If I was to create a film or television programme, I would make it fair to all people. For example, I would make sure there are a fair amount of genders, races, etc... I do not agree with the way women or races are portrayed in some films because I find it prejudice and discriminative. If my film was set many decades ago then I may well be inclined to include racism, sexism and homophobia because that's how times were.
If a film which was created and set in 2015 and treated women and different races in a wrong manor, then I would feel very strongly against the film. Context in most films influences me though because they're showing how great these committees are seen now but wouldn't be seen as great decades ago.
0 Comments
The most relevant feature of Back To The Future in terms of representation, narrative and genre is narrative. I find that it has the most to talk about and can also be a lot more interesting to look at. Even though gender representation speaks a lot about how women don't have a large role in the film and how they're treated like they're unimportant. The genre has many twists and crossovers, but mainly it shows a sci-fi theme throughout the entire film and ultimately the entire trilogy.
The reason I think narrative is the most affective is simply because it has the many twists and cleverly make sense. There are always many different story-lines throughout the film. Despite this, there is one main story line; Marty getting back to 1985. On top of this, there are little problems that Marty needs to fix before he can get back home and save his own existence. One of these things is getting his mother and father back together, because he's interfered in the space-time continuum. The narrative returns to an equilibrium when Marty returns in 1985, however it is slightly different because his parents are both very successful and a lot more happy than at the beginning of the film. The film ends on a cliffhanger with Doc Brown returning in a flying Delorean telling him he must go back to the future. HistoricalBack to the future was created in 1985. It uses quite a lot of elements from this time period, such as the DeLorian, the clothing and some of the gadgets used. In the first film, they travel back in time to 1955. We notice there is a huge contrast in the clothes and traditions in 1985 than 1955. In 1955, the cars are a lot more primitive than the 1985 cars. Also, during the 1950s television was becoming popular in households and Marty notices is when he tells a child he has two televisions (the child is in disbelief). They also use things such as racism. This is showed when a black man, who becomes mayor in 1985, discusses becoming mayor. Another example of a historical element which is explored is the entertainment at the time. Famous actors in 1955 are mentioned, such as Ronald Reagan who became president in the 1980s. In my opinion, a really good example is when Marty is performing Johnny B. Goode in front of an audience at the school. He uses '70s/'80s rock techniques while on stage, which the 1955 community is not familiar to, therefore they're surprised. Marty also mentioned "this is an oldie... an oldie where I come from" because it was released in 1958. SocialGender roles are presented strongly. Women don't have a very strong role in the film and there are not really any female lead roles. Marty's mother, in 1955, plays a stereotypical teenager; wanting to have boyfriends, smoking and drinking. In 1985, she is a woman who has became an alcoholic after "letting herself go" as many popular school girls do later in life. There isn't very many black roles in 1955. There is one character called "Goldie Wilson" who is mayor in 1985. This shows the difference in diversity within America between these two time periods. He would never become mayor in 1955 because most people thought white people were supreme. Goldie Wilson works in the cafe that is popular in Hill Valley. His job is to sweep the floors but he doesn't serve the costumers. This is shows that he isn't important and his boss doesn't think greatly of him. Another one of the workers says "a coloured mayor..." trying to imagine it. Marty's mother also doesn't know the harmfulness of smoking, therefore she does it without thinking. This also shows how times change and how in the '50s nobody understood the harmfulness/ thought it was good for you. CulturalThis film shows a few cultural changes from 1985 to 1955. An example of on of the changes is the clothing. When Marty arrives in 1955 he is wearing an orange body warmer, which is popular in 1985, many people give him strange looks and few even ask "why are you wearing a life preserver?" and many people also think that he's a sailer. Clothing for people in 1955 is also different too. Teenage boys wear shirts which are slightly unbuttoned and jeans where as all girls wear big, 50s, retro dresses. You rarely see anybody else wearing anything different, apart from the adults like Doc Brown and Marty's grandparents in 1955.
