Monday 12 December 2016
Chunking express - question
How far does the impact of the film you have studied for this topic depend on distinctive uses of film techniques?
Friday 9 December 2016
Princesses - question
How far does the impact of the film you have studied for this topic depend on distinctive uses of film techniques?
In the scene where Caye is on a date, we can see conflict rising from the framing. the shot is framed with Caye on the right side of the screen and her date on the left. However in the middle of them in the background and out of focus is a man who is familiar with Caye and her work. This is a visual example of how relationships in urban stories always fail because something always comes in between them. Caye is clearly distressed by this as she does not want her date to be interrupted by her 'second identity' getting in the way. Caye's life is often related to a tightrope walker because she is constantly balancing between two lives. This is shown in this scene by the constant ringing of her phone, this represents the constant disruption of her normal life by her work life.
In the scene where Caye is on a date, we can see conflict rising from the framing. the shot is framed with Caye on the right side of the screen and her date on the left. However in the middle of them in the background and out of focus is a man who is familiar with Caye and her work. This is a visual example of how relationships in urban stories always fail because something always comes in between them. Caye is clearly distressed by this as she does not want her date to be interrupted by her 'second identity' getting in the way. Caye's life is often related to a tightrope walker because she is constantly balancing between two lives. This is shown in this scene by the constant ringing of her phone, this represents the constant disruption of her normal life by her work life.
Thursday 10 November 2016
presentation script
Could the continued theme of dysfunctional families be used to classify John Hughes as an auteur?
Projector: Image of John Hughes
Speaker:
John Hughes was an American film director, producer and writer who made many successful comedy films in the 80s based around teen life. A lot of his films follow a narrative that incorporates the theme of dysfunctional families. I believe that the consistency of using dysfunctional families in his films is a trait that can classify John Hughes to be an auteur. Auteurship can be defined as "a director who manifests a consistency of style and theme across his or her films" (item 5) which perfectly describes Hughes and his style of film making as he routinely employs characters that come from dysfunctional families in his films. This idea is discussed in an interview with two film critics as they remember the working life of John Hughes (item 10). They go as far to say that there is not one "sympathetic adult character in any John Hughes film." This is an example of people recognising Hughes' auteur traits due to him continuingly fitting dysfunctional family units into his films narratives.
Projector: Home alone clip (item1) - Kevin arguing with his mother
Speaker:
In this clip from the 1990 film Home Alone written and directed by John Hughes, you can see how Hughes has been very obvious in showing the main character's dysfunctional relationship with his family through the dialogue. "I don't want any family, family suck" is a line shouted by the main character at his mother. It clearly shows his frustration with his family and situation. This idea of difficult situations in family units is a commonality in John Hughes films but I think that Home Alone is a suitable focus film because the whole narrative surrounds "the ignored child" (item17) which is a commonality in Hughes' films.
Projector: Home Alone clip(item2) - Kevin thinking about how his family treats him (1 min) (20mins in)
Speaker:
In this clip we see an editing technique were faded footage is placed overlaying the main frame and faded in and out acting as through bubbles for the main character. As we can see in the overlaying footage, Kevin's family are not very kind towards him at all showing how he is treated as the black sheep of the family and therefore depicting a flawed family unit. The dysfunctional family is shown through editing techniques in another scene from the film where everyone in the house are frantically running around trying to get packed and ready to go on holiday.
Projector: Home Alone clip(item2) - The family rushing to get ready (1 min)
Speaker:
Here we can see that the images in the shot have been sped up by the editor to make the scene feel more chaotic, the upbeat diegetic music helps emphasise the franticness in the shot and makes the family look even more disorganised and stressful. Which are characteristics that Hughes likes to place on the families that he creates. Because John Hughes so often has this idea of a dysfunction family present in his films, it makes me question his own childhood and if these ideas and themes are stemming from personal experience. In an interview where Corey Brunish talks to Hughes about his career (item7), he describes how his childhood had its challenges.
Projector: Clip from interview #2 with John Hughes (30secs in)
Speaker:
As we can see here, Hughes says how for him not everything always went right, just as things started to get easier for him as he was growing up, his parents would decide to move again against his will. This shows how Hughes experienced first hand parents not taking his feelings into consideration. This may explain why "the ignored child is a consistent theme within his films" and why the narratives have often "negatively portrayed adults and parents as being foolish or concerned with material objects"(item17). These irresponsible parental characters are present in many of Hughes' films and they contribute to creating a flawed family unit. The idea of a flawed family unit is present in many other John Hughes films, for example; 'The Breakfast Club' (item 2).
Projector: Clip from The Breakfast Club -opening sequence
Speaker:
From the opening sequence in The Breakfast Club (1985) we get a glimpse into the personal lives of each main character. As each character leaves their parents to go to school we can see that they each "already had to put on their armour" before getting to school due to their home lives being difficult (item8). This is apparent through the little interactions they have with their parents, the fact that Brian's and Andrew's parents both have harsh words with them before they leave, Alison's parents say nothing and simply drive away and Bender's arrives without any parents. This clearly sets us broken backgrounds for these characters. Alison possibly being in the most difficult situation as she has self diagnosed psychological problems that are revealed to be "a direct tactic to ignore her parents' ignorance of her." (item 4) This helps to prove Hughes' auteur tendencies as he is constantly creating difficult family situations in his main character's narratives.
