But I'm a Cheerleader

Released in 1999, But I’m  a cheerleader is comedy satire that tackles the very sensitive topics of heteronormativity, gender roles, and sexuality. Directed by Jamie Babbit and starting Natasha Lyonne, this film was panned by critics but it still made a modest amount at the box office and has since developed a cult following. This movie is a perfect material to discuss the elements of queer theory.

Queer cinema isn’t something new, it has been existing as a form of avant-garde cinema for years before it was introduced at the Toronto Film Festival 1991 as a concept. This concept t re-examined and reviewed the image of homosexuality. The proliferation of Queer Cinema can be traced to the global epidemic of HIV/AIDS. Gay people were wrongfully accused and stigmatized as the primary cause of the spread of this disease. Due to this queer cinema had become a more marketable commodity. New queer cinema isn’t a single motif or aesthetic but a collection of such that takes pride in their diversity. Be that as it may lesbianism and women don’t get as much representation as their male counterparts. Queer is a blanket term that is used to categorise people who aren’t cis-gendered  or heterosexual.  Although, its partly true, queer theory is much more than that. Queer Theory, creates and understanding and promotes debates on gender and sexuality, branching on the work done by Feminist Theory, and as a critical response to the numerous discourses surrounding AIDS & homosexuality. It also challenges us to think about the labels and stereotypes we have set for the world and question why it is so. Queer theory is totally against arbitrary and heteronormative practices that discriminate and oppress queer people. There are four main approaches when it comes to queer cinema. The first is audience reception. These are queer films made for queer audiences. They are very relatable to queer issues and problems faced by the queer community. The second approach is traditional straight media that appeal to the queer community. Classic movies which display strong female characters and their dominance usually attract queer audiences. The third is when producers and film makers are concerned with representing non-stereotypical queerness. This is a way of them to say that queerness doesn’t have labels. Queerness is not restricted to the archetypes and assumptions that have existed. Lastly the 4^th approach is when movies speak on a much larger scale than mere queerness and sexuality. It questions the reason why we do things in a certain way and what sort of barriers and norms society has placed on us. It challenges heteronormativity and places the question why we don’t allow thing due to arbitrary conventions set by man.

But I’m a cheerleader is the story of Megan a high school cheerleader who is lesbian but doesn’t know it yet. Her friends and family find out and send her to a conversion camp called True Directions that aims to “cure” homosexuality. In here she finds other gays like her in which some are actively trying to “change” and other are there merely to please their parents. This camp teaches the kids that being gay is wrong and enforces gender roles through practice gender activities such as cleaning in an attempt to turn them straight. The movie is about the journey of Megan as she falls in love and comes to accept her sexuality and eventually gets her parents support as well.

This movie actually uses a combination of approaches. Namely approach number 3 and approach number 4, We can see that Megan is portrayed as a stereotypical  blonde cheerleader who is in a  relationship with a boy. In actuality she’s actually a lesbian and this representation is meant to shed light on the fact the queer people exist in all shapes and forms. This point is further emphasized at the conversion camp where you had the stereotypical representation of gay people and also the non-stereotypical ones, further driving the point that gays can exists without labels.  These aspects are in line with approach 3 as in it challenges heteronormativity. The other part that this films bring in to question is the assigned gender roles and how men and women should be in society. This is frequently brought up as the adults in this movie keep reinforcing gender stereotypes ion the queer kids. For example, the girls at the True Directions camp are forced to undergo seemingly womanly activities such as cleaning and cooking. This enforces and unnecessary stereotype that all women are good for is housework and tending to men which is obviously far from the truth. Another thing this movie brings to light is the seemingly unprecedented taboo of being queer. Megan’s entire community started to shun her and took it upon their hands to set her on a straight path as if her being herself is somewhat of a crime. The concept that people can love someone of the same gender is so taboo and out of place they feel the need to impose their backward and outdated views on them. This was shown with the number of enrolled kids at the conversion camp.  This film advocates that people can be themselves and should be truthful to what they are and this is illustrated in the final scene where Graham ditched the graduation to be with Megan. This is what approach 4 is all about. Challenging so called societal norms and stigmas that have been ludicrously put in by arbitrary conventions.

Queer Theory is a very important aspect of life as it helps us understands oppression and look at the world beyond ourselves. This seeping of reality into film produced new queer cinema which brings light upon these under represented issues because what better way to make a statement than through film.