Sci-Fi was also popular. Marty's father has the job of writing Sci-Fi novels and is scared when he gets a visit from "Darth Vader". This scares him as he does not know what a Walkman is, and they rarely used headphones in the 1950s. As I mentioned before, television was becoming more popular in households. However it was very rare to have somebody with over one television in their house, as we learn when Marty is at his mother's house. My chosen film, Back To The Future, features one main female character as well as one side character. The main character is Marty McFly's mother, Lorraine and the side character is Jennifer, Marty's girlfriend.
These characters never actually come into contact so do not speak to each other. Lorraine is always chasing Marty in 1955. Also, she drinks and smokes, like a "typical teenager". The entire film, she is always chasing some kind of boy or linked with a relationship. At the beginning, we see that Lorraine is married to George, Marty's dad (happily married to a certain extent). When Marty arrives in 1955, Lorraine is being chased by Biff, who is portrayed as a dominant male. He wants to have a relationship with Lorraine but she doesn't agree. After Marty finds his father watching Lorraine getting changed from a tree outside of her house, he falls down and nearly gets hit by a car until Marty pushes him out of the way. This means that ultimately, Lorraine falls in love with Marty instead of George. The entire film consist of Marty trying to get George and Lorraine together again otherwise he will not exist. The fact that Lorraine falls in love with Marty after he gets hit by a car shows how desperate Lorraine is for a boyfriend, stereotypical to teenage girls. It also shows how women were not treated respectfully, as George McFly, who is mostly seen as innocent is watching her from a tree. Jennifer is not particularly featured in the first film. She appears in the opening, before Marty travels to the past but doesn't appear again apart from at the end. The fact that Jennifer doesn't travel in time with Doc and Marty shows us how women aren't particularly seen as important. Representation: the description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way. Representation is usually associated with the representation of sex, race and sexual orientation. Of course representation can be associated with anything in media but it is commonly linked with these three major topics. Films made in the mid 20th century, such as "12 Angry Men" show a much stronger representation for white males than women or other races. For example, "12 Angry Men" features few characters throughout the entire film and displays no female characters at all. The offender, a young 18 year old, is of a different ethnic minority which means that these 12 jurors are likely to show prejudice arguments against him. All jurors are working class white males, except for one man who is a European man (likely to be from Italy) who has experienced fascism and prejudice before, therefore he wants democracy. ![]() What is the male gaze? "The Male Gaze" is a theory created by Laura Mulvey in 1975. The theory suggests that the male characters are the "bearers of the look" which is usually aimed at physically desirable, sexually submissive female characters. She also argues that women are only placed into these films for their physical appearance and not for their contribution to the plot. An example of The Male Gaze is in transformers when Megan Fox takes a look at the car after it breaks down. The male character is overwhelmed by Megan Fox's character. This is because Megan Fox is being seductive with her costume, body language and dialogue. She is talking about cars like an expert which attracts the male. This theory in some cases can be disproved. An example of this is the 1990s Diet Coke ad, where many women, who work in an office, take time off from working to stare at a topless muscular man. This suggests a "female gaze" rather than a "male gaze". The advert is aimed at women but uses an attractive man to get their attention. The genre of back to the future, according to IMDB, is adventure, comedy and sci-fi. The film does a great job of displaying these genres because of the adventure across time to put things right and fix the timelines. They also make a good job of presenting comedy also because of the story line between Marty and his mother. This story line is very comical because it would never happen in the present time. There was a good storyline of sci-fi also, because the entire story is based about traveling through time via a time machine. The doc's character is also very sci-fi based because he is a scientist and has knowledge about the future.
They also add a sense of romance into this film, because one of the main plots features Marty McFly's parents falling each other again. Many of the conventions of sci-fi and involved in this film, however not very many romance conventions are involved particularly. Adventure is also included, because Marty is exploring through time and solving problems on his journey. Unlike popular adventure films such as Indiana Jones and Stand By Me, it doesn't obviously display conventions. I do however believe that most conventions of adventure are embedded in this film along with features of action. |
Will TownsendA keen videographer and photographer. Currently studying Level 3 Creative Media Production at SGS WISE Campus, Bristol. Archives
November 2015
Categories
All
|