Fish Tank & WNTTAK: Revision Guide
British Film since 1995 (WNTTAK & FT)
- Film Form
- Meaning & Response
- Contexts
- Narrative
- Ideology
https://jordanilanjcossfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2018/11/fish-tank-andrea-arnold-article.html -> Article on Andrea Arnold, some of her methods she uses in her films which impacts her narrative approach
https://jordanilanjcossfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2018/11/fish-tank-wnttak-narrative-film-theories.html -> Narrative Film Theories Detailed
https://jordanilanjcossfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2018/11/fish-tank-wnttak-narrative-theories.html -> More Narrative Theories detailed (inc. Oedipal Trajectory etc)
https://jordanilanjcossfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2018/11/suture.html -> Concept of Suture + FT example
https://jordanilanjcossfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2018/11/fish-tank-wnttak-ideology.html -> Feminist ideology explained + Freud's Theories
Narrative Theories:
- Formalism (distinction between story & plot)
- Structuralism (conception of binary opposites)
- Conflict
- Propp: Character Types (Villain, helper, princess/prize, her father, the donor, hero, false hero, dispatcher)
- Todorov's Equilibrium Theory (1. Equilibrium, 2. Disruption of equilibrium by an event, 3. Realisation disruption occurred, 4. Attempt to repair damage, 5. Restoration of equilibrium)
- Action + Enigma Codes
- 3 Act Structure (Setup, Confrontation, Resolution)
- The Hero's Journey
- The Oedipal Trajectory
Ideology:
- Feminism (Male gaze, Scopophilia, Representation/expectation of women)
- Class
Questions commonly link narrative & ideology together, need to include both in any essay question. Start paragraph analysing key scene, link it to the narrative and then the ideology that the directors have been presenting
How useful has an ideological critical approach been in understanding the narrative resolution of your chosen films?
- Understanding that narrative resolutions will have ideological implications - discussed in terms of how conventional the narrative resolution of the film is.
- Discussion of how the ideologies conveyed by the film inform the resolution (expressed in terms of key representations or issues raised by the film)
- Reference that ideologies are not always intended by filmmakers
- Conclusion that ideological analysis has been significant in understanding the narrative resolutions of the two films.
- May recognise how far narrative resolutions either confirm or challenge dominant ideologies.
https://jordanilanjcossfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2018/12/fish-tank-ideology-narrative-essay.html -> Ideology & Narrative Essay for Fish Tank
Narrative:
- The use of flashbacks and parallelism in the structure of the film can be usefully explored. The film begins in the aftermath of the massacre, then flashes back to the events leading up to the massacre (including flashbacks to the beginnings of Franklin and Eva’s relationship). The complex inter-relationship of narrative timelines culminates in the massacre itself and then flashes forward to the meeting between Eva and Kevin one year after the killings. The effects of this complex structuring of time in the plot can be usefully explored by considering the opportunities it affords the storyteller for showing parallels between characters and events, and in raising questions about cause and effect.
• How exposition of the narrative occurs in the film can be an interesting source of inquiry. We are presented with fractured elements of a story at the beginning that we have to piece together with little indication of how to organise these into a chronological framework of time and space. The difficulty of doing this is compounded by the fact that there is a lack of expositional dialogue and conventional establish of narrative setting. The first three scenes are the net curtains blowing in the wind, the tomato festival and Eva waking up which all occur in very different places and times (which we discover later) but how we can organise these scenes into a story is restricted from us until much later in the film.
• Eva’s and Kevin’s characters provide many sources for inquiry, particularly in their position within the narrative. The questions about who is the film’s protagonist and antagonist, who is the ‘centre’ or initiator of the drama and how we are supposed to respond to the characters is complex and ambiguous at times. This complexity of character identification and function within the narrative is further complicated by the use of mirroring. The characters are made to look like each other and often display very similar expressions and body language… frequent graphic matches force a further comparison which suggests characters that are connected in more ways than simply a mother-son relationship.
Formalism: We Need To Talk About Kevin is the story of Kevin from birth to adulthood. However the non-linear narrative structure of events, seen from Kevin's mothers point of view provides a very different experience for audiences.
WNTTAK challenges notion of ideal nuclear family & suggests lack of communication & failure to express feelings to one another may be part of cause of problems within the average family
WNTTAK Questions:
- What do Eva & Franklin sacrifice in order to have children?
- On the rare occasions all 4 members of Eva's family are together, how do they interact? Who seems to be 'in charge'?
- What important things do Eva's family not do that might have led them to falling apart?
