The Conjuring

Mama

Desensitisation Theory

New Words

Satire

• to ridicule or expose stupidity

Cliché

• overuse or predictable

 A horror movie that uses these two words is scream - it satirises the cliché if the horror genre.

The Blair Witch Project

Today we watched and dicussed The Blair Witch Project.
I thought that the way they marketed the movie was interesting as they made it seem that it was a true story, they used undiscovered actors which made audences world wide want to watch the film, but was also worried

Mockumentary

We studied theories ... again

Steve Neale (1980)

• 'Genres are instances of repetition and difference'

Tzvetan Todorov argues that ' a new genre is always the transformation of one or several old genres'

This lead us to understanding and exploring the genre of horror.

Halloween (1978)

Today in class we looked at the opening of Halloween and analysed the scenes editing, camera work, mise en scene and sound.

Directed by John Carpenter ( dedicated horror director)

Co-wrote film with Debra Hill and composed the music 

Independent film - budget $325,000

New Word

Hedonism - To seek pleasure

The Female Gaze

In today's lesson we watched twilight, and discussed how the female gaze could be related to it. 

Twilight was written and directed by females, Stephanie Meyer and Catherine Hardwicke 

• Edward is the character the camera is focusing in on the most 
• there are extreme close ups of his eyes and lips 
• there is also a close up of Bella's face looking at him 
• her face looks down at his lips which causes the audience to do the same

New theory - Male Gaze

Laura Mulvey
Theory of the male gaze.
Mulvey wrote a very influential essay

• "Visual pleasure and narrative (1975)
• She suggests that the way women are viewed in cinema is "unequal". The camera necessarily presents women as "sexualised" for the pleasure of men.

KEY POINTS:

1. Women are presented as sexual spectacle and objects of pleasure.
2. Men have this gaze to avoid being 'castrated'
3. Men fetishise women

New Quote

"Film has been called an instrument of the male gaze, producing representations of women, the good life and sexual fantasy from a male point of view."

Jonathan Schroeder (1998)

REPRESENTATION

Today in class we spoke about representation.

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/representation

Binary Opposition - The Theory

Claude Levi-Strauss' theory:

• 'All narratives had to be driven forward by conflict, that was caused by a series of opposing forces.'

What is horror? Exploring Conventions.

Mise - en - scene

Camerawork & Editing 

Characters

Narrative & Themes 

Music & Sound

Themes & sub-genres of horror

Icons

Cabin in the Woods

Final Girl

Questionnaire