This week we were given instructions on how to make the audio/visual presentation of the research topic.
Essentials of the Presentation
The following contents should be kept in mind while making the presentation
Present a brief outline of the intention of your research.
Briefly outline the information sources that are accessed
Select the key areas of investigation that informed your findings
Conclusion
Potentials for applying this learning and furthering knowledge in practice and or theory
Unit Overview
In this term, we have learned film structure and its narrative from a theoretical perspective. We were also shown suitable short films and visual references to support the theory. We explored the important tools of research and methodologies in depth. All the guidelines and information we absorbed in this course enabled us to create our research topics.
Importance of Critical Thinkingand how it helped:
The sessions broaden my horizon of film studies. The assignments given throughout the term enabled critical thinking and reasoning in me. It made me able to consider different perspectives and gave me cognitive flexibility. Exploration of different topics of animation via theory helped me to choose my interests more wisely.
Moreover, critical thinking helped me in every step of writing the report and making the research presentation. These skills will also facilitate us to make thesis dissertations and the final project.
This week we discussed the report structure and its format. Apart from that, we were also told how to cite the resources according to Harvard referencing.
Individually we worked on our reports this week. I worked on finalising my research topic and wrote the abstract.
Title
Pixar’s Turning Red: A Ground-breaking Exploration of Women’s Representation and Taboo Topics in Animation
Abstract
In recent years, many animation studios have shown their interest in stories highlighting diverse characters and unique subjects. The focus of this report is on one of such animated films, Turning Red, made by Pixar Studios. With its unique subject and distinctive storyline, Turning Red has torn up the rulebook and rebuilt Pixar in its own style. It has been outshined for its inclusion of taboo subjects, breaking gender stereotypes and all-women directorial team. It is an example of how young female representation should look like in modern films. Not only does it hyper focus on the teenage girls, who are often ignored in the Pixar studios, but it also breaks the “for dads from dads” Pixar phenomena. The film has taken a profound take not only on the struggles of puberty, but on the specific dynamic of good daughters, family and friendship values, intergenerational trauma, and representation of Chinese culture. In this report I will discuss the repression faced by young girls, particularly when it comes to their burgeoning sexuality and the shame that society often places on them for expressing themselves. In addition to exploring these themes, Turning Red also challenges traditional Hollywood practices and promotes gender inclusivity in the animation industry.
This week we studied the essential components of academic writing. We discussed some tips for academic writing as well as do’s and don’ts
For the academic writing we need to keep the following things in mind.
A clear know how of the research topic
The objective of research
Data and in information that helps you do the research
Conclusion
Writing Introduction and Conclusion
The introduction and Conclusion both are the most crucial part of writing the report.
The introduction of a report is crucial since it establishes the overall tone. It should outline the topic of the essay and provide a summary of what the essay’s body will discuss. The What, Why, and How strategy is one technique you can employ while writing your introduction.
The conclusion gave a summary of your report and shows the outcome of the whole research. The conclusion should also link to the title of the report and we have to make sure to answer all the questions asked in the title by this point.
Literature Review
In the literature review, I am going to talk about my topics with reference to books and scholarly articles. The topics I will talk about are
This week we were divided into groups so that we could discuss our tentative research topics. The idea behind this was to interact with our peers about our tentative research topics and the resources. We discussed about the books and academic papers we could use in our report. The discussion helped us to navigate our ideas with more clarity. The group discussion broaden our horizon to explore our research topics from different perspective.
Research Topics
Some of the topics for the research report I have in my mind are:
Objectification of Women in Children Cinema
How Animated Films are breaking gender stereotypes?
Breaking Stereotypes: Representation of Female lead in Pixar
Pixar’s “Turning Red” helped break glass ceiling
Breaking Stereotypes: Pixar’s breaks away from regular storytelling in the movie “Turning Red”
In this class we explored the structure of the report writing and practiced paraphrasing.
Original Paragraph
The authenticity of a documentary is deeply linked to notions of realism and the idea that documentary images are linked to notions of realism and the idea that documentary images bear evidence of events that actually happened, by virtue of the indexical relationship between image and reality
Horness Roe. A. (2013) Animated Documentary. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Paraphrased Paragraph
Honess Roe (2013, Animated Documentary) believes that the accuracy of documentary depends on the concept of realism and the authenticity of images showing that the event actually happened.
