Focus of Study - How Sofia Coppola creates sympathy, empathy and shows a detachment from reality towards
protagonists. (Post Modernism Theory)
Resources - Marie Antoinette (2006) - (Hybridity)
The Bling Ring (2013) - (Parody/Satire)
The Virgin Suicides (1999) - (Hybridity)
Books/Resources -
Title/Question: How does Sofia Coppola create themes of alienation and misunderstanding through the use of the soundtrack as well as focussing on a post modernistic style?
Item 1 - Marie Antoinette (2006)
I chose this film as my focus film as it explores Coppolas style of portraying themes like alienation and being misunderstood. This film details and chronicles the life of the iconic French Queen Marie Antoinette who's life was filled with chaos and controversy during her reign as a naive teenage Queen. Coppola's artistic style puts Antoinette in rich pastel scenery whilst using wide shots/establishing shots to show her alienation and loneliness - The often melancholic score used in order to reinforce the alienation combined with non-diegetic voice over styled dialogue to again reinforces her loneliness in the aristocracy. This film being the first historical fiction drama that Coppola directed and created that began her signature style in the genre but also continued her style in other genres.
Item 2 - The Bling Ring (2013)
This film explores the cult of celebrity and how as a society we have become with celebrity and popular culture. The film explores the true story of The Bling Ring gang who were a group of teenagers who tracked down celebrities/their homes and then robbed them. Although the protagonists are modelled to be self important vapid teenagers, Coppola creates empathy towards them by putting blame towards society and highlights the desire to achieve fame - the modern day American Dream. The group can be seen as misunderstood due to their desire to achieve fame which is a direct repercussion of living in a tabloid saturated society. The directing style pays homage to sites like Facebook as there are elements of the film shot from webcams to show the transition in technology and the formidable grip that social networking has on teenagers. This is the second biographical drama film directed by Coppola and is inspired by the Vanity Fair article 'The Suspects Wore Louboutins' by Nancy Jo Sales.
Item 3 - The Virgin Suicides (1999)
I chose this as my third film as it again explored the themes of alienation and misunderstanding - but also delved into issues such as oppression and suicide. All of the sisters experience the effects of being an outcast as they are all outcasts in school due to spending their time together, but also are seen to be outcasts in society due to their strict ruling from their parents. The melancholic soundtrack contributes towards creating empathy towards the characters. The soundtrack also has huge plot importance as the mother demands that Lux burns her collection of vinyls (the music featured throughout) which acted as her only form of escapism and enjoyment other than exploring her sexuality. The soundtrack acts as an emotional manipulator in order to emphasise the taboo issue of suicide and the pain that it inflicts. This is again a film in the drama genre that also explores the detachment from reality issue.
Website
Item 4 - https://thedissolve.com/features/movie-of-the-week/1079-in-sofia-coppolas-films-music-says-what-characters/
Item 2 - The Bling Ring (2013)
This film explores the cult of celebrity and how as a society we have become with celebrity and popular culture. The film explores the true story of The Bling Ring gang who were a group of teenagers who tracked down celebrities/their homes and then robbed them. Although the protagonists are modelled to be self important vapid teenagers, Coppola creates empathy towards them by putting blame towards society and highlights the desire to achieve fame - the modern day American Dream. The group can be seen as misunderstood due to their desire to achieve fame which is a direct repercussion of living in a tabloid saturated society. The directing style pays homage to sites like Facebook as there are elements of the film shot from webcams to show the transition in technology and the formidable grip that social networking has on teenagers. This is the second biographical drama film directed by Coppola and is inspired by the Vanity Fair article 'The Suspects Wore Louboutins' by Nancy Jo Sales.