- How has Kevin changed in the final scene? Consider costumes, make-up, acting, plot & dialogue
- What answers do Eva, the film or any other character offer in explanation for Kevin's violent acts?
https://jordanilanjcossfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2018/12/wnttak-ending-scene-paragraph.html -> Paragraph on Narrative resolution in WNTTAK
Feminist Ideology:
A Feminist approach:
- By looking at an avowedly feminist filmmaker who attempts to make a film that embodies/presents/uses any of the central tenets of feminist thought. Usually avant-garde works or genuine 'independent films' since to make something within mainstream cinema is to be confined by the patriarchal studio system. These films will have female protagonists & themes & will challenge representations & critique conventional attitudes.
- Approach adopted by feminist scholars in 'recuperating' or 're-validating' the women's picture, the family melodrama or the musical as films enjoyed by female audiences which also reveal important ideas about women's lives & their struggles within patriarchy (see work of Christine Gledhill or Jeanine Basinger)
- Approach by feminist scholars in studying genres & films by male directors which've been assumed to targeting men & to expose the contradictions in their underlying ideologies (see work of Anne E. Kaplan (Crime/Noir), Yvonne Tasker (Action), Barbara Creed (Horror) or Annette Kuhn (Science Fiction))
- Approach by some feminist scholars which focused on theory itself & produced specific theoretical insights such as Laura Mulvey's in relation to the 'male gaze'
- Something as simple as ideas or subversions that contemporary female filmmakers bring to their films
- Learners will be required to analyse usefulness of applying a critical approach
- Implication= film viewed somewhat innocently before being critically interrogated
- Result of interrogation = greater understanding & insight into the film's complexities
How useful has an ideological critical approach been in understanding binary oppositions in the narratives of your chosen films?
- Discussion of binary oppositions in whatever form they may appear in the chosen films (include opposing characters, ideas, representations, mise-en-scène)
- Understanding that binary oppositions in whatever form are rooted in ideologies, which will be revealed through applying an ideological critical approach
- Consideration of the way binary oppositions are developed and resolved, which will have ideological implications
- Conclusion that an ideological critical approach provides understanding of the ideological nature of film.
- May show how the films' ideologies either reinforce or challenge dominant ideologies.
How binary oppositions & conflict operate in Fish Tank?
- Dramatic tension centres around conflict; Mia's struggle for freedom conflicts with her environment & circumstances
- Joanne's struggles as a single mum & her need for love/happiness conflict with her role as a mother & leads to neglect
- Narrative patterning indicated in cinematography when Mia & then Joanne are framed in a wide-shot, looking outside balcony
- Connor's own secrets & circumstances lead to the ambivalent role he plays in Mia's life -> creates psychological intensity & insight
- Binary oppositions emerge through Connor's presence & the absence of Mia's real dad
- Music becomes a pivotal narrative device in developing plot & character (Mia goes to an abandoned flat to express herself when dancing)
- When Mia, Tyler & Joanne dance at the end, music contributes to the narrative's attempt to bring resolution
- Fish Tank resists stereotyping characters like Mia and Joanne. Mia’s character is complex and the film resists representing her as a rebellious youth who is destructive and careless without developing her character and exploring her emotions.
- Having a female director brings a new perspective to the social themes and representations of youth, gender, family life and parenting.
- Fish Tank challenges dominant views and ideologies of youth as difficult or deviant and steers the spectator to see events from Mia’s perspective.
- Arnold’s representation of Mia enables the film’s resolution to be hopeful and positive, in spite of its strong realism and complex circumstances.
https://jordanilanjcossfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2018/12/fish-tank-2-paragraphs-usefulness-of.html -> Two paragraphs on binary oppositions in Fish Tank
Oedipal Trajectory:
- Notice how the scene of Connor making the tea when he first meets Mia is shot almost entirely from Mia's perspective (via the over-the-shoulder shot)
- This renders Connor as object and Mia as subject. It's her gaze & gaze of spectator that falls on Connor. She operates as a diegetic audience through which we look at Connor, whilst simultaneously identifying with her as subject
- Mia also gazes upon her mother as she dances provocatively in her underwear. In this still, the mother is framed almost as a mirror. In an Oedipal reading, Mia is desirous of her mother, yet, knowing this to be socially taboo, turns instead to a father figure (both her 'step father' & potential mate)
2nd shot: The next shot is a close-up profile of Mia - no reverse shot. This is typical of a number of sequences between Mia and Connor
3rd shot: Are we being sutured into the film with Mia?
