Auteur Theory: Tim Burton

Tim Burton is a 62 year old director from Burbank, California. He is the director of many popular films that people have seen like Beetlejuice, Batman, and Edward Scissorhands, these films add a comic book aesthetic to his work, that begins to combine childlike fantasies. Burtons works has a diverse and special visual style, which is different from other directors. Burton has abilities to give his audiences a complete and coherent fantasy like world to his audience. In many of his films there is a larger meaning that he is trying to show the audience.”His oeuvre that is shown in the films is often rich in reference to other films,”(Sharf). “His films portray a ironic praise to pop culture icons like (Ed Wood). He shows a cultural ephemera, (Sciretta). We see this in mise en scene of Edward Scissorhands. Much of Burton’s work is similar to post-World War II’s mass culture, especially the cultural landscape of his breathtaking home in Southern California. The pop culture that Burton shows has topped all artists that are now described as “postmodern.

Many people when watching any movie only focus on the famous actors and don’t give enough credit to the directors. When people talk about different films people may call it the Johnny Depp movie and not credit the mastermind who created the film.”Auteur Theory is filmmaking when the director is viewed as the big creator in a motion picture,”(Hustle). In the late 1940s people began to create Auteur Theory to lead the way and give credit to the director. The only way films are made is by a director, they are the people who create the story of a film. “Auteur Theory argues that a film is just a reflection of how the director’s artistic vision is. This topic is to show that the movie directed by a given filmmaker will be recognized for his job well done,”(Hustle). Many directors that have mastered the art of films, will have recurring themes in each film and visual cues that show the audience who the director is. The reason directors are categorized in Auteur Theory is because their individual style that they give to films.

All of Burton’s films show his particularly unique personality, which people love about his different films. Films directed by Tim Burton have shown much repeated imagery. The films include dark and light visuals to contrast the lighting through the films. Some of his films have scenes that dark to show scary and gothic imagery. These are only some of his many brilliant films that have the same stylistic signature, Beetlejuice which was filmed in 1988 and starred Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow and Corpse Bride which were filmed around the same time, starred Burton’s favorite actor Johnny Depp. I have seen many films by Tim Burton and often times when the scenes were dark the music became mysterious and frightening to scare the audience. Some films I have noticed that when the lighting was light it was to focus the audience on special aspects of the film. The style of Burton’s films gives you an outlook combination of both the 19th and 20th century. Burton’s films have a very unique style that other directors don’t compare to his art.

Multiple reviewers have said Tim Burton’s films reflect on his past childhood and is portrayed in horror. All films that I have watched by Burton make the audience focus their attention on the storyline rather than the characters, he wants you to think about about how you feel when watching his films. “There is a stylistic benchmark for Burton, he has had collaborations with Richard Heinrichs. They established a pattern of combining 2D and 3D animation within just a single film. Heinrichs, who has since collaborated with Burton as associate producer of (Frankenweenine) and production designer of (Edward Scissorhands, Nightmare Before Christmas),” (Frierson). Richard quotes “It taught Tim and me that you can combine the really graphic look of a two-dimensional picture with something that works in three dimensions,” (Frierson).The melding of these two modes of animation is found throughout his films, and endures as a stylistic signature in Burton’s work. “Heinrichs says that this idea of combining dimensional and flat animation was suggested by the three-dimensional models that Disney uses to provide there animators,” (Frierson). Burton has a few frequent actors that he casts in his films. The first is Johnny Depp, he has starred in eight of Burton’s films. The first film was Edward Scissorhands in 1990. The second actor is Helena Bonham Carter, She has been in seven of his films. Helena played the role of the red queen in Alice In Wonderland. The third actor that has played a role in six of Tim Burton’s films was Christopher Lee. I have concluded that Tim Burton does use the same actors because these actors are a muse to him. Burtons believes that these actors are people who manifest his special type of work. Actors like Johnny Depp bring life to his films and make each scene meaningful. The actors are where the source of the inspiration comes from. The actors keep Tim inspired in each film he produces, which shows the love and dedication Tim Burton has for each film.