It is apparent that it is not just John Hughes films that create a dysfunction family by putting a negligent parent in the mix as "parents tend to be totally absent from most high school comedies" (item 13). However as John Hughes helped create and mould the teen comedy genre into what it is today, I think that it is possible that he deliberately incorporated irresponsible adults as a way of isolating the teen's problems. This amplifies the life of the teen and focusses on what they this is important. Actress Molly Ringwald, who worked closely with Hughes for years, agreed with this idea and said that "Hughes is 36, but he provides no adults-eye view of teen problems." (item12)
Projector: Ferris Bueller's Day Off - opening scene
Speaker:
In this scene we can see that the parents are completely oblivious to the fact that their son is faking his illness in order to get a day of school which clearly shows how they are in the scene to be "credulous fools, present only to be the butt of Ferris's gift for whip-smart deception"(item14). This is another example of how Hughes has used the parental characters simply to amplify the problems of the teenagers, who take on main roles in his narratives. Parents neglecting their children or not being sympathetic towards them is the main feature of the dysfunctional families that John Hughes incorporates in his film. Another example of this common feature would be the father figure in 'Pretty in Pink'(1986).
Projector: Image from Pretty in Pink(1986) (Item18)
Speaker:
The screenshot from Pretty in Pink shows main character Andie caring for her "unemployed father"(item15). This displays an element of role reversals as normally parents are the ones that should be caring for the children and not the opposite way around. This is why the image shows how the family in this film is dysfunctional, the supposed parental figure is not only financially unstable and therefore unable to provide for his only daughter but also clearly unable to look after himself. The screenshot shows Andie to be the most responsible person in the house showing how she has been forced to give up some aspects of her own childhood in order to become a caregiver to her father. This makes her family somewhat dysfunctional as it does not fit the norm of a nuclear family. Pretty in Pink is yet another John Hughes film that has this similar narrative and therefore supports the theory that Hughes is an auteur due to the commonality of flawed family units in his films.
Projector: clip from Weird Science (1985) (item3)
Speaker:
In this scene we see the parents of main character Garry getting caught up in a heated argument about a party they do not want their son to go to, the argument results in the parents being put in a trance and consequently the father forgets that he has a son altogether. This is a very exaggerated and science fiction way of John Hughes expressing parental negligence towards their children. As a result of Garry's father forgetting that he exists a dysfunctional family unit has been created and although this was done for comical effect, it still follows the auteur tendencies that Hughes has already previously showed.
To conclude, I think it is clear that John Hughes carries auteur traits into his films in the form of a dysfunctional family narrative. This is an aspect that makes Hughes an auteur as it fits into the description of a director who "consistently express his own unique obsessions" in films (item6). Hughes' unique obsession has been drawn from his own childhood troubles and then adopted into his film making style which shows his auteur tendencies and therefore classifies John Hughes as an auteur.
By Connie Bytheway.
Projector: Image of John Hughes
Speaker:
John Hughes was an American film director, producer and writer who made many successful comedy films in the 80s based around teen life. A lot of his films follow a narrative that incorporates the theme of dysfunctional families. I believe that the consistency of using dysfunctional families in his films is a trait that can classify John Hughes to be an auteur. Auteurship can be defined as "a director who manifests a consistency of style and theme across his or her films" (item 5) which perfectly describes Hughes and his style of film making as he routinely employs characters that come from dysfunctional families in his films. This idea is discussed in an interview with two film critics as they remember the working life of John Hughes (item 10). They go as far to say that there is not one "sympathetic adult character in any John Hughes film." This is an example of people recognising Hughes' auteur traits due to him continuingly fitting dysfunctional family units into his films narratives.
Projector: Home alone clip (item1) - Kevin arguing with his mother
Speaker:
In this clip from the 1990 film Home Alone written and directed by John Hughes, you can see how Hughes has been very obvious in showing the main character's dysfunctional relationship with his family through the dialogue. "I don't want any family, family suck" is a line shouted by the main character at his mother. It clearly shows his frustration with his family and situation. This idea of difficult situations in family units is a commonality in John Hughes films but I think that Home Alone is a suitable focus film because the whole narrative surrounds "the ignored child" (item17) which is a commonality in Hughes' films.
Projector: Home Alone clip(item2) - Kevin thinking about how his family treats him (1 min) (20mins in)
Speaker:
In this clip we see an editing technique were faded footage is placed overlaying the main frame and faded in and out acting as through bubbles for the main character. As we can see in the overlaying footage, Kevin's family are not very kind towards him at all showing how he is treated as the black sheep of the family and therefore depicting a flawed family unit. The dysfunctional family is shown through editing techniques in another scene from the film where everyone in the house are frantically running around trying to get packed and ready to go on holiday.
Projector: Home Alone clip(item2) - The family rushing to get ready (1 min)
Speaker:
Here we can see that the images in the shot have been sped up by the editor to make the scene feel more chaotic, the upbeat diegetic music helps emphasise the franticness in the shot and makes the family look even more disorganised and stressful. Which are characteristics that Hughes likes to place on the families that he creates. Because John Hughes so often has this idea of a dysfunction family present in his films, it makes me question his own childhood and if these ideas and themes are stemming from personal experience. In an interview where Corey Brunish talks to Hughes about his career (item7), he describes how his childhood had its challenges.
Projector: Clip from interview #2 with John Hughes (30secs in)
Speaker:
As we can see here, Hughes says how for him not everything always went right, just as things started to get easier for him as he was growing up, his parents would decide to move again against his will. This shows how Hughes experienced first hand parents not taking his feelings into consideration. This may explain why "the ignored child is a consistent theme within his films" and why the narratives have often "negatively portrayed adults and parents as being foolish or concerned with material objects"(item17). These irresponsible parental characters are present in many of Hughes' films and they contribute to creating a flawed family unit. The idea of a flawed family unit is present in many other John Hughes films, for example; 'The Breakfast Club' (item 2).
