VFV & COM representation comparisons

COM- does conform to typical gender roles as 

Does not conform to some character roles as. Theo does not act as the typical Hollywood hero as he smokes and drinks heavily.

The film does not represent london in the typical way, it exaggerates Londons stereotypes such as pollution and how grey its. Whereas hollywood will represent London as being red buses, black cabs with either posh accents or cockney ones.

Hyper masculinity

Mothers as nurturers

Phallic and yonic imagery

Male gaze

Fast and furious drag race

Phalic imagery- gear stick and passing the train

Hyper masculinity- men can do ridiculous things with cars 

We need to talk about Kevin potty training scene:

Mother nurturer- woman cares for the kid

Captain America (weak)

Make gaze

And challenges hyper masculinity as the drill Sargent ridicules capt. America and portrays him as weak ( it is a hollywood film )

Sexual identity conform/subvert to classic Hollywood

Writing an hour long exam use notes 

Question on most recent blog post

Comparative 10 points 

Analysis is mise en scene

Videos are evidence micro 

Hyper masculinity- theo avoids conflict in the scene where he runs away.

People follow v as a leader

Phallic/ yonic

Com- phalic objects are destructive women are the hope for mankind they blledimg out sacrificing himself yonic stab wound

Male gaze v for vendetta we see evey as sexualised, with the bishop she is overpowered and we look at her sexually due to her dress and make up she is vulnerable 

Com gender neutral no is sexualised opening when Kee is showing her bump she is naked but we do not see her sexually we see her as a miracle 

National identity corrupt govt different policies and outcomes of their reign n

Com opening polluted country, shows our country as being racist- link to history 

VFV clean city racist radical ideas opening 

We are own enemy

Mother farther

V is stereotype mother but man all traits

Kee is mum giving birth

Theo is a material farther

Sutler is a farther as has power and gives orders

Jasper is father figure as he sacrificed

Prothero gives advice and guides the nation farthe

Children of men's ending and its themes

Children of men walking with the baby:

Themes,style and representation of gender

1.theo is a protective farther figure, mother is seen as a sacred figure

2. Dystopia, war

3. Tracking shot, POV 

Is likely to be an independent film because the ending is open and challenges us to think. This doesn't conform to the classic Hollywood narrative. 

This film represents masculinity as being the main power in the film. Due to women not being able to give birth they're redundant of all power in government and in society 

In V for Vendetta war is seen as a tool of peace and enables the audience to take a side, where Children of Men uses war as a backdrop to a more important point in the story, war is shown as an object of destruction and is not shown in the way a Hollywood film would; where good triumphs over evil. The difference between VFV and COM is that VFV is a hollywood film.

New hollywood to modern block buster with exam example

When 'star wars' ruled the world
The rise of blockbusters increasing popularity and the emergence of multiplexes

Before Star Wars films were more realistic and not ahead of their time (Visual effects)
Films were focusing on the Vietnam war so all films were quite serious
70s was the year for independent films 'New Hollywood' Directors who have been going to film school
People were seeing this film numerous times. There was lines to see the film going round the blocks
Merchandise as massive etc. Star Wars drapes. 20 billion dollars have been made since 1977 on merchandise alone

KEY NOTE: Ticket prices are rising as the viewing attendance is dropping to make up for loss income

Economic
Box office-cinema attendance and their money they have paid to see them
Budget- production cost is high
Budget-Marketing creates hype. Jaws had a iconic poster that scarred people. The hype generated the summer event
Social commentary- here as a recession in the UK so people did not have disposable income, but mass marketing attracted the people

Point- Jaws and Star Wars were successful blockbusters in multiplexes
Evidence- Film studios built the multiplexes to show these films generating more income, which led to the flop formula and how fleapits went out of business
Analysis + development- This led to only blockbusters to be shown in multiplexes

Technological
Development of visual effects with Stars Wars--- Jaws was an overlap and a blend of New Hollywood and the visual effect driven blockbusters
VHS was developing in the early 80s --- E.T (1981) was the most successful VHS movie
VHS was killing the cinema business and the development of multiplexes that were creating event movies, which was better to watch with a group at a cinema

Vladamir Propp's character types

1. The villan—struggles against the hero
2. The donor—prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object
3. The (magical) helper—helps the hero in the quest
4. The princess and her father—gives the task to the hero, identifies the false hero, marries the hero, often sought for during the narrative. Propp noted that functionally, the princess and the father can not be clearly distinguished
5. The dispatcher—character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off.
6. The hero or victim/seeker hero—reacts to the donor, weds the princess
7. False hero —takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to marry the princess.