Citations:

Bassil-Morozow, Helena. “The Monster and The Crowd.” Google Books, Google, 2010, books.google.com/books?hl=en.

Byron, Glennis. “The Gothic World.” Google Books, Google, 2014, books.google.com/books?hl=en.

Frierson, Michael. Tim Burton’s ‘Vincent’–A Matter of Pastiche, 1996, http://www.awn.com/mag/issue1.9/articles/frierson1.9.html.

Hustle, Indie Film. “What Is Auteur Theory and Why Is It Important? – Indie Film Hustle.” Indie Film Hustle®, 29 Sept. 2020, indiefilmhustle.com/auteur-theroy/.

Sharf, Zack. “The Films of Tim Burton, Ranked.” IndieWire, IndieWire, 25 Dec. 2014, http://www.indiewire.com/2014/12/the-films-of-tim-burton-ranked-66729/.

Sciretta, Peter. “Tim Burton Retrospective at MOMA.” /Film, 10 June 2009, http://www.slashfilm.com/tim-burton-retrospective-at-moma/.

Racist Symbols in Get Out

The topic this week is Ideology with the viewing of Get Out. In the simplest words Ideology means a set of opinions or beliefs from a group or an individual. Most often Ideology refers to a set of political beliefs. In some cases it can refer to a set of ideas that characterize a particular culture. To me It is a system of ideas that aspires people to explain the world and to change it for the better. To have ideology exist within our society, within groups, and between many people. I think it shapes our thoughts, actions, and interactions with other people. This helps along with what happens in society at whole. Ideology related to social structure, economic system of production, and political structure. Get Out is comedy inflicted horror film, that wants to audience to know what it’s like being black in America. What I noticed was after watching this movie, is that it was a slavery-themed dramas. That was in relation to the movie Twelve Years a Slave that I had watched in history class. Get Out is transparent to this genre style. There are slavery subtexts that are hinted towards early in the movie. When we find that Rose’s liberal, professional mother only goes by the name of “Missy”. This is in relation to what slave-holders called a Mistress. The film does an amazing job at its ability to trace almost invisible, yet indelible lines of continuity from centuries of the slavery period to the present day.The type of Ideology that this movie is hinted towards is Dominant Ideology. This is because they are current held beliefs that are still occurring to this day. It is awful to see that racist remarks or acts are still happening to this day. Get Out gives the audience an idea of how colored people are treated and Peele did not want to keep this topic quiet.

But this easy sense of disgust doesn’t require one to address slavery’s underlying ideology of racial supremacy. Peele’s film force viewers to consider the underlying power and relations that have warped desires that remain intact with our modern society. Since the beginning of time slavery has lasted for centuries. With unrelenting terror, torture and dehumanisation. This results in absolute control over a cowed workforce. Peele’s film parodies this on such a high level to get his point across. Rose’s family mentally breaks their victims by using a multi-stage process that begins with hypnosis and then ends with lobotomy. Then we find out that both Mr and Mrs Armitage are professional brain specialists, go figure. The effect Peele’s film have, plays on the very real fear that behind every racial remark lies something of an entirely more disturbing magnitude. In each of these scenes there is uncomfortable moments that threat to reveal a racial ideology that some would say has underpinned and facilitated the culture we live in. Get Out uses common horror analogies to reveal truths about the racism that is happening in this world. In the film the white society is portrayed as the purveyor of evil. This means Chris must be on alert all the time in order to survive. Writer and director Peele, doesn’t just give the audience a standard horror film with a black protagonist. Peele is not just subverting the saying that everyone says “black guy always dies first” trope. The way Peele thinks when producing is much more complex. The movie has different horror tropes as in creepy suburban artifice, attempts to gaslight the protagonist, controlling the mind, and different types of medical experiments. Peele uses these horrors to have the audience know the daily life of a black man or women.

