Captain Fantastic: Ending Scene

 Throughout the film, there has been an ongoing conflict between Ben and Jack.  Jack is more used to the traditional American lifestyle while Ben is living the alternate lifestyle in the wilderness. At the end of the film, this has been resolved as they both get what they want. Jack wins as the children are now safe with them living with Ben at a farm house and Jack get's his children back after Jack was going to file for custody over them. At the end, they are now living on a house on a farm. This is shown with the chickens in their coop and the two daughters collecting the eggs. Their is still greenery around the house which links to the beginning with them in the wilderness. This is to show even though he now lives in a house, he has not completely changed his lifestyle as they are still isolated and do not live right in the suburbs. Ben now looks like an ordinary American citizen which contrasts with him at the start with muddy clothes and a full beard. The tyres on the caravan are missing which could imply that he does not intend to leave and is intent on staying there from now on, especially since all the children are at school now and Bo has gone to college. The children are seen doing their homework and are showing a real interest in their studies which goes to show Ben was a good father and was raising them the right way. Even  the son was giving Ben his breakfast which is prove he was raised in a good way. 

There is no voiceover in this scene and no one is talking but are instead just sitting quietly and getting on with their studies.  For each child, there is a close up shot of either their homework or what they're reading wThis is a good ending and it shows the children are at school and live in a proper home which is what Jack wanted. Although, it might not of worked out for Ben as the final shot is of him looking out into the caravan perhaps to show he's going to miss his old life of living in the wilderness and traveling around but now the children are at school he knows  this is where he's gonna stay now on which is a reason for why the tires are off the caravan.

Captain Fantastic: Binary Opposites

 Traditional education vs alternate education

Ben vs Jack

Bright clothing vs Dark clothing

Traditional funeral vs Alternate funeral

Good parenting vs Bad parenting

Christian burial vs Alternate funeral

Social outsider vs Socialiser

Wilderness vs City life

Endangerment vs Protection

 

captain fantastic: Funerals

 There one is seen as the positive funeral scene as the traditional funeral in the church is not what the mother wanted but wanted her ashes to be flushed down the toilet. Even when the church scene is going on Ben and his children walk in like they own the place. The use of light behind them contrasts with the dark, saddened environment of the funeral. The light may symbolise they're sent from god save the mother from them and give her the funeral she wanted. They are wearing bright, hippy clothing which contrasts with the dark, smart suits of the others. Due to them looking like outsiders have not appropriately dressed for a funeral, Jack's children laugh at them as they walk in and everyone turns round. The difference in their clothing is the idea of traditional vs hippy. They are shown to be even more outsiders when Ben gives his speech on why they shouldn't bury her and criticises the idea of burial. His children are the only ones to laugh which shows this is not their idea of a proper funeral and is not how Ben wants it. The scene where Ben questions Jack's children and his own child on the 'Bill of Rights', Their children are ignorant. This is an example of the typical American family in modern society and reflects the flaws of the education system. Ben's daughter knows the answer and is able to explain it in her own words. The audience is supposed to be on Ben's side as before they were judging his parenting skills. At their own funeral, they wear bright clothing and are singing hymns and dancing around the campfire. This is more uplifting than traditional funeral scene where everyone's all serious and not celebrating her life the way it should be.

The allegiance is fair as we sympathise with Ben as these traditional people are burying the mother even though this is not what she wanted. As they drag him out we feel sorry for him as he was only trying to do what's best for hr and his family. Ben was only trying to fulfil his wife's dying wishes.

The contrast is saying the nature of traditional rituals are apparently wrong as Ben comments she doesn't want to be stuck inside a rotting coffin and that's why they take her body and bury her where she wants to be buried. When he criticises the traditional funeral, his children are the only ones to laugh so it makes us reason with Jack that he is not bringing them up right.

No funeral scenes shown make me feel uncomfortable as they are doing what the mother wanted them to do so although others think it's wrong, for them it is the right thing to do so they do it. Although, there is a scene that's uncomfortable which is when they dig the mother's body from the grave and carry her on the bus.

short film task

 Short film work

my short film: 'Paperman'

Its about a man trying to get the women who he met at the train station before this, getting her attention by throwing paper aeroplanes. This links to the title 'paperman'. Although it doesn't work at first all of the past paper aeroplanes guide him to her and the short film ends with them reuniting.

I think this short film develops the main character from just being some person who has an office job which he doesn't enjoy due to his horrible bosses and every other worker just as bored as he is. This then goes to him going against his bosses and using the important papers to try and get her attention. At the start he is not in a relationship but by the end after reuniting with the woman they are most likely gonna be in a relationship.

