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.  

In the Mood For Love

Written, directed, and produced by the famous, Wong Kar-wai and starring Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung, In  the Mood for Love  became a well-received movie rather quickly. Released in the year 2000, In the Mood for Love premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 20^th May.  It garnered numerous awards both locally and internationally. This movie even appeared on many top movies list and according to 2016 BBC poll, it was ranked the second best film of the 21^st century by 177 film critics around the world. (BBC, 2016). This film utilizes many techniques that were employed in French Impressionism. In this blog the movie will be dissected and the moments inspired by French Impressionism will be delved into.

French Impressionism was birthed during World War 1, when the French film industry was in a massive decline.  At this point there was an influx of American films. Even after the war the local scene did not recover.  A few younger directors, astonished by American movies and their energy.  These young directors such as Abel Gance, Louis Delluc, Germaine Dullac, and many more felt that, films should be like all other art. They should be a vehicle for feelings. This developed in to the avant-garde cinema that is French Impressionism. The core idea of French Impressionism is the aim to give the narrative more subjective depth.  Intimate psychological stories became the main focus of these filmmakers. Emphasis on the mood and feeling were prioritised.  A deep exploration of the characters is also a common trait. These films often show us memories of the characters, their dreams, fantasies, and their mental states.  French Impressionism also uses rhythmic editing to illustrate characters feeling.  (Bordwell  & Thompson,  2013).

In the Mood for Love , is a love story revolving around neighbours Su Li-zhen (Mrs. Chan),  and Chow Mo-wan(Mr Chow ). Both have are married and have spouses who are away for long periods of time. A friendship develops between them as they suspect and eventually confirm that their spouses are having an affair with each other. They soon develop feelings but are unable to act on them due to a conservative society in the sixties. They eventually are separated as Mr Chow leaves for work in Singapore and Mrs. Chan stays in shanghai both longing for a love they can’t have.

The elements of French impressionism in this movie comes from its characters. The characters feelings are often portrayed by the mise en scène in the movie. There are many scenes where this can be observed.  For example, the scenes where Mrs. Chan and Mr Chow are talking to their partners, their partners faces were never shown. Only their voice was heard. One could conclude that, the director chose to do this, to illustrate the fact that it doesn’t matter who your partner is, you might just fall out of love and develop feeling for another person. This is what happened to their marriages as their spouses were having an affair with each other. Another interesting scene was when Mrs Chan observed Mr Chow from the bottom of the steps at the wanton noodle shop. She was secretly observing him as he lit his cigarette and started smoking. That scene gave an impression like she was spying on him almost like a forbidden fruit that she can’t have. Speaking of cigarettes, Mr Chow would always smoke when he is confusion and the camera would pan to the cloud of smoke formed to highlight his present feelings.

The characters are shown to live an idyllic and routine based live style. This is often illustrated with the signature music that is played when the characters are in routine. This was meant to show us the audience the feeling of being stuck in a routine whilst being married and how it could drive one to be unfaithful as they believe that would add a different element to their lives.  

The secrecy maintained by Mr Chow and Mrs Chan while they were together also is an interesting element of French Impressionism. The characters were always anxious that  people would find out about their friendship and will start to gossip. Mr Chow got a hotel room so that they could meet and write together without being spotted. Mr Chow also got out of the taxi they were sharing at an earlier to ensure they wouldn’t be spotted together. Mr Chow even went to the extent of moving to Singapore because they realised their feelings for each other and couldn’t bear the thought of their neighbours talking about them.

Rhythmic editing is used in scene where Mrs Chan climbs the stairs  to catch Mr Chow before he departs for Singapore. This is a classic French Impressionist trope. Besides, that in this scene when she reaches the empty hotel, room the curtains are waving about in the air, signifying the ship has sailed and she will never be with him.

I personally loved this movie and its portrayal of the two lovers who could never be. In the Mood for Love was movie with a lot of nuance. It was the subtle details that elevated the movie to the heights that it reached. The film’s efficient method of imparting the story was. From the discussion above is pretty evident that French impressionism was a heavy influence in this film’s style as the themes and tropes were heavily present in this film.

References

1)      David Bordwell, Kristin Thompson (10^th ed.) Film Art: An Introduction, U.S.A Mcgraw-Hill

2)      BBC, (2016) 21^st century’s 100 greatest films. Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20160819-the-21st-centurys-100-greatest-films  

Monster House.

