Barthes: Narrative Enigma

Roland Barthes 

(b. 1915- d. 1980)

Roland Barthes was a French theorist, philosopher and semiotician. 

What is Narrative Enigma? 

Narrative enigma is defined as the intentional withholding of exposition in order to create mystery and suspense. 

An example of narrative enigma being used in an opening is Pretty In Pink (1986), which shows shots of the bedroom and the protagonists body parts, building up to reveal her face. 

An example where narrative enigma is not upheld is the opening of Bridget Jones' Diary (2001), where the protagonist immediately reveals exposition through a voiceover. 

Possible influences for my film: 

In my opening, I would want to build up narrative enigma to create suspense and mystery, especially around the killer's identity. I would reveal exposition visually rather than through dialogue. 

Todorov: Narrative Structure

Tzvetan Todorov 

(b. 1939- d. 2017)

Tzvetan Todorov was a Bulgarian-French historian, philosopher and literary critic.

What is Narrative Structure? 

Todorov analysed properties of hundreds of different narratives, and found a general theory that fits them all. 

The 5 part structure consists of: 

Equilibrium- the stable situation or routine and opening of the narrative

Disruption- disturbance caused breaking the routine

Recognition- realisation of caused disturbance within the narrative

Attempt to resolve- fixing the disturbance in order to regain balance

New equilibrium- new balance and stability created after the occurrence of the disruptor

This structure is illustrated in the diagram below. 

Example:

This theory can be seen in the film Shrek (2001). The film opens showing Shrek's life living alone in his swamp, the equilibrium stage. The fairytale characters that are banished by Lord Farquaad then create disruption as they invade his swamp. After Shrek recognises this, he sets off to find Lord Farquaad and makes a deal with him, he will find Princess Fiona in exchange for him taking back all the fairytale characters. This is the attempt to repair the damage. However, Princess Fiona is an ogre and she ends up marrying Shrek and moving into his swamp, which is the new equilibrium. 

Male Gaze and Voyeurism

The Male Gaze: 

What is the Male Gaze?: 

The Oxford Dictionary defines the male gaze as: 

"the perspective of a notionally typical heterosexual man considered as embodied in the audience or intended audience for films and other visual media, characterised by a tendency to objectify or sexualise women." 

The male gaze is a feminist theory, coined by Laura Mulvey in her 1975 essay "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema".  It refers to the act of depicting women in film, from a heteronormative masculine perspective, objectifying women for their visual pleasure. Mulvey claims the male gaze to have three perspectives: 

- the man behind the camera

- the male character 

- the male spectator

In this post I will discuss; background, psychology of the theory, spectatorship/voyeurism, and rejection of the theory.

Background: 

The first documentation of "the gaze" or "le regard" was introduced by the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre in 1943. He described it as "the act of gazing at another human creates a power difference, felt by the gazer viewing the gazed as an object rather than a human being." 

The first use in cinema was by John Berger in 1972's "Ways of Seeing", where his theory stated that "men act and women appear", with women being aware of their obligation of performance towards the male viewer.

It most notably appears in Laura Mulvey's 1975 essay "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema".  In this essay, she states, "In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active male and passive female." (808), relating the representations of women and men in cinema to the patriarchal structure of society. These representations deny the post-feminist theory of agency, or a woman's control over her actions and body, dehumanising her and being viewed as a body rather than a person. 

Psychology of the theory: 

Mulvey based her essay on several Freudian psychoanalytical concepts: 

Male Castration Anxiety: Upon viewing the woman, her lack of phallus poses the threat of castration to the male, and therefore displeasure. This unconscious anxiety of the male in turn leads to the over sexualisation and passive role of women onscreen, through voyeurism and fetishisation. 

Voyeurism: The behaviour of looking as a sexual pleasure . Mulvey states it is about "asserting control and subjecting the guilty person through punishment or forgiveness." By viewing and fragmenting the female body, the anxiety of castration is reduced. 

