Phallic and Yonic Imagery in V for Vendetta and Children of Men

V for Vendetta

V has complicated character depth (motivation etc.) which is a form of subversion against the Classic Hollywood convention of characters and "Heroes" ideas (no black and white heroes, warning for real life) - Makes us think

(GOOD VS BAD)

CoM has simple conventional main characters. Everyone has bad motives amongst characters (rebels, Luke, Syd, army etc). The true enemy is the bleak future

(EVERYONE FOR THEMSELVES, ENEMY IS DISTOPIA)

V ADDRESSES NATION TO SHOW SIMPLICITY OF PEOPLE AND HOW SHEEPLIKE THEY ARE, AS WELL AS MEDIA INFLUENCE

Essay Layout

Intro:
THESIS (analysis of the comparison)

--
Equilibrium - Oppression by Government VS Everyone Infertile
Disruption - The Old Bailey revenge VS Kee is pregnant
Resolution - Sacrifice for freedom VS Sacrifice for future (both for mankind)

Theo's motivation = Redemption after loss of Julian and his child

--
Sim:
⚫Births (Rain Scene VS Kee - Mothers VS Infertility)
⚫Father figure (Jasper to Theo VS Dietrich to Evey)

Diff:
⚫Spiritual/Metaphorical VS Actual birth
⚫Terrorist - (V - Hero? Or Terrorist? (sacrifice for revenge) VS Theo - Hero? (sacrifice for humanity)
⚫V is traditional hero VS Theo is a drunk, realistic hero
⚫V = Warning message VS CoM = Hope (COULD BE THESIS)

CoM - WHY?
Realism through style (long takes and realistic themes)
To get idea of hope across

Style of Blue Colours = Depression because of Infertility

CoM Director has a style of POV shots and long takes

V follows CHN but subverts these from the inside, narrative reflects message

CoM does it less, because it's independent and does this to make us think

1.2.1

1) Themes in clip
Peace, love, innocence, rebirth, unity
2) Gender representation
Men have feminine trait of maternal care,
3) Style
Long take - tracking, handheld, gritty, wartorn

Independent films challenge us, makes us think about an idea

Juxtaposition helps us draw attention to the differences

If you take women and their fertility away, they become redundant and men (and some women) become hypermasculine

Julian lost child, she becomes leader of terrorist group, gun toting and hyper masculine

Best way to juxtapose is to split it down the middle  and make a list

Audiences of Hollywood films are different to those of Indie films, they oppose

Children of Men deliberately refuses to get applied to a genre, by not fitting conventions of set genres, but spans across several instead

Cinema verité (documentary) gives realism

Director is Mexican, biased toward immigration, fascist view of immigrants

1.2.1 - Conclusion

In Children of Men, War is seen as a hinderance and as a bad thing, rather than in V for Vendetta, where it is seen to be the trigger of events for the ending.

Children of Men shows how happy, peaceful and united everyone is during the scene with Kee carrying the baby downstairs, compared to how grief stricken and traumatised everyone is when the war is ongoing in the refugee camp. The war is between

How does V for Vendetta represent typical gender roles to communicate messages?

V for Vendetta has many ideas and messages underlying within the story. One of these messages is the idea of gender roles, represented by hypermasculinity, phallic, yonic and orgasmic imagery, the stereotyping of mothers and fathers and the oedipus complex

One of the ways that gender roles are represented to be stereotypical is in the scene called "God is in the rain", in which Evey emerges to the outside world in the rain after her torture, juxtaposed by the similar emerging of V from the fires of the camp after he burned it down. The scene can be found below: 

The textual elements in this scene help reinforce the gender roles found in hyper masculinity as the editing compares the scene of V rising from the fire, screaming with pain to Evey's reuniting with the outside world. Pain and destruction are both manly things, but to survive a fire and walk out casually makes us think that he has some kind of superpowers, which is a very masculine trait. On the other hand, this could just show that V has a high pain tolerance, which either way, is still masculine. The hole in the wall in which he arises from can be seen as yonic, as it is the birthing of his vengeance - This, when linked, can show that vengeance is a burning desire that V has. This is then compared to Evey as she similarly emerges from torture to the outside world, birthing her freedom. This is compared directly through an image match of both characters raising their arms, enforced by the acting of Natalie portman as her facial expressions almost mimic those of an orgasm. This can also show the idea of procreation in gender roles, in which this scene subverts as V births a new, freer Evey