Item 3 - The Virgin Suicides (1999)
I chose this as my third film as it again explored the themes of alienation and misunderstanding - but also delved into issues such as oppression and suicide. All of the sisters experience the effects of being an outcast as they are all outcasts in school due to spending their time together, but also are seen to be outcasts in society due to their strict ruling from their parents. The melancholic soundtrack contributes towards creating empathy towards the characters. The soundtrack also has huge plot importance as the mother demands that Lux burns her collection of vinyls (the music featured throughout) which acted as her only form of escapism and enjoyment other than exploring her sexuality. The soundtrack acts as an emotional manipulator in order to emphasise the taboo issue of suicide and the pain that it inflicts. This is again a film in the drama genre that also explores the detachment from reality issue.
Website
Item 4 - https://thedissolve.com/features/movie-of-the-week/1079-in-sofia-coppolas-films-music-says-what-characters/
This article discusses the use of the soundtrack and score in Coppola films and how it the foundation for any Sofia Coppola film. The article also discusses the different styles of music that are used in Coppola films and how the soundtrack often gives the audience and insight to what the character is feeling or what they are trying to say - interestingly it says that the soundtrack in The Virgin Suicides acts as the characters voice and when it is destroyed it is symbolic of the girls losing their voice. Similarly it also emphasises the naivety and innocence of Marie Antoinette due to the use of 90's popular music in scenes in order to show her age. This relating to the post modern theory due to the contemporary soundtracks and how the lyrics often affect the tone of the movie through conveying certain emotions/themes.
Item 5 -http://www.rookiemag.com/2013/06/sofia-coppola-interview/
This interview discusses Coppola's choice to sympathise with protagonists - she discusses the difficulty with trying to sympathise with characters from The Bling Ring group as she believed they did not deserve any form of sympathy. However she did convey sympathy towards Nick Prugo's character as she believed he was absorbed into the group. This interview also discusses the post modern style of cinematography that Coppola has used throughout her filmography. It also discusses issues such as misunderstanding and oppression within The Virgin Suicides. This being helpful for my argument due to the discussion of sympathising with certain characters as well as how the tone of the film is dictated by the soundtrack and overriding themes.
Item 6 - http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/9153-sofia-coppola-and-brian-reitzell/
Item 5 -http://www.rookiemag.com/2013/06/sofia-coppola-interview/
This interview discusses Coppola's choice to sympathise with protagonists - she discusses the difficulty with trying to sympathise with characters from The Bling Ring group as she believed they did not deserve any form of sympathy. However she did convey sympathy towards Nick Prugo's character as she believed he was absorbed into the group. This interview also discusses the post modern style of cinematography that Coppola has used throughout her filmography. It also discusses issues such as misunderstanding and oppression within The Virgin Suicides. This being helpful for my argument due to the discussion of sympathising with certain characters as well as how the tone of the film is dictated by the soundtrack and overriding themes.
Item 6 - http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/9153-sofia-coppola-and-brian-reitzell/
This article discusses the relationship that Coppola's soundtrack has to telling the story, it also discusses the importance of the soundtrack within any Sofia Coppola film - also suggesting how it has become a convention of any Coppola film. Also discussing song choices made by Coppola and her soundtrack engineer (Brian Reitzell) and how they chose songs to reflect certain characters and convey their moods. This will be used to aid my argument by discussing in depth the choices of soundtrack. As well as how the sonic element of the movie acts as an manipulation device for the audience to empathise with certain characters as opposed to others.
Item 7 - http://www.wmagazine.com/people/celebrities/2013/06/sofia-coppola-director-the-bling-ring-with-emma-watson/
This interview discuses themes between The Virgin Suicides and The Bling Ring and how this translated across onto the screen. It also discusses the issues related to the themes mentioned (e.g. oppression etc.) and how they are themes commonly associated with Coppola's work. The interview mentions the postmodern style of The Bling Ring and how it parodies the characters - touching upon the soundtrack by discussing irony.
Item 8 - http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/jul/04/sofia-coppola-the-bling-ring-interview
This interview with Sofia Coppola is incredibly helpful as it discusses the themes of The Bling Ring and how it relates to alienation and misunderstanding. The article also discusses misconceptions of the characters from The Bling Ring and how they can be seen as vapid/superficial - however there is a sense of sympathy you feel for them as stated by Coppola. The issues with popular and celebrity culture is also discussed and how teenagers have become absorbed within this society. This relating to post modernism through the use of creating satire out of true events, as well as the creation of the highlighted films through the use of celebrity culture and the worlds obsession with fame.