Monster house is a 2006 animated horror/comedy film directed by debutante director Gil Kenan. Featuring an ensemble of voice actors such as, Mitchel Musso, Sam Lerner, Spencer Locke, Steve Buscemi, Maggie Gyllenhaal and many others, the film released 21st July 2006 to critical acclaim and commercial success. Produced by ImageMovers and Amblin Entertainment, the film grossed 140 million dollars against its budget of 75million. One of the reasons this movie was successful was because it appealed to the audiences in different ways due to the mixed genres present in this film.  In this, we plan to discuss the various genres present in Monster House by using Rick Altman’s Semantic/Syntactic Approach. 

As was previously discussed, Rick Altman’s theory uses semantics and syntax in a film to study and deduce its genre. Semantics being the mise en scène in the movie.  The visuals, the set design, the costumes, actor behavior and movement,  and basically anything that is a visual clue of what the story is about. Syntax is regarding the themes, structures, characterization,  conventions, and basically the parts of the story that we can extract from the narrative. These two aspects will be analysed concurrently to deduce the mixed genres present in Monster House. The genre’s that are evident in this film are basically horror, action, and comedy.

This story follows the protagonist D.J as he investigates and observes a creepy and dilapidated house that is located right opposite his own in his neighbourhood. The house has a reputation and a signage outside that urges people to stay away lest the face the wrath of the mean spirited and cranky owner, Horace Nebbercracker’s wrath. Nebbercracker has a penchant for hoarding all the kids’ toys that accidentally find their way to his yard. Things started to escalate,  when D.J’s friend Chowder loses a basketball onto Nebbercracker’s yard and begs D.J to retrieve it. The whole ordeal of D.J retrieving the ball causes Nebbercracker to have a heart attack and he is soon presumed dead. At this point the house is revealed to be sentient and begins to torments D.J. He then saves a girl selling Halloween candy, from being eaten alive by the house.  D.J, Chowder, and Jenny(the candy salesperson) from an unlikely trio in an attempt to defeat the house to save the countless children who would be victims to the house on  Halloween. Through their escapades and Nebbercracker’s unlikely return, they discover that house is possessed by the spirit of his late wife, Constance, who was encased in cement due to an accident. The four of them eventually managed to outwit the sentient house chasing them and blow  it up to release Constance from this earth.

The genre of horror is very evident in this movie. It falls under the category of unnatural horror as the main antagonist is a sentient house that eats people. The threat to normalcy arises when the house is affected by the presumed death of Nebbercracker and begins luring people and eating them. The semantics in this is the Monster House itself which has a mouth, sharp teeth, tongue and even sprouted limbs during the final chase scene. The syntax is the fact that Constance, was revealed to be encased alive in cement and that her spirit resides in the house.

The action genre, is pretty clear during the chase scene at the final parts of the movie. The house chases our trio and Mr Nebbercracker because it believes that he is going to get rid of it. When the semantics were analysed it gives is the classic action movie tropes. There is a continuous high energy sequences and physical stunts. The characters had to evade the house by running away from it. They even had to jump over fences to get away. There was a fight sequence where Chowder commandeered the excavator and battled the house. Adding to that, the scene where D.J had to swing on the crane and throw the dynamite into the house was also an example of an action movie semantic. The explosion of the house just added the cherry on top as it’s the most common of action movie semantics. The syntax of action that is prevalent is the fact there is a clear good vs evil narrative in which the action centers on the main protagonist. There is also an aspect of resolution of threat after a prolonged battle in which the house is defeated at the end after the fight.

The comedy genre is also very present in this movie. Not as dominant as the other two, but enough to be mentioned. The semantics of the comedy genre can be seen with Chowder, especially when he plays the basketball. He is shown to be terrible at the sport even to the extent of getting hit in the face by the rebounding shot which falls under slapstick humour. Secondly, the character Skull, whom  they consult for advice on how to deal with the house is established as a revered character by D.J and Chowder. When in essence, he seems quite the opposite as he is a delivery driver who plays video games for extended hours.  The syntax is evident though the screwball comedy trope, which can be seen when there is male and female interaction. For example, D.J’s mom insist that his dad say I love you to him, but because of his masculinity he refuses to say it. Secondly, when D.J and chowder try to impress Jenny by exposing each other’s less desirable traits. The two police officers are also an example where there is comedy because they are established as incompetent in their jobs. One, a seasoned veteran who is complacent and another a rookie who is over enthusiastic about his job. This ensues a hilarious exchange when they disagree on how to approach the case.