Clueless

Starring Alicia Silverstone , Paul Rudd, Birttany Murphy, and Stacey Dash, Clueless is a 2005 movie written and directed by Amy Heckerling. It’s a coming of age romantic comedy that feature mainly around the kids that go to Bronson Alcott high school. Grossing  $56.1 million in the box office, this critically acclaimed movie went on to develop a cult following and is still as popular as ever. This movie is a great feminist film as it portrays women as people with supreme independence.

Feminism’s origin can be traced back to the  1920s and it looked at women subjectivity through their own expression. Feminism basically can be boiled down to the analyses of the social or historical position of women.  Throughout history, women were often subordinates, subjugated, oppressed by the dominant patriarchy. This movements aims to dismantle this regime.   Feminist film theory grew in prominence in 1960s due to a more radical and upfront feminist movement that focused on sexual liberation female representation. Some themes that are explored is stereotyping,  objectification, oppression, and patriarchy. The Gaze is a concept introduced by Laura Mulvey which basically says that, film regards the female character as an exhibitionist that people would want to look at. They are a symbol of eroticism and visual pleasure. The Gaze originates from viewers particularly male who wish relate with the on screen male actor and his interaction with the female. Mulvey claims that cinema is a form of voyeurism  and that there are 3 ways of looking at things Male character looking at the female character in the film, audience in cinema looking at the female character in the film, and audience in cinema looking through the eyes of the male character who is looking at the female

character. There are several ways we can look at feminism in film, first we can assume predetermined roles and identities set for women by the patriarchy and see how the film challenges those. Then we can look at the various female characters represented in the films  and finally select a preferred representation. Lastly, look at the female representation from a female perspective.

Clueless entails the story of the Cher Horowitz and her best friend Dionne Davenport as they navigate high school as the super popular and highly fashionable students. To see herself pass her classes Cher sets up her 2 teachers to fall in love and likes the thought of helping people and begins to take freshman Tai Fraser under her wing. Mocked by her ex step brother, Josh for her selfishness and fake altruism  Cher eventually falls for him and decides to do some real good by running a donation drive for a disaster relief.  They eventually confess their feelings for each other and kiss.

The approach we are using to analyse this movie is approach 2 which is discussing the individual female characters present in this film. Let’s first start with Cher Horowitz, who is pretty and popular. She loves shopping and is extremely fashionable. She is super confident and uses here words to get her way. She argues her way out of tricky situations and uses it to get whatever she wants for example, her grades. She’s also a blonde and blondes are stereotypically portrayed as dumb. However, Cher is shown to be extremely intelligent in her own way although she initially is shown to be kind of an airhead. Cher is also shown to be altruistic as she wants to help the people around her. Cher also chooses to change her life around from caring only when it benefits her, to caring unconditionally. This is important as Cher’s character breaks many stereotypes and the element of choice is very clear and is left up to her. Choice is a very important aspect of feminism. Next up is Dionne Davenport who like Cher, is very pretty, confident, and popular. She’s very adventurous in fashion and doesn’t care what anyone thinks. She’s is also very bossy with her boyfriend and often wants him to listen to her. This is stark contrast to what the patriarchy normally expects of women. Besides that, she also control the sex life of the couple, only having done lighter stuff and then moving on to full blown sex only when she wants. This element of choice is very important for Dionne and the movie in regards to feminism. 

 The next character we are going to dissect is Tai Fraser who is brunette. Brunettes are usually portrayed as the brains of the movie however Tai is very dumb and clueless. She was very timid in nature until Cher built her confidence. She got so confident to a point she chose to isolate Cher and then chooses to get back with her. She chose what she wanted to do with her relationships. Lastly on the list is Amber who is kind of Cher’s rival per se. She’s a redhead who is also very pretty. She’s is also very confident and always challenges Cher when ever she doesn’t agree with her although the rest of the class doesn’t. she also chooses to wear whatever she wants even though she is constantly chastised for it by Cher. The movie successfully quashes certain stereotypes about women and reinforces the concept of choice and shows that women can do whatever they put their minds to.

