Oral Presentation Part 4 & 5: Narrative & Film Language and Representation

IV. Narrative

1. How is this film constructed according to narrative/story being told?

This film is constructed by a flash forward to establish the storyline. 

2. Is the narrative organized by plot or time sequence, or some other way?

The narrative starts off with the narrator explaining the scene of a man in a pool. Then the story goes back six months in time in order to explain the story up until that point.

3. Does the film use other principles than narrative sequence as a structure (for instance, an argument?)

The flashback that the film opens up with give the narrative structure. It opens up a problem or issue which makes the audience wonder, how did that man end up dead and that pool, and why?

4. What is the nature of our engagement with the story or characters?

The story is most engaged with the main character Joe Gillis. This is due to the fact that the story is narrated by him, giving the audience his inner thoughts on what is going on and kind of guiding the audience in his own favor.

V. Film Language and Representation

Now choose an extract that best represents or serves as evidence for the research you have done so far. Tie the particular details of the scene back to your broader research

1. How are characters and issues represented?

In the scene where Norma Desmond and Joe Gillis is playing cards with her friends, there are a couple issues represented. In this scene, Joe's car is found and repossessed by some repo men who were chasing him in the beginning of the film. This reestablishes how Joe is deep with financial issues. Another issue that is further established is the possessive and arrogant personality of Norma Desmond. Joe asks for money when his car is getting repossessed from Desmond and she refuses to give him money because she feels that his car will give him the ability to leave. She says if he really needs to go anywhere, she can borrow her super old Rolls Royce. Joe doesn't argue this though because he knows he needs the support from Norma. 

2. What is the style and effect of acting and performance?

The acting styles have similarities but are mostly different for the two main characters. Joe plays a layback and slick character. His witty wordplay gives him a sense of cockiness in his voice and almost condescending in a way. This is due to his realness because he seems to just tell people how it is. He usually beats around the bush with Norma though. He his voice is calm but has stern tone to it. The acting in this scene really comes from Norma. She's an overly dramatic character, with her body language and how she delivers her lines. She's not really charismatic, but has a demanding tone to her voice. Desmond is really luring with her clingy personality and by being persistent. This creates the femme fatale character.

3. How is meaning created by camera angles, shots, and camera movement?

The camera is about head level throughout the whole scene. This creates a neutral atmosphere between the actors and the camera. The scene opens up with a master shot sequence. Meaning the camera opens up with an establishing shot and gets into tight close ups as the dialogue goes on. The camera does lower in height at the end of the scene when Norma is discussing Joe's repossessed car with him. This angle makes them look bigger and monster like. Then Norma puts her hands on Joe, they look almost claw-like. Therefore, symbolizing the grasp that she has over Joe. 

4. How is meaning created through proxemics, territorial design, or open and closed forms?

5. How is meaning created by editing and sequencing?

There is no real fancy editing in this scene. They follow a real classical cutting style which isn't too special. One important part of the edit for the movie as a whole was the fact that it was black and white. It definitely could have been shot in color also. Today, to shoot in black and white is sometimes a parody way to exemplify the noir genre. It is somewhat of a convention though because shooting in black and white works well with lighting and how the exposures and contrasts look. Hard lighting looks really well in black and white also.

6. How is meaning created by lighting, shade and color?
The lighting in Noir used hard single source lighting. The light would deeply contrast light from dark like when it would hit the face of the actors. The film was in black and white also. The film could have been in color too. This adds to the Noir genre and how the bad things in life were highlighted in these types of films.

7. How is meaning created by sound and music?
This scene has ominous music in the background that adds to the creepy atmosphere of the house. It has an old sound also that makes the house seem more run down and antique. This scene is narrated by Joe at the beginning to lead them the audience into it. This is so the audience becomes familiar with the people around the table and Joe reveals that he receives half of the pot when they play cards too, which "is the only money I [Joe] ever got."

8. How is meaning created by location, set design and mis en scene.?
The location, set design and mis en scene are one of the most discussed topics in this movie. This movie has some interior and exterior shots of the mansion. The fact that the mansion supposed to be on Sunset Boulevard is really relevant to the whole storyline. The texture and construction of Sunset Boulevard is compared to the narrative because Sunset Boulevard is rocky and filled with potholes. The rockiness being the small events in the narrative and the potholes being the climaxes. The set design was crazy because the whole outside of the mansion was a real mansion on Sunset Blvd.  They even added the pool into the mansion. All the antiques for the interior scenes of the mansion were also really to the next level because of how all the pictures and cluttered items made Norma seem like a hoarder and very narcissistic. I heard that some of the cinematographers would even brush dust around the edge of their camera lenses too. 

9. Does the film make use of symbols, metaphors, or allegories? Share are they and how do they work within the context of the film?
The empty pool is used as a symbol of Desmond's career being old and worn out. But as the fpool is refilled, it represents the comeback of her career as Joe rewrote her script. The guest house that JoeGillis first stays in is covered in vines from being old and not taken care of. The vines could represent the grasp that Desmond has over Joe's whole life, because basically his whole life was under that guesthouse roof.

10. How is meaning created by technical elements such as production design, mise en scene, composition, special effects (matte paintings, models or animation, computer generated images….etc.)
The guest house is a big part of the production design that has a lot of meaning. The guest house at first looks run down and covered in vines. The vines represent the entrapment from Norma over Joe.

11. What emotional information is conveyed through the filmmaking process?
Because of the film falling under the noir genre, the film highlights a lot of the bad things in life and makes it seem as if things could only get worse. The femme fatale character in the film represents the desires in life that are not always worth pain.