Revised Focused Topic Paper: Kurosawa and Cop-Drama Films October 8, 2009
Posted by Emmanuel Elpenord in : Uncategorized , trackbackEmmanuel Elpenord
Focused Topic:
Kurosawa and Cop-Drama Films
Main Claim:
Cla. The construction of vigilante-guardian characters and law enforcing characters in Director Akira Kurosawa’s Samurai films and contemporary Cop-Drama films comes from more than plot or dialogue; casting, performance choices, and cinematography are all tools crucial in sculpting these characters. If the former components are the bricks of a wall in character construction, what the character is made of, then the latter components are the mortar, giving the blocks form and function, shaping and informing the relationship a viewer creates with the protagonists and antagonists of a film.
Rea. However well-written a script is, and however well-developed a character my be on paper, the casting and cinematography of a film is a major deciding factor in how a viewer will perceive a character on screen. Film is intrinsically a visual medium, and the manipulation of those visuals make or break its production. The written word can be a powerful evocative medium, but the full construction of a character in a film depends on much more than the ink on the page.
Warr. “All films are ‘propaganda.’” There is not a single aspect in a film that is not included purposefully and well thought-out in advance, subliminally informing the viewer. Whether one is passively or actively watching a film, the director, and cinematographer, et al, have implanted a message or meaning behind the films visual-auditory components for the viewer to decipher.
Evi. The relationships between the protagonist, vigilante, and antagonist, the lawman; the protagonist and his “community;” or multiple protagonists and antagonists in films where they exchange or are brought to the same levels of authority in policing society will show how the casting and cinematography of those films affect how viewers deify and demonize protagonists and antagonists, respectively and commonly. “The Departed,” “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” “Yojimbo,” “Three Bad Men in a Hidden Fortress,” “Seven Samurai,” “Rashomon,” and “Sanjuro” are such films.
A ‘Working’ Claim:
Cla. The aesthetics of a vigilante or lawman character on screen, their facial features, voice, costume, acting style, do not directly correlate with their relationship to policing society.
Rea. As actions speak louder than words, what a character ultimately does, and how the camera captures what they do decides how a viewer will deconstruct them and their behavior.
Evi. In the film “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” the character of “Ugly” is disheveled and raggedy in dress. He has a rat-like face with a big, honking nose, beady eyes, and prominent upper front teeth. He is made to look deceitful and untrustworthy; those associations go with a moniker like “the rat.” The character of “the Good” has somewhat of a lupine-canine look, a prominent jaw line, a svelte greyhound-like physique, and the ubiquitous Eastwood sneer, like a growling dog; the look suggests a loyal, steadfast individual. “The Good” is first presented as a bounty hunter that has captured “the Ugly,” who is wanted for a catalog of crimes and misdeeds in a particular town. A few moments later, we see “The Good” training his crosshairs on the rope of the noose from which “the Ugly” is hanging. After shooting him free, and skipping town together, “The Good” splits up the reward money with “the Ugly.” Despite their contrasting appearances, the both of them are swindlers.
Method of Research:
In the course of my research, I plan to organize my findings as character-to-character relationships, and parallels of those relationships between particular films. Those findings will again be rearranged by scene and shot sequence parallels between particular films. From there, I will dissect the cinematic properties of said scenes and shots with secondary sources as guides for what others have taken note of in a scene or shot at which I’m looking.
I have accessed the continuity scripts, which, using film terminology and shorthand, describe each shot in which respective dialogue is spoken, for a few of the films I am viewing and that makes it easier to follow and break down how the film was shot; with any luck, I’ll be able to locate more of those. Also, right now, I am less concerned with comparing cinematography and finding parallels than I am in actually dissecting scenes and shot sequences, categorizing them.
Many contemporary films use a vigilante-lawman dynamic, where the power of an institutionalized authority is commandeered by a zealous crime fighter or even an unwitting mercenary, as a conflict, as the driving force of a plot. Such films are often the most riveting and galvanizing pieces. With that in mind, the analysis of how the cinematography of such films affect a viewer’s attraction, repulsion, envy, pity, sympathy, and empathy to, from, or with these characters on screen may be fascinating to some, like filmmakers, and movie buffs, or simply informative to others, like curious movie-goers. On the other hand, my research may go over the heads of younger audiences, general audiences, and the “college comedy” (for example) demographic.