Feminism is a very important movement that has shaped our present world the way it is today. It has shaped things from government legislations to film which are a reflection of society. Feminism in film is what all the women centric roles we see in Hollywood today. Although many strides have been made, however we still have a long way to before we have proper representation in film but I believe we are on the right track.

Quarantine

Quarantine a 2008 remake of the Spanish film REC. It features the cast of, Jennifer Carpenter, Jay Hernandez, Columbus Short, Greg Germann, Steve Harris, Dania Ramirez, Rade Sherbedgia, and Johnathon Schaech. It’s a found footage horror film that is shot like a documentary. This movie was critical and commercial success by earning $ 41.3 million in the box office. This film is a made in a mockumentary approach which is a subdivision of the documentary style.

A documentary is filmed events which are generally not staged. Documentaries are generally non-fiction films. They provide a more authentic outlook to the story. Documentaries are rather hard to classify as they are a type of filmmaking. Bill Nichols however proposed a theory whereby we look at documentaries by focusing on the techniques employed by the film maker. He came up with 6 modes of representation; poetic, expository, observational, interactive, reflexive, and performative. Poetic documentaries focus on experiences, images and showing the audience the world through a different set of eyes namely the film makers. Abstract and loose with narrative, a poetic documentary can be very unconventional and experimental in form and content. This type of film stressed on the mode and tone  and is a way of representing reality via a series of fragmented visuals and subjective representations. Ambiguity is a prominent feature in these films. The ultimate goal is to create a feeling rather than a truth. The second type is called the expository documentary. This style utilizes the voice of god commentary. A disembodied narrator imparts information, facts, and figures. Films like this address the viewer directly with visible imagery and unseen information through voiceover. Next is the observational documentary, which true to its name is all about observation. No intervention by the film maker is present beside for the fact of recording the whole thing. Everything from sound to visuals are recorded from what’s available. 

The aim of this type of documentary is to have an overall effect of neutrality and non-judgemental appeal. Interactive documentary, is a subdivision where the film maker makes their presence known to the viewing audience. This is usually done by interviewing people present in the scene. The film makers power over the documentary and their ability to control the narrative is clearly exhibited. Reflexive documentaries are a style whereby the film making techniques are exposed to the audiences. This is to create a situation where the documentary’s means of revealing the truth is challenged as the techniques employed for representations are shown. These films inform and remind audiences that besides watching a certain issue they are above all watching a film that attempts to present reality. Lastly, performative documentary is when indirect method of representing reality are employed. Reenactment is such an example. This is used to evoke a more emotional and empathetic and also question the integrity of said film. Overall objectivity is compromised in  favour of projecting a perceived reality.

 Quarantine entails the story of  reporter Angela Vidal and her cameraman Scott, as they are tasked to follow fire fighters on the daily routine. Things start to go haywire as the firemen are dispatched to an apartment building where a call is received about an old lady. The old soon attacks the fire men and is soon revealed that there is a rabies like virus that zombiefies  spreading and infecting the people present in the apartment. Cut off from the outside world by the authorities, the occupants must figure a way out. Slowly as the movie progresses everyone is eventually turned into a zombie.

Quarantine is a bona fide mockumentary. This means that it is a fictional film that is shot in a style that you’re average documentary would be in. It has the few of the approaches used in documentary film making. The first being, interactive. The supposed film maker in this movie, Angela interacts heavily with her interviewees. She follows them around asks questions about their lives and is even present in most of the shots. And later when she gets trapped in the apartment, she becomes on of the main survivors who attempt to find an exit. Secondly, this film also employs observational approach and this can be seen when  Angela and Scott secretly filmed the CDC personnel drilling the skulls of the infected. This is observational as the film makers didn’t intervene and merely recorded events as they unfolded on their own. The performative representation. This is highlighted in the aspect that this fictional story was set up and filmed in a documentary way. The events did not happen and were staged to give the desired feel of a found footage film. In essence, the film makers were not trying to tell you the truth, but trying to give you an idea of it. Lastly, this film also employs the reflective representation. In this approach, the film makers are constantly making it obvious that the audiences are watching a film. They do this by highlighting techniques used to break the illusion. For example, when they were interviewing the fire men, the told them that they could edit out and cut certain voice recordings. The host also constantly reminded the cameraman to constantly record the events unfolding. And Scott also informed out loud that he was turning on the night vision to enable them to see in the dark.

