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Post by missmcgrory on Nov 14, 2011 15:00:40 GMT
Purpose and Genre
It is a close up medium - the audience feels closely involved.
“seeing is believing” - the audience accept what they see on screen to be true, though ALL films are heavily edited to fit the filmmaker’s vision. This is how representation is created. There are a number of techniques documentary makers can use to make their film seem like it is NOT edited e.g. shaky camera, apparently non-scripted interviews, use of statistics.
Examples of manipulative editing?
Charlton Heston “walking away”
Getting the gun from the bank
Keeping the inferior “spoiled” footage as they go to K MART.
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Post by missmcgrory on Nov 14, 2011 15:01:14 GMT
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Post by missmcgrory on Dec 1, 2011 10:36:34 GMT
BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE (2002) PHILOSOPHICAL ISSUES: Political philosophy, gun control SYNOPSIS: On April 20, 1999 Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold entered Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado – a suburb of Denver – and in a 15 minute shooting spree killed 13 people and wounded 21 others. In this documentary, filmmaker Michael Moore examines the causes of the shooting and the American ethos that lead to it. Moore suggests that the shootings are part of a larger American culture of fear that prompts us to act with violence. In the course of the documentary he interviews survivors of the Columbine shooting, members of the Michigan Militia, Marilyn Manson, Dick Clark, officials at K-mart (which sold Harris and Klebold the bullets), and finally Charlton Heston, president of the National Rifle Association. In a Denver lecture after the film’s release, he sums up the message of the film: “It’s all part of the same American mentality that says it’s OK to use violence as a means to an end, whether it’s in the home or whether it’s in Iraq. That has got to stop.” The film won the Academy Award for best documentary. In his award ceremony speech, Moore attacked George Bush for launching war against Iraq. OTHER FILMS BY DIRECTOR MICHAEL MOORE: Roger and Me (1989), The Big One (1998) DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. Moore interviewed members of the Michigan Militia – the organization to which the Oklahoma City bombers formerly belonged. One member – a real estate negotiator – stated “Its an American responsibility to be armed. If you’re not armed, you’re not responsible. Who’s gonna defend your kids? The cops? The federal government? It’s your job to defend you and yours. If you don’t do it, you’re in dereliction of duty.” A woman similarly stated, “When a criminal breaks into your house, whose the first person that you’re gonna call? Most people will call the police because they have guns. Cut out the middle man. Take care of your own family yourself. If you are not going to protect your family, who is?” What response would a gun control advocate make to this argument? 2. One member of the Michigan Militia stated the following: “We’re not racists, we’re not extremists, we’re not fundamentalists, we’re not terrorists or militants or other such nonsense. We’re concerned citizens, we have a desire to fulfill our responsibility and duties as Americans, and an armed citizenry is part of that.” Are militia groups such as this more damaging to the American way than this militia member suggests? 3. James Nichols, brother of Oklahoma City bomber Terry Nichols, stated the following: “If the people find out how they’ve been ripped off and enslaved by the government, the powers that be, they will revolt with anger, with merciless anger. There will be blood running in the streets. When the government turns tyrannical, it is your duty to overthrow it.” Nichols’s argument parallels the social contract defense of revolution that we find in the Declaration of Independence. Are there important differences between Nichols’ views and those of the founding fathers? 4. Moore asks Nichols, “Well, why not use Gandhi’s way. He didn’t have any guns and he beat the British Empire.” Nichols responds, “Well, I’m not familiar with that.” Why would someone like Nichols not adopt Gandhi’s approach? 5. Moore asks Nichols if he should have the right to have weapons grade plutonium. Nichols answers “That should be restricted.” Moore counters “Oh, so you do believe in some restrictions.” If, by Nichols’ own concession, the government can justly restrict weapons grade plutonium, shouldn’t the government also be allowed to restrict guns from “wackos”, such Nichols himself appears very much to be? 6. A spokesperson for Lockheed at Littleton Colorado (in Columbine school district) said that his company made a $100,000 contribution to an anger management program for high school students. The assumption is that angry kids won’t shoot schoolmates if they first learn to control their anger. Would a program like this help? 7. Moore suggests that the gun-owning mentality of Americans is intertwined with our aggressive military actions in foreign countries. In one segment of the film Moore presents a series of film clips relating to U.S. military intervention in foreign countries – removing democratically elected rulers, installing ruthless dictators, and invading countries. Are the two really symptoms of the same American problem, as Moore suggests? 