Another way that gender roles are represented in V for Vendetta is through the birthing of a free country, portrayed by the destruction of parliament and the movement of the people and the images that this brings. The scene below shows this:

There are very many objects in this scene that are considered phallic, and give a good display of the power relationships between people. For example, the guns used by the army are supposed to show power, however, when they are told to stand down, the soldiers put their guns down, symbolising erectile incompetence, and thus a loss of power and masculinity. The same happens for the detective. I believe that another, more substantial phallic object in the scene is the lever in which Evey pulls down to activate the train and arm the bombs. The lever is phallic, arming bombs which is a threat (a masculine trait), the train then leaves the tunnel, showing the birth of an upcoming revolution. The train then penetrates the walls of the houses of parliament, which is also masculine. It then explodes, representing the orgasm of it all. Orgasms are often tied into birth (cause and effect), which can represent the birth of the revolution

Children of Men Opposition and Conflict

FISH vs Government - FISH want independence and freedom, to be a "democratic"party (turn more hostile toward the end as they want to use Kee's baby as political weapon)

Theo, Kee & Mirriam vs FISH - FISH want to use baby as political weapon, Theo overhears this and smuggles Kee and Mirriam out of there into immigration camp

Syd vs Theo and Kee - Syd wants to use the baby in an unorthodox method

Propp's Character Types

Villains

• Sutler - Shown through MICRO (Black clothes, Hitler resemblance, large face on screen)
• Luke/Fish & Government - Salvation/Punishment (Realistic themes), linking to style, characters here are narrative devices

Hero

• V + Evey - Superhuman feats achieved against Villain, sacrifice, reward of redemption at the end
• Theo - Good intentions, sacrifice, reward of freedom at the end

Children of Men/V for Vendetta comparitive intro

Children of Men and V for Vendetta's narratives differ very much from eachother. This is shown through the use of or lack of the Classic Hollywood Narrative. For example, Children of Men's narrative does not follow the Classic Hollywood Narrative at all, unlike V for Vendetta, which does subversively.

Children of Men does this through the complete lack of devices such as Equilibrium, Disruption and Resolution. This is shown through the lack of Resolution as Children of Men finishes Open-Endedly, not giving us the situation in which it finishes (Do Kee and the baby survive? What happens after that?) - It does this to make us think about what the potential ending could be, which is a common occurrence in Independent films like Children of Men, leaving a profound emotional effect on the viewer. Another Classic Hollywood Narrative criteria that Children of Men does not follow is the cause and effect. During the film, everyone in the world is suddenly infertile, excluding Kee. This would be an example of an effect, the cause, however, is not given, also leaving the viewer to think about the cause. This is unlike V for Vendetta, which shows it's true Hollywood elements through the following of the Classic Hollywood Narrative, but by subverting them to help give across the themes of individuality.

Genre, Styles & Theme in Children of Men

How does V for Vendetta get across its message and beliefs through its themes?

Set in the near future, V for Vendetta portrays a dystopian society controlled entirely by the government , in which the civillians like myself follow to their rules blindly like sheep. Alas, one man, simply titled "V", donning a mask and cloak, must represent and free the minds of the people and take control of their own civilization. Behind this film, there are many underlying themes that help display the idea of freedom against a government controlled lifestyle (amongst many other ideas). This includes the theme of Religion's influence on people and society, vigilantism, revolution, dictatorship and textual control by the media. All helping the messages and beliefs in V for Vendetta