Scopophilia: The receiving of pleasure from looking, relating to the effects of the male gaze on both men and women. When the pleasure is derived from sexual attraction, it falls under the voyeuristic pleasure. However, when women view film from the male perspective, their pleasure is derived from self-identification and narcissism. 

Narcissism: Receiving pleasure from the contemplation of one's self, in this case women identifying with their onscreen objectification. 

Spectatorship: 

When viewing a film, the viewer assumes the role of the active male or the passive female. Mulvey states that the male gaze consists of "three different looks"; the camera, the audience, and the characters. They all share the perspective of the active male viewer, relating to the concept of scopophilia or pleasure from viewing. This is in turn separated into two categories; voyeurism, where the subject is viewed from a distance and the viewer projects onto them, or narcissism, where the subject is recognised within it's viewer.

Due to this system of viewing, Mulvey believed women must identify with male characters and their perspective in order to enjoy films. 

Onscreen, the male perspective is physically distinguishable in the camera's sight line and women are objectified to appeal to the male character, or male viewer. This is reinforced by the patriarchal hegemony (Gramsci), as well as other forms of media. 

Rejection of the gaze:

Camille Paglia, a feminist academic writer, rejected the theory of the male gaze, by prioritising the post-feminist theory of agency. She says "I've been very vocal about my opposition to the simplistic theory of the male gaze... (it is) the victim model of feminism applied to the works of culture."

The female gaze was idealised later, with the idea consisting of a female assuming the position of the dominant male, and viewing through this perspective, removing the objectification of women. 

Queering the gaze, consists of a same sex viewer and object, therefore queering the passive and active or male and female roles. However, this is also criticised by many feminist theorists, specifically regarding the lesbian gaze, referring to the fetishisation occurring from the heterosexual male. 

references:

- Male Gaze

- Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema

- Female Gaze 

- Three Perspectives

Production Budget

Props/Clothing: 

Clothing: Free (Own clothes)
Accessories: £20 (Matching items)

Fake blood: £10
Locker decorations: Free (Own) 
Books: Free (Actors') 

Transport: 

Transport was free as we all took the public/school bus. Transportation in Luxembourg is free. 

Food/Drink:

£15 for snacks and drinks for actors when filming in the forest and while practicing with makeup and costume. 

After analysing and comparing other low-budget horrors, I would estimate my budget for a full-length feature to be a maximum of $100,000, which is classed as a micro-budget

Butler: Gender Performativity

 Judith Butler 

(b. 1956-)

Judith Butler is an American philosopher and gender studies writer. 

What is Gender Performativity? 

Gender performativity is a queer theory stemming from Butler's 1990 book "Gender Trouble". She describes the theory as “gender proves to be performance— that is, constituting the identity it is purported to be. In this sense, gender is always a doing, though not a doing by a subject who might be said to pre-exist the deed”. 

Her theory states that hegemonic representations of gender are learnt, and performed, rather than being something that exists naturally. 

Possible influences for my film: 

In my opening, I am representing the slasher character archetypes which are all hegemonic representations and stereotypes of gender. Blurring of roles such as the killer which is typically male, and one of the scream queens. 

Sample Scene 2

After our initial sample scene, we wanted to create another using as many possible elements to include in our final scene. 

We created the mise-en-scene of the locker and the missing posters. The inside of the locker is decorated with some pictures of our cast as well as various lipglosses for Mandy to use. The poster on the locker was placed so it could be visible for the majority of our takes. We also added a mirror inside the locker to create a close up using it, and potentially for our jump scare. 

For the costumes, we wanted to use as many pieces we thought we wold include in our final cut, such as the fake glasses, heart earrings and heart jumper. Through our composition of the mise-en-scene and costumes, we were able to have a more accurate representation of our intended scene, and see the possible difficulties we could face while filming. 