8. Ten days after Columbine, Charlton Heston held an NRA pro-gun rally in Denver. During the rally he stated, “I have a message from the mayor, Mr. Wellington Web, the mayor of Denver. He sent me this, and it says don’t come here. We don’t want you here. I say to the mayor, this is our country. As Americans we are free to travel wherever we want in our broad land. Don’t come here? We’re already here!” Was Web justified in his request? 9. Later in the speech Heston stated, “We have work to do, hearts to heal, evil to defeat, and a country to unite. We may have differences, yes, and we will again suffer tragedy almost beyond description. But when the sun sets on Denver tonight, and forever more, let it always set on we the people, secure in our land of the free and the home of the brave. I for one plan to do my part.” Heston’s point is that, although Columbine was a tragedy, the potential loss of our freedom (specifically freedom to carry guns) is a greater tragedy. Is Heston right? 10. Moore discusses the impact that the Columbine shootings have had regarding increased school security throughout the country. One school superintendent stated, “It’s almost like guerilla warfare; you don’t know from which direction the enemy will be coming.” Is the comparison legitimate? 11. Moore notes that many social influences were blamed for the Columbine incident, such as angry heavy metal subculture; absent parents; violent movies; South Park; video games; television; entertainment; Satan; cartoons; doom; society; toy guns; drugs. Although Moore rejects all of these explanations, are any more compelling than others? 12. Moore notes that other countries are also exposed to the above influences, yet have only a fraction of the gun killings that occur in the United States. Moore’s theory is that we are driven by fear. Crime rate has been dropping, but fear of crime has been increasing. The most poignant fear, he believes, is white people’s fear of black people. Are racial fears really behind the American tendency to act violently – domestically and in foreign conflicts? 13. Much blame was also placed on shock rocker Marilyn Manson, to whom the Columbine attackers listened. Manson in turn stated that the atmosphere surrounding Columbine was grounded in fear and consumption: “keep everyone afraid, and they’ll consume.” Manson’s point, which Moore agrees with, is that businesses encourage fear since it sells products. Is this a compelling explanation of the cause of fear? 14. Moore contrasts the high level of fear that Americans have with the low level of fear that Canadians do. News broadcasts in particular radically differ. Moore states, “Night after night the Canadians weren’t being pumped full of fear.” In a speech he gave after the release of Bowling for Columbine, he tells his audience to turn off the TV. Perhaps Moore has the causal connection backwards: American news broadcasts more show violence than Canadian broadcasts because there is more violence to report. This being so, wouldn’t it be irresponsible for news broadcasts to omit such stories? 15. Some of the ammunition used in the Columbine shooting was legally purchased from the local K-Mart store. Moore and two of the victims approach K-Mart executives requesting that the stop selling ammunition. K-Mart agreed. What might have been behind K-Mart’s reasoning? 16. Moore notes that Canadians lock their doors less than Americans. One Canadian stated, “You’d think as Americans that the lock is keeping people out of your place. We as Canadians see it more as when we lock the doors we imprison ourselves inside.” Is locking our doors a self-imposed restriction on our liberty, and, if so, is that worse or better than the restriction of our liberties through gun control? 17. Discussing the American tendency towards violence, one Canadian states, “Everybody reacts over there just like that; they just don’t stop and think. Their first reaction is pull the gun on them; you’re on my property.” This is clearly an overgeneralization, since most Americans do not own guns and in fact call the police to resolve issues. Do governments have responsibilities to root out the hotheads? 18. Moore felt that, since Canadians have as many guns as we do, there must be some other reason for the high level of gun killings in the United States. However, it seems that Moore’s comparison neglected some key variables, such as types of weapons available, typical gun owners, rural vs. urban usage. A standard explanation for much gun violence is a combination of poverty, unsupervised youth, drug abuse, and easy availability of guns. Is this better or worse than Moore’s “culture of fear” explanation? 19. Discussing the school shooting of a six year old girl in Flint Michigan, Moore suggests that part of the problem was Michigan’s “Welfare to Work” program which the shooter’s single mother was participating in. Specifically, she had to travel an hour and a half to work every day to pay off the welfare. What are the pros and cons of the Welfare to Work program? from www.philfilms.utm.edu/1/bowling.htm |
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Post by missmcgrory on Dec 1, 2011 14:30:02 GMT
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Post by missmcgrory on Dec 2, 2011 12:03:45 GMT
Narrative Codes
Binary oppositions
Gun opponents vs NRA
Michael Moore vs Charlton Heston
Rational vs irrational/insane
Victims of gun crime vs Charlton Heston
How are these binary oppositions established?
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Post by missmcgrory on Dec 2, 2011 12:04:00 GMT
Representations
Stereotypes used in the film?
Moore: Everyday Guy
America: Gun nuts – Racist, Paranoid!