We Need To Talk About Kevin:
- Use of flashbacks & parallelism in structure of the film can be usefully explored. Film begins in aftermath of massacre, then flashes back to events leading up to the massacre (including flashbacks to beginnings of Franklin & Eva's relationship). Complex inter-relationship of narrative timeline culminates in massacre itself & flashes forward to meeting between Eva + Kevin one year after the killings. Effect of this complex structuring of time in the plot can be usefully explored by considering opportunities it affords the storyteller for showing parallels between characters & events, and raising questions about cause & effect
- How exposition of the narrative occurs in the film can be an interesting source of inquiry. Presented with fractured elements of a story at the beginning we have to piece together with little indication of how to organise these into a chronological framework of time & space. Difficulty of doing this is compounded by a lack of expositional dialogue & conventional establish of narrative setting. First 3 scenes are net curtains blowing in wind, tomato festival & Eva waking up which all occur in very different places & times (which we discover later) but how we can organise these scenes into a story is restricted from us until much later in the film
- Eva's & Kevin's characters provide many sources for inquiry, particularly in their position within the narrative. Questions about who is the film's protagonist & antagonist, who is the 'centre' or initiator of the drama & how we're supposed to respond to characters is complex & ambiguous at times. Complexity of character identification & function within the narrative is further complicated by use of mirroring. Characters made to look like each other & often display similar expressions & body language. Frequent graphic matches force a further comparison which suggests characters that are connected in more ways than simply a mother-son relationship
Feminist Ideology WNTTAK:
- Vision of motherhood that runs counter to everything comfortable, sweet & cozy
- Her toddler, her child is a voracious monster, demanding food & then hurling it from him in a vicious attack upon her being & senses
- Her own ambivalence about motherhood, an ambivalence that was with her from her first-born (Kevin's) very conception, a moment imagined as maliciously dividing cancer cells
- Cognitive dissonance a woman might experience when her body/life/mind/self disrupted by birth of first born -> identity no longer her own but instantly & inextricably linked to another human being's. For the rest of her life. Motherhood.
- Her pregnancy is something she can't embrace as something she has chosen for herself - rather an alien imposition upon her very being
- Motherhood still a thing that's been thrusted upon her & drowns her, smiles are a drowning woman's desperation to stay afloat, not indication of a truly, happy, natural swimmer
- Kevin's assault with ink upon her map room is not primarily an indication of Kevin's evil: indication of Eva's perception of Kevin's assault upon her own being - personal
- Kevin invades her very physical self - her belly, her breasts, her body's need for sleep
- From Kevin's conception & through her pregnancy, Eva rejects motherhood & outwardly as much as she wants to show otherwise, she rejects Kevin as her son from his birth onwards
- The film is full of her fierce attempt to maintain her identity as a free agent & disassociate herself as far as possible from the emotional, physical & mental consuming thing that is motherhood
- Film about that violent wrench in her notion of herself, of her identity, the disconnect between her perception of who she is or was as opposed to the new identity that has engulfed her.
Eva - an unreliable narrator?
- Common device in lit & film is 'unreliable narrator'
- When a book/film is narrated from one or several people's point of view, the protagonist's explanation of events can be called into question
- In film particularly, unreliable narrator can be exposed through stylised direction, acting or plot twists
- Device often used to intrigue, excite & shock the viewer & make them reconsider events they may previously consider true
- While Eva doesn't literally narrate the film, events are definitely shown from her viewpoint
- Popular film examples of unreliable narrator: Barry Lyndon, Sunset Boulevard, American Psycho, Fight Club, The Usual Suspects, Identity & The Sixth Sense
Clues in film that events are exaggerrated or over-simplified & Eva is an unreliable narrator:
- Franklin's attitude throughout the film
- Events leading to Celia's eye injury
- Kevin's manipulative & cruel behaviour from such a young-age
- Acting styles
- Mise en scene
- Eva's culpability
Ideology:
- What the film suggests about parenting and the influences of parents upon their children can be a fruitful approach to this film. Both Franklin and Eva can be described as parents who tried to be good parents but failed, in different ways, to understand and connect with their children. Both parents challenge the stereotypical roles of father and mother whilst seeming to provide well for their children, certainly in material terms. The film shows us the possible effects of parenting upon children but also raises the question of what causes dysfunction within the family.
