6 - Music, Sound, Noise

Written by Cory Rubinovitch, David Rizk and Ramez Ghobrial

Music, Sound, Noise

When Sound Takes the Front Seat

Sound is something, as humans, that we cannot take for granted. It affects our lives in many different ways, positively or negatively. Documentary film or even movies in general are art forms in which sound plays a very important role in both the technical aspect, which is what sound does for a scene like setting the mood or how it carries time, and also the entertainment factor, which is dialogue, sound effects and music. In the two films, Sound City (Dave Grohl, 2013, USA, 106 min.) and Searching for Sugarman (Malik Benjelloul, 2012, 1h 26min.) instead of sound being just a technical factor, we see sound take the front seat in the plot.

Sound in Relation to Sound City

In documentary film, sound plays a major role in not only the entertainment and enjoyment process, but it also aids in storytelling. Both film and music are art forms that unfold over time, meaning both elements together can tell meaningful stories. The main difference with sound, however, is that sound must exist in time. There can never be still sound, but images are able to be paused in time. In film, sound can illustrate the tone or the mood of the room since sound comes from every direction. This is because the sound of a film embodies and engages the viewer into the scene and could create an illusion that they are there also. Furthermore, sound aids as a way to tell the viewer that time is passing by.

There are three types of sound in documentary film: speech, music and noise. All these things except speech are recorded separately from the image. In some cases, speech is also recorded separately. When recording sound, there are some qualities that need to be paid attention to. Amplitude, which is the loudness of the sound, frequency, which is the pitch of the sound (high or low) and resolution which is the richness or timbre of the sound.

The film Sound City (Dave Grohl, 2013, USA, 106 min.) includes many of these theories through the elaborate and nostalgic interviews within the film. Sound City is a famous recording studio in Los Angeles California, known for producing many great albums that were highly successful. The studio was most known, however, for its drum sound which excelled because of the combination between the Neve console and the room it was set up in. The room for recording drums is not usually the kind of room that drums should sound good in, but the sound achieved by the drums in this room was just by luck. The studio used old fashioned tape to record song tracks, but slowly fell out of date once the ‘digital’ era came about. Sound City is not a very nice and clean place, but something about that place allowed people to create masterpiece albums and songs.

See recordings by year:

http://soundcitystudios.net/recordings-by-year

The film uses interviews of many band members/artists who have played in Sound City and former Sound City employees to capture the essence of what Sound City was. It also used actual live recordings and background music. They used background music to back up the images in many occasions such as when they would talk about a certain band or album, that band's song would be playing. The film used this also to set the tone or mood of the scenes according to what they were talking about. Sometimes, the music would also carry over into other scenes, most notable in times like when Dave Grohl was playing the drums for Smells Like Teen Spirit in the studio, then it carried over to the actual recording of the song. The film also indirectly spoke about the timbre of a sound when they were talking about the drums. The richness of the sound the drums makes in that studio is what made the studio so famous in the first place.

Searching for Sugar Man

Searching for Sugar Man is an eighty-six minute documentary film directed by Malik Bendjelloul. It was released the 26th of july 2012 in the United Kingdom.

The whole idea of the movie is about two fans of Sixto Rodriguez who are trying to find the truth about the rumours of Rodriguez’s death. He is an American singer and songwriter who writes about stuff he sees in his neighborhood and people he meet in the streets. At the beginning of the movie, Mike Theodore and Denis Coffey, co-producers of Rodriguez’s first album, were describing how Rodriguez was living in Detroit which at that time was a place where real poverty existed. Rodriguez was describing in his songs what he saw in the streets and in his neighborhood which was very interesting to his producers. Rodriguez at that time wasn't famous in America. However his records were very famous in South Africa in the mid 70s. In South Africa, everyone thought that Sixto killed himself on the stage during a concert because it didn’t go as it was planned. But when the music journalist Craig Bartholomew-Strydom started to search about the reality of Rodriguez’s story, in August 1997, he found that he was still alive and he was living in Detroit. The weird thing about Sixto’s life as a musician is that he was famous without even realizing it. At the end, Sixto Rodriguez visited South Africa to see his real fans that were always listening to him and to perform for his loyal fans.

