Lara Croft Analysis

In ‘Lara Croft: Tomb Raider’ there is a strong female protagonist; the film is based on the adventures of an archaeologist originally depicted in a series of video games, which gave teenage boys the power to control a beautiful woman and alter camera shots which depicted her. Croft’s character is described as “a beautiful, intelligent and athletic archaeologist-adventurer”. The fact that Croft is supposed to be seen as a powerful but sexualised woman is demonstrated through the use of camera angles. Within ‘Tomb Raider’ a large number of camera shots focus on Croft’s chest and thighs - this is where her guns are strapped so every time she uses them the camera focuses here. An example would be in the opening scenes of the film in which Croft fights a robot in a training scene, there is a five second close-up shot of Croft’s thighs. This objectifying of the character can easily be seen from Laura Mulvey’s Theory of the Male Gaze, suggesting some “films objectify women in relation to ‘the controlling male gaze’, presenting ‘woman as image’ (or ‘spectacle’) and man as ‘bearer of the look’. Men do the looking; women are there to be looked at.”

This would suggest that the character of Croft is simply there for male pleasure rather than alter gender stereotypes; demonstrated in the opening fight scene in which the camera focuses with a series of close-ups on her breasts, legs and bottom, Croft is noticeably portrayed as a sex symbol. This is observably a common issue within the film industry as seen in Transformers with Megan Fox.

When applying Mulvey's 'male gaze theory' to the film Transformers, a good scene to analyse is when she is checking Sam's engine. This is a prime example of sexualising a woman in an un-sexual scene just the the viewers pleasure.
There is a mid shot when she opens the hood to Sam's car to check the engine. Within the mise-en-scene you see her bare torso due to the crop top she is wearing, and also within this shot her head is completely cut off which is turning her into an object just for visual pleasure. The protagonist, Sam, is seen gazing at her body, this implies that even though Sam is near centre screen, the camera wants us to follow his eyes.
Megan Fox as an actress has the 'perfect' body that young girls want to achieve, so from a females point of view this shot could be looking at her for inspiration.
The shot then changes to a point of view shot from Sam and he pans up looking at Mikaela's body. From the min skirt to the crop top and again, cutting out her head and still making her an object for the male pleasure. The camera being from Sam's point of view shows the audience what he is concentrating on, even though his car has just broke down.
Within this particular scene, point of view shots are used more then mid shots, close ups and any other shots really. This is because we are gazing at Mikaela's body as if we are Sam and this is what the camera want sis to look at. However, there then is a a mid close up of Sam hiding his reaction from Mikaela, as you can clearly see he is sexually frustrated. As this is from a heterosexual males point of view, most heterosexual males more than likely feel the same way as what Sam does. In conclusion to these shots, though Sam is not listening to anything that Mikaela is saying about his car, her appearance and her body is too over-whelming for him.

It is clear that the action film industry is very much a man’s world. Clearly signifying that men watch films for entertainment in particular sexual arousal, in relation to ‘Uses and Gratifications’ theory. Although Croft’s clearly objectified, she can still be seen as role model to women as she fights against the stereotype of women as victims. She is strong and independent and an audience may watch her for personal identity so they can find a model of behaviour. Nevertheless, there is a suggestion that characters such as Croft could be bad for women as a role model, as these films promote the “‘superwoman ideal’ — the idea that women should excel in traditional feminine roles, as well as traditional male areas.”



Ref: Laura Mulvey: Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema

Laura Mulvey male gaze film

Storyboard Mulvey Film

Uses and Gratifications

Definition 

The theory places more focus on the consumer/audience, instead of the actual message itself by asking "What people do with media" (Katz, 1959). It assumes that members of the audience are not passive but take an active role in interpreting and integrating media into their own lives. The theory also holds that audiences are responsible for choosing media to meet their needs.

Model - 

P - Personal Identity - Are you able to recognise yourself within the product shown or the person?
I - Information -  Does it actually give you information?
E - Education - Are you able to gain knowledge and understanding?
S - Social Interaction - Is this going to be a particular topic in conversation?

Mulvey film evaluation

Within this unit Ben and I worked together a short film based around Laura Mulvey's theory of the male gaze. Mouldy's theory being that when viewing a text, the audience is put in a position of viewing a woman in the eyes of a heterosexual male, and that from there point of view are seeing women as objects. So, based around this theory Ben and I came up with a storyboard and plan to apply this theory to our film. We did this by thinking about the many ways women get sexualised by doing things that men do. For example; Megan Fox in Transformers knowing a lot about cars, not a stereotypical female trait. Lara Croft, in Lara Croft being an adventurer and fighting, again not a typical female trait. We came to a conclusion, we both have pass codes to the gym we could film in there. I know the manager just through chatting around the gym so when I asked her if we could film within the gym she said it was fine as long as we weren't shooting in peak time (people don't like to be on camera whilst in the gym or at all). As in real life women are majorly sexualised within the gym our narrative was achieved by putting our female in a real life situation. We decided the best way to put out final edit together was to loosely film it as a workout video. 

