Introduction to Film and Television Studies Formal analysis

Why analyze a film? When the film piques our interest, we analyze it in order to explain, in formal and historical terms, what is going on in the work that would cue such a response … ultimately we write and read criticism as much for issues raised as for the explication of a single film. Theory and criticism thus become two different aspects of the same give-and-take process. (Kristin Thompson: Breaking the Glass Armour p. 5)

Cinematic competence includes Ability to understand motivations of fictional characters and how those generate action Ability to detect themes Ability to assess ideological issues Ability to relate an individual film to frames such as art in general, film history, genres, other modes of representation Ability to assess and appreciate the individual qualities of a film

Reading strategies (Stuart Hall) Differences in decoding Dominant-hegemonic position: the message is decoded entirely as it was intended Negotiating position: at least some components are adapted or reinterpreted according in ‘local’ terms Oppositional position: the message is read in terms of an alternative framework resulting in a reading which may carry far away from the intended meanings

Scale of competence Basic competence: the spectator recognizes the diegetic and explicit meanings A fully competent spectator either – recognizes the implicit meanings and accepts their ideological connotations (hegemonic rstr) – recognizes and accepts basic assumptions but not all their implications (negotiating rstr) – finds her own implicit meanings on the basis of her own ideological position (oppositional rstr) A critical spectator analyzes also symptomatic meanings, i.e. ideological implications and psychological symptoms

Background assumptions of Formalism Narration as a process of “selecting, arranging, and rendering story material in order to achieve specific time- bound effects on a perceiver” (NF) The work itself defines which aspects of reality are relevant for comprehension Meanings are not messages conveyed by he film but parts of the film’s structure Viktor Shklovski: ”It is true that in a work of literature we also have the expression of ideas, but it is not a question of ideas clothed in artistic form, but rather artistic form created from ideas as its material.” Not everything is narrational and/or thematic. The filmic qualities can be an autonomous dimension of the film - excess

Formalist analysis in practice How can the film be understood in terms of motivations? How does the film guide the spectator in forming hypothesis and how does it either confirm them or deny them? Does the film confirm to certain norms or does it challenge them? How do all the different elements function narratively, thematically or expressively? How does the film build up into a whole?

Background constructions (Thompson) enable the assessing of realistic motivation define which aspects of reality are relevant in the film define to which aesthetic norms the film adheres to form a horizon in the spectators mind which make the film comprehensible

Tasks of film criticism To analyze and expand the range of perception and understanding in respect of a challenging work or art Prevent the formation of a gap between the artist and the audience by demonstrating how the work of art functions Bring a challenging work within the range of the audience not by simplifying it but by developing useful concepts and approaches Show a conventional work in a new light e.g. bringing out neglected background constructions

Semantic fields Conceptual structures that organize potential meanings in respect of one another Precede analysis but may be revised as the analysis proceeds Are selected according to what is though to be relevant in a given community Are supposed to be able to pick up all the relevant features of the object of study Have traditionally derived from the humanities: what does the work tell us about the human condition, love, anxiety, alienation, difficulties in communication, relativity of values etc.

How is interpretation worked out? (DB) The most pertinent meanings are assumed to be either implicit, symptomatic or both One or more semantic field is highlighted Different levels of the film are mapped out in terms of semantic fields by correlating textual and semantic features with one another Presenting an argumentation which displays the novelty and value of the interpretation

Four tasks of an interpreter (DB) Demonstrate why the film chosen is a relevant object of analysis Demonstrate how the critical concepts applied suit the specific features of the film under study Make the interpretation novel by - presenting a new theory or method - revising an existing theory or method - applying an established theory to a new area - drawing attention to features previously neglected Present the interpretation in a convincing way