Essay Instructions: Science fiction films comprise a genre that generally relies on cinematographic techniques to influence the audience. These film narratives often reveal and explore what it is that constitutes the human, and in a complementary gesture, they often address as well the darker side of human behavior through the violent impulses, aggressive behavior, and sexual deviance of the figure of the alien. The films make use of spectacular special effects to create wonderfully imaginative visions of the future and stunning, sometimes beautiful, sometimes terrifying, depictions of aliens. The camera in general employs the techniques of realism, but nonetheless frequently suggests an interpretive stance, and, at times, a moral assessment. For your paper, watch Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956, Don Siegel)and examine how the use of perspective (both in the literal sense and the sense from whose point of view the movie is told) is central to the film narrative?s exploration of the themes discussed above. How do the perspective and the techniques of classical realism figure into both audience's understanding of the narrative of the film and the characters' understanding of what is transpiring around them? How do the special effects affect the audience?s apprehension of the film, the characters, and the narrative? What does the manipulation of perspective suggest about cinematic standards, cultural values, and viewer spectatorship? This paper is meant This paper is not meant to be a research paper, a movie review, or simply an elaboration of your personal opinions on the matter You do not need to cite any articles (unless you make a claim about audience response or rely on other critics? arguments), but rather you should analyze carefully and in depth the cinematic workings of point of view, special effects, and realist techniques.
Sample Opening: The Terminator (James Cameron, 1984) uses many realist techniques such as undistorted camera angles, eye-level shots, long tracking shots, and imperceptible editing to suggest a factual unfolding of the everyday concerns of a young woman working her everyday job and living a normal, unexceptional life. Despite the realism, however, the film clearly adopts a moral stance as well as a formalist perspective, using special effects to introduce the horrific arrival and remarkable, superhuman capacities of a cyborg killer. In typical expressionist fashion, the lights of the city become more garish and confusing as protagonist Sarah Connor begins to understand the terrible danger the cyborgs represents. A soldier from the future is sent to protect Sarah as she runs from the relentless machine, and he explains that the humans of his time are in mortal combat with the machines they have created, machines that are determined to wipe out humankind. Scenes from the apocalyptic future allow spectators to view what awaits the human race, while warrior Kyle informs Sarah of the tale of human technological over-reaching and of the need for her safety as the mother of the savior of the human race. In tracking the pursuit of Sarah and Kyle, each shot is seamlessly elided into the next to produce a smooth flow of action and a numbing incapacity. To exacerbate the terror and sense of urgency, scenes of Sarah?s flight are intercut with the brutal actions of the cyborg as it destroys all in its way. The special effects underscore the appalling power of technology and the frailty of humans in the face of machines they themselves have created. This use of both realist and formalist narrative techniques works well to convey fright, suspense, and human suffering in the face of a hitherto unimaginable threat to humanity and the world as we know it.
