Visual Communication I: Semiology in Film Report- Hitchcock and Tarantino

Synopsis

The purpose of this report is to provide an informative and visually compelling document of the key information, including images, reviews and research, that will be focused on and critically discussed in my presentation. The topic of concern that I wish to address as a part of this assessment, in relation to the theory of semiology and its association and concern with visual communication, is the way in which filmmakers address the importance and significance of culture and both relfect that within their films, and communicate to their audience. Hence I have selected two filmmakers, the first, ‘master of suspense’ british director and producer Alfred Hitchcock, whom is credited to this day in a vast number of movie polls and reviews as the most influential filmaker of all time and one of cinema’s most significant artists to this day, giving movie magic to the phsycological thriller genre of films throughout his thriving and long term career, from the 1940s through to the early 70’s . The second filmmaker I have selected is controversial independent american film maker, Quentin Tarantino recognised for his creative potential as a film director, screen writer, producer, cinematographer, and occasional actor, as a cameo of his own film and in others, winner of both an Academy Award and Golden Globe, and recognised for his non linear, or chaper based story lines, and aesthetication of voilence . In addressing and giving depth to these filmmakers in reguards to their personal profiles as creative artists, their approach to cinematography and the directional styles of their productions, and the manner in which address cultural values and importance to the audience through compelling plot narrative and emotionally engaging characters with ironic circumstances, I will compare and contrast the two in light of their use of semiology for visual communication and will provide my own personal, along with public, criticism’s of both. Thus, with thoughtful consideration I have composed the question, “Compare and Contrast the filmography and creative careers of British ‘Master of Suspense’ Alfred Hitchcock

and controversial independent film maker Quentin Tarantino in reguards totheir approach to film making, and analyse the manner in which both use film as a tool for visual communication, and employ the theory of semiology in relating and representing the present culture of their time”, and hope to adress this question within both my report and presentation.

Alfred Hitchcock -Creative Profile of the

‘Master of Suspense’

With a career spaning over more than five decades, Hithchock during and even after his time, has preserved his reputation as the original genius of thriller narrative, and ‘master of suspense’, fashioning for himself a unique and recognisable style that honours the values and attributes that Hitchock reguards as vitial within the cinemtography of motion picture production. Throughout his career Hitchcock gradually developed his skills as both a director and in cinematography, pioneering the use of a camera to move with such flare that it captures the emotions and personality of his characters, and potentially draws the audience into connecting personally and subjectively with the personalities that his films, particularly during his early career convey and reflect. Hitchcock’s productions are credited for providing suspense and notions of intensity, through gradual climaxes and mysterious plots that capute attention of the viewer, and is the main focus of his narratives. This suspense and mysterious plot narrative, combined with the anxiety, fear, and at times, empathy surrounding the characters that he portrays, are given life through his skillfully executed frameshots together with innovate film editing,

which give such narrative a subjective identity unique the genius of Hitchcock. The mystery of Hitchcock’s films are generated through his twist endings and engaging plot narratives that potray an essence of voilence, murder and crime, so cleverly and uniquely attributed to his featured characters which happen to be for the main part that of strong willed and glamorous blonde stereotypes siding with radical fugitives escaping the hands of the law, and running away from societal conformity, however, as his critics claim, much mystery generated in the movie magic of Hitchcock exists purely as a decoy, serving to support and give emphasis to the themes of his films and ever so comple phsycological profiles of his characters. Hitchock’s unique use of mystery and suspense as a key to withholding the secrets and reasonning of the personality his films so ellegantly portray often reguarded, in cinema language, as a MacGuffin, a term popularized by Hitchock himself referring to a thematic element of a motion picture narrative, such as mystery and suspense, that creates of vale of ambiguity around the composition’s associated subject matter, such as a specific character or social context. The overall purpose of a Mac Guffin within films such as that of Hitchcock’s is to serve as a modern value, reguardless of whether it is that of wealth, veangence, or satisfaction, that all prime characters of a narrative are willing to obtain, whatever it takes, even if they have to go the extent of betrayal and murder. The majority of MacGuffin’s attributed to Hitchcock’s films, such as Norman Bates, in the critically acclaimed thriller ‘Phsyco’, fulfilling the devious and murderous demands of his ghost of a mother by killing the helpless and insecure blondes that arrive at the ‘Bates Hotel’, are for the main part of the film left undefined, and open to the creative minds of the audience, to try to interpret what the MacGuffin is, which in the case of ‘Phsyco’ is not revealed till the film’s, when bonde fugitive, and secretary Marion Crane, played by actress Janet Leigh, reluctantly finds the preserved corpse of Norman’s mother, whos identiy remains throughout the film, and even at its conclusion, a mystery in itself that ceases to be unfolded. In a 1939 lecture at Columbian univeristy, Alfred Hitchcock provides insight the purpose of a MacGuffin in motionpicture narrative.

