But I'm A Cheerleader (Jamie Babbit, 1999)

Introduction
Today's focus will be discussing on Queer Cinema. It has been in existence for decades but there was no name given to it; hence, it was identified with avant-garde cinema. However, in 1991, Queer Cinema was introduced at Toronto Film Festival. It is a concept that re-examined the image of homosexuality. Queer Cinema films have been re-evaluating the subjectivity, on male gazes and etc.
According to Jung (2018), New Queer Cinema was tied to the AIDs crisis. It is film making which made by and for people who were marginalized (para.1). Also, according to Susan Hayward, Queer Theory is one of the first postmodern theories which emphasize all "non-straight" approaches to our daily lives. This theory reminds people of looking at things with more than one way; thus, sexuality could also be viewed in multiplicity and unfixed. To sum up, this theory's core discussion is based on the dominance and marginalized group in a culture.

Theory Discussion
Same as the other film theory, Queer Theory itself possesses some of the approaches. There are basically four ways used to carry out queer reading of texts. The first method is to conduct through audience reception. This method assess the popular text across the non-straight audience, such as homosexual characters in film. In short, it is homosexual film target on non-straight audience. The second method would be texts that target on straight audience but surprisingly gotten appreciation from the non-straight audiences. Furthermore, the third approach would be the straight-identifying film producers who are concerning with non-normative straightness films. Lastly, the fourth approach is a complicated kind which utters spaces outside gender binaries and sexuality categories. The film But I'm A Cheerleader (1999) is fall under the first approach. Follow by, a few marginal characters' representations will be analyzed.

Synopsis
Megan is a high school senior who takes part in cheerleading and dates a football player, Jared. She does not enjoy kissing him. Her friends and family are suspecting she might be a lesbian, due to her change in dietary and affection towards LGBTQ icon, Melissa Etheridge. She is then sent to True Directions to "cure" her homosexuality. She has to go through five processes in order to graduate her program (Wikipedia, n.d., para.5-7). During her days in the therapy camp, she met Graham, a homo who is comfortable to be non-straight but is afraid of her parents. Both of them develop their relationship from strangers, to acquaintances, and finally lovers. When both of them are busted, Megan is expelled but Graham stays. Lastly, Graham elopes with Megan at her graduation day.

Analysis
There are a few representation that will be discussed in this analysis which include Megan, Graham, Rock, Jan. They are being marginalized in many ways throughout the film, which reflects the reality.


Firstly, Megan is a type of non-straight representation which initially does not realize her own sexual orientation as being non-straight. She upholds strong Christianity principle and therefore, when she is asked whether to have sexual desire on her boyfriend, Jared, she rejects it by claiming how religious she is. Also, her sudden change of dietary to vegetarianism is seemed to be another stereotype of being marginalized by the dominance. When a cocksucker packet is discovered under Graham's bed, everyone's parents are contacted including Megan's. During the conversation, her parents mention that if she is involved in such deviant activity she would not be able to return to home as this is so called "unhealthy lifestyle" from the non-marginalized's viewpoint. Megan turns from being unconscious of her homosexuality to be very firm with it as well as ignore how the others think.


The second representation of marginalized character is Graham. She is the kind of homosexual which is comfortable at being who she is. For Graham, the homosexuality therapy is of no use. Her stance is very clear: being a homosexual you can either fake to become a straight, or to continue living as a homo but to bear with the retribution. However, Graham is afraid of being kicked out of the home and hence, she has to fake it to the end. When the cocksucker packet suspect is on her, she fake it to say she is in love with Joel. Besides, when she is busted having affair with Megan, she even abandons Megan and to pair up with Rock in the simulation sexual intercourse. Being a homosexual, the principle she upholds is "the only trick is not to get caught".

The third representation will be Rock. Rock is Mrs Brown's son which is supposedly to be masculine. However, despite of his manly looking, he is feminine internally. This can be observed through two scenes. The first scene would be when he drinks, he sips through the straw instead of chucking the whole glass of drink. The second scene is when Mrs Brown requests Megan to pair up with Rock in the simulation so that she could be excused from being expelled. When Megan replys "I don't think it will work", the scene cuts to Rock dancing like a sissy when he is mowing. For Rock's case, he is forced to be what the society defines as "norm", but he himself does not actually desire to obey to the normative rules.

For the last representation would be Jan. Jan is a softball player who is almost bald and having moustache. Though she has a male's appearance, but she herself confesses that she is straight. She cries when she say that everyone judges her as a lesbian just because she wears baggy pants and play sports. Besides, she does not have a pretty look just like other girls do. Moreover, she even reveals that she desires to have sex with men. Though she has confessed but Mike, the ex-gay does not believe in her, as he is also stereotypical based on her look. She is the representation which reflects how judgemental the dominating people are when it comes to an individual's appearance.

