Laura Mulvey Summary

'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema'

1) 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema' written in 1973, published in 1975.

2) Based her work on conceptual analysis of classical Hollywood film texts rather than audience research

3) A typical audience member will identify, admire or aspire to the male protagonist.

4) The look from audience to Women are

a) 'fetishistic'- to be viewed excessively as sexual beings
b) 'voyeuristic' - viewed as virtuous and beautiful

5) Mirror Stage - The point at which a child views themselves in a mirror, understanding they are a separate being from their mother. A sense of narcissistic pleasure is found.

6) The original essay assumes that the film audience is a heterosexual male.

7) The original essay assumes that the film's protagonist is male.

8) Texts from 1930's to 1980's were used.

9) Scopophilia - The pleasure of watching what shouldn't be seen.

10) Narcissism - Excessive or erotic interest in the self.

11) Nouvelle Vague - French New Wave. A movement in French cinema which rejects the stereotypical way of doing things by employing experimental film making techniques.


How this applies to Film Noir, Neo Noir and Sin City
1) Fetishistic Gaze - Jessica Alba seems to be objectified and is used to be a fetish object.

2) Voyeuristic Gaze - A male audience member may admire one of the masculine protagonists.

There isn't too many links as 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema' was written in a sense of representation of women, and how men are dominant. This is somewhat irrelevant as my study is based on the thesis of a developed/developing genre.

10 Websites

http://www.crimeculture.com/Contents/NeoNoir.html

Definition and info about the Neo Noir genre.

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http://www.crimeculture.com/Contents/Film%20Noir.html

Same as above.. about Film Noir.

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http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=neonoir.htm

Popular Neo Noir films, could be useful for SHEP.

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http://www.moderntimes.com/style/

What makes Film Noir inovating.

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http://www.filmsite.org/filmnoir.html

Descriptions and definitions.

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http://www.greencine.com/static/primers/noir.jsp

Where Film Noir has orignated from. Good for historical aspect (SHEP)

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http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue02/infocus.htm

Explains some famous Film Noir films.

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http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/intgenre/intgenre.html

Genre Theory website from Daniel Chandler (famous Genre Theorist)

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http://www.filmsite.org/genres.html

Definition of what Genre is.

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http://www.resnet.trinity.edu/wmclean/sincity.htm

This website has an article which links Sin City to Film Noir and has some interesting ideas.

Another 10 Keywords

Vladimir Propp = Binary Oppositions. Kevin is Marv's opposite character.

Typography = The font used for Sin City is particular to the film and can distinguish it apart from other films.

Male Gaze = Women are objectified by men. Marv and pretty much everyone objectifies Jessica Alba..

Zeitgiest = Spirit of the age.. which is quite unique to my text as Neo Noir is based on a genre from the 1940's yet uses 21st century ideologies.

Patriarchal Society = Male dominated soceity. Sin City is a very patriarchal film.

Hybrid genre = A film who uses conventions from two genres. Can Sin City be a mixture of Film Noir and Neo Noir or is it soley Neo Noir?

Motif = reoccuring theme or element that is repeated to give a messege.

Narrative theory = what makes up a narrative which is particular to certain genres. Levi Strauss and Propp are narrative theorists.

Barthes = Enigma Code. Sin City's narrative creates a lot of enigma's for the audience.

Barthes (again) = Myth. When an ideology is repeated enough, people start to believe it. Sin City has generalized sterotypes such as men being the hero for pretty much every women in the film.

Genre Theorists

Douglas Pye (1975)

“Generic consistency allows for the shorthand of conventions and stereotypes but also for the interplay between confirmed expectations and novelty

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Andrew Taylor (1986)

"Genre is what we collectively believe it to be"

The Cinema Book

How exactly 'Noir' was defined.

Cook, Pam; Bernink, Mieke (2003): The Cinema Book. Stephen Street, London: British Film Institute.

"The first book-length study of noir (Borde and Chaumeton, 1955) began this work by mapping out various recurrent themes within noir (violence, crime, pyschological emphasis) and relating this to particular films."

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This study had to be done as:

"British and American critics failed to take film noir seriously"

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They failed to take the films seriously as:

"Critics' dislike was compounded by economic snobbery: the low budgets and B-film status of many film noirs were seen as a priori proof that the films were 'trash'."

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Additionally, Paul Schrader suggests:

"Schrader goes on to suggest that the fundamental reason for the neglect of noir was the importance of visual style to the form: 'American critics have been traditionally moe interested in theme than style"

The Cinema Book

Cook, Pam; Bernink, Mieke (2003): The Cinema Book. Stephen Street, London: British Film Institute.

