FTV Midterm Paper - Grade: B PDF

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Midterm for Spring 2020...

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Tapay 1 Brian Tapay Professor Erica Aguero FTV 140 10 April 2020 A Universal Language American film director Doug Liman, best known for his hit features such as Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The Bourne Identity, and Edge of Tomorrow, once said, “Almost anything can be justified as a style film making if it works.” This statement holds true for practically every film a film maker creates. The beauty of film is that it tells a story using the unique creative minds of individuals with different backgrounds from all over the world. For instance, look no further than film directors Guillermo Del Toro and his 2006 film, Pan’s Labyrinth, and Jordan Peele with his 2019 box-office hit Us. Though the two films take place during two very different time periods (Pan’s Labyrinth in 1944 Spain and Us is in present day Santa Cruz), and have two genres on the opposite ends of the spectrum (Pan’s Labyrinth being a war/fantasy film and Us being a horror/thriller film), both Del Toro and Peele share many of the same film making techniques and ideologies. Both film makers use a narrative structure when constructing their films. A

Tapay 2 narrative is a type of movie that tells a story and is normally broken into five parts. It starts with the exposition, or background, then escalates to the rising action which will eventually lead to the climax of the movie. The climax then spirals downward to the falling action of the film and eventually, a resolution is brought about. Another technique both film makers adopt is the use of historical context for exposition for their movies. These cinematic elements are what binds these two very different films together, and proves that Doug Liman’s quote still holds true to this day. Guillermo Del Toro’s 2006 film Pan’s Labyrinth primarily revolves around a young girl, Ofelia, and her journey to fulfill her role as Princess Moana of the underworld. Ofelia travels with her pregnant mother to meet her new stepfather, who also happens to be the captain of the Spanish Civil War. As the film progresses, a fairy disguised as an insect leads Ofelia to a labyrinth, where a Faun assigns her to complete three tasks to return to the underworld as Princess. Throughout the entire movie, we see what Ofelia’s life is like in the human world. Del Toro’s choice on how to portray her step father gives the audience an idea of how she and her mother are part of an abusive

Tapay 3 relationship with him. With the mise-en-scène of the film showcasing wide camera angles of the battlefield and grim lighting, Captain Vidal is given the aura of being respected and feared by not only his soldiers, but also his wife. In order for the movie to even take place, historical context of what is needed. In the beginning of the movie, there are title cards that explain the current situation of the setting taking place in the midst of the Spanish Civil War in 1944 Spain. Using historical events not only helps add substance to the film, but also gives the film a sense of realism. On the contrary, Jordan Peele’s 2019 film Us gives the audience a very different feel and genre, yet shares many of the same elements of Pan’s Labyrinth such as the use of historical context. Us revolves around Adelaide Wilson, who as a young girl who experiences a frightening experience at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk in California. Many years later she has a family of her own and they encounter their own doppelgangers. The lighting and costume design of the doppelgangers along with the camera angles giving them a larger than life perspective gives the audience of the movie an uncomfortable and unpleasant feeling. In addition, the raspy voices of one of the doppelgangers puts fear

Tapay 4 into the audience as well. By the end of the movie, a big twist occurs. It is revealed that the young Adelaide in the beginning of the film was actually abducted and her duplicate took her place in the real world. Like Del Toro, Jordan Peele also incorporates some historical context into his film. The prologue of the movie features an ad for a campaign known as “Hands Across America,” a public event where millions of people around the country join hands for fifteen minutes in an attempt to form a continuous chain across the United States. This historical context in the prologue would foreshadow what was to come with the doppelgangers of just about everybody coming out of the underworld and joining hands across the country. Though both movies have very different genres and tones, they are both a type of narrative, or a story telling tool. The exposition in Pan’s Labyrinth is the opening text while the exposition in Us is the opening prologue. The rising action for both films is respectively when the fairy disguised as an insect appears and when the doppelgangers show up at Adelaide’s family’s house. The climax features Mercedes wounding Captain Vidal in Pan’s Labyrinth and Adelaide facing her doppelganger in the underground abandoned subway. The falling action for both films has Captain Vidal being shot dead

Tapay 5 by the rebellions and Adelaide being able to escape. Lastly, the resolution in Pan’s Labyrinth is that Ofelia, now known as Princess Moana reunites with her family being heir to the throne and in Us, the resolution is the Wilson family trying to get as far away from the evil doppelgangers as possible. All things considered, Pan’s Labyrinth and Us are two very different movies that bring out different messages and emotions for the audience, yet they share many of the same aspect. Both Guillermo Del Toro and Jordan Peele have shown that by using many of the same techniques, they can invoke different meanings. They have proven that the

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beauty of film is truly a universal language

Tapay 6 Works Cited Del Torro, Guillermo, director. Pan's Labyrinth. Optimum Releasing Ltd, 2007. Peele, Jordan, director. Us. Universal Pictures Ltd, 2019....