大学英语专业影视欣赏复习资料.docx

大学英语专业影视欣赏复习资料.docx

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大学英语专业影视欣赏复习资料

AppreciatingCinema

PartOne:

Categorizationofgenres

Genre

SocialDrama

Romance

Gangster

Warfilm

Sciencefiction

Fantasy

Western

Disaster

Crime

Epic

Action

Musical

_____________________________________________________________________Blockbuster

Filmnoir

Comedyintendedtogeneratelaughter

Horrorintendedtohorrify

Thrillerintendedtothrill

PartTwo:

Thebasicstories

Therearealimitednumberofstoriesthatformthebasisforallfictionalnarratives.

·AchillesExample:

Superman

·CandideExample:

ForrestGump

·CinderellaExample:

PrettyWoman

·CirceExample:

FatalAttraction

·FaustExample:

WallStreet

·OrpheusExample:

BornontheFourthofJuly

·RomeoandJulietExample:

ShakespeareinLove,Ghost

·TristanTheGraduate

·TheWanderingJewExample:

TheEnglishPatient

PartThree:

TheClassicThree-ActLinearStructure（经典三幕式直线结构）

ThemajorityofHollywoodfilmsemploystheclassicthree-actlinearstructure（oravariationofit）.Thethree-actstructureimpliesthatthefilmcanbedividedintothreeacts.Act1wouldnormallybeexpectedtooccupythefirstquarterofthefilm;Act2wouldoccupythenexthalf;andAct3wouldoccupythefinalquarter.Eachacthasadifferentfunction.Foratypicaltwo—hourHollywoodfilm,theactdivisionswouldbeasfollows.

ActTimeFunction

Act10-30minutesset-up

Act230-90minutesdevelopment（conflictandconfrontation）

Act390-120minutes　resolutionanddenouncement　（结局）

PartFour:

AlternativeNarrativeStructures

·EpisodicStructure章回式结构

Episodicnarrativesfollowtheprotagonistthroughaseriesofpotentiallyunrelatedadventures.Asinthethree-actstructure,therearedefiniteturningpointsatwhichthefortunesoftheprotagonistturnfromgoodtobadorviceversa;however,unlikethethree-actstructure,thenumberofsuchturningpointsisnotlimited.

·Hero’sJourneyStructure英雄旅程结构

Thehero’sjourneynarrativeformstheunderlyingnarrativestructureofmanymythsandlegends;anditisalsotobefoundinmanysuccessfulHollywoodfilms.Thenarrativeoccursinanumberofstages,whichcanbesimplifiedasfollows:

1.Calltoadventure

2.JourneythroughunfamiliarWorld

3.Supremeordeal

4.Reward

5.Returnandreintegrationintosociety

PartFive:

Subplot

MostHollywoodfilmshaveoneormoresubplots.Subplotsareadditionalstories（secondaryplots）thatarelinkedtothemainplotandhaveaninfluenceuponit;theydon’trequireseparateprotagonists,buttheydorequireseparateactions.

Therelationshipbetweenthemainplotandthesubplotscantakeanyoneoffourforms.Theseare:

·Complementary

·Contradictory

·Setup

·Complicating

PartSix:

SymbolsandMotifs

Asymbolissomethingthatstandsfororsuggestssomethingelse,usuallyonaccountofarelationship,association,conventionorresemblance.Amotifisarecurringfeatureoridearelatedtothethemeofthefilm;frequentlyitwillbearecurringsymbol.

Question:

SymbolsmayhavedifferentmeaningsinChinaandtheWest.Listsomeofthedifferences

Differentsymbolicvaluesofcolors,animals,andnumbersymbolsusedintheWesternculturaltraditionalongsidetheirpossiblemeaningsandtheirdifferentsymbolicvaluesintheChineseculturaltradition.

SymbolMeaningintheWestMeaninginChina

Redanger,sexuality,passiongoodfortune,happiness,prosperity

Whitepuritydeath

Greenenvy,inexperience;thepeace;theenvironment

environment

Yellowroyalpowerandauthority

Owlwisdombadluck

Lionmajesty,strength,bravery

Dragonevilmajesty,success,goodfortune

Phoenixrebirth,resurrectiongoodfortune,precious

Turtleslownesslongevity

Peacockarrogance,vanitygoodfortune

3theTrinity（God,Christ,theHolyGhost）

13Badluck

666theDevilgoodluck

8wealth

4death

PartSeven:

IdentifyingTheme

Inpracticalterms,howdoesoneidentifyandinterpretthethemeofthefilm?

Sincethemeisacomplicatedandvariablephenomenonandcanbeexpressedinsomanyforms,itisimpossibletogiveastep-by-stepguide.However,itisstillpossibletooutlinesomebasicapproaches:

·TheTitleoftheFilm

Filmswillcommonlyusetitlestopointouttheirthemes.

·NamesofCharacters

Scriptwritersmayusethenamesoftheircharacterstosuggestbothsomethingaboutthecharactersthemselves,andalsosomethingabouttheoverallthemeofthefilm.

·Symbolism

Symbols,motifs,andsymbolicsettingsmayindicatethethemeofthefilm.

·CharacterConflict

Thethememayemergefromtheconflictbetweencharacters,especiallywhenthecharactersarerepresentativeofdeepervaluesandattitudes.

·SpeechesandDialogue

Speechesmayalsoindicatethethemesofafilm.InAboutaBoy,forexample,theprotagonistdescribeshistheoryof“islandliving”（i.e.aradicallyindependentlifestyle）inaspeechaddresseddirectlytotheaudience.Infact,thisleadsdirectlytothetheme:

Absoluteindependenceisanundesirablestate.