"Whoever went to the movies with any regularity during 1946 was caught in the midst of Hollywood's profound post war affection fro morbid drama. From January through December deep shadows, clutching hands, exploding revolvers, sadistic villians and heroines tormented with deeply rooted diseases of the mind flashed across the screen in a panting display of psychoneuroses, unsublimated sex and murder most foul"

This article from a 1947 'Life' magazine.

Blog Buddy Meeting Summary

Aman

Me and Aman have decided to look at definitions of what genre is. Additionally, we have decided to both look at theorist Rick Altman as he covers genre as a whole.

The next stage of research is more theorists which we can both use.

Book Research - Part 1

Cook, Pam; Bernink, Mieke (2003): The Cinema Book. Stephen Street, London: British Film Institute.

“The genre offers a ‘never-never land’ governed by absolute inflexible laws”

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Brian Murphy, ‘Monster movies: they came from beneath the 50s’, Journal of Popular Film 1(1), winter 1972

“Since we are dealing with a visual medium we ought surely to look for out defining criteria at what we actually see on the screen…”

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Edward Buscombe, ‘The idea of genre in the American cinema’, Screen 2(2), March/April 1970

“By iconography Buscombe meant recurrent images, including the physical attributes and dress of the actors, the setting…”

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The Media Student’s Book

“‘Genre’ is a French word for ‘type’ or ‘kind’, as in biological classification of plants and animals. In study of the media, it involves some long-standing debates about the categorisation of mass produced popular forms, and audiences’ pleasure in them.”

Task 9 - Blog Buddies

Rohini

A Short summary of each study.

Her independent studies based on the genre change in.. musicals. =/
Umm.. yeah.. how and why the conventions have changed from old to more modern musicals..

Areas of overlap between each study (texts, topics, issues, debates).

Our studies both focus on the change and development in our own respected genres.

Task 9 - Blog Buddies

Aman

A Short summary of each study.


Aman's independent study is based on Children of Men, and it asks the question of whether it conforms or subverts the stereotypical Sci-Fi genre.

Areas of overlap between each study (texts, topics, issues, debates).

Both our studies focus on genre changes, the similarities and differences our texts have compared to stereotypical ideologies that are given to our respective genres.

Blog Buddies

Aman

A Short summary of each study.


Aman's independant study is based on Children of Men, and it asks the question of wether it confroms or subverts the stereotypical Sci-Fi genre.

Areas of overlap between each study(texts,topics,issues,debates).

What you've each learned from looking at each other's study that might be useful.

By looking at Pardeep's study I have gained some knowledge about how conventional beauty can effect how women are represented, she has also got some really helpful theorists and websites that I could also use in my independent study, information on female role models etc. Pardeep has also got some really useful reviews that brings up important iss

Self Evaluation

Attainment = A

I’ve learnt quite a bit with the use of the keywords dictionary and I now have better knowledge about key media terms. Additionally I’ve learnt a lot doing my independent study.

Effort = 2

I’ve put a lot of effort into my blog’s, presentations and other homework’s. Although my Med 6 blog should have a few more news stories.

Punctuality = 1

I’m always on time.

Submission and Quality of homework = 1

It’s always on time and up to a good standard.

Ability to work independently = 1

I work really well on my own.

Quality of writing = 1

I have a good vocabulary of media terms.

Organization of Media folder = 3

I only bought one recently and am still in the process of putting sheets into it.

Oral contribution in class = 1

I always ask questions, contribute in discussions and I am quite opinionated so I tend to want to discuss other people’s opinions.

Standard of Module 5 Blog = 1

I have done all the work set as well as doing my own self-directed research.

Standard of Module 6 Blog = 2

I’ve done all the work set, although I haven’t updated my blog with news stories as I should have.

What is Neo Noir?

http://ttwfilm.net/NeoNoir/NeoNoir.html

This website aims to answer the question, "What is Neo Noir?"

Genre Theory

http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/intgenre/intgenre.html

An introduction to Genre theory by Daniel Chandler.

This website contains some essays and analysis. I'll have to go through this website more thoroughly.

Film Noir and Fiction site

http://www.ils.unc.edu/dpr/path/filmnoir/fiction.htm

It has three books listed. I'll see if I can find these books and then I can continue my research from there.

The website itself is focused around Film Noir for people who have an interest in it.

More Keywords

Antagonist

The rival or opposing figure in a narrative set againest the protagonist. Within Sin City, there are quite a few antagonists.

