Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark

Key Scenes 

The scene in the bar after Marion's 'death'.

This scene is import as it show's another side to Indy and also changes the pace of the movie as you can not hold an audience at one level throughout the whole film as they wouldn't be able to last the whole film. This scene where Indy has another run in with Belloq allows us to align with Indy emotionally as show's him at the good guy in the film even if he is a anti-hero which can be scene through Micro and Macro elements in this scene.

The romantic score which we associate with Marion is played in the background of this scene at the beginning. This creates an emotional response as you can see that Marion's death has had more of an effect on him than he thought it would as he cared for her maybe even loved her, therefore we feel sorry for him and start to connect with him as we see he is not a womanizer and he did care for her. Focus on loss.

Camera angles: the close up and inward zoom which draws us towards Indy at the beginning of the scene establishes the fact that Indy is now alone and acts as an establishing shot. We also see Indy's facial expression and the bottle of whiskey which show us that Indy is very upset over Marion's death and that he is dealing with this in his own way.

Spielberg also uses foregrounding as a way to show the intimacy of the conversation between Indy and Beloq and how intense it is as the camera never leaves them. This makes the audience very tense as you are not sure what else is going on in the scene and what is going to happen. However the use of close-ups show's that Indy's facial expression doesn't change implying he is utterly unconcerned by what Beloq is saying as he is more concerned by Marion's death.

The shot uses a two hander which helps to show the intensity in the conversation between the two of them as it keeps us focused on Beloq and Indy.

Lighting: At the beginning of the scene Indy leaves the bright sun lit streets and enters the darkly lit bar to meet to Beloq highlighting how Indy is the good guy and Beloq is the bad guy in this scene as well as shadowing of Beloq and Indy's face's.

Beloq also has a European accent this also helps the audience to connect Beloq as the bad guy as in the 1980's American's still feared European's due to WW2 as can be seen in Die Hard. It also helps the audience to align with Indy as he is the good religious American who is going to save the Ark from a European.

Raider's of the lost Ark: Context, Spielberg

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark is the first film in one of the biggest film franchise's of all time. The film stars Harrison Ford as the lead character and is directed by Steven Spielberg. This film is considered to be one of Spielberg's 'rookie' films as it was released in 1981 when Spielberg was still starting out and had only released two previous films that had a similar response by audiences.

The film was given to Spielberg by George Lucas the creator of Star Wars. Lucas had the same inspiration behind both Indiana Jones and Star Wars: B-Movies of the 1930's such as Flash Gordon. Both of them also have a feeling of the supernatural behind them; where Star Wars is set in Space Indiana Jones is an archaeologist who finds rare artifacts with supernatural abilities such as the ark.

Spielberg said to Lucas that he wanted to make a bond film to which Lucas replied that he had something even better Indiana Smith, later changed by Spielberg to Jones. They then sat down with Lawrence Kasdan and wrote the screenplay in just three days.

The film was rejected by many large film companies as they thought the plot was too over the top. Eventually paramount took on Indiana Jones for $20 million. This was a small budget but Spielberg made it work. Raiders of the Lost Ark was shot in Elstree Studios in London as Lucas had done Star Wars there and saw it almost as a good luck charm. To keep costs down but also to seperate the sci-fi (Star Wars) from Indiana Jones Spielberg used sound stage and even built in small scale and created like a graphic novel from the 1930's.

Both Spielberg and Lucas took a lot of inspiration from the serials of the 1930's. Indiana Jones especially was inspired by them; his humour, costume and original characterisation are all inspired by serials of the 1930's. Spielberg said the humour in the film was very deliberate and borders on slap stick comedy, though the humour still applies today. This can also be seen in the fight scenes which were choreographed and so looks slap stick. There was some disagreement over the characterisation of Indy as Spielberg wanted to make him a darker hero like Humphrey Bogart and make Indy an alcoholic however this was cut from the film though some of this characterisation can still be seen in the film such as the scene after Marion's death where Indy is getting drunk to drown his pain. Indy's look was created by Comic book artist Jim Steranko, he channeled the 1930's graphic novel style of the 30's and created the iconic Indiana Jones style. The look was inspired by the 1930's adventure style shown in comics and serials. For instance his jacket was scratched by Harrison Ford's own pocket knife to make it look well worn and loved and his hat which is the most iconic piece of clothing and makes Indy recognisable even when you don't see his face was bought from Savile Row which Harrison Ford sat on to make it look worn.