At the beginning of the film, the filmmaker, Malik Bendjelloul, interviewed the producers of Sixto Rodriguez’s albums. In fact, these interviews helped a lot to state the beginning of Rodriguez’s life as a musician. They showed us how Sixto was living in poverty. Then the filmmaker interviewed some people from South Africa to show us how this musician was really famous in this country. Malik interviewed the music journalist who did the researches about the truth of the rumours that he heard about the death of Rodriguez. This journalist was the one who found out that Sixto Rodriguez was still alive and helped spread it in South Africa since the people there thought that he was dead. The filmmaker told the story of Rodriguez through his interviews with these people which covered his state as a musician in America and in South Africa.      

The music of this documentary film was an important aspect for the comprehension of the movie. During the interviews there was always a music playing in the background which really helps in the understanding of what the interviewer is telling. Every time an interviewer mention a song’s name, this song is playing in the background. For example, one of the interviewers, Willem Moller, started to talk about “I Wonder” song and this song was directly playing in the background. Also, sometimes the filmmaker used some music to back up the images such as when the images of the revolution was presented in the movie the lyrics of the song that was playing in the background was describing the image which was : “public gets irate but forgets the vote date”. Also, when the music journalist was telling the rumour about the suicide of Rodriguez, there was a sad music that was playing in the back that made me reflect more about this event. In fact, during the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, people took a certain music “This Is Not A Song, It’s An Outburst: Or, The Establishment Blues” released by Rodriguez to represent their demands and to represent their revolution.: 

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/rodriguez/thisisnotasongitsanoutburstortheestablishmentblues.html

The Power of Music

The films Sound City and Searching for Sugar Man are excellent films that are able to teach us many things about the wonders of music. Although in our lives music may just be for entertainment, in these films, music is very influential in many lives and are a part of the daily routine. Music is also able to bond people together as a family. This can easily be seen in Sound City as all the producers and crew are bonded together by music and the enjoyment of entertaining the listeners by producing many songs. The love for music was also able to transform sound city from a very poor environment to a very nice place in which producers were able to feel at home. In Searching for Sugar Man, we can observe that every part of the world has a different taste for music. Just like Sixto Rodriguez’s music was popular in South Africa because it was used during the anti-apartheid movement, it wasn’t noticed in the United-states of America. In other words, there’s no good or bad music, just different ways of listening to it.

Sound City and Searching for Sugar Man were also able to demonstrate the importance of music in our world. In truth, music is a universal language that we all understand. It is a very powerful tool that is able to connect people from all around the world. By appealing to our emotions, it has the ability to transform issues into things we can all relate to like love, friendship, fear or loss. More importantly, it has the power to open our minds to new ideas.

Music is a key element to our happiness and joy. Either by playing a certain instrument or by listening to our favorite song, people in our society seem to be in a better mood when music is around. We often fall in love with a specific artist which quickly becomes our idol. We are usually ready to spend our whole bank account to watch our idol perform live. For example, In Searching for Sugar Man Stephen Segerman and Craig Bartholomew were huge fans of Sixto Rodriguez and have made it their objective to find out what truly happened to him. Instruments are also a very entertaining hobby. As a drum player, relating to all the drum comments mentioned in Sound City made the documentary more enjoyable and interesting while transmitting the intended message to the audience.

Many popular artists have influenced our community and society by the songs they have produced in their career. Michael Jackson is a perfect example of a character that has changed my way of enjoying music. It all started when I heard his famous song “Thriller” which quickly became one of his most popular songs to date.

“Thriller” by Michael Jackson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA

His songs not only attracted me to become one of his biggest fans, it has completely changed my love towards music for the better. His influence on us could be observed by the sadness his death has caused our society.

The ideas of The filmmakers were communicated to the viewers in a very fluid and interesting way. They showed the importance of every member in the band/job and especially the importance of the directors and producers in films. They were also successful at showing the little details such as the instruments used and the atmosphere of the recordings. The interviews were really important to inform the viewers of all the history and importance of the documentary. The progression of the stories were done in a way that is easy to understand and fluid.

Overall, the filmmakers were successful at entertaining while informing the viewers about the story.

Sound In Film

To conclude, music is an important factor in the comprehension of a documentary film. It can be seen as a combination between technical and entertainment aspects. As we saw in both films, Sound City and Searching for Sugar Man, sound played a huge factor in not only the normal aspects of documentary, but it was plot of the story. We see how sound plays a role in setting the mood and also how it carries the viewer through time. All in all, sound really does provide great advantage when partnered with images, to create the amazing art that is film.

