La Haine Exam Question

How far does the impact of the films you have studied for this topic depend on distinctive uses of film techniques? (35marks)

The film techniques throughout the film had a small impact on me for example, in several scenes the director shows the time of the day on the screen and uses non-diagetic sound of a clock ticking used as a re-occurring motif.

This had an impact because it showed how slow time was going and we saw throughout the day how very little Vinz, Said and Hubert had to do because they don't have jobs and cant get them because they are uneducated. However in the last scene this film technique has a very big impact on me because as Vinz is shot time is going even slower,so it made me feel as if i was watching the shooting in slow motion. The time is shown from at 06:00 then to 06:01 literally showing how slow time is passing at this point. this also shows that its only a matter of time before something similar happens again, for example, the riots in London and other British cities in 2011 which were caused by similar reasons and saw mainly youths rioting on the streets.

In the very first scene of La Haine the audience knows that this isn't going to be about french tradition because the director uses Reggae music - which shows different cultural values. Throughout the film the music supports this view as we see when a DJ remixes American music - KRS-One 'its the sound of da police' - with a traditional french song by Edith Piaf  'Je Ne Regrette Rien' (which is a song about regretting nothing and moving on). this particular part of the film and the music used had a big impact on me because it shows that the youth are trying to change tradition and rebel against it however some are going about it in the wrong way, for example Vinz tries to use violence and keeps attempting to use a gun he found against people. However in the end he learns that he doesn't want to rebel in this way and doesn't actually like violence.

This had a big impact on me because it shows the youths in a different light, not all of the youths want to riot and cause harm, they just want to break out of the cycle of not having a job and living in the Projects.

The biggest impact wasn't due to film techniques but the narrative in the last scene of La Haine because Vinz's death wasn't expected. Throughout the film Vinz, Said and Hubert have had a negative view because of certain actions. The media also showed them to be negative and even though there were scenes where they weren't doing anything negative they haven't done anything positive either so the audience have this underlining view of them. However in that last scene i felt sorry for Vinz because even though he had wanted to commit a crime by killing a police officer he couldn't do it. i also felt sorry for Said and Hubert because Hubert didn't want to be involved in any crime, he was the only one with a job but because of the riots he had been forced into committing crime to make a living and Said has been stuck in the middle of the conflict throughout the film.

 Said was in the middle of the conflict in the hospital scene which we could see through the framing. This had an impact because you could clearly see that Said was stuck between supporting his friends and doing the right thing. He is seen as the mediator throughout the film.

The director used real footage from riots that regularly took place between youths and police between 1986 and 1996. the use of real footage was impacting because it was real life stuff that was happening in France. I could see all of the destruction and violence going on. I also know that the death of Vinz was based on a real story that the director Mathieu Kassovitz had heard about. A young Zairian, Makome M'Bowole was shot at point blank range in 1993 while in police custody and handcuffed to a radiator.

 'In court, Compain, who was suspended from the police and held in pre–trial custody for nearly two years, said he got out his pistol to intimidate the teenager because he was shouting and had insulted him'  (AI News-1996). The link between the story of Makome M'Bowole and Vinz's story are very similar which had a big impact on me because Vinz is acting out a real life event. Its not just a fiction story, Makome M'Bowole actually died in a similar situation.

The main impact for me was the narrative in the last scene because of how realistic it was and how unexpected Vinz's death was because the audience had just started to see him in a new light because he didn't want to commit crime. The film techniques like the use of time, framing and music did have an impact but not as big as the narrative.

Is Mulvey's theory of 'the male gaze' relevant in todays hollywood? - Annotated Catalogue

Item 1- The Resident (2011) 

The Resident is a British/American film directed by Antti Jokinen. It's a recent film which looks at the relationship between Juliet Devereau (Hilary Swank) and Max (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and how Max is fascinated with her (shown through the male gaze). Mulvey argues that women were given two character types;sexually active female and powerless female. Juliet is seen as a powerless female in The Resident. I will use this item as it is a modern day film which I can relate  to today's Hollywood. ( Very useful)


Item 2 - Peeping Tom (1960)

Peeping Tom is a British thriller film directed by Michael Powell and written by Leo Marks. The title derives from the slang expression 'peeping Tom' describing a voyeur. The film revolves around a serial killer who murders women while using a portable movie camera to record their dying expressions of terror.I will use this item to show how the male gaze was shown in film over 50 years ago which will help with showing how different the male gaze is in today's film industry. (Useful)


Item 3 - Disturbia (2007)

This film focuses on the male gaze in two lights. Kale (Shia LaBeouf) shows the male gaze with his neighbour Ashley (Sarah Roemer). This type of male gaze is seen as normal in society and accepted however Mr. Turner (David Morse) shows the male gaze in a sadistic, stalker-like way. This film was recently made so it helps with showing how the male gaze is relevant today. (Very useful)


Item 4 - At the Interface:Continuity and Transformation in Culture and Politics (Book by Joss Hands, Eugenia Siapera)