The term ‘animated documentary’ may seem like a contradiction. While documentary films endeavour to depict ‘real life’ and ‘the truth’, animation is associated with humour, exaggerations, and visual fantasy. But despite their apparent differences, animation and documentaries have often appeared side by side and even together throughout film history. Any piece of moving imagery that is stating the facts and when done through the medium of animation is called an Animation Documentary. According to Honest Roes’ ‘Taxonomy for documentation’， animation documentary is also an integral part of documentary and it is a rich way of expression.
MyTroubled Mind
Today I am going to talk about an animated documentary series “My troubled mind”.
My troubled mind is a series of powerful animated short film documentaries exploring through personal testimony, the experiences of teenagers dealing with mental health issues including eating disorders, anxiety, addiction, and depression. By bringing together knowledge on the animated documentary as a genre and on witnessing in illness narratives, the analysis examines the animated documentary’s evocative power, which allows it to penetrate subjective experiences that are difficult to represent.
Honess Roe describes “My troubled Mind” as a non-conventional form of animation documentary. According to him it is a non-fictional documentary, and it highlights the mental health topics that are still not openly accepted in our society, without breaching anyone’s identity.
I consider that this film can be classed as a documentary. The animation in this film enhances our knowledge of an aspect of the world and to the extent that the separation of the animation from the documentary is either impossible, or would render the inherent meaning of the film indecipherable. (Honess Roe, 2013: 10)
Reference list
Honess Roe, A. (2013) Animated Documentary. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
This week I am going to talk about an abstract film, “Collision.” The analyzation will bebased on its categorization, form and functions, process, and elements.
About the Film
Collision is an abstract short film made by Max Hatler in 2005. It is a 35mm film. The formats are available in Digi Beta, DVD and Blue Ray. It harnesses the communicative powers of both graphic and sound design. Collision draws on Islamic patterns and American quilts as well as the colours and shapes of flags from both cultures to give the abstract commentary on the events of Iraq war.
Categorization
Collision is an abstract film that runs on the theme of war. It is a visual spectacle in which the artist constructs and deconstructs, morphs, and reproduces abstract patterns of American and Islamic connotations. (Dr Nadia Mounajjed, 2012, LSE Middle East Centre Blog).
It comments on politics through abstraction, by exploring graphic art as a metaphor. Discarding traditional storytelling, it presents a marriage of image and sound to produce a kaleidoscopic take on our geopolitical situation. Subtle and bold at the same time, the film aims to mesmerize the viewer with symbols that are detached from their established context and applied in the service of an alternative reality.
Form and Function
The two-minute Busby Berkeley-like dance of nationalist symbols, directly imparting its political insights to a contemporary audience. Through the continual build-up of forms and frenetic motion it unmistakably evokes references to wars, conflict, and a general clash of the cultures. These animated graphics are underpinned by an audio track that also references the machinery and explosions of warfare.
This abstract animation offers a space outside of realism and enables different perceptions from the ones we experience daily. It is an abstract satire based on the geometry of flags” Time Out London, 2006
Process
The film Collision is a 35 mm audiovisual film. It was made in Adobe After Effects: We must note that Collision was made in 2005, which is many year before the ubiquitous use of kaleideoscoping in digital motion graphics software nowadays. Thus, collision is a true innovation in our current era of digital motion design.
Formal Elements
The basics of Collision are constituted by the colours, geometric patterns, and shapes of flags. The green of Islam is contrasted with the American (and British) red and blue. However, red is also the colour of Arab nationalism while white features in the flags of all parties involved. All this is mixed again with the graphic patterns that are central to the heritage and identity of these cultures, American quilts on the one side and Islamic patterns on the other. Animators crackle and explode; pattern and rhythm enkindle war paradoxes between the U.S. Government, the special interests of the U.S. Government, and their Islamic adversaries. The sound design is significant and remarkable. The crackle-crisp sound adds extra depth, while punctuating the graphic.
Rather than focusing on differences, the film points out similarities across these cultures, symbolized by their cultural iconography. While the film follows a clear narrative structure, it is at the same time open to interpretation. The film ends with a sequence in which all the colors collide and create intricate morphing kaleidoscopic patterns to the sound of gunshots and fireworks.