After creating a call sheet for the scene, we had a basic idea of shots to film and elements of continuity to be aware of. This was very helpful to us as we only had 45 minutes to film, and we made sure to include the necessary shots before experimenting further.         

Here is our second sample scene: 

After editing our sample scene and showing it to our media class this is the feedback we received: 

Improvements to make in the next shoot: 

- posters could be aged, scribbled on, placed differently to be more realistic

- the lockers and corridor is too tidy, we need to create verisimilitude through bags on the floor, coats, etc...

- the false scare; needs to be built up to more (e.g. looking around), acknowledged more by actors 

- the locker could be decorated more

- the takes are too long, should be short and fast

- there needs to be larger shot variety and cuts

- scream queen character needs to be played up more; emphasis on lips and lipstick (male gaze), wearing more makeup, jewellery, hair

- final girl character needs to be accentuated more; baggier clothes, bigger glasses

- bracelet dialogue reveals too much exposition, should be communicated visually

- bracelet should be highlighted more; bigger bracelet and clearer shot

- stronger costume signifiers (e.g. Heathers)

- using music or ambient sound throughout the scene 

- removing the slo-mo at the end 

Abel Ferrara Masterclass

On the 22nd November 2022, I attended a Masterclass held by Abel Ferrara at the Cinématheque in Luxembourg (the local arthouse cinema). I have previously attended the Elia Suleiman Masterclass in the spring of 2022, and I find it interesting to hear from different directors and gain insights into the film industry, as well as their process. 

Although I hadn't previously seen any of Ferrara's films I was aware of his longtime work with Willem Dafoe and Asia Argento, who are two actors I admire. I took notes throughout the Masterclass, and asked a question myself. 

Here are some of the notes I wrote down: 

Q: What were some constraints you faced when preparing Bad Lieutenant?: 
A: I don't deal with constraints, once I receive the money I have no constraints. I've been working since I was 16, but I don't work for anyone, I am free. Stanley Kubrick's movie's are an inverted pyramid of one idea, which inspires my work strategy. 

Production Schedule

24/10/22 initial pitch  

10/11/22 idents

14/11/22 final pitch

15/11/22 sample scene 1, initial script, equipment testing 

20/11/22 location scouting 

22/11/22 casting finalised

23/11/22 sample scene 2, budget finalised 

24/11/22 initial audience feedback

01/12/22 final makeup and costume decisions

06/12/22 final props and costume purchases

08/12/22 scenes 1 and 2 shooting

11/12/22 final script completed 

04/01/23 burial scene shoot

20/01/23 locker scene shoot

20/01/23 initial rough cut

01/03/23 titles added 

21/03/23 soundtrack, foley sounds, and dialogue rerecording

03/04/23 final cut

Intertextuality and References

For our film opening, we want to include various intertextual references to previous slasher/horror films we were inspired by. This is also to attract a secondary target audience of 25-44+, who would understand these references.

To present the intertextuality of the film opening, I created a YouTube video with a voice-over explaining the I Saw/I Did approach I took. 

 Casting 

Scream Queen: Clara D
Scream King: Nathan H
Mandy: Elsa H
Laurie: Marie R

Agency

What is Agency?: 

Camille Paglia, a feminist academic writer, rejected the theory of the male gaze, by prioritising the post-feminist theory of agency. She says "I've been very vocal about my opposition to the simplistic theory of the male gaze... (it is) the victim model of feminism applied to the works of culture."

Agency is a post-feminist film theory that describes: "the capacity of women to take purposeful action and pursue goals with their own free will". While a feminist theory such as Mulvey's male gaze suggests women are subjected to their actions by male pleasure and objectification, the agency theory argues that women make conscious choices and have authority separate from male objectification. 

Possible influences for my film:

The archetype of the scream queen is present, and while it is conventionally a sexualised role, the girls in the film consciously choose to act and dress in the way they do (short skirts, heavy makeup) for themselves rather than due to male objectification. Laurie also shows agency as she adapts the "uniform" of her clique with fishnets, boots, and a black long-sleeved jumper. 