“We have a name in the studio and we call it the ‘MacGuffin’, It is the mechanical element that usually crops up in any story. In crook stories, it is almost always the necklace and in spy stories it is most always the papers”.

Alfred Hitchcock’s use of the ‘McGuffin’ as a method of mystery in his films has inspired its use
by film producers to following after Hitchock’s reign of suspense, including Star Wars franschise
writer and director Goerge Lucas who has claimed his android character R2-D2, to be “the main driving force of the movie” and indpendent film maer Quentin Tarantino who employs the McGuffin theory through insecure and young neive women, whom are generally the focus point in his films, covered under a veil of mystery and serve as the key to a greater purpose or goal. In reguards to semiotics, Hitchcock employs the us of McGuffin’s not onl to creatve ambiguity, mystery, suspense, and an auror of questioning around both a character and the thematic elements of the plot, but also uses such a tool as a means of reflecting the cultural signficance of the films and the culture of the time in which his productions are both set and produced. As a director who has kept audience’s on the edge of their seat for over half a century, his filming career spanning from the 40s through to the early 80s, the cultural context that defines both society and reality within his film and that of the world outside his productions, is considerably vast and expansive, ranging from ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’, 1941, which projected the romance, and gambling culture of the 40s, through to his final film in 1976 ’family plot’, questioning and challenging, in true Hitchock style, the witchcraft, voodo culture that developed from the hippie culture of the mid 70s.
The visual presentation will discuss the cultural context of Hitchcock’s films in more depth, however what is notable of Hitchock’s work is that every one of Hitchock’s films, thoughout his career employs semiotics to convey romance’s association with culture, material wealth and glamour, and a vibrant crime culture, existent through the antagonist personalities of his films, dealing with theft, gambling, adultery, and of course murder.

Quentin Tarantino- Creative Profile of the Genius of
Motion Picture Controversey

The creative profile of Quentin Tarantino is one that raises eyebrows of young adult audience’s on an international scale, exploiting the reality and corrupt national of contemporary society and our everyday context through what ctirics have analysed as a voilent, confronting, racial, romantist, and oddly comical filmography, including ‘Bad Romance’, 1993, ‘Pulp Fiction’, 1994, ‘Jackie Brown’, 1997, ‘Kill Bill’, 2003 - 2004, and Tarintino’s critically aclaimed, most popularisied and criticised film of his career, thus far, ‘Inglorious Basterds’, 2009. Born March 27, 1963, Tarantino is an American film director, screen writer, producer, cinematographer and occasional cameo actor, initially commencing his creative career in the 1990s, as an indpendent filmaker with the reputation for his non linear story line method of narrative, involving the division of chapter sequences in his films, to create anticipation, mystery and a code of moral understanding, or lesson, in which the audience is educated in the moral positions of Quentin’s character profiles and their cultural contexts. Criticised and challenged for the adult themes of his films, including the aestheitcation of voilence, drug abuse, gang brawls, murder, racial prejudice, forbidden romance, sexism, lust, and crude vengeance, all of which are communicated through his film making in both real time, or real people filming, and animated sequences which take up a signficant portion of Tarantino’s narratives, the controversial filmaker employs traditional cinemaotgraphy techniques to capture the cultural context of contemporary society, whether it is forbidden romance in Quentin’s first film, Bad Romance, gangland crime and corruption in Pulp Fiction, or child possession, and cruel love in Kill Bill, which are interpretted by the audience and relate to their own reality.