There is no dialogue in this short film so we are shown how he meets this woman without them talking but it is just as effective as we see how much she means to him. The paper aeroplane represents his affection for her and when the bosses keeps giving him dirty looks, the planes represent his heart telling his head to not listen to them. There is a beautiful soundtrack that plays over the planes guiding him towards her on the train and through the streets. This is hope for the audience telling us they're gonna see each other again. The planes represent his heart again when they guide him to her making him go back when he's  lost all hope. There is a nice use of framing when she's on the train and we see her looking back sadly. The use of the animated eyes in this film strongly displays emotion due to their eyes being big you can easily tell how that character is feeling. This is because eyes are such an important feature in animation and can be animated in different ways but can still display the same emotion and you got to be careful how you animate it so there eyes aren't displaying the wrong emotion.

I'll take inspiration from this film from the use of no dialogue as I believe this is effective when telling the story as the audience still understands what's going on and can feel their emotion whether it's through the eyes or the use of black and white screen to show how dull his life is at the beginning.

Captain Fantastic: issues and ideologies

 A scene in the film when the grandad shot an arrow at Ben, we are supposed to believe he's the one in the wrong here. This is changed when he talks about how Ben is raising his children the wrong way like how one of the kids slipped and broke his wrist. When we watched that happen it didn't feel that wrong as it's in their nature and style of living but when the grandad talks about it being child abuse we reason with him and are on his side. We change our attitudes towards Ben throughout the movie as he trains his children at the start like killing animals and climbing cliffs but through others we find what he is doing was wrong although he's not the villain in this film. We reason with Jack more about his views on Ben failing to properly look after his children when one of the daughters slips off the roof almost getting killed. Through close up shots we see Ben realising hat he's done and trying to take it all in. In the scene between Ben and Jack, there is a clear difference between them. They have different views and are shown to be different with their clothing. Ben dresses informal with his bright, unbuttoned shirt while Jack dresses formally with his buttoned up shirt and tie. Although we reason with Jack more, Ben is still doing a good job of teaching his children. An example of this is when he calls his daughter down to talk about the bill of rights. The uncle's children can't explain it well but the auntie still praises him showing the modern American family have low expectations of their children. Ben doesn't just get her to state facts but explain it in her own words which goes to show what a great teacher he is.

Religion is explored through the movie like Ben's wife is a Christian but changed to a Buddhist when she gets married to him and when the wife dies Ben say's the last thing she would of wanted was a Christian burial. When Ben say's they don't make fun of anyone, his daughter reminds him that they ''make fun of Christian's''. Both Leslie and Bo have a love of Bach whose music is supported by Christians. Ben also comments about how they don't celebrate Christmas and makes a remark about the Christmas elves.

A social issue raised in the films is the family's social norms. One of these is when the family makes Bo, the older brother kill the deer in a green camouflage. When we first see this, we are too believe he is a savage but soon realise he is part of a family who present this 'animalistic' behaviour every day. Another example of a social norm presented here is the ritual the father holds to make Bo a man for killing a deer. They also celebrate their own holiday that only that family know about and on this day is when the father gives his children weapons which is there normal. This eventually leads Jack who is the granddad to want full custody over the children after Bodivan want's this and the daughter almost breaking her neck after falling of a roof.

Rellion has a desire throughout the film to be a normal family and be like the rest of society ''Why can't we celebrate Christmas like the rest of the world''.

Parenting- They also decide that they want to stay with their Father despite him saying ''I'll ruin your lives''. We reason with Ben as we've seen how careless he can be when his daughter fell off the room just like how earlier we reasoned with Jack about Ben failing to raise his children properly. 

Gender equality- The children all perform the same tasks and taught the same skills so roles are not gendered throughout the film. However, the closing scene suggests that greater integration into mainstream society may change this as Zaja is feminised through her clothing.

The film encourages identification with Ben as when he hallucinated Ben, we see her through POV, close-up shots. However, we later align with Jack when he talks about Relian's broken arm being child abuse and later on when Vespyr falls off the roof.

Critique of contemporary American Society- One of the films tagline is 'Americans are over medicated and under educated' and when the children enter mainstream society they comment on the obesity of others around them, ''everyone is so fat'', ''are they sick?''. Jack's can't explain the Bill of Rights which shows that traditional education is failing them while alternative education for Ben's children is much more effective. The. Auntie still praises her children showing the modern American family have low expectations of their children. 

Captain Fantastic has a closed ending as in the final scene, we see them all living happily on the farm and are now all at school and studying academic subjects like quantum physics, literature but physical fitness is still valued highly. The tyres are removed from the caravan which shows that they're here to stay for good.

