The use of sound often used to evoke irrationality, an excess of emotion, or subjectivity to a crisis. Music are common examples of formal manipulations of sound, it creates an atmosphere/tension of a film.

Scream in Psycho are replaced by violins played at a high pitch because the scream of woman being stabbed to death cannot be reproduced effectively by an actor. Sound used in film may not necessary sound the same as how it sound like in reality. We’ve discussed in class that the sound of a car accident in reality is not the same in a film, it plays with fidelity and timbre and create what the audience think it might sound like.

In Barbarian sound studio, it shows us how sound engineers used (mainly) vegetables to create slashing/stabbing sound for a horror film- how horror films are built with mundane elements. Ears is the second most important cognitive organs to absorbs knowledge. Even though there isn’t any jump scares/scary plots but the sound and music used in the film builds an atmosphere and tension, as I watch the film I was excepting something scary to happen, but it didn’t.

Sound can be used to narrate a film, it gives out information to the audience and made us believe that something is going to happen. Reflex sound are stylized and accentuated so that the audience constantly notice them Sound plays a huge part, it engages the audience and it has the power to build the audience’s anticipation of the film.

Aliens

The readings by Jeffery Brown talks about how genre stereotypes in a film.The spectacle of the muscular male body had become the genres’ central trademark (Eg. Arnold Schwarzenegger). Through Aliens, we see a switch in gender roles, instead of the usual male hero, the heroine saves the day. Jeffery talks about how Masculinity is determined by one’s ability to perform certain culturally recognizable traits. In Aliens, private Vasquez shows the perfect example of a her masculinity.

James Cameron showed the audience that women can be as tough as men. In a particular scene, Ripley and Newt were claim while one of the male solider were panicking and screaming away. Being tough is not about a person’s masculinity but it is base on natural human instinct on survivor. Newt, a small little girl managed to survive by herself without proper training and food.

During our class debate, we were split into 2 teams to discuss if Aliens is more then just a science fiction. Through this exercise, our team did some research and find all sorts of evidence to support our argument. Marketing and promotion use genre as a platform to sell and promote a film- by looking at the official poster of Aliens, we can tell that it is a science fiction movie.

I enjoyed watching Sleepless in Seattle even though I find the plot unrealistic; there are sets of emotions/situations where the audience could relate. Romantic comedies are usually unrealistic, but audiences love the idea of plots, the perfect happy ending in a relationship. I guess that’s the reason why rom com is successful in it’s way. Women are highly influenced by rom com movies, they can relate to the story plots- loneliness, displacement of a relationship, finding a ideal soul mate.

From the readings, politics of romantic comedies- such fantasies left the audience dissatisfied with what they have, they expectations and reality is different- it can be harmful to one’s relationship building such fantasies.

There is an irony in Sleepless in Seattle; “An Affair To Remember” influences Annie’s romantic life, after persisting on her fantasies, she finally met Sam at the state of empire and they got together in the end. The chance of this happening in real life is very slim. Perhaps, winning the lottery would be easier.

I enjoy watching romantic comedies, even though it is exaggerates- as long as we know the fine line between fantasies and reality, it is actually quite entertaining.

Romantic comedy convention:

-Difference from what is usually expected in the non comic world

-In congruity

-Exaggeration

-Displacement, sense of things/relationship being out of place

-Happy ending

-Childish energies that can no longer be contained by the adult framework ( which makes it funny!!)