Levi-Strauss: Binary Opposition

Claude Levi-Strauss

(b. 1908- d. 2009)

Claude Levi-Strauss was a French anthropologist. 

What is Binary Opposition? 

Binary opposites are "a pair of related concepts which are opposite in meaning". (media-studies.com) They are opposing forces within a media text that move the narrative along, such as good and evil, male and female, black and white, etc...

Levi-Strauss stated that they were the "basic structure of all human cultures", and that binary opposites are needed in "human signifying structures". 

Possible influences for my film: 

The binary opposition between the final girl and the scream queen, the binary opposition of a heterosexual couple. 

Campbell: Hero's Journey/Monomyth

Joseph J. Campbell 

(b. 1904 - d. 1987)

Joseph Campbell was an American writer, professor, and folklorist. 

What is the Hero's Journey/Monomyth?: 

The term Monomyth was first seen in his 1949 book "The Hero with a Thousand Faces", where Campbell stated that the journey of the archetypal (Propp) hero spanned across mythology, hence why it is called the Monomyth. He stated that this is the ultimate archetype in the narrative, but the phrase "hero's journey" is more commonly used to describe the protagonists change within a narrative. 

From the book "The Hero with a Thousand Faces", he summarises it as: 

"A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from his mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man."

Campbell states there are 17 stages of the Monomyth, but certain narratives chose to focus on fewer stages, or in different orders. However, they are separated into three stages: departure, initiation, and return. 

Possible influence for my film: 

The hero's journey of the final girl or the teenagers in discovering and killing the killer.

Resources: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_journey

Sample Scene 1

We started by location scouting and found a quiet corridor with lockers. We tried shooting with a normal lens and the 0,5 lens as we were shooting on iPhone. In the end we decided to stick with the regular lens as we felt it was too distorted and didn't seem realistic. 

When shooting our real scene, we will need extras as well as the main actors to create verisimilitude. We have also decided to shoot using iPhone instead of a DSLR camera as it's more versatile and we can get more of the shots we want. 

To attempt a sense of binary opposition (Levi-Strauss), I dressed in darker colours, while Sasha mostly wore white. 

Here is our sample script:

While shooting, we tried different angles and ideas so that we could create a storyboard through our practice shots. Below, we have our sample video for stepping on a missing poster, something we want to add in our first few shots. 

We also attempted different angles of the same shot to see how it looked from the different perspectives, and how we could edit them together, as well as actor visibility. 

Our voyeuristic shot, we wanted to create a stalking feeling at the beginning of the opening as well as throughout, which is often a slasher convention. 

The internal shot from the locker. After filming we discussed using this as a match cut, to create a more seamless ellipse and transition to the main film. 

We created a continuity edit of a sample scene to better visualise our ideas and the final result. 

Aspects to improve: 

- continuity (repeat of poster)

- cleaner cuts and repeated actions

- more shot variety (shot-reverse-shot, dutch angle, dolly tracking)

- mise-en-scene and prop development

In conclusion, our sample shooting was extremely beneficial, as we were able to find a location, set up the mise-en-scene (missing poster), and use props (school textbook). From this, we can start writing a full script and creating a storyboard, as well as scouting further locations, actors and costumes. 

Target Audience

"Perceptions of the requirements of the target market, whether it is audiences or middlemen like distributors, exert a profound influence on film content and the film types from which content is drawn."

- Blood Money by Richard Nowell (ch1. p27)

This post covers our target audience, as well as specific industry examples that we researched and influenced our decisions. 

The genre of the film is a teen slasher, the post analysing the genre conventions is linked here. 

Although we had a clear target audience in mind, Sasha and I created an audience survey, to research attitudes towards horror films within different demographics. My post on the slasher audience is linked here.