5 - Juxtaposition and Storytelling

Written by Marcus Tappert & Shawn Urquhart

Juxtaposition and Storytelling: Samsara, By Ron Fricke

A diverse reality

        A film can be many things. Exciting, frightening, sad, up-lifting. It can try and make a point, or simply tell a story. Many documentary films focus on a viewpoint, an idea, and use a combination of narration, dialogue, images, and scenes to drive this point across to the viewer. It is the films that do not attempt to make a point, that can really demonstrate the truth. Films such as Samsara and Baraka, in an attempt to simply demonstrate reality through beautiful imagery, ignite a deeper, more profound story in viewers, because the film allows each viewer to determine what they would really like to see.

        It is important to understand that films such as these simply provide the basic tools that one may use to come to a truth. These include subtle background imagery, the juxtaposition of specific shots, the rising and lowering tempo and depth of the music. Therefore, the filmmakers guide the viewers in a way that they hope to bring about a clarity or an emotion. They allow the viewer to ride along on the rollercoaster that is the grand mix of imagery and music. 

Imagery and Tools in Samsara

        In a film such as Samsara and Baraka, the imagery is the narrator, the protagonist, the antagonist, the supporting characters and the extras. Many people could respond to the film in different ways. One such way is the closed response, where they do not connect with the style. Another is the aesthetic response, where the viewers connect with the beauty of the images. The other responses are more reflective, and bring about feelings like a need for change, a lament for the past, or a period of internal questioning. These are the political response, the nostalgic response, and the critical response, respectively. 

        Juxtaposition of images and music is one of the greatest tools used by Fricke in Samsara. He uses imagery such as women in burqas and niqābs followed by images of barely clothed Abercrombie and Fitch models to highlight the differences of world, how vastly different human cultures have come to be. On the other hand, there are images that are placed together that supplement one another, like the dunes of the skeleton coast, the sun rising on Petra, and the hundreds of Indian temples. The beauty in these images serves to illuminate the collective treasure that must be shared by the billion forms of life that inhabit it. 

        Juxtaposition in the imagery is also used to subtly bring certain emotions to the surface of specific imagery. The Kuleshov effect demonstrates that an image can easily be interpreted differently depending on the image before it. Viewers will derive more meaning from the interaction of two sequential thoughts than a single shot in isolation (Kuleshov Effect). For example, a blank face could be interpreted as hungry if there was an image of food before it, lustful if a beautiful woman or man came before it, or sad if there was an image of a dead woman. This is closely related to the idea of paradigmatic and syntagmatic imagery. This is the relationship between an image’s distinctive qualities and the relationship amongst it’s elements.

        Fricke uses many different dimensions of film editing to produce his film the way he wished it to be viewed. These include spatial relations, which relates two images thought similarity or difference, temporal relations, which is the use of time in the images (film time and reality), graphic relations, which constitutes the images’ style, and rhythmic relations, which involves the screen-time of images. 

        Samsara is a film that used all the elements described above to create a powerful, visually stunning and thought provoking film based entirely on imagery and music. Ron Fricke takes the viewer on a journey of discovery, both physical and cognitive. The seemingly random sequence of images, ranging from panoramic shots of the Namibian Skeleton Coast, to the static shots of a sex doll factory, and a dance in an Indonesian prison, can be interpreted as just that: random. Other viewers may see the poetry behind the images. Fricke tells many stories that could come together to create one idea. He documents devastation such as Louisiana after hurricane Katrina, specific tribes in rural Africa, food production and consumption, waste, beauty, hardships, and other human realities. Samsara is just that. A story of mankind. 

Baraka (1993)

        The documentary Baraka, directed by Ron Fricke, is spectacular and visually stunning; like the documentary Samsara.  The film brings you on a journey through different worlds, different countries, and different cultures. Whether it be the Caiapó Village in the State of Pará, Brazil, or the jaw dropping  Shan Cheragh Mosque in Shiraz, Iran. In addition to the beauty of the images, Baraka documents some very important issues in the modern world such as deforestation. This is fitting as “Baraka” is Arabic and refers to the spiritual essence of God that is all things, including people, forests, buildings, ideas… Fricke recorded a portion of a ceremony of the Caiapó people, which involved the people dancing in sync with one another in a euphoric state. The next image was a shot of a massive tree in the rainforest being cut down. Following this image, Fricke cut to the image of who appeared to be the leader of the tribe, with a completely blank expression on his face. Though it was a neutral expression, the context of the scene right before made it look as though he was disappointed and somewhat angry. Deforestation is a very large problem in certain areas of the world, and it does not only harm the environment, but humans as well, because we are all one with the environment, as highlighted in the name of the film. 

