The Crying Game-Analysis of Responses

Introduce Neil Jordan

Analysis of Responses – Focus on Key Scenes
__________________________________________________________________

Neil Jordan

Neil Patrick Jordan is an Irish film director, screenwriter, novelist and short-story writer. 

His first book, Night in Tunisia, won a Somerset Maugham Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize in 1979. 

He won an Academy Award (Best Original Screenplay) for The Crying Game (1992). 

He also won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin International Film Festival for The Butcher Boy (1997).

Analysis of Responses – Focus on Key Scenes

The Crying Game is a film that challenges our perceptions of masculinity and femininity, how first impressions and assumptions based on conventional thinking can shift and adapt in unexpected ways.

The film’s opening credits. Line by line, the lyrics of Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman” fit the narrative perfectly. The opening scenes also establish the cross-section of major themes in the film: politics/national identity, race relations and sexuality. The kidnapping of British soldier Jody (Forest Whitaker) by an IRA faction headed by Fergus (Stephen Rea) and Jude (Miranda Richardson) sets up a series of parallels for the main characters (and us, the viewers) to question – Northern Irish vs. English, white vs. black, and eventually, when sexual identity becomes a focal point, straight vs. not-straight (and other variations on the LGBT spectrum) – and how the complexities of these relationships transform the characters.

Task 1: 

In your groups, discuss and then record individually

How important is the soundtrack in the opening sequence in influencing the spectator's emotional response to a film?

_____________________________________________________

One of the key moments at the beginning of The Crying Game, after Jody has been abducted and he is held for ransom, is when he befriends Fergus, the kindest of the captors. This scene, in which Fergus shows Jody the small kindness of allowing him to eat, is one of the first moments when the viewer realizes that the film is more than a thriller; on that genre level of the narrative, the fact that Jody has seen Fergus’s face represents a threat to the IRA group’s activities, but the idea that Jody remembers Fergus as “the handsome one,” having catalogued the details of his “killer smile” and other physical attributes, is an indication (not the first, but a strong one) that these characters are not who they initially seem to be. Every phrase – including “my pleasure” – is charged with meaning.

Task 2: 

In your groups, discuss and then record individually.
How far do spectators respond to the emotional content of a film in the way that the film makers intended?
_____________________________________________

A highlight of the film is when Dil – wearing a gold dress designed by Sandy Powell – lipsyncs to a cover of “The Crying Game,” the song that inspired the film’s title. The lyrics’ story is told by a narrator who is tired of relationships that initially seem like wonderful romances but are eventually revealed to be built on lies; in The Crying Game, the main characters’ secrets and lies are a constant source of conflict.

Task 3:
In your groups, discuss and then record individually.
How important is performance in understanding the spectator's emotional response to to popular film? Refer to this  film only.
___________________________________________________________

 Fergus discovers a truth about Dil which is often described as “the twist” or “the secret” of the film: she has a penis. Back in 1992, many viewers were surprised by this revelation, so convincing was Jaye Davidson in the role. Dil is often mistakenly referred to as a transvestite, but if you have seen the film, you would agree that she is a transgender woman; she wears clothing not for preference but for necessity. She lives her life as a woman and dresses according to her gender, not her biological sex. That Fergus initially reacts with horror and revulsion when viewing Dil’s genitalia makes sense when one considers his background; for a man from in Northern Ireland, long before the comparatively modern climate of the early 90s, his belief in heteronormativity must have been ingrained in his upbringing. In this crucial encounter between Fergus and Dil, the presence of a penis seems to negate her status as a woman because that is the only way he can process the information in the moment. (My assumption was that Dil had not had sex reassignment surgery because she didn’t have much money, and that if she could afford it, she would do it – the film puts emphasis on her wish to embody womanliness physically as well as in spirit.) What matters even more in the film is that Fergus does not ultimately stop loving Dil; as the plot progresses, he kisses her again, he touches her body again. The connection between the two transcends everything he thought he knew about himself and about human sexuality

(Incidentally: it should be noted that the “twist” was ruined for some people by the fact that Jaye Davidson was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar at the 1993 ceremony.)

