Theories in film

1. Theories applied to PROMISE
Emily and Kayyah
Narrative, Audience , Genre and
Representation.

2. Narrative theory

3. Claude Levi Strauss
Claude Levi Strauss is the theorist behind binary
oppositions. He suggested that all narratives are driven by
the constant creation of conflict between two polar
opposites, and that the conflict must always end in a
resolution of conflict (within film). The opposites can be as
simple as good vs evil, although they don’t have to be a
metaphor or simply light and dark. Within our production
Levi Strauss’ theory can be applied to the counterparts of
Ellie and Dave. The audience can receive information in
different ways so some could see Dave as controlling and
Ellie as Innocent, and kind hearted. This is also inferred by
the clothing that the characters are dressed in for example,
Ellie is mainly seen in light colours while Dave is seen in
dark colours thus showing two polar opposites.

4. Vladimir Propp
Propp suggested that there are 7 main character types these are: The hero - this
character may not necessarily be the main character, but the hero fights against
the villain and is often lead by the donor, or shares a tight bond with them. The
villain – this character is the character that goes against the “stereotypical” hero.
They challenge the “good” in a film narrative. The donor/enabler – this character
prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object. This character is often a
fairy godmother, particularly in fairy tales. The helper – this character helps the
hero on their quest. The helper may also be found in a supporting role. The
characteristic of a helper can include intelligence, determination and courage. The
princess – this character is sought for during the narrative, and is often the person
that the hero marries at the end of the narrative during the celebrations. The
princess can sometimes fall for the false hero, before realising her mistake and
falling for the real hero. The false hero – this character is perceived as a good
character in the beginning, but later emerges as evil. The dispatcher – the
character who sends the hero off on their quest. The dispatcher often has an early
role in the narrative. This may be a family member such as a mother or father. It
can also be the princess's father, who gives the hero a set of quests to be
completed before he gains the hand of the princess. The dispatcher may also be
combined with another role, for example the false hero who then trails along
behind (perhaps disguised as a helper).

5. How does this apply to our own
production?
The hero – The hero could simply be Ellie herself or some could perceive Sam as
being the hero as he is able to give Ellie the feeling of being loved during her
limited time.
The helper – this character helps the hero on their quest and so this can be seen
as Sam, as he is seen to confront Dave and thus supports Ellie on her journey of
convincing her father that she needs to live a ‘normal’ teenage life.
The princess – Typically this is Ellie however we have challenged this theory as
Sam could be seen as the prize instead of Ellie herself.
The Villain – The villain does not have to be in fact a character but could be Ellie’s
illness which is seen to progress throughout the production. Some could perceive
as Dave also being the villain however we believe that Ellie’s illness fits the
category more appropriately.
As you can see the roles do actually overlap which is common among film
particularly within short film with the duration is limited and there are less roles.

6. Todorov
Todorov simplified the idea of narrative theory and
suggested that conventional narratives are
structured using five main stages: 1) State of
equilibrium 2) Disruption of equilibrium 3)
Recognition by main characters of this disruption 4)
Attempt to repair disruption 5) Reinstatement of
equilibrium- This equilibrium is never identical to
the original state of equilibrium, as for equilibrium
to be restored, the characters must learn
something; the characters and/or situations are
altered by the disruption.

7. How does this apply to PROMISE?
For the disruption of the equilibrium to be
solved Ellie had to convince her father that she
needs Sam’s company and he is restricting her
from living a normal life especially with her time
being so limited. Furthermore this works in
correlation with Propp’s theory of the 7
characters and the use of Levi Strauss creation
of conflict between two opposites thus
suggesting that all these theories work together
in order to build a narrative structure.

8. Audience theory

9. David Morely
Three Positions Morley outlined three hypothetical positions which the
reader of a programme might occupy:
• Dominant (or 'hegemonic') reading: The reader shares the programme's
'code' (its meaning system of values, attitudes, beliefs and
assumptions) and fully accepts the programme's 'preferred reading' (a
reading which may not have been the result of any conscious intention
on the part of the programme makers).
• Negotiated reading: The reader partly shares the programme's code
and broadly accepts the preferred reading, but modifies it in a way
which reflects their position and interests.
• Oppositional ('counter-hegemonic') reading: The reader does not share
the programme's code and rejects the preferred reading, bringing to
bear an alternative frame of interpretation. Morley argues that
'members of a given sub-culture will tend to share a cultural orientation
towards decoding messages in particular ways. Their individual
"readings" of messages will be framed by shared cultural formations
and practice

10. How does this apply to PROMISE?
The main assumption is that the majority of our
audience are dominant (or 'hegemonic') readers
thus suggesting that reader shares PROMISE’s
attitudes towards certain topics e.g. parenting and
how adults can related to this, e.g. some would
accept Dave’s point of view but a younger audience
may perceive him as being over protected.
Promise’s meaning system of values, attitudes,
beliefs and assumptions will be fully accepted by
the audience especially towards illnesses.