• Eva’s character and her function within the narrative breaks the taboo subject of considering how and why women may not take to the expected role of mother ‘naturally’. Eva struggles to inhabit the role of mother and grows to hate her son which will challenge spectator expectations even in the face of Kevin’s apparent evil. The film poses the question of who is the real monster, Kevin or Eva? Another fascinating facet of this approach to the film is the ways in which Eva hates her son yet feels guilty for the affect this may have had upon him and, by extension, the deaths of the other children. Despite hating him, he is still her child.
• The film can be seen as a psychological horror that examines the nature of evil – raising questions about how evil originates, how we should deal with it and our compulsion to try to understand it and contain it. Kevin represents the discourse concerning whether evil is innate or learned and the more metaphorical, perhaps theological, question about whether evil is an objective reality or a subjective judgement. The narrative structure takes us on a journey in which we find ourselves compelled to find out the motivation of evil in an attempt to contain it, only to discover that its true nature is, perhaps, unfathomable. At the end of the film the prison guard tells us, ‘Time’s up’, and we have to leave with our questions still largely unresolved.
EXTRA NOTES:
Fish Tank explores aspects of 'growing up' within a social realist narrative
Social
• Fish Tank continues the tradition of British cinema since the 1990s with its strong focus on social issues: family, the absence of fathers and single parenting (Connor is also an absent father).
• Social class is significant: Joanne is not employed and living on a housing estate, whilst Connor is a manager who can provide money for both Mia and her family and his own, so might be regarded as marginally middle-class.
• Fish Tank focuses on social issues from the perspective of youth within an urban context (Mia is referred to a Pupil Referral Unit).
• The film examines the impact of these social issues on the characters, all of whom turn to alcohol as a means for coping.
• Fish Tank belongs to the tradition of British films since the 1990s which contribute to debates about social issues (‘broken Britain’) such as family life and unemployment in Britain, for example Brassed Off, The Full Monty, Billy Elliot, Ladybird.
Historical
• Within the film – hip-hop music/ culture; its appeal for Mia’s generation.
• Urban environment reflects life on housing estate in Essex.
• Fish Tank reflects representations of social and political issues which other films explore at the time: Harry Brown (2009), Looking for Eric (2009), Shifty (2009) Wild Bill (2010).
• Fish Tank is distinctive in developing a strong female lead from which to explore social and political issues.
We Need To Talk About Kevin explores families and the 'secrets' their harbour
Social
• Broken families and genetics ... nature or nurture. The film reflects contemporary concerns about the breakdown of the traditional family, principally because of the competing interests in having children and pursuing a career... particularly for women. Another social concern that the film explores is the debate about the nature of evil which has long been framed within the discourse between the ‘nature or nurture’ positions but has recently, particularly in Western cultures, been influenced by advances in genetic and behavioural sciences.
Historical
• High school killings and contemporary concerns regarding terrorism can be useful explored as important contextual issues surrounding this film. The film is more explicitly connected to the former concern and explores central areas of contemporary debate regarding causes and solutions for such crimes. The fact that the book struggled to get published in the wake of 9/11 added to its reputation, and that of the film, later.
Political
• Political debates about the nature of crime and punishment, particularly in regard to issues of criminal responsibility and terrorism have been frequent and intense in the UK and internationally. The question about Kevin’s criminal responsibility because of his age and family upbringing, as well as his mental state, can be usefully explored in this film. Similarly, there are interesting political debates raised by the film in the nature of Eva’s character and her relationship with Kevin. The film raises issues of a woman’s responsibilities to her children and broaches the taboo subject of a mother who doesn’t seem to like her children.
Technological
• New developments in film stock, particularly the use of Fuji Eterna 500T, gave Seamus McGarvey the ability to shoot at night and by day with the same stock which reduced costs. This stock also gave the film a very vivid look and allowed for the manipulation of contrast which was important in the film. ‘We needed a 500-speed film, because there are a lot of night scenes and interiors in low light environments,’ McGarvey explains. ‘I shot tests, including one in bright sunlight. There was a vividness that I liked. I knew I could fine tune contrast and saturation, if necessary. The ability to create and manipulate contrast was especially important in scenes when atrocities take place, and in the clapboard house at the end of the film. I wanted deep blacks and the colours to pop, while shooting in low key light.’
Institutional
• The film was principally funded by the BBC which had trouble, at times, raising the necessary funds for the high budget. A long delay in the production because of lack of funds caused Ramsay to rewrite the script so that it could be made cheaper. Ramsay says that this forced her to be more inventive and spontaneous but she also said that the support from UK Film and the BBC gave her a support network that not many other independent filmmakers have, particularly when making films in the US.