Task 4: In your groups, discuss and then record individually.

Explore the possible reasons to explain why a second or third viewing of a film can actually increase emotional response rather than lessen it.

The Crying Game- first 30 minutes

1. Shock Case Study 1: Complete Viewing.

2. Summarise with student notes on first 30 minutes of The Crying Game.




1. How are Jude and Jody presented to the audience as characters in the opening scene at the fairground in rural Northern Ireland? 

Jude

British soldier Jody (Forest Whitaker) is lured away by an Irish woman, Jude (Miranda Richardson), and kidnapped by the IRA.

From a feminist outlook, Jude may seem empowered by her station as a protean footsoldier willing to change her appearance and sacrifice her sexuality for her cause, whereas another interpretation recognizes that the men in the room still demand that she make the tea and sandwiches.

Jude is most assuredly a true believer and a fine terrorist…or freedom fighter, depending on your perspective. She expresses few qualms about using her sexuality to entice targets of IRA (legitimate targets) and the presumption that she would have no problems with literally sleeping with the enemy seems remarkably grounded. Blonde when she lures Jody into the trap, by the time she arrives in London to force Fergus into one last act of terror, she is sporting a very short and very black bob haircut. Ultimately, Jude proves that in the world of true believers, the female is every bit as cold-blooded as the male.

Jude embodies female sexuality, using “those tits and that ass” to seduce Jody and draw Fergus’ attentions. For Jody and Fergus, she is a woman who cannot possibly understand their tastes. “She’s not my type,” Jody confesses, despite being an attractive female subject whose very image has its powers. Dil’s perception places Jude as the ultimate threat, her uniform sexual identity and gun-carrying soldier status having robbed her of one lover, and threatens to steal another. Jordan’s depiction of Jude does not signify his stance on women, rather constructs a villain who by her feminine nature is a threat to his central characters.

Jody
Jody is just another British soldier stationed in Northern Ireland looking to have fun where he can get it.

His interest in the political struggles between the IRA and England extend to doing whatever his commanders may one day order him to do. The only reason he got abducted in the first place is because he was looking to get lucky with a blonde named Jude. He loves cricket and a girl named Dil back in London. His lack of any notable political ideology makes him an ideal partner in the odd couple that develops between Jody and Fergus. Unlike Fergus, however, Jody ultimately reveals a nature that isn’t trapped permanently in the moment, but may have been shaped just enough by his military experience to design a longer-term strategy with a devastating payoff.

2. Compare Fergus’s actions and attitudes in the fairground scene through to the moment when he removes Jody’s hood and begins to converse with him? Do they change in any way and if so how?
There is a pull between Fergus and Jody during their time together. “You’re the handsome one with the killer smile and the baby face,” Jody notes to his captor, pleading with him to remove his canvas hood. Fergus responds, “Am I?” Jody smiles under his hood, “Yeah, and the brown eyes… You’re the handsome one.” Fergus feeds Jody and the captive says, “Thank you, handsome.” Now playing along, Fergus admits “My pleasure.” Later on, after Fergus must remove Jody’s penis from his pants so that he may urinate, Fergus quips again, “The pleasure was all mine.” Jocular laughs though these may be, once the story progresses, it becomes apparent that there was something more between them.

3. Fergus guards Jody while the IRA waits to hear whether the British will accept their demand to have IRA prisoners released in exchange for Jody’s release. Look at this scene closely and consider what is significant about it. Also, how are Jude and Fergus contrasted in these scenes?