Projector: Clip from The Breakfast Club -opening sequence
Speaker:
From the opening sequence in The Breakfast Club (1985) we get a glimpse into the personal lives of each main character. As each character leaves their parents to go to school we can see that they each "already had to put on their armour" before getting to school due to their home lives being difficult (item8). This is apparent through the little interactions they have with their parents, the fact that Brian's and Andrew's parents both have harsh words with them before they leave, Alison's parents say nothing and simply drive away and Bender's arrives without any parents. This clearly sets us broken backgrounds for these characters. Alison possibly being in the most difficult situation as she has self diagnosed psychological problems that are revealed to be "a direct tactic to ignore her parents' ignorance of her." (item 4) This helps to prove Hughes' auteur tendencies as he is constantly creating difficult family situations in his main character's narratives.
It is apparent that it is not just John Hughes films that create a dysfunction family by putting a negligent parent in the mix as "parents tend to be totally absent from most high school comedies" (item 13). However as John Hughes helped create and mould the teen comedy genre into what it is today, I think that it is possible that he deliberately incorporated irresponsible adults as a way of isolating the teen's problems. This amplifies the life of the teen and focusses on what they this is important. Actress Molly Ringwald, who worked closely with Hughes for years, agreed with this idea and said that "Hughes is 36, but he provides no adults-eye view of teen problems." (item12)
Projector: Ferris Bueller's Day Off - opening scene
Speaker:
In this scene we can see that the parents are completely oblivious to the fact that their son is faking his illness in order to get a day of school which clearly shows how they are in the scene to be "credulous fools, present only to be the butt of Ferris's gift for whip-smart deception"(item14). This is another example of how Hughes has used the parental characters simply to amplify the problems of the teenagers, who take on main roles in his narratives. Parents neglecting their children or not being sympathetic towards them is the main feature of the dysfunctional families that John Hughes incorporates in his film. Another example of this common feature would be the father figure in 'Pretty in Pink'(1986).
Projector: Image from Pretty in Pink(1986) (Item18)
The screenshot from Pretty in Pink shows main character Andie caring for her "unemployed father"(item15). This displays an element of role reversals as normally parents are the ones that should be caring for the children and not the opposite way around. This is why the image shows how the family in this film is dysfunctional, the supposed parental figure is not only financially unstable and therefore unable to provide for his only daughter but also clearly unable to look after himself. The screenshot shows Andie to be the most responsible person in the house showing how she has been forced to give up some aspects of her own childhood in order to become a caregiver to her father. This makes her family somewhat dysfunctional as it does not fit the norm of a nuclear family. Pretty in Pink is yet another John Hughes film that has this similar narrative and therefore supports the theory that Hughes is an auteur due to the commonality of flawed family units in his films.
Projector: clip from Weird Science (1985) (item3)
Speaker:
In this scene we see the parents of main character Garry getting caught up in a heated argument about a party they do not want their son to go to, the argument results in the parents being put in a trance and consequently the father forgets that he has a son altogether. This is a very exaggerated and science fiction way of John Hughes expressing parental negligence towards their children. As a result of Garry's father forgetting that he exists a dysfunctional family unit has been created and although this was done for comical effect, it still follows the auteur tendencies that Hughes has already previously showed.
To conclude, I think it is clear that John Hughes carries auteur traits into his films in the form of a dysfunctional family narrative. This is an aspect that makes Hughes an auteur as it fits into the description of a director who "consistently express his own unique obsessions" in films (item6). Hughes' unique obsession has been drawn from his own childhood troubles and then adopted into his film making style which shows his auteur tendencies and therefore classifies John Hughes as an auteur.
By Connie Bytheway.
Thursday 3 November 2016
City of God - Question
How far does the impact of the film you have studied for this topic depend on distinctive uses of film techniques?
The scene begins with Li'l Zé walking to where the runts hang out, he has following him a group of people, amongst them is Steak 'n' Fries who is the youngest of the bunch. The camera is positioned looking down on the group from a birds eye view which gives the viewer an indication of where they are and the amount of people are in their group. It then cuts to a mid shot of Steak 'n' Fries and tracks backwards as he is walking in the group. the focus on this character shows the audience that he is a key part in this scene because it is his first time out with the hoods. The use of a handheld camera gives the scene a documentary feel which adds to the realism and verisimilitude, this makes the whole scene become darker in theme because it is so similar to reality and makes the audience feel like they are actually there watching the events unravel. There are then quick cuts shot over the heads of some of the runts as they are sat together talking about the petty crime that they have committed. The shake of the handheld camera and the fact that the frame is crowded gives an effect of claustrophobia and tells us that there are a lot of runts. From a mid shot of one of the runts talking we then see Li'l Zé approaching them from behind, at the sight of his presence all of the runts scatter and the camera becomes even more frantic. Li'l Zé is shot from a low angle looking up as he grabs one of the youngest boys, the low angle shows that he is is in power in this scene. From this shot we also get a close up of his gun showing how there is a focus of violence in the scene and again that he is in a powerful position above other characters in the scene. The handheld camera movements also give a documentary feel to the scene which makes it seem more realistic.
The scene begins with Li'l Zé walking to where the runts hang out, he has following him a group of people, amongst them is Steak 'n' Fries who is the youngest of the bunch. The camera is positioned looking down on the group from a birds eye view which gives the viewer an indication of where they are and the amount of people are in their group. It then cuts to a mid shot of Steak 'n' Fries and tracks backwards as he is walking in the group. the focus on this character shows the audience that he is a key part in this scene because it is his first time out with the hoods. The use of a handheld camera gives the scene a documentary feel which adds to the realism and verisimilitude, this makes the whole scene become darker in theme because it is so similar to reality and makes the audience feel like they are actually there watching the events unravel. There are then quick cuts shot over the heads of some of the runts as they are sat together talking about the petty crime that they have committed. The shake of the handheld camera and the fact that the frame is crowded gives an effect of claustrophobia and tells us that there are a lot of runts. From a mid shot of one of the runts talking we then see Li'l Zé approaching them from behind, at the sight of his presence all of the runts scatter and the camera becomes even more frantic. Li'l Zé is shot from a low angle looking up as he grabs one of the youngest boys, the low angle shows that he is is in power in this scene. From this shot we also get a close up of his gun showing how there is a focus of violence in the scene and again that he is in a powerful position above other characters in the scene. The handheld camera movements also give a documentary feel to the scene which makes it seem more realistic.