Despite homosexuality is receiving wider acceptance in recent years; however, in Malaysia's context, it is still a taboo. Since Malaysia is an Islamic country, anything that is related to homosexual is unlawful. These marginalized people are not treated as equal as the heterosexuals in terms of getting married, involving in sexual intercourse and having a family. According to Beh (2018), there are two lesbian Malaysian who attempted to have sex be fined and caned for their unlawful act (para.1). Therefore, be it revealing or hiding as a homosexual, four of the representations in But I'm A Cheerleader (1999) are considered "not moral" in our context.

Conclusion
This film has done a very good job in constructing different representations of marginalized individuals. The concept of having "True Directions" therapeutic camp is a brilliant way of criticizing how the dominating group views the ease of altering an individual's sexual orientation. Though many of them have graduated, but how true would it be to turn one to become a straight from non-straight? The film ends with Megan's parents sharing their homosexual daughter shows how the dominance group starts to accept the marginalized group's value, and to respect their existence.

Reference
Beh, L.Y. (2018). Malaysian women to be caned for 'attempting lesbian sex'. Retrieved from
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-lgbt-court/malaysian-women-to-be-caned-for-attempting-lesbian-sex-idUSKBN1KZ1JF

Jung, E. A. (2018). A Beginner's Guide to New Queer Cinema. Retrieved from
http://www.vulture.com/article/new-queer-cinema-movies.html

Wikipedia. (n.d.). But I'm A Cheerleader. Retrieved from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/But_I%27m_a_Cheerleader

Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 1941)

Introduction
This blog's focus will be mainly discussing on film noir. Film noir is a type of American films which emerged during a period of political instability, which was from 1941 to 1958,  the time of World War II and the Cold War in United States. It then 'invaded' French cinemas after WWII, which emphasized on the women's changing social role - to be independent by entering the workforce. The theme of widespread evil, deviant as well as manipulative sexuality could be found in Maltese Falcon (Saporito, 2015, para.4). Also, there are no altruistic characters found in the film as all of them were motivated by greed, lust and benefits.

Theory Discussion
Similar to most of the genres, film noir can be discussed by analyzing its mise-en-scene and themes. The film Maltese Falcon (1941) that will be discussed today consists many traits which can best suited a film noir, and it could be known as one of the top film noirs in the century. From visual perspective, many scenes from the film is dark with lots of shadows. High-contrast lighting is used in many settings. Besides, the film is German-expressionistic with angles which can create sense of distortion. On the other hand, from thematic perspective, the film is pessimism and dark. Corrupted characters, blurred morals and criminal motives are everywhere in the film. The most distinctive trait is the hard-boiled antihero and femme fatale in the film.

Synopsis
Private eye Sam Spade and Miles Archer are approached by a knockout, Miss Wonderly, to tail a guy named Floyd Thursby. Unfortunately, Archer was shot during the action and followed by Thursby being killed. Then the knockout reveal herself as Brigid O'Shaughnessy. She is surrounded by dangerous men dangerous men - Casper Gutman and Joel Cairo who together lusting for the statuette black bird - Maltese Falcon. Therefore, her only hope for protection comes from Sam Spade, who is suspected by the policemen of one or the other's murderer (Surplin, n.d.). By gathering information piece by piece, Spade - the greedy guy joins the hunt for the precious gold statuette.

Analysis
Firstly, Maltese Falcon is a film with a lot of shadows. The low key lighting is utilized very much in the shooting of the film. It creates a high-contrast of the black and white of casts in the framing. For example, there is a scene where Wilmer Cook was tailing Sam Spade. As Sam Spade walked down the stairs, a vivid shadow of him was shown on the wall. The use of harsh shadow in the film very much emphasize feeling of the character on the spot. For this particular scene, Sam Spade's fastened his pace to avoid from the tailing.

Besides, much of German-Expressionistic elements are applied in the film. The use of this artistic genre shows the distortion for the emotional effect in the film (Darsa, 2013). However, in Maltese Falcon (1941), as this genre could not be brought up as much as The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari, only the distorted angle of filming and the use of lines were applied. For instance, there is one scene where Joel Cairo was slapped by Brigid O'Shaughnessy and he wanted to revenge. Sam Spade came in and stopped Cairo who pulled out his gun. The low angle and use of ceiling created sense of distortion in the mise-en-scene. Low angle implicitly reflects the real evil personality of the two characters. Also, the use of the lines of ceiling counters the sense of balance visually.

On the other hand, the theme for this film is dark, where it is overwhelmed with corrupted characters and blurred morals. In film noir, characters are motivated to do things which can best suit their interests. Nobody is having a pure heart or being altruistic to the others. This trait can be observed in almost every casts in Maltese Falcon. For example, there is a scene where Sam Spade told Brigid, Gutman and Joel that he needed one people to be passed to the policemen for him to be suspected to be the murderer of Miles Archer's and Floyd Thursby's death. Four of them lastly decided to give out Wilmer Cook as he seemed to be of less important among all of them. Four of them are only blinded with the money they can get once they got the blackbird.