Gun users: crazy
Canada: reasonable, sensible, superior to America
The media: heartless, insensitive, ruthless
Charlton Heston: heartless, insensitive, inflexible, doesn’t want to listen to Moore’s arguments:
Moore keeps showing a clip of Heston saying “from my cold, dead hands” at an NRA rally immediately after reports of school shootings. This has the effect of making him appear insensitive. Moore interviews Heston and starts by pretending to be on his side, saying he is a member of the NRA, then starts aggressively challenging him about his views. This is unfair as it make it seem like Heston is being inflexible, but he was under a lot of stress at the time, having been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Moore edits footage of Heston walking, to make it appear that he is ignoring Moore’s pleas to look at the photo of Kayla, the little girl who was shot. This makes Heston look like he doesn’t care.
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Post by missmcgrory on Dec 2, 2011 12:05:03 GMT
1. Tone is created by: Word-choice, dialogue, narration, non diegetic soundtrack, camera shots, captions, lighting, technical and cultural codes. 2. Tones: Serious, light-hearted, humorous, conversational, informal, dramatic, exciting, scary, solemn, sombre, depressing, ironic, sarcastic. Watch the following key scenes and describe the tone and how it is established: 1. Opening Scene: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxbRm2dS1F8 Notes: informal, conversational tone when describing “typical day” scenarios over idyllic shots. To start with, the words match the images, so we trust him before he says more controversial things. Ironic tone/elements of dark humour/sarcasm: “the US president bombed another country we couldn’t pronounce the name of” – mocking Americans for violence and ignorance. This is continued with the image of bikini girl posing with gun. The suggestion of this image is that America sexualises violence. There is then a dissolve transition to the image of the statue of liberty. The position of the woman and the statue have been similar (this is called a graphic match) so she seems to BECOME the statue of liberty. His vision of America is skewed. Patriotic music – we realise this is ironic when he begins criticising America. 2. Montage: www.youtube.com/watch?v=865Onxt9H2M&feature=related(6:09) Notes: Dramatic tone, bitter, ironic. Ironic use of music intended to shock the audience. Any light heartedness is removed completely in final section as 9/11 footage too serious and sensitive an issue to joke about, so the music stops. The move from non-diegetic to diegetic sound contributes to the gravitas/dramatic impact of the scene. Also consider purpose here. The montage actually makes connections that aren’t there and makes them seem reasonable. The chronological order of the sequence and the classic typescript/font gives a sense of authenticity to the montage, so we believe that these things are all connected in the way that Moore is suggesting. 3. Tamarla Owens (03:15) 4. Same clip: (07:31) Bush as Hitler Image and Sound = ?
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Post by missmcgrory on Dec 2, 2011 12:06:45 GMT
Modes
(Styles or sub-genres of documentary)
1. Expository
2. Observational
3. Interactive
4. Reflexive
5. Performative
1. Expository
The film maker creates a strong preferred reading by directly addressing the audience. It often uses voice-of-god narration or captions over a montage edit of images.
Opening scenes
Observational Mode
The observational mode appears to let the audience make up their own mind often through a fly-on-the wall aesthetic. The audience simply observes from an apparently neutral position. This mode lays claim to presenting some kind of ultimate truth.
“Observing” the media following the death of Kayla
Interactive Mode
The interactive mode is created when we witness the film maker interact with his/her subject. It places great significance on the testimony of witnesses and finding out from the involved parties. Another key strength for the film maker is it allows them to structure the evidence through the questions asked.
Interviews
Going to the bank etc
Reflexive Mode
In the reflexive mode the film maker draws attention to the means of production e.g. the process of making the film, the camera crew and film maker are, in part, the subjects of the documentary. This admission of the construction at work connotes honesty on the part of the film maker: “look, here are the smoke and mirrors.” It can make the film seem spontaneous/disorganised, which makes you believe to must all be true and the film maker is not manipulative. Reflexive may simply involve the sight of a boom microphone or a camera in shot.
K-Mart spoiled footage
Performative Mode
The most ‘creative’ of the modes. Performative documentary deflects attention away from the subject and towards the expressive dimension of the film. That is, reference to the subject is marginalised and the creative capacities of the film are emphasised.
Moore’s made up cop show
South Park-esque cartoon
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Post by missmcgrory on Dec 2, 2011 12:07:19 GMT
Bowling for Columbine: Form
Film is an unusual form for a documentary. The reasons Michael Moore used this form relate to purpose and institutions.
Purpose
Profit:
If Moore had made a TV documentary it would have had to be sold to a TV channel, so Moore’s profits would not be as high.
Persuasion:
Unlike a TV programme, no interruption by adverts, so the audience is entirely focussed on the film with no distractions.
Institutions
Internal Institution: Michael Moore
The production company ‘Dog Eat Dog’ is owned by Michael Moore.