Friday 14 October 2016
La Haine - question
How far does the impact of the film you have studied of this topic depend on distinctive uses of film techniques?
The scene begins with a wide shot of the three main characters, with Said standing in the middle of Vinz and Hurbert which has been a common framing throughout the film as Said has been represented as the 'peacekeeper' between the other two as they create conflict. This use of framing has been useful in distinguishing what each character represents. This is because we are told through dialogue that the France stands for equality, fraternity and liberty which is the order that Hurbert, Said and Vinz are always seen framed in which is an important aspect of the mise en scene. As the scene begins, another important feature of the mise en scene that we are shown is the art of philosopher Charles Baudelaire. This is important because Baudelaire said the quote "the world only goes round by misunderstanding" which explains that there is a circle with everything that happens in the world and there is no real reason for this. The quote is significant in this scene because it is the ending scene in the film and it ends the exact same way the film starts; a forward zoom towards Said followed by a close up of his eyes closing. This shot is also important because it shows how when reality is too harsh, people tend to close their eyes in the hopes that the problems will disappear, it shows how people are scared to face issues that the world hands us.
Tuesday 11 October 2016
La Haine task 2
Hopeless- This word is effective in describing La Haine because it explains the hopeless situation that the people in the projects are experiencing. The people living in this area are surrounded by poverty which is shown when Vinz is introduced, we see that he is sharing a room with his younger sister in a cramped flat that he lives in with his family. These living conditions make us aware of what is normal for the people in the projects which contrasts with the lifestyle of those living in Paris. The idea that those in the projects are trapped in their situation emphasises the hopelessness that they feel.
Tense- The film is tense because of the conflict between the police and the resistants of the projects. This tension is portrayed through the wide shots that capture the police standing one one side of the frame in opposition with the people in the projects. There is also tension between the three main characters, in particularly Vinz and Herburt. This is shown through two shots of them arguing with, these two shots then change when Said is positioned in the middle of them as he is always stuck in the drama and is the character that is there to defuse the tension.
Real- I think that this word describes the film well because the narrative exposes the harsh reality of life in the projects and how the political controversy in France has effected it's people. This is portrayed through a montage of news reports that are airing the violent riots that the lower class people are starting due to their frustration with their living conditions. A shot of a homeless man on the streets of Paris is also a good portrayal of reality, especially because it contrasts with the rich atmosphere and the lit up Eiffel Tower that is shown in the background of the shot.
Pessimistic- Pessimism is a common mindset that people in the projects share because of how they are trapped and they feel that their situation is not going to improve.
Tense- The film is tense because of the conflict between the police and the resistants of the projects. This tension is portrayed through the wide shots that capture the police standing one one side of the frame in opposition with the people in the projects. There is also tension between the three main characters, in particularly Vinz and Herburt. This is shown through two shots of them arguing with, these two shots then change when Said is positioned in the middle of them as he is always stuck in the drama and is the character that is there to defuse the tension.
Real- I think that this word describes the film well because the narrative exposes the harsh reality of life in the projects and how the political controversy in France has effected it's people. This is portrayed through a montage of news reports that are airing the violent riots that the lower class people are starting due to their frustration with their living conditions. A shot of a homeless man on the streets of Paris is also a good portrayal of reality, especially because it contrasts with the rich atmosphere and the lit up Eiffel Tower that is shown in the background of the shot.
Pessimistic- Pessimism is a common mindset that people in the projects share because of how they are trapped and they feel that their situation is not going to improve.
Monday 3 October 2016
John Hughes
Could the continued theme of dysfunctional families be used to classify John Hughes as an auteur?
Films:
Item 1: Home alone (1990) Director: John Hughes
I have chosen Home Alone as my focus film because it is the John Hughes film that most obviously portrays the idea of dysfunctional family. This shows John Hughes' clear auteur presence as it focusses on the theme that I am exploring. The narrative of the film is based around a young boy who is forgotten by his family and left alone in his house as they go on holiday which clearly highlights the issues surrounding parents and negligence that Hughes often incorporated in his films which clearly portrays Hughes' auteur nature. This item is useful to a large extent because it is the most obvious example of a dysfunctional family in any John Hughes film because it is portrayed as unorganised, busy and careless. I will therefore be able to save this information and use it in my presentation script.
Item 2: 'The Breakfast Club (1985) Director: John Hughes
The Breakfast club is a perfect example of the use of the theme of absent parents, which links into dysfunctional families, as each main character comes from a somewhat broken home. The only time we are introduced to parents in this film, they are in confrontation with their child. In one scene of the film Ally Sheedy's character is shown venting about her parents ignoring her with another character who agrees. This supports the idea that John Hughes continuingly employs the theme of careless or absent parents in his films. The information in this item is useful to a large extent and I will be using it in my presentation script to explain how Hughes explored the theme if dysfunctional families in his films.
Item 3: Weird Science (1985)
This is another example of a John Hughes film that incorporates the theme of negligent parents as the parents of the two main characters are extremely distant from their sons. We see this through a scene where they are caught up in a heated argument about a party they do not want their son to go to, the argument results in the parents being put in a trance and consequently the father forgets that he has a son altogether. This reinforces the idea that the families are created to be dysfunctional in John Hughes films which supports the auteur trait making this item useful to a large extent. I will be able to include it in my presentation script because it is another example of a John Hughes film that incorporates an unsupportive family unit.