To wrap up my final final thoughts about the movie, I thought the movie was a horror film that made me understand and visualize the demoralizing effects that happen when people are targeted. To me Get Out has given us an awareness to demolish the system and build a better society. Again dominant Ideology is shown throughout the film.

Ed Wood Who?

Many people when watching any movie only focus on the famous actors and don’t give enough credit to the directors. When people talk about different films people may call it the Johnny Depp movie and not credit the mastermind who created the film. Auteur Theory is filmmaking when the director is viewed as the big creator in a motion picture. In the late 1940s people began to create auteur theory to  lead the way and give credit to the director. The only way films are made is by a director, they are the people who create the story of a film. The Auteur theory argues that a film is just a reflection of how the director’s artistic vision is. This topic is to show that the movie directed by a given filmmaker will be recognized for his job well done. Many directors that have many films under their belt will have recurring themes in each film and visual cues that show the audience who the director is. The reason directors are categorized in auteur theory is because their individual style that they give to films. All of Burton’s films show his special personality, which people love about his different films. 

A great definition for Auteur Theory.

In the beginning of Ed Wood the actors are sitting in a restaurant discussing the reviews they were given by people who watched their film. One of the men received a bad review about their acting. To me the actor didn’t complain that it was the directors fault, that it was his fault for not doing his best acting. All films directed by Tim Burton are repeated images. The films consist of dark and light to contrast the lighting through the films. During the film some scenes are dark to show scary and gothic imagery. When the scenes were dark the music became mysterious and frightening to the audience. What I noticed was that when the lighting was light it was to focus the audience on special aspects of the film. The style of Burton’s films is to show a 19th and 20th century look. Many of Burton’s films have a very unique style that other directors don’t compare to his art. Many reviewers of Tim Burton’s films say that his films reflect on his childhood and are shown in horror. Many films that I have watched by Burton are to make the audience view the storyline rather than the characters, it’s about how you feel when watching his films. I have never seen this film before watching it but what I noticed was the opening scene, was similar to another movie directed by Burton called Night of the Ghouls that I had watched with my grandparents a few years ago. 

The actors discussing the reviews they received.

In the film Johnny Depp plays the role of the director Ed Wood, he is portrayed as the outcast of Hollywood actors. All of Ed Wood’s friends who are also actors believe in him and the work that he can do, they see his visions and ideas. During Ed Wood’s journey of directing he is accompanied by the famous Bela Lugosi. Ed struggles to find success in his work with different complications that occur during the film. With all the ups and downs Ed creates films that have low success. The films that he creates don’t get acknowledged which turns to the films being low budget. Ed begins to be happier once he meets Kathy at the hospital. He sees a relationship with her so he tells her at the carnival that he likes to dress up like a girl and Kathy is okay with that. Ed is relieved that someone he wants to be with accepts him for who he is. At Eds movie premier it is packed and rowdy. The crowd begins to chase the actors out of the theater screaming. At the end Mr.Lugosi is receiving more attention from paparazzi but sadly dies shortly after. After the last premier of Plan 9 From Outer Space, Ed proposes to Kathy and wants to get married in Vegas. 

A Forever Bond: Scent of a Women

The film Scent of a Women staring Charlie Simms and Frank Slade is a influential film by connecting two opposite people from different worlds. Charlie attends the prep school called the Baird School for boys. He needed a thanksgiving break job because he couldn’t afford to go home for thanksgiving break. The job Charlie signed up for was to be a caretaker for a elder man and this happen to be Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade. This is how Charlie and Frank meet for the first time. The two begin to start a bond between them, that starts a forever friendship. Both actors portray themselves differently by the way of their acting.

Arriving in New York City.