Jody make friends with his captor, Fergus (Stephen Rea), who shows concern for some decency in Jody’s treatment. As their brief friendship grows, the two debate about cricket, share stories and laughs, and Jody shows Fergus a photo of his gorgeous wife, Dil (Jay Davison), and asks that Fergus look out for her should he be executed. Fergus tells Jody not to think of such things, even though he knows the RUC is not likely to concede to their demands. But Jody does not blame Fergus should he have to kill him; it’s in his nature. Fergus wants to know what that means, and Jody recounts “The Scorpion and the Frog” fable, which saddens Fergus as a reflection of his choices.

This is not a film about judgment, but about people required to do something they do not want to do, and the tragedy behind forcing someone to change their nature. Thus, it is about acceptance and tolerance and, for Fergus, about seeking redemption after going against his nature. Jody’s fable, which Fergus has adopted in the finale scene, proves to be true of human natures, not of the divisions between English and Irish or heterosexual and homosexual or man and woman, which are blind and all-consuming assignments. Jordan’s film explores the gray areas of those assignments and finds hope for such black and white divisions.

4. Before he is led to his execution Jody tells Fergus the story of the Frog and the Scorpion. What is that story and why do you think it might be significant to the message of this film?

Jody does not blame Fergus should he have to kill him; it’s in his nature. Fergus wants to know what that means, and Jody recounts “The Scorpion and the Frog” fable, which saddens Fergus as a reflection of his choices. When their deadline comes to pass, Fergus’ superior, Maguire (Adrian Dunbar), orders him to lead Jody into the woods; as he does, the prisoner begins to run and Fergus cannot shoot him in the back. Fergus finds himself running with Jody to escape. All at once, Jody reaches a road and is struck by an oncoming RUC truck.
“The IRA has done terrible things,” Jordan said in an interview for the film. “But what’s important about the way the film approaches that reality is that they’ve become people they didn’t want to be. That doesn’t mean the cause is wrong.” Critics who attempt to point fingers at pro- and anti-IRA, pro- and anti-woman, or pro- and anti-homosexual messages in the film have already forgotten the lesson learned in “The Scorpion and the Frog”, that people will remain true to their natures.

2. Analysis of Responses – Focus on Key Scenes

Filmmaker’s Intentions (Narrative, Political, Auteur, Technical)

Reasons for Use of Shock in The Crying Game

Consideration of Audience/Spectator Responses – Then and Now

Audience Theories (Deconstruction and Effects Theories)

FM4 B Spectatorship - Popular Film and Emotional Response: The Crying Game

• To Consider the conflict in Northern Ireland as a context for Neil Jordan's film The Crying Game.
• Watch the first thirty minutes of the film The Crying Game (Neil Jordan, 1992) and make notes 

The Crying Game (1992)
Miramax Films

DIRECTOR: Neil Jordan
CAST: Stephen Rea, Jaye Davidson, Miranda Richardson, Jim Broadbent, and Forest Whitaker
RATED: R
RUNTIME: 112 min.

Homework: Research the history of 'The Troubles' in Northern Ireland. Produce a power point which should be e-mailed to Tony Ealey_A@sjd.ac.uk by Thursday 26.01.17

Across the barricades n ireland background from aealey

The Crying Game (UK, 1992) raises in a challenging way the critical issue of how the
myriad dynamics of race, nation and gender come together. The film, written and directed by Neil
Jordan, deals with the Troubles in Northern Ireland by combining the genres of thriller and a love
story. Although the director, Jordan, is Irish, the film was produced in Britain like many films
centering on the Northern Irish conflict.

Jordan's choice of two British blacks to play the main roles in the film
makes, for instance, the "Troubles" and nationalism a more complex issue than if it were reduced
solely to a British or Irish question. Moreover, in an interview Neil Jordan has noted that black
British soldiers were the first people of colour most Irish had ever seen.3 The question of
national identity becomes more complex since Jody, the agent of British military power, is black
and originally from a former British colony, Antigua.

The Crying Game intertwines the problematics of race and colonialism
because both the Irish and the blacks have been racialized in British colonial history. Celts have
been classified as an inferior "dark" and violent race. Especially, since Carlyle, the Irish have
been referred to as "white niggers". This representation of Irishness as a violent and barbarous
"race" still haunts British filmic interpretations of the Northern Irish question.