Item 9 - http://www.macleans.ca/authors/brian-d-johnson/the-female-gaze-francis-ha-and-the-bling-ring/
This article discusses the common themes through Coppola movies as well as commenting on the directors style of work - creating style over substance. It also mentions how there is an evident struggle is creating sympathy for the characters in The Bling Ring - this differing from her previous work. It also discusses the issues regarding the characters and Coppola's efforts to make the audience have a lack of empathy for the characters and instead emphasise the celebrity driven, vapid and self obsessed world in which the teens live in. It also mentions how Coppola's disapproval is evident in the film due to the heightened focus on superficiality however with elements of sympathy towards the character of Marc Hall. This article is useful as it directly discusses Coppola's style deconstructs the subjects for who they are and why they are that way, through this she creates empathy for perhaps the people who deserve empathy the least. I will use this when discussing the auteur theory in regards to Coppola and how she always creates empathy for protagonists through soundtrack and cinematography.
Item 10 - http://www.empireonline.com/features/sofia-coppola-on-sofia-coppola/p5
This article involves a one on one interview with Coppola in which she discusses her work over her career as well as discussing the graphic elements that go into the title screens - although this is perhaps irrelevant she discusses how The Bling Rings title screen is to emphasise the obnoxious lifestyles of the characters. She also mentions how the soundtrack in Marie Antoinette is contemporary which allows a more modern portrayal of the Queen but does not deposition viewers. It also mentions how although there was as struggle in sympathising with characters from The Bling Ring, she did create vast sympathy for the character of Nick Prugo (commonly commented on). She also discusses how The Virgin Suicides is aesthetic/soundtrack focussed but distances itself from 'teen movies' due to the focus on cinematography.
Item 11 - http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9901EEDE1E31F932A15757C0A9669C8B63
This discusses how The Virgin Suicides is a postmodern text by the use of cinematography to create a 70's style aesthetic however featuring a soundtrack by rock group Air which at the time was contemporary music therefore placing it in a more present time. It also discusses the use of the soundtrack and how it emphasises the key themes of alienation. It also mentions how Coppola's use of images and song have an aura of authenticity. As well as mentioning the bands used and how their music once was used as songs that spoke directly to the heart - emphasising the use of music for the characters voices. This article will be extremely useful for my argument due to the discussion of authenticity.
Item 12 - https://thedissolve.com/features/movie-of-the-week/1076-the-virgin-suicides-is-a-window-into-sofia-coppola/
This article explores into detail the themes presented in Coppola movies and how there are deeper meanings to all of her films. It discusses the use of windows in her films and suggests how they show a struggle between the interior and exterior worlds. It also discusses the strong emphasis on items as opposed to dialogue and instead how the mise-en-scene speaks to the audience. This article is effective as it discusses the themes of oppression, misunderstanding and isolation in Marie Antoinette as well as The Virgin Suicides & The Bling Ring. This will help me due to discussion of themes but also how cinematic styles are utilised in order to show certain connotations but also speak for the characters. This focussing on the post modernistic style that Coppola utilises through showing a division between interior & exterior and the metaphoric representation of windows.
Item 13 - http://www.dga.org/Craft/DGAQ/All-Articles/1302-Spring-2013/Sofia-Coppola.aspx
This interview was extremely helpful as it discusses all aspects of Coppola's work - including themes and the use of soundtrack. It also discusses how the soundtrack anchors the themes of any Coppola movie but also suggests how her work is centralised around the soundtrack. She also mentions the difference in soundtrack from The Virgin Suicides to The Bling Ring and how this allowed her to emphasise the vast difference in characters - despite the themes still being extremely similar.