Torre, D. (2015) ‘Persistent Abstraction: The Animated Works of Max Hattler‘, Sense of Cinema, 15 September. Available at: https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2015/feature-articles/max-hattler-animations/ (Accessed: 9 November 2022).
Flusser, V. (2011). Into the Universe of Technical Images. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Today I am going to analyze an animated film, Mitchelle’s vs the Machine made by Sony Pictures Animation.
This movie broke our thread tracking system with its comedic and emotional call backs, but the way the film breaks down into sequences is refreshingly clear and precise. The plot revolves around a quirky, dysfunctional family’s road trip. It shows how their trip is upended when they find themselves in the middle of the robot apocalypse and suddenly become humanity’s last hope.
Story Arc
The following analysis is based on 8 Point Story Arc
1. Stasis:
We see the intro of the dysfunctional Mitchelle’s Family, their background, and interests and on the other side we see Mark and Pal.
2. Trigger:
Katie gets admission in a film school and her dad is not in favor which results in a huge family fight. On the other hand, Mark throws Pal away and releases his latest invention, a line of artificially intelligent robots who immediately turn evil and wish to subjugate humankind. Pal is revealed to turn the robots into evil.
3. The Quest:
The family takes off on a cross-country road trip to Katie’s college where the robots attack humans including the Mitchells at Dino stop.
4. Surprise:
The Mitchells work together to defend themselves against the next Robot attack. Along with Eric and DeborahBot 5000, travel to the Mall of the Globe to turn the tide by entering the kill code at a Pal Labs center there.
5. Critical Choice:
The Mitchells disguise themselves as Robots in order to infiltrate enemy headquarters.
6. Climax:
Katie infiltrates PAL Labs HQ with the help of Aaron, using Monchi to cause the robots to malfunction, as his appearance causes an error in their programming. With help from Mark, Rick, and Linda free themselves. The family bands together to fight the rest of the improved robots, with Linda leading the charge and destroying dozens. Katie eventually finds and destroys PAL by dropping her into a glass of water, freeing all the humans and disabling all the robots.
7. Reversal:
The Mitchells prevail against the Robots. Humans are free!
8. Resolution:
After saving humankind, the director ties up the loose ends with the Mitchells being a whole family.
Characters and Archetypes
A Promotional Poster showing different characters of the Film
Protagonist
Rick Mitchell (Dad). Although the story is framed through Katie’s perspective (exemplified by her voice-over narration in The Opening) and we can certainly look at the story through her perspective as a Protagonist figure. I am inclined to think of Rick as the Primary Protagonist only because he goes through the most significant character arc. Whereas Katie’s psychological journey is reconnecting with feelings she already has about her father, Rick has to develop a new perspective about Katie, who she is and what she is capable of and reimagining himself and his role as a father given Katie’s transition into adulthood.
Antagonist
PAL. The leader of the Robots with a goal of destroying or subjugating all of humanity. This puts the Mitchells in life-or-death jeopardy.
Mentor
While there are several moments in the script where a character don a mentor “mask” in providing insights to Rick, including some of the videos Katie has created which allows Rick to see things in a new light, I am going to lobby for none other than “Monchi” as a key Mentor figure. Yes, the lazy-eyed dog. Monchi provides the key for Katie to plow through the sea of Robots with Monchi strapped to the front of the car. Indeed, Monchi provides the key moment in the Final Struggle which saves the day
Tricksters
The Posey’s feel like Tricksters who for much of the story function as “enemies” in their perfect family lifestyle, but by the end embrace Rick and his family.
Allies
The members of Mitchelle’s family are also the allies in the film. They worked together with the help of Eric and Deborah to save humankind.
Shapeshifters
Eric and Deborah Bot 5000 initially the bad infected robots turned to provided key assistance to the Mitchells vs. Pal and the Robot army.
Timeline of the Character
Concept Art Sketches of the Protagonist of the Film
Rick is a nature-loving man who finds himself exasperated by his family’s phone usage. When Katie, her daughter, prepares to leave for college, he decides to take her and the family on a road trip to spend the time together before she leaves home.
