Visual Culture. Case studies

Introduction

In the context of modern societal trends, visual culture should be considered as one of the integral parts of any person's life. Every human now involuntarily exists in a huge field of visuality, perceiving visual images both consciously and not. In modern reality, we also can observe how the progress of many types of visual practices, theories, codes, and techniques taking a significant part of their functions. Visual culture and all its practices began to come out forward of textual materials in perceiving and transmitting any information and narratives. Our visual perception is also becoming influenced by many factors such as visuality, sounds, technologies, and media.

During the course of Visual Culture, we were able to learn and discuss all the related theories and practices used in the progress and analysis of visual medium form. In this portfolio, I will try to stop on significant theories and ideas that were introduced to us during our course program, and try to relate all the main topics from readings that we had to the case studies that we watched and analyzed in our lectures and compare them to the case studies of my own choice.  

Gaze theories. Oppositional gaze in “Game of Thrones”

The case study that we saw during one of our lectures was the film called Rafiki (2018).[1] It is a film-featured story about a queer love between two young girls in Africa with a so-called hopefully happy ending. The film was actually restricted several times in Africa because of its happy ending that according to the government, gave people a visual affirmation of same-sex relationships’ possibility in Africa, and went against the state’s heterosexual norms.

Despite all restrictions and difficulties that film production faced again, the film won several awards and was transmitted quite well in different cinemas and festivals. In accordance with the readings that we had, the narrative of the film can be related to bell hook’s theory of oppositional gaze, and the theories of queer gaze by Lyn Johnstone.  The main reason for connection with theories is that there is a discourse of homonationalism that was employed to the film by politicians and other religious figures in order to exclude queer people from the “imagination of the nation”.

Rafiki challenged these settled patterns of heteronormativity by including the visual narratives of same-sex love, allowing people to imagine queer habitation through different visual scenes in the film. They exemplified the queer utopic gaze through the scenes like Kena’s glances at Ziki, the scenes in the old van that were used as a queer utopic space where no one could disturb them, and where all these glimpses, touches, and other acts between two lovers were allowed and not judged. The rooftop scene, nightclubs, and lakes also illustrated the queer utopic spaces.

The happy ending of the film may be interpreted differently by viewer’s vision or point. The figure of Ziki was not completely clear in the end which may be just an imagination of Kena as it was in the scene with sunset when Kena imagined Ziki sitting next to her instead of her male friend Blaeksta. [2]

In comparison to Rafiki, the popular TV series called Games of Thrones (2011-2019) is a case study of my own take which I related to some characteristics of the Oppositional gaze theory by bell hooks.[3] First of all, these series have some features of the both female and male gaze where women and men in some scenes are sexualized by illustrating the features of masculinity and femininity. Additionally, compared with the original novels, there are some cases when female leader characters possessing political power in a story were completely replaced by new male characters or the depiction of women possessing power was only through men. Even though the women are illustrated not equally, there are considered to be elements related to femininity in power through the visualization of leadership positions of female characters. However, frequently all the leader female characters in these series are white women, whereas the black female characters mostly play the second roles, for instance as servants of white female characters, as it was usually made in the past when in movies black woman was associated with concepts of  Mammy, like in the movie Gone with the Wind (1939).  

The role of non-linear narratives in complex storytelling

According to Caldwell, the binary categorization simplicity/complexity is one of the significant practices that helps to evaluate and interpret the TV landscape. Complexity is usually regarded as a higher category than simplicity in current television, whereas simplicity is usually used as a counterpoint to it. In comparison to complexity, simplicity is usually paid less attention by scholars, and it is often associated with the more negative and unfashionable criterion for value. [4]

The sitcom Friends (1994-2004) is interpreted as a case study of simplicity.[5] The episodic sitcom focuses on single topics in each series, so it is not necessary to watch all previous episodes to understand the narrative of the series. Whereas Mad Men (2007-2015) includes complex narratives, which means that it has complex storytelling in it and is associated with complexity and all its aesthetic values.[6] All episodes are closely connected to each other, and it is hard to understand the whole story without watching the previous series. Some parts of the series are difficult to understand, and the ending of the episode that we watched during the lecture can be interpreted in different ways.

However, nowadays scholars try to change the perception of simplicity as a negative criterion for valuing television and other visual images. Simplicity as complexity should be valued equally because simplicity does not mean that it has no positive and highly aesthetic features. In the episodes of Friends, we sometimes can see the usage of non-linear storytelling, like analepsis, the flashbacks of characters to a particular period of time. The complex narratives with deep emotional and psychological topics are also illustrated in some episodes.  Similar things that can be mentioned in Mad Men are scenes where one of the interpretations of its ending uses prolepsis that moves the time backward and flashforward or the scene with photos on the Kodak wheel that illustrates complex narratives related to the deep feelings of character like nostalgia.[7] In Friends, we also can accept characters as relatable characters which provides us feel of comfort because of the related issues, feelings, and behavior that these characters play.

The movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind directed by Michel Gondry in 2004 can also be an example of complex narrativity.[8] The visuality of film is completely shaped by the non-linear complex storytelling with sometimes no clear transition between the different periods of the time in the film, showing characters in several periods of time using analepsis and prolepsis there. The plot actually interrupts the time and space within reality, so viewers may be a little bit confused from time to time. Moreover, the character played by Jim Kerry is the only totally introduced character to the viewer, which also can mean that the viewer may see the subjective worldview of the character through his perspective. The audiovisual narrative in this film also plays an important role. For instance, it is sometimes hard to understand the clear image of analepsis or prolepsis due to the sound bridges used in it that blur it all together. This fragmented spatial-time reality visualized in the film makes the visual narrative complex.  

Identification of puppets in animation

But Milk is important (2012) is a short stop-motion animated film that used puppets as the main material to create this animation.[9] The puppets in the film can be identified as particular characters because of their human-like behavior and movements. The film’s condensation also illustrate narrative with the deep feelings and the issues that the characters of animation are faced with. The puppets evoke the reliable feelings of the spectator towards them because of the narrativity. For instance, the puppet man who has met the fluffy white creature is identified with a human who has mental, and non-verbal conditions such as social anxiety, and mental illness. The creature is helping a man through all the animation to win these anxieties, which may evoke the spectator to feel relevant to the man.[10]  The puppets in animation are actually the materials that physically exist, so it also gives an impact on animation’s visual aesthetics. It gives visuality of the handmade technique in stop-motion film at the same time illustrating its high quality in use.

In contrast to it, the animated film Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) is not a short animation, but a whole animated stop-motion film by Wes Anderson.[11] It is an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s original novel written for children. The film also used puppets as the main material to create characters showing also diverse usage of visual features in order to create the film’s narrative and meaning. The puppets of animal characters are personified with greater human-like behavior and traits like the ability to talk, possess personality, wear clothes, have jobs, etc. whereas in contrast to it, the puppets of “real humans”, farmers in the film, are sometimes depicted as more animalistic and wilder. The narrative of the film also relates to the deep themes and feelings of the characters. For instance, the wolf can be identified as the wild nature, the true wild animal that Mr. Fox desires to be so much, but at the same time, the wolf is the phobia of Mr. Fox that he tries to win. The animals also may visualize existential problems, because most of them are visualized as civilized characters, who still have the features of their true wild nature that can be seen in some scenes of the animation. The whole story of animation illustrates the journey to self-recognition and acceptance of identity, which also gives the viewer reliable feelings toward the characters.

The production crew of the animated film also wanted to make spectators feel that this animation is a stop-motioned film that has its strange and not always visually perfect sides, and to show that the materials used in it are handmade. Additionally, when creating the puppets, the director paid attention to who would voice them, so that most key characters have their own visual and non-visual features related to the actors who voiced them. For instance, the Rat which was voiced by Willem Defoe influentially turned out to be a sarcastic and dangerous half-psychic, as well as an ambiguous and outstanding character like many characters that actors played in real life.  

Films’ relation to the International Film Festivals’ programs

Hedgehog’s home is an animated stop-motion film created by Eva Cvijanovic.[12] The narrative of the animation tells the story of a hedgehog and his love for his own ordinary house. This story may illustrate the love of the homeland against the critique of current capitalist culture. The visual aspects of the film illustrated the usage of puppets as the main material, which also showed the handmade technique of creating this animation. The background scenes are also made of physical materials, and they could share the visuals with comfort and a warm atmosphere. The voices of actors who narrated the animation also added impact for creating a mood for the film.

Hedgehog’s home had won many different awards from different international film festivals. One of them was the Annecy International Animated Film Festival where this animated film won the category of “Young Audience Award” in 2017. The festival is competition based and transmits animated films of different techniques such as feature films, short films, films produced for advertising, student films, etc. The category won by this short animation is included in the festival’s program each year with many other categories illustrating the diversity of film choices that viewers can watch. Qualitative Success Factors of the animation may also be related to the wide range of different aged audiences because this short film is appropriate for both children and adults.[13]

The South Korean movie Parasites directed by Bong Joon Ho had also won many different awards from international film festivals and Academy awards like the Oscars in 2019.[14]  It was one of the first non-English films that could win an Oscar at this Academy. But before it, the film also participated in the Cannes Festival where it won Palme d'Or in 2019. The Cannes World Film Festival is also a competition based and includes seven jury members from different cultural fields such as film production, music, art, etc. Cannes includes diverse genres in its program, and also focuses on different topics in films like political, social, and educational themes. The film Parasites can relate to such topics because of its narrative which arises the social issues of different social statuses or classes of people and their lives in current times. Before winning an Oscar, the movie was well-boosted at the international level by festival through the Red-Carpet event, and so on. The Festival also gives access to other different events such as Q&A sessions with filmmakers, masterclasses, and exhibitions, which also can be used as a good marketing strategy to promote not only films and filmmakers but also the festival itself. [15]

Bingeable features of TV series and films

After the finish of Twin Peaks in 1991, its popularity became even bigger than it was.[16] Instead of the planned nine episodes in a season, it continued with eighteen episodes which most fans of Twin Peaks called an 18-hour movie in order to distinguish it from the serial medium. Considering Twin Peaks from a visual perspective, this serial drama really does not look like a parody of soap operas, because it includes a huge mix of different genres, stories, and atmospheres at the same time.