11. Reception analysis
Reception analysis is a theory that focuses on the audience’s reaction
to a particular media text, with the audience interpreting the meaning
of the media and then providing judgment, which is influenced by
individual circumstances. Individual circumstances can mean many
things, with aspects like nationality, age and religion being prominent
circumstances. An example of this could show an actor in a positive
light throughout, which cuts anything potentially negative about the
actor to a bare minimum. A member of the audience after viewing
this, would analysise the media and provide judgment based on their
circumstances. This theory is active, because the audience interpret
the media based on individual circumstances and have different
opinions, differentiated by a passive audience, who would consume
the media without any individual opinions or viewpoints on the media
text. Within PROMSISE, females are more likely to be sympathetic
towards Ellie’s situation and instantly be accepting of the narrative
thus they are an active audience by reacting to what the production is
implying. Others will react to PROMISE in different if they can relate to
Ellie’s interests seen within the mise- en- scene, nationality and age.

12. Kat Z
The two step flow is known for consisting of two stages, which starts with the
‘opinion leader’. The opinion leaders, who can be highly regarded or respected,
consume a piece of media themselves with full attention. After consuming the
media, whether it was a film, image, radio, the leaders than pass on the information
about the media as well as their opinion or view on it. The second stage of this
theory involves the people in social contact with the opinion leader. These people
will receive the information along with the leaders opinion on it from the opinion
leader. The people in social contact with the leader then consume what the opinion
leader says without question. A good example of this is a popular footballer in a
team, relays information to his team mates along with his opinion, due to that
player being most popular the rest will follow and believe him almost indefinitely.
This is a passive theory. It is passive due to the audience agreeing with the opinion
leader, due to their reputation or hierarchy, immediately- without any sort of
reaction or questioning. The audience don’t feel the urge to question the leader’s
view on the media text, instead they accept it – therefore it’s passive. For example
within PROMISE the majority of the audience will be accepting and agreeing with
Ellie’s argument as they are presented with her side of the story without questioning
her thus backing he and Sam to be together.

13. Film Genre

14. John Fiske
John Fiske (born 1939) is a media scholar who has taught around the
world. He was a Professor of Communication Arts at the University of
Wisconsin–Madison. His areas of interest include cultural studies,
popular culture, media semiotics and television studies. Fiske
discussed how genre acts as a convenience for producers and
audiences. This would suggest that genre merely acts as a way for an
audience to easily establish a film in a category. It has been suggested
that western and modern society requires order and cannot receive
texts without it being associated with a category or conventions to
follow. This would apply to our short film as it our narrative follows
romantic conventions with the relationship between Ellie and Sam, the
use of flowers and their representation of love and the constant
communication between the pair , thus making it convenient for our
audience to receive it in that way.

15. John Hartley
Hartley has published over twenty books about communication,
journalism, media and cultural studies, and over 200 papers. His works
have been translated into over a dozen languages. He published his
first book, Reading Television, in 1978. The book, co-authored with
John Fiske, was the first to analyse television from a cultural
perspective, and is considered a defining publication in the field. His
theory based on genre is that it is interpreted culturally, therefore
indicating that we establish genre based on the culture that surrounds
us. This would link to our short film as it is clear that the issue within
our short film the way Ellie desperately wants to attend the prom – a
very westernised event that has culturally developed into a coming of
age event. Therefore, this would link to Hartley’s theory as it would
suggest that we have constructed our genre based on what is culturally
a romantic event that all teenagers attend.

16. Daniel Chandler
Daniel Chandler (born 1952) is a British visual semiotician based (since
2001) at the department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies at
Aberystwyth University (where he has taught since 1989). His best-
known publication is Semiotics: The Basics (Routledge: 1st edn 2002,
2nd edn 2007), which is frequently used as a basis for University
courses in semiotics, and the online version 'Semiotics for Beginners'
(online since 1995). He spoke of how genre is too restricting on films
and can lead directors into moving away from adding their own
individuality on their products because of the conventions of genres in
film. This would link into the nature of our genre as we follow a
romantic drama theme and therefore any use of comedy or light
heartedness would be unusual. Therefore, in this sense we were
restricted in the way we constructed our short film as without these
conventions we may have chosen to use more light-hearted aspects.

