The Artist Essay Example for Free

The Artist Essay Describe what Spoon Feeding is in cinema. What example did we watch in class? The actor in that film spoke four words to the camera what are those words? How did the speaking of those lines spoon feed what was obviously depicted prior to that dialogue? Spoon feeding in cinema is a device used by directors to plainly state to the audience exactly what happened. Sometimes it may be obvious, such as the example we watched in class. Schwarzeneggers character, Dutch says aloud after the Predator passes him over, He couldnt see me. The audience has certainly already realized that the predator couldnt see him. This sort of device has the ability to be used artistically but in this case it really Just seems a little belittling to the audience. 2- Describe the use of body language in Peter and the Wolf, how was this achieved in the film? Peter and the Wolf, being a silent film, depended largely on character body language to illustrate concepts. Each character was specifically defined in their motions. Peter was curious and sneaky. You could sense caution in the way that he moved and looked at things- the eyes were very telling. The duck, carefree and goofy, flipped, flopped, and plopped all over the place. The wolf was dangerous yet noble, his posture was very distinct. The music in the film helped to magnify that body language. 3- Describe the scenes and what form of communication is depicted when pretense is revealed in 2001 a space odyssey and One flew over the Cuckoos nest 2001 : Pretense is revealed when the two men speak in secret while in the pod. HAL, despite being cut off from audibility of the other two, is still able to see the men speaking. All sound in the film cuts off and the camera zooms in to the mens lips oving, panning back and forth between the two mens conversation. Not knowing that he can see them, they continue to conspire against HAL as he reads their lips. OFOTCN: The most obvious pretense in One Flew would be Chiefs unveiling to Mac that he does indeed speak and can understand everything around him. The men sit on a bench awaiting treatment and Mac offers Chief a stick of gum. He takes it and thanks him. In Macs moment of bewilderment Chief goes on to say Ah, Juicy fruit. To which Mac is simply overjoyed. The difference between the two being that one Describe director Stanly Kubricks use of the absence of sound used in 2001 a space odyssey Kubricks use of silence is all too relevant in 2001. With so many long drawn out shots of the ship, he does well to remind the audience that the scene is set in space. Space, by nature, is a vacuum and for that is void of all sound. This really helps to put the audience up there with the astronauts. In many scenes which he doesnt use are those involving the processes of HAL. It kind of suggests that he is cold and collected. He is not a human with a heartbeat. His processes are silent. Looking back on the cene where HAL witnesses the other two astronauts speaking secretly the audience hears nothing. This silence is his processing. Its his cold logic and elaborates planning of what to do in order to preserve himself. 5- Describe director John doormans use of sound in Hell in the Pacific. Describe Jane Campions use of sound in The Piano. What kinds of sounds do both films have in common? I absolutely loved the sound used in Hell in the Pacific. Much of it was so wild and chaotic, not dissimilar the trapped mens situation. doorman embellished the sound of water in several instances; waves crashing, water droplets, rain. Its probably one of the most important props in the film; after all, you cannot live very long without water. Campion used music very creatively to establish setting and give characters a means of expression. Ada would play, Baines would lust after her music, Flora would sing. Both films, though portray water in very deliberate ways. The Piano begins and ends with the main characters crossing over water to a new home. It seems like the water is trapping Ada here on this island and the first indication of what would be a difficult Journey is the wave crashing upon her and the piano while she played it on he beach. This scene is similar to the one in which the Japanese man, while on lookout, had water crash through his fort, if you will call it that. 6- Billy and Flora While the two characters serve very different purposes in their respective films they are alike in that they have very childlike attitudes. Flora actually is a child and her actions are expected of one of her age. Billy, on the other hand, possesses the shyness and demeanor that a child might but it is most likely attributed to his mental affliction. The two both wear their emotions on their sleeve. Flora very vividly xpresses her disapproval of Ada attempts to contact Baines through her and goes so far as to, twice, betray her own mother. Billy is easily flustered by social situations, is often seen in The Piano entertaining herself. She has a wild imagination and will talk to Just about anyone. Billy tends to hang around the other patients but is still well reserved. He has nervous tendencies; stuttering, lack of eye contact, closed off body language. Another stark contrast between our two youthful characters is that they lie on opposite sides of their respective communication spectrum. Flora acts as a translator for Ada. When Ada wants to be heard she signs to Flora and Flora speaks for her, whereas it seems as though Billy is the one that needs a voice in One Flew. An example of this is during the therapy session when he is clearly uncomfortable and would rather not speak on the subject. It is here that another patient speaks up and suggests that maybe Billy doesnt want to talk about this particular subject. 7- Stewart and Nurse Ratched Two intriguing characters. They are both antagonists to their stories but both seem unaware, at least outwardly that that is their place. Their antagony does not seem to be misplaced though. Nurse Ratched is the head nurse; I think her character is a little deeper than Stewarts. It seems there are many levels to her. Initially she appears as a good well-kept nurse. She is soft spoken yet direct in her tone. It later becomes more apparent that she is more controlling than one might have initially thought. The ward is her world. What she says goes. And even when the patients play her game she always is the victor; the vote, for instance, despite there being Just enough votes to trump her she still refused the boys the baseball game. Its really hard to say whether she is really truly bad though. As head nurse it is her Job to maintain absolute order. In a facility such as the setting she is right to say that even the slightest change would potentially provoke certain patients to cause a difficult situation. Steward, on the other hand, despite his wealth and position he doesnt have complete control. He wants control but Adas will is too strong. Stewart goes to great efforts to try to keep her caged but she prevails. Even when he violently cuts off her finger she does waiver. Even Stewards anger and upset (not necessarily his actions) are understandable. He has brought Ada over to marry him and love him but ever for a moment is this what she wants. Hes frustrated but he truly does try to make her happy. When he cannot please her he falls apart. Ada and the Chief The most obvious similarity is the characters silence the two share. You do at some point in both films get the experience the voice of the characters; Ada, while she narrates the beginning and end of the film and Chief, while he and Mac patiently wait for their punishment and enjoy a stick of gum together. While the Adas and the Chiefs silence is chosen I feel that Chiefs is more of free will than Adas silence. The Chief only ad opted silence as a way to protect himself while in the institution. Ada accustomed to it not only as a habit but as a lifestyle. Youth is when you develop your personality Even in the film it is evident that Chief is effluent in his speaking abilities. When Ada begins to speak again she has a difficult time because she simply never learned to do it well. They both seemed to be hiding themselves somehow. Its unsure exactly what might be affecting Ada, maybe a childhood event of some sort. It does seem clear that Chief is affected by two clashing cultures. His mother is white nd his father native American. His father lost himself in alcohol, he is clearly affected. 9- Mac and Baines Mac and Baines are both deviants to their cultures. They have both been shunned and placed outside of society on one way or another. Baines seemed to have disagreed with his own culture so much he went so far as to remove himself completely from it. He actual mingled into the Maori culture, the natives of the land. In this culture some of the social mores of the colonial white culture are accepted with open arms. Baines is a very emotionally expressive character and he chose to join an expressive culture. Mac is most certainly deviant. But where Baines is more of an introverted deviant Mac displays extroversion in spades. He comes from a workhouse. He was kicked out for getting into a fght with another worker. He chose to run with the verdict that he was crazy because it meant that he would not have to go to Jail. They are both very sexual. Baines provokes a sexually driven relationship between an initially unwilling Ada. He knows what he is doing is unacceptable and its certainly done in secret. Mac, our Type A personality has no qualms about keeping his sexual life and desires out in the open. He has no discretion in discussing it and is very eager in encouraging others, such as Billy to do the same.