One of the themes in V for Vendetta that I believe helps drive the messages and beliefs within the story is the idea of Religion and it's relevance in society. This is shown in the scene where the Bishop and Evey meet. The bishop arranges for her to be locked in the room with him so he can use her to his advantage without her escaping. He is told that she is underage and she is dressed to exaggerate this (pigtails, puffy pink dress and stockings, partially resembling a schoolgirl). This plays on the stereotype of of religious figures such as bishops, priests and popes being sexually intimate with children and minors. This scene is in place for us to consider challenging the idea of having religious figureheads and religion in general to prevent the justifying of acts which are considered to be immoral and illegal. It leads us to question what these "idols" provide to society except controversy and wars. This can also show the messages and beliefs that we do not need to follow religion like sheep just because of media influences and people in power being in favour of it. We can be free to support and enjoy whatever we like. This can also be seen as another display of Anarchy in the film as V is not a religious man, but decides to introduce atheism into the society, making them freer; which could be biased from the writer's perspective

Another theme in V for Vendetta that supports a message or belief in the story is dictatorship and the repercussions a totalitarian society can have. In the scene where we learn about Larkhill. It is a scientific research facility which is made to try and produce a "cure" for those who are diagnosed from a "natural" disease (when really, it was an organisation who placed it in order to gain political power and votes). This then puts this organisation into power, with Shutler at the chancellor role. He appears on screen very large in a closeup half of the time, giving him the image of "big brother". This shows that totalitarian society is not a good idea as new, oppressive schemes and laws are put into place (eg: curfew) that changes people's lifestyles completely. The film shows that this is not a good idea by giving a bleak outlook on the entire story, dark and saturated until the explosions of both the Old Bailey and Parliament are seen, introducing colour and light into the shots. This can only be described as a warning, the film is warning us that if a dictator is introduced, the states of our "normal" lives will change completely.

A message or belief in the story can be shown through the theme of textual control be the media being a current or near-future thing that can change our perception on the world. A scene that shows this is the "Dietrich's secret life scene" in which he shows Evey his secret collection of textual contraband, including paintings that were said to "cause an uproar", the Qur'an and images comparing the new political party to those of the Nazis.

In conclusion, the themes of religion and it's stereotyping help us reflect on our current society and the role that religion plays in our lives, leading us to question why we have religious figures making decisions for us and why we have religion as a whole. Atop this, we also have themes of dictatorship being a warning to us as to not having any benefits, only repercussions and that we should try to avoid it as much as we can, as well as textual and media control being a present thing by those in power to alter our perception of ongoing events and life "as we know it" to their advantage. This acts as another warning or cause of alarm to this, so we know that it is a happening event. The entire film can be considered "eye opening" to current ongoing events that are pushed under the carpet for the use of a government that we pray will never been totalitarian

Cross-Cutting

"Cross cutting" - Cutting between two events happening at the same time, meaning there's gonna be a relationship between characters

What is the extent of V for Vendetta's subversion to Classic Hollywood narrative?

V for Vendetta does not fully comply with Classic Hollywood Narratives fully, in fact, it only complies to half of the parameters set and found in Hollywood narratives.

For example, in the film, there is not a defined villain, to which the movie would end to upon his/her death. However, the film ends once Parliament is destroyed, so the symbol of government is destroyed, ending the movie. Showing that government is the villain due to repression of ideas (the people), showing that opposition and conflict is not completely followed as V for Vendetta uses symbols rather than characters to have conflict between (Anarchy vs Fascism)

There is also no positive end or closure, typically found in Hollywood. The film ends after government is destroyed, which makes the viewer feel satisfied. However, there is no closure afterward.. Does the government rise again by oppressing the people again? Or do people turn on eachother? We are not told like the "happily ever after" we are given in most films. This leads to the idea of resolution in a 3 act structure, there is no resolution. Anarchy and fascism could still occur in this universe, we do not know?

Overall, V for Vendetta subverts some of the rules of classic Hollywood narrative. This the deliberate rebellion against the rules, by bending them to it's own will. This is a metaphor for us to question the simple rules set out by society, rather than follow like sheep

Classic Hollywood Narrative

Dark Knight
Opposition and Conflict / Character driven and Psychological motivation

Donkey Kong
3 act structure

Super Mario Family Guy
Character driven/Psychological motivation or Opposition and conflict (kiss rejection shows realism?)