Item 14 - http://www.elle.com/culture/music/news/a18668/sofia-coppola-film-soundtracks/
This article from fashion giant Elle discusses the use of soundtrack across Coppola's career and how the music is more ignorant than dialogue in a Coppola movie. It also mentions different songs used in her movies and the emotions the have conveyed during the scene - discussing how the soundtrack often is an acting voice of the characters. This point extremely useful for my argument due to the discussion of soundtrack and how it acts as an emotional manipulator. Again she mentions how she used the soundtrack in The Bling Ring to heighten the superficiality and often parody the teens - e.g. the 'Bad Girls' car scene.
Item 15 - http://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/25159/1/what-you-didn-t-know-about-the-virgin-suicides-soundtrack
This article is an interview with the band Air and how their music affected the the tone of the movie. It also discusses how the creation of the soundtrack emphasised the dark theme of death. It also mentions how they altered the sound of their music to suit a darker tone for the movie whilst also acting as a voice for the teenagers. It again mentions the issues of oppression and feeling trapped which are key themes to The Virgin Suicides. This article is useful due to it being an actual first hand interview with the creators of the songs for the soundtrack, it discusses their direction of the music and how Coppola used their music to create an overriding dark tone for the movie.
Item 16 - http://www.avclub.com/article/lets-examine-visual-aesthetic-sofia-coppolas-work-217164
This article discusses the in-depth relationship the soundtrack has with the creation and overall delivery of the themes in Coppola movies. From discussing the ongoing battle between worlds and sub-cultures - evident in The Bling Ring. It again comments on the overall aesthetic of her movies and how she often created 'dreamscape' scenes which are the platform for the dark themes. The article also suggests how the soundtrack often suggests how the characters are trying to find themselves within the world they live in and the constant battle with misunderstanding.
Item 17 - http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/marie-antoinette-2006
This review argues in favour for Marie Antoinette, suggesting that the artistic and stylistic approach carefully emphasised the romanticism of the movie as well as the issues of loneliness. It directly discusses how the soundtrack has often been criticised due to contemporary pop overlay. However it does defend the use of contemporary soundtrack by suggesting that the main character of Antoinette is perhaps a teenager out of her time. It projects an understanding of initial criticisms however mainly focussing on the positive aspects of the movie, as well as the way the soundtrack and cinematography portrayed Marie Antoinette. This review possess a great argument for my presentation due to the understanding of teenage angst in a Coppola movie but also how the soundtrack acts positively for the movie as opposed to against in - in terms of being an original post modern fairytale as opposed to a recycled period piece. This complimenting the post modernism theory as a subject.
Books
Item 18 - Postmodern Hollywood: What's New in Film and Why it Makes Us Feel So Strange - M. Keith Booker (Page 57)
This book directly discusses the use of music, mise-en-scene and characters within Marie Antoinette and how it is a post-modern fairytale focussing on the life of the French Queen. It also suggests that the film is merely a metaphor for celebrity culture intertwined in a historical drama. This book is also helpful as it discusses how the contemporary music effectively blurs the lines between the historical accuracy and creates an absence of romance, instead creating isolation. This source is extremely beneficial wand useful for discussing post modernism as a subject as it explores all realms of post modernism.
Item 19 - Postmodernism: A Very Short Introduction - Christopher Butler (Page 15)
This book discusses the post modernism theory as a whole and suggests that it perhaps is only used as a style as opposed to creating any meaning. The criticism regarding creating a superficial and obnoxious appearance will work well with my argument as The Bling Ring central themes include creating a superficial environment for its audience through soundtrack and cinematography. The book also suggests that post modernism is simply a style for movies - Coppola not fitting into a single genre as she mainly creates postmodernist movies focussing on soundtrack as opposed to dialogue and character development.
Item 20 - Cultural Theory And Popular Culture - John Storey (Page 158)
This book discusses how post modernism can be viewed as the death of originality and individualism. Again suggesting that postmodernism is simply a style/label as opposed to a art form. It also mentions how post modernism can be considered to be the death of culture. As well as suggesting that it is a pastiche as opposed to a parody as historical and cultural pieces are diluted to simply a showcase of style as opposed to accuracy. This relatable to Marie Antoinette as it could be argued that Coppola suffered historical accuracy for style and art direction in order to comply to her post-modern auteur style.