In the beginning of the film Franks acting is portrayed to the audience as a grumpy old man who loves to drink his sorrows away. Frank is a very demanding man because of his disabilities and the type of man he is. He is a tough minded man from being in the service for so long. Being an actor or actress you have many rules that need to be followed to show the audience what kind of character you are trying to portray. Al Pacino dominated his character of a blind man. His body language and his eye placement was on point in the entire film. You can tell Al Pacino studied his part day in and day out till it was perfect. The first thing you notice about Frank is his house the lights are off and the curtains are closed this tells the audience he is depressed and lonely. We slowly learn that Frank loves to talk about women. Since he can’t physically see people, he has adapted the scent of different women to know strange facts that women wouldn’t think he would know since he is blind. During each scene Franks moods seem to fluctuate depending on the situation occurring especially about women or being in the service. When Charlie first went to the job, Sally said to him “The man will grow on you” At first Charlie did not believe that statement but you eventually see they have a strong bond. Both of the men slowly start to teach each other life lessons even when Frank is being stubborn.

The Limo scene, where Frank becomes more emotional to Charlie.

During the thanksgiving weekend Frank starts to become more lively being around Charlie and feeling younger again. The audience can tell Lieutenant Slade values his other senses to navigate his way through life after his accident. One distinct mood Frank shows is at dinner with Charlie they encounter a young women sitting alone. They approach her for intent to set up Charlie with her. After conversing with Donna, Franks asks her to tango with him. This is a iconic scene for Frank because in this moment he is genuinely happy. This scene starts to show the other side of Frank as an emotional character. Al Pacino’s character continues to build his bond with Charlie and becomes more personable with him in the limo scene. Many moments in the film life lessons are talked about to have audience take in. This film has The morning after Frank had a good and eventful day his mood starts to change badly. First he slept in till the afternoon which confused Charlie because he’s always up very early. Frank had no motivation to do anything or get out of bed. He is starting to be depressed again and suicidal. Charlie character is played by Chris O’Donnell. Charlie is the protagonist of the film, the protagonist needs to be present in every scene of the movie. Charlie is stuck in a situation at school that if he snitches on who pranked Mr.Trasks Jag he can get into Harvard. Charlie has integrity in himself to not snitch because that is not the type of person he is. The movie was over all phenomenal. Each actor had important roles to contribute but Al Pacino truly dominated this character from start to finish.

The Impact of Greed

Lou, Hank, and Jacob.

The film A Simple Plan was a frustrating and riveting movie to watch. After analyzing and going over each scene in my head. I started to realize the different cues and reactions that were happening throughout the film. Most of the film was in relation to our topic narrative. The narrative story of A Simple Plan was that everything happened so slow. The film had many scenes that kept building up to create emotion for the audience. What sets the stage is the fox staring at the hens in the coup. To the audience this symbolizes trouble, death, and that something bad is going to happen. The reason for this is because foxes are put in survival mode. What pulled me into knowing what the plot point was is the way they incorporated the first question. Which was “what if we didn’t tell anyone”. This scene becomes so controversial, debating on who is taking the money, do they leave the money back in the plane, how much trouble will they get in if they get caught etc. Trial and error was a ongoing event which caused the domino effect to happen, when things start to happen right after another. To me the title of this film is tricky, A Simple Plan is correct they had one plan and it was, what they were going to do with the money. Many obstacles got in the way of the sight of money.

As you can see there are also crows in Hanks kitchen.

The way that classical narrative is explained ties into the way the film started. The crow’s eye is what caught my eye in the beginning. The audience views the crows as silent witnesses to all the maham happening in the woods and everywhere else. So many signs pointed towards this being a true hollywood film. When connecting A Simple Plan to Mise en Scene you start to visualize the screenplay to the topic. What stuck out to me was the color value, the dominant color in the scene of Hank and his wife was that their kitchen is green. The color is used symbolically to represent all the money that’s in the film. The wardrobe of the FBI agent was perceived as looking like a crow. The way they portrayed the FBI agent to look like a crow was expressing a mood of death. When Lous wife goes to the kitchen to grab her hand gun, the lighting is low key for many reasons. for one, It shows that something bad is going to happen because of how dark it is. If it happened to be high key lighting in the kitchen, maybe death wouldn’t have happened. This was a very emotional scene because Lou is dead and Hank didn’t have a choice to shoot her because she was already shooting at him. The type of shot i noticed was in the beginning when sarah is at work, they have the camera behind the bookshelf but a close up on her while she puts away books.