Lastly, Sam Spade, the hard-boiled antihero, and Brigid O'Shaughnessy, the femme fatale, are the most crucial parts on making Maltese Falcon (1941) a film noir. Sam Spade had many tricks to safeguard himself from troubles, even it is to hurt the other. For example, Sam Spade was greedy and always went after unreasonable amount of money to carry his mission. Also, he was being arrogant towards the bad guys as he pretty understand his importance. He remained prideful even he was forced at gunpoint. Besides, though he loves Brigid, he gave out her to the policemen so that he could remain his good image as a private detective.

For O'Shaughnessy, she is addressed as the femme fatale because she utilized her feminine side to gain caring and sympathy from the men. For instance, she pretended to be needy in front of Sam Spade and sought for his protection from Gutman and Wilmer. Even before she was sent to the policemen, she shed crocodile tears in front of Sam Spade to plead him for not telling the truth to the policemen. She was being manipulative to all the men around her so that she could gain what she long for - the Maltese Falcon.

Conclusion
Maltese Falcon (1941) is a film which reflects the real world - greediness and self-centered are the core motivations which drive people further. It educates the audience to be aware of people and not to be swayed by the veil they are putting on. Craving for something which does not belong to you would let you pay for it. As  Ralph Waldo Emerson once mentioned, "Money often costs too much".

Reference
Darsa, A. (2013). Art House: An Introduction to German Expressionist Film. Retrieved from
https://news.artnet.com/market/art-house-an-introduction-to-german-expressionist-films-32845

Saporito, J. (2015). Q: How did "The Maltese Falcon" help craft the noir film genre? Retrieved from
http://screenprism.com/insights/article/how-did-the-maltese-falcon-help-craft-the-noir-film-genre

Surplin, J. (n.d.). The Maltese Falcon (1941). Retrieved from
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033870/?ref_=adv_li_tt

Quarantine (John Erick Dowdle, 2008)

Introduction
Today, the focus will be discussing on documentary film. This film genre has radically evolved over the years and therefore, it is alright to be confused in defining the term "documentary". According to the author of Documentary Storytelling, Sheila Curran Beranrd, documentaries bring audience to a new world of experience through presenting factual information about persons, places or events. However, factuality alone does not define documentaries; it is what the filmmaker does on the factual elements (Desktop Documentaries, n.d., para.1-5). Out of the many types of documentaries, mockumentary will be the main discussion for this blog.

Theory Discussion
As proposed by Bill Nichols, we can look at documentaries via the techniques applied by the filmmakers when they record or shape the event, such as the way they represent the documentary to the audience. Therefore, Bill had suggested six modes of representations which include poetic mode, expository mode, observational mode, interactive mode, reflexive mode as well as performative mode. The film Quarantine (2008) falls under performative mode's mockumentary category as well as a few of the other modes of representation. According to English Oxford Living Dictionaries, mockumentary is a film which takes the form of a serious documentary film to mock its subject (n.d.).

Synopsis
Angela Vidal and her crew cameraman Scott Percival set out to film a report on the night shift in a Los Angeles fire station (IMDb, n.d., para.4). They are introduced to Fletcher and Jake, and are allowed to shadow them in their action. A medical emergency is reported and the duo follows the firemen to the scene. Mrs. Espinoza, the source of the screaming, attacks one of the policeman and this is where the virus outburst. As the policemen, firemen and TV crews want to send the injured to the hospital, they are told that the door is locked from the outside. Their cell phones and cable connections are blocked, the rabies-infected are crazed in biting the survivors and most importantly, they are all quarantined. The video tape is the only evidence on what is going on in the building.

Analysis

The first mode of representation found in Quarantine (2008) is performative's mockumentary mode. This mode of representation uses many different techniques to film and represent the issue, using a fictional style to show the audience the documentary. It evokes mood or atmosphere found in the fiction film, and it is lack of objectivity. It aimed to encourage the audience to feel the event meanwhile encouraging them to question the accuracy of the filmed events. The film Quarantine (2008) is subjective as it is the point of view of Scott, the cameraman, following Angela, the reporter, all the way in the incident. Since it is one kind of horror film, there are many scenes which hyped up the audiences' mood to have anticipations. For example, there is one scene when Danny, the police officer, and Jake, the fireman, request Angela and Scott to stay at the lobby. However, both of them still go up the stairs quietly to film what is happening in Mrs. Espinoza's room. The extraordinary silence and darkness induced the audience to sense fear from the particular scene.