Anti narrative

A non-linear narrative, where by there are flashbacks and an altered time sequence. This can be seen in Sin City as it has 3 intertwining non-linear narratives.

Archetype

An often repeated character within a genre. The film noir and neo noir genre continue to have a detective and a femme fetale.

Barthes

The engima code, it is present throughout Sin City as the narrative is non-linear.

Anthology Film

A film consisting of several different short films, often tied together by a single theme or by an interlocking event. Somtimes, each short film is directed by a different director. Sin City is an anthology film, addtionally there were 3 directors.

Ideological state apparatus

Where instutions which are established, control the state and mind set by using their brand name power, additionally they reinforce certain ideologies. The Weinstein brothers own Demension films, which means they can reinforce the same continous ideologies, for example the objectifaction of women.

Innoculation

If you repeat shootings, famine and images of war continously means this constant exposure numbs audiences down. Sin City shows death repeatidly, shootings and audiences are almost normal to see it.

Levi-Strauss

Binary oppositions. Sin City has quite a few, Marv and Kevin for example.

Objectification

Women are used for a visual purpose soley. Jessica Alba in Sin City is a passive character and is only there to be objectified and for voyeuristic pleasure.

Voyeur

A person who watches someone whilst being in a non-involved position and for reasons of self gratification. The women in Sin City are there for voyeuristic pleasure.

Todorov

Equilbirum, Dis-equilbrium and New Equilibrium. Sin City subverts his theory.

Self Assesment

• Attainment = A
  
• Effort = 1 I always put in a lot of effort
  
• Punctuality = 1 I'm always on time, even early a couple of times
  
• Submission and quality of homework = 2 It's not always on time
  
• Ability to work independently = 1 I work very well on my own
  
• Quality of writing = 1 Well my grades prove it
  
• Organisation of Media folder = 2 A little unorganized, it's okay
  
• Oral contributions in class = 1 I argue and debate a lot
  
• Standard of Module 5 blog = 2 Could do a little more book research
  
• Standard of Module 6 blog = 3 It's average, I've done the basic work set well.. but no independent work
  

WWW
Work well by myself
Do all my work to a high standard.. getting those A's [okay 1.. but we've only had 1 graded hw]


EBI
More indepedant work
Hand hw in on time
Highlight those packs before they're due!!

Clip Analysis

http://youtube.com/watch?v=RwwzVTZw6Zw

Sin City Clip Analysis

The clip of ‘Sin City’ (2005) that I have chosen to analyze can be seen as a scene of resolution. However, the enigma code (Bathes) is invoked as Marv leaves Goldie unconscious. The resolution occurs when Marv kills Kevin, the audience can immediately distinguish the proppian hero and villain.

Marv is represented as an anti-hero, this is due to the fact that he smokes and kills without hesitation therefore he does not conform to the stereotypical ideologies that a passive audience would assume him to be like. Despite this the audience can easily identify with him due to the fact that a series of close-up shots allow the audience to view his emotional struggle in order to help another person.

Sin City follows the conventions of the neo-noir genre as it often uses a conflicted antihero, who can be identified as Marv. Another convention, which is used within newer neo-noir genre films, is the use of CGI graphics where by a digital background is used in order to create the visual aesthetics. For example, Kevin’s white glasses would have been added in the postproduction stages.

The costumes used are all of black colour, which allows the special effects to emphasise on facial features, such as red lips and green eyes. The low-key lighting is a cliché of the neo-noire genre, which is further enhanced with special effects to create what is known as chiaroscuro lighting.

Non-diegetic sound is added in postproduction to create a comic book like feeling, this feeling is added to with the use of monochrome colour. Additionally, similar to a comic book, the use of narration allows the audience to understand the protagonist’s mindset, and how they’re feeling. It also allows the story to be developed, as enigmas are unravelled with the protagonist providing explanation. The voice-over narration adds to the authenticity of this comic book adaptation and follows the conventions of the neo-noir convention.

A patriarchal society is enforced due to the fact that Goldie needs Marv to save her day, which conforms the ideology of women to be subordinate to men. Goldie can be identified as the whore in Laura Mulvey’s theory of women being into two categorises, as she is visually pleasing for the audience. Thus, she is there to be objectified and has the quality of ‘to-be-looked-at-ness’.

The social ideology of homosexual’s is negative as they are portrayed as ‘girly’ and weak, for example the macho character (Marv) easily defeats the girly homosexual (Kevin). Additionally the ideology of homosexuals being girly is further reinforced due to the fact that Kevin uses his nails when fighting. This scene reinforces the ideology of a patriarchal society, and also stereotypes homosexuals in a negative manner.