i)Director Profiles

Hitchcock
‘Master of Suspense’, title attributed from critics and audience reviews claiming him to be so in response to the notions of suspense and adrenaline thrills of his murder narratives.

13 August, 1899 -29 April 1980, English, director and producer, introducing and cementing the foundation for techniques of cinematography that have become elementary in suspense and phsycological thrilers.

Reluctantly Americanised, filming in America, (better finanical benefits through hollywood than that of Britain), confromed to 50s and 60s hollywood romanticism, and forced into the realm of ‘Universal Studios’. However his films represent the unique character of British suspense and murder narrativer plot that is associated with Holmes novels and modern day British television detective shows, that American directors could not hope to capture.

His 1935 film ‘The 39 steps’, popularised the MacGuffin. Film technique for creating mystery, ambiguity or incompletion around the plots central purpose or reasoning, a method for withholding information to keep the audience thinking and aniticipation but never being to sure, to look forward to the climax and the unfolding or revealing of the MacGuffin.

MacGuffin is employed to creative a veil of mystery and uncertaintity around a complication, whether it’s murder, threachery, or abuse, to keep the objectives of the criminal, (revenge, satisifaction, vengeance, wealth, high status, all of the above?) in secrecy from the audience.

MacGuffin’s in HItchock’s films are often a secondary crime prior or after the central one, that leaves traces, puts the murderer in the open, or highlights the murderer’s character and motives to gradually reveal his or her objectives, bit by bit. Hitchcock’s MacGuffin’s aren’t always murder can be props, (wedding ring and Wifes jewlery in rear window left at the house after her dissapearance, briefcases in Pulpfiction - Tarantino, corpse of mother in the cellar at the house of Bates, envelope of $40,000, stuffed birds.

Wife’s Posessions and dissapearance of wife - Wife of salesman has a sudden disapearance, during the film, however her posessions remain in the house, including her wedding ring. In th 50s, no one leaves their wedding ring behind when tied to marriage. If her possessions, including her hand bag, are still in the house, then where is the wife, not all fits together, primary Mac Guffin of narrative, dog is secondary.

Binoculars- Used by protagonist to spy through the windows. Shows only one, narrow perspecitve of the murder mystery and thus is mysterious in its self. As only one persons view, the bioncular’s withhold the views of the other windows, and therefore leaves the audience to question whether the solution to the crime given is accurate.

Tarantino:

Pulp Fiction

Suit Cases - Held by Travolta and Sumuel L. Jackson, hitmen for hire within a corrupt America. The contents of the suit cases are mysterious till the climax of the film, when Samuel L. Jackson reveals a considerable sum of money from his case and hands it over to a husband wife, petty theft team. Reasons for posessing the suit cases in the first place is never revealed in the film, however it serves for Samue l L Jackson as a safe guard.

Watch - Handed down from Bruce Willis’s father to Bruce as a child, via Christiopher Walken, a military officer and commander. Father on his death bed instructs for the watch to be passed down to his son as a symbol of rememberance, love and reseilience (As his father was would keep on going at War, Bruce would keep strong in the boxing ring.) Whilst the signigicance of the watch is explained early on in the film its overall purpose is not explained, however it is the overiding factor that brings Bruce in confrontation with Mr Wallace, and changes the circumstrances of his future. Willis is born into and strives to survive through a voilent culture of competition, agression, loss, and victory, which he strives to achieve through his boxing.

