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?