- Film Form
- Meaning & Response
- Contexts
- Narrative
- Ideology
https://jordanilanjcossfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2018/11/fish-tank-andrea-arnold-article.html -> Article on Andrea Arnold, some of her methods she uses in her films which impacts her narrative approach
https://jordanilanjcossfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2018/11/fish-tank-wnttak-narrative-film-theories.html -> Narrative Film Theories Detailed
https://jordanilanjcossfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2018/11/fish-tank-wnttak-narrative-theories.html -> More Narrative Theories detailed (inc. Oedipal Trajectory etc)
https://jordanilanjcossfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2018/11/suture.html -> Concept of Suture + FT example
https://jordanilanjcossfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2018/11/fish-tank-wnttak-ideology.html -> Feminist ideology explained + Freud's Theories
Narrative Theories:
- Formalism (distinction between story & plot)
- Structuralism (conception of binary opposites)
- Conflict
- Propp: Character Types (Villain, helper, princess/prize, her father, the donor, hero, false hero, dispatcher)
- Todorov's Equilibrium Theory (1. Equilibrium, 2. Disruption of equilibrium by an event, 3. Realisation disruption occurred, 4. Attempt to repair damage, 5. Restoration of equilibrium)
- Action + Enigma Codes
- 3 Act Structure (Setup, Confrontation, Resolution)
- The Hero's Journey
- The Oedipal Trajectory
Ideology:
- Feminism (Male gaze, Scopophilia, Representation/expectation of women)
- Class
Questions commonly link narrative & ideology together, need to include both in any essay question. Start paragraph analysing key scene, link it to the narrative and then the ideology that the directors have been presenting
How useful has an ideological critical approach been in understanding the narrative resolution of your chosen films?
- Understanding that narrative resolutions will have ideological implications - discussed in terms of how conventional the narrative resolution of the film is.
- Discussion of how the ideologies conveyed by the film inform the resolution (expressed in terms of key representations or issues raised by the film)
- Reference that ideologies are not always intended by filmmakers
- Conclusion that ideological analysis has been significant in understanding the narrative resolutions of the two films.
- May recognise how far narrative resolutions either confirm or challenge dominant ideologies.
https://jordanilanjcossfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2018/12/fish-tank-ideology-narrative-essay.html -> Ideology & Narrative Essay for Fish Tank
Narrative:
- The use of flashbacks and parallelism in the structure of the film can be usefully explored. The film begins in the aftermath of the massacre, then flashes back to the events leading up to the massacre (including flashbacks to the beginnings of Franklin and Eva’s relationship). The complex inter-relationship of narrative timelines culminates in the massacre itself and then flashes forward to the meeting between Eva and Kevin one year after the killings. The effects of this complex structuring of time in the plot can be usefully explored by considering the opportunities it affords the storyteller for showing parallels between characters and events, and in raising questions about cause and effect.
• How exposition of the narrative occurs in the film can be an interesting source of inquiry. We are presented with fractured elements of a story at the beginning that we have to piece together with little indication of how to organise these into a chronological framework of time and space. The difficulty of doing this is compounded by the fact that there is a lack of expositional dialogue and conventional establish of narrative setting. The first three scenes are the net curtains blowing in the wind, the tomato festival and Eva waking up which all occur in very different places and times (which we discover later) but how we can organise these scenes into a story is restricted from us until much later in the film.
• Eva’s and Kevin’s characters provide many sources for inquiry, particularly in their position within the narrative. The questions about who is the film’s protagonist and antagonist, who is the ‘centre’ or initiator of the drama and how we are supposed to respond to the characters is complex and ambiguous at times. This complexity of character identification and function within the narrative is further complicated by the use of mirroring. The characters are made to look like each other and often display very similar expressions and body language… frequent graphic matches force a further comparison which suggests characters that are connected in more ways than simply a mother-son relationship.
Formalism: We Need To Talk About Kevin is the story of Kevin from birth to adulthood. However the non-linear narrative structure of events, seen from Kevin's mothers point of view provides a very different experience for audiences.
WNTTAK challenges notion of ideal nuclear family & suggests lack of communication & failure to express feelings to one another may be part of cause of problems within the average family
WNTTAK Questions:
- What do Eva & Franklin sacrifice in order to have children?
- On the rare occasions all 4 members of Eva's family are together, how do they interact? Who seems to be 'in charge'?
- What important things do Eva's family not do that might have led them to falling apart?