Moore is the writer, director and producer. There is no-one else to question his ideas!
As owner of Dog Eat Dog, Moore makes all the decisions regarding funding.
The budget for BFC was $4,000,000.
Moore’s authorial stamp:
1.“ordinary guy” persona,
2. use of montage,
3. ambushing authority figures/opponents.
External Institution: The Law
Film makers must be careful what they say and avoid being sued for libel. Examples of where Moore avoids saying something controversial? He often uses rhetorical questions and implies certain ideas rather than stating them outright – can you think of any examples?
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Post by Aidans table on Dec 3, 2011 15:10:12 GMT
Bowling for Columbine Notes.
-Purpose: To Persuade
Moore uses different techniques to persuade the audience. When Moore edits the bank scene to make it look like he went in to the bank one day and got a gun, however this is filmed over several visits. Moore wears the same clothes which makes it look like it was all in one day. It persuades the audience and shows them how easy it is to get a gun in America.
‘Seeing is believing’ the audience accept what they see on the screen to be true, though it is edited to fit the film maker’s vision. This is how representations are created. There are a number of techniques documentary makers can us to make their film seem like it is not edited e.g. shaky camera, apparently non scripted interviews and use of fact figures and statistics.
Examples:
Charlton Heston walking away
The bank scene
The spoiled footage as they go to K MART
-Tone: Serious, light hearted, humorous
There are several tones used in BFC. Its created by word-choice, dialogue, narration, non diegetic soundtrack, camera shots, captions, lighting, technical and cultural codes. The opening scene uses a light hearted tone as there is an upbeat song being played (Glory, glory, hallelujah). It also has a informal conversational tone. Also there is an ironic tone and elements of dark humour and sarcasm when Moore says ‘the US president bombed countries he didn’t know the name of’. He also mocks America for their violence and ignorance.
Another tone used is angry, in the scene where is shows George Bush. The soundtrack helps create this tone as it is upbeat and meant to sound military (Americana). The soundtrack also sounds aggressive. George Bush is also shown looking like he is doing a Nazi salute and you make the link between him and Hitler.
-Form: Documentary film
Film is an unusual form for a documentary. The reasons Michael Moore used this form is to relate to the purpose of profit. If Michael Moore had made a TV documentary it would have had to be sold to a TV channel, so Moore’s profits wouldn’t be as high. Also unlike a TV programme, no interruption by adverts, so the audience is entirely focused on the film with no distractions.
Institutions
Internal institution – Michael Moore
- The production company ‘Dog Eat Dog’ is owned by Michael Moore.
- Moore is the writer, director and producer. There is no one else to question his ideas.
- As owner of Dog Eat Dog, Moore makes all the decisions regarding funding.
- The budget for BFC was $4,000,000
Moore’s authorial stamp
1) ‘ordinary guy’ persona- jeans, baseball cap, blue t-shirt and his informal tone
2) Use of montage- includes the montage of masacars America has been involved in.
3) Ambushing authority figures- when Moore ambushes Dick Clarke and when he just turns up at K-Mart.
External Institutions – The Law
Film makers must be careful what they say and avoid being sued for libel. Examples where Moore avoids saying something controversial is the cartoon when it shows the KKK and the NRA being linked. He often uses rhetorical questions.
‘isn’t it a bit dangerous handing out guns at a bank’
-Genre: Documentary
Genre markers used in BFC are: information (facts, figures and statistics), narration/voice over, real life/ true stories, not scripted, montage and interviews.
No script: For most of the dialogue it does not seem rehearsed. For example, when Moore interviews Charlton Heston it is clear he is taken aback by Moore’s questions.
Voice over: Moore narrates sections of the film for example the opening sequence is narrated.
Information: Facts, figures and statistics. Historical information about conflicts America has been involved in is included in the text. Statistics are included when Moore gives the number of gun related deaths in various countries.
Narrator/ Presenter: Michael Moore presents and narrates the entire film. He is also the writer and director. He uses casual dress, informal language and humour to create a presenting style that will appeal to the target audience.
Elements of real life/ true stories: we are shown this when we see the CCTV footage from Columbine High School.
Interviews: When Moore interviews Charlton Heston, the school teacher, Trey Parker, Marlon Manson and Timothy Mcbay
Montage: There is a montage of footage from all the conflicts and masacars America was involved in.
Modes:
-Expository
-Observational
- Interactive
-Reflexive
-Performative
- Expository
The film maker creates a strong preferred reading by directly addressing the audience. It often uses voice-of-god narration or captions over a montage edit of images. For example in the opening scene.
-Observational Mode
The observational mode appears to let the audience make up their own mind often through a fly-on-the wall aesthetic. The audience simply observes from an apparently neutral position. This mode lays claim to presenting some kind of ultimate truth.