Video
Item 21 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7hJGil4jmo
A promotional interview with actress Kirsten Dunst (Marie Antoinette) and director Sofia Coppola discussing how Dunst prepared for the role as well as how she related to Antoinette. It also discusses the New Romantics style of soundtrack and how the soundtrack evoked feeling and emphasises the select themes. But also mentioning how it was a post modern style due to the contemporary soundtrack distancing itself from a traditional period piece.
Audio
Item 22 - The Directors Series: Sofia Coppola - DVD Empire.com's Team Video Podcast (30th January)
This podcast discusses the atmosphere and themes in Coppola movies specifically focussing on the soundtrack and the cinematography. As well as how Coppola showcases dark themes such as suicide and how the soundtrack connotes these themes effectively in all of her films. As the main focus of a Coppola movie is the soundtrack and score - however it does discuss how she also films 'quiet' scenes and how that creates power for the themes through the absence of sound. It again discusses the contemporary soundtrack in Marie Antoinette, how it emphasises the scene as well as suiting the subject matter e.g. using the song 'I Want Candy' during the shopping scene. Again mentioning the use of silence and how it shifts the overall tone of the movie.
The Virgin Suicide (1:20 - 7:29)
Marie Antoinette (15:23 - 24:24)
Images
Item 23 - http://cdn2.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/675x380/2013/05/sofia_coppola_.jpg
An image of the focus auteur Sofia Coppola to provide visual stimuli for my presentation script.
Item 24 - http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/marieantoinette2006feature/assets/images/onesheet.jpg
An image of the Marie Antoinette movie poster to provide visual stimuli for my presentation script.
Item 25 - http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02559/bling-ring-poster_2559383c.jpg
An image of The Bling Ring movie poster to provide visual stimuli for my presentation script.
Item 26 - http://www.impawards.com/2000/virgin_suicides_ver2.html
An image of The Virgin Suicides movie poster to provide visual stimuli for my presentation script.
Rejected
Item - Somewhere (2010)
I rejected this movie as there was a predominant focus upon the male gaze theory as opposed to post modernism, this movie focussed upon the boredom of an actor in the numbing Hollywood lifestyle - pop culture being a dominant theme in Coppola movies. It also showcases the issue of existential crisis that the main protagonist Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff) is experiencing as how his daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning) provides a sense of escapism for him. I chose not to use this movie as Coppola did not create any ounce of sympathy for the main protagonist due to his level of success therefore it was difficult to apply my research to this movie. Complaints regarding this movie included the repetitive nature of Coppola movies and how there was heavy influence from her previous effort Lost In Translation.
Item - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH4vaTKTgXw
I rejected this as it predominantly discussed set design and sound within her other film 'Somewhere' and therefore did not apply to the chosen focus film. She also discussed her father Francis Ford Coppola as well as tips for aspiring film makers.
Item - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKmBRgmFLQ0
This was not used as it mainly discussed the screenplay as well as actors such as Emma Watson. It also discusses the original Nancy Jo Sales article and having Paris Hilton in the film. It briefly touches upon sound but this information was already discussed in Item 6.
Item - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SR2K8ugJC4
This interview primarily discussed her inspiration behind The Bling Ring as well as casting - rehearsal techniques were also mentioned. She did however discuss cinematography and the choice of using digital as opposed to film as it heightened the technology aspect of the film.
Item - http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/apr/30/the-bling-ring-trashy-inaccurate
This simply discusses the reaction and criticisms of the movie from one of the actual Bling Ring members Alexis Neiers. Therefore not having any relevance towards the question/title.
Item - http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2006/11/fraser200611
This had no significance to my studies as it documented the writers time on the set of Marie Antoinette as well as her experiences with Sofia Coppola. It also documented her criticisms of the sound as she did not understand the use of modern music in a period piece.