- How has Kevin changed in the final scene? Consider costumes, make-up, acting, plot & dialogue
- What answers do Eva, the film or any other character offer in explanation for Kevin's violent acts?
https://jordanilanjcossfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2018/12/wnttak-ending-scene-paragraph.html -> Paragraph on Narrative resolution in WNTTAK
Feminist Ideology:
A Feminist approach:
- By looking at an avowedly feminist filmmaker who attempts to make a film that embodies/presents/uses any of the central tenets of feminist thought. Usually avant-garde works or genuine 'independent films' since to make something within mainstream cinema is to be confined by the patriarchal studio system. These films will have female protagonists & themes & will challenge representations & critique conventional attitudes.
- Approach adopted by feminist scholars in 'recuperating' or 're-validating' the women's picture, the family melodrama or the musical as films enjoyed by female audiences which also reveal important ideas about women's lives & their struggles within patriarchy (see work of Christine Gledhill or Jeanine Basinger)
- Approach by feminist scholars in studying genres & films by male directors which've been assumed to targeting men & to expose the contradictions in their underlying ideologies (see work of Anne E. Kaplan (Crime/Noir), Yvonne Tasker (Action), Barbara Creed (Horror) or Annette Kuhn (Science Fiction))
- Approach by some feminist scholars which focused on theory itself & produced specific theoretical insights such as Laura Mulvey's in relation to the 'male gaze'
- Something as simple as ideas or subversions that contemporary female filmmakers bring to their films
- Learners will be required to analyse usefulness of applying a critical approach
- Implication= film viewed somewhat innocently before being critically interrogated
- Result of interrogation = greater understanding & insight into the film's complexities
How useful has an ideological critical approach been in understanding binary oppositions in the narratives of your chosen films?
- Discussion of binary oppositions in whatever form they may appear in the chosen films (include opposing characters, ideas, representations, mise-en-scène)
- Understanding that binary oppositions in whatever form are rooted in ideologies, which will be revealed through applying an ideological critical approach
- Consideration of the way binary oppositions are developed and resolved, which will have ideological implications
- Conclusion that an ideological critical approach provides understanding of the ideological nature of film.
- May show how the films' ideologies either reinforce or challenge dominant ideologies.
How binary oppositions & conflict operate in Fish Tank?
- Dramatic tension centres around conflict; Mia's struggle for freedom conflicts with her environment & circumstances
- Joanne's struggles as a single mum & her need for love/happiness conflict with her role as a mother & leads to neglect
- Narrative patterning indicated in cinematography when Mia & then Joanne are framed in a wide-shot, looking outside balcony
- Connor's own secrets & circumstances lead to the ambivalent role he plays in Mia's life -> creates psychological intensity & insight
- Binary oppositions emerge through Connor's presence & the absence of Mia's real dad
- Music becomes a pivotal narrative device in developing plot & character (Mia goes to an abandoned flat to express herself when dancing)
- When Mia, Tyler & Joanne dance at the end, music contributes to the narrative's attempt to bring resolution
- Fish Tank resists stereotyping characters like Mia and Joanne. Mia’s character is complex and the film resists representing her as a rebellious youth who is destructive and careless without developing her character and exploring her emotions.
- Having a female director brings a new perspective to the social themes and representations of youth, gender, family life and parenting.
- Fish Tank challenges dominant views and ideologies of youth as difficult or deviant and steers the spectator to see events from Mia’s perspective.
- Arnold’s representation of Mia enables the film’s resolution to be hopeful and positive, in spite of its strong realism and complex circumstances.
https://jordanilanjcossfilmstudies.blogspot.com/2018/12/fish-tank-2-paragraphs-usefulness-of.html -> Two paragraphs on binary oppositions in Fish Tank
Oedipal Trajectory:
- Notice how the scene of Connor making the tea when he first meets Mia is shot almost entirely from Mia's perspective (via the over-the-shoulder shot)
- This renders Connor as object and Mia as subject. It's her gaze & gaze of spectator that falls on Connor. She operates as a diegetic audience through which we look at Connor, whilst simultaneously identifying with her as subject
- Mia also gazes upon her mother as she dances provocatively in her underwear. In this still, the mother is framed almost as a mirror. In an Oedipal reading, Mia is desirous of her mother, yet, knowing this to be socially taboo, turns instead to a father figure (both her 'step father' & potential mate)
Suture & the shot/reverse-angle shot in Fish Tank
1:09:00: Note the way the below picture is shot from Mia's perspective (over the shoulder)2nd shot: The next shot is a close-up profile of Mia - no reverse shot. This is typical of a number of sequences between Mia and Connor
3rd shot: Are we being sutured into the film with Mia?
