@Phil Postmodernism Essay Plan and Introduction attempt 1

Postmodernism Essay Plan

Introduction

· Begin with: 'This assignment investigates Post Modernity through the idea of Deconstructionism used in specific scenes and characters in Scream (1996) and Funny Games US (2007)'...

· Brief order of points and how evidence will be useful

Para 1

· Begin with Derrida’s Destructive theory ‘sign and signifiers’

· “Meaning is never identical with itself because a sign appears in different contexts it is never absolutely the same ... the signified will be altered by the various chains of signifiers in which it is entangled. (Sarup, 1993: 34)

Para 2

· Text meaning and symbols – How situation atmosphere and viewer’s perception changes within the two films

· “It shares with other signs, including linguistic signs, the property of being open to multiple significations. The accompanying captions of photographs or written materials in a film.” (Stam, 1992: 34)

· Figure 1 – The arrival of the torturers in Funny Games; Figure 2 – The Beginning scene in Scream ‘The Phone Call’

Para 3

· The meaning of identity from Edvard Munch’s Scream turned into a slasher killer Ghost face and how the images are portrayed to the audience

· “Unlike the various strands of [structural] criticism, Postmodernism considers images as they relate to and across each other.”(McRobbie, 1994: 12)

· Figure 3: The Scream by Edvard Munch, Figure 4: Ghost Face

·

Para 4

· Rules in Scream and how the typical victim stereotype becomes the victor, equipped with the tools to survive

· “The affinity between the compilation film and assemblage and appropriation in other medias makes this the most characteristically Post Modern strain of contemporary avant-garde film making.”(Peterson, 1997: 143)

· Figure 5: Sydney standing triumphant over her torturer or gang discussing scary movies and ‘rules’

Para 5

· Rules in Funny Games and how the torturers have the advantage, allowing them to the keep their power over the Faber family throughout (briefly how advantages compare in both films.)

· “So, deconstruction analyses a text so thoroughly as to discover the many ways the text itself did not communicate upon initial reading.” (Michener, 2007: 64)

· Figure 6: Torturers sitting calmly opposite Farbers to create eerie tension

Para 6

· How director tricks us in Funny Games to a unfair resolution – the rewind scene and the ending where viewer knows what will happen to the next victim

· If ‘creative destruction was an essential condition of modernity, then perhaps the artist as [an] individual had a heroic role to play...” (Harvey, 1990: 19)

· Figure 7: Rewind scene or stare at the end

Para 7

· Truth and why viewer watches it – How Funny Games puts in the real seriousness and violence to make the audience feel uncomfortable and question why they watch films of this genre

· “Broadly speaking, Post structuralism entails a critique of the concepts of the stable sign of the unified subject, of identity and of truth,” (Stam, 1992: 23)

· Figure 8: Paul looks at screen including the audience as part of the world

Conclusion

· Highlight the key findings of the deconstructed techniques e.g. rules and changing (deconstructing) the structure of the horror genre (Don’t List)

· Form a judgement and emphasis points

Introduction

This assignment will investigate Post Modernity through the idea of Deconstructionism used in specific scenes and characters in Scream (1996) Directed by Wes Craven and Funny Games US (2007) Directed by Michael Haneke. Derrida’s theory of the sign and signified along with the death of the author terms will be used to help provide evidence into how both film examples deconstruct the horror genre. It will also analyse how both films have used techniques and influences to make their films unique, questioning the reality of why an audience loves a horror movie by showing the viewer a more realistic representation of it. Reaching the climax of the story where the plot has twisted for dramatic effect in a way the audience didn’t expect. The points will also look at brief comparisons between Scream and Funny Games, to show how they are both more exaggerated and darker forms of torture porn films but also how differently they have been portrayed. Visual evidence of film stills and screenshots will add further evidence and help to convey how certain situations or moments in the film could symbolise a range of meanings because of the stage direction and camera techniques used in specific scenes.