In conclusion, documentary film making is very  interesting art form that bring attention onto much disregarded issues by the masses. It’s a form of activism that often fights for the voiceless. In the evolution of the modern era, mockumentaries have become popular and is done by many film makers. Its is interesting to see what other genres will coopt this mockumentary style to tell their stories.

Breathless

Terry Crew’s character in Brooklyn Nine-Nine once quoted that Breathless is one the best cop movies of all time.  Although he got the director’s name wrong, what he said has some essence of truth in it. Released in 1960, this movie kick started the proliferation of the French New Wave movement in film. Directed by Jean Luc Goddard and starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg, this film was critically acclaimed by both local and international audiences alike.

Before this movement, movies in France were more centered around adapting, literary works onto screen. They were studio backed and were usually these huge, big budget productions. A few young cinephiles, after watching archived movies at the Cinematheque Francaise in Paris decided to make movies of their own. However they couldn’t penetrate into the commercial film industry, so they decided to make them independently.  These enthusiastic film makers abided by certain set of principles in their endeavors. The rejected the use of montages and the like and opted to tell the stories through their elaborate mise-en-scene. They believed that films should not only be something to think about, we should also have some strong feelings about it and should have some psychological impact on the viewers. Secondly, they also had the firm belief that, a film like a blank canvas, should have the personal artistic signature or imprint of the film maker. This approach is called the Auteur  theory and it expects the craft of the auteur to grow and mature with each successive film.  French New Wave films generally reject the film traditions and norms. Before this, films relied heavily on plot and dialogue. However, now the sidelined those aspect in favour of visual aesthetics and mise-en-scene. These  movies were typically, low budget and independently made.  Shot on locations instead of studios and employing direct lighting and sound instead of manipulating was one of the ways these auteurs decided to approach their movies.

 Camera work was sometimes done by handheld cameras and long takes were also a staple.  These directors also preferred to use jump and elliptical cuts and preferred to improvise the plot and dialogue.  A theme of meta-cinema was also used frequently, that is the constant reminder to the audience that they are watching a movie. This is achieved through the jump cuts, artificially created nature of the film world, the handheld cinematography, and also the jump cuts.  The characters featured in this movies were typically featured young rebellious types with no familial attachments and who often are the anti-heroes in this stories. They often are morally grey and very anti-establishment. Women contrary to the Hollywood films, were given strong characters to portray. Political themes were also heavily referenced especially in regard to France’s foreign policy.

Breathless entails the story of Michel, a rebel who steals cars and lives his life exactly the way he wants. One day he kills a policeman and goes into hiding as the whole of France is looking for him, rekindles his romance with Patricia, a girl he had relations with previously.  While trying to secure funds to move to Italy, he tries to convince Patricia to follow him but she seems hesitant. After finding out the truth about him, she initially tries to help him stay hidden but eventually calls the police and rats him out. As he is resigned to a life of imprisonment, the police shoot him and he dies, cursing Patricia.

 Breathless utilises many jump cuts in this movie. This is part of its meta cinema goal. The scene that this technique is apparent is the scene where Michel is talking to Patricia while driving. There camera cut between Michel and Patricia to illustrate the conversation banter between them. Besides,  the film was shot in places like the countryside, coffee shops and hotels which are not in traditional studio environments. Handheld camera motions were particularly used in the scene where Michel was shot and they tracked him walking with the injury in the last moments of the film. Besides, thematically this movie featured  the gritty anti-hero/villain in Michel who was willing to do anything to get his way. This can be shown that he even killed a cop to cover his tracks. He also stole money and multiple cars to get by. He has no familial attachments and is seen as a very rugged person. The female character, Patricia was portrayed as a strong independent women who had clear goals and dreams in life. She didn’t want to sideline those for Michel.  Improvised lines can be seen in the scene where Michel and Patricia were lounging in their room with long extended and seemingly unnecessary dialogue ensued. This was done by the actors themselves as they just randomly improvised a conversation. The political themes can be seen where the radio in the room brought news of the current situation in Algeria.

All in all French New Wave moment brought in a fantastic new perspective into modern filmmaking; the idea of autership. Each  movie is the art of the director and will bear signature elements that is unique to them. Directors like M Night Shyamalan and Steven Spielberg have all adopted this theory and all their movies have a recurrent theme.