A big reason why the film was so popular when first released in 1981 was very much to do with the success of Star Wars in past years. The fact that Lucas’ name was involved in this film, and that the actual production of the films are similar, would have made his already established fans want to go see it. However, as time has gone on and technology and the director himself have developed, the contextual importance behind why Raiders was such a popular film has faded, and eventually disappeared, which could be behind the reason why his latest Indiana Jones flick, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).

Schindler's List Context

Schindler's List: Spielberg, 1993

Schindler's list tells the true story of the Holocaust in WW2 Germany. The film follows Oskar 

Schindler a German businessman and member of the Nazi party who saves the life of 1100 Jews.

The film follows both Schindler's emotional journey but also the journey of several Jewish Families. 

Schindler is introduced to us as a womanizer, a businessman; who employs Jews as slave labour so he can make more money and as a member of the Nazi party.

It is not until Schindler see's the liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto that his views on what is happening change and he begins to run a business to save the lives of Jews than to make money.

The point of change is marked in the film by the introduction of the little girl in the red dress.

The film is based on the book Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally.

Context behind the film:

• Spielberg himself was Jewish: therefore he has very personal and emotional connections to the subject discussed in the film as he will have had family that experienced life as a Jew in Germany at the time and seen the horror discussed in the film. Schindler said that the film 'was a Jewish film for Jews, to use against non-Jews as a historical document of what happened.
• In Germany post 1993, German school children were forced to watch Schindler's lit by the German Government. This highlighted the racial guilt felt in Germany at the time and also to educate people on what happened as some people still denied that the Holocaust actually happened.
• The film was banned in some Saudi-Arab countries where Jewish relations have never been good highlighting the importance of this film.
• So that the context and the horror on screen wasn't detracted away from Spielberg used (at the time) B-list actors Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes though both actors were nominated for Oscars for their work.
• The final scene in the film is one of the most emotive scenes in the film as it is a triumphant scene but also a sad scene. Schindler's Jews as they are referred to are paying respect to the man who saved there life and the text on screen highlights the huge loss of life which is just unbelievable. 6 million Jews lost their lives in the Holocaust. The statistics speak for themselves: there are fewer than 4000 Jews alive in Poland today but 6000 descendants of Schindler Jews.

Schindler's list: Emotional Response

Schindler's List, Spielberg 1993

1. Liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto: The liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto is the first point in the film where you see mass murder of the Jewish people. It is also the turning point for Schindler in the movie.

• Macro:
• Viewpoints of the Jewish people:low angle shots
• Increase in extreme violce
• Turning point for Schindler: he finally has a problem with his job (slave labour) and his choices.
• Micro: 
• Sound effects of gun shots etc as score: makes the violence become deafening for the audience you feel like you're surrounded by it.
• Cinematography:
• lots of close ups of faces to see people's reactions e.g. Schindler who looks shocked
• Foregrounding:
• loss of focus
• ed camera movements
• Little girl in the red coat
• Jewish prayer over the scene
• Amon's voice over
• Contextual Factors:
• German school children were forced by the German Government to watch Schindler's list= racial guilt as there grandparents were a part of WW2
• Jewish descendants= are going to be more upset than others
• Banned in Saudi Arab countries: Jewish relations have never been good
• Audience Interpretations:
• Preferred reading: Shock and disgust
• Negotiated reading:feel for both sides little boy used by the Nazi's
• Oppositional reading: denial.

1. Schindler and his secretaries: films can't keep their audiences at high tension for the whole film as the audience would not be able to connect with this for the whole film and so Spielberg has used these scenes of light comedy and relief to ease the trauma of the film. In this scene Schindler is interviewing a group of young Jewish women for the role of his secretary the scene adds humour to the film and also makes you like Schindler as he could be seen as a love-able rogue and a bit of a player.