Sneeze and Disease
Cause and effect

Dark Knight HiSHE
Positive end/closure and Opposition and Conflict

Star Wars Bunnies
Positive end/closure, opposition and conflict

--

IN THE END OF A FILM, THERE'S ALWAYS A CONFRONTATION

3 Act Structure is made of:
-Equilibrium
-Disruption
-Resolution

V FOR VENDETTA CONFORMS TO CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD NARRATIVE (In V, People are representation of Ideas "bulletproof" - Anarchy vs Fascism

IT DOES NOT SATISFY CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD NARRATIVE FULLY

NO SOLID VILLAIN CHARACTER - THE FILM ENDS WHEN SYMBOL OF GOVERNMENT (PARLIAMENT) IS DESTROYED

FILM DOESN'T END WHEN BAD GUY DIES, SHOWS REALISM

NO PROPER CLOSURE/RESOLUTION

Stock characters

Stock characters are roles to fill, all fit into the same criteria

V pushes Evey through storyline. V is a:
-Black knight
-Anti-Hero
-Lone Vigilante
-Hero (sacrifice)/Tragic Hero
-Villain

In V for Vendetta, Characters are not stock, too complicated, doesn't conform to stock characters. It does this to make us think about the warning, shows reality of no good or bad people.

REAL LIFE HAS NO STOCK CHARACTERS

MES, Style, Theme & Genre grod

1.5.1 - Exam prep

Theme - what the characters are doing and why?

Characters are fictional, they symbolise and are functional (there to "play it out")

Dystopias are bleak near-future portrayals there to warn, give the message

Totalitarianism is the act of giving one person power who controls EVERYTHING from sexuality, to clothing and religion. Not liked because humans like freedom. Not always bad.
Conspiracy theories are an individual or group of people who tell of stories often through the internet about things the people are not told. Wikileaks are an example. Often about government.

Democracy considers everyone's opinion, using a representative to make decisions. Can be used to make you THINK you have control, but you don't

Fascism is the act of having a dictator of a party, makes nationalism occur (patriotism gone mad, supremacy) - totalitarian

1.2.1 - Star Trek clip analysis

GENRE?
Is a Hybrid of Sci-fi and Action Epic

Due to Sciency elements (aliens and futuristic weapon) action from explosion and tense fight scenes

Clip theme analysis

RotPotA
Against the modification of Nature, showing negative side effects, nature taking back it's land? Evolution

Tron 2
Everything is controlled by a power who is surveiling, justification for "mercy killing"?

Wall-E
Post apocalyptic? Fallout? Potential of feeling in robots? Dystopian future controlled by robots?

1.3.1

Genres:
Crime & Gangster
Drama
Comedy
Musical
Horror
Western
Epic/Historical
War
Sci-fi
Action & Adventure

--

V FOR VENDETTA:

Why is it an action,thriller,sci-fi?
Appeal to a wider audience, mostly targeted toward males, masculine (actions, explosions, shot in male gaze), relatable to main character, attractive female co-star. Can draw in female audience as Evie gains power from none. Usually have protagonist being innocent, but V is terrorist protagonist. Because of V, Evey turns from passive to active (terrorist) character. Leads us to believe V is main character, but really, he is only there to transform Evey

Why is it NOT a sci-fi?
No aliens or stereotypical sci-fi elements. Could be realistic (to a degree). Is sci-fi, but is so close to reality, that it doesn't seem like it is. Breaks away from conventions. To show that this could happen. But it does happen, film gets us to realise this, showing that dystopia isn't far away. Shows bleak future, no voice, no freedom

"Experimenting on people - sci-fi" - Burned (given powers) -SUPERHERO GENRE?

Experiment on:
-Immigrants
-Criminals/activists
-Disabled
-Terrorists
-Homosexual

Style: Nazi
Themes: Fascist, Nazi, Conspiracy, Freedom vs Protection

Why is it a thriller?
Contains espionage thriller elements because he spies on government. Crime thriller because V and Evey break the law a lot. Purpose of detective is to solve mystery through an investigation process, guy trying to catch V is a detective, seen from his POV so we can try to guess before he does. Film switches perspective a lot, from Evey to detective. Making it complicated, because it's a thriller, we are left in mystery

Why is it an action?
Fight scenes are made to be entertaining, over the top and skew from reality, uses superpowers to control time. No solid good or bad characters.

Why's it trying to be an action film if "good guy" tortures Evey?