This book talks about the film Bridget Jones' Diary which is a romantic comedy. This shows how the male gaze is accepted and is seen as more romantic than in the films, The Resident and Peeping Tom. This will be useful for me because it shows an alternative side to the male gaze yet is still seen as objectifying women however it is seen in a better light. (Quite Useful)


Item 5 -


Item 6 -Male Gaze Using Film As Case Study (slide show-http://www.slideshare.net/sgummer/male-gaze-using-film-as-case-study)
This slide show talks about a variety of things in films where women are considered to be vulnerable. It also includes a fair amount of Mulvey's work which explains how the male gaze is shown in films and gives detain on the 2 different types of the male gaze. (Useful-however talks more about reality rather than the male gaze within films)


Item 7 -The Bond Gaze (youtube-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfL09c4cw2I )

This youtube clip will help me with my work because it applies Mulvey's 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema' to the Bond films which have been around since 1962 so I can compare feminism and the male gaze from the past to the present to analyse whether the male gaze theory is relevant in today's Hollywood. the item is similar to item 6 as it also shows the alternate view of the male gaze where its seen as acceptable. It also gives me some good definitions of words relating to feminism and the male gaze. (Useful)


Item 8 - Film Theory Week 4-The Male Gaze (Blog- 
http://invertnormals.wordpress.com/2012/11/24/film-theory-week-4-the-male-gaze/) 

This blog is very useful because it goes into real depth about the male gaze, uses Mulvey's quotes and talks about camera techniques which help portray the male gaze in films which non of my other items talk about. it uses film examples like Shawshank Redemption and Peeping Tom which will be helpful in my work. (Very useful)


Item 9 -The Male Gaze-Laura Mulvey (Youtube-http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=bYhaRcfCEkI)

This video will be useful in criticising the male gaze as it shows another version of the male gaze where the woman uses different techniques to gain attention from males. this uses the film Bad Teacher as an example of the male gaze which is a recent film which will link into my question.


Item 10 -Wikipedia-Feminist Film Theory (Article-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminist_film_theory#The_gaze_and_the_female_spectator)

This article is slightly useful because it explains why Mulvey spoke about the male gaze and gives contextual information about the times which Mulvey wrote. However it isn't very useful because it repeats information from other items. (slightly useful)


Item 11 -Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema (1975) - Laura Mulvey (Book)
This book is very useful as it is the backbone to my essay. It provides all the information i need about the male gaze from Mulvey's point of view. (very useful)


Item 12 -Girls Kick Ass (Blog- http://everything2.com/title/Girls+Kick+Ass%253A+A+Feminist+Critique+of+the+New+Action+Heroine+and+the+Male+Gaze)

This blog will be useful with my essay as it gives good criticism towards the male gaze in todays hollywood. It explains how films focus more on 'women kicking ass' rather than the male gaze. i will use this to help me critically analyse the male gaze in todays hollywood. (Very useful)


Item 13 - Apply Male Gaze Theory (Youtube- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWKkll9rb8I)

This video is useful for my essay because it explains Mulveys theory in more detail and uses different films to explain the theory. this is useful as it gives me more films i could use as examples. (Useful)

Item 14 -Laura Mulvey and The Male Gaze (Blog-http://katiehamilton25.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/the-male-gaze-theory.html)

This will be slightly useful to use in my work as it explains Mulvey's Theory and takes direct quotes from Mulveys' Essay. (slightly useful)


Item 15 - Scopophilia (Article-http://everything2.com/title/scopophilia)

This article is only slightly useful as it doesn't give me much information that I can use in my work however it does explain the male gaze in a little more detail. (Slightly useful)


Item 16 - Its A Man's World- The Male Gaze (http://gandt.blogs.brynmawr.edu/web-papers/web-papers-2/its-a-mans-world-the-male-gaze-and-the-film-industry/) 

This article is useful for my work as it talks about the film industry in hollywood as a whole. it also gives me useful statistics i plan on using in my work. (Useful)


Item 17- The Resident Trailer 

I will use this at the start of my presentation as it it a good video to show the audience straight away what my presentation will be about and the type of male gaze i will be looking at (Useful)



Rottentomatoes.com-Review of Disturbia - I have rejected this item as all it did was explain the plot of Disturbia. It didn't criticise Disturbia at all.


Everything2.com-Femininity - this article on this website isn't useful as all it did was give me a definition of femininity.


Questia-Feminist Film Theory - I have chosen to reject this item as there was only a small paragraph relating to the male gaze, most of the article was about feminism in real life rather than in films. the small paragraph on the male gaze didn't give me any extra information that would be useful to me.


Everything2.com-The Male Gaze - I rejected this website because the wasn't any extra information on there about the male gaze or Mulvey that I haven't already got from other sources.


Media Studies A2:Laura Mulvey and Carol Clover Final Girl Theory (Blog) - Ive rejected this Blog because the Final girl theory doesn't really relate to the male gaze. This blog didnt give me any useful information to use.