Bicycle Thieves

Ladri di biciclette or Bicycle Thieves is an Italian drama film released in 1948.  Directed by Vittorio De Sica, a leading figure in Italian neorealist cinema, this movie starts Lamberto Maggiorani and Enzo Staiola. It is regarded as one of the greatest films ever made. In 1952, Sight & Sound magazine ranked it as the best film of all time. This critically acclaimed film became a solid reference point whenever Italian neorealism cinema is discussed.

Italian neorealism is a film movement that is started after World War 2. Prior to this Italian cinema under the iron fist of dictator Benito Mussolini, was used mainly as a propaganda tool. He used newsreels and documentaries to “educated” Italians on what he wanted them to know. He set up studios and doubled productions to meet his demands. Due to the aftermath of the war, economic stability of the nation was highly precarious. Film makers decided different approaches which challenged conventional film making styles. Cesare Zavattini, said to be the father of Italian neorealism, started to reject planned stories and plots and wanted to focus on more real aspects of human life. He even rejected the use of actors and instead opted to use everyday people to tell the story because according to him, the actors perpetuated the false narratives and plotlines of a story.  Zavattini was very keen on reflecting the world of today in film. These ideologies soon grew popular and thus began the film movement that is Italian neorealism with its first movie Rome, Open City.  

There are many common tropes or aspects that are used or emphasized on in Italian neorealism. It is usually shot on location and in the post war façade of the ruined buildings. The technical aspects of the film are the fact they use grainy stock film and record the available sound in the environment to be used in the film. Thematically,  Italian neorealistic film, features the current contemporary national experience that was being faced by the Italians at that time. It tends to have a very human view on everyday problems. Poverty and unemployment which was the common plight shared by many Italians due to the spoils of war which left the local economy very hurt and crippled. Melodrama was a heavily recurrent tone and this was used to accentuate the need to rebuild the national reputation because Italy sided with the Nazis during World War. These pessimistic views in films grew unpopular as peoples’ fortunes picked up and movies didn’t reflect society as well as it used to.

The Bicycle Thieves, tells the story of  Antonio Ricci, a poor labourer who just got a job that can be the salvation for his family. Unfortunately he needs his pawned bicycle to qualify for the job and his wife helps him get back the bicycle from the pawnbroker. Equipped with the bicycle and a renewed sense of  hope he begins his first day on the job. But much to his dismay, his bicycle is stolen and he then begins on a quest with his young son to recover his family’s only hope. In this journey his morals become increasing blur as he resorts to violence and harshness way. The movie concludes as his attempt to steal another person’s bicycle is thwarted and he is left to ponder his actions.

Bicycle thieves, is a movie that features the struggle of the working class people. Unemployment is a prevalent theme in this movie. This was shown in the start scene where there were hordes of unemployed people who were waiting for jobs impatiently. Post war devastation was felt heavily by Italy. Economically struggling, and ridden with poverty was something every Italian was going through at that time. This movie, reflected heavily this social identity and national experience that was faced by Italians. Besides that, it was also evident that the film was filmed around the post war ruins what were left. The buildings in this movie can be seen as damaged or new signifying that they were damaged and being rebuilt. The sound used in this movie is recorded ambient sound that was available. For example you could hear the sound of cheering football fans, car horns, and busy traffic which were not planned and not produced by foley artists or the like. Above all the film was filmed with realism in mind, hence that’s why unprofessional actors was employed. None of the actors in the movie were professional full-time actors. In fact the main actor Lamberto Maggiorani, for example, was a factory worker in real life. The overall tone of the movie was melodramatic as expected from moives belonging to this movement. The melodrama was best highlighted by the film in the way it portrayed the loss of a bicycle. To most people it can be seen as a normal misfortune that will not be the end of the world but in this movie it’s otherwise. The bicycle was central to the plot and the loss was treated as a calamity. Without the bicycle, Antonio Ricci’s family would succumb to their poverty. The distraught experienced by the family has heavy elements of melodrama in it.

All in all, Bicycle Thieves is a great example of the movies produced during the Italian Neorealism movement. It is a testament to the film makers’ voice that has stood the tests of time that allow us to enjoy and get a glimpse into the lives of people who came before. Films like Bicycle Thieves paved the way for more real stories of people to be told in film.

