1. A2 FILM STUDIES

2. Introduce the three processes of spectatorship:
1. Recognition
2. Alignment
3. Allegiance
Apply the three stages of the spectatorship
theory to our focus film “Film Metal Jacket”
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3. In our exam we must demonstrate how the film
as a whole has an effect on us and not
concentrate on the effects of individual
elements or themes
At first the film focuses on Private Pyle but in
the second half its focus shifts to Joker
We are not analysing the individual characters
or their individual journey’s but the film as a
whole
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4. The first thing we do when viewing a film is
‘Recognise’ the characters
We do this by translating the ‘construct’ of the
character in to a real, credible person
This is something we do automatically (most of the
time) unless the film is deliberately making it
difficult forcing us to adopt a more detached
position
Alternatively our ability to recognise a character
will depend on our knowledge and experience of
the real world
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5. When a well known star plays a role there is a
different kind of recognition which may have
certain consequences:
Familiarity with the star provides us with an extra
in-sight
Over-recognition can make it hard for us to detach
from the real world and engage with the fictional
world
Certain expectations are created and must be
maintained it we are to continue to engage with
the fictional world
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6. Watch the trailer for ‘Braveheart’ and note down how
the audience are intended to recognise Mel Gibson’s
character?
After listening to his famous phone call watch the
trailer to ‘The Beaver’ and note down how you
recognise him?
Does your knowledge of his as a star and the
knowledge of his personal life change your
‘recognition’ of his character?
Will audiences be able to engage with the fictional
world?
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7. Once we recognise the characters we align with
them (or at least some of them)
Classical film theory states that alignment is an
involuntary and subconscious action
If we have more access to the point of view and
subjectivity of a character we identify with them –
in the sense of endorsing their behaviour and their
attitudes
It is perfectly possible for a film to align us with the
point of view of a homicidal killer or a robot
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8. Watch the following extracts from ‘American
Psycho’ and make notes on how we construct and
recognise the character of Patrick Bateman
Secondly, make notes on how we are ‘Aligned’ with
Patrick Bateman
How does the director use the camera to align us
and force us to identify and even sympathise with a
serial killer?
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9. Allegiance:
loyalty or devotion to some person, group, cause, or
the like
Allegiance, like alignment is constructed by forces
outside of our control
We are sometimes manipulated into allegiance with
characters whose views are ideologically similar to
ours in the real world
We may also form an allegiance with a character with
Patrick Bateman – even though he is a repulsive
character
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10. Allegiance pertains to the moral evaluation of the
characters by the spectator
Allegiance is another form of ‘identification’ with a
character based on a wide range of external factors
such as attitudes towards:
Some people may
•Class identify or experience
‘allegiance’ to Pvt. Pyle
•Race having experienced
•Nation bullying / intense
•Age hostility themselves
•Ethnicity
•Gender etc
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11. Allegiance may be formed by our understanding or a characters
motivation or a positive evaluation of their anti-social and anarchic
moral positions
Cognitive:
As a result Allegiance does raise a question: pertaining to the
mental processes of
perception,
At which point does the conscious ‘cognitive’
memory, judgment,
processes take over in the act of ‘allegiance’ and reasoning, as
contrasted
We must ask ourselves: with emotional
processes
“What kind of appeals does a character have on us?”
“What memories or fantasies are triggered?”
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12. Using your notes from the previous lessons answer the
following questions:
• How does Kubrick construct the characters of Pyle, Joker &
Hartmann in the opening sequences from the film?
• What personal experiences have contributed to your
personal recognition of the characters and how you respond
to them?
• Which characters do you feel the most allegiance towards?
• How is this allegiance created? (you must consider the
micro elements and personal experiences)
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