The amount of commotion in this film starts with a sentimental scene at the cemetery, everything in the background is white which means good vibes and happiness. Then there is a sudden cut right to them swerving into a tree and almost killing the fox. A Lot of the scenes in the woods were shot from a birds eye angle. The way the audience sees the crows looking down at the characters seems creepy. During the film you start to realize that music also played a big part. There were points when bad things were happening so the music was dark and mysterious. A close up angle that caught my eye was when, jacob was at the bar after he just killed his best friend. The camera slowly starts to move in closer to him, meanwhile there is sad slow music. As the camera starts to move in you see the sorrow and pain that jacob is in.

A Silent Film Love Story

A very sentimental and dramatic scene of the film on the staircase.

After analyzing the film “The Artist” there are a lot of cues that come from Mise En Scene in this film. One thing that caught my eye was the staircase scene. There was varying camera proxemics during this scene like medium shots to close ups from over the shoulder shot. The way I believe the staging of the two main characters in the stair scene was, having peppy higher than him on the stairs because it shows he is losing his power in the acting industry and that she is moving up and becoming more famous than him. The depth of the stair scene is symbolic to show the commotion that’s going on around george and peppy talking to make it more dramatic.

When people watch The Artist they should appreciate the era and time of the film that they were trying to portray which is the 1920s. Many people in my generation don’t find interest in silent films because they don’t take the time to break the movie down to understand whats going on. In silent films the music says everything about the mood of each scene. The music tells you the emotion of each character in each scene you watch, which makes the film easier to understand. Back then these types of films were less expensive to produce. They only needed two main characters who seemed in love and extras to make films then. Now a days to produce a film or movie it can cost producers and companies millions of dollars.

Peppy and George staring in one of their films together.

In the beginning George was a big star in the industry and he met a fan on set that wanted to get into acting that looked up to him. Peppy started out being an extra and that’s how those two met. George gave peppy many pointers on how to make it big in acting. The first thing he did was give her a mole on her face and said you need something to stand out and make u different from everyone else. The two actors starred in a film together, after this peppy became cocky. In a interview she had peppy said “make room for the young, out with the old in with the new”. The film they premiered in came out october 25 and George worked very hard on this to get back into being the best actor he could be. When the film came out there was very few who came to watch it in theater because everyone was at peppys watching her new film called “beauty spot”. I believe that the reason for this was because people were more attracted to the newer modern films rather than silent films. The film was during the great depression which means that he didnt have alot of money left and he invested his money into his movie to make money. There comes a point where George has to pawn all his belongs to make money. All of his belongings would have sold for a lot more if he was still known and famous. In my head I can see physically and emotionally he has nothing left. I see that peppy is taking tabs on him because she feels bad for him because that was her in the beginning and had nothing and wasn’t famous.

Peppys film “Beauty Spot”

A very dramatic scene in the film is when George starts becoming depressed and destroying everything in him home. He ends up lighting all the films on fire in his home. The audience can tell he regrets destroying all his life’s work because of how he reacts as everything is burning. When peppy reads in the newspaper that he is in the hospital she rushes over there. Newspapers still have the effect to tell society things that are happening daily. It is sad to watch peppy realize that the only thing he saved in the fire was the film of them dancing when they first met. There becomes a lot of tension when George’s dog takes him to a room in Peppys house and its full of all George’s belongings from the auction.The way he reacted was bad, he feels that everything that has been happening to him she has fixed in some sort of way. After all of this he has had enough and has nothing left he feels, he goes back to house and attempts to kill himself until he hears a bang outside his window. This part of the film was sad to watch because he felt lonely and that he had nothing else to live for. Once everything blows over Peppy and George start tap dancing for a new film called sparkle of love. The connection between them is truly love and you start to see george change his mentality to modern day films.