Explicit and Implicit Ideologies

Ideologies can be described as: 

"A system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy." Oxford English Dictionary, 2013.

"Ideology is the term used to describe the system of beliefs and practices that is produced by this theory of reality." (Turner, 2006, P.155)

We are constantly surrounded by ideologies; they are presented to us in every film, whether they were meant to be or not, and allow us to create our own interpretation of what happened in the film. Turner (2006) believes that film is seen as a 'reflection' of the dominant beliefs and values of its own culture, and that ideologies help film to construct and represent pictures of reality. Ideologies also vary significantly due to the culture and beliefs of different time periods and nations. 

Ideologies can be divided into two categories; explicit and implicit ideologies in film.  Explicit ideologies in film are those with a clearly defined, strong message which aim to teach the audience what is "right" and "wrong" in society and how people should behave. The use of binary opposition between "good" and "evil" is extremely common in films with explicit ideologies. 

An example of a film which portrays explicit ideologies is David Fincher's 1999 film Fight Club. The film deals with a number of different ideologies such as consumerism in a capitalist society and violence as a form of masculinity. The main protagonist, Jack, is a bored, insomniac corporate office worker who attempts to find a new sense of identity by meeting Tyler Durden. Durden helps Jack to fight back against a shallow, empty culture which encourages the feminisation of men through consumerism. An underground fight club is established to help men reclaim their sense of masculinity and power. Violence is portrayed as a sport and as a means to help men connect with one another whilst consumerism is seen as a very feminine trait. 

“If Jack represents the crisis of capitalism repackaged as the crisis of a domesticated masculinity, Tyler represents the redemption of masculinity repackaged as the promise of violence in the interests of social and political anarchy.” (Giroux, 2008, P.34)

Fight Club therefore suggests that the masculine ideologies of violence and pain can be used by males to find a much more authentic sense of identity than consumerism ever could.

The Twilight Saga also use gender ideologies but in an implicit manner. Pearlman (2010) states that the films promote traditional gender roles and also focus on the importance of marriage and family life. The character Bella is depicted as inferior to her male peers, who all hold positions of power, she is constantly injuring herself and is easily harmed but cannot hurt either of her "protectors" - a vampire and a werewolf. 

"Bella is positioned as subservient to all of these men by nature of their strength, age, social position and desirability—man is equated with power and patriarchy. These men need to protect Bella not just from herself but from the world—she is weak and child-like.” (Pearlman, 2010, P.59)

 The implicit ideologies of control and superiority of males towards Bella in the film are disguised by the notion that it is a romance story and that Edward, her lover, is only aggressive and domineering towards her because he is deeply in love with her. Bella is only capable of looking after herself and gaining strength (by becoming a vampire) after she has conformed to the traditional female role of becoming a wife and a mother.

References 

COMOLLI, J., L. and NARBONI, J., 1969. Cinema/Ideology/Criticism. In: L. BRUADY and M. COHEN , eds. Film Theory and Criticism. 4th ed. Oxford, UK.: Oxford University Press. pp. 812-819

GIROUX, H, A., 2008. Brutalised Bodies and Emasculated Politics: Fight Club, Consumerism, and Masculine Violence. Third Text, 14(53), pp. 31-41

PEARLMAN, J., 2010. Happily (For)ever After: Constructing Conservative Youth Ideology in the Twilight Series. [online] American Studies thesis, Wesleyan University. Available from:http://wesscholar.wesleyan.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1583&context=etd_hon_theses&sei-redir=1 [Accessed 10/04/2013]

TURNER, G., 2006. Film, Culture and Ideology. 3rd ed. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

Review - Cloud Atlas (2013)

The visually stunning Cloud Atlas was released in the UK in February 2013. It was directed by the Wachowski siblings, Andy and Lana, who wrote and directed the Matrix trilogy, and German director Tom Tykwer. The film is an adaptation of the 2004 novel by British author David Mitchell.

Cloud Atlas was considered a massive flop in the US, as it only managed to gross $27 million, taking into consideration that it cost $100 million to make, although it has been a lot more successful in countries such as China.