-Interactive Mode
The interactive mode is created when we witness the film maker interact with his/her subject. It places great significance on the testimony of witnesses and finding out from the involved parties. Another key strength for the film maker is it allows them to structure the evidence through the questions asked. For example when Moore interviews Charlton Heston.
-Reflexive Mode
In the reflexive mode the film maker draws attention to the means of production e.g. the process of making the film, the camera crew and film maker are, in part, the subjects of the documentary. This admission of the construction at work connotes honesty on the part of the film maker: “look, here are the smoke and mirrors.” It can make the film seem spontaneous/disorganised, which makes you believe to must all be true and the film maker is not manipulative. Reflexive may simply involve the sight of a boom microphone or a camera in shot. For example the K Mart spoiled footage.
-Performative Mode
The most ‘creative’ of the modes. Performative documentary deflects attention away from the subject and towards the expressive dimension of the film. That is, reference to the subject is marginalised and the creative capacities of the film are emphasised. For example the South Park esque cartoon and the made up cop show.
-Representations : Stereotypes
Moore – Everyday man: This is shown when he goes into the bank and asks how to spell Caucasian, also the fact he is wearing a baseball cap, jeans and baggy t-shirt and he is unshaven.
Americans- Gun nuts, paranoid and racist: This is shown when we are shown the part that laws has made gun ownership mandatory. Americans could also be shown as racist as the cop show only focuses on black criminals.
Canada- responsible: when it tells us that Canada’s gun crime rate is much lower than Americas and that they don’t lock their doors.
The Media- heartless: When we see the news reporter talking about the 6year old shooting the little girl, he shows emotion when the cameras are rolling and then switches off and starts demanding hairspray and being insensitive. Moore also tells us it only took the media half an hour to be there.
Charlton Heston-heartless: Moore keeps showing a clip of Heston saying ‘from my cold hands’ at an NRA rally immediately after reports of school shootings. This has the effect of making him appear insensitive. Moore interviews Heston and starts pretending to be on his side saying he is a member of the NRA, and then starts aggressively challenging him about his views. This is unfair as it makes it seem like Heston is being inflexible, but he was under a lot of stress at the time, having been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Moore edits the footage of Heston walking away, to make it look that Heston is ignoring Moore’s pleas to look at the photo of the little girl who was shot. This makes Heston look like he doesn’t care.
-Binary Oppositions
Gun opponents Vs. Gun law
Moore Vs. Charlston Heston
Canada Vs. America
Rational Vs. Irrational/ insane
Victims of gun crime Vs. Charlston Heston
Aidan, suzanne, lauren, stuart, sarah & katy's table
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Post by Ryan Nelson on Dec 4, 2011 15:26:44 GMT
Modes
Performative mode- The most creative of the modes, performative docementry deflects attention away from the subject and towards the expensive dimension of the flim that is, refrence to the creative capacties of the flim are emphasied
Expostory- The flim maker creates a strong prefered reading by directly addressing the audience. it often voice-of-God or captions over a montage edit of images
Observational- appers to to let the audience make up their own mind often thourgh fly on the wall aesthetic the audience simply obersvers from an apperentlyto natural position, this mode claims to presentating some kind of ulimate trurth
Interactive- Is created when we witness the flim maker interact with his/her subject it places great sighisiceance on the tesimory of witness and finding out from the involved parties another key strenth for the flim maker is it allows them to structure the edivence thourgh the question asked
Reflexive- In the relexive mode the flim maker draws attention to the means of production e.g the process of making the flim, the camera crew and flim maker, in part, the subjects of the docementry this adimidatration of the construction at work. honestly on the part of the flim maker 'Look, here are the smoke and mirrors'. it can make the flim seem spontoneuous, disorganised, which makes you belive to must all be true and the flim maker is not manipulative, reflexive may simply involed the sight of a boom mircophone or camera in shot
Genre
BFC is a docemetry flim and we know this by the facts, voice over, satistics, montage, interview, non- scipted, informal, presenter, narrator and options
Purpose
The porpose of BFC is to presurade and morre does this thourgh manipulative fliming like the bank scene to make you think he got the gun on the same day. morre put as a flim becuase thre would not be any interruptions to the audience
Tone
Is created by word choice, dialogue, natrration, non diegetic music, sound track etc. types of tone serious, light hearted, humous, conversational, informal dramatic, excitng scarcy, solemn and depressing. Some tone of the key scece in BFC are Informal. In the opening scece there a voice over saying 'it looked liked any other morning in american'. A another tone in BFC is angry. It created by the serious miltary drum music in the background shot of bush which makes him look like hitler and shot of him giving an angry looking spech.