Books:
Item 4: Teen Movies: American Youth on Screen
This book discusses The Breakfast Club and how each character's flaw landed them in detention that day. The book discusses how the character Alison, who is labelled as the 'basket case', has self diagnosed psychological problems that are revealed to be "a direct tactic to ignore her parents' ignorance of her." This further supports the idea that the theme of dysfunctional families are prevalent in 'The Breakfast club' as it explains how the character of Alison's downfall is due to being neglected by her parents. This item is useful to a moderate extent and I will be using it in my presentation script because t supports the idea that Hughes had auteur tendencies in the form of including dysfunctional families in his films.
Item 5: Auteur Theory- Buckland - Film - Studies
This book written by Warren Buckland has a chapter that focusses on the 'auteur policy'. It says in this chapter that "an auteur is a director who manifests a consistency of style and theme across his or her films." By this definition, John Hughes would be classified as an auteur because he uses reoccurring themes of absent parents which is an important aspect of the auteur theory. This item is useful to a large extent because it defines what makes an auteur and I can use this definition by applying it to John Hughes and his work to show how he can be classified as an auteur.
Item 6: Theories of authorship pt1
This book explores the theories of authorship and what should define an auteur. In the book it explains an aspect of an auteur being when a director will "consistently express his own unique obsessions" in the case of John Hughes, his 'obsession' seems to be the inattentive parent. This is shown through many of his films which have incorporated a carless parental character that ignores or dismisses this issues of their teenage child. This item is also useful to a large extent because I can use its definition of an auteur to back up the definition I found in Item 5, this will further help prove that John Hughes can be identified as an auteur.
Internet:
Item 7: John Hughes interview 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8BAs5yIScE
In this interview with John Hughes, he talks about how his childhood had its challenges. This, he says, is due to the fact that as a child his family moved around a lot and the moves always seemed to happen just as Hughes was settling in. This could be used to explain why Hughes repeatedly incorporates dysfunctional families through the careless parental character into his films, as he may be able to relate to feeling a bit neglected. I will be able to use this item in my presentation script to explain the reasoning behind Hughes auteur tendencies which makes it a useful item.
Item 8: Don't You Forget About Me: A Documentary About John Hughes
This documentary goes into detail in exploring characters, narrative and the production of John Hughes film 'The Breakfast Club' (1985). When talking about the five main characters in the film, actor John Kapelos says how each of the teens have "already had to put on their armour" before getting to school due to their home lives being difficult. An example he gives is when the characters are getting dropped off for their Saturday detention and "the car drives away from Ally" whose parents clearly do not care about her enough to see her into the school. Kapelos also points out that "Bender has no parent" as he just walks into detention by himself, showing an even more extreme case of child being neglected by their parent and that each character clearly comes from a dysfunctional family background. This again illustrates how John Hughes has portrayed teens without supportive families in another one of his films and I will be able to use this information in my presentation script as it explores another film that shows Hughes' auteur trait.
Item 9: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ARiam6axnM
This item is a video of an interview with actresses in 'The Breakfast Club' Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy. In the video, the interviewer says how all the characters have a "commonality of their parents" and this commonality is that they all have distant relationships with them showing how they are all from dysfunctional families which helps to confirm that Hughes was committed to giving his teen characters less than sufficient parenting characters. This theme is prevalent in a number of Hughes' films and I will be able to use this item to support the idea that John Hughes can be classified as an auteur due to the reoccurring use of dysfunctional families in his films. This item is therefore useful to a moderate extent.
Item 10:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTPWCORxlc4
This video of two film critics remembering the working life and films created by John Hughes. They talk about how in all of his films, the parental figures are useless and they even go as far as to say that there is not one sympathetic adult character in any John Hughes film. This discussion that exposes the films as really targeting parents to look like useless, dismissive characters and the family unit as troubled is another good example of how Hughes has deliberately chosen to create and incorporate dysfunctional families in his films. This item is useful to a moderate extent because it backs up the idea that Hughes consistently used this theme in his films which highlights his auteur trait, therefore I will be able to use it in my presentation script.
Item 11: Ferris Bueller's Day Off John Hughes Commentary
In the directors commentary for the 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off, John Hughes talks about how in the introduction, actor Matthew Broderick (who plays Ferris Bueller) plays the scene were he is trying to convince his parents that he is too sick to go to school, in a childlike manner. Hughes says that by making the character more childlike in this scene is effective because "all parents have the most affectionate memories of their children when they are children." This suggests that parents grow less loving towards their children as they reach adolescence which is the age group that most of his characters are in, in his most successful films made in the 80s. As we have already established, the parents of teenage characters are significantly less caring, if even present at all. This again supports the idea that dysfunctional families are consistently used in Hughes' films making this item useful to me as it holds information about Hughes' auteur tendencies that I will be able to include in my presentation script, making this item useful to me to a large extent.
Articles:
Item 12 http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2010/03/john-hughes-201003
This article talks about the life of John Hughes and talks about the commentary on some of his films. "Hughes is 36, but he provides no adults-eye view of teen problems" is what was said in an interview with Molly Ringwald. This is useful to me because it supports the idea that Hughes was continually focussed on isolating teen problems and ignoring the lives of the adults around them for example, their parents. By constantly avoiding adult figures in his films, Hughes was then creating distressful and unsupportive family units in order to emphasise the issues and emotions that his teen characters were going through. This item is useful to a moderate extent because it discusses how Hughes avoided a focus on the families of his characters which is information that I will be able to include in my presentation script.