The Maltese Falcon

John Huston’s debut screenplay and direction saw the birth of the Maltese Falcon, a quintessential film in the film noir genre. Released in 1941, starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor, this movie was a phenomenal success and managed  to rake in $1,772,000 ($30,470,685.17 in 2019) in box office revenues causing it to be a major success for the distributors, Warner Bros at that time. This movie is considered one of the best movies of all time, garnering 2 Academy Award nominations, earning a spot on Roger Ebert’s Great Movies series and even being proclaimed by  Panorama du Film Noir Américain as the first major film noir.

Film noir is a type of film style that was coined by the French, which was predominant after World War 2. The men who had returned from war grew unrest over the fact that women have become more independent and have moved past the domestic setting. In the 1940s, film noir revolved around the male panic of women’s economic and sexual independence whereas in the 1950s it began reinforcing family values and had to have the male protagonist thwart the femme fatale. Thematic elements that are usually featured in film noir are the pessimistic and grim outlook on the world around it. Heavy emphasis on cynicism, fatalistic themes, and criminal motives are presentt in this type of film. All characters are depicted as morally grey, blurred, and having ulterior motives even when they’re supposed to be the “good guy”. The usual standoff between the gritty anti-hero and the femme fatale is a must and is usually what the story will be centered around. Visually, low key lighting is used and there will be a lot of shadows. Besides that, it has influence for German expressionistic traits such as oblique and horizontal lines and the scenes are usually lit for night. Locations that are frequently used range from cramped alleyways, corridors, and city bound areas such as roads, dimly lit interiors and etc.

The Maltese Falcon is the story of Detective Sam Spade, whose partner is killed after a mystery client, gives them a case. Things began to heat up when the person Spade was supposed to be investigating is also murdered and the blame for the murders is being thrown upon Spade by the police and his partner’s widow. Upon further investigation, he discovers that, there is a plot by Ms Shaughnessy and Gutman to retrieve the Maltese falcon and this pursuit is what caused these deaths. Sam Spade then manages to skillfully incriminate Gutman by tipping of the police to his whereabouts and then personally hands the tearful Mrs Shaughnessy over to the police.

The thematic element of film noir in The Maltese Falcon is evident in the lead character Sam Spade, who is the classic archetype of an anti-hero. He is slated to be the good character, but even he has his moments where he is shown to morally grey. He frequently lies and deals with deceit to reach his goals. He lied numerous times to the police and refused cooperation on the case. Spade also was having an affair with his partner’s wife.  This film also features a femme fatale, in the character of Ms Shaughnessy. She is portrayed as a strong, independent, and goal-oriented woman who will do anything to achieve her goals. She lies, deceives, and even resorted to murder of an innocent man to see her plan through. She uses her sexuality and exhibits a dainty persona to win the trust of men she approaches. Film noir also usually boils down to a confrontation with our anti-hero and the femme fatale. This can be seen in the last scene where spade confronts Ms Shaughnessy on her crimes and she tries to beg him to not turn her in. Overall tone of the film can be said is pretty dark, as there are elements of blurred morals and corrupted characters from all the characters, namely Sam Spade, Ms Shaughnessy, Gutman, Cairo, and Wilmer. Criminal motives was also an ever present aspect if this film.

Visually this movie features low-key lighting, which produces a lot of shadows.  The scene where Spade’s and Archer’s detective agency is shown on the floor through shadows is one of the examples of the use of shadows.This is due to the fact that most scene is lit for night time and also the interiors are dimly lit. The Maltese Falcon has the usual location settings that are present in a film noir movie, alleyways, cramped corridors, and city façade. Almost the entirety of the movie was shot within city locations such as office buildings, hotels, police station, and etc. An example of alleyways is where Archer got shot by Ms Shaughnessy. Corridors on the other hand can be seen when Spade was travelling to the hotel to meet Gutman.

All in all its evident that the Maltese has all the common tropes expected for a quintessential film noir. It’s a thematic and visual match in most aspects of the type of film noir. Although the origin of film noir might have been due to the irrationality and fragility of masculinity, but the foundation led by this movement gave birth to the archetype of a femme fatale character and also led to the creation of the subgenre of neo noir. Neo noir is a modern take film noir in a modern setting where the characters, setting, and visuals are very similar to the characters that we saw in the 40s and 50s. It’s very interesting to see how some types of art can stand the test of time and evolve into something even more beautiful.

