Grizzly Man (2005)

In 