The second mode of representation would be interactive mode. This is a mode where the filmmaker's presence is known by the audience. Also, the filmmaker involves in interviews where he or she poses questions on or off screen. Filmmaker's participation in the framing restraints the objectivity of the documentary. Obviously, Angela, the reporter is shown in most of the framing throughout the film. She interviews Briana, Sadie and Bernard when they are all quarantined in the building. She poses questions and prompts the interviewee to answer accordingly. Besides, there are several scenes where Angela also looks into the camera when she wants to report the latest updates to the audience.



The third mode of representation in the film is reflexive mode. Reflexive documentary arises from the desire of making the representations of the film more apparent and to challenge the impression of reality which expository, observational and interactive modes normally conveyed unproblematic. Besides representing the issue, the film is also attempting to reflect the reality of the society. This mode could be observed in a few scenes. For the first scene, people in the quarantined building lost their connection as their network are jammed by the authority. This scene reflects how the authority controls and minimizes the threat that will undermine the society's harmony. The authority even lied to the public that evacuation has been completed to avoid further commotion. The second scene would be when Yuri and the TV crews have tried several means to leave the building without the other tenants' knowledge. This scene shows how selfish human being is when they encounter with catastrophic events. To conclude, this mode provide more valuable views of the issue at hand.

Conclusion
Since Quarantine (2008) is a horror film, mockumentary is a wise choice in the film making because it conveys an impression of "this is true" to the audience. Angela's and Scott's presence in the film amplified the audiences' fear and nervousness as if they are in the scene. The shakiness, the use of available light and the diegetic sound shows how natural is the film. I am looking forward into film which can utilize six forms of documentary representation in the future!

Reference
Desktop Documentaries. (n.d.) What Is A Documentary? Retrieved from
https://www.desktop-documentaries.com/what-is-a-documentary.html

English Oxford Living Dictionaries. (n.d.). Mockumentary. Retrieved from
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/mockumentary

IMDb. (n.d.). Quarantine (2018): Plot. Retrieved from
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1082868/plotsummary

Easy A (Will Gluck, 2010)

Introduction
Today's focus will be discussing on feminist film theory. It stated in the 1920s, which looked at women's expression on their own subjectivity. According to Walsh (2010), the phenomenon of more women entering the workforce in the 1960s increased the dissatisfaction of women as they were treated unequally in terms of huge disparity in pay, sexual harassment and advancement opportunity (para.3). In addition, as films are viewed as a reflection of society, themes such as discrimination, stereotyping,objectification and etc are especially discussed in this theory. Therefore, this theory became matured in the late 1960s, after the radicalized feminist movement of sexual liberation and political debate of female representation.

Theory Discussion
Under feminist film theory, there are three perspectives of viewing the films. The first perspective would be the predetermined sexual identity to reveal the misrepresentation of women under a patriarchal society in film. The second perspective would be visualizing the various female representations and comparing them to get the final "preferred" female representations. The last perspective would be to look at the female representation of the film from a female spectator's point of view. In the film Easy A (2010), the second perspective is utilized in the filming. Follow by, the analysis will be discussing on the different females' traits within the film.

Synopsis
The female protagonist, Olive Penderghast, went from invisible to a most spoken student in the school due to the rumors of her losing virginity to a random guy. She was abhorred by Marianne, a religious student who was loyal to Christianity. Olive was then approached by Brandon, a homosexual guy who wanted to stop being bullied by requesting Olive to have a "fake" sex with him. Since then, Olive was well-known for her faking sex service. One day, she was paid for a real sex and this was when she decided to justify this "promiscuity" label. She then went for Internet webcam to clarify for herself and revealed her genuine affection for Woodchuck Todd.

Analysis
There are a total of five female representations in the film Easy A (2010) which include Marianne, Rhiannon, Olive's mother, Mrs Griffin and Olive Penderghast. Each of the female cast is distinguished from their unique personality traits.

Marianne, the film's antagonist, is a super-religious girl which emphasized on family value. According to Jordahl (2013), she is judgemental, hypocritical and people who likes to jump to conclusion. She insists on holding other to her own standards of behavior because she believes what she does represent "righteous". Whoever disagree or oppose to her standard would be judged by the higher power for their indecency (para.2&3). Marianne is the kind of representation when people say that they "don't like Christian". People like her do exist, which is very problematic as they always use their biases to judge people.

Rhiannon, Olive's best friend before Olive became really famous for her harlot fame, is the typical blonde-hair-girl: beautiful but stupid. Besides, she is obsessed with sex. She always urge Olive to give out her "V-card" so that Olive could be as slut as her. She was overwhelmed with joy when Olive cheated Rhiannon losing her virginity to a random guy. She always talk loud and immature which portrays her stupidity. Her jealousy towards Olive became intense as Olive's reputation grew. Rhiannon officially ended her friendship with Olive when Olive flirted her boyfriend right in front of her.