Mrs Wallace (Umanda Thurman) : A women of mystery, insecurity, and problematics.
Her character is nieve, stong willed and resilient yet at the same time uncontrolled and spoilt. The nature of her actions, including snorting coccaine spells trouble for other characters in the film including Travolta, and represents a fobidden romance between Travolta and Thurman. He sensual and witty character challenges Tarantino to exercise self control and restraint, from his expressing his interests. Wllace’s culture is one of glamour and material wealth paid for through Mr Wallace’s dirty deeds and drug smuggling.

Dodged Bullets - Bullets missing L Jackson and Travolta is revelealed as a question of belief and faith. As a biblical man L.Jackson believes their survival was a result of devine intervention however Travolta takes the incident as chance. The mystery of the bullets reveals L.Jackson’s ironic path to faith, and Travolta’s aethiest views, both conflicting perspectives of religion in culture.

Dialogue and ‘Getto slang’ - Racial slur and gang language used, projecting Black American gang culture, serves as a representation of the corrupt reality of getto society, and Mr Wallace’s goals and objectives, and form of character. L.Jackson’s biblical speaches, reference to god and divine intervention, as well as a modified Christian culture. Travolta’s use of phrases like ‘Royal with Cheese’ are a Mac Guffin of modern contemporary culture, and its ties with tradition. Mc Donalds Consumer high culture is combined with a low culture of sophistication and tradition. (Royal)

Kill Bill

Bill’s Angels - Ironic reference and parody of Charlie’s Angels, with a twist, these sensual fearsome girls are a band of deadly, merciless assasins, accompanied by a yanke gunman, Bill’s brother Bud, that kill when commanded. Tarantino’s use of the angels theme within the film is also a parody within a paraody, Bill’s deadly and inarguably sexy assasins prefer to use swords, as a traditional standard of Samurai combat, rather than guns, a take on the Charlie’s Angels motto, that girls don’t use guns. Furthermore, the assasin teams name, Deadly Viper Assasination Squad when taking the first letter of each word spells DVAS, a reference to hot chicks, although Bill prefers to consider them as deadly weapons and quite possibly, sex objects, although this up to the viewer’s judgement.

Bill - Entire of first film, the character of Bill is a mystery. Tarantino gradually reveals Bill’s physical profile within the first film ‘Volume One’, starting with a voice, foot steps, a hankerchief and the bang of a shot gun, in scene one, standing over Beatrix’s mutalised body, develops into a voice accamponied with hands, embeded in jewels, at the conclusion of the film. Complete character of Bill, including nature of character and motives for the attempted murder of Beatrix Kiddo are not revealed untill the second volume. Second Volume reveals Bill’s obsession of Beatrix Kiddo as well as his feeling of being betrayed by Kiddo’s actions in runing away with his baby.

Code Names - Titles such as ‘Black Mumba’ and ‘Calafornia Mountain Snake’, are used as assassin profiles provided by Bill, for the deadly Viper assassination squad. Used to cloak the genuine personalities of Bill’s angels into mystery, molding them into deadly assassins. Kiddo’s code name Black Mumba, is given in asociation with her choice of weapon, a Kantana.

Hattori Hanzo Sword - Reference to Samurai culture, a prime focus of both films. The laws of the samurai are of great emphasis in Tarantino’s Kill Bill duology, through which Bill’s Angels are brought up on, and Tarantino reflects on the will of the Samurai and Samurai culture throughout both films. Primarily Beatrix Kiddo, whilst American in blood, strongly represents Samurai ideals, as have been passed down to her via Bill. Like the iconic samurai warrior, Kiddo seperates herself from her emotions when in combat, replacing mercy and forgiveness with rationality, is gifted in the Bak Mei style of Kungfu and equips herself with her Katana, crafted as a weapon of death by Hattori Hanzo. Furthermore in both films Kiddo honours Samurai code by respecting her victims, only killing those she believes will continue to pose a threat against her in the future, but leaves those she has rendered helpless to recollect their lives.