The Press at that time – and still today –represented the IRA (The Irish Republican Army) as mindless assassins who were cowardly because they would not wear a uniform, fight face-to-face or show their faces to their enemies – the British Army and the Ulster Constabulary. The British Army were represented as heroes who were keeping the peace on the streets of Belfast and who prevented the Republicans (those who wanted Northern Ireland to be self-ruling) from inflicting their political ideologies on the Loyalists (those who wanted British Rule of Northern Ireland to continue).

What Jordan tried to do in the film was to suggest that perhaps one of the reasons why the Anglo/Irish dispute had been maintained for so many years was because of one of the less savoury aspects of human nature: i.e. the capacity to demonstrate deep and indelible prejudice towards all those who seem to be ‘different’ to what is considered to be the ‘norm*.’ He achieved this by confronting the audience with a number of character ‘types’ about whom the audience would have certain stereotypical views and about whose behaviour they would make certain assumptions. Then, throughout the film, he used these characters and the way they interacted to challenge the audiences’ prejudices and assumptions and possibly make them think about where they had derived such views in the first place.

---

*What is ‘normal’ is always dependent on the dominant ideologies of given cultures and societies and in Britain, for example, the dominant ideology has long been Conservative, White, Protestant and Masculine. Those who have a stake in maintaining the power of such an ideology are sometimes referred to as ‘The Establishment’ i.e. the powerful and elite members/decision-makers of British society who most benefit/profit from an ideology that maintains their interests. A complex and subtle number of processes are always at play in society, which lead to most members and levels of society agreeing with the dominant ideology and unwittingly helping to secure the power of the Establishment.
__________________________

Watch the first thirty minutes of the film The Crying Game (Neil Jordan, 1992) and make notes so that you can answer the following questions:

1. How are Jude and Jody presented to the audience as characters in the opening scene at the fairground in rural Northern Ireland?  

2. Compare Fergus’s actions and attitudes in the fairground scene through to the moment when he removes Jody’s hood and begins to converse with him? Do they change in any way and if so how?

3. Fergus guards Jody while the IRA waits to hear whether the British will accept their demand to have IRA prisoners released in exchange for Jody’s release. Look at this scene closely and consider what is significant about it. Also, how are Jude and Fergus contrasted in these scenes? 

4. Before he is led to his execution Jody tells Fergus the story of the Frog and the Scorpion. What is that story and why do you think it might be significant to the message of this film?

Shock Case Study 1: Analysis of Responses – Focus on Key Scenes

·         Filmmaker’s Intentions (Narrative, Political, Auteur, Technical)

·         Reasons for Use of Shock in The Crying Game

·         Consideration of Audience/Spectator Responses – Then and Now

Audience Theories (Deconstruction and Effects Theories)

Shock Case Study 1: Viewing (Macro and Micro Language) Notes

       The Crying Game (Neil Jordan, Ireland, 1993)

·         Introduce Neil Jordan

·         Introduce The Irish Troubles

Explain the Miramax Distribution in USA (Genre – No Plot Spoilers)

WJEC A2 Film Studies Unit FM4 Section B- Spectatorship Studies

Spectatorship theories are based on the belief that film is an affective medium – that spectators are affected by watching films.

The nature of that affect can be:

• Short term (the length of the film)
• Medium term (a few hours or days after the film)
• Long term (years after the film)

The nature of that affect can also be psychological, intellectual, emotional or physical, for example

• Psychological – 
• Intellectual –
• Emotional – 
• Physical –

Task 1: In groups discuss what is meant by each.
If possible, give examples of films that could impact its audience in these ways.


Task 2: Consider the clips within the presentation.

A2 film fm4 b spectatorship introductory film clips (examples) 

Homework: 

Consider the previous exam question shown below and identify 3 films in which the soundtrack impacts on the emotional response of the audience. Say which emotions 

• "How important is the soundtrack in influencing the spectator's emotional response to a film?"