Olive's mother, a humorous character who always make fun of herself and her family members in conversation. Despite having a blonde hair, she is smart in solving issues. When her daughter confronts with problems in her high school life, she listens to them open-minded and share her experience she had while she was young, rather than being judgemental towards the rumors. Though she is concern of her daughter who dressed like a "stripper", but she gave personal space for her daughter to resolve her own difficulties. Overall, she is a supportive parent.

Mrs Griffith is another antagonist who has sexual affair with Marianne's boyfriend. She seems to be a nice counselor who listens to students problems, but in fact she is an immoral teacher who betrays her husband and her student. Though she initially wanted to admit her mistake publicly, but Olive sacrificed herself and claimed herself to have STD in order to save Mrs Griffith's image. When Olive wants to reveal Mrs Griffin's wrongdoings, she threatens Olive saying that nobody would trust a sexually active student. She fails to be a good wife and a role model to the students.

Last but not least, Olive Penderghast, the kind-heart protagonist who is bold and empathetic. A big part of getting Olive in the circumstances she is in is because of her desire to help people - whether being bullied, being mocked, or being revealed as a "slut". When unpopular guys seek for her help to boost their reputation, she could not seem to reject them (charactour, n.d., para.6). Moreover, she is intelligent just like her mother. She can make her own decision and be independent when it comes to resolve her bad reputation. She plans to counterattack all the people who refuse to justify for her innocence using webcam.

Conclusion
To conclude, in Easy A (2010), Olive is the best preferred representation of female throughout the film. The film shows the characters we could usually observe in high school life including the manipulative one, the attention-seeking one, the self-centered one or even the hypocrite. The film ends well with a quote from Olive, "whether to lose virginity to anyone at anytime, it is nobody's god damn business". People have every rights in deciding their own lives, and it is beyond the anybody's control. It is clear that the film's stance on feminism is to empower women in authorizing their own lives and being independent as their abilities are of them same as men.

References
charactour. (n.d.). Olive Penderghast. Retrieved from
https://www.charactour.com/hub/characters/view/Olive-Penderghast.Easy-A

Jordahl, M.M. (2013). Easy A. A Study in Slut-Shaming, Part II: Marianne. Retrieved from
https://mmjordahl.com/2013/04/01/easy-a-a-study-in-slut-shaming-part-ii-marianne/

Walsh, K. T. (2010). The 1960s: A Decade of Change for Women. Retrieved from
https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2010/03/12/the-1960s-a-decade-of-change-for-women

Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1959)

Introduction
This blog's focus will be mainly discussing on French New Wave. According to Parnell (2016), the French New Wave, which is also known as French Nouvelle Vague, was directors who exploded onto the film scene in the late 1950s. It rejected the traditional manner of storytelling and constructed new form of language for film (para.1). It was originated by some leading film producers such as Jean-Luc Godard who wanted to change the French cinema style that was similar to the literature. Before this, film producers only expressed the same ideas that were depicted in novels and paintings (Indie Film Hustle, 2016, para.6). In short, French New Wave put less emphasis on plot and preferring visual aesthetics and mise-en-scene.

Theory Discussion
French New Wave is independent in its economic. Therefore, the film uses low budget in its production. Besides, from the aesthetic perspective, the directors of French New Wave reject the film traditions which emphasize on plots. Since there is least emphasis on plot, the casts improvised the dialogue and plot themselves. In addition, location shooting is used instead of using set studio. Jump cuts could be very much seen from the film. According to Nichols (2010), a jump cut is a mismatch where the shift from one shot to another shot fails to maintain smooth continuity in space or time. In addition, direct sound and ambient light is used in the framing. Long takes which last for more than a minute are used instead of applying continuity by editing different shots together. Lastly, the anti-authoritarian protagonist is the core trait for the this film type.

Synopsis
Michel Poiccard was an irresponsible sociopath and small thief who stole a car and murdered the motorcycle policeman who chased after him. He went to Paris to collect some money, including stealing, in order to leave the country. Then he met with Patricia Fanchini by the street. He seduced her for several attempts then they became partner in love. However, Patricia was always curious about her feeling towards Michel. Michel always persuaded Patricia to leave the country to Rome once he collected the sufficient amount of money. Once Patricia discovered that Michel was under arrest, he betrayed Michel by telling him off to the police. Michel was shot when he tried to escape, and he died breathlessly on the street.

Analysis
After World War II, France undergone economic crisis. Investment for filmmaking was very low.
Therefore, many films were produced in low budget. French New Wave directors borrowed friends' apartment for shooting, and used his or her own friends as the cast and crew. For instance, in Breathless (1959), the protagonist, Michel, talked to his girlfriend, Patricia, in the apartment and the room of himself in Agnes Varda's Cleo from 5 to 7 (Characteristics of French New Wave Films, 2012, para.3).