• Macro:
• Keeps the film entertaining
• Buffer to the horror 
• Makes Schindler likeable as Liam Neesons peformance makes him humorous
• Illustrates he is a womanizer show's his flaws
• Stern is established as responsible compared to Schindler
• Micro:
• Timelapsed: to show how long he is taking
• Sound effects: typewriter, 
• Close up of Schindler: to show how he edges forward on his seat as each beautiful woman enters. Falls back in his seat when the last woman enters as she is not young and pretty, but she is the best typist.
• Facial expression and posture: smirk, smoking at end: bored face and slouched
• Jump cuts:lots of women in his life
• Upbeat violin score: comic score
• Always lit from 1 side: highlights good face, shadows bad face.
• Contextual Factors:
• Gender
• Relationship status: just been cheated on, may not think his actions are funny
• Audience Interpretation:
• Adds humour to the film. Lightens the mood.
• Some may find him a bit sexist
• Some may feel it has nothing to do with the context of the film

1. Burning of the bodies: for me this was the most traumatic and horrific scene in the film. This scene illustrates how the Nazi's really had no mercy or respect for Jews they truly believed that they were better than them and that they deserved what they got. The Nazi's made the Jews remove the bodies of their own dead on to a conveyor belt: th bodies didn't even get a burial instead they were dumped and burned for ease.

• Macro:
• Using Jews to remove their dead:no respect
• Dig up their dead: no repect from Nazi's
• Show's the magnitude of death
• Foreshadowing Auschwitz
• The bodies look like rag dolls being dumped: no longer people they have had their identities taken away from them
• Children playing in the ash which looks like falling snow at first
• Schindler and Amon's breaking point.
• Micro:
• Ash looks like snow, pure and white
• Score: Orchestral singing. Church funeral
• Little girl in the red coat on the cart
• Close up of Schindler
• Noisy: shouting of Officers. Officer laughing
• Close up of Officers covering faces
• Reaction shot: when Schindler decides to change: removes handkerchief and see's girl in red coat.
• Audience Response:
• Horrified and disgust. Shock
• You could also suggest that people don't want to see this as it is to much
• Context:
• Recent death in family
• Racial guilt for Germans
• Ancestry: Jewish upset and distressed

The empowerment of women; Sympathy for Lady Vengeance.

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005, Chan-wook Park)

Sympathy for Lady vengeance rounds off Chan-Wook Park's revenge trilogy and is the first to feature a woman's revenge story.

 Geum-ja has spent 13 years in prison for a crime she did not commit; the murder of a young boy. Although she is not completely innocent (she helped to kidnap Park-Won Mo) she did not deserve to spend 13 years of her life in prison and to lose her daughter who was not even 1 when she was adopted by an Australian family.

 On her release from prison Geum-ja is out for revenge and to prove her own innocence and to kill the real murdere;r an English Teacher from the child's school, Mr Baek. Geum-ja does this with the help of those who she helped and befriended in some way whilst in prison such as the women who she gave a kidney too, her husband supplies her with the gun she will use on Mr Baek.
 
The use of costume and Make-up is extremely important in this film to show Geum-ja's evolution and empowerment. When we first meet Geum-ja she is the picture of iinnocence and the Korean press and society are infactuated with her due to her 'beautiful face' on which they do not believe that someone so beautiful could be guilty of such a crime. There is even a remark to the fashion trend of that year being polka dot dresses because she wore one. Geum-ja wears that same dress on the day of her release. As you can see from the photo she has flawless pale skin suggesting her youth and innocense as well as wearing mo make-up she also wears young and pretty dresses. This is a stark contrast to what she changes into by the end of the film. She wears three distinct colours in the film white (innocence), red (blood/revenge) and black death. She weras a black leather trench coat and heeled boots as well as her signifier of red eye shadow. This is such a defining feture that every character even Mr Baek comments on it. She uses the eye shadow to show she has changed and that she is out for revenge but also because she doesn't want to have a kind face anymore like people used to say she had.

There are lots of scenes within the film that show Geum-ja taking back control and becoming empowered however there are three key scenes and these are;

