1. Mimetic Elements of
Film
Film Appreciation/ Film Principles
Mass Communication Department
Ateneo de Davao University

2. 2
mimesis
Greek word: “to imitate”
An act of presenting or showing
An act of expressing
“Nagpapakita” - more in action rather than noun
emphasis is on motion, fluidity
Not static, or stationary
Heidegger’s Being: “Nagpapakita sabay nagkukubli”
The act of presenting is itself an act of withholding.

3. What is a film?
▪ Ideally, you are watching something and
listening to something.

4. What is a movie?
▪ Visual: colors, shapes,
forms and movement;
▪ Aural: language and
sound with rhythms,
harmonies and melodies;
Hero

5. What is a film?
▪ Concretely, we watch:
▪ People, either alone or together
▪ Scenery
▪ Events
▪ Concretely, we listen to:
▪ Monologues
▪ Conversations
▪ Narration
▪ Sound effects (SFX)
▪ Music
▪ Silence Y Tu Mama Tambien

6. What is a film?
▪ Stories about people
▪ in certain locations
▪ that present a number
of ideas
▪ In an aesthetic manner
Lucia Y Sexo

7. Suspension of Disbelief
▪ Suspension of disbelief is an
aesthetic theory intended to
characterize people's
relationships to art.
▪ Coined by the poet and
aesthetic philosopher
Samuel Taylor Coleridge in
1817.
▪ Refers to the willingness of
a person to accept as true the
premises of a work of
fiction, even if they are
fantastic or impossible.
Transformers

8. quid pro quo
▪ The willingness of the
audience to overlook the
limitations of a medium, so
that these do not interfere
with the acceptance of
those premises.
▪ A quid pro quo: the
audience tacitly agrees to
provisionally suspend their
judgment in exchange for
the promise of
entertainment.
The Piano

9. Elements of Film
1. Story/ Plot
2. Character/ Charaterization
3. Setting/ Milieu
4. Theme/ Message
5. Style
Sex and Music

10. A. Story
▪ The rendering and
ordering of the events
and actions, particularly
towards the achievement
of some particular
artistic or emotional
effect
▪ In other words it's what
mostly happened in the
film.

11. A. Story - Cause and Effect
▪ Level 1: Cause and
Effect
▪ Consists of a stimulus
and response, also
referred to as action
and reaction, or cause
and effect. (Bickham
1993, pp. 12-22)

12. A. Story - Scene and Sequel
▪ Level 2: Scene and
Sequel
▪ Structured in scenes and
sequels, with scenes
providing drama and
sequels providing an
aftermath. (Bickham
1993, pp. 23-62)

13. A. Story - Beginning, Middle, End
▪ Level 3: Beginning,
Middle and End
▪ The larger structure of
story is often divided
into three parts:
beginning, middle, and
ending.

14. A. Story
▪ Basis of successful films
▪ Clear beginning, middle
and end
▪ Tightly knit

15. A. Story Arc in Film
1. Initial situation – the beginning. It is the first incident
that makes the story move.
2. Conflict or Problem – goal which the main character of
the story has to achieve.
3. Complication or Rising action – obstacles which the
main character has to overcome.
4. Climax – highest point of interest of the story.
5. Dénouement or Resolution – what happens to the
character after overcoming all obstacles and reaching his
goal, or failing to achieve the desired result and not
reaching his goal.
6. Conclusion – the end result

16. Surprise and Suspense
▪ Surprise: when
something happens and
you don’t expect it
▪ Suspense: when you
expect it and it doesn’t
happen.

17. Forms
▪ Plot-driven: in which a
preconceived storyline is
the main thrust, with the
characters' behavior being
moulded by this inevitable
sequence of events.
▪ Character-driven: in
which the character is the
main focus of the work.

18. B. Character
▪ A person (persona), in
particular as portrayed by
an actor; or as appears in a
film, whether a fictional
character or historic figure
▪ Action vs character
▪ American movies depend
heavily on character for
full effect, even at the
expense of storyline.