French New Wave put more emphasis on the casts' spontaneous acts instead of the script and plot. This trait broke the tradition theory for a film. For example, at the beginning of the film, Michel had stolen a car at the city. As he was driving by the rural area, he simply self-mumbled to himself. This scene was believe not to be in the script. "If you don't like the shore, if you don't like the mountains, if you don't like the city, then get stuffed!" and "Little girl hitchhiking! I'll charge a kiss per mile" are the examples of him self-mumbling. The other example would be when Michel and Patricia were in the hotel room. They spontaneously talked to each other and added some non-plot-related dialogues such as "O la la! Just like a man", "I'll count to 8, if by 8 you haven't smile, I will strangle you" and etc.

In addition, location shooting and ambience sound as well as light were applied in the film. According to Characteristics of French New Wave Films (2012), the directors of French New Wave films admired Neorealists, hence they decided to shoot on location. Natural and available light was used so the whole scene looked natural and casual. Furthermore, French New Wave directors recorded the sound during the shooting and did not do any correction. These traits could be observed from the same scene mentioned above. While Michel was driving, no additional lighting or edited sound was used in the film. The location was not set up and audience could see roadwork happening by the roadside (para.2).

Furthermore, there were many jump cuts observed in Breathless (1959). Jump cuts constantly reminds the audiences that they are watching a film. This is complemented by the actor's monologue in the scene. For instance, jump cuts could be seen when Michel was driving his stolen car. When Michel was holding the gun, the next scene cut to the trees and gunshots were heard. Also, Michel's monologue in the car and his stare to the camera reminded the audiences they are watching a film, instead of engaging them into the plot.

Long takes for more than a few minutes were applied in the film. It was complemented with handheld camera which showed shaky and unstable feeling. For example, when Patricia was selling newspaper at the city, Michel approached her and started sweet-talking to her. They went to and fro in the scene and the long take continued for a few minutes. The other long take could be seen when Michel was running from the policemen towards the end of the film. He was then shot by the police and ran breathlessly to his death. This particular scene established a feeling of how he suffered escaping until his death.

The last trait that will be discussed is the anti-authoritarian protagonist, Michel. He was anti-hero, loner with no family ties, who behave immorally. He stole money and car, molested women randomly and murdered policeman for his own good. Many kind of criminal activities could be seen from the anti-hero. He was dominant towards Patricia, the woman he fall into insanely. Unfortunately, Patricia didn't conform to the "patriarchy society" and upheld for what she is correct. She kept questioning her affection towards Michel and she told off Michel to the police.

Conclusion

To conclude, Breathless (1959) is a black and white film which I find it quite absurd as it opposed most of the tradition of film making I was thought. As human are trained to watch continuity film, we could not really adapt to the sudden jump cuts which less likely or do not show connection between scenes. Therefore, French New Wave has reminded me the importance of producing a film based on the perspective of the audiences so that messages can be conveyed better.

Reference
Characteristics of French New Wave Films. (2012). Retrieved from
http://makeawave-frenchnewwave.blogspot.com/2012/08/characteristics-of-french-new-wave-films.html

Indie Film Hustle. (2016). What is the French New Wave? How did the French New Wave movement originate? Retrieved from
https://indiefilmhustle.com/french-new-wave/

Nichols, B. (2010). "Chapter 1 :Film as A Language". Engaging Cinema: An Introduction to Film Studies, New York. W.W.Norton&Company, Inc: pg46.

Parnell, Lindsay. (2016). The French New Wave: Revolutionising Cinema. Retrieved from
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/france/articles/the-french-new-wave-revolutionising-cinema/

Corpse Bride (Tim Burton, 2005)

Introduction
This journal's focus will be mainly discussing on German Expressionism. It is a filmic style that emerged in Germany from year 1919 to year 1926. The advent of this filmic style was influenced by the Expressionist movement in modern art of early 1900s. Expressionism was not limited to painting only, but was manifest in literature, theatre and architecture. Besides, there are several themes included in German Expressionism such as revolt, self-analysis, sexual savagery and madness as well as primitive.

Theory Discussion
According to Zilvertong (2014), Corpse Bride consists of many elements that are used by German Expressionism, as the features included distorted perspective, disturbed relationship and angles, use of strong contrast and shadows (para.1). Not only that, according to Film Theory (2014), the dominant characteristics of expressionism include the use of heavy atmosphere, the evoke of mystery and hallucination, as well as the set of camera in unexpected angles which gives different perception (para.5). Follow by, some of the scenes in Corpse Bride will be mentioned to further explain these traits.