In conclusion, Monster House is a horror film with elements of multiple different genre. The semantic/syntactic approach allowed us to dissect the individual genres. The rising threats to normalcy and the resolution is a classic horror genre motif. The action genre is evident through the chase sequence and the chracterisation as D.J as the hero. Lastly,  the comedy genre is apparent through the screwball and slapstick moments. Monster House is an interesting film and successfully pulled off the hybrid genre of horror, action, and comedy

The Sixth Sense.

The Sixth Sense, film written and directed by famed director M. Night Shyamalan released in 1999, by Buena Vista Pictures. It became the second highest grossing movie of the year and managed to bag six Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor and Actress.  Starring Bruce Willis, Hayley Joel Osment and Toni Collete, The Sixth Sense was a horror movie of sorts.  Not in the typical sense, but had enough of the usual horror movie tropes to be classified as such.  In this, I hope to discuss Rick Altman’s genre theory and the various aspects that can identify the genre of The Sixth Sense.

Genre is usually a very difficult thing to define. Like all things art, it is very subjective. However , if we follow certain similar elements between movies, we can form a theory for genre itself.  The semantic/syntactic approach is a method that seems to work best in classifying films. Developed by Emeritus Professor Rick Altman , the semantics and syntax in a film are analysed concurrently to put the film in its respective category. Semantics is defined as the meaning of words. In this context however , semantics is usually classified as common traits of a genre in a film. This encompasses characters, set design, location, makeup/costume, lighting and basically anything  that is a visual aspect.  For semantics we analyse the mise en scène of various scenes and how the actors portray the characters in regards to movement , language, and behaviour.  Syntax is the arrangement of words and phrases to form sentences. In a film’s sense, it is what we can extract from its narrative. We can observe the syntax by looking at the type of characters in a film, the ideas presented, themes, and conventions.   These two aspects come together to form the genre of a film. Semantics and syntax of The Sixth Sense will be analysed to deduce its genre.(Altman,1984)

The Sixth Sense, revolves around Dr Malcolm Crowe, an esteemed child psychologist as he tries to help, Cole Sear as atonement for failing a previous patient. The aforementioned patient broke into Dr Crowe’s house and shot him before committing suicide due to his increased mental instability. After spending enough time with Cole and gaining his trust, Cole eventually reveals to Dr Crowe that he can see dead people. Initially, Dr Crowe wanted to stop trying to help Cole because he thought Cole was delusional. But after reviewing his old work, Dr Crowe believes Cole and starts to help him adjust to his abilities.  He suggests  that Cole should use his gift and help the restless spirits to fulfill their last desires.  Eventually once Cole had made peace with his gift, he becomes more sociable and seems happier and it became time for Dr Crowe to be on his way. When Dr Crowe reaches home and tries to talk to his wife, hi wedding ring falls from her grasp and it becomes revealed that Dr Crowe died on the night of the shooting and Cole was helping him with his unfinished business. He then departs to the presumed afterlife.

Through a semantic approach it’s easy to see why this movie can be categorised as a horror movie. It has all the credentials to be classified as such.  For starters, there are ghosts in this movie. Cole sees various ghosts in this movie trying to make contact through him. The appearances of the ghosts add to the horror element as most of them appear rather gory and unsettling. For example, the little girl vomited, the lady in the dressing room had a burnt face, there were three corpses hanging from the ceiling and a boy with a gunshot wound on his head. These are the few of the ghosts that Cole could see. For the squeamish, this is a very unnerving sight. Besides that, the  overall lighting for the movie seems very dull and ominous. Scenes like the basement where Dr Crowe works from, and the kitchen where Cole sees the ghosts all have a darker lighting. The colours used, give a mysterious and creepy vibe that is a staple in a horror movie.

When approached syntactically, the movie gives out a more of a drama vibe. The overall theme of this movie is about is about things left unsaid or unfinished. It can be seen throughout the movie where the ghosts comes back to Cole to ask for his help in communicating. Cole is the messenger in which the ghosts use to relay their messages to the living. The  theme is far from a common horror movie. It isn’t a horror movie for horror’s sake. The horror elements are basically a vehicle to drive the theme. In addition, it has very little syntax related to a horror movie. The only aspect present of a horror film is threat to normalcy, which is observed when Cole says he can see dead people. Besides that, the movie serves as a journey of acceptance for Cole and retribution for Dr Crowe.  Syntactically The Sixth Sense is a drama.