19. B. Driver Characters
▪ Protagonist: "... the driver of the story: the one who forces
the action." Defined by "Pursue" and "Consideration"
characteristics. (Jungian equivalent: Hero)
▪ Antagonist: "... the character directly opposed to the
Protagonist." "Prevent" & "Re-consideration". (Jungian
equivalent: Shadow)
▪ Guardian: "... a teacher or helper who aids the
Protagonist..." "Help" & "Conscience” (Jungian equivalent:
Wise Old Man or Wise Old Woman, also sometimes
referred to collectively as The Mentor)
▪ Contagonist: "... hinders and deludes the Protagonist..."
"Hinder" & "Temptation"

20. B. Passenger Characters
▪ Reason: "... makes its decisions and takes action on the
basis of logic..." "Control" & "Logic"
▪ Emotion: "... responds with its feelings without thinking..."
"Uncontrolled" & "Feeling"
▪ Sidekick: "... unfailing in its loyalty and support."
"Support" & "Faith"
▪ Skeptic: "... doubts everything..." "Oppose" &
"Disbelief” (Jung's Trickster archetype often overlaps here,
since its purpose is to question and rebel against the
established way of doing things)

21. B. Character
▪ A single character may fulfill more than one
archetypal role.
▪ A single character may also have many traits
and feelings.
▪ A complex character may blend
characteristics from different archetypes,
just as real people embody aspects of each
archetype.

22. B. Character
▪ According to one writer/psychologist,
“Though in stories the archetypes are...fragmented
into individual characters, in real life each of us
carries qualities of each archetype. If we didn't, we
wouldn't be able to relate to characters who
represent the archetypes we were missing.”
▪ A Primer on Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious by Carolyn Kaufman at Archetype Writing:
The Fiction Writers' Guide to Psychology

23. C. Setting
▪ The setting of a film is the
time, location and
circumstances in which it
takes place.
▪ Provides the main
backdrop for the story
▪ Sometimes setting is
referred to as milieu, to
include a context (such as
society) beyond the
immediate surroundings of
the story.
▪ Can set the tone of a story.

24. C. Setting
▪ Studio shoots vs real
locations
▪ Travelogues
▪ Setting is not a matter
of locale alone, it adds
texture to the story.

25. D. Theme
▪ A broad idea in a story, or a message or lesson conveyed
by the film.
▪ Usually about life, society or human nature.
▪ Fundamental and often universal ideas explored in the
film.
▪ Usually implied rather than explicitly stated.
▪ Deep thematic content is not required in film; however,
some film critics would say that all stories inherently
project some kind of outlook on life that can be taken as a
theme, regardless of whether or not this is the intent of the
author.

26. D. Theme
▪ T message of the film
▪ A film means
something, whether or
not the filmmaker
intends it.
▪ Interpretation --
supplying meaning- is
the job of the audience.

27. D. Themes
▪ The skeleton on which
action, character and
setting are arranged.
▪ Bare bones are
missing: audience will
know it

28. Themes vs Motif
▪ Themes differ from
motifs in that themes
are ideas conveyed by
a film.
▪ Motifs are repeated
symbols that represent
those ideas.
▪ Leit-motif: reiteration
of those theme.

29. D. Themes
▪ Themes arise from the
interplay of the plot,
the characters, and the
attitude the director
takes to them,
▪ The same story can be
given very different
themes in the hands of
different directors.
Dreamers, Bertolucci

30. E. Style
▪ Personal touch of the
director
▪ Less visible to amateur
viewers
▪ Style of the director
▪ European films:
personal
communication of the
director

31. E. Style
▪ The word "style" came
from Latin stilus = a
writing instrument
(compare stylus), and
originally meant a style
of writing.
▪ The spelling was
influenced by Greek
στυλος = "column".

32. F. Sex and Music
▪ Sex: savior of
borderline case movies
▪ Music: mortar that fills
in the cracks