Form
Flim is an unusal form of docementry the reasons micheal moore used this form relate to pupose and insitutions
Insitutions
Internal insitutions- Micheal moore, the production comany dog eats dog which is owned by moore, moore is the writer, director and producer there is no one else to question his ideas. As he is the ower of of dog eat dog he controls the funding. the budgets for BFC was 4 000 000
External insitution- Flim makers must be careful what they say and avoid being sued for libel, examples where moore avoids saying something contervatinol he often retorical questions and inplies certain ideas.
Representations
Media- created by being heartless like the reported doesn't seem to cared about the little girl who was shot
American- every american that is interview had a gun or haf to do something with a gun
Charlton Heston- moore keeps showng a clip of heston 'from my cold dead hands' at a NRA rally staraight after reports of school shottings this has the effect of making him apper insentive, moore interview heaston and starts by pretending to be on his side saying that he is a member of the NRA, then starts agressivly challgeing his views. this is unfair as it seem that heston is unflexible, but he was under a lot of stress at the time, being dianosed with terminal cancer. moore edits footage of heaston walking to make it apper that he is ignorging moore's plaas to look at the photo of Kayla the liitle girl was shot look like heasto does'nt care
Crazy people- There are created by when interview they talk nonsense like james nicols says the pen is more effective than the sword but you should keep the sword in case the pen fails also james shows moore the gun under the bed and puts to his head
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Post by melaniegormley on Dec 4, 2011 20:41:38 GMT
Bowling For Columbine notes
Purpose- to persuade
" Seeing is believing " - the audience except what they see on screen to be true, though all films are heavily eddited to fit the film makers vision. This is how representation is created. There are a number of techniques documentary makers can use to make their film seem like it is not edited e.g shakey camera, apparently non - scripted interviews, use of statistics. Moore persuades the audience using different techniques. He edits the bank scene to make it look like he was able to walk into the bank and come out the same day with a gun. He wears the same clothes to make it look like its the same day but actually it would of taken days to get the gun. The scene is shortr which makes it look like a quick procees. He is showing you how easy it is to get a gun, persuading the audience to think this.More examples of this would be when chalton heston walks away- the use of camera, the media coming across not very nice or caring and the ruined footage in the k mart scene.
Form - documentary film
Film is an unusual form for an documtary. The reasons Michael Moore used this form relate to purpose and institutions. If he had made a tv documentary it would have had to be sold to a tv channel, so Moore's profit would not be so high. Unlike a tv programme, no interuption by adverts. the audience will be entirely focused on the film with no distractions.
Institutions
internal institutions : Michael Moore
-The production company 'Dog Eat Dog' is owned by Michael Moore.
-Moore is the writer, director and producer, there is no one else to question his ideas.
-As owner of 'Dog Eat Dog', moore mekes all the decisions regarding funding.
- the budget for Bowling for columbine was $4,000,000
Moore's authorial stamp
1- " Ordinary guy " persona - In the bank scene when he wears jeans, t-shirt and a cap. He is asking to spell words he would know ,like caucasian and using informal language.
2- Use of montage - the scenes showing the massacers america has been involved in.
3- Ambushing authority figures - When he tries to speak to dick clark as he is getting in the car. When he goes to K mart with the columbine victums.
External institutions : the law
Film makers must be careful what they say and avoid being sued for libel. Example when where Moore uses controversial is when he shows the cartoon saying the NRA and the KKK being linked. When he talks about bowling having anything to do with the columbine murders. He often uses rhetorical Questions for example when he asks " Isnt it dangerous keeping guns in a bank"
Tone
Tone is created by word choice, dialogue, narration, non-diagetic soundtrack, captions, lighting, camara shots, technical and cultural codes. There is many tones in Bowling for columbine, for example serious, light hearted and humerous. -The opening scene uses a light hearted tone as there is an upbeat song being played, Glory, glory, hallelujah. -There is an informal, conversational tone when describing 'typical day' scenarios over idyllic shots. To start with , the words match the images , so we trust him before he says more controversial things.
-Ironic tone/elements of dark humour/ sarcasum " the US president bombed another country we could'nt pronounce the name of" maching americans for violence and ignorance. This is continued with the image of bikini girl posing with a gun. The suggestion of this image is tahty america sexuaises violence. There is a dissolved transition to the image of the statue of liberty. The position of the woman and the statue have been simmilar.
Genre: documentary
Genre markers
-interviews - The interview with charlton heston
-Presentor/ narrator- Michael Moore
-Voice overs - Michael moore uses a voice over in the opening scene
-information charts, facts statistics- conflicts that have involved america and the amount of people that have died of gun related deaths in the different countries.
