How far do your chosen films demonstrate the importance of visual and soundtrack cues in influencing spectator response?
Introduction –
- Films typically place the audience in the position of passive observer, but they are able to engage the audience to become active in different ways
- Spectatorship theories have presented various models for the activity level of the audience when watching a film: the Uses and Gratifications Model suggests the audience members are even active when deciding to watch a film, as they do so for different reasons. Watching for education or integration reasons enables the viewer to be more active throughout the film than someone choosing to watch as escapism or pure entertainment
- Filmmakers are also able to force more activity in the audience by challenging conventions and expectations; for example, through narrative structure, representation or the ideologies they portray
- However, the filmmaker cannot entirely decide the meaning the audience takes from the film: Reception Theory proposes a compromise between viewer and filmmaker in the ‘negotiated’ reading, whilst the ‘preferred’ reading is the filmmaker’s intention and the ‘oppositional’ reading is when the viewer counters this, choosing to reinterpret the film in their own way
Beasts of the Southern Wild –
Independent filmmakers usually encourage active spectators by creating a film that differs from mainstream cinema and its conventions. Beasts of the Southern Wild achieves this by focusing on a natural disaster that shares similarities with the 2005 Hurricane Katrina and its impacts on people of colour and in poverty. The government’s response to Hurricane Katrina was met with criticism, and though Zeitlin claims he did not make the film to be explicitly political, the film opens the audience’s eyes to the struggles a community faces in a changing world.
- Setting makes the film more educational and its realism is conveyed through the cinematography – shot on 16mm film to give a grainy quality, feels more grounded
- Additionally, real locations and use of non-actors adds to the realism
- Dwight Henry, who plays Wink, personally experienced Hurricane Katrina reflecting reality much more closely on-screen as he “understand[s] a lot of what the people in that movie, who live on that island, what they go through.”
- Zeitlin places the audience with Hushpuppy through techniques such as voice-over, careful editing so she is in the majority of shots and frequent close-ups to ascertain her emotion
- Although some audience members are able to take an identification view as they have experienced a similar situation and can imagine themselves in Hushpuppy’s shoes, once the film reached a more mainstream audience, an assimilation view may have become more common – feel sympathy and witness from an external perspective
- The preferred reading of the film is the importance of community and the devastation climate change is wreaking on them; however, the film presents the help offered to the Bathtub residents as a threat to their lifestyle – Hushpuppy and Wink being physically dragged to the hospital and then trying to escape
- An oppositional reading would see this as problematic, whilst a negotiated reading could appreciate the independence of the community and still accept that institutional help may benefit the community
- Criticism of the film provides more scope for oppositional readings – bell hooks argues that the film plays into racial stereotypes: Wink embodies regressive ideas of black masculinity – he is violent towards Hushpuppy and drinks frequently
- Similarly, hooks argues that Hushpuppy is presented as a child version of the stereotypical ‘strong black female matriarch’ – she looks after Wink, but is also independent and does not back down from the aurochs, showing her strength and bravery
- Recent context of the Black Lives Matter movement raises awareness about problematic representations of black people on-screen, making the audience more active when watching a film that engages with this (especially when the filmmaker is white)
La La Land –
Mainstream Hollywood films often aim to purely entertain the audience and therefore facilitate a passive spectator. However, La La Land has both intentionally and unintentionally created a more active viewership. Intentional = subversion of expectations in the ending where Mia and Seb do not end up together, leaves the audience questioning the American Dream and the balance between ambition and love. Unintentional = representation of gender and ethnicity that has raised criticism and engaged the audience as they evaluate their views on this.
- As a musical, audience is somewhat able to sit back and passively enjoy the spectacle presented to them on-screen; for example, the opening number ‘Another Day in the Sun’ is very bright, colourful and energetic – good for escapism (Uses and Gratifications Theory)
- The camera does work to engage the audience in this sequence – it is also very active, gliding in and around the performers to be more immersive for the audience
- Similarly, the use of real locations such as the Freeway 105 in the opening makes it more realistic and immersive
- However, the frequent references to other films makes the audience aware that the film and characters are constructs they are observing, e.g Mia standing in front of the screen as Rebel Without a Cause plays behind her
- La La Land pays homage to the role of viewer through the character of Mia: she is a consumer of art – jazz, cinema, theatre, but becomes an active participant – instead of continuing to watch Rebel Without a Cause, she takes Seb to the setting of it (The Griffiths Observatory) and creates her own scene with him
- Anna Leszkiewitz uses this to support a feminist interpretation of the film, seeing it as an exploration of Mia’s development as an artist, from consumer to innovator
- Such an interpretation is arguably a negotiated reading of the text as Chazelle does not make it explicit that the entire film is Mia’s perspective, although choices such as positioning the audience with her first and using close-ups on her whilst Seb is performing aid this view
- A more oppositional reading to the film can be seen in criticism of the ethnic representation – Keith is the only significant black character and he is criticised by Seb, the apparent (white) protector of ‘pure’ jazz for selling out to play commercial jazz
- This lack of representation is problematic, as is Seb’s desire to return to the olden days of jazz, which were characterised by racism towards black people even for the clothes they wore
- Geoff Nelson comments that “the past represents liberation for one group, a horror show for another” – nostalgia is only beneficial for white people, who can reflect on the past without being reminded of brutal racism and repression
- The preferred reading sees the film as unproblematically apolitical and a romance where both characters achieve their dreams, although lose each other in the process
- By creating the fantasy sequence at the end of the film, Chazelle reinforces the audience’s longing for the characters to be together, but subverts the romance genre when they do not really end up together
- The use of ‘City of Stars’ as the motif for Mia and Seb’s relationship encourages the viewer to support their relationship and links together the key moments in their romance
Conclusion –
Both films seek to encourage active spectators through their visual and aural elements, but an active audience is also able to move away from the preferred reading of the director and problematise aspects, such as representation of ethnicity. A viewer is more likely to choose mainstream film La La Land to fulfil a desire for escapism, whereas Beasts of the Southern Wild has more aim to challenge expectations as an independent film. Nonetheless, La La Land does still subvert expectations with its melancholic ending and feminist interpretation of the film offers a reading in which subversion of gender expectations is improved, showing the power of an active audience.
Daisy Samra's Film Studies Blog 