Today in class we all brought forward a small example of audio-visual story telling. The variety of content, and content matter that is, that was showcased was impressively diverse and fulfilling. To think that this many narratives can exist, all of which touch on different emotions and environments is one of the aspects of film i find most thrilling and amazing. Students’ content ranged from comedic and heart felt anime – In A Heartbeat (2017) – to Dario Argento’s 1977 horror film, Suspiria.

This exercise really showcased the communication of emotion, and the importance and impact of audience awareness and empathy. This was demonstrated in Steve McQueen’s 2013 drama 12 Years A Slave, where a prolonged, quietened scene emphasised the humanity (or lack therefore) of the situation presented. The scene was focused around the unfair punishment of an African American persons in the early to late 1960’s. McQueen purposefully paints an intimate picture through the painfully dulled, driven by heat, hazey American scene. Juxtaposing images of the ‘great American lifestyle’, eg. scenes of children running and laughing, veranda sitting and ice tea drinking, with the uncomfortable and suffocating imagery of a chocking man. This scene highlights importantly the humanity of character, along with the inhumanity of the situation. Contradicting, to directors such as Quentin Tarantino whom have previously used the atrocities of mankind to fuel the stakes of his own entertainment.

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