In the beginning he is shown to be emotionally immature. He breaks Katie’s laptop, and his idea of making it up to her is to cancel her plane tickets without consulting her, making her miss orientation week at college, and dragging the family along on a week-long road trip. His wife tries to bridge the communication gap between him and Katie, but notably it is usually Rick’s feelings that she most needs to soothe. The misunderstanding between him and Katie was the one causing the family trouble in this movie.
As the story progresses, we see the whole family coming together to fight against the robot apocalypse. We see that Rick tries to bridge the gap between him and her daughter. As the story unfolds her daughter Katie gets to know how her father has made a lot of sacrifices for her and the family. What makes Katie finally understand him is when she learns he sold his personally made home in the woods just so she could grow up in a better environment.
In the end, Rick accepts Katie’s dream. He verbalizes his fear of his daughter’s future but soon corrects himself by saying, “no matter what happens, her family will always be there for support.” The father and daughter accept each other finally. They might not understand each other’s ideology, but they promise to at least try. Katie joins her California film school college, meanwhile, Rick spends his time trying to understand computers. A horror, but that is the least he can do to watch her daughter’s crazy videos on Youtube.
Apart from research approaches and strategies we have studied mise en scene this week. Mise en scène is the arrangement of scenery and stage properties in a play. In film analysis, the term mise en scene refers to everything in front of the camera. Mise en scene in film is the overall effect of how it all comes together for the audience. The elements of mise en scene are
Sets
Props
Lighting
Costumes
Actor blocking
Shot composition
We always saw some video references and it made the concept more clear to me. The video reference showcased the importance of mise-en-scene in film. I have learned that if is properly used, it elevates film from a series of moving pictures to an art form with purpose. Something bursting with atmosphere and emotions that pulls viewers in and doesn’t let go.
FilmExample: Titanic
A shot from the movie, Titanic
James Cameron’s epic romance and disaster film is largely memorable for its bewitching use of key mise-en-scene elements. The biggest challenge is that it is completely set in a ship sailing in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Moreover, deep space is often used where even the far view of the ship is in clear focus. The setting in this film has created the contrast between higher and lower classes. The vivid acting style by several main and supporting characters has enhanced the storyline, and also made the story run smoothly. Lighting in this film has created meaning in all scenes, the mood has enhanced through different lighting in several scenes. The costume in this film is functional in telling audiences that the different characteristic of the characters in the scene. It has also enhanced the contrasted class level in this film. Space arrangement in this film has giving the meaning to the particular scene through different camera placement and camera shot. It wasn’t the tragic love story alone that made Titanic the success it was. The awe-inspiring visuals played an equal role. Now, that’s the power of a meticulously designed mise-en-scene
This week we studied different methods and strategies of research. We were asked to come up with a potential research topic or a question and write a brief paragraph about it.
The research topic I have selected is “Objectification of Women in Kids Cinema”. I chose this topic because the portrayal of Woman’s body in cartoons and animations has always irked me. It always made me question myself that why do woman are overly sexualized and to answer my curiosity I decided to research on this topic.
Research Topic:Objectification of Women in Kids Cinema
Cartoons play a significant role in children’s development. With young children spending so much time engaging in these forms of media, the messages they promote are especially important. When you turn on some light-hearted cartoons for your elementary schooler, the last thing you hope to see is an oversexualized and unrealistic female character. Most of the times the women are shown as an unattainable ideal, with huge breasts and an hourglass waist and their sole purpose is to entertain the leading male. Although most characters are not as extreme as Jessica Rabbit or Lola Bunny, it is evident that all women in cartoons are representing the unrealistic standards of beauty. The ideas of young people who have not yet developed a high level of thinking can be easily molded by the media they experience every day. The purpose of this research to investigate the streotypical representation of female characters in the animated cartoons and films and how they are affecting the development of our kids.
Key Word
Objectification of Women, Animation, Cartoons
Bibliography
Nelson, A. 2021. Pixar’s Objectification Obsession in “Inner Workings” and Beyond. 15 January. Gender Depiction in Pixar. [Accessed 16 October 2022]. Available from: https://medium.com/
Gilmore, S. 2021. The Harmful depiction of Women in Children’s Film and Television. September 6. The Objectification of Women in Children’s Television. [Accessed 15 October 2022]. Available from: https://yourdream.liveyourdream.org/