Through this one scene in ‘Sin City’ (2005), it can be seen that that Marv is represented as an anti-hero rather than just a hero however; he still makes the proppian characters of the villain and hero very clear.

Delicious Links

http://www.filmsite.org/filmnoir.html

A brief history of film noir will be useful with historical context.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_noir

An over view and breakdown of how classic noir films were structured, themes etc. This will be useful to see how neo-noir has changed these over time.

http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Modules/MC30820/represent.html

‘Representation’ explored and explained in detail, this site will help me analyze Sin City in more detail and compare it to classic noir films.

http://www.germanhollywood.com/noir.html

The connection between Hollywood noir and European noir films. This will be useful for historical context.

http://www.culturevulture.net/Books/DeathontheCheap.htm

Film noir as a B-movie again will be useful for historical context and can compare to how mainstream Sin City was.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-noir

A history of neo-noir.

http://www.crimeculture.com/Contents/NeoNoir.html

An Introduction to neo-noir will be useful to see how the genre developed.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1272/is_n2638_v127/ai_20954321

An article on "The Endurance of Film-Noir"

Keywords

Anti-hero

This is where the hero lacks the qualities the audience would normally associate with the hero. The audience do however still sympathise and can still see the story from their point of view.

BCU (Big Close-up)

A close-up shot which focuses on emotion, where by the audience can empathise with the character. Within Sin City, many close-up's are used with the 3 protagonists.

Canted Shot (Dutch Angle)

A titled low-angle shot. This is a trademark of Film Noir/Neo Noir. Sin City uses numerous times, especially with Bruce Willis.

Denouement

Where the plot is unravelled at the end of the film. The three narratives within Sin City unravell in front of the audience at the end.

Enigma Code

Created by Roland Barthes. The enigma code is where the audience are left asking questions. The non-linear narative structure within Sin City creates many questions.

Femme Fetale

In french film noir theory, a female character would use her sexuality in devious and secretive ways in order to achieve what she desires. The prostitute in Sin City convinces Marv to help protect them from the pimps.

Narrator

When a character talks over a scence. In Sin City, many characters explain and express themselves with the use of narration.

New Ladism

The male backlash againest feminism. Sin City ignores female equality and creates many subordiant female characters.

Parallel Action

Where a film will cut in between scenes to show an intertwining narrative structure - Sin City.

Post-Feminism

Where the achievements of the uprising of female equality are ignored, for example the women in Sin City are shown as subordinant and as sex objects.

Blog Comments

Basran

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4828718162097622927&postID=6959728765516944493

Aman

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2352042809736615452&postID=1975900334439736276

Chintan

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2574997224413995264&postID=686003823899586808

Athar

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8925104818910187029&postID=8605307040161078627

Sin City - Media Representations

Representation

Who is being represented?

Both men and women are being represented in ‘Sin City’ (2005).

In what way?

Men - Powerful, dominant
Women - Subordinate to men, devolved power where by men allow women to have power.

Why is the subject being represented in this way?

Men are represented in this way to maintain the patriarchal society even within a fictional world.

Women are given some power and can represented in this way to reflect feminism although the fact that women are only given power because men don’t want it must be considered.

Is the representation fair and accurate?

The representation of women within the film is neither fair nor accurate, with most women, if not all, are being represented as prostitutes or promiscuous femme fatals.

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Media Languages and Forms

What are the non-verbal structures of meaning in the text (e.g. gesture, facial expression, positional communication, clothing, props etc)?

Within the film, men wear long trench coats, some leather and very comic influenced clothing that is used as ‘Sin City’ (2005) is actually a translation from a comic book to a film, rather than an adaptation. This is clear as the original comic book was used as a storyboard, as well as there being no screenwriter.

Facial expressions are highlighted with the use of colour, as eyes and faces are highlighted using editing to emphasise expression. Additionally, shadows move across the actor’s faces digitally to add a comic dimension to their expressions.

What is the significance of mise-en-scene/sets/settings?

Sin City is one of the first films to be shot almost completely on a digital backlot. The film used Sony HDC-950 high-definition digital cameras instead of normal cameras. The actors had to work in front of a green screen so the digital effects could be added in postproduction.

The settings were made to re-create ‘Basin City’ which allows the audience to be able to visually see and understand the comic book city.

What work is being done by the sound track/commentary/language of the text?

A voice over is used to demonstrate the characters thoughts and feelings at the time as the camera follows the character, he or she explains what is happening and why.

What are the dominant images and iconography, and what is their relevance to the major themes of the text?