Twin Peaks is also one of the most bingeable shows ever in the history of television. The features that made it bingeable to watch vary and include different aspects. For instance, the reruns of Twin Peaks involved the desire of viewers to re-experience and consume more episodes in one sitting by using cliffhangers. Sometimes the hiatus made between seasons to develop the future project was also used as a marketing strategy to influence spectators to consume and binge-watch the series. The anticipation of new seasons brought viewers to the desire to re-watch DVDs and reruns in order to catch up on all the missed things in episodes until the new one will be available. [17]

Sitcom The Office was also one of the cult TV series in the early 2000s and also was one of the shows that are extremely bingeable due to the short lengths of its episodes and narratives relatable to the spectator.[18] The show ended in 2012 but its popularity is still current even now and the fan audience of the sitcom is still increasing. The bingeability of the show increased during the period when it became available on Netflix. Moreover, the main popularity of the show in the 2000s also increased with the help of iTunes when they promoted their show during one of their showcases. It also helped to shape the target audience of the show and its fanbase, which surprisingly were young people, or students, not people in their middle ages who work at the office and could relate to the characters of the show.

Conclusion

To sum up, I can tell how wide the spectrum of Visual Culture can actually be. Before starting this course, I had a very narrow understanding of what visual culture may consist of, how it can be analyzed and which techniques can be used in it. The theories related to the gaze gave me knowledge of how characters in the movies, their features, and their acts can be interpreted through the prism of significant political, and social issues. The importance of narrative and the techniques used to illustrate and value the story also take a significant part in understanding and analyzing the visual culture. In general, it was very interesting to know how different visual cases can be analyzed in accordance with the theories, and how media platforms and festivals can be used not only to promote their labels, but also to use different marketing strategies to market visual materials, visual mediums like films, and TV series as products for consumption. Moreover, how transmedia can target different audiences and even make visual forms into cults with a huge fanbase, and how it changed throughout history were new knowledge that I perceived during the studying of Visual Culture course. Even though there still might be themes that I did not understand correctly or widely, the course helped me to broaden my horizons of knowledge about visual culture a little bit forward.

References:

[1] Rafiki (Wanuri Kahiu, 2018, Kenya).

[2] Johnstone, Lyn. ‘Queer Worldmaking in Wanuri Kahiu’s Film Rafiki’, in: Journal of African Cultural Studies, Vol. 33, No. 1 (2021), 39-50: 39-42, 46-47.

[3] Game of Thrones (David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, 2011-2019, US, UK).

[4] Cardwell, Sarah, Jonathan Bignell and Lucy Fife Donaldson (eds). ‘Introduction: complexity/simplicity’, in: Moments in Television: Complexity / simplicity (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2022), 1-15: 2.

[5] Friends (David Crane and Marta Kauffman, 1994-2004, US).

[6] Mad Men, ‘The Wheel’, S01E13 (AMC 2007-2015).

[7] Butter, Michael. ‘Think Thrice, It’s Alright: Mad Men’s “The Wheel” and the Future Study of Television Narratives’, in: Narrative, Vol. 25, No. 3 (October 2017), 374-389: 385-387.

[8] Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004, US).

[9] But Milk Is Important (Eirik Grønmo Bjørnsen and Anna Mantzaris, 2012, NO).

[10] Batkin, Jane. ‘Introduction’, in: Identity in Animation (London and New York: Routledge, 2017), 1-7: 2.

[11] Fantastic Mr. Fox (Wes Anderson, 2009, US, UK).

[12] Hedgehog’s Home (Eva Cvijanović, 2017, Canada, Croatia).

[13] Bosma, Peter. ‘Curating Film Theatres’, in: Film Programming: Curating for Cinemas, Festivals, Archives (Short Cuts, Wallflower Press, University of Columbia Press, 2015), 51-67: 52.

[14] Parasites (Bong Joon Ho, 2019, South Korea).

[15] Bosma, Peter. ‘Curating Film Theatres’, in: Film Programming: Curating for Cinemas, Festivals, Archives (Short Cuts, Wallflower Press, University of Columbia Press, 2015), 51-67: 66.

[16] Twin Peaks (Mark Frost and David Lynch, 1990-1991, 2017, US).

[17] Jenner, Mareike. ‘Introduction’, in: Binge-watching and Contemporary Television Studies (Edinburgh University Press, 2021), 1-19: 7-9.

[18] The Office (NBC 2005-2013).

Student of al-Farabi KazNU, Cultural studies, 4th year
Zhansaya Dossymbetova
Научный руководитель: Есекеева Э.Ф.

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