We Need To Talk About Kevin:
- Use of flashbacks & parallelism in structure of the film can be usefully explored. Film begins in aftermath of massacre, then flashes back to events leading up to the massacre (including flashbacks to beginnings of Franklin & Eva's relationship). Complex inter-relationship of narrative timeline culminates in massacre itself & flashes forward to meeting between Eva + Kevin one year after the killings. Effect of this complex structuring of time in the plot can be usefully explored by considering opportunities it affords the storyteller for showing parallels between characters & events, and raising questions about cause & effect
- How exposition of the narrative occurs in the film can be an interesting source of inquiry. Presented with fractured elements of a story at the beginning we have to piece together with little indication of how to organise these into a chronological framework of time & space. Difficulty of doing this is compounded by a lack of expositional dialogue & conventional establish of narrative setting. First 3 scenes are net curtains blowing in wind, tomato festival & Eva waking up which all occur in very different places & times (which we discover later) but how we can organise these scenes into a story is restricted from us until much later in the film
- Eva's & Kevin's characters provide many sources for inquiry, particularly in their position within the narrative. Questions about who is the film's protagonist & antagonist, who is the 'centre' or initiator of the drama & how we're supposed to respond to characters is complex & ambiguous at times. Complexity of character identification & function within the narrative is further complicated by use of mirroring. Characters made to look like each other & often display similar expressions & body language. Frequent graphic matches force a further comparison which suggests characters that are connected in more ways than simply a mother-son relationship
Feminist Ideology WNTTAK:
- Vision of motherhood that runs counter to everything comfortable, sweet & cozy
- Her toddler, her child is a voracious monster, demanding food & then hurling it from him in a vicious attack upon her being & senses
- Her own ambivalence about motherhood, an ambivalence that was with her from her first-born (Kevin's) very conception, a moment imagined as maliciously dividing cancer cells
- Cognitive dissonance a woman might experience when her body/life/mind/self disrupted by birth of first born -> identity no longer her own but instantly & inextricably linked to another human being's. For the rest of her life. Motherhood.
- Her pregnancy is something she can't embrace as something she has chosen for herself - rather an alien imposition upon her very being
- Motherhood still a thing that's been thrusted upon her & drowns her, smiles are a drowning woman's desperation to stay afloat, not indication of a truly, happy, natural swimmer
- Kevin's assault with ink upon her map room is not primarily an indication of Kevin's evil: indication of Eva's perception of Kevin's assault upon her own being - personal
- Kevin invades her very physical self - her belly, her breasts, her body's need for sleep
- From Kevin's conception & through her pregnancy, Eva rejects motherhood & outwardly as much as she wants to show otherwise, she rejects Kevin as her son from his birth onwards
- The film is full of her fierce attempt to maintain her identity as a free agent & disassociate herself as far as possible from the emotional, physical & mental consuming thing that is motherhood
- Film about that violent wrench in her notion of herself, of her identity, the disconnect between her perception of who she is or was as opposed to the new identity that has engulfed her.
Eva - an unreliable narrator?
- Common device in lit & film is 'unreliable narrator'
- When a book/film is narrated from one or several people's point of view, the protagonist's explanation of events can be called into question
- In film particularly, unreliable narrator can be exposed through stylised direction, acting or plot twists
- Device often used to intrigue, excite & shock the viewer & make them reconsider events they may previously consider true
- While Eva doesn't literally narrate the film, events are definitely shown from her viewpoint
- Popular film examples of unreliable narrator: Barry Lyndon, Sunset Boulevard, American Psycho, Fight Club, The Usual Suspects, Identity & The Sixth Sense
Clues in film that events are exaggerrated or over-simplified & Eva is an unreliable narrator:
- Franklin's attitude throughout the film
- Events leading to Celia's eye injury
- Kevin's manipulative & cruel behaviour from such a young-age
- Acting styles
- Mise en scene
- Eva's culpability
Ideology:
- What the film suggests about parenting and the influences of parents upon their children can be a fruitful approach to this film. Both Franklin and Eva can be described as parents who tried to be good parents but failed, in different ways, to understand and connect with their children. Both parents challenge the stereotypical roles of father and mother whilst seeming to provide well for their children, certainly in material terms. The film shows us the possible effects of parenting upon children but also raises the question of what causes dysfunction within the family.