-non scripted- when he interviews charlton heston, it is clever that charlton heston is taken aback by the questions.
- montage- all the conflicts and massacers that america has been invoved with.
-Elements based on real life/ true stories- the footage from columbine.
Modes
1- Expository- the film maker creates a strong prefered reading by directly addressing the audience. It often uses voice of god narration or captions over a montage edit of images.
examples from film- in the opening scene there is an example of expository because you are shown images with images over it , the images match the narration.
2- Observational- the observational mode appears to let the audience make up there own mind often through a fly on the wall aesthetic. The audience simply abserves from an apparently neural position. This mode lays claim to presenting some kind of ultimate truth.
Examples from film- the news readers shown as off camara being different from on camera.
3-Interactive- the interactive mode is created when we witness the film maker interact with his/her subject. It places great significance on the testimy of witness and finding out from the involved parties. Another key strength for the film maker is it allows them to structure the evidence through the questions asked.
Examples from film- when he tries to interview Dick clark when he is getting in the car. When he interviews charlton heston, marlyn manson, Tray parker, the teacher from the little girl shooting, at the bank and when he interview the police.
4-Reflexive mode - in the reflexive mode the film maker draws the attention to the means of production, e.g the process of making the film, the camera crew and film maker , in part, the subjects of the documentary. this admission of the construction at work connots honesty on the part of the film maker: " look, here are the smoke and mirrors". It can make the film seem spontaneous/ disorganised, which makes you believe it must all be true and the film maker is not manipulative. Reflexive may simply involve the sight of a boom mirophone or a camera in shot.
Examples from filom- when they confront k-mart , the spoiled footage.
5- Performative- The most 'creative' of the modes. Preformative documentary deflects attention away from the subject and towards the expressive dimension of the film, that is, reference to the subjects is marginalised and the creative capacities of the film are emphasied.
Examples from the film- Moore,s made up cop show, south park- esque cartoon.
Representations
Moore- When he is in the bank his clothes are casual , t-shirt , jeans and a cap. This shows us he is an ordinary guy. Also when he asks to spell caucasian . He is also overweight and has not shaved. He also shows home videos to show he is an ordinary guy.
Gun owners- When he visits James nickles . The guy shows him his gun and is shown to put it to his head which shows he is crazy.
america- When he talks to the guy who made cops, they are shown as racist because they are saying black people is always to blame.
Cananda- They are shown as sensible with guns becuse the amount of deaths is lower. they also leave ther doors open and dont care.
The media - they are shown heartless because when thay are off camara they are not caring becase all they can talk about hair spray. Also the fact they turned up half an hour after the shooting.
Charlton Heston- When moore asks him the question he is shown walking not answering the question, this makes him look heartless and not caring about what moore has tro say.
Binary oppositions
- America vs Canada
- Moore vs charlton heston
- Gunopponents vs NRA
- Rational vs irrational/ insane
- victims of gun crime vs charlton heston
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Post by missmcgrory on Dec 5, 2011 9:34:48 GMT
One table missing.....
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Post by Rheannan Brown on Dec 5, 2011 9:46:01 GMT
The purpose is to persuade.
The techniqus used for this are editing in the bank scene-lookslike it has all been doen on the same day as he si the same close and the events are in sequennce. when charlton heston is interviewed it is edited to seem like he walking away from the picture of Kayla.
Audience trust him- Moore has an ordinary guy persona - he has casual clothes, shorts t-shirt baseball cap, looks scruffy with a beard and glasses and is slighty over weight.
He uses in formal launguage such as 'prettty much' and pretends not how to know how to spell cocasian.
Genre - documentry film
He choose to do a documentry film as it woudl to the overall purpose as there would eb no interuptuions to the film compared to if he had sold it to a tv show where he woudl have lost a profit.
The genre markers for thsi film are interviews, director/presentor,voice-overs/narration,facts and figures/information,non-script and montage.
Examples- Charloton Heston ,Maryln Manson and Trey Parker are interviewed.
Moore directs and presents.
Voice over - he narrates the openign scence
Information- the conflicts in America
Non script- when moore interviews Charlton Heston he seems taken aback with his questions.
Montage - the opening scence, the images e.g the milk man doing his chores.
Modes-Expository-used in the openign scence, the narrartion matches the images, teh milk man doing his chores.
Observational - the news reader after the 6 year old girl Kayla shootign he talks about hairspray and the technical difficulity.
Interactice- when moore interviews Charlton Heston, Maryln Manson and Trey Parker.
Refelxive- the spoled footage - too much light gets into the lense makign it hard to see when they walk into k-mart.
Performative-Moores made up show;corrprut cops and the south park esque cartoon.