All in all, The Sixth Sense satisfies the three conditions for the horror genre. There are general semantics and syntax that have horror motifs, such as ghosts, gore, and threat to normalcy.  Secondly, the audience can roughly guess where the movie is heading , based on the initial clues. Except for the twist ending though, that was a really well placed twist. Most people wouldn’t have seen that coming.  Lastly, the movie delivered the horror genre by packaging very differently from its counterparts. It is fair to say that The Sixth Sense is not entirely a horror film, it has many dramatic elements to it. It can be considered a hybrid genre of drama and horror because those two elements are prevalent in this film.  

References

1) Rick Altman, (1984) A Semantic/Syntactic approach to Film Genre. Cinema Journal Volume 23, pp 6-18, DOI: 10.2307/1225093

Values to Bind and Build: A Reflection

On 25th January 2019, we were treated to an interesting lecture by YBhg Prof Dato’ Dr Tan Chong Tin. It's was regarding his new book Values to Bind and Build: A Reflection. this book takes a new and refreshing dive into the racial dynamics of our country. Race relations are always a hot issues in any country, more so in a multi ethnic nation like Malaysia. although we thing that in 62 years we have come far in terms of race harmony, events like the recent Seafield Mariamman temple riot prove how volatile things actually are. Although these events are anomalies in an otherwise "peaceful" Malaysia, they still should be paid attention to.

Dr Tan, says one of the main driving force of ethnic relations and its harmony can be boiled down to psychological drives. Being a neurologist for the better part of his life, Dr Tan, made an interesting observation. He sees that patients who suffer epilepsy, suffer far more from stigma related to the condition, than the onset implications of the illness itself. This is what made him come up with the idea of the psyscological drives of ethnic harmony which are ethnic identity, self esteem. and ethnic dignity. In regards to Malaysia, the popular narrative is that, we must embrace unity through our shared identity as Malaysians. Taking pride in your birth culture and identity is always taken as a sign of unwillingness to assimilate. Dr Tan, says that  ethnicities must be allowed to keep their identities. Identity is very important to a human being. To strip that away, is to deny them basic rights of existing. Allowing people to express their identities, will reflect onto national harmony. This is largely due to the fact that this allows people to find similarities in their key differences and this will forge a stronger bond of unity among citizens.

Self-esteem is  an individual's overall subjective emotional evaluation of their own worth. It's basically how much a person values themselves. It is a major component on ethnic harmony. Self esteem, gives people a drive to do things, a need and want to belong in society. This is largely due to the fact that a person will low self esteem will have emotional problems and might eventually react adversely. They might retaliate in ways that they feel is justified because of their self worth. 


 Ethnic dignity is basically the apparent reputation and social standing of an ethnicity in a society. How does the society view the ehtnicity and their contributions? Esteem and dignity are one of the higher tiers of Maslow's hierarchy of need. the need to be respected and viewed as a an essential part of society is crucial to maintain ethnic stability. This was one of the driving force of the May 16th tragedy that befell our nation. The Malays felt insecure and humiliated that in their own country, they were economically backward. This tension eventually spilled over after the 1969 election and riots broke out in our country. That was the birth of the hastily designed New Economic Policy (NEP) which 50 years on still doesn't completely work. The way to maintain ethnic dignities is through competence.

There are several ways to develop competency. One of it is strong work ethic. People must be willing to work for their success. Things like punctuality, hard work, and commitment are things that are encompassed in a strong work ethic. Besides that, openness is a key factor in competency. The willingness to learn and explore paradigms and experiences besides one's own, will enrich their world view. This will make them a more rounded individual armed with an arsenal of perspectives and thoughts on the things around them, thus birthing a more competent individual.. Lastly, freedom is also an essential part of competency. The freedom to express oneself is highly beneficial in creating competence.

Dr Tan also made emphasis on goodness. How that our identity, self esteem, and ethnic dignity all depends on the moral compass that we have. The more morally right things we do, it increases our self esteem, makes carry ourselves with dignity and this eventually becomes our identity. Goodness can generally be cultivated by how we approach things, Joseph Nye a famous political scientist came up with a theory of soft power. This in essence re-imagines how we approach things. It's the ability to co-opt instead of coercing. this is how we deal with our differences in this day and age. Aggressive calls for assimilation is going to bring and change. A more diplomatic approach is needed to prevent radicalization of any ethnicities. A disregard for soft power in regards to handling the issue of so called "Islamic" terrorists, has led to a world wide epidemic of idiotic Islamophobia which has nothing but detrimental effects on global harmony.

All in all, Dr Tan's lecture is a very interesting one and is much needed in today's society. Ethnic relations has and always will be a major concern for a country  like Malaysia. We need to tread lightly but bravely in order to foster better ethnic relation.