I took on the role as the protagonist doing various exercises and routines throughout my week with my 'personal trainer' (my boyfriend). Ben played the part in being my 'stalker' by seemingly taking photographs and videos of me working out. Having both Ben and Kieran meant we could various shots from around the gym. From Kieran's point of view we got real close up to my body in a way of which it will serve the audience visual pleasure. For these shots we used a hand held camera to make it seem more real and this way it felt like a better result from the heterosexual males point of view. 

Ben took on the role of recording most the video as being the 'stalker' he had most of the shots to shoot, however when Ben and I both needed to be in shot we asked Kieran to take on the role of videographer. 

Whilst filming most of our video in a public location it made it difficult for us to record and not get anyone within the shot. We couldn't get many people within the shot because many people wither don't like being on camera or they don't like being filmed whilst working out. (and obviously this is completely understandable). With this complication it made it a lot harder for us to film which means it affected out filming. It affected our filming because we would have a really good shot idea or already in place but then someone would move or come into shot, therefore we moved the camera out of curtsy. Although we accounted this by re shooting some of our footage on different days or just changing the shot completely. 

Lighting became an issue with filming as the light levels in the gym remained the same however, if we had a window in the background of a shot it would seem overexposed, although we couldn't do much about this problem, again sometimes we changed angles. 

Another problem that occurred, which we overcome was the lighting waves within the white background of our footage. As we couldn't do much about this problem I did some research of what it is. I soon found out that on old camera and video cameras you would get the waves within the background too. This then became a part of our video because it made it more realistic that 'stalker' Ben was watching and recording me workout. 

Applying Freud Theory

Shaun of the dead

Ego - Shaun

Superego - Liz

Id - Ed 

Ed would be in the 'Id' within this movie as he is a lazy character who is carefree and doesn't see the consequences of his actions. 

Shaun would be the ego as he is in the middle of two strong people with big personalities (Devil and the angel). He is constantly getting pulled between the two, right and wrong. 

Liz is the superego, as she is very much the voice of reason and will make you aware of what is right and what is wrong. She will also tell you the consequences of the actions you're willing to take. Although roommate Pete can also be conveyed to be the superego as he likes rules and is sensible unlike Ed, the Id. As Pete would be seen as the angel and Ed as the devil, they clearly do not get along with one another. 

In this scene, Shaun is telling Ed the plan of what they're going to do but as soon as he mentions superego Liz, Ed the Id doesn't like the sound of the plan. He reacts by telling ego, Shaun that he doesn't want to stay at Liz's because he wants to be somewhere familiar (which we could all understand), but then he goes on about smoking, which is obviously bad for you and of course it's bad which means Liz does not approve.
So Shaun goes on to change his plan which seems to suit Ed more as he can drink and smoke whilst being in a familiar surrounding.
However, towards the end of the clip the news is on and the reporter is telling people to remain inside, but of course Ed turns to Shaun and says "Do you believe everything you hear on TV?"

Throughout the film the Freud theory is shot very clearly. For example Liz has clean clothes on at the start and you can clearly see she looks after herself whereas at the start you see Ed scruffy and not caring how he looks. Shaun however is in between them both. He has a shirt on with a tie, although it seems to appear that he slept in them clothes from the day before, but he also goes out not caring about his hair or that his shirt is a bit dirty and not tucked in.

Applying the male gaze

I will be applying Mulvey's 'male gaze theory' to a film, scene in the Transformer's movie where Megan Fox's character Mikaela checks the engine, is a prime example of sexualising a completely un-sexual scene for the viewer's pleasure.




This scene in particular conforms to most, if not all the points which is stated in Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory.
The scene opens up with Sam kicking his friend out the car so he could give the hot girl who goes to his school a lift home. The theory then comes in when Mikaela starts to sort out Sams 'broken' engine.

 

As you can see from this screenshot, Sam cannot take his eyes off of Mikaela's body. The audience watching can see Sam's eyes are not on his engine but on Mikaela, which then makes the audiences eyes lead towards Mikaela's body. However, not only sexualising a women with how the camera points at different angles but objectifying things males find pleasure in. In this instance, cars and being a mechanic as this is a stereotypical male job role.














In these particular shots you can see the way the camera is sexualising Mikaela. The close up of her stomach with the sun glaring off her skin and how the camera doesn't move when she is leaning over the car engine.

