Fishtank- British film

FISHTANK

Fishtank- Mia and her mother dancing scene and Mias audition scene.





The strip club audition scene, which may be considered the denouement of Act 3, employs many different micro features to comment on the way in which male gaze operates. The male gaze theory is where women in the media are viewed from the eyes of a heterosexual man, and that these women are represented as passive objects of male desire. However, the female director Arnold holds a mirror to this, by encouraging a feeling of unease as we gaze upon Mia, specifically when Mia is on the podium and the spotlight is trained on her. Normally, being placed on a higher platform symbolises power and superiority. Paradoxically, Mia on the platform seems to have a lack of power; she is essentially a commodity to be used by men. The low angle shot of Mia and high over the shoulder shot down to the judges this allows the audience to sympathise with Mia. 

Josh + Abi - Bed Scene

During the midpoint scene in Fish Tank where Conor and Mia have sex, there contains a shot-reverse-shot which is crucial in understanding the binary oppositions and ideology that is presented. These camera angles align the spectator with Mia as she is constantly in the shot. Arnold wants us to align with Mia as we can fully see the hardships that she is experiencing. Furthermore, during Mia's dancing, we see the camera placed behind Mia, static at eye level with Conor. This shows the spectator that Conor is looking at her breasts and this is an example of Mulveyan male gaze. Also, as we find out later Conor is someone who lives in a middle-class suburban area, it reflects how Mulveyan male gaze is created mainly by middle-class men. In the sex scene, no genitalia is shown as we only see her hands and her feet, which are not sexualised in any way. The reason for this is to present the male to be dominant. Also, her ankles are shown to remind the spectator of how Conor was like a father figure to her before when helping her in the lake, and how it's changed now due to her penis envy and how she is now sexually attracted to him.




xander and ben:

MICROFEATURES

- Handheld Camera.

- Track behind/in/left.

- Eschews multiple cuts. 

- 10 Cuts.
- Tilt down on Mia.
- Very dark colour palette
- Over the shoulder shots

NARRATIVE
- Binary oppositions (Man vs Woman).
- Mia acts like a child and sits on the floor after being punished.
- Conor is metaphor for society - wrongdoing - gets punished.

IDEOLOGY
- No punishments for the Male.
- Conor gets away with what he wants.
- Patriarchy and how women are used in society.
-She submits to Conors punishment

Throughout the scene when Conor chases after Mia, which is considered to be the crisis before the Act Two climax, Conor slaps Mia as he is punishing Mia for his own actions. Conor is considered to be a metaphor for present society as Mia, the woman, is punished due to the actions of a male and the patriarchal society. After the slap, Mia submits to the patriarchy of Conor as she falls to the floor and accepts her punishment. The camera tilts down so that the spectator can see Mia fall on the floor in a child-like fashion, showing how she has yielded to her 'fathers' punishments. The binary oppositions between Man and Woman is presented via the dark palette as this uncomfortable look of the scene mirrors the uncomfortable feelings between Mia and Conor. As Mia feels used by Conor for his sexual pleasures, she acts on her jealously of not getting attention from her 'father' and acts irrationally. On the other side, Conor has feelings of anger towards Mia as she is trying to 'disobey' him and he wants to punish her for it. This clearly shows how feminism is explored as she is used by the male and is punished for it, even though he is in the wrong.