Eye Patch - Worn by California Mountain Snake, the code name of Elle driver, as a result of having her right eye ripped from its socket by the infamous Pai Mei, master and practitioner of the Bak Mei style. Elle Driver’s half blind condition is a result of taunting Pai Mei and claiming him to be a miserable old fool, and his action serve as a consequence of such. Overall the eye patch symbolises Driver’s ignorance of her masters and her breaching of Samurai code by lacking honour, preferring to emerse herself in an Americanised culture. Thus, Tarantino’s Elle Driver figure seemingly poses as Beatrix Kiddo’s exact opposite.

Portrayals of Weddings and Funerals, life and death: The concept of life and death is one that has been a concern of the human mind since the beginning of time and communicated, visually, verbally, and physically, through culture. Tarantino considers life and death of cultural importance in his film making, particularly when associated with the life of a modern day assasin, and thus explores this theme within the context of the film. Tarantino’s obvious portrayal of life and death in Kill Bill is exploited through his reference to weddings and funerals. Both Kill Bill one and Kill Bill Two, open by setting the scene of a wedding, or in actual fact a wedding rehearsal, in which Beatrix Kiddo is destined to marry Tommy Plimpton, played by Christopher Nelson. Traditionally a wedding serves as a cultural and spiritual ceremony that invites two lovers to commit to each other in holy matromony, a celebration that is proposed to beging an internal relationship. However Tarantino turns traditional Wedding culure on its back. As Quentin’s cinematography shows, what starts as a wedding rehearsal ends both tragically and ironically in a wedding massacre, when Bill arrives on the scene with his DVAS, and murders the entire wedding party. To create anticipation and suspense Tarantino features to alternating parts of the massacre, divided into both films. Kill Bill volume moves straight into the gory result of the massacre, with Beatrix Kiddo seen to be brutally beaten and sprawed helplessely on the floor. Hostile foot steps,

accompanied with a sadistic and taunting voice suggests Bills appearance, who attempts to reasure to his favourite angel that there is nothing sadistic in his actions, and then shoots her in the head. At this point, Tarantino, does notreveal the context of a wedding in association with the protagonist’s condition, which is revealed later in the film, as Tarantino believes that withholding this information from the viewer is important. The wedding scene, featured at the begining of the second gives film, for the first time, shows the wedding rehearsal along with the massacre by the Deadly Viper Squad full, revealing Bill’s complete character profile as a whole for the first time, as well as the wedding guests including a cameo appearance from Samuel Jackson as Rufus, the wedding’s piano player. Both wedding scenes in the Kill Bill duology were produced to give insight into Bill’s betrayal of Beatrix, and more importantly to reveal Beatrix Kiddo’s motive for revenge and her quest to kill Bill, and for the viewer to empathise with Kiddo’s cause. Furthermore, in a cultural context, Tarantino’s wedding scenes in Kill Bill suggest to the audience that love is imperfect, perhaps even corrupt, and can become a obsession for posessive personalities such as Bill, whom believe that love cannot be taken away from them,and furthermore, these scenes give a dark, and tragic alternative to the traditional view of a wedding.

Tarantino’s to funerals is presented in Volume 2, symbolised through Bill’s brother Bud, burying Beatrix Kiddo in a grave yeard. Bud describes the process as a ‘Texas Funeral’, in which the victim is buried alive in coffin and left to die. It so happens however that, using the kung fu skill attributed from Pai Mei, Beatrix Kiddo punches through her coffin and escapes the burial pit, pursuing Bud once again. In comparing the context of the wedding with that of Beatrix’s temporary funeral, Tarantino, culturally, is quite ironic, in the way he has presented the significance of both. The wedding, whilst traditionally is a symbol of new life in marriage, is manipulated by Tarantino into a symbol of death, whilst the funeral represents new life and birth, in the sense that Beatrix has escaped death and rose from the grave.

Hitchock Photographs