Not only do we see the camera sexualising Mikaela, but in this shot you see Sam 'trying to contain himself' as he is looking at everything Mikaela has to offer. As Mikaela is trying to tell Sam what is wrong with the car but we never see him make eye contact with Mikaela as he is too busy and occupied.





Within the whole scene the camera angle is almost always eye level

About our film

Name:
Unknown

About:
A girl working out at the gym who is sexualised by people working out in the gym and her personal trainer. We then soon learn that she has a 'stalker' who is seen taking photos/videos of the her.

Workout plan

Chest:

Incline (Bar bell and dumb bell)
Decline (Bar bell and dumb bell)
Fly

Back: 

One arm row
Bent over row
Pull down
Seated (weight) row

Legs: 

Squats
Leg press machine
Calf curl

Arms: 

Biceps
Triceps

Other: 

Warm-up
Stretches
Jog
Steps
Lunges
Swapping weights
Walking up the stairs

Planning (Script and storyboard)

Script - 

Kieran; 
Support and pushing Aj to get further.
"You can do it" "Keep going" "Nearly there"

Countdown;
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10"

Ben / Aj; 
(Swapping/putting weights back) (Go for the same weight)

Ben: "Oh did you want this weight"
Aj: "No no, its ok you use them"
Ben: "Honestly you have them"
Aj: "Oh thank you" *Walks away and Ben looks*

Aj; 
(Walks up to camera) 

"So how does it look? Is it good?"
"How does that shot look"
"Have we got all the recording now?"

Storyboard -

Run - 
Aj / Ben 

Home / Car
Park   / Tree
Shop  / Shop

Health and safety when recording

Equipment -
Camera equipment needs to be kept in a place where no one will trip and fall over it.

Dropping weights - 
Be careful when someone is working out as they could have a heavy weight which they may drop. If this lands on you, it may break a couple bones.

Correct form - 
Ensure to have the correct form as if you don't it could end it disaster. Also make sure you stretch to ensure no pulling of the muscles or any damage to the muscles.

Spotting (when helping someone lift weights if they need) - 
As with correct form a spot needs to keep their eye on the person working out in case they're struggling with lifting weights.

Gym machines - 
Ensure to use gym machines correctly as you could severely hurt yourself.

Also be aware of other gym users as they may not want to be on camera because they are not comfortable with it.

Equipment and Roles for our film

People - 

Ben
Aj
Kieran

Equipment - 

Camera
SD card
Tripod
Spare battery
GoPro
Mirco SD

Roles - 

Aj;
Camera, protagonist, personal release forms (if needed)
Ben;
Camera, antagonist, personal release forms (if needed)
Kieran;
Camera, antagonist (personal trainer)

Props - 

Clothing; 
Suitable attire for the gym and running. Clothing such as; sports bra, shorts, 3/4 lengths, joggers, trainers, hair bobble and no jewellery.

Lacan Theory

Jacques Lacan's theory, states that there is a specific point of childhood, usually between the 6-18 month age, where a baby sees him/herself in a mirror for the first time and has a sudden realisation that they have their own identity. This happens before the linguistic stage of childhood occurs and is the stage of childhood in which the basic needs are all the child wants. This pre-linguistic stage is what Freud would refer to as the 'ID' and focuses solely on the wants and needs. As soon as the linguistic phase of childhood kicks in, the 'ego' begins to develop and the child learns to express their desires in a more socially acceptable way through the use of language as opposed to crying and screaming. During the mirror phase, the child becomes extremely confused as they are viewing themselves as an object for the first time and this sparks an initial identity crisis. When the child first sees their reflection, they begin to form a sense of identity and make sense of the word 'I' for the first time. This sense of identity gives a child a fundamental grounding of how they are going to be as a person. If a child misidentifies what this identity realisation is then it can become fragmented. This means that the initial grounding of personality becomes broken and the child will resort to their surrounding environment to create their personality meaning that they will mould themselves into their carers. It also means that a child will not be able to develop their inner 'ego' and can therefore struggle in life with handling their inner desires in a socially acceptable way. At this stage of life, a baby relies on their parents or caregiver to mould them into people who are socially acceptable and this happens during the linguistic stage in which children are taught to say "please" and "thank you" when they want something as opposed to screaming like a young baby, who cannot talk, would.