Age: 

The primary target is 15-24+, as the film genre is a teen slasher, there are specific conventions of the genre, which primarily appeal to teenagers. The genre follows specific character archetypes that are usually teenagers, or in their early 20s. The circumstances of the narrative, that usually revolve around school, house parties, and underage drinking or sex, allow for a teenage audience to personally identify with the characters. 

The horror producer Don Borchers said: "if you get the audience to identify with young teens in trouble and you do a knife movie, its always going to work." (BM CH1. P18)

Our film opening narrative focuses on teenagers going to a party, and the next day at school. The characters focus on typical teen problems such as relationships, friends, and school. This allows the primary audience to identify (UGT) themselves within the characters, and appeal to them. 

However, as an indie horror filmmaker, I would have to adhere to the BBFC or MPAA guidelines for a 15 rating. Through my research and comparison of the film companies Working Title (a subsidiary of the vertically integrated conglomerate Universal), and indie Warp, I have noticed a harsher age restriction on lower budget movies, for similar or less severe depictions, compared to a high budget film.

Our secondary target age is 25-44+. To appeal to this age group, our full film would include older actors in the roles of parents, teachers, or police. This was used in the films: Cherry Falls (2000), Halloween (1978), and Scream (1992). We are also including a lot of intertextual references from older films, which could appeal to older audiences. 

A key element in creating the opening is to maintain a strictly 15 rating, and avoid an 18. This box office analysis  shows how harsher age ratings negatively impact box office performance, which is vital for the film's success. However, although cinema age ratings are strictly enforced, due to streaming services (Web 2.0, O'Reilly), younger viewers are able to access a film without being of age. While this means the film could still be relatively successful, it is important to prioritise the box office performance. 

This post covers a comparison of age ratings and explains classifications in further detail, as well as a genre specific comparison, linked here. 

Gender: 

Our primary target is females, specifically due to the female protagonists of the film, and our inspiration from Jennifer's Body (2009) and Heathers (1998). 

After our audience survey, we found women to be less interested in horror, and the slasher genre, but found female targeted horror films appealing. The main reason women found slasher unappealing, was due to the negative portrayal of female characters in the film, something we are attempting to avoid by blurring character tropes.

Another way to positively represent female characters is through the Bechdel Test, seen in our opening when Laurie and Mandy talk about Marion's disappearance at their locker. 

However, the horror genre is usually evenly split by audiences, as seen in this survey by morbidlybeautiful. 

This shows the importance of character representation for a secondary male audience. We are doing this by including male characters, and narrative enigma (Barthes) around the identity of the killer. 

Class: 

Our aim is to appeal to all class audiences. However, we are using certain techniques to specifically cater to certain groups.

Slasher films are typically viewed as pop-culture, and cater to a C1C2DE audience. As our film is not social realist, or revolving around working class characters, our characters would belong to the C1C2 group. The accents in the film are international and easily understood, and don't denote any specific regions, further broadening the appeal. 

To appeal to a highbrow or arthouse, ABC1 audience, we are relying on the use of intertextual references, as the films referenced are considered to be horror cult classics. 

Nationality:

The characters of the film have international accents, mixing between British and American. This broadens the audience appeal to the international and specifically American market, as the accents are clearly understood, a technique used by Working Title. To avoid a limited appeal or difficulty understanding an accent, often the case with Warp films, we have avoided using any actors with strong regional accents. 

All the characters in our opening are white, which broadens the commercial appeal and is commonly used in Working Title films. However, if we were making a feature length film, we would include characters of other ethnic backgrounds. 

Sexuality: 

The film opening follows a heterosexual couple, and Mandy jokes about Laurie not having a boyfriend, a heteronormative assumption. The main reason for not including an LGBT+ character in the opening is due to stereotyping, as we thought a 2 minute opening would negatively portray the character, but this would included if it was a feature length film. Although there have been recent successful LGBT+ films; Call Me By Your Name (2017), and Portrait of A Lady on Fire (2019), the commercial scope of a LGBT+ protagonist is limited, unless featuring an A-list star or director.