Semiotics Theory Analysis in the Movie “Ave Maryam” (2018)

A movie must have a purpose and a message according to the directors’ vision and plans. There are many ways to convey the message to viewers around the world, explicitly or implicitly. Yet, every individual has their own perspective, ideology, opinion, and culture background, and this diffence results in different interpretation of a movie. Nevertheless, viewers can still analyze a movie with theories that has been studied for generations, for instance semiotics theory, feminist film theory, psychoanalysis, etc. We will analyze how Robby Ertanto, as the director, the writer, and the producer of Ave Maryam, conveys messages through symbols, or as we call it the semiotics theory.

Superheroines and Sexism: Female Representation in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is the highest-grossing film franchise of all time and since the premiere of Iron Man in 2008, it has risen to fame as a source of science-fiction entertainment. Sexism in the film industry often goes brushed aside but the widespread success of Marvel Studios calls attention to their treatment of gender roles. This paper explores the progression of six female superheroes in the MCU and what effect feminist movements have had on their roles as well as upcoming productions in the franchise. This paper used an interdisciplinary, mixed-methods design that studied movie scripts and screen time graphs. 14 MCU movies were analyzed through a feminist film theory lens and whenever a female character of interest was chosen, notes were taken on aspects including, but not limited to, dialogue, costume design, and character relationships. My findings showed that females in the MCU are heavily sexualized by directors, costume designers, and even their male co-stars. As powerful as some of these women were found to be, it was concluded that Marvel lacks in female inclusivity. Marvel’s upcoming productions, many of which are female-focused, still marginalize the roles of their superheroines which is a concern for the future of the film industry. Marvel is just one franchise but this study shows how their treatment of female characters uphold patriarchal structures and perpetuate harmful stereotypes that need to be corrected in the film industry as a whole.

Carried away: 'revisioning' feminist film theory toward a radical practice.

""It's difficult to believe that after over 30 years of feminist theory "breaking the glass ceiling" is still a term often heard from women professionals. Still, while women continue to make up a trifling percentage of CEOs in Fortune 500 companies, and are continually paid 72% of the wages of their male counterparts, 2 small advances continue to be made by women in both these areas? Yet, one profession that stands out as persistently keeping women on the outside looking in is mainstream filmmaking, especially directing. Indeed, no woman has ever won an Oscar for directing, and women are rarely nominated in the category, most likely because women direct less than 1 % of mainstream films. While women continue to chip their way up the corporate ladder, albeit excruciatingly slowly, women directors of mainstream films are actually declining in numbers. It is ironic that it should be in the area of filmmaking that women have made such small progress. The implication of feminist film criticism's rifts and divisions, played out in theories of heterogeneity or what makes up a feminist aesthetic, typifies the continuing contribution that feminist criticism has made to critical and ultural studies on a whole. Much current critical theory is indebted to feminist film theory, but in tum, critical, psychoanalytic, post structuralist and cultural studies' influences on radical feminist theory have effected--or at least influenced--a shift that tends to privilege a critical practice dealing primarily with image/representation. As a result, feminist approaches to media have centred on '[re]reading' popular culture through a narrow feminist paradigm which in film criticism, especially, has meant that dominant critical strategies chiefly have been limited to a political tactic of "reading against the grain," rather than a tactic of producing contemporary feminist films."--Pages 2-3.

Carried away: 'revisioning' feminist film theory toward a radical practice.

""It's difficult to believe that after over 30 years of feminist theory "breaking the glass ceiling" is still a term often heard from women professionals. Still, while women continue to make up a trifling percentage of CEOs in Fortune 500 companies, and are continually paid 72% of the wages of their male counterparts, 2 small advances continue to be made by women in both these areas? Yet, one profession that stands out as persistently keeping women on the outside looking in is mainstream filmmaking, especially directing. Indeed, no woman has ever won an Oscar for directing, and women are rarely nominated in the category, most likely because women direct less than 1 % of mainstream films. While women continue to chip their way up the corporate ladder, albeit excruciatingly slowly, women directors of mainstream films are actually declining in numbers. It is ironic that it should be in the area of filmmaking that women have made such small progress. The implication of feminist film criticism's rifts and divisions, played out in theories of heterogeneity or what makes up a feminist aesthetic, typifies the continuing contribution that feminist criticism has made to critical and ultural studies on a whole. Much current critical theory is indebted to feminist film theory, but in tum, critical, psychoanalytic, post structuralist and cultural studies' influences on radical feminist theory have effected--or at least influenced--a shift that tends to privilege a critical practice dealing primarily with image/representation. As a result, feminist approaches to media have centred on '[re]reading' popular culture through a narrow feminist paradigm which in film criticism, especially, has meant that dominant critical strategies chiefly have been limited to a political tactic of "reading against the grain," rather than a tactic of producing contemporary feminist films."--Pages 2-3.

Peeping Tom as a proto-slasher

We explore the film in the wider context of the history of the Horror genre. This chapter looks at the idea that Peeping Tom can be seen as a proto-Slasher. Looking specifically at the Cinematography and use of the ‘killer’s Point of View’ shot we see how Peeping Tom has also gone on to influence later Horror films. This chapter includes analysis of camera technique and elements of the original script. We look at the film in relation to film theory, especially feminist film theory which has developed in relation to the act of looking and the role of the ‘male gaze’ in Horror films.

Analysis of Memory, Gender, and Identity in Psychological Thrillers with Specific Reference to Alfred Hitchcock’s Spellbound and James Mangold’s Identity

Purpose: This paper aims to analyze the portrayal and presentation of memory, gender, and identity in selected psychological thrillers. Approach/Methodology/Design: The selected films are Alfred Hitchcock’s Spellbound and James Mangold’s Identity. For the analysis of these films, the researcher employs both narrative and structural approaches; thematic analysis, psychoanalysis, and also feminist film theory. Findings: The results of the analysis show that apart from building suspense and mysteries with the identity issue, these thrillers question the stereotypes and inequality in society through the female characters for the consumerist audience. Hence, these films attempt to break the chains of legitimated stereotypes in the society which create binaries in the lives of people. Practical Implications: The portrayal of illness in psychological thrillers has attracted a lot more audience to seats. Dissociative elements such as memory and identity of the mind perhaps have permeated the film-going experience. The paper showcases these aspects in the selected films. Originality/value: The picturization of the fading identity and the double personality of the characters are central to the interior experience. The capturing of Amnesia and its related themes of memory, identity, and distributed consciousness are common materials in recent films because they can stretch to basic humanistic concerns and contemporary psycho-social issues.

Distinguishing the Female Protagonist in Douglas Sirk’s All That Heaven Allows, Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Ali: Fear Eats the Soul and Todd Haynes’ Far From Heaven

When a movie is remade the primary story changes in order to reflect the social norms of a new audience. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974) and Far From Heaven (2002) are replicas of the original film All That Heaven Allows from 1955. Each film tackles different issues with the female as the protagonist. Social class, race and homosexuality are at the core of these three films. In this paper, I will discuss all three films and interject how the heroine discovers herself and why she needs to evolve. As each heroine finds herself, she strives to break the monotony that society has constructed for her and by breaking free she discovers what she has been looking for on her own terms. Societal structures barricade our protagonist by creating obstacles for her to move through, like class differences, racial bigotry and love. The female’s journey will be looked at through a critical analysis of each film including its production design, score and lighting. Feminist film theory will help us understand how these generations look at female characters on film. In the next decade, this film may be told through a completely different filter based on the societal norms of what that generation is facing.