Carol

• Carol Opening Sequence: How cinematography is used (2) - Tracking shot to follow jack cross the road into the restaurant, as if it is leading the audience into the middle of story - Shot of the Therese in the car window - blurred by rain symbolises how she is trapped and distanced from society
• Carol Opening Sequence: How Mise-En-Scene is used (1) - We see grates at the very start - symbolic of how they are caged by 1950's society from being themselves
• Carol Opening Sequence: How editing is used (2) - Long takes and quick cuts - Jack walking into the restaurant to the quick cuts of Carol, therese and jack - increases the intensity of the scene infering Carol and Therese are hiding something, which is their relationship - Flashback dissolve transition
• Carol Opening Sequence: How performance is used (1) - Jack calls to Therese, both Carol and Therese look startled and slightly worried, further implying they want their relationship to stay hidden as it wasnt accepted in society
• Carol Toy Store Sequence: How cinematography is used (2) - Mid-shot presenting Carol at a distance - focus drag, presenting her as enigmatic and mysterious - POV shot seeing Carol for the first time aligns us with the audience as we feel the mystery surrounding her, she then breaks the fourth wall, suggestive of how carol is looking into modern day society comparing certain injustices with modern society
• Carol Toy Store Sequence: How mise en scene is used (2) - Muted green colours throughout the sequence coupled with natural lighting reflects Therese's mindset presenting her in a negative place - Carol is wearing bright, red toned, costume which reflects how this is a flashback and Therese is seeing carol as much more vivid as anyone else
• Carol Toy Store Sequence: How editing is used (1) - Editing is consistent, focus drag onto carol draws audience attention to her
• Carol Toy Store Sequence: How sound is used (1) - Diagetic audio in the store - speaker system and ambience of shoppers portrays a dull, dystopian world, aligning the audience with Therese as she wants to escape for a life of photography
• Carol Vinyl Shop Sequence: How cinematography is used (2) - Tracking shot behind Richard and Therese which then stops between the two suggests the frigidity of their relationship as a result of Thereses feelings for Carol - Long distance shots distance the audience from the two, a bit like the distance they are about to be from one another after this conversation
• Carol Vinyl Shop Sequence: How Mise-En-Scene is used (1) - More musty green, brown aesthetic represents how dull the setting is in comparison to her bright red and yellow costume - she is a contrast to the setting like she is a contrast to society
• Carol Vinyl Shop Sequence: How editing is used in this scene (1) - Shot reverse shots and over the shoulder shots of Richard and Therese as they talk, amplifying the drama as the audience knows she is interested in Carol, not Richard, and we are keen to see how that news is delivered and received
• Carol Vinyl Shop Sequence: How performance is used (1) - Shot reverse shot between therese and the other two 'lesbians' in the shop implies how Therese is jealous that they have broken out of the constriction of society and she is struggling because of her and richards relationship
• Carol ending sequence: How cinematography is used (4) - Tracking panshot of Therese searching for Carol - Shaky cam emphasises the urgency of Therese finding Carol, the camera stabilises when Carol locks eye contact - POV shot, stablilises when carol locks eye contact, suggests Therese is calmer now Carol has seen her - Low key lighting emphasising the intimacy of the final location in the film
• Carol ending sequence: How Mise En Scene is used (1) - Deep red tones, lampshades providing passive lighting - suggests the restaurant is cosy and realistic, unlike the green stale colours used at the party in the previous sequence - Therese feels more warmth around Carol
• Carol ending sequence: How Editing is used (1) - Frantic throughout this sequence - amplifies the intensity and suspense for Therese to find Carol - Shows the passion Therese has for Carol and that she knew she made a mistake by not going with her
• Carol ending sequence: How sound is used in the sequence (2) - Non-diagetic, emotional music begins when Therese sees Carol, gets louder when Carol locks eyet contact, as if everything falls into place when Therese sees Carol - Romantic and intimate resolution to the film
• Provide an oppositional response to carol in terms of the theories of spectatorship (2) - Film is boring and slow with Therese's disregard for richard and his feelings presenting heterosexuals as marginalised in the film - after all therese is the one cheating on her husband
• Provide a negotiated response to Carol in terms of the theories of spectatorship (2) - Audience acknowledges the struggles of homosexuals but the film may not change their personal beliefs - Perhaps due to their situated contexts
• Provide a preferred response to carol in terms of the theories of spectatorship (2) - Audeince would feel for the Lesbian and homosexual communities in the 50's and apply it to how we could act to improve present day society - Audience has allegiance with Carol and Therese the whole way through