Item 13: http://www.ew.com/gallery/john-hughes-films-20-questions/469028_5-parents-tend-be-totally-absent-most-high-school-comedies
In this article, the various techniques and aspects that make up a typical teen movie are dicussed, focussing on the importance of John Hughes in this movement of teen film. It has a paragraph about how "parents tend to be totally absent from most high school comedies" which then goes into detail and uses the John Hughes film 'Sixteen Candles' as an example of this where the main character's parents forget about their own daughter's birthday. The article also mentions 'The Breakfast Club' (1985) and how for the majority of the film the parents of all characters are unseen. This technique of ignoring adult characters in John Hughes films helps stress the importance of the teen character's issues. And also subsequently means that all the teen characters are therefore from a dysfunctional family which supports the idea that this is a constant theme in John Hughes. I can use this item in my presentation script to help prove that Hughes has auteur traits, this information is useful to a late extent.
Item 14: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/sep/26/drama.comedy1
This article is about how to decode a John Hughes film and it focusses on how john Hughes uses absent parents as a recurring theme within his films, and uses specific examples such as the 1986 film 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'. The article uses this example by explaining that in the film Ferris' parents are "credulous fools, present only to be the butt of Ferris's gift for whip-smart deception". The article also uses the film 'Sixteen Candles' (1984) as an example of parents being seen as inattentive as the narrative follows the life of teenage girl Sam Baker and how her parents forget about her Sixteenth birthday and the effects this has on her supposed 'big day'. Clearly showing how she does not have a supportive family unit. This item is useful to a large extent because it includes information that supports the idea that Hughes could be classified as an auteur due to his constant incorporation of the dysfunctional family in his film and I will be able to use it in my presentation script.
Item 15: http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A0DE7DC123BF93BA15751C0A960948260
This article is a film review for 'Pretty In Pink(1986). When describing main character, Andie's, home life it explains how she lives with her "unemployed father" which shows how he is not able to give her full financial support as he is struggling to live day to day and creates a somewhat distressing family unit for her. This shows how yet another teen character in a John Hughes film has been cursed with an unreliable parent figure and I will be able to use this information in my presentation script making this item useful to a large extent.
Item 16: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/08/movies/08appraisal.html?_r=0
This article is titled 'The John Hughes Touch' and discusses how John Hughes has influences other people as an auteur. One of the things it explores is how Andie in 'Pretty In Pink' is "neglected" which stems from her having a single struggling unemployed father and therefore being part of a dysfunctional family. This supports the idea that Hughes' films incorporate unsupportive parents and dysfunctional families regularly which can classify him to be an auteur. This item is useful to a large extent because it discusses how the constant use of troubled families in Hughes' films makes him an auteur and I will be able to include this in my presentation script.
Item 17: http://www.atthecinema.net/directors-cut-john-hughes
This article titled 'John Hughes: Director's Cut' explores how his films have similar themes and messages. It states that "the ignored child is a consistent theme within his films" when discussing how many of his films have "negatively portrayed adults and parents as being foolish or concerned with material objects." This is a theme that could be used to classify John Hughes as an auteur due to its consistency. I will be able to include this information in my presentation script because it discusses the incorporation of dysfunctional families in John Hughes films, making this item useful to a large extent.
Item 18: Image from Pretty in Pink http://www.btchflcks.com/2014/05/prom-and-female-sexual-desire-in-pretty-in-pink-and-the-loved-ones.html#.WD2NpDsmX9k
I found this image within an article that spoke about the female roles in the film 'Pretty in Pink'. However I thought that the image, which is a screenshot from the film, told the story perfect of how the children are expected to act like the adult. In the screenshot we can see how the main character Andie is caring for her unemployed father which gives a sense of role reversal as the father is meant to be caring for the daughter. This expresses the idea of dysfunctional families very well and I will be able to use the source in my presentation script as evidence that parents are often irresponsible in John Hughes films. This makes the item useful to a large extent.
Rejected:
Film:
Curly Sue (1991)
I have rejected this item as evidence for John Hughes continuingly using the theme of absent or careless parents in his films which may classify him as an auteur because the narrative of the film follows a disadvantaged child who is forced to con people in order to live but ends up finding a loving family. This concept of a child finding a caring and supportive family contradicts the pattern of absent parents that has been previously explored in John Hughes films.
Internet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvmVYNr0lk0
I have rejected this clip from the 2010 Oscars where a tribute to John Hughes took place because when remembering his work and how he influenced the film industry, he is not described as an auteur and the absence of parents in his films is not mentioned. Instead the celebrities remembering him focus on the influence he has had on teen film and how his films hold important messages that are remembered years after they were made.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ucj_dADJaE0
I have chosen to reject this interview with John Hughes talking about the casting process for 'The Breakfast Club' because although he mentions how Bender's character is difficult and distant, he does not mention that this problem stems from him not having a supportive parental network. Therefore this does not contribute to the idea that Hughes has uncaring parents in his films.
Article:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/john-hughes-teen-angsts-1980s-auteur/article4310797/
This article has been rejected because it talks about John Hughes as being an auteur due to his constant interest and incorporation of teenage life in his films and not the negative depiction of adults and parents that he also creates.
By Connie Bytheway
Films:
Item 1: Home alone (1990) Director: John Hughes
I have chosen Home Alone as my focus film because it is the John Hughes film that most obviously portrays the idea of dysfunctional family. This shows John Hughes' clear auteur presence as it focusses on the theme that I am exploring. The narrative of the film is based around a young boy who is forgotten by his family and left alone in his house as they go on holiday which clearly highlights the issues surrounding parents and negligence that Hughes often incorporated in his films which clearly portrays Hughes' auteur nature. This item is useful to a large extent because it is the most obvious example of a dysfunctional family in any John Hughes film because it is portrayed as unorganised, busy and careless. I will therefore be able to save this information and use it in my presentation script.