These character types usually conform to the classic Hollywood narrative, it would seem that these roles would work best in a fantasy/ SIFI film. However independent films can be traced back to these character types E.g Skyfall:

James Bond- hero

Q- donor

Kincade- the helper

Eve Moneypenny- the princess

M- dispatcher

Some indie films will try to subvert these to try and add realism to its narrative.

COM: sim/diff with VFV Macro + Micro

Children of men walking with the baby:

Themes,style and representation of gender

1.theo is a protective farther figure, mother is seen as a sacred figure

2. Dystopia, war

3. Tracking shot, POV 

Is likely to be an independent film because the ending is open and challenges us to think. This doesn't conform to the classic Hollywood narrative. 

This film represents masculinity as being the main power in the film. Due to women not being able to give birth they're redundant of all power in government and in society 

In V for Vendetta war is seen as a tool of peace and enables the audience to take a side, where Children of Men uses war as a backdrop to a more important point in the story, war is shown as an object of destruction and is not shown in the way a Hollywood film would; where good triumphs over evil. The difference between VFV and COM is that VFV is a hollywood film.

Comparative Essay Children Of Men and V For Vendetta

Both films are set in dystopian future where society is run by a corrupt government. However Both films mainly focus on different aspects of a totalitarian state, for instance Children of men looks at infertility within women and its effects on society where as V for Vendetta looks at a corrupt government who abuses power and how no one has enough courage to stand up to it.

One similarity that both films share is a dystopian future set in London under control by a fascist government with both governments intentions of making Britain a 'pure' country. Both films actively speak against foreigners living in Britain, It also goes against homosexuals and religions that aren't seen as white religions such as Hinduism and Muslims. This is a well known aspect of Fascism and has been used during Hitler's rule of Germany. However how both governments got into power is different. Extremist political parties are voted in in times of crisis this is no different in these films but in COM the crisis is a unexplained natural problem where as VFV is a biological war created by the government on its own people to create chaos.

Another similarity these two films share is the theme of revolution, both films use the means of a violent uprising/ revolution to achieve freedom. In VFV the people of London are inspired to revolt because of Vs actions, it could be seen as a peaceful protest as they move to the House of Parliament without causing no harm, but with parliament being blown up it is seen as a violent protest. They do this for freedom from government and the fascist regime. This is similar to COM where the revolution of the ghetto is unquestionably a violent uprising. The reason for the war within the ghetto is also for freedom but for immigrants or 'undesirables'.

Another similarity between the two films is the idea of conspiracy theories, they are used by the government in both films to strengthen popularity, to create cahos to simply restoring order to show strength and it could be said that they did it for population control. In VFV the government created a chemical and planted it in water systems in 3 areas to create panic and chaos and then cure the problem to simply gain popularity. The government blame terrorists for the attack so it maximises popularity. This is not to different in COM where the government blame attacks on the public on 'terrorist groups' who are actually 'freedom fighters' who do not use violence anymore. This is used by the government to maintain faith in its regime. These events are also not to similar to reality with conspiracy theories focused on 9/11, where the government causes a catastrophe to use as a reason for actions that suit the government.

A difference between the films is the theme of infertility in COM. This theme is the main focus and drive point for all the characterss especially the protagonist ( Theo ). The cause of the problem within women is unexplained so it is impossible to identify it with any other themes within either films. Where as the main driving point for the protagonist in VFV ( V ) is revenge, he shares this anger with the society within london in the film to spur an uprising.

Overall I belive the films Children Of Men and V For Vendetta are very similar in the themes they show or use. The only difference between the films is the driving point for the protagonist.