·Subplots

Themainplotcarriesthemainburdenofthenarrative.Thesubplot,ontheotherhand,canbeusedmoreflexiblytoexplorethethematicimplicationsofthefilm.

·SocialContext

Themescanemergefromtheinteractionofafilm’ssubjectmatteranditssocialcontext.

TakeForrestGumpasexample

·EpisodicStructureandRepetition（章回式结构和循环）

ThenarrativestructureofForrestGumpisbasicallyepisodic:

thatis,itismadeupofseparate,looselyconnectedsituationsthatoccurinthelifeoftheprotagonist.WhatholdstogetherthenarrativeisnottheplotbutthefigureofGumphimself.

Accompanyingthisepisodicstructureisapatternofrepetitions.ThesceneinwhichGumpisbulliedbyboysfromhishometownisrepeatedalittlelaterinhislife,asisJenny’sfamousexhortation（告诫）toForrest（Run,Forrest!

Run）.TheactofgettingontheschoolbustofindnoonewillingtoofferaseatisalsorepeatedwhenGumpsetsoffforVietnam.Gump’smeetingswithAmericanpresidentsoccurtimeaftertime,asdoreportsofassassinationsofprominentfiguresinrecenthistory.Perhapsthemostprofoundrepetition,though,isthebirthoftheyoungForrestGumpandhisownfirsttripontheschoolbus:

Thistimetherepetitionisaccompaniedbyachangeforthebetter,astheyoungGumphasallthecharmofhisfatherwithnoneofthestupidity.Theoveralleffectoftheserepetitionsistocreateansenseofcircularity---thereassuringfeelingthathistoryrepeatsitself.

PlotandSubplot

ForrestGumpissomethingofanexceptionbecausethestoryofGump’slifeandtheplotofthefilmarealmostidentical.Thatistosay,themainplotis,essentially,nothingmorethanthestoryofGump’slife:

Gumpisborn,goestoschool,goestocollege,goestoVietnam,comeshomeandsetsupashrimpingbusiness,meetsJennyagain,runsacrossthecountry,etc.

Thesubplot,whichdealslargelywithJenny’slifestory，isradicallydifferent.ItgivesalotofcluesastowhathashappenedtoJennyduringthecourseofherlife,butverylittleofthisisactuallyshown.WeinferthatshehascaughtAIDS,butnoneofthisinformationispartofthesubplotitself.

ExerciseUseyourknowledgeofthedifferentkindsofsubplot

tocategorizetheJennysubplot.

TheJennysubplotcanbecategorizedasboth:

·Complicating:

JennyisGump’sloveinterest,andsoisadrivingforceinthemainplot.

·Contradictory:

Jenny’sunderlyingmotivation（intellectualcuriosity）andattitudetolife（experimental）areoppositetothoseofGump

Vogler’sSevenCharacterArchetypes

ChristopherVogler,formerlystoryanalystatDisneyandnowdirectorofDevelopmentatFox2000publishedabook,TheWriter’sJourney:

MythicStructureforStorytellersandScreenwriters,whichhasbeencalled“thecurrentindustrybible”.

Voglerarguesthattherearesevenbasiccharacterfunctions:

hero,mentor（导师）,threshholdguardian（关卡守卫者）,herald（信使）,shapeshift（变化者）,shadow（影子）,andtrickster（骗子，魔术师）.Thesecharactersfunctionsarereallybestthoughtofascharacterarchetypes:

thatis,theyaremythologicaltypestowhichhumansrespondonadeepinstinctivelevelbecausetheyrepresentthebasicunchangingfeaturesofhumanexperiences.

Hero

Mentor:

ThreshholdGuardian

Herald

Shapeshift

Shadow

Trickster

TheDevilWearsPradacomedy

genre

Comedy

TheDevilWearsPradaisa2006comedy-dramafilm,aloosescreenadaptationofLaurenWeisberger's2003novelofthesamename.

Answerthefollowingquestions

a）WhydoesMirandadecidetohireAndreaSachs,agirlwholacksstyleandseemsnottofitinthere?

B/cAndreaisdifferentfromthegirlsMirandaalwayshireswhoarestylish,slenderandworshipthemagazine,butturnouttobedisappointingandstupid.

b）WhatisAndrea’sattitudetowardsherjobasMiranda’sassistantatRunway?

Atfirst,shedoesnottakethejobseriously.ThensherealizesthatifshewantstosurviveMirandaatRunway,shemustchangeherattitude..ShestartstorespectMiranda’sstyleandputsforthherbesteffortsinthejobs.

c）WhatisthereasonforAndreatoleaveMirandaandtheRunway?

BecauseAndrealearnsthatlifeismadeofchoices.ShedoesnotwanttolivethewayMirandalivesandthenshechoosestopursueherownlifestyle.

CharacterAnalysis

MirandaPriestly:

demanding,adragonlady,powerful,bossy,merciless,sophisticated,career-obsessed

AndreaSachs:

naïve,idealistic,smart,perceptive

Fashionrunsthroughthemovieastheoverridingfactor.Afashionmagazineanditseditor-in-chiefprovidethemoviewiththefundamentalstoryline.

Thecardinalruledominatingthefashionrealmis“thinness”,whichisingeniouslyrevealedinTheDevilWearsPrada.Behindthisobsessionwithone’sbodyimageliesapervasiveproblemofanorexia（ie,losso