Coursework Ideas

Race in Quentin Tarantino's film

Lots of Quentin Tarantino's films handle race in different ways. Jackie Brown, a homage to 1970's blaxpoitation films and Django Unchained, an spaghetti western set in the American south during the slave trade era both have themes of black culture which could be explored in my coursework. I could also explore other races in the coursework, for example, the Japanese in Kill Bill or how white people are represented in his films and Tarantinos controversial and excessive use of racial slurs in his films.

Relevent Film Theory
Postmodernism- Jameson
Auteur Theory- Bazin

Films to look at
Jackie Brown
Django Unchained
Kill Bill 1 and 2

Spectatorship in Stanley Kubrick's films

Stanley Kubrick was a director who used his audience's emotions and reactions to his film in order to create a mood or tone for his film. He liked to confuse his audience or shock them . Examples of this are A Clockwork Orange where the use of 'Singin in the rain' in a rape scene changes the audiences reaction to that song since they would have associated it with that scene. In 'The Shining' Kubrick challenges the audiences perceptions of the main characters with the use of supernatural visions. To add to this challenging of perceptions, after close observation, the setting of the film, 'The Overlook Hotel' was intentionally designed by Kubrick for the layout of the hotel to be physically impossible.
If I explored this in my coursework, I would look into why and how he used spectatorship in his films and if any other important examples of spectatorship occurs in his films.

Relevant Film Theory
Spectatorship Theory

Films to look at
A Clockwork Orange
The Shining
Eyes Wide Shut
Full Metal Jacket
2001
Eraserhead (david lynch film influenced the shining)

Auteur Theory and Lars Von Trier

Lars Von Trier is a controversial director from Denmark who has directed independent Dogma 95 films and arthouse films. His most recent and popular films are Melancholia, Antichrist and Nymphomaniac however he has been directing for nearly 25 years, with previous films, Breaking the Waves and Dogville both critically acclaimed. In terms of the auteur theory, Von Trier has referred to his last three films, Melancholia, Antichrist and Nymphomaniac as a 'Depression trilogy'. All three films subject matter is about depression, loss, grief or death. If I were to use this for my coursework, I would explore why Von Trier is an auteur and how his films have similar themes and styles. Also why is the controversial nature of his films correspondent to his auteur status as a director.

Relevant Film Theory
Auteur Theory- Bazin
Feminism (Melancholia and Nymphomaniac)- Mulvey
Psychoanalysis - Freud

Films to look at
Melancholia
Antichrist
Nymphomaniac Pt 1 and 2
Breaking the Waves
Dogville