Institiuations- moore is an internal instituation as he, owns the productions company (dog-eat-dog). he makes all the decsions regardign funding, he is the writer director and producer. he set the budget of 4 million.
Authorial stamp- his ordinary guy persona set by his costume, jeans t-short baseball cap glasses and scruffy look by beard and weight. His informal use of language ; pretty much.
Use of montage - the american envolvement in violence.
ambushing authority figures- k-mart and dick clark.
External - The law - Moore had to be careful about what he said to avoid be suid for libel. Links between the NRA and the KKK - the use of sacrastic humor in the cartoon.
Tone - some used in bfc are seriuos, lightheated,humerous,conversational,informal,dramtic,solem,ironic and dpressing and exciting.
the opening scene- has an informal/lighthearted tone as in the montage the words match the images. the informal dialogue.the ironic patroic music, cheery and celbraty.
sacrastic/dark humor - 'a typical day in the united states of america'.....'we bombed a counrty we didnt know the name of'
The montage scene - has a formal and serious tone - The ironic use of music- wonderful world with tragic events.
its a chronologial time line of tragic events with america envovelment.Real images with real people.
any light heartedness is removed when the final section of the 9/11 footage is shown as it is too seriuos and a very sensitive issue to joke about so the music stops. the move from non-diagetic to diagetic sound contibutes to teh dramatic impact of the scene.
Representations - sterotypes
Moore- every day guys- jeans,t-shirt,baseball cap, overweight,glasses and scruffy beard.
America- Gun nuts, paranoid and racist- Black people accused of doing most crime.
the house with all the re-ernforcements in it'an axe woudl get through it.'
boy wanting to be number one on the bomb threat list.
Montage of gun owners, the blnd guy obbsesed with guns.
Canada- resonable, sensible, supieror to America- they all trust each other and leave their door unlocked. the comaprion between detriot and canada when they are right next to each other.
The media - heartless,insestive and ruthless.-the interviewer talk about hair spray and shouts at his technical team then puts on a sad face for teh interview.
Charlton Heston - insensitive, inflexible and doesnt want to listen to moores arguaments- the manipuliative editing shows Heston walking away from Kaylas picture. he is shown at two pro NRA gun rallies after two major masicures, Columbibine and Kayla, and the same piece of speach is shown 'From my cold dead hands' shows him to be insensitve.
From Rheannan, Bex, Melanie and Caitlins group x
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Post by missmcgrory on Dec 5, 2011 13:29:41 GMT
Narrative Codes
Binary oppositions
Gun opponents vs NRA
Moore’s sensible line of questioning e.g. ‘is it not a little dangerous handing out gins in a bank?’ etc. contrasts with sexualisation of gun culture e.g. militia babes etc
Michael vs Charlton
Moore takes a scene from one of Heston’s movies and edits it to include images of Moore pointing a gun, as if to imply they are having a shoot out. This establishes them as enemies.
Rational vs irrational
As a representative of gun owners, Moore speaks to James Nichols, brother of Terry Nichols, who was an extremist involved in the Oklahoma City Bombings. Throughout the interview, Nichols discusses his involvement in terrorist activity and bomb making. He has unusually wide eyes and often speaks in a nonsensical manner e.g. ‘the pen is mightier than the sword, but you should always HAVE a sword’ etc. He also shows Moore that he has a gun under his pillow. At one point, he cocks the gun and holds it to his temple. We hear Moore plead with him to put it down. This establishes Moore, the gun-opponent as RATIONAL and Nichols, the gun user as IRRATIONAL and dangerous.
Victims of gun crime vs. Charlton Heston
Moore interviews a very ill Charlton Heston and launches an attack on the actor and NRA chairman. After initially pretending to be a ‘friend’ by showing his NRA membership card, Moore reveals himself to be a ‘foe’ by aggressively interrogating him about the dangers of gun culture in USA. Heston ends the interview and Moore edits the sequence of Heston walking away to make him appear heartless. He includes shots of himself holding a photo of Kayla, a 5 year old victim of gun crime, pleading with Heston to “look at her picture”. The editing makes it appear as if Heston is just walking away. This establishes the binary opposition between Heston/the NRA and victims of gun crime.
Enigma Codes
1. Why are guns so freely available in the US? (E.g. barbers, banks etc)
2. Will K-Mart accept responsibility and stop selling bullets?
3. What are the causes of school shootings? (Columbine High School, Kayla) How does bowling come into it?
4. Why is gun crime so high in America?
5. Why does Canada not have the same problems as America?
6. What are the social problems related to gun crime in America? E.g. fear, paranoia, related to racism, poverty etc)
7. Will the NRA ever accept that they are in the wrong/How will Heston react to being challenged about his views?
*Describe a scene where this enigma code is established*
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