This idea of identity will continue on into all stages of life, and Lacan explains that the majority of life is spent searching for the pleasure and convenience of life before the identity stage. Lacan stated that a person's need for this pleasure will fade as they get old and this leads to the calmness and comfort of old age. This idea is always carried into later life and often results in the narcissism and self-absorbed nature of adulthood. Adults focus entirely on their identity and this is why this idea of warped self recognition is often glamourised and used in Hollywood. Horror films often use the idea of self image in their scenes because the idea of losing ones self or looking in the mirror and seeing something you do not recognise, is a common fear amongst adults because it relates to a lack of identity. Horror films often use the Lacan mirror theory and turn it into a physical mirror to use within the scenes as it is the most basic way of visually presenting a lack of identity and this has turned into what can be considered a 'Hollywood cliche'.

Laura Mulvey - Male gaze theory

Laura Mulvey's theory states that in an industry dominated by male associates, film uses the male gaze theory to turn the camera into a heterosexual man in order to appease the audience. It is done in an attempt to visually please the audience by sexualising women using camera, lighting and sound techniques. This is often seen in films and adverts when they use attractive women and use them to turn non sexual situations into scenarios with a sexual undertone. Despite the male gaze theory being usually used to appeal to men, it can also be used in an attempt to appeal to women. By using the male gaze theory it can present women in a way that women want to see themselves, as well as the way they look at other women. Studies have shown that 60% of heterosexual women have admitted to regularly being attracted to other women and this has reinforced the use of the male gaze theory. Mulvey's theory was created in 1975 when she made the statement that in order to watch a film, the audience has to be put in the position of a heterosexual male in order to enjoy it fully. It is often presented in the camera movement, the camera often lingers on the body of the female almost in the way a man would look a woman up and down. The shots used are often longer takes and this is done to prolong the pleasure of looking, known in media terms as scopophilia.











The male gaze theory is used in every form of media. From film, music video, print and adverts, the male gaze theory will be evident and will use either the more subtle or obvious sexualisation of women. Mulvey stated that this was done in an attempt to objectify the woman used and make her more appealing to men. This is often done in a way such as presenting the woman next to or with things considered manly such as technology and/ or machinery.

Freud Theory

The Freudian theory states that there are three aspects of a person's personality. The theory states that a newborn baby is born made up of only an ID aspect to the personality. He goes on to explain that a child only develops an ego and a superego as they age and become accustomed to the ways of society. Freud's theory breaks down to the three aspects of the Id, the ego and the superego and is explained in basics below:






The theory breaks down into the three main aspects:

The ID: The natural instincts that every human is born with. The part of the human that craves essential things that would sustain the child for example food and nurture. These essentials change as the person ages and once an adult is often, food, sex and stability. The main purpose of the ID is to avoid plain and remind the body of the things it needs, it is drawn to things that the human body considers pleasurable. The ID is the aspect of the brain that often stays below the surface as it is something that is most often felt and doesn't especially need consideration. The ID is considered the bad part of the personality as it often tells the brain that it wants things that are considered sins. It reminds the brain that it needs things such as sex and food which relate to the biblical sins of lust and gluttony and are the negative and wrong aspects of human personality.

The Ego: As the child ages and develops, it develops its own ego. The ego is the part of the personality that considers rationality as a probable solution and keeps the person grounded and reasonable. The ego is what is usually visible on the outside as it is most commonly the best option for a solution. It is the part of the brain that analyses the situation before coming up with a solution that is acceptable and dependant upon the circumstances.

The Superego: The superego is also mostly hidden underneath the surface of the personality. It is the aspect of the brain that acts dependant upon morality and what is right and wrong. It is often considered the 'angel' aspect of the personality and is hot-wired into the brain to determine whether something is right or wrong. The superego is what keeps the majority of people on the straight and narrow throughout the entirety of their lives and is the voice in the back of the mind that tells you not to do something and gives you the reason as to why you shouldn't do it.

Applying Lacan

Visual -
Lack of fill


half of what he wants is there - there is a gap - The lack


Centre of the screen
No non-diegetic sound there is just diegetic sound of the phone ringing and the characters talking to each other.
He stutters quite a lot because he isn’t quite sure what he wants and when he is near getting it, he doesn’t know what to do.
He also paces around which shows his obsession, and whilst pacing around you see him hunched over. This clearly identifies that he clearly is pursuing something
Flat = empty and this represents him. He feels empty and lost because he wants his desires filled. (Get a quote from the theory)


Yellow tint which is quite dull but it fills up the entire scene. This connotes that he is dull, that he feels that his life is dull.
In the same scene the left half of the screen is blank and he fills the right side of the screen with himself. The colour palette is dulled down and consists of 3 colours; yellow, brown and a green colour.
Yellow = usually a happy colour yet is portrayed as the opposite
Brown = dirty, cloudy, muddy
Green = envy and sickness
This colour palette is a representation of the state of his mind.
Centre - trying to control the situation


Centre - controlling the conversation

Right - Not in control of the situation