• Describe how women are represented as independant and courageous (2) - Therese achieves her goal of becoming a photographer at the new york times by the end of the film - Carol takes up a career after divorce and finds an apartment to pursue whatever relationship she wants
• Provide three points regarding the ideology specialist study area (3) - Vito Russo Test (expand a paragraph with a scene analysis) - Adverse portrayal of motherhood - Avoidance of the 'male gaze
• Expand on the vito russo test in terms of the ideology specialist study area (3) - Film must contain a character identifiably LGBT - Character must not be soleoly or predominantly defined by their orientation - Character must have a significant role in the plot in a way that their removal would have a significant effect
• Expand on the adverse portrayal of motherhood in terms of the ideology specialist study area (2) - Carol sacrifices relationship with therese initially to win custody of Rindy, even willing to undergo psychotherapy to cure her sexuality - However she ends the film willing to give up her rights as a mother so she can be her true self - this is controversial
• Expand on the films avoidance of the male gaze in terms of the ideology specialist study area (2) - The lovers in Carol are at the centre of the narrative shot only from each others perspective - Male characters are in supporting roles, we only see men from female characters POV
• Describe the effect of using super 16mm - Creates deliberate grain effect dividing the spectator and onscreen characters, like the divisions in 1950 society
• Describe the effect of shooting main characters through glass streaked with rain or smudged with dust - Links to the theme that women have a public self and a more vibrant self they hide underneath
• Describe the effect of the dialogue having as little direct speech as possible - Dialogue becomes a permeable barrier, similar to the forementioned glass surfaces, hiding whilst also revealing their true feelings
• Name of the cinematographer of carol Ed Lachman
• Name of carols screenwriter and when did she write carol - Phyllis Nagy - 19 years prior
• What are the ideological critical approaches with regards to carol - Political analysis of society - Queer Theory - Feminist theory
• Describe Carols conformity to mainstream ideology (2) - Commonly mainstream cinema represents a dominant ideology, while independant films may seek to question ruling ideologies - Carol subverts this idea as it is a mainstream film that is challenging a dominant ideology
• What are the theories of spectatorship (4) - Stuart hall reception theory - Allegiance and alignment - David Chandlers multiple gaze theory - Uses and Gratification theory
• Describe the purpose of allegiance and alignment in terms of the theories of spectatorship - We are positioned in such a way to transmit the directors preferred messages and values and getting the audience to accept an ideology
• How are we aligned with Therese in Carol in terms of the theories of spectatorship (3) - Use of POV shots allow for close alignment with character, along with the amount of screentime the character receives - Through Suture (the way a spectator is stitched into a narrative) for example the spectator is encouraged to be active and develop a response to the ideological critical approaches within the film - However we are always slightly distanced through the use of shots through windows and framing, suggestive of how we as an audience may be distanced from the struggles of homosexuals in 1950 s...
• Describe David Chandlers multiple gaze theory in terms of the theories of spectatorship (3) - Spectators gaze - the viewpoint at the beginning of films and how we follow the character into the films narrative - Intra-diagetic gaze - the behaviours of characters towards each other (in Carol these develop a sense of alignment with character) - Extra-diagetic gaze - relationship between the character and the audience
• What is uses and gratification theory in terms of the theories of spectatorship - We use media for our own gratification, not in the ways the producer intends
• What are the ways in which the audience may resist the response encoded by the film in terms of the theories of spectatorship (2) - Situated culture - meaning is created through factors like political values and religion, some cultures may see men as underrepresented, or the homosexual messages may not align with their religious background - Oppositionally reading the text - perhaps in diagreeance with carol pursueing love over her child
• What are the forms of representation in Carol (4) - Gender and Sexuality - Time and place - Aesthetics - Themes
• Describe the representation of gender and sexuality in terms of representation in carol (3) - Men are portrayed as emotionally fragile, Harge frequently tries to reinforce patriarchal values throughout the film - Gay relationships represented positively through lack of doubt or guilt about their relationship, apart from carols morality regarding losing custody of rindy - Women are portrayed as independant and courageous, We look at carol through therese's eyes (intradiagetic gaze), and both women achieve their goals by the end (therese becomes a photographer for the new york times)
• Describe the representation of time and place in carol in terms of representation in carol (2) - Representation of an industrious USA, dystopian and unwelcoming to LGBT community - Promotion of the idea of the nuclear family, traditionalised expectations of conformity