        Baraka also means “blessings, breath of life” in Swahili, or Sufi (Baraka). The film captures the best and worst parts of human life. Everything from the busy streets of Tokyo and Manhattan, the Mecca pilgrimage and dancing in Bali, to calm, relaxing images of religious rituals in Jerusalem and India. As well, there are incredible shots of nature, ranging from intriguing shots of curious geckos, to thunderous shots of powerful volcanoes, and beautiful images and time-lapses of mountains, weather, and many others. Similarly to Samsara, Fricke uses the juxtaposition of images and the film editing dimensions of spatial, temporal, graphic and rhythmic relations to form poetry of human existence through his stunning images.

        It is difficult to pull out specific issues among the film because of how it is simply Fricke’s attempt at capturing life. However, many of the “issues” it raises could be interpreted as being the scenes of destruction and suffering caused by humans, such as deforestation and the vast gap in the standard of living between different cultures. However, it is difficult to argue that a sequence of shots covering the favela in Rio de Janeiro is an issue, because that is not Fricke’s goal. He documents a scene like this not for an ulterior motive, but simply for the image’s sake. 

The unbiased reality of being

        Both of these documentaries have come closest to capturing the reality of human existence than almost any other film. They are extremely eye-opening, capturing the spectacular physical geography of the world, the beauty of humans themselves, and the reality of the human existence. Samsara and Baraka portray the negative, neutral, and positive aspects of human life, and there are so many of them. As social beings, we get multiple different snapshots into other human cultures, giving us a taste of what is out there and establish questions that we never knew existed within us. The filmmakers Fricke and Magidson manage to make the viewer feel as if they are taking part in the scene, that is is incredibly personal. The incredible music and cinematography play a large role in this.  The comparison and contrast between images in both films makes us question what we really know, think about the roots of our lives. For example, the food and appliance production scenes in Samsara allow westerners to really think about the labour that goes in to what makes their lives a reality. Additionally, the spirituality of others portrayed in both films is extremely eye opening to a culture that is slowly becoming increasingly materialistic and secular.

        The unbiased basis for the images is the real factor that makes this film so unique and different. It forces viewers to think critically of the images. It pairs this with stunning imagery which conjure up wonder and excitement in the viewer. Fricke wanted to reach out and break the limitations of language, culture, and religion (Fricke Interview). He did, and in a genius way. By making  both films without any voice-over or narrative, it allows any person anywhere, that speaks anything language, to watch this documentary and understand it, whether the viewer actually understands the message depends on whether they can piece together meaning of each image seen. Samsara is the Sanskrit word for the ever turning wheel of life. The idea of the ever turning idea of life raises another relevant point portrayed in both films. No matter where you are, what language is spoken, or how you get to work, humans are all the same. Everyone, regardless of culture and place, experiences pain & suffering, health & happiness, fear & anguish, calmness & pleasure. The plethora of feelings and emotions is a universal truth, and that truth is what unites us as beings.

The canvas of the future 

        Samsara and Baraka use stunning imagery and spectacular music to convey a truth. Human existence is an incredible feat of diversity, beauty, love, innovation, spirituality, power, suffering, and collectiveness. The viewer is carried throughout the world, experiencing what feels like first hand accounts of human existence. 

        Different editing tools such as relating different components of the film spatially, graphically, temporally and rhythmically allow the films to completely entrap the viewer into Fricke’s poetry. The juxtaposition of images paired with the combination of rhythmic music and sequences of shots creates a poem unlike any other. The diversity of the images portray as true a world as possible, using many different cinematographic techniques, such as still-shots and time-lapses. 

        As Samsara and Baraka portray the world as it is, one must question the future. What can be changed for the better? What can be done to limit the amount of negativity in the world? How do our actions affect others? Because realistically, the world is small and we’re all incredibly interconnected, yet we’re so distant from one another. 

4 - History of Stereotypes in Film

Written by by Shannon Robertson, Kayla Douglas and Zack Mahrouse.

Stereotyping Homosexuals in Film: The Celluloid Closet by Rob Epstein and Jeffery Friedman

How most of us learn about others is through three factors: one being what we see for ourselves, as in what we can see with our own eyes about others; the second one being the opposite of that, which is what other people tell us; the third being our culture (films, books, plays etc.). The two films watched, The Celluloid Closet and Reel Injun, demonstrate that stereotypes in films are shown to be extremely harmful to society because people use it in learning about people.

