall of misunderstanding, will be terribly avenged: her attending physician, Miranda, will soon turn into the same outcast seeking confidence and sympathy.
Doctor and patient
The relationship between the doctor and the patient often became the subject of the most serious medical research. And in a field such as psychiatry, concerning the most hidden depths of human souls, this question takes on a special meaning. A doctor who imagines himself to be a god torments, kills, subjugates women, turning them into toys for himself and his childhood friend who is the sheriff. He is completely confident in his impunity, he is a pillar of society, an object of imitation.
His wife, Miranda, with her rational approach to patient problems, is on the verge of professional failure. Trying to explain mental illnesses with physiological processes, she talks with memorized quotes from textbooks, not understanding those whose souls she is trying to treat, not trusting them. A certified psychiatrist, lives side by side with a maniac, a murderer, and does not sense this. She blindly adores looking into his eyes until the moment she reveals the terrible truth to her – paradoxically, through the mouth of a ghost.
Faith and trust
The question of trust is the main psychological meaning of the film “Gothic”. It is set by all the heroes, the viewer sets it, looking at the screen. “How can you trust a person who thinks you’re crazy?” Asks Claudia of Miranda, and the same question will soon echo in the conversation between Miranda and her friend, Dr. Graham. To help a person, one must be able to understand him. To understand it, one must show empathy and empathy. No quotes from the greatest luminaries can replace simple human trust.
Below are select movies that film scholars chose to argue if they belong in the list of 100 Great Films or not. Evidently, we are able to articulate and argue better our opinions about a film because of the vocabulary we learned studying film. We are able to specify and accurately voice our opinion with the cache of terms we have at our hand. Here are the films:
Arrival by Denis Villeneuve
Reordering
Villeneuve’s method is not unique in a general way, but the specifications that composes his method to communicate to his audience amplifies and elaborates the story. By subverting the order of how the story unfolds, Arrival’s plot becomes far more robust. If films have the dichotomy of restricting the information or providing an omniscient stance to the audience, Villeneuve amalgamates the two by restricting the information that he is providing omniscience. For example, the introductory scene is an encapsulation of Louise’s relationship with her daughter, but the audience does not find out that this scene is an introduction to Louise’s acquiescence of the alien’s non-linear language. Every aspect that Villeneuve presents is an invitation to an assumption based on expectations but is subverted once the arrival of the climax and the denouement.
Arrival belongs in the Top 100 films. It uses the medium of film and applies it to a familiar aspect of our lives—communication. The film is significant because unlike any other film, Arrival explores the audience as the one subjected to the lens of the camera. It applies all the audience’s biases and subverts all their assumptions. The film pushes critics to analyze a subject in a critical manner than before. It can only be unpacked with the technical diction that is learned through studying filmmaking. Because of the subject matter it explores, the filmmaking lexicon provides a more specific analysis of Arrival.
While using shots, M. Night Shyamalan makes their shots to convey varied messages and emotions to the audience. For example, in the magic scene when Malcolm talks to Cole, there uses a tracking shot that move the camera to Malcolm. While moving, the audience only see Malcolm on the middle of the screen talking to someone in the chair. When the shot shifts to Cole, Shyamalan makes the audience a little confused about this “magic” moment and therefore pave a deeper clue for the existence of Malcolm. Then, Shyamalan uses a lot of continuity editing in many scenes to create a sense of smooth and flow for the story. For instance, in the scene of Cole is trapped by the other two boys, the shots of Cole’s mother’s upstairs create a high level of continuity that makes the body actions of the character natural.
Structuring
The biggest feature of this film is the complexity of its narrative structure. The director divides into two storylines, one is the romantic story between Malcolm and his wife and another is Cole and his mother. The narration is developed between the two storylines. Early clues make audience understanding of the film into confusion. Audiences will completely understand the whole story after the disclose at the end of this film. In this film, the director used temperature several times. There are times when the temperature drops and the characters breathe white. Among them, when Malcolm approaches his wife, she wraps her shawl tightly around her in her sleep, a clue that Malcolm is dead.
A key element of thriller films like this one is the method of editing used throughout the film. “To intensify feelings of fear in the audience, film artists use sound, lighting, timing, motion and other stylistic devices” (Fu). In The Sixth Sense they altered the lighting and sound during the suspenseful parts to create a deeper reaction in the audience. In the opening of the film you can hear an eerie sounding violin playing and the theme of classical music carries on throughout the film. The high pitched whining of the violins really seems to put people on edge and adds to the suspense of the situation. Another aspect that adds suspense is how light or dark a certain scene is. For example, whenever Cole runs into his ghosts the lighting gets really dark and the violins in the background get louder. “The unusual lighting causes tension in the audience” (Fu).
In 2016 The Sixth Sense was number 89 on AFI’s Top 100 list of movies from the last 100 years. When this film was first released in theaters it was number one at the box office for a solid 5 weeks and raked in 40 million dollars (Atlantic). The reason behind The Sixth Sense’s immense success is mostly due to how well they pulled off the twist at the end. The movie started off with a graphic scene of an old patient breaking into the psychologist’s home and shooting him in the stomach. Before finding out what happens to the psychologist the plot line introduces the boy and you kind of assume that he just healed from his injury. At the very end it is revealed that the psychologist actually died from his gunshot wound and was one of the many ghosts visiting Cole to try and find the help they need.
