The genre we focused on in Week 2 was the Western, which I had very little viewing experience in. Because of this, I decided to educate myself in some of the classics. In the past week I have watched Sergio Leone’s entire “Man With No Name” trilogy, and to my surprise, highly enjoyed all three films.

In class on Monday, we discussed some of the stereotypes of the Western genre, and an area that intrigued me particularly was the representation of women in these films. It was said that there are only really two types of women in theses movies: prostitutes and damsels in distress. Each part of the trilogy only features one woman, usually in a relatively small role. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly fills their female quota with a single prostitute and A Few Dollars More represents women through the small role of an adulterous hotel owner. The first film, A Fistful of Dollars, includes the most notable female part of the series with a damsel in distress, who does little more than cry before being freed by Clint Eastwood’s nameless hero. It was interesting to see just how stereotypical these representations of women can be throughout the genre, and I would be intrigued to delve further into the issue to find out if these roles adapt at all over time or with different directors.

What do you want to get out of the course?

I usually find myself steering away from the stock standard genre film. I think this is because I often find the popular conventions of these movies can be overused, making them predictable and tiresome. I do, however, enjoy when these conventions are played on by directors in order to present a refreshing new take on a genre. An good example of this is in Raiders of the Lost Ark, when, instead of instigating an over-the-top, elongated sword fight, which we know the hero will probably win, Indy simply shoots his enemy resolving the issue in a matter of seconds. Yet in order to fully appreciate and implement scenes of this nature, knowledge of the classic motifs and stereotypes is necessary. I hope to be able to delve into the history of these conventions, and explore how they arise and become so prominent.

In terms of technical skills, I would like to continue to improve my abilities in the areas of editing and sound. I think these areas are often under appreciated during production, but make a significant difference to the quality of content if they are not done well. With most of the assessments I did last semester revolving around short film exercises,  I look forward to exploring how genre can be portrayed through audio and still images, which appear to be some of the avenues we can use for the assessment tasks to come.

Case Study – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly 

Sergio Leone’s 1966 film, The Good The Bad and The Ugly is a staple Western, and both cashes in on and plays with the stereotypes associated with the genre. The movie references some the most obvious conventions of cowboys, guns, an horses, yet there are also uses subtle tropes that are often recycled throughout the genre. When studying the common style shared between the opening titles of Westerns, Deborah Allison (2008) notes that these sequences frequently feature the imagery of a landscape, a man and a horse. Allison references a review by Ed Bascombe (1999), who theorises that the majority of Westerns open “on a huge, flat landscape, followed by a shot under the titles of a man riding toward the camera”. The opening scene of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly mirrors this description almost exactly, with the only exceptions being the title of the film displayed before the opening scene starts, and close up shots of characters also being interjected. This almost cliché opening highlights some important factors to the audience. The establishing landscape shot and the wide shot of a man approaching on a horse demonstrate the barren land and isolation that the story evolves within.

Another staple of the Western genre is the standoff. Although the film’s most famous use of this theme is seen at it’s closure, the opening also utilises this convention, and even plays on viewer expectations. The scene depicts a pair of men on one side of the desolate town, and a singular man on the other. As they gradually approach each other, we are displayed shots of them reaching for their guns, seemingly preparing to draw them on one another. Yet, instead of typically halting at a distance and drawing their weapons, they continue to move closer and closer, before it is revealed that they are actually all part of a team on to capture Tuco in the saloon. Leone builds tension by playing on this convention, creating more shock and surprise when we see the group burst into the bar together.

References

Allison, D 2008, ‘Title Sequences in the Western Genre: The Iconography of Action’, Quarterly Review of Film and Video, vol. 25, no.2, pp 107-115

Buscombe, Ed 1999, ‘The Hi-Lo Country’, Sight and Sound, vol. 9, no.8, pp.44–45

Week One already began the process of opening up my eyes to the world of genre film. Although I missed the first class, I enjoyed reading over the conversation between Neil Gaiman and Kaizo Ishiguro (New Statesman, 2015). The points the pair made about prejudices  and stigma against genre literature and film were interesting, as I often find myself falling into the same thoughts of fantasy genres being inferior to non-fiction and more realistic novels. Despite the genre’s proven success and ability to stimulate important discussion, there are many who still look down upon it’s art form.

The Thursday workshop included an introductory lesson to the Sony EX3 cameras. Although I had used these cameras extensively last semester, I enjoyed getting a refresher course on some of the basics, especially the correct terminology that is necessary when discussing the cameras and their applications.

References:

Gaiman, N & Ishiguro, K 2015, ‘”Let’s Talk About Genre”: Neil Gaiman and Kazuo Ishiguro in conversation’, New Statesman, 4 June.