Item - http://gandt.blogs.brynmawr.edu/web-papers/web-papers-2/its-a-mans-world-the-male-gaze-and-the-film-industry/
Although this article does discuss the male gaze in Hollywood, briefly touching upon Coppola. it does however only discuss 'Lost In Translation' in relation to Scarlett Johansson's character and therefore was not applicable to my studies.
Audio
Item 22 - The Directors Series: Sofia Coppola - DVD Empire.com's Team Video Podcast (30th January)
This podcast discusses the atmosphere and themes in Coppola movies specifically focussing on the soundtrack and the cinematography. As well as how Coppola showcases dark themes such as suicide and how the soundtrack connotes these themes effectively in all of her films. As the main focus of a Coppola movie is the soundtrack and score - however it does discuss how she also films 'quiet' scenes and how that creates power for the themes through the absence of sound. It again discusses the contemporary soundtrack in Marie Antoinette, how it emphasises the scene as well as suiting the subject matter e.g. using the song 'I Want Candy' during the shopping scene. Again mentioning the use of silence and how it shifts the overall tone of the movie.
The Virgin Suicide (1:20 - 7:29)
Marie Antoinette (15:23 - 24:24)
Images
Item 23 - http://cdn2.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/675x380/2013/05/sofia_coppola_.jpg
An image of the focus auteur Sofia Coppola to provide visual stimuli for my presentation script.
Item 24 - http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/marieantoinette2006feature/assets/images/onesheet.jpg
An image of the Marie Antoinette movie poster to provide visual stimuli for my presentation script.
Item 25 - http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02559/bling-ring-poster_2559383c.jpg
An image of The Bling Ring movie poster to provide visual stimuli for my presentation script.
Item 26 - http://www.impawards.com/2000/virgin_suicides_ver2.html
An image of The Virgin Suicides movie poster to provide visual stimuli for my presentation script.
Rejected
Item - Somewhere (2010)
I rejected this movie as there was a predominant focus upon the male gaze theory as opposed to post modernism, this movie focussed upon the boredom of an actor in the numbing Hollywood lifestyle - pop culture being a dominant theme in Coppola movies. It also showcases the issue of existential crisis that the main protagonist Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff) is experiencing as how his daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning) provides a sense of escapism for him. I chose not to use this movie as Coppola did not create any ounce of sympathy for the main protagonist due to his level of success therefore it was difficult to apply my research to this movie. Complaints regarding this movie included the repetitive nature of Coppola movies and how there was heavy influence from her previous effort Lost In Translation.
Item - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH4vaTKTgXw
I rejected this as it predominantly discussed set design and sound within her other film 'Somewhere' and therefore did not apply to the chosen focus film. She also discussed her father Francis Ford Coppola as well as tips for aspiring film makers.
Item - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKmBRgmFLQ0
This was not used as it mainly discussed the screenplay as well as actors such as Emma Watson. It also discusses the original Nancy Jo Sales article and having Paris Hilton in the film. It briefly touches upon sound but this information was already discussed in Item 6.
Item - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SR2K8ugJC4
This interview primarily discussed her inspiration behind The Bling Ring as well as casting - rehearsal techniques were also mentioned. She did however discuss cinematography and the choice of using digital as opposed to film as it heightened the technology aspect of the film.
Item - http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/apr/30/the-bling-ring-trashy-inaccurate
This simply discusses the reaction and criticisms of the movie from one of the actual Bling Ring members Alexis Neiers. Therefore not having any relevance towards the question/title.
Item - http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2006/11/fraser200611
This had no significance to my studies as it documented the writers time on the set of Marie Antoinette as well as her experiences with Sofia Coppola. It also documented her criticisms of the sound as she did not understand the use of modern music in a period piece.
Item - http://gandt.blogs.brynmawr.edu/web-papers/web-papers-2/its-a-mans-world-the-male-gaze-and-the-film-industry/
Although this article does discuss the male gaze in Hollywood, briefly touching upon Coppola. it does however only discuss 'Lost In Translation' in relation to Scarlett Johansson's character and therefore was not applicable to my studies.
No comments:
Post a Comment