Both the book and the film tell six different, interwoven narratives which all take place in six different periods of time starting in 1850 and ending almost 500 years later in a post-apocalyptic future. The first half of the film begins by telling the stories in chronological order, followed by a random assortment of each time period, and then it ends with each story going backwards in time. The film follows how the actions of others can impact the lives of others far into the future.

The earliest segment of the overall story is set in the South Pacific Ocean in 1850 and features an American lawyer travelling home from the Pacific Islands with an escaped slave; next the film visits 1930s Britain, where a bi-sexual English musician travels to Edinburgh to become an amanuensis to an old famous composer; then in San Francisco, 1973, a female journalist uncovers a conspiracy regarding the safety of a new nuclear reactor; moving to present day a 65-year-old publisher is tricked by his brother into hiding out at a nursery home against his will; a genetically-engineered "fabricant" (clone) is saved from her servitude at a fast-food restaurant in "Neo Seoul" - a futuristic version of Seoul after it has been submerged by water in 2144; "106 winters after the Fall" is set in post-apocalyptic Hawaii after the majority of humanity have died in the "the Fall", this is the most futuristic time frame and portrays a man and his community living in fear of the savage Koba tribe.

Cloud Atlas features an extensive number of Hollywood A-listers such as Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, Jim Broadbent and Susan Sarandon but, unlike the majority of Hollywood blockbusters, Cloud Atlas isn't just a cliché about an action hero who always gets the girl, it is a film full of meanings about how past and present decisions affect the future of mankind. The Wachowski siblings and Tom Tykwer cast the main actors in multiple roles across a 500-year time period, suggesting the possibility of reincarnation and evolution of the soul. Many of the actors play characters of different race and gender as they are heavily disguised by, almost fake looking, make-up and prosthetics. This decision could be to highlight how all human beings are the same regardless of background and social status, but it seems to have backfired. White, male actors were fitted with putty-looking prosthetic eyes to portray Korean men which led to the "yellowface" controversy; the film received a vast amount of criticism from the Media Action Network for Asian Americans and much of the media.

The film deals with themes such as the interconnectedness of all human life, prejudice and oppression and, finally, revolution and change. Various characters in the film have a comet-shaped birthmark, perhaps suggesting that these characters are all incarnations of the same soul or that they are all connected in some way or another.

Each story contains some form of oppression or imprisonment in regards to race, gender or sexuality. For example in the Neo Seoul storyline it is the oppression of the fabricants who are manufactured for low-status jobs in society. Each narrative also involves a character who helps to overcome prejudice and/or restrictions either towards them or another part of society.

Intertextuality is recurrent throughout the film as characters in most time periods are either reading or watching something created in the previous story, through the use of journals, novels and film. These stories from the past inspire the characters to fight for freedom and the oppressive social regime they face, resulting in a revolution and, eventually, changing the lives of others in the future.

Cloud Atlas is certainly not perfect, there are quite a few moments throughout the film which can be described as cringe-worthy and don't fit in with the rest of its charming nature, but, despite that, I have never seen a film like it before and it is one of the very few films which has left me feeling a sense of satisfaction after watching it. If you are looking for a film which will make you cry, laugh, angry and, most of all, make you think about the issues caused and overcome by the human race then this is the perfect film for you. Beautiful, flawed and unforgettable; Cloud Atlas is certainly the most ambitious film of the year.

References

ANDERS, C.J., 2012. [online] New York, NY.: Gawker Media. Available from: http://io9.com/5955079/is-cloud-atlas-an-unholy-mess-or-a-brilliant-masterpiece-yes [Accessed 04/09 2013]

BROOKS, X., 2013. Cloud atlas - review. [online] London, UK.: Guardian News and Media Limited. Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2013/feb/21/cloud-atlas-review [Accessed 04/08 2013]

MITCHELL, D., 2012. Translating 'cloud atlas' into the language of film. [online] New York, NY.: Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Available from: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443675404578060870111158076.html [Accessed 04/08 2013]

ROSEN, C., 2012. 'Cloud atlas & yellowface: Wachowskis' film slammed by group for lack of asian actors. [online] New York, NY.: TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. Available from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/25/cloud-atlas-yellowface-wachowski_n_2017624.html [Accessed 04/10 2013]