Synopsis
Victor Van Dort and Victoria Everglot were betrothed because the Everglots needed money and the Van Dorts wanted to gain social status (XxCherrySodaxX. n.d.). Though it was the first meeting, they fall for each another. After Victor bungled the wedding rehearsal, he went practising his vows in the forest. Victor put his ring on a branch-like finger, which then awoken Emily - the corpse bride. Emily claimed Victor to be his groom and brought him to the land of the dead. As the Everglots could not wait for Victor's return, they decided to marry Victoria off to Lord Barkis. Victor, feeling betrayed, planned to end his life and marry Emily. As Emily realized she was denying Victoria's chance at happiness, she let go of Victor and transformed into swarm of butterflies under the moonlight (Wikipedia, n.d. para.6).

Analysis

There are two themes from German Expressionism which could be found in Corpse Bride (2005) - revolt and self-analysis. For the first theme - revolt, it could be seen from the scene where Victoria escaped from her room by the window after she was locked in the room by her parents. As Victoria told her parents that Victor was forcibly wed to a corpse bride, they thought that she had lost her mind and planned to marry her off to Lord Barkis. Though her rebellious action was at last of no use, but it proved that Victoria had tried to oppose her parents by seeking help from the pastor.

The next theme in the movie is self-analysis. This theme was shown vividly in Emily - the corpse bride. She was very stubborn in having Victor as his groom initially. When she discovered the real reason of Victor's request for returning to the land of the living, which is to meet with Victoria, she was very angry and chanted "Hopscotch" to bring both of them back to the afterlife. Her self-analysis occurred when she saw Victoria hiding behind the pillar as Victor was about to consume the poisonous drink. "You kept your promise. You set me free. Now I can do the same for you." was the last sentence she said when she realized her selfish doing was wrong.

The following analysis will be on the traits of German Expressionism. The first trait will be distorted bodies. For example, Victor, the shy and clumsy protagonist, has strange physique, which include extraordinary big eyes, big head, stick-like body and hunched back. This character provides a sense of similarity with the protagonist from the movie - The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920). Both of the protagonist also walked in a strange way. To be exact, most of the living characters in this movie had strange bodies. Victor's mother bloated in a strange way whereas Victor's father looked exactly like him.

In addition, distorted perspective could also be found in the movie. For example, the land of the living is darker meanwhile the land of the dead is more colorful. This tends to oppose the common sense the audience possesses in mind - the living should be happier and the afterlife ought to be scarier. In Corpse Bride, the land of the living reflected the bureaucratic side of life and the land of the dead is more joyous and musical (The Guardian, 2005, para.4).

The use of strong contrast and shadow was also applied in this movie. When Victor's vows awoken Emily from death, the low-key lighting created a dramatic shadows. This scene evoked a strong sense of fear in the audience. Apart from that, the other scene with high contrast was the scene when Victor finally found the ring he accidentally fall onto the ground. This scene heightened up the audience's expectations of how Victor was about to be condemned by his reckless behaviour.

Moreover, the content in the movie was surreal and gothic. The unnatural realities could be observed in the land of the dead such as singing skeleton, moving head and skeleton pet dog. Besides, according to What is Goth (n.d.), gothic could be defined as things that someone find it beautiful whereas the others find it to be dark (para.1). Emily could be the best example of element "gothic" found in the movie. Her appearance was frightening yet alluring at the same time.

Conclusion
Corpse Bride (2005) is a movie which consists of elements which vary from what we could perceive from ordinary film. It metaphors how cruel the real life looks like and changes how the audience could perceive the afterlife. This movie enables audience to view things differently by distorting things visually and cognitively. The value that can be learnt from this movie is to let go of thing that does not belong to oneself.

Reference
1. Film Theory (n.d.). German Expressionism. Retrieved from
http://filmtheory.org/german-expressionism/

2. The Guardian (n.d.). 'Corpse Bride? It's just a love story with skeletons'. Retrieved from
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2005/oct/14/2

3. What is Goth (n.d.). What is Goth. Retrieved from
http://www.whatisgoth.com/

4. Wikipedia (n.d.). Corpse Bride. Retrieved from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpse_Bride

5. XxCherrySodaxX. (n.d.). Corpse Bride (2005) :Plot. Retrieved from
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0121164/plotsummary#synopsis

6. Zilvertong. (2014). The Influence of German Expressionism in Corpse Bride. Retrieved from
http://zilvertong.tumblr.com/post/105864280329/the-influence-of-german-expressionism-in-corpse

Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica, 1948)

Introduction
This journal will be mainly focusing on Italian Neorealism. This theory was founded by Cesare Zavattini in 1942, which suggested a new style of Italian Cinema that abolishes planned plots. This new form uses real people and locations so that direct contact is established with contemporary social reality, which was the life after Italy had surrendered to Germany during World War 2. To be more accurate, contemporary social reality unconditionally emphasizes on the ordinariness of daily lives.

Theory Discussion
Italian Neorealism was known as a cinema filled with poverty and pessimism. However, its decline began in the fifties as the nations were changing for the better and it was not economically profitable in Italy. The movie that will be discussed soon, Bicycle Thieves (1948), can be classified as Italian Neorealism due to fulfillment of the following traits : possesses melodramatic aspects, references to contemporary national experiences, used mixture of professional actors and non-actors, and mostly shot on-location, in the ruins of the post-war era.