Oculus by Mike Flanagan
Chunking
A way to analyze the segments of this film, you’d have to break the film into smaller more explainable chunks. The movie can be looked as broken into 3 chunks. Life prior, during, and after the encounter of this evil mirror. Some chunks are spoken in past tense but during present time, something similar to a flashback. These chunks are unified by action due to the mirror and all characters being present in each segment. Some segments are in fact out of order. During some scenes the producer would have the character experience a in-depth flashback, allowing the viewer to build a logical bridge between the two actions. The producer also kept the actual meaning of the mirror away from the viewers to create a more dramatical suspense feeling. If the meaning was revealed earlier than the movie would not be as interesting.
This film wouldn’t be considered a great film due to it not having a significant impact on the overall genre of horror. The cinematography of this film is elite and usage of each individual segment plays a role in the huge success this movie had. Oculus is a tightly enacted chamber drama that just happens to include supernatural phenomena. By analyzing films critically, it allows viewers to get a better and well rounded understanding of the film prior to watching it. This way of analyzing films also allows the viewer to grasp a more enhanced ,thought out ,analytical conclusion.
Daughters of the Dust by Julie Dash
Atemporality
The film also plays with diasporic temporality. The film does not have a linear, straight plot line, which was a very different narrative style that was in opposition of the traditional Hollywood blockbuster storytelling. Dash wanted the audience to experience the film through the various connections between generations. The film is not plot-driven and is dependent on the relationships and dialogue between the family members. There are three narrators: unborn child (of Eula and Eli), matriarch Nana, union of what represents all of black women. We can see it as a visual poem – a focus on women and their bodies that doesn’t objectify or sexualize them. The broader theme of the film is thereby amplified by the interactions and visual images of and between the females of the film.
Daughters of the Dust, without a doubt, should be included within the top 100 list because of the groundbreaking historical factors in being the first feature length film directed by an African American woman and therefore distributing a story and perspective that was ignored for generations. It stands as a classic not only within the independent film industry, but of all cinema for its beautiful portrayals of female relationships, fearless themes and cinematography, and the cultural meaning for so many people of color around the world. It is incredibly important to analyze films critically because whether we want to admit it or not, they lead us as a culture. We invest so much time, money, and efforts in celebrating this industry. It is extremely personal when you bring into context of how we, as a society, plan dates or events around going to the movie theater or having movie nights in our homes. It is especially important in this newer generation, considering how we have such easy access to online media sites such as Netflix. We are bombarded with so many narratives and characters that we become desensitized to it all. However, those images and themes stay with us. But only the movies that have the big bucks and people who allow these films to be distributed are consumed by the mass. It is crucial that we participate in researching the development, production, politics, social, and historical factors that go into creating a movie.
This film is one of the great supernatural horror films I have seen ever before and I believe most of us have viewed this great film. What makes it a great film are because: 1) it really deals with the horror scenes subtly and skillfully based on the deliberate pacing and sobriety; 2) the use of shots and editing techniques really bring the audience to the story psychologically. The two topics I’d like to discuss here is the mise-en-scene and the editing and shots employed in The Sixth Sense.
From the perspective of mise-en-scene, M. Night Shyamalan has makes the staging and style of the film so elaborated that help highlight the horror genre of the film. The general setting of the story aims to tell the audience the story is happening in urban Philadelphia during the early 21st century. M. Night Shyamalan has particularly made the costume of Kyra’s mother so impressive and symbolic. In the funeral scene, Kyra’s mother wears the red costume that makes her look stands out the crowd in many scenes of the film and especially in the funeral scene. Visually, it forms a sharp contrast between Kyra’s mother and others who all wear black costume, giving a deeper message to the audience about Kyra’s death and adding some weird and horrifying atmosphere to the story.
The use of lighting has been a big part of this movie. For example, in the scene of Malcolm and his wife’ wedding anniversary and when he returns home when her wife asleep, there uses low-key lighting that heavily focuses on the lamp. This use of lighting makes the cold and sad emotions of the characters augmented and the clues for Malcolm’s death so invisible and powerful.
While using shots, M. Night Shyamalan makes their shots to convey varied messages and emotions to the audience. For example, in the magic scene when Malcolm talks to Cole, there uses a tracking shot that moves the camera to Malcolm. While moving, the audience only sees Malcolm on the middle of the screen talking to someone in the chair. When the shot shifts to Cole, Shyamalan makes the audience a little confused about this “magic” moment and therefore pave a deeper clue for the existence of Malcolm. Then, Shyamalan uses a lot of continuity editing in many scenes to create a sense of smooth and flow for the story. For instance, in the scene of Cole is trapped by the other two boys, the shots of Cole’s mother’s going upstairs create a high level of continuity that makes the body actions of the character natural. Another clue for the continuity editing is when the shots of the glass painting inside of the church resemble the ending of the last scene where the toy soldiers are shot. That elaborates the visible continuity editing that seems to assume a sense of time passage based on the subtle dynamic shots.
I also noticed the zoom shot in the funeral scene when Kyra’s father sits in front of the tape. Shyamalan seems to use a dolly shot that makes the facial expression of the man visually moves closer to the audience, which allows the audience to observe the emotional dynamics of Kyra’s father while looking and hearing the sound of the poison being poured to Kyra’s soup. Also, the 180-degree rule is employed in a lot of dialogue scenes such as the dialogue between Cole and Malcolm in the church as well as Malcolm and Cole’s mother talking in the living room about Cole. That maintains the left-right position of the characters and therefore make the audience clearly see how the characters look at each other.