Anti-authority messages throughout the film including the scene where the children pretend to be a christian cult to disconcert the police officer. Recurring quotes in the film include ''Power to the people'' and ''Stick it to the Man''.

connected analysis

 In 'connected', she connected with the man on the bus non verbally whilst in the midst of an isolated experience. When she starts to touch his hand and connected with him, he is not really interested at first but a close up shot of the man now having a happy expression on his face and soon joins in and touches her hand back. Cheerful, uplifting music plays in her head when this happens. There is a dance number that plays when she finally accepts who she is and is happy with her life. An example of this is when she's swaying in and out of reality and sees her life now as a romance film.

At the start, there is grim lighting on the bus and feels claustrophobic. This unhappy music starts playing as she's getting on the bus and when she imagines that man shooting someone on the bus it shows she wants something more in her life and is tired of the life she is living at this moment. This ends when she interacts with the man and even though he is gone by the end she now feels a new purpose in life. Her having headphones on suggests she's switching off from reality and getting pushed to the back of the que  tells us she's an outsider and she's 'out of it'. At the end, there is now a happy expression on her face contrasted with the sad, gloomy expression on her face at the start which is no more.

Connected enigma code work

 

Narrative Feature	Example	Your own example
Feature Establishing protagonist - what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	In just 5 mins - the entire running time - we see two sides to the Girl. Firstly, that she is disillusioned with city life: shoved out the way as she boards the bus, and fantasising about a businessman assassinating an elderly lady to steal her seat. Her ‘connection’ with the man, and the imagined dance routine, also show her romantic side, her optimism, and her ability to see beauty in a dreary commute	We first see the women about to board the bus but is getting pushed out the way by the others boarding that she ends up being the last to board the bus. She is imaging a man shooting someone In the head and a dance routine.
Establishing other characters - what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	His exhausted posture; then his shy smiles and gentle flirtation with the Girl suggest the Man is a kindred spirit: also worn down by city life… but able to recognise and take opportunities for connection.	The man she is flirting with eventually flirts back when he gently touches her hand in response to her doing it. He is connecting with her as at first he seems withdrawal.
Establishing location (time and place) - what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	The Oyster card reader and bus interior are familiar to any Londoner, though the lack of dialogue and exterior locations suggest this could be set during the commute (many of the passengers are wearing work clothes) in any city, in any country (enhanced by the racial diversity)	On the bus somewhere in London. This could be people coming back from work in the rush hour which explains why she is shoved to the back because of all these people.
Creating Enigmas - what are they? How are they created?	When the Asian businessman pulls out a gun, we wonder if this journey will turn into a crime drama.	The enigma starts when the man pulls out a gun and shoots the other person in the head. You would think it’s a crime but as everyone was calm and no one reacted to it we assume it is taking place in her imagination.
What enigmas are created near the end of the film?		The second enigma is why here is a dance number out of nowhere. It could mean it’s turned into a musical number.
Narrative binary oppositions	Isolation vs Connection; Exhaustion at city life vs Optimism (as seen in the final musical sequence)	Gloomy vs cheerful. When she gets on the bus she looks exhausted but by the end even though the man she met left, she is now seeing the positive side to life.
Crisis - how was this conveyed?	The first contact between the Girl and the Man - tentative brushing of fingers filmed in CU
Resolution - is it closed or open narrative?	Though the Man departs without further communication with the Girl there is a sense that her optimism has been renewed… and that perhaps they will meet again on this journey	The resolution is that the man she was flirting with has gone she is still happy and ends with the  the dance number.

 

Meaning and Effect: 

Meaning/Effect	Example	Your own thoughts
What did you think was the intention of the filmmaker(s)? Intellectual message? Emotional response?	Even in the bustling, unfriendly city connections (however tentative and fleeting) can be made. There is a beauty as well as hostility in the dreariest situation	That just a bus journey can change your whole perspective on life as she went on looking gloomy and tired of life but ended with the happy dance number and her feeling more confident after she met that man.
How was the response/intellectual message best achieved?	The fantasy sequences the girl imagines are shot as if they are real, showing how ‘solid’ her mental states are. Is the connection with the Man also imagined?	The emotional response was when her and the man were gently touching each other's hand as this is when she started feeling more confident in herself.
Aesthetic binary oppositions	Interestingly, there is no aesthetic difference between the real and fantasy sequences.

Establishing characters, setting, plot, theme           My film will have a character who to begins with the character having a poor mental health but by the end is happy with herself.

Creating enigma                       Making the audience believe the genre has been changed like in connected but is actually not happening and it's instead in a dream sequence.

Narrative structure: Open ending when the character becomes happier and is a different person at the end to the beginning.

Use of technical features: No dialogue but showing it without any dialogue can be just as effective.