Synopsis
Ricci Antonio, an unemployed man in the depressed post-World War 2 economy in Italy, was offered a job to hang up posters - for which he needed a bicycle (IMDb, n.d.). As his job required a bike, his wife then sold six of their bed sheets to redeem their bike at the pawn shop. On Ricci's first day of working, his bicycle was stolen as he was hanging up posters. Ricci, with his son's companion, had tried several attempts to trace back the bike by reporting to the police, seeking help from his friend Baiocco, approaching the old man who conversed with the thief. Despite located the thief, Ricci's accusation was of no use as he had no proof. He himself at last became a bicycle thief due to his keenness to retain his job. Unfortunately, he was caught by a group of man, right in front of his son.

Analysis

Bicycle Thieves (1948) had few scenes which consisted melodramatic aspects. According to Filmsite (n.d.), melodrama films are characterized by plot to appeal to the heightened emotions of the audience. The word "melodrama" consists of drama and melos-music, which means "play with music" (para.1). For example, Ricci frowned and looked around hopelessly as he failed to chase after the thief who stole his bike. This scene was accompanied with melancholy music to better enhance his state of mind - which is puzzled and depressed.
Besides, the other scene which possessed melodramatic aspect is when Bruno realized his father was cycling a stolen bike. This particular scene was very dramatic as Bruno facial expression showed how confused he was when he saw men were chasing after his father. His mixed feelings were accompanied by tense music as the group of men almost caught his father.

The second aspect of Italian Neorealism which was shown in the movie is references to contemporary national experience. According to History (n.d.), Gen. Dwight Eisenhower publicly announced the surrender of Italy to the allies (para.1). As the movie was filmed in year 1948 which was post-WWII, unemployment rate was high and citizens were eager to be hired. In order to complement the contemporary, the movie showed a large crowd of men gathering in front of an employment office in Valmelaina. This is why Ricci was delight yet upset at the same time when he got a job in the lackluster Italian economy (GradeSaver, n.d., para.1). Furthermore, the post-war contemporary was shown in the scene where many citizens lined up to pawn their belongings. People who used to live in comfort had no choice but to pawn things such as linen, binoculars and etc.

The used mixture of professional and non-professional actor was applied in this movie as well. According to Snider (2015), most of the casts were non-professional actors. The aesthetic of Italian Neorealism was to use non-actors or at least actors who are good in being natural. Director Vittorio De Sica had mentioned that it is difficult for a fully trained actor to forget his profession (para.3). Therefore, the only professional actor in the movie was the officer who announced employed workers in front of the employment office.

Furthermore, mostly of the scenes in Italian Neorealism were shot on-location, which were in the ruins of the post-war era. This aspect can relate the audience to the scenario of lives after war. In the movie, there are few scenes which can reflect this aspect. For example, there were many newly built apartments in the movie. When Ricci was offered a job, he went back to find his wife who was busy with her chores. The buildings were neat and clean, which reflects citizens who were rebuilding their nation after WWII. In addition, there was one scene where the old guy tried to run away from Ricci and Bruno on the bridge at the town. This scene showed the tranquility of Italy after they had surrendered to their allies in WWII. Citizens were able to mobile in town areas without restrictions and curfews as the nation was freed from war. Moreover, the other on-location shot is the cheers for "Forza Modena" team in the stadium. When Ricci was having his dilemma of whether to steal the bicycle or not, there were cheers from the stadium. It was not a planned event; instead, it was a real footage on the day of filming at the location. Citizens can enjoy watching matches in stadium which also proved peaceful lives after war.

Conclusion
Bicycle Thieves (1948) is a black and white film that showed the unfortunate life of an unemployed man. His persistence in searching for his stolen bike was a futile as no one believed in his accusation. This sorrowful film had a tragic ending where Ricci Antonio unable to get back his bike as well as showed Bruno his vulnerable side. The moral value behind Bicycle Thieves is that one can lose everything in his or her life except self-esteem.

Reference
1. Filmsite (n.d.). Melodrama films. Retrieved from
http://www.filmsite.org/melodramafilms.html

2. GradeSaver (n.d.). Bicycle Thieves Summary. Retrieved from
https://www.gradesaver.com/bicycle-thieves/study-guide/summary

3. History (n.d.). Italian surrender is announced. Retrieved from
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/italian-surrender-is-announced

4. IMDb (n.d.). Bicycle Thieves (1948): Plot. Retrieved from
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040522/plotsummary

5. Snider, E. D. (2015). 11 Heart-Stealing Facts About Bicycle Thieves. Retrieved from
http://mentalfloss.com/article/70637/11-heart-stealing-facts-about-bicycle-thieves