By having Sin City in monochrome (black and white) this allows the film to easily be categorized within the neo-noir genre. Furthermore, the opening scene uses the classic film noir iconography of a male detective in a trilby (hat) and trench coat.

What sound and visual techniques are used to convey meaning (e.g. camera positioning, editing; the ways that images and sounds are combined to convey meaning)?

Shots of characters at a high-angle put the audience in a lower status to the actual character. Therefore the director forces the audience to become the villain rather than the hero.

The use of chiaroscuro lighting also allows the director to convey meaning through facial expressions; the use of closes-ups further reinforces this idea. The director also uses colour in certain scenes this visual technique allows him to emphases characters and shows their importance within the narrative at a certain time.

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Narrative

How is the narrative organised and structured?

Sin City is structured as having 3 stories within one film. All three stories intertwine subverting Todorov’s narrative structure theory.

How is the audience positioned in relation to the narrative?

The audience are forced to identify with the heroes in each story/chapter as they narrate the story.

How are characters delineated? What is their narrative function? How are heroes and villains created?

Hero’s and villains are created as once the audience follow a particular character around, for instance Marv, the audience learn to understand him through his voice over and through his actions. Which means that when the audience see characters such as Kevin fighting with Marv, they can immediately recognize who is the villain.

What techniques of identification and alienation are employed?

An important scene, which creates identification, is where Marv is driving alone at night by himself. This allows the audience to understand his feelings and to create a link with themselves and Marv. Additionally, the fact that Marv is usually by himself and helps out other people allows an ideology of alienation from others.

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Genre

To which genre does the text belong?

Neo-noir.

What are the major generic conventions within the text?

Murder or a crime is the key element of almost all film-noir/neo-noir films. The proppian hero takes out an investigation in all film-noir/neo-noir films.

What are the major iconographic features of the text?

Chiaroscuro lighting, guns, crime, detectives and smoking cigarettes.

What are the major generic themes?

Crime and murder.

To what extent are the characters generically determined?

The characters are set out generically, as the detective is identified rather easily as well as the femme fatals as others are.

To what extent are the audience’s generic expectations of the text fulfilled or cheated by the text? Does the text conform to the characteristics of the genre, or does it treat them playfully or ironically?

The generic expectations are fulfilled as the detective is rugged, very manly and saves women time and time again. This ideology is expected and fulfilled.

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Media Institutions

What is the institutional source of the text?

Dimension films

In what ways has the text been influenced or shaped by the institution, which produced it?

They’re known for their violent and gritty films, which mean they would be expected to have fictional world based movies.

Is the source a public service or commercial institution? What difference does this make to the text?

A commercial institution would mean that they don’t have to conserve what they show and a mass appeal isn’t necessary.

Who owns and controls the institution concerned and does this matter?

The Weinstein brothers own this institution and as they own Miramax, it means that an Art-house style movie was bound to be produced by this institution.

How has the text been distributed?

MGM distribute films as of March 2006.

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Media Audiences

To whom is the text addressed? What is the target audience?

What assumptions about the audience’s characteristics are implicit within the text?

What assumptions about the audience are implicit in the text’s scheduling or positioning?

In what conditions is the audience likely to receive the text? Does this impact upon the formal characteristics of the text?

What do you know or can you assume about the likely size and constituency of the audience?

What are the probable and possible audience readings of the text?

How do you, as an audience member, read and evaluate the text? To what extent is your reading and evaluation influenced by your age, gender, background etc?

Comparison - Similarities and Differences

Film noir of the classic period were modestly budgeted features without major stars, in which writers, directors, cinematographers, and other craftsmen found themselves relatively free from the typical big-picture constraints. Where as in comparison to the modern Neo-Noir genre, large budgets are used to create the film noir genre graphical effects. In addition to large budgets, Neo-Noir goes againest conventions, where by 'Sin city' (2005) employs many star actors such as Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, Elijah Wood and Jessica Alba.

'Out of the Past' (1947) and 'Sin City' (2005) share many of the genre's conventions which include a cynical private detective as the protagonist, a femme fetale, multiple flashbacks with voiceover narration, dramatic chiaroscuro lighting and provocative banter.

Sin City Trailer

I found the trailer to Sin City.. enjoy! :|

The Man Who Shot Sin City Article

I found this article on: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.04/sincity.html?pg=2&topic=sincity&topic_set=

Bold = MIGRAIN
Italic = Wider Context

The Man Who Shot Sin City

How Robert Rodriguez, the one-man digital army behind El Mariachi and Spy Kids, brought an "unfilmable" cult comic to the big screen.