Item 2: 'The Breakfast Club (1985) Director: John Hughes
The Breakfast club is a perfect example of the use of the theme of absent parents, which links into dysfunctional families, as each main character comes from a somewhat broken home. The only time we are introduced to parents in this film, they are in confrontation with their child. In one scene of the film Ally Sheedy's character is shown venting about her parents ignoring her with another character who agrees. This supports the idea that John Hughes continuingly employs the theme of careless or absent parents in his films. The information in this item is useful to a large extent and I will be using it in my presentation script to explain how Hughes explored the theme if dysfunctional families in his films.
Item 3: Weird Science (1985)
This is another example of a John Hughes film that incorporates the theme of negligent parents as the parents of the two main characters are extremely distant from their sons. We see this through a scene where they are caught up in a heated argument about a party they do not want their son to go to, the argument results in the parents being put in a trance and consequently the father forgets that he has a son altogether. This reinforces the idea that the families are created to be dysfunctional in John Hughes films which supports the auteur trait making this item useful to a large extent. I will be able to include it in my presentation script because it is another example of a John Hughes film that incorporates an unsupportive family unit.
Books:
Item 4: Teen Movies: American Youth on Screen
This book discusses The Breakfast Club and how each character's flaw landed them in detention that day. The book discusses how the character Alison, who is labelled as the 'basket case', has self diagnosed psychological problems that are revealed to be "a direct tactic to ignore her parents' ignorance of her." This further supports the idea that the theme of dysfunctional families are prevalent in 'The Breakfast club' as it explains how the character of Alison's downfall is due to being neglected by her parents. This item is useful to a moderate extent and I will be using it in my presentation script because t supports the idea that Hughes had auteur tendencies in the form of including dysfunctional families in his films.
Item 5: Auteur Theory- Buckland - Film - Studies
This book written by Warren Buckland has a chapter that focusses on the 'auteur policy'. It says in this chapter that "an auteur is a director who manifests a consistency of style and theme across his or her films." By this definition, John Hughes would be classified as an auteur because he uses reoccurring themes of absent parents which is an important aspect of the auteur theory. This item is useful to a large extent because it defines what makes an auteur and I can use this definition by applying it to John Hughes and his work to show how he can be classified as an auteur.
Item 6: Theories of authorship pt1
This book explores the theories of authorship and what should define an auteur. In the book it explains an aspect of an auteur being when a director will "consistently express his own unique obsessions" in the case of John Hughes, his 'obsession' seems to be the inattentive parent. This is shown through many of his films which have incorporated a carless parental character that ignores or dismisses this issues of their teenage child. This item is also useful to a large extent because I can use its definition of an auteur to back up the definition I found in Item 5, this will further help prove that John Hughes can be identified as an auteur.
Internet:
Item 7: John Hughes interview 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8BAs5yIScE
In this interview with John Hughes, he talks about how his childhood had its challenges. This, he says, is due to the fact that as a child his family moved around a lot and the moves always seemed to happen just as Hughes was settling in. This could be used to explain why Hughes repeatedly incorporates dysfunctional families through the careless parental character into his films, as he may be able to relate to feeling a bit neglected. I will be able to use this item in my presentation script to explain the reasoning behind Hughes auteur tendencies which makes it a useful item.
Item 8: Don't You Forget About Me: A Documentary About John Hughes
This documentary goes into detail in exploring characters, narrative and the production of John Hughes film 'The Breakfast Club' (1985). When talking about the five main characters in the film, actor John Kapelos says how each of the teens have "already had to put on their armour" before getting to school due to their home lives being difficult. An example he gives is when the characters are getting dropped off for their Saturday detention and "the car drives away from Ally" whose parents clearly do not care about her enough to see her into the school. Kapelos also points out that "Bender has no parent" as he just walks into detention by himself, showing an even more extreme case of child being neglected by their parent and that each character clearly comes from a dysfunctional family background. This again illustrates how John Hughes has portrayed teens without supportive families in another one of his films and I will be able to use this information in my presentation script as it explores another film that shows Hughes' auteur trait.
Item 9: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ARiam6axnM
This item is a video of an interview with actresses in 'The Breakfast Club' Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy. In the video, the interviewer says how all the characters have a "commonality of their parents" and this commonality is that they all have distant relationships with them showing how they are all from dysfunctional families which helps to confirm that Hughes was committed to giving his teen characters less than sufficient parenting characters. This theme is prevalent in a number of Hughes' films and I will be able to use this item to support the idea that John Hughes can be classified as an auteur due to the reoccurring use of dysfunctional families in his films. This item is therefore useful to a moderate extent.
Item 10:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTPWCORxlc4
This video of two film critics remembering the working life and films created by John Hughes. They talk about how in all of his films, the parental figures are useless and they even go as far as to say that there is not one sympathetic adult character in any John Hughes film. This discussion that exposes the films as really targeting parents to look like useless, dismissive characters and the family unit as troubled is another good example of how Hughes has deliberately chosen to create and incorporate dysfunctional families in his films. This item is useful to a moderate extent because it backs up the idea that Hughes consistently used this theme in his films which highlights his auteur trait, therefore I will be able to use it in my presentation script.
Item 11: Ferris Bueller's Day Off John Hughes Commentary
In the directors commentary for the 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off, John Hughes talks about how in the introduction, actor Matthew Broderick (who plays Ferris Bueller) plays the scene were he is trying to convince his parents that he is too sick to go to school, in a childlike manner. Hughes says that by making the character more childlike in this scene is effective because "all parents have the most affectionate memories of their children when they are children." This suggests that parents grow less loving towards their children as they reach adolescence which is the age group that most of his characters are in, in his most successful films made in the 80s. As we have already established, the parents of teenage characters are significantly less caring, if even present at all. This again supports the idea that dysfunctional families are consistently used in Hughes' films making this item useful to me as it holds information about Hughes' auteur tendencies that I will be able to include in my presentation script, making this item useful to me to a large extent.