1. The death of 'The witch': the witch is an instantly dislikabe character. She is in prison at the same time as Geum-ja for the murder of her husband and his lover who she then went on to eat. The first time we meet the witch she purposefully trips up a new inmate who she then threatens into doing sexual acts on her. The lesbian pool scene just highlights your dislike for 'the witch' as you can see the trauma it is causing the female prisoner. As the Witch is forcing the other prisoner to form sexual acts on her you can see Geum-ja in the background, at first it is not obvious what she is doing but then the Witch slips over and you see Geum-ja stand up with a bar of soap in her hands. Geum-ja uses her innocence to help those who need it in prison and in doing so recruits their friendship and help. Geum-ja is considered to be very innocent by everyone and this is how she gets away with murdering the Witch as she is known for her acts of kindness such as donating her kidney. The scene where the Witch finally dies is very good at making you feel disgusted by the Witch and by showing that Geum-ja is not as innocent as her fellow prisoners believe. Geum-ja has been very clever in her murder of the witch as she does it over a long period of time by putting bleach into the witch's food while Geum-ja feedsher in hospital. The close up of Geum-ja show's the two different sides of her as she has a very sweet smile but when the witch burps in her face you can see the dark side to Geum-ja. Her final line 'hurry up and die' reitterates that Geum-ja is not all sweetness and nice. However her killing the witch helps her in prison as it makes people more loyal to her as they are now slightly unsure of the 'sweet' Geum-ja.
2. Her release from Prison; on her release from prison she is met by a Priest who helped her redeem herself whilst in prison and to keep her picture of innocence. This is when you see the real Geum-ja she uses people to get what she wants from them. Geum-ja's actions and appearance juxtapose one another as she looks the picture of innocence with her pale skin, the same polka dot dress she was wearing on her day of imprisonment and her lack of makeup. However when offered the chance to begin again and create a knew life free of sin she throws the offering to the ground and tells the Preacher to go screw himself. This implies Geum-ja has plans that are in no way innocent.She has empowered herself as she has taken back control of her life and her choices; to live a life of sins. She had to go to prison to become a sinner.
3. The planning and Murder of Mr Baek; geum-ja has spent 13 years planning how she is going to torture and murder Mr Baek the man who kidnapped and killed the little boy and who threatened to murder her daughter. He is the reason she went to prison and why she lost her daughter. However when she has the chance to murder him up close and personal with a gun she changes her mind and instead allows the parents of his victims to torture and murder him. This is empowering for Geum-ja as she is getting revenge but also freeing herself of some guilt she has as she is letting them get their own revenge that they would not else have had. The interesting thing about this scene is that all the people who go in to torture Mr Beak are female such as the first couple where the husband is crying and begging his wife not to go in there but she does. This contradicts the stereotypical weak women and mother.

Kill Bill- the bride

Kill Bill (Tarantino, 2003)

Uma Therman plays 'The Bride' in Tarantino's classic revenge fueled narrative about an assassin who at her wedding rehearsal is nearly murdered by people she once called 'friends' and who are led by her ex lover and father of her child; Bill.

On awakening from a 4 year coma she realises that she no longer carries her child and on believing she is dead she sets off on a mission of revenge on; O-Ren Ishii, Vernita Green, Elle Driver, Bud and finally Bill.

1. The opening; the opening of Kill Bill is very stylist and important to both Kill bill 1 and 2. Like most revenge movie's the protagonist must be lowered to their lowest possible point until they return even stronger. It is in black and white which adds to the bleakness of the scene, you also hear the non-diegetic sound of a woman breathing very heavily and she sounds terrified. This is very effective at gripping the audience straight away as you are already wondering what has happened to her. The low angle close up of a pair of Southern boots just adds to the mystery and the menacing undertone of the scene as he appears to be stalking her. The colours of their clothing are also very symbolic as the bride is wearing white which has connotations of good and purity whereas black is associated which mystery and darkness and badness. The last shot is probably the shot that has the most impact in the whole film when you hear her say that she is carrying his baby before a gun is fired and it cuts to black, this raises many questions and leaves you in shock. Without a doubt you want to watch the rest of the movie and find out who he is.
2. Awakening from the coma; this scene highlights 'The Bride's' strength both mentally and physically. This scene also highlights her motherly instinct as the first thing she does when she wakes up is to clutch her stomach and when she realises she is no longer carrying her child this is what pushes her over the edge and why she is out for revenge as she believes that Bill has murdered her baby. She is very smart and resourceful as she uses what she has to hand to help her escape. She has to teach herself how to walk again as she has been in a coma for so long she can't move her feet, she does this showing her strength and commitment as as soon as she has accomplished this she goes on her mission of revenge and succeeds.
3. The death of O-Ren Ishii; The bride single handily defeats the whole of O-Ren Ishii's gang. This reinforces how smart she is and why she has made it this far, she is the best fighter out of all of the assassin's she is also fueled by hatred and this keeps her going.

The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo ( Arden Oplev, 2009)

The Original title translated  into 'the man who hated women'. And I think this is a very appropriate title due to the treatment of women within the film.