__________________________________________________________________________

 Examples of emotional response verbs:

amuse, annoy, baffle, bewilder, bore, confuse, depress, disappoint, excite, frighten, frustrate, interest, motivate, overwhelm, please, puzzle, shock, surprise.

__________________________________________________________________________

Spectatorship: Popular Film and Emotional Response
Your answer should be based on a minimum of two films.
Either
15. Explore possible reasons to explain why a second or third viewing of a film can actually increase the emotional response rather than lessen it. [35]
or
16. How far is the emotional response to mainstream films triggered by specific techniques used by the filmmakers? [35]

FM2 Resit - Section A

SECTION A: GUIDELINES ON SPECIFIC QUESTIONS

The following is a guideline to issues candidates may raise in their answers at Level 4.

It is not intended to be prescriptive.

Either,

Q.1 How important is merchandising to Producers and Audiences? [40]

Level 4

 The question will be addressed directly and encourage debate considering the importance of merchandising for the US and UK film industries.

 There will be evidence that the issues suggested by the resource material have provided a platform for developing a lively and engaged response to the question.

 The candidate will draw upon relevant and productive case study material and establish links to developing their response to the question.

 .The best candidates will be able to debate the place of merchandising within marketing and distribution.

The resource material suggests that:

 Merchandising is important not only for marketing but to generate profit

 Merchandising is used by the industry to ‘keep the brand visible’ beyond the life of the film (a ‘legacy brand’).

 Raises issue of whether (some) films can be mere merchandising opportunities.

 Some fans certainly believe that some films are ‘great’ precisely because they don’t provide merchandising opportunities.

 There’s a suspicion that Hollywood franchises are simply ‘made to make money from children’.

Or,

Q.2 Why do some UK films achieve more success than others? [40]

Level 4

 The question will be addressed directly and encourage debate about the idea of success

 in the UK film industry.

 There will be evidence that the issues suggested by the resource material have provided a platform for developing a lively and engaged response to the question.

 The candidate will draw upon relevant and productive case study material and establish links in developing their response to the question.

 The best candidates may show an ability to discuss different kinds of UK film, including co-productions.

 The best candidates may also be able to compare the UK film industry with Hollywood or other national cinemas.

The resource material suggests that:

 Need for investment in mainstream films to achieve commercial success (Julian Fellowes)

 Ken Loach believes that there should be a wide variety of films available to audiences – which might mean investing in a range of different films which might challenge audiences.

 Ken Loach points out that the ‘market does not provide choice’ if it’s not ‘forced’ to.

 Raises question of whether there can be different kind of success – successful films which raise important issues and are stylistically successful but may only reach a minority audience and commercially successful films

Q.1 How important are stars for US and UK film producers? [40]

Level 4

 The question will be addressed directly and encourage debate considering the importance of stars for the US and UK film industries.

 There will be evidence that the issues suggested by the resource material have provided a platform for developing a lively and engaged response to the question.

 The candidate will draw upon relevant and productive case study material and establish links to developing their response to the question.

 The best candidates may show an ability to argue that factors other than stars are more important to US and UK film producers.

 The best candidates may be able to identify similarities and differences between the importance of stars to US and UK film producers.

The resource material suggests that:

 Stars are important in the Production, Distribution and Exhibition of US and UK films.

 Some films may achieve success without stars, indeed other factors such as technology and directors may be important too.

 Stars are important in the perceived success of US and UK films. That success may be financial or critical success.

 Stars can be ‘created’ by US and UK film producers.

 Some ‘stars’ may be more important than others.

Or,

Q.2 ‘Film reviews are of no importance for audiences today.’ How far do you agree with this statement? [40]

Level 4

 The question will be addressed directly and encourage debate about the importance of film reviews to audiences.