Articles:
Item 12 http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2010/03/john-hughes-201003
This article talks about the life of John Hughes and talks about the commentary on some of his films. "Hughes is 36, but he provides no adults-eye view of teen problems" is what was said in an interview with Molly Ringwald. This is useful to me because it supports the idea that Hughes was continually focussed on isolating teen problems and ignoring the lives of the adults around them for example, their parents. By constantly avoiding adult figures in his films, Hughes was then creating distressful and unsupportive family units in order to emphasise the issues and emotions that his teen characters were going through. This item is useful to a moderate extent because it discusses how Hughes avoided a focus on the families of his characters which is information that I will be able to include in my presentation script.
Item 13: http://www.ew.com/gallery/john-hughes-films-20-questions/469028_5-parents-tend-be-totally-absent-most-high-school-comedies
In this article, the various techniques and aspects that make up a typical teen movie are dicussed, focussing on the importance of John Hughes in this movement of teen film. It has a paragraph about how "parents tend to be totally absent from most high school comedies" which then goes into detail and uses the John Hughes film 'Sixteen Candles' as an example of this where the main character's parents forget about their own daughter's birthday. The article also mentions 'The Breakfast Club' (1985) and how for the majority of the film the parents of all characters are unseen. This technique of ignoring adult characters in John Hughes films helps stress the importance of the teen character's issues. And also subsequently means that all the teen characters are therefore from a dysfunctional family which supports the idea that this is a constant theme in John Hughes. I can use this item in my presentation script to help prove that Hughes has auteur traits, this information is useful to a late extent.
Item 14: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/sep/26/drama.comedy1
This article is about how to decode a John Hughes film and it focusses on how john Hughes uses absent parents as a recurring theme within his films, and uses specific examples such as the 1986 film 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'. The article uses this example by explaining that in the film Ferris' parents are "credulous fools, present only to be the butt of Ferris's gift for whip-smart deception". The article also uses the film 'Sixteen Candles' (1984) as an example of parents being seen as inattentive as the narrative follows the life of teenage girl Sam Baker and how her parents forget about her Sixteenth birthday and the effects this has on her supposed 'big day'. Clearly showing how she does not have a supportive family unit. This item is useful to a large extent because it includes information that supports the idea that Hughes could be classified as an auteur due to his constant incorporation of the dysfunctional family in his film and I will be able to use it in my presentation script.
Item 15: http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A0DE7DC123BF93BA15751C0A960948260
This article is a film review for 'Pretty In Pink(1986). When describing main character, Andie's, home life it explains how she lives with her "unemployed father" which shows how he is not able to give her full financial support as he is struggling to live day to day and creates a somewhat distressing family unit for her. This shows how yet another teen character in a John Hughes film has been cursed with an unreliable parent figure and I will be able to use this information in my presentation script making this item useful to a large extent.
Item 16: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/08/movies/08appraisal.html?_r=0
This article is titled 'The John Hughes Touch' and discusses how John Hughes has influences other people as an auteur. One of the things it explores is how Andie in 'Pretty In Pink' is "neglected" which stems from her having a single struggling unemployed father and therefore being part of a dysfunctional family. This supports the idea that Hughes' films incorporate unsupportive parents and dysfunctional families regularly which can classify him to be an auteur. This item is useful to a large extent because it discusses how the constant use of troubled families in Hughes' films makes him an auteur and I will be able to include this in my presentation script.
Item 17: http://www.atthecinema.net/directors-cut-john-hughes
This article titled 'John Hughes: Director's Cut' explores how his films have similar themes and messages. It states that "the ignored child is a consistent theme within his films" when discussing how many of his films have "negatively portrayed adults and parents as being foolish or concerned with material objects." This is a theme that could be used to classify John Hughes as an auteur due to its consistency. I will be able to include this information in my presentation script because it discusses the incorporation of dysfunctional families in John Hughes films, making this item useful to a large extent.
Item 18: Image from Pretty in Pink http://www.btchflcks.com/2014/05/prom-and-female-sexual-desire-in-pretty-in-pink-and-the-loved-ones.html#.WD2NpDsmX9k
Rejected:
Film:
Curly Sue (1991)
I have rejected this item as evidence for John Hughes continuingly using the theme of absent or careless parents in his films which may classify him as an auteur because the narrative of the film follows a disadvantaged child who is forced to con people in order to live but ends up finding a loving family. This concept of a child finding a caring and supportive family contradicts the pattern of absent parents that has been previously explored in John Hughes films.
Internet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvmVYNr0lk0
I have rejected this clip from the 2010 Oscars where a tribute to John Hughes took place because when remembering his work and how he influenced the film industry, he is not described as an auteur and the absence of parents in his films is not mentioned. Instead the celebrities remembering him focus on the influence he has had on teen film and how his films hold important messages that are remembered years after they were made.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ucj_dADJaE0
I have chosen to reject this interview with John Hughes talking about the casting process for 'The Breakfast Club' because although he mentions how Bender's character is difficult and distant, he does not mention that this problem stems from him not having a supportive parental network. Therefore this does not contribute to the idea that Hughes has uncaring parents in his films.
Article:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/john-hughes-teen-angsts-1980s-auteur/article4310797/
This article has been rejected because it talks about John Hughes as being an auteur due to his constant interest and incorporation of teenage life in his films and not the negative depiction of adults and parents that he also creates.
By Connie Bytheway
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