ELBISREVERRI: A reaction on Irreversible

Honestly, the film Irreversible is very disturbing to me. There were scenes that include violence, sex, and rape. Ar first, I was confused with the movie because the story is unclear to me. Until I realized in the middle of the film showing that the story is reversed, they showed the ending of the show first. It amazes me that the title of the film corresponds to the way the film was edited, it is indeed, irreversible. Although, I felt kinda dizzy while watching the film because of the camera movements.

The story revolves how Alex, the main female lead, was raped in the tunnel while she is about to cross the other side of the street. It was disturbing for me because the rape scene was shocking and horrifying. It moved my feelings as a female. I pity Alex in that situation because she was utterly helpless and deeply sexually abused. Even more intolerable is the scene where a man saw the raping scene and just did nothing.

There was also the murder scene which I did not dare to look because of it's bloody death elements. One can not imagine how a man would die because of a fire extinguisher.  Though it tries to achieve the feminist outlook, it turned out to be a homophobic film. The film was overall disorienting and shockingly violent specially the rape scene which runs for 9 minutes.

The film was entitled irreversible because the story was shown backwards. Through the use of a dizzying form of editing and camera movement, it tries to bring the audience back in time just like in the movie Memento. I would not recommend to watch this film because it certainly will give you goosebumps and will only lead you to the story of Alex's shockingly, sinful, painful experience of physical and sexual abuse.

 

Reaction on the course

Upon my three months stay in CNM102, I have learned many ideas and topics about films, specifically the different types of film theories. We tackled structuralism, apparatus theory, male gaze theory, semiotics, marxist theory, feminist film theory and many more. Sir Jamal's teaching device of showing us award-winning films in the past, taught us how to criticize different films and the film theories behind them. 

This subject is very helpful to me because it gives me foundation and preparation in making good movies in the future. Just like what the "auteur theory" states that good movies do not depend on the editing, but upon the auteur or director's concept of the story. I can apply the different film theories that I learned when the time comes that we will be required to make film production on our own.

Some of the films that we watched including their respective film theories:

TRAINSPOTTING

Realist film theory

PARADISE NOW

Realist theory and Marxist film theory

MATRIX

Formalist Film theory

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

Queer theory

Women's body power in Philippine Sex Melodramas

Women's body are usually the object of desire in Philippine sex melodramas. They use their body as their advantage, giving them power over the other characters. Not only women are subjects of desire in her partner, but also, according to the article, they are "active and are movers of the narrative". Usually, women in films have a stereotyped of being sexually attractive and desirable to her opposed gender. They are connotated of being involved in love and sexuality, therefore, they use their body to get what they need. Example of this is when a woman wants to get something from a man, she will use her body to tempt the man to have sex with her and eventually gets whats she needs in the end. Women's portrayal in films give them power, using her women-ship as her advantage in improving her circumstances.

Sex is usually the central theme in Philippine melodramas. It is connected with the Male Gaze theory, where men are usually the "peeping toms", while women, actually are just the object of desire. 

Most of the films that we have today include sex scenes between a male and female character. Although it is not very much pornographic compared to the bomba films in the time of Marcos, the idea of women's body power still remains today. Take for example the Filipino film entitled "No other woman", which was screened last 2012. Anne uses her body and sexuality to tempt Derek Ramsay, who is married to another woman. Both the female character, Anne and Christine, fights over Derek by using their body and sexual appearance. 

1970's when films that are connected to sex and violence continues to rise up. These are movies which are called "bomba films", which is the soft porn in the Philippine cinema. Movies such as Scorpio Nights, Uhaw, Hayok and many others are the examples of these. Nudity is not only the focus in Philippine sex melodrama, but it is also about women's experience, how women contribute to the story of the film, thus, making them the "movers of the narrative."

  

Structuralism: the language system of cinema

According to Ferdinand de Saussure, words have no intrinsic surface meaning, for the meanings of such words can only be ascertained by virtue of the relation between a word's difference from all other words. Meaning, you cannot identify the meaning of a single word, without the next word. Words need to have pattern in order to generate the complete thought of that word. That theory in the language system is similar to the structuralism theory in film. 

We can generate that a single shot cannot have an entirely complete thought without the next succeeding shots. They are connected together in order to have a meaning. For example, a combination of shots can create an idea. Even if there is no meaning given to the scene, the sequencing or the editing of the shots, generates meaning to it. One particular example in this theory is how it is used in the film entitled "the birds". They used the system of editing known as alternation or parallel montage. It creates shots that shows Melanie seeing vs what Melanie sees. 

Although it is not narrated in the film that Melanie is being attacked by birds, the shots in the film are enough to give idea that Melanie is being attacked by birds. 

Take a look at this video to see the alternation editing in this scene.

In line also with structuralism, it is more difficult to understand what they call in cahiers "structuring absences". Films connected to politics, slavery and sexuality are usually the elements that are covered here. Every sign contain not only positive meaning, but also negative connotative meaning. Structuring absences is part of a subtext. In psychoanalytic film theory, the cinema, functioning as a representation of the imaginary, makes what is absent, or repressed, present.

 Structuralism over all is a theory in film that seeks to understand and uncover the deep structures of film. The meaning of the film are constructed by the system of differences between shots.