• Eva’s character and her function within the narrative breaks the taboo subject of considering how and why women may not take to the expected role of mother ‘naturally’. Eva struggles to inhabit the role of mother and grows to hate her son which will challenge spectator expectations even in the face of Kevin’s apparent evil. The film poses the question of who is the real monster, Kevin or Eva? Another fascinating facet of this approach to the film is the ways in which Eva hates her son yet feels guilty for the affect this may have had upon him and, by extension, the deaths of the other children. Despite hating him, he is still her child.
• The film can be seen as a psychological horror that examines the nature of evil – raising questions about how evil originates, how we should deal with it and our compulsion to try to understand it and contain it. Kevin represents the discourse concerning whether evil is innate or learned and the more metaphorical, perhaps theological, question about whether evil is an objective reality or a subjective judgement. The narrative structure takes us on a journey in which we find ourselves compelled to find out the motivation of evil in an attempt to contain it, only to discover that its true nature is, perhaps, unfathomable. At the end of the film the prison guard tells us, ‘Time’s up’, and we have to leave with our questions still largely unresolved.
EXTRA NOTES:
Fish Tank explores aspects of 'growing up' within a social realist narrative
Social
• Fish Tank continues the tradition of British cinema since the 1990s with its strong focus on social issues: family, the absence of fathers and single parenting (Connor is also an absent father).
• Social class is significant: Joanne is not employed and living on a housing estate, whilst Connor is a manager who can provide money for both Mia and her family and his own, so might be regarded as marginally middle-class.
• Fish Tank focuses on social issues from the perspective of youth within an urban context (Mia is referred to a Pupil Referral Unit).
• The film examines the impact of these social issues on the characters, all of whom turn to alcohol as a means for coping.
• Fish Tank belongs to the tradition of British films since the 1990s which contribute to debates about social issues (‘broken Britain’) such as family life and unemployment in Britain, for example Brassed Off, The Full Monty, Billy Elliot, Ladybird.
Historical
• Within the film – hip-hop music/ culture; its appeal for Mia’s generation.
• Urban environment reflects life on housing estate in Essex.
• Fish Tank reflects representations of social and political issues which other films explore at the time: Harry Brown (2009), Looking for Eric (2009), Shifty (2009) Wild Bill (2010).
• Fish Tank is distinctive in developing a strong female lead from which to explore social and political issues.
We Need To Talk About Kevin explores families and the 'secrets' their harbour
Social
• Broken families and genetics ... nature or nurture. The film reflects contemporary concerns about the breakdown of the traditional family, principally because of the competing interests in having children and pursuing a career... particularly for women. Another social concern that the film explores is the debate about the nature of evil which has long been framed within the discourse between the ‘nature or nurture’ positions but has recently, particularly in Western cultures, been influenced by advances in genetic and behavioural sciences.
Historical
• High school killings and contemporary concerns regarding terrorism can be useful explored as important contextual issues surrounding this film. The film is more explicitly connected to the former concern and explores central areas of contemporary debate regarding causes and solutions for such crimes. The fact that the book struggled to get published in the wake of 9/11 added to its reputation, and that of the film, later.
Political
• Political debates about the nature of crime and punishment, particularly in regard to issues of criminal responsibility and terrorism have been frequent and intense in the UK and internationally. The question about Kevin’s criminal responsibility because of his age and family upbringing, as well as his mental state, can be usefully explored in this film. Similarly, there are interesting political debates raised by the film in the nature of Eva’s character and her relationship with Kevin. The film raises issues of a woman’s responsibilities to her children and broaches the taboo subject of a mother who doesn’t seem to like her children.
Technological
• New developments in film stock, particularly the use of Fuji Eterna 500T, gave Seamus McGarvey the ability to shoot at night and by day with the same stock which reduced costs. This stock also gave the film a very vivid look and allowed for the manipulation of contrast which was important in the film. ‘We needed a 500-speed film, because there are a lot of night scenes and interiors in low light environments,’ McGarvey explains. ‘I shot tests, including one in bright sunlight. There was a vividness that I liked. I knew I could fine tune contrast and saturation, if necessary. The ability to create and manipulate contrast was especially important in scenes when atrocities take place, and in the clapboard house at the end of the film. I wanted deep blacks and the colours to pop, while shooting in low key light.’
Institutional
• The film was principally funded by the BBC which had trouble, at times, raising the necessary funds for the high budget. A long delay in the production because of lack of funds caused Ramsay to rewrite the script so that it could be made cheaper. Ramsay says that this forced her to be more inventive and spontaneous but she also said that the support from UK Film and the BBC gave her a support network that not many other independent filmmakers have, particularly when making films in the US.
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