It shows that not everyone is either good or bad, it's a spectrum. No solid characters

Group bad guys, government. Film ties up that destruction of Parliament destroys symbol of evil. At end, noone is in charge, everyone is. Gets us to take responsibility for everyone's actions.

We are conditioned to think that government will fix all problems

Gone with the Wind

Tracking, follows Lady, Long shot on shows amount of injured people, still pans with Lady, turns to medium long shot with zoom out, shows lady's insignificance to the bodies

Turns into medium shot when flag comes into view, deep focus

Narrow focused in closeup dialogue scenes

Otherwise deep focused in scene, blocking used as talking characters are standing in foreground, not lost in background because if this

LONG TAKE = REALISM

SHOT TYPE CAN REVEAL AND CONCEAL
--

Terminology
Blocking, panning, over the shoulder, shallow focus, closeup, medium shot, extreme closeup, low angle shots, POV, Low FPS

Analysis
Conflict aggression, phallic, male exchange (woman cut out), importance, intensity, power, looking toward audience, intimidation, two guns, power struggle, fear, character depth, dramatic, immediacy (in the scene), no sound means you focus on visual, more below the surface

Sub-text messages
SPR:

2001: A Space Odyssey

The initial shots show baroness of land, meaning that the apes shown are in hiding from something, as they are all together.. Perhaps a predator or alpha male

Giant wall produces moaning noise every time it is in frame, apes fear it, mysterious. Moaning gets louder the closer the apes get to it. Centre of frame. Causes evolution to begin? Black - Mystery! Shot showing wall, sun and space, narrowing toward space, leading our eyes up there, destined to be starbound?

Camera angles suggest that apes are distantly related to story and are not main protagonist. Or at least there is no main protagonist. Apes could be group protagonists

Silence across the rest of the land shows only disruption in place of the wall

Never focused on one person, until final "bone" scene - he is central of frame, close up

Evolution? Discovery of destruction leading to death of tapir?

Low camera angle on the arm when striking shows power and intimidation (in blocking method)

Graphic match between bone and spaceship - relation

Ideology: We were destined (by some sort of overruling power from space) to go to space for am ungiven reason, perhaps triggering another event?

STAY ON THE LOOK OUT FOR UNUSUAL SHOTS, THEY ARE USUALLY IMPORTANT TO STORY

1.2.1 Notes

Narrative
The way the story is told

Sub-text
Underlying messages, ideas, meaning etc

We can get all these from analysing the film text (Mise-en-scene, cinematography)

Cinematography notes

Deep Focus
All of scene is in focus, requires a lot of light

Shallow Focus
Only one plane is in focus, other is blurred. Eg: Foreground is visible, blurry background

Racking Focus
Shift of focus from foreground to background, beginning in style of Shallow Focus

Zoom Shot
Change of length of lens in middle, we appear far away

--FILM SPEED--

24FPS is standard in films, films in lower FPS, played at a quicker speed are jumpier, look like snapshots

--FRAMING--

Orson Welles uses unsettling objects and people in his scenes to make the viewer uneasy

--FRAMING--

Angle
Low or high camera angles show different emotions (intimidation, fear, abandonment)

Level
Height at which the camera is placed at, exaggerate POV

Canted
If camera is purposely tilted to suggest danger or disorder

Following shot/reframing
Follows characters with pans, tilts, tracking etc.

POV
Shows perspective of a character, emulates their sight

Wide-Angle Lens
Shows space, emphasis

--SHOT TYPES--

Extreme long shot
Makes scene appear tiny

Long shot
Makes scene appear small

Medium Long Shot
What is being viewed takes up almost all of screen

Medium CloseUp
What is being viewed takes up almost all of screen

CloseUp
Intense, fills all of screen

Extreme CloseUp
Very large object (eg:eye) shown very close

Summer Assignment: Children of Men review

Full review can be found here

"Set in 2027, Children Of Men follows the story of civilization's collapse after a baby has not been born in 16 years. Will humanity prevail?"