To understand stereotypes, it is important to make the comparison between social types and stereotypes. Social types are the people who live by the rules of society. Stereotypes apply to people who are not considered the “norm” and are not included in the rules of society. The biggest difference being is that social types are a choice, whereas stereotypes are forced upon you. Iconography plays into stereotypes and is shown in our culture by classifying populations as stereotypes and makes it easy to identify people. This, in turn shows the use of hegemony in film. Hegemony is demonstrated by using stereotypes the group in power is able to decided what “the norm” is and what is and not accepted. “The norm” is what impacted marginal groups (minorities), and made them thirsty for recognition.

In the film we are exposed to the three different stereotypes that gay and lesbians were given, which were the “sissy”, the “victim”, and the “villain”. The sissy was a more feminine male, used as comedy relief. The “victim” was the gay character that was depicted as miserable, lonely and pathetic, which was supposed to make the audience pity them and which usually resulted in their deaths at the end of the films. Finally, there was the “villain” who was to demonstrate that people who are gay or lesbian have something wrong with them and portrayed as people that have no feelings. The “villain” was shown through the example of the films Dracula and Rebecca. Harvey Fierstein states that even though the “sissy” was negative, he just wanted any kind of recognition, kind of like the idea of; no publicity is bad publicity. These roles show how most of us learn about others, making it clear that film culture plays a big part in how people view others. These roles also demonstrated iconography, where people are able to put gays and lesbians in boxes and identify them based of off these three roles shown in the film. Various other stereotypes that gays and lesbians face were mentioned such as the “butch dyke”, “lesbian vampire”, and “sadistic queer” to name a few.

The film exposes that at the root of these roles and stereotypes is, hegemony. The prime example being the Hays code, which allowed censorship and restrictions and is the reason why a lot of the homosexuality in films for a long time was “seen between the line”. Hegemony allowed the people in power, so white heterosexual males, to decide what the “norm” was and in turn exclude homosexuals. This film went up to the year 1995, which means it wasn’t that long ago, but we have made great advances from that year to present time. In todays day and age there is greater freedom and platforms for homosexuals to decide how they want to be presented and viewed.

http://www.unfoundation.org/features/lgbt-rights.html

Native American Stereotypes: Reel Injun by Neil Diamond

            Reel Injun is a Canadian feature-length documentary film, made in 2009, by filmmakers Catherine Bainbridge, Neil Diamond and Jeremiah Hayes with goal of understanding how the myth of the Injun has influenced the world's understanding and misunderstanding of the Natives threw cinema.

Throughout the one hour and a half length film, Reel Injun traces the evolution of cinema's depiction of Native people from the silent film era to today. They take a look at the Hollywood Indian by exploring the portrayal of Native Americans through a hundred years of cinema. The film is separated into multiple parts including: The Savage Injun, A Good Injun, Is A Dead Injun, The Groovy Injun and finally The Renaissance in order to offer the viewers a better understanding of the categories and the evolution of the picture of the Native American that was seen by America. Like in The Celluloid Closet, the portrayal of homosexuals and the Indians in cinema are categorized in negative ways. In the film viewed in class, gays in cinema were categorized into three main categories: the sissy, the killer and the one who always dies at the end. Similarly, in Reel Injun, Indians are categorized as savages and inhuman and as the ones who always die.

Throughout the film, we meet with many celebrities including: Clint Eastwood, Robbie Robertson and Wes Studi, who discuss the evolution of the image of Indians in Western films. We also meet with regular Indians themselves who express the voice of their people through their own eyes and how it has affected them as individuals, a group and a society. Very early in the film, one important manner that is brought to light is that the portrayal of Indians in film is driven by the American people themselves who line up at cinemas to watch movies about cowboys in the West killing and murdering “savage” Indians.