 There will be evidence that the issues suggested by the resource material have provided a platform for developing a lively and engaged response to the question.

 The candidate will draw upon relevant and productive case study material and establish links in developing their response to the question.

 The best candidates may show an ability to argue that factors other than reviews are more, or less, important to audiences today.

 The best candidates may be able to compare the relative importance of different kinds of film reviews.

The resource material suggests that:

 Professional reviews may, or may not, have an influence over the consumption choices made by film audiences.

 Some reviewers and sources of reviews may be more important to some audiences than others.

 Non-professional reviews may be more, or less, important to audiences today.

 The appeal of some films to audiences may not be influenced by reviews.

 There are many different types of reviews available to audiences today.

Q.1 How important are film franchises for producers and audiences?

Level 4

• The question will be addressed directly and encourage debate considering the

‘how important’ aspect of the question.

• There will be evidence that the issues suggested by the stimulus material have

provided a platform for developing a lively and engaged response to the question.

• The candidate will draw upon relevant and productive case study material and

establish links to developing their response to the question.

• The best candidates may show an ability to argue for factors which are not

obvious.

The resource material suggests that:

• Franchises make profits through, for example, cinema, DVD releases and

merchandise.

• Franchises reduce risk for producers and provide familiarity with audiences in

the way stars or genres have done in the past.

• Franchises allow exploiting existing properties to the full for the target audience.

• Viral marketing is particularly good for franchises because it generates interest

through existing fans on the internet.

Or,

Q.2 What can be done to attract bigger audiences to UK films?

Level 4

• The question will be addressed directly and encourage debate.

• There will be evidence that the issues suggested by the stimulus material have

provided a platform for developing a lively and engaged response to the question.

• The candidate will draw upon relevant and productive case study material and

establish links to developing their response to the question.

• The best candidates may show an ability to argue for factors which are not

obvious.

The resource material suggests that:

• There are British films which reach British audiences.

• Television puts money into productions which reach large audiences and also

allows for innovation.

• A Government quota for British films would increase British film production.

Q.1 How can producers work to keep the current high level of interest in British cinema? [40]

Level 4

 The question will be addressed directly and encourage debate, particularly considering ‘How producers can maintain interest’.

 There will be evidence that the issues suggested by the stimulus material have provided a platform for developing a lively and engaged response to the question.

 The candidate will draw upon relevant and productive case study material and establish links to developing their response to the question.

 The best candidates may show an ability to argue for factors, which are not obvious and may argue that the current interest in UK film cannot be sustained.

The resource material suggests that:

 UK film is currently successful in different ways, for example in critical and financial terms.

 The UK film industry has talent but needs regular funding opportunities if it is to be sustainable.

 Film audiences have got to continue to show an interest in UK film to sustain its success.

 Film Education, TV investment, increased collaboration between producers and distributors and extending the provision of localised film exhibition may all help to sustain and develop the success of UK film.

Or,

Q.2 How far has the internet changed the film experience for audiences? [40]

Level 4

 The question will be addressed directly and encourage debate about the ‘changed the film experience’ aspect of the question.

 The candidate may consider a range of film ‘experiences’ or focus on one type of experience in answering the question.

 There will be evidence that the issues suggested by the stimulus material have provided a platform for developing a lively and engaged response to the question.

 The candidate will draw upon relevant and productive case study material and establish links to developing their response to the question.

 The best candidates may show an ability to argue for factors, which are not obvious and may suggest that the Internet has not changed the film experience for audiences.

The resource material suggests that:

 The Internet has allowed audiences to become filmmakers who can not only make films but also distribute and exhibit them too.

 The Internet has allowed audiences to collaborate as filmmaking and film fan communities.

 Audiences are using the Internet, as filmmakers and fans, in many different ways.

 The Internet has dramatically changed audiences’ access to films and film-related information.

 The Internet has made the film experience more interactive for film audiences.