Corpse Bride

 Corpse Bride is a stop motion animated film released in 2005. Directed by Tim Burton and starring the usual suspects, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, this movie was critically acclaimed, being nominated for an academy award for best animated feature at the 78^th Academy Awards. This movie, like most of Tim Burton’s ventures, is heavily inspired by the elements of German Expressionism film making. In this write-up, we are going to discuss this film and how it exhibits the classic German Expressionism tropes.

German Expressionism in film is a unique style that emerged at 1919-1926. It’s a movement that influenced all forms of art in Germany in that time period. Due the spoils of World War 1 , Germany became a largely isolated country and banned all foreign imports. This included arts and film. The local artists began experimenting with ways to convey newer stories with raw human emotions. The most taboo of topics were touched. German expressionistic art often portrayed themes of revolt, self-awareness/analysis, madness, primitive sexual savagery unnatural events and all sorts of things that weren’t in the common discourse of society. Not only did German Expressionism influence the narrative of the films, the also influenced film techniques and produced methods such as oblique camera angles, high-contrast lighting, distortion of bodies and shapes, shadow play, and gothic motifs are prevalent in German expressionism.

Corpse Bride, set in Victorian England, revolves around Victor van Dort, son of fish merchants who is set to be married to Victoria Everglot in an arranged marriage brokered by the Everglots to save them from financial ruin. Initially, awkward and reserved, the pair manage to find things in common and fall for each other. Things become haywire when , Victor, due to his nervousness, messes up the wedding ceremony rehearsal. As Victor, practices his wedding vows in a forest he accidentally marries a Corpse named Emily who was murdered many years ago while eloping with her lover.  The story then follows Victor’s escapades to undo his unearthly marriage and return to his beloved Victoria which he eventually succeeds in.

One of the many thematic elements of German Expressionism present in Corpse Bride is the theme of self-analysis.  This is evident where the movie examines the theme of arranged marriage or marrying someone you barely know and also following societal norms. Arranged marriages were an extremely common practice back in the olden days. Parents would look for spouses for their children and it was the socially acceptable thing to do. Children rarely could refuse lest be shunned by the family and society. In fact some cultures still practice this tradition till this day.  This movie shows us how marrying someone you barely know can have dire consequences as Victoria nearly lost her life at the hands of Mr Barkis. Adding to this, a theme of revolt can also be seen when Victoria refuses to marry Mr Barkis.  She even goes to the extent of climbing through the bedroom window to escape.  The unnatural events in this movie stems for the titular character Emily, who is a corpse bride who gets married to Victor a living, breathing human being.  Madness is also a prevalent theme in this movie. It is best portrayed Victoria’s parents and Mr Barkis, who in the madness for wealth, were willing to do anything to attain it. Victoria’s parents were willing to get her married to a complete stranger for money and Mr Barkis was willing to murder a person.

The technical aspect of German expressionism in this movie are numerous. Namely, the use of high contrast lighting or low key lighting. This technique was used to create a very dimly lit scene with lots of shadows. Examples of such scenes were when Victor was brooding in the forest after messing up the wedding ceremony and also the scene where Mr Barkis walks in the hall of portraits, revealing his true colour. Another interesting use of low key lighting was the clear distinction that was produced between the land of the living and the land of the dead. By comparison, the land of the living seemed more murky, gloomy, and “dead” than the underworld which was in a state of constant party. This was produced because the underworld was subjected to high key lighting and the land of the living, low key lighting   Distortion was also recurrent motif in this movie. The bodies of the characters were heavily distorted and misshaped.  Gothic themes were observed on the buildings present in the movie.  Oblique camera angles such as high and low angles were used to create surreal feel,

German expressionistic art has had a heavy influence in films and Corpse Bride is no different.  It clearly resonates with the themes, narrative, and techniques present in the movie.  It has the self-analysis, revolt, unnatural events, and madness thematic elements. The techniques used in the film, such as oblique camera angles, low key lighting, gothic motifs, and distortion are also common German expressionism tropes.  The German Expressionistic elements clearly enhances the storytelling of this film.  It has become almost second nature for directors to adopt this method when they wish to make films with supernatural themes. Directors like Tim Burton and Guillermo del Toro have made this into their style.