In later years, dressing and pretending to be Indian was seen as the new “cool” but the population’s knowledge of the Indian lifestyle was only known through films, where the Indian lifestyle was altered in order to fit the Hollywood picture. Soon after, many American filmmakers attempted to make films solely about Indians and how they lived today but they were depicting the Indians of the 1800’s with stereotypical thoughts. Although their goal was to soften the Indian image in Hollywood, the films were not an accurate portrayal of Indians. Throughout the documentary, the filmmakers bring the audience on a journey across America to some of cinema's most iconic landscapes, including Monument Valley, the setting for Hollywood's greatest Westerns, and the Black Hills of South Dakota, home to Crazy Horse. Reel Injun also explored the stereotype of the Drunken Indian as Native Americans in the United States have historically had extreme difficulty with the use of alcohol. Many scenes in the movie are clips from dozens of classic and present Hollywood films about the depiction of the Native people to prove the concept of the negative portrayal in cinema since the first ever film was created. Indians themselves voiced the consequences their family has suffered by the depiction of Indians in Hollywood through countless interviews.

Documentary films and ourselves

Documentary films can be used as a tool to educate the public and for self reflection. Both films discuss the topic of stereotypes; what they are, how they are presented by Hollywood and their consequences. While viewing these films we begin to understand the impact that stereotypes can have on the general population and on members of the group being shown. Through these films, we learn about our own understanding and knowledge on the issues presented. For example, a native American will already know much about how they are stereotyped because they live it, while a non-native American may not. It allows us to look at an issue from many different perspectives. It may also make us more critical when watching movies in the future. Questions such as: "Do these stereotypes still occur in film?" and  "What about stereotypical figures such as the sissy?" come to mind after viewing these films. After watching these documentaries, we may pay more attention to how a group is being presented and why. As well, we may reflect on our own lives and consider if we have ever imposed these stereotypes onto someone and become more conscious of it. Many people have prejudices towards groups that they have learned from their culture and may be unaware of it.

A study was conducted in 1999 by staff members in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University where Asian women were asked to take a difficult math test. Prior to the test, these women took a short questionnaire, half highlighting the fact that they were Asian and the other half that they were women. Those who had been reminded of their Asian heritage performed better than those who had been reminded of the fact that they were female. I found this study interesting because, as these documentaries had spoken about, it show’s how negative or positive stereotypes affect those in the group. While recognizing that these stereotypes and negative images about women continue to be shown in films, I believe there are now more positive female role models now and I find that I am more influenced by them than the negative. To me, this representation helps to combat the negative ones. 

https://sish.fiu.edu/initiatives/advance-grant/products/2-shih_pittinsky_ambady_identitysaliencequantitativeperf1999.pdf

www.simplypsychology.org/katz-braly.html

Both films were able to successfully present evidence to their proposed stereotypes by showing many clips of films on the issues. This allowed the audience to see evidence of these stereotypes in films and gave them a chance to react to them. Commentary by professional film critics and people of the group in question were useful to get a better understanding of the issue at whole. However, for a more personal point of view, the film makers could have interviewed a few individuals from the group that were not film critics. This would have demonstrated how the general public and those outside the film industry understood about the portrayal of their own group. The celluloid closet had more interpretation from these professionals, which makes the film more subjective. In contrast, Neil Diamond chose to make no comment and let the audience interpret by themselves. For example, he goes to the summer camp Bominay where the camp goers dance, wear tribal paint and even sing songs about Crazy horse but even the counsel, David Teufner, admits to only know what he has seen in the films. As he watches these young boys’ pretend to be native in an inaccurate way, but does not make a comment, instead moves on in the film and leaves the viewer to form an opinion.

              From the perspective of Kayla and Shannon: I am personally not homosexual or a native American, therefore watching these films helped me understand better what the realities of these groups are. I found that I did not have very much knowledge of these issues and so it opened by eye’s and reminded me that we should be more critical when watching a film. Simply watching a film and accepting everything that is, how the characters are, may contribute to stereotypes and questioning what we watch is a way to avoid this.

From Zach's personal perspective: Watching “The Celluloid Closet” from a guy’s perspective, although I don't condone it, I was able to understand the issue at hand because the gay stereotypes in film are mostly created from men. When watching movies in cinemas that have a gay character, I can sometimes see the unease of some people in the audience. Although I don’t think the issue is a prominent anymore and is getting better, the issue is still present and we should not ignore that.

The use of stereotypes in film

Through these two films we have seen different way’s that stereotypes are used to portray certain groups in film throughout history. In The Celluloid Closet, we saw how homosexuals were first under represented in film, then later stereotyped as the “sissy”, the “victim”, and the “villain”. Reel Injun spoke about the way that native American’s have been stereotyped in film in the last decade. Watching films that bring light to the consequences of these stereotypes and raise an awareness about them. Even though the use of obvious stereotypes is less nowadays, it is still occurring in cinema and on television.