FM2 Resit Section C

Wjec as film studies fm2 section c overview from aealey

The two films that we are going to compare and contrast are Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (George Roy Hill, 1969) and Thelma and Louise (Ridley Scott, 1991).

The key genres that are shared by these films are:

• ·         The Western
• ·         The Road Movie
• ·         The Buddy Film
• ·         Crime/Outlaw Film

They also share generic elements of Drama and Action. Both films also deal with themes of gender (femininity, masculinity), age and friendship set against the backdrop of the American Wild West.

These two films have been chosen for study because they are separated by thirty  years so one of the key comparisons and contrasts that can be made can focus on historical context and whether the difference in time (social changes/progress) affects the way that gender and age (generation gaps) are represented in the two films.

Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid is based loosely on fact.

A significant contrast (Binary Opposition) that is presented by both films – as a theme - is that between civilisation and the wilderness and also between freedom and imprisonment, literally and metaphorically. 

Example question:

Q.15 How important is place in contributing to key themes in the American Films you have studied for this topic? 

Level 4 • A very confident ability to identify key themes in each film, • A very good ability to offer a detailed account/exploration of how important place is in contributing to those key themes. • There is likely to be a specific and detailed comparison of how place contributes to the presentation of the themes using macro and micro features. • The best candidates are likely to be able to evaluate in detail and with some sophistication how important place is in contributing to key themes. 

Similar backdrops, the beautiful American frontier and the claustrophobic constraints of modern life.

Liberty and freedom is represented by the frontier and deserts of the west.

Butch and sundance cling to this but that world is a dying one.

They become trapped this symbolises their world shrinking.

The trip to NYC shows the world that replaces their old one. Through montage, we see the size of the new world.

Unit FM2 Section C. US Cinema Comparative Study

You are required to compare and contrast two films either from the same genre or dealing with a specific theme. 

There will be a choice of two questions in the exam. You answer one question only. It is worth 40 Marks. You need to spend about 40 minutes (plus time for a plan) writing an essay answer to your chosen question.

Both questions will have an emphasis on the relationship between aspects of the films' narrative in relation to generic characteristics. 

The first question will be based primarily on narrative study.

The second will be based on contextual study. Issues of representation will be common to both questions. 

We will be comparing and contrasting Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (George Roy Hill, 1969) with Thelma and Louise (Ridley Scott, 1991).

These films share generic conventions and themes but are separated by over two decades, during which time there were incredible changes in American film as well as its social, political and cultural landscape.

Example questions:

Section C: American Film – Comparative Study Choose one question from this section. You should discuss two American films in your answer. Either, 
15. How far do the American films you have studied convey key themes in similar ways? [40] 

Or, 16. How far is the representation of characters in the American films you have studied influenced by the times in which the films were made? [40]

Either, 15. Compare how far the closing sequences of the American films you have studied for this topic confirm their messages and values. [40] 

Or, 16. Compare how far the actions of the main characters are influenced by the times in which the American films you have studied were made. [40] 

1.       What is Narrative – in Film Studies?

2.       What is Narrative Perspective and what kind of Narrative Perspective is most commonly offered in Film Narratives?

3.       What is Narrative Structure?

4.       What theory (by Tzvetan Todorov) describes Narrative Structure in Three Parts?

5.       What Narrative Characters Types (of Vladimir Propp)  are said to feature in many Film Narratives?

6.       What are the Narrative Functions of those Characters?

7.       Which theory (of Claude Levi-Strauss) describes Narratives as being dependent on, and driven by, conflicts?

8.       Roland Barthes described Narratives as featuring Action and Enigma Codes. What are these, in Film terms?

Homework

Using the work we do in today’s lesson and the notes you are making whilst viewing Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid complete the following work:

a)      Summarise the film as a three-part narrative structure.

b)      Identify whether the main characters are classical (Propp) or unconventional versions of these.

c)       Identify the key dramatic moments of the film so far.

d)      Identify the binary oppositions that have been shown so far.

e)      Work out what important enigma code drives the narrative of this film.