By Brian Ashcraft

For years, one of the biggest gets in Hollywood was the movie rights to the graphic novel series Sin City. Penned from 1991 to 2000 by Frank Miller, whose The Dark Knight Returns resurrected the Batman franchise, Sin City was emblematic of a new generation of comics that replaced the candy-colored superhero with an angst-ridden antihero. Sin City's hardnosed dialog (N), cinematic compositions (M), and kinetic violence (G) evoked classic Warner Bros (I). crime films (G) more than Marvel's men in tights. Handsome movie offers followed, but Miller didn't bite. He'd been burned by the studio system before: In 1990, he lost control of his script for RoboCop 2 and was less than pleased with the onscreen result. He told friends that it just wasn't possible to make a live-action version of Sin City.

When Miller got a call from Robert Rodriguez, A young director known for innovative, inexpensive genre pictures like Desperado and highly technical box office darlings like Spy Kids, Rodriguez made Miller a simple offer: Come to Texas and shoot with me for a day. If you like what you see, we'll make a deal. If not, the short film is yours to keep. Miller watched as actors Josh Hartnett and Marley Shelton performed a scene straight from "The Customer Is Always Right," a decade-old short story in the Sin City series. After the shoot, Rodriguez cut the footage in his editing bay, laid down a few special effects, and added music - all that same day. Miller was floored “You don't put Josh Hartnett in a test," he says. "I just dove in." They sealed the deal, with Miller named as codirector. That three-minute short became the opening scene of the movie Sin City, set to hit theaters April 1.

El Mariachi which he wrote, directed, edited, photographed, and scored for a mere $7,000. Originally intended for the Spanish straight-to-video market, the movie was picked up for distribution by Columbia Pictures (I) in 1992 and went on to win the Audience Award at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival; it was the lowest-budget film (E) ever released by a major studio.

With his own Sony HD cameras, a Discreet visual effects system, four Avid digital editing machines, and XSI animation modeling software (E), Rodriguez can make truly independent films - and for less money than traditional Hollywood directors. "It's like going back to the old video days," Rodriguez says, "when you could run around in your backyard and shoot a movie." Rodriguez is the first filmmaker since Lucas who's had the confidence and skills to work outside the studio system yet still produce big-budget, effects-laden pictures.(H)

That kind of freedom doesn't come without consequences. A week before Sin City began shooting, the Directors Guild of America (I) called to inform Rodriguez that he and Miller couldn't be listed as codirectors in the movie's credits. It would be a violation of DGA rules. Rodriguez was stunned when the DGA threatened to shut down production. Rather than dump Miller, Rodriguez resigned from the guild.

"Having finished the Spy Kids series," Rodriguez says, "I was looking for a good effects challenge." That's what led him to Miller's Sin City. The series takes readers on an eye-popping tour of an underworld packed with tough cops, femme fatales (R), and seedy lowlifes (N). "The stories were great," he says, "but what grabbed you was the look." Miller's black-and-white chiaroscuro style reflects (M) an artist raised on pulp fiction and old crime movies (G). Every scene takes place at night or in some back alley.

There are absolutely no midtones in the graphic novels, a trait that makes them especially problematic to portray on celluloid. "This movie wouldn't even be possible if I shot it on film," Rodriguez says, explaining how difficult it is to capture pure black and white on camera. His workaround: Shoot the actors against a green screen and add most of the backgrounds digitally in postproduction ("All of the guns and cars are real," Miller points out). Even small details like Sin City's signature "white blood" proved to be an effects challenge. Regular movie blood didn't cut it. Instead, the crew used fluorescent red liquid and hit it with a black light. This allowed Rodriguez to turn the blood "white" in postproduction. Likewise, the novel's few splashes of color proved troublesome. Yellow and green react with green screens, causing color to spill into the background and making them impossible to separate. So during shooting Rodriguez painted the villain, Yellow Bastard, blue - and then colored him yellow in post.

As Rodriguez refines the tools of digital filmmaking - and the liberty that comes with them - others are slow to follow. Rodriguez persuaded his pal Quentin Tarantino to direct a scene in the movie. For Sin City, Tarantino filmed a self-contained segment at Troublemaker (Rodriguez own studio) and learned that high tech means low stress. Rodriguez explains: "Quentin did a scene where the actors are in a car and it's raining. Instead of worrying about all that stuff, the car and the rain were added later, and he could just get the performance." Tarantino now says he'll shoot his own digital feature.