Summer Assignment: 25 Word Sequel or Prequel

Film Chosen: The World's End (2013)

Sequel: Post apocalyptic Gary (shown at end), breaking into bars and breaking bad! (the gang go on the quest for the perfect microbrew), hilarity ensues

Word Count: 24

1.1.2 - Week 2 Notes

--"MICRO"-- (Textual elements)
A film is a text, this is what makes up a film

Cinematography - The way a scene is shot

Mise-En-Scene

Sound

Editing

--CITIZEN KANE--
Meaning, characters:
Power? Relationships?
Woman appears in power over lawyer, older man (husband) is more powerful than her, shown by sound, loudest is more powerful
Camera follows husband, pans up to him, she reopens window

Space:
Centred chars show connection and authority, larger spaces show more actions/gestures, closeness to camera shows intensity and importance, boy kept in shot shows he is topic of conversation or at least significant, littlest space is kept for silent people, further away people have less importance or authority other a closer character, occupation of space in frame shows importance, distance shows relationship between characters

"Opposite sides? Oppose." - Difference of opinion

People between show "in between" the character's relationships or have significance to the scene (eg: the boy)

"Whatever we see is there to help reinforce the story"

"The power can change, we are able to move characters"

--
**Describe technique>Analyse meaning

--
"City is bigger than him, due to him losing money, city has beaten him"

Analysis is used to create meaning,
Blocking - MES? Or Cine?

**BLOCKING IS MES (Due to Spacing etc.)**

--

1.1.2 - Limitless Mise-En-Scene and Writeup

Colour:
Blue tones, saturated, calm, seems informal

Lighting:
Calm, nothing bright and alarming

Performance:
Brothers catching up after a drink (truthfulness shows), used to be a drug dealer, now into pharmacy.. "Not into that anymore" - Haven't caught up in a while

Costume:
Man in darker clothes appears richer due to suit, compared to civvie clothes

Framing:
Never in same shot, distant brothers now?

Props:
Whiskey glass, small pill in bag (mysterious)

Setting:
Bar, judging by drink and civilians around as well as whiskey glass

Space:
Seem far apart, opposite ends of table.. Not helped by framing

--

Multiple versions all working for same goal, clean apartment, shown by a simple pan across, once done, realisation of accomplishment is shock and disbelief, speeding up of typing, words falling into sentences, hyper productivity, writes (job) really fast, yellow and warm colours, lighting is brighter.

--WRITEUP--
During this scene of Limitless, the writer (and consumer of the new experimental drug) decides to use the hyper productivity that the drug provides to clean his apartment.

As the camera pans around the apartment, many versions of Bradley Cooper are shown part taking in the cleaning, all in a single shot at a time lapse-esque speed. The colours within this scene are warmer and more yellow, as well as brighter lighting, giving a pleasant atmosphere, so we can tell that this is Bradley's home. The reaction of our central character is that of shock and disbelief. Despite his clothes being the same as the before scene, he seems more hardworking and fulfilling

1.1.2 - V for Vendetta Mise-En-Scene

Props:
Weapons under cloak show hidden lethality, TVs

Framing and Proposition:
Pan from mirror of masked man, to young girl, almost identical, both characters remain central, but cameras give angles that create mystery

Costume:
Citizen and Masked man

Performance:
Only dialogue is carried out through a TV, shows control by the media

Lighting:
Dimmer in the Mask wearer's room

Setting:
London, close future?

Colour:
Yellowy tones remind viewer of candlelight, associated with mystery and sinister-ness
--

"Totalitarian society"

1.1.1 - Wall-E Mise-En-Scene

1.1.1 - Wall-E Scene Analysis

1:
Cluttered, dirty house, rusted metal, collection of random item
Intro to Wall-E, small also rusted robot

2:
Wall-E crushes cockroach, feels sorry for him and is relieved when he is okay.. Robot feeling emotion

3:
Giant dusty landfill site, Shows Wall-E's job as a trash compactor (cubes), no life (except cockroach), really small in the shot to show shear size of Landfill, how small he is

4:
Curious, random human household items collected for his interest in them, field of view reveals heat waves

5:
No sense of worth, innocent, clumsy and child-like

6:
Organised placement of trash, programmed for job

7&8:
Very small in shot, shows size of landfill and the impact he makes by compacting trash, he makes a big difference, does it alone, sun was setting through job