For Example Harriet, is the epitome of innocence; she has blonde hair, blue eyes and is a genuinely good-hearted person who is her Uncle's favourite. However she is raped by her father from the age of fourteen and then by her brother. To escape this she makes herself invisible and disappears to the other side of the world.

 Lisbeth is the complete opposite to Harriet, she is damaged and this has made her into the person she is when we meet her in the film. Lisbeth's appearance contrasts greatly with Harriets she has short black hair, lots of piercings, wears jeans and a hoodie and rides a motorcycle. These are all very masculine qualities but they also make her strong as Harriet is much weaker than Lisbeth in some ways as Lisbeth is a fighter and incredibly smart.

In some ways Lisbeth and Blomkvist have swapped roles as Lisbeth has very masculine qualities where as Blomkvist is a family orientated person and at the beginning he is seen to be cooking with a little girl this is stereo-typically a woman's role. 

There are three scenes imparticular which I feel add to the empowerment of women and in-particular the empowerment of Lisbeth:

1. The Rape Scene: This scene is obviously horrendous and show's the degradation of women but like in most films that show the empowerment of women Lisbeth is degraded to the worst possible point before becoming empowered. Similarly in the scene in the Train Station where she is attacked by a group of men for no reason other than the way she looks this show's her degradation by men as if she had not been beaten up by those men her laptop would not have been broken and she would not have been raped. Throughout the whole film men are to blame for not only Lisbeth's but also Harriets and the other female Victims degradation and abuse. The sound, camera angles and lighting in this scene make it even harder to watch and highlight how helpless Lisbeth is at this point in the movie. The camera angles in this scene are very important as Oplev uses a close up of Lisbeth and we can see the torture and pain she is going through, though similarly we can see the pleasure her rapist is having adding to the disgust of the scene. The scene uses very low key lighting this adds to the feeling that Lisbeth is trapped and also as soon as she enters the apartment you know something bad is going to happen due to the lighting. The only sound in the scene is the diegetic sound of Lisbeth's screams this is a very haunting sound and is what makes the scene so unbearable.
2. The Revenge Scene: Lisbeth is a fighter and incredibly smart. She gets her own back on Bjurman but she does it in a smart way, she know's that after this he will never be able to touch her or any other girl again. For her this is the most empowering moment in the film. As I've said she is incredibly smart and courageous as she films her own rape and then uses this against her rapist. She is brutal to him and treats him the way he treated her. She uses his own weapons against him and then forces him to watch the rape scene before finally tattooing on to him " I am a sadistic pig, a pervert and a rapist" she inflicts the pain on to him she felt and leaves a permanent mark on him a scar just like he has scared her. Not only does Lisbeth become empowered through her revenge but she also takes back control of her life as she blackmails him with the footage so that she can take back ownership of her bank accounts, he has no choice in this as she has the footage. She uses the worst moment in her life to change her future. She is incredibly strong. The camera angles in this scene are the same as when Lisbeth is raped this highlights how the tables have turned for Lisbeth as she is no longer the victim. Oplev uses a close up of Bjurman so that we can see his terror and fear however we can feel no sympathy for him due what he has done, instead we end up feeling satisfied and proud of Lisbeth.
3. The death of Martin: I feel this is the scene that truly empowers all the women in the film not just Lisbeth. Martin is a sick sadist who enjoys raping, torturing and murdering women simply because he finds it fun. When Lisbeth and Mikael realsie that Martin is the one who is behind countless murders Martin drugs Mikael and ties him up. When Mikael is questioning him on why he did it Martin simply respond by saying it is what all men want, to be able to do whatever they want and take whatever they want to women, he also says that his favourite moment is watching the hope in the girls eyes fade away when they realise they are going to die.  Lisbeth has the choice she could save Martin or she could watch him burn to death. She chooses to let him die. Oplev use shot reverse shot in this scene very effectively. Martin is begging for his life just like he watched all of his victims beg for theirs but instead he is the 'victim' and Lisbeth has the choice, and you see his hope fade as Lisbeth walks away from the car and it catches on fire. We also see flashbacks to when she was a child and she set's a man on fire who later, it is alluded too is her father who abused her mother to the point where she had to go in to a psychiatric hospital. She is taking revenge not only for the women who Martin murdered but also for her mother and herself.

Although you know on a subconcious level as the audience that what Lisbeth is doing is wrong whilst you are watching the film you do not recognise this.