The review

I agree with the review as it takes neither side, it narrows the film down to, "You simply appreciate this genre for what it is, or you don't." This is true in many ways, as this genre will appeal more so to Males than Females, it will only appeal to people who enjoy Art house influenced films. Sin City with it's odd graphics, intertwining narrative structure and gritty feel will appeal to a certain type of person, a person who appreciates certain directors, comics, actors and so forth.

Washington Post Review

So Good, It's 'Sin'-ful

By Desson Thomson

Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 1, 2005; Page WE43

Here goes: "Frank Miller's Sin City" is the hippest, darkest flick I've seen all year. It's not even April, mind you. So that was easy to say. But you get the picture. A movie composed of three edge-of-your-seat sagas, it's co-directed by Miller (the cool cat who wrote the 1991 graphic novel series that rocked a generation) and Robert Rodriguez, who made "El Mariachi" and "From Dusk Till Dawn." And Quentin Tarantino, the official pimp daddy of indie-chic, even gets to guest-direct.

Tarantino, incidentally, does a scene in which Dwight, a private investigator, played by Clive Owen, is stopped by cops at a very inconvenient moment. He happens to have his trunk loaded with severed body parts, and his passenger is sitting dead in the front seat with an all-but-severed head. But we are getting ahead of ourselves.

"Sin City" takes us to Basin City, where corruption is the order of the day and daylight never seems to last too long. The cops are dirty, the hookers are armed and empowered like gangstas, and the tough guys are built like brick houses but they still get beat up anyway. It's those sleazy bars they go to. And those dames they get hooked on. In a tough world like this, it's easy to fall in love. Gives them something to believe in.

Take Marv (Mickey Rourke), a sinewy fireplug of a guy. Laughs when cops or punks rip his face. Spits out blood nonchalantly when the cops give him the once-over. But melts like an ice pop in July when a goddess beauty (Jaime King) called Goldie drapes herself around him and takes him home. Marv wakes up to find her dead and spends the rest of his life looking for the killers who iced the love of his life.

Then there's Dwight. With emotional ties to his prostitute pals, he does everything he can to save them after the death of a group of cops threatens to provoke a brutal war between the call gals and the boys in blue. That's where the hacked body parts come in. But Dwight does it for love.

An unexpected romance proves to be the spiritual guiding light for John Hartigan (Bruce Willis), who's just about the only good cop in Sin City. After an 11-year-old girl is apprehended, he risks everything to save her from a dirty cop (Michael Madsen) and a bizarre sadist (Nick Stahl) with connections in high places.

These dramas of tough, almost bionic guys and elusive, slinky women are extreme versions of the underworld sensibility that has governed a billion crime novels and films noirs of the 1940s and '50s. Miller became a cult hero for such edgy, comic book creations as Elektra (the ninja assassin) and Ronin (a hard-core samurai figure). But the "Sin City" series was his pulp fiction masterpiece. The idea of making a movie of "Sin City" would seem to be an instant disaster -- how could a film do justice to the gritty idiosyncrasies of his work?

But with their translations of Miller's "The Hard Goodbye," "The Big Fat Kill" and "That Yellow Bastard," Miller and Rodriguez have achieved the near-impossible: reproducing the pictorial reality of those comic book stories onto the screen. Visually, this has been done with digital enhancement, darkly perfected sets and masterful makeup. The performers look part-cartoon and part-human and thoroughly convincing.

But all the visual splendor in the world means nothing without effective performances. The list of memorables is long: Rourke has found his greatest role since "The Pope of Greenwich Village." Willis is his usual authoritatively tough-and-tender self. Owen and Benicio Del Toro (as a menacingly jealous boyfriend named Jackie Boy) are outstanding. And Elijah Wood is so luminously creepy as the psychopathic Kevin, you'd swear he just sprang fully formed from an M. Night Shyamalan nightmare. And those are just the guys. The women are equally formidable, including Jessica Alba as Hartigan's icon dream girl; Rosario Dawson as an Uzi-packing hooker named Gail; Brittany Murphy as a savvy, tenderhearted waitress who links all three stories; and Devon Aoki as Miho, a deadly streetwalker who uses the same swords we enjoyed in Tarantino's "Kill Bill" movies.

Yes, "Sin City" is an orgy of cynical violence, but it's a winkingly surface grimness, just like its B-movie/pulp novel ancestors. You simply appreciate this genre for what it is, or you don't. Rodriguez and company have so faithfully captured Miller's essence, there's something beautiful about the whole thing. It's an act of inspired reverence. Whether or not the movie does well in its theatrical first run, it's a guaranteed must-see for its generation. "Sin City" has a long, long shelf life ahead.