17. David Buckingham
David said that "Genre is not ... simply 'given' by the culture: rather, it
is in a constant state of negotiation and change.“ He believes that
genres change over time and are moulded constantly by society. Also
that children and young people have identities that do not exist at all
or are constantly changing. He also believed that media reveals the
bad side of the world leading to parents keeping their children indoors
to hide them from this reality . Children consequently spend to much
time around various types of media such as TV's and computers which
would lead them to learning to much about the world and are going
through constant change due to the amount views, opinions and
cultures that they observe. This would link to the genre of our short
film as it touches upon the power of image in this culture. The inflation
of the use of social media and the pressure on young people to be
appealing online and to their peers is a key aspect of our film in that
Ellie craves to have a normal teenage life and attend the prom.

18. Barry Keith Grant
Grant spoke of how despite their being a set amount of genres within
film, that there is an endless amount of sub genres that ultimately take
over the meaning of a specific genre. Some may argue it divides films
into more specific categories and would make it easier for audiences to
understand the films nature. Similarly, Grant argues that it is these sub
genres that really establish the films content as it zooms in on certain
conventions the film will follow. Our short film is directed towards a
romantic drama sub genre and therefore will look into the trials and
tribulations of achieving a romantic relationship. Interestingly, in the
1960’s romantic drama was orientated on the struggle for marriage or
how couples had to face obstacles before they could be married which
created a dramatic situation. However, in today’s culture is more based
on obstacles couple face to have sexual relations and have more casual
interactions.

19. Rick Altman
Altman created two categories for his theory of how genres create pleasures for
the audience.
• The Semantic Element:
Things that are signified and made obvious that they are being shown to the
audience. For example in the portrayal of American Street there will be big bold
jewellery, money, young attractive girls and expensive cars on screen.
• The Syntactic Element:
Things that appear not so obvious to the audience. This could be how the
director is portraying a certain mood or theme with colours or tones.
Altman makes it clear in other theories that the audience is given certain
pleasures especially in the conclusion of films. For example, in our final scene
Sam is in Ellie’s home an aspect the audience almost asks for throughout the
plot as they think the father is being too controlling. Therefore, in doing so and
not ending the plot with the extended dismay of the father the audience is
given the pleasure of seeing a positive and emotional ending.

20. Representation

21. Laura Mulvey- The Male Gaze
Mulvey is best known for her work, "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema", written in
1973 and published in 1975 in the influential British film theory journal Screen. Her
theories include how cinema is merely directed to appeal to the heterosexual male
and that women because of this is are subject to a ‘Male Gaze’. The theory looks into
three separate categories:
i) How men view women –Mulvey says that women are over sexualised in cinema
to appeal to a male audience.
ii) How women view other women- She goes on to discuss how women have
become focused on the way other women look and comparing themselves
while doing so.
iii) How women view themselves- This links again to how women are more likely to
feel at competition because of how women are represented on the big screen.
In terms of its connection to our short film, one could argue that Ellie and Sam are
both subjects to the Gaze as they are young and in the eyes of cinema attractive
individuals. The fact we have chosen to still show Ellie as beautiful until the end would
represent how our film would support Mulvey’s theory in that women are only
represented in this way in cinema as it would be otherwise discomforting to an
audience.

22. Stuart Hall
Hall became one of the main proponents of reception theory,
and developed his theory of encoding and decoding. It focuses
on the scope for negotiation and opposition on the part of the
audience. His theory covers dominant, oppositional, and
negotiated readings of representation and explains how
depending on our social status we receive certain texts. This
would link to our short film ‘Promise’ as it would seem to a
dominant reader that the father is a cruel and controlling
figure that is the obstacle between Sam and Ellie’s
relationship. An oppositional reader would say there is a
reason for his behaviour and that he is simply trying to fulfill
his role as a father and a protector. Finally , and negotiated
reader would say that yes Dave’s behaviour is very controlling
and he does keep his daughter from being able to live in the
little time she has left but there is a reason behind it.

23. David Gauntlett
David Gauntlett (born 15 March 1971) is a British
sociologist and media theorist. His earlier work
concerned contemporary media audiences, and has
moved towards a focus on the everyday making and
sharing of digital media and social media, and the role of
such media in self-identity and self-expression. In 2007,
Gauntlett published the article Media Studies 2.0, an
article that argues that the traditional form of media
studies research fails to recognise the changing media
categories of 'audiences' and 'producers' blurring
together, and that new research methods and approaches
are needed.

24. Jean Baudrillard
• Hyperreality- “A condition in which ‘reality’ has been
replaced with simulacra.”
• Simulacra- “When a sign loses its relation to reality and
begins to simulate a simulation.”
An example of Baudrillard’s hyper reality would be
celebrity culture. Celebrities who reach the point where
they have every aspect of their lives taken over by
someone else and they are living in a hyperreal world.
They lose the ability to interact with people on a normal
level and are cocooned in hyperreality. Similarly, film was
created to represent reality and now it is reality and that
is representing what happens in film.