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IN YOUR SHADOW RESEARCH
http://vnbateman.com/index.html https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/12/naked-anti-brexit-campaigner-challenges-rees-mogg-on-live-tv A Fellow in Economics and an economic historian at the University of Cambridge, Dr Victoria Bateman has caused a wide spread stir in the media over the past week due to her appearance on TV programme Good Morning Britain (2019). Appearing in the nude, with the words “Brexit leaves Britain naked” written on her chest, Bateman, a self-proclaimed feminist, explained that her state of undress is designed to deliver a visual metaphor that, ‘Brexit is the empire’s new clothes’ (Weaver, 2019). When debating with the programmes hosts on if her naked appearance could be considered shocking or not, Bateman states that: 'We see naked women around us all the time. We see the scantily clad in advertising, there’s a whole world of pornography out there. If you go to any art gallery in the UK or across the world you will see nudes in the world. The common thing about all of those women is that they are silent. They are not allowed a voice. What is shocking perhaps to some people is a woman who is naked with a voice' (Weaver, 2019). These words resonated with me a great deal, Bateman managing to put across in a very succinct way a point of view that relates strongly to my reasoning behind the manifestations of the Shadow and the unsettling tone of her visitations. A naked women with a voice can be deeply shocking to the male mind and ego, especially if that voice is used to question the specifics of why a woman is being visually portrayed as an object. I specifically chose the photo in which the Shadow’s mouth was covered to convey a sense of that character being without a voice. The manifestations that Mathew encounters will give the Shadow a voice to question the male dominated point of view in which Mathew chose to capture her. At its heart, In Your Shadow is what I would consider to be a gender conscious horror film. A horror that is directed squarely at the male ego and the patriarchal society we live within. Bateman’s impassioned words have helped me solidify the unsettling tone that I want the film to convey. REFERENCE LIST Good Morning Britain (2019) ITV, 12 February. Weaver, M. (2019) 'Naked anti-Brexit campaigner challenges Rees-Mogg on live TV', The Guardian, 12 February. Available at: URL (Accessed: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/12/naked-anti-brexit-campaigner-challenges-rees-mogg-on-live-tv).
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When talking about her BBC drama series Killing Eve (2018), British writer, director and actor Phoebe Waller-Bridge recently described watching female characters acting violently as ‘refreshing and oddly empowering’ (Quinn, B, 2019). Violence is not a trait that most people would associate with femininity and Waller Bridges statement has caused many to accuse her of double standards. I would argue that such a statement is a sign of the oppression of females in the modern world and agree with Waller-Bridges assessment that she is ‘exhausted by seeing women being brutalised on screen’ (Quinn, B, 2019). This is clearly a sign of a modern day need to rebalance the scale of depictions of female characters as victims. Point in fact, what many believe to be the first ever graphic depiction of onscreen violence occurs during Battleship Potemkin (1925), where a defenceless mother is shot in the eye. It’s very clear that this character was created to be a victim of not only the political kind, but also of the male soldiers that oppress her and administer her fate. As a result of this need for rebalance, we are now starting to see female characters in TV and film that are more multi layered, their psyches containing the same dark, sometimes violent urges that male characters have been depicted with since the birth of film. Although I couldn’t purely state my intentions behind the creation of The Shadow at the time of her conception, Waller-Bridges words have helped solidify The Shadow’s purpose within the narrative and the motivations of the character. While The Shadow can be viewed as a symbol and creation of male desire and oppression that is originated from a male character, she also vocalises what I believe to be a female point of view in questioning the ideologies of the male gaze that created her. Her act of violence against Matthew in the films closing moments is an act of female empowerment and a refusal to be viewed as a victim of the objectification of the female form perpetrated by him. It is my intention to keep the ending of the narrative ambiguous, in order to let the audience make up their own minds as to if such an act against Matthew is justified or not. REFERENCE LIST Battleship Potemkin (1925) Directed by Sergei M. Eisenstein [Film]. Soviet Union: Goskino. Killing Eve (2018) BBC One, 8 April. Quinn, B. (2019) 'Phoebe Waller-Bridge 'empowered' to see violent women on TV', The Guardian, 10 March. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/mar/10/phoebe-waller-bridge-empowered-to-see-violent-women-on-tv-drama-killing-eve (Accessed: 13 March 2019). Hollywood based photographer Terry Richardson is one of the most successful and controversial figures amongst the fashion industry. He has photographed a wide range of noted celebrities from the entertainment industries including singer Rhianna, film star Jared Leto and super model Kate Moss, to name but a few. His work has gained a great deal of interest and exposure due to a style that Business of Fashion calls, ‘sexually charged and hedonistic’ (Business of Fashion, 2019). The excess of the Hollywood lifestyle would seem to be a key influence on his photographic output. Although rumours of Richardson’s alleged sexual misconduct during his often explicit and racy shoots have circulated since 2001, it wasn’t until October 2017 that the major brands that Richardson has worked for would take any serious notice of the allegations. In that month, Marie Claire published an article collecting the allegations of over ten women within the industry who have spoken out against Richardson, detailing encounters where he coerced them into uncomfortable and lewd acts (Sim, 2017). Since then, several major fashion magazines, including Vogue, Vanity Fair and GQ have blacklisted Richardson, refusing to work with him again. The allegations against Richardson are so strong that the NYPD would begin investigating them in early 2018. Terry Richardson has become the main inspiration for Matthew, the protagonist of In Your Shadow. Although Matthew never assaults any of the women around him in such an extreme way that its been alleged Richardson has, his behaviour towards the model he works with is still unsettling. I wish to portray that Matthew’s unconsummated desire is driving his actions, destroying his self-control in the process. The circumstances that Matthew unsettles the model he works with are a metaphor for the way that powerful figures in the industry, such as Terry Richardson and Harvey Weinstein abuse the trust of the vulnerable women they work with. Nobody should be made to feel intimidated while in any work place, especially those who are expected to expose their bodies and sexuality in the name of art. REFERENCE LIST Business of Fashion (2019) Terry Richardson Biography. Available at: https://www.businessoffashion.com/community/people/terry-richardson (Accessed: 9 March 2019). Sim, H. (2017) The Disturbing List Of Sexual Assault And Harassment Allegations Against Terry Richardson. Available at: https://www.marieclaire.com.au/terry-richardson-every-sexual-harassment-and-assault-allegation (Accessed: 9 March 2019). Solaris (1972) is Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky’s first foray into the aesthetics of science fiction cinema as an exploration of humanities inner emotional landscape. Psychologist Kris Kelvin (Donatas Banionis) is sent to a space station orbiting the planet Solaris after one of the three remaining crew members commits suicide. When he arrives, he encounters a seemingly near perfect reproduction of his late wife Khari (Natalya Bondarchuk). Initially disturbed by her presence, Kris eventually embraces this manifestation of past memories, unaware that the past will be doomed to repeat itself once again. In keeping with the other six films that Tarkovsky made Solaris is a deeply philosophical film that presents its key thematic elements with an emotionally sensitive and thought provoking ambiguousness. The sparse narrative of Solaris explores mankind’s perception of themself and how the present is shaped by our memories of the past while also being shaped by our perception of the past in the present. This is evident in the film by Khari’s status as a perfect visual replication of Kelvin’s deceased wife, brought to life from his immaculate visual memories of her. While Khari outwardly appears to be human, she is not and her own memories are limited by what Kelvin remembers of her from his past interactions with his wife. As the narrative unfolds at a glacial pace, we learn that Kelvin feels a great deal of shame towards the fact that he never really loved the original Khari as much as she loved him. This led her to commit suicide by poisoning herself. Kris tries to make right in the present his past undoing’s that led to the original Khari’s death by loving the replication of Khari more than the original Khari. In doing so, however, he is avoiding facing the memories of her that haunt him in an effort to overcompensate for past mistakes. He is merely in love with the idea of Khari, his own perception of who she was that has been shaped by the shame and grief that he harbours for her. Inspired by the thematic undercurrents of Tarkovsky’s film, I will need to be careful when writing the screenplay to lay out the limitations of the manifestations that are shaped by Mathew’s subconsciousness and the repressed desire that shapes the manifestation of The Shadow. REFERENCE LIST Solaris (1972) Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky [Film]. Czech Republic: Asociace Ceských Filmových Klubu. |
AuthorMy name is Clay Sandford and I am currently studying an FDA in Film and Media Production at University Centre Weston. I have a keen interest in directing, writing and cinematography. ArchivesCategories |