Sin City clips on Youtube

There aren't anymore clips on Youtube, all I seem to find are trailers and music videos.

Clip Analysis

Media Language: A black and white effect to coincide with the film noir genre. Low-key lighting creates dramatic emotion within the scene, which emphasises shadows, lighting on the face. It also allows the one colour style to have a more dramatic effect.

Representation: Marv leaves the female character behind in the car which shows a patriarchal society as he 'has' to protect the weaker female. The female is also very thin, blonde, red lips which all show her feminitiy. Where as Marv is big, muscular, his face is cut up which all emphasize his masculinity. They both conform to stereotypes.

Ideology: Goes along with today’s idea of society, women are weaker then men and need them to save the day.

Narrative: Marv has to fight Kevin (the canibal guy) , he arrives at the farm with a blonde women, he makes her wait in the car, and he tells her to go if he doesn't come back in the next 20 minutes, which shows how a man has to save the day,

More stills.

This still shows the black and white colours which are a convention of the film noir genre. As these films are detective films, the use of a razor blade, cigarettes and leather jackets all emphasise this.


The use of single colour to emphasise the characters blonde hair and red lips is a convention typical of Sin City's style. The character looks like a whore, rather than a madonna, as she has red lips and blonde hair which show's this.


This still shows a blonde haired women in a vintage car which immediatly creates the ideology of the 80's.

Sin City Stillls

This still is of Bruce Willis who plays Hartigan in Sin City. This shot is a close-up which allows the audience to see his mood and emotion which is clearly serious and focused. Additionally, a scar is visible to the audience therefore creating an ideology of his tough persona. His face has deep grooves and wrinkles, along with stubble it shows his maturity. The black and white colours are present throughout the entire film, which conform to 'Film Noir' conventions. Although, Sin City uses the odd colour to emphasis a part of a person for example.


Clive Owen, known as Dwight within the film is a excellent example of Sin City's use of a singular colour. In this case, Dwight's eye's are the emphasis, they connote a coldness and show the audience his personality. Additionally, I feel as if they've chosen this colour as there is a sterotypical ideology when it comes to this colour, they saying normally goes, "Those old baby blues".

Sin City - Independant Study

"Does the neo-noir genre continue to follow the representations of the classic film noir genre, with particular reference to ‘Sin City’ (2005)"

Media Language: A black and white effect to coincide with the film noir genre. Low-key lighting creates dramatic emotion within the scene.

Institution: Dimension Films a sub company of Miramax previously under Walt Disney produced this film with a large budget run by the Weinstein brothers who used this label to produce and distribute genre films, similarly ‘Kill Bill’ which is also a hybrid of Hollywood and Art-house film.

Genre: Neo-noir is incorporating aspects of film noir into newer contemporary films. Unlike classic noirs, neo-noir films are aware of modern circumstances and technology

Representation: The representation of men shows a patriarchal society, as all three protagonists are male. They dominate women throughout the film, where no female subverts stereotypes; women need men to save the day.

Audience: ‘Sin City’ appeals to a male audience who can identify with the male protagonist. The females within the film also appeal to the male audience and conform to the male gaze.

Ideology: Goes along with today’s idea of society, women are weaker then men and need them to save the day.

Narrative: The film subverts the typical Todorvian narrative structure. Three stories intertwine with one another; this makes the film more art-house rather than a mainstream genre film. ‘The Big Fat Kill’ shows the most female representation within ‘Sin City’, whereas the other two sub narratives have male protagonists.

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Social Context: Represents binge drinking and prostitution in a negative manner.

Historical: Film Noir films are stylish Hollywood crime dramas; particularly emphasize moral uncertainty and sexual motivation.

Economical: Large budget, similar to other Hollywood films.

Political:

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Other Texts:

The Big Combo (1955), USA, directed by Joseph H. Lewis
Blade Runner (1982), USA, Ridley Scott
Pulp Fiction (1994), USA, Quentin Tarantino
Reservoir Dogs (1992), USA, Quentin Tarantino

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Todorov: Sin City doesn’t follow Todorov’s theory. It has three different narratives, none of which are linear.

Laura Mulvey: Her theory can be easily applied as the prostitutes within the film comply with the idea of women being there to be looked at. Additionally, the idea of the male gaze is ever present throughout the film.

Propp: There is no specific characters role within the film as a whole, although singular narratives do comply with Propp’s character theory.

Barthes: The non-linear narrative means immediately the audience are drawn into an enigma. The beginning also gives away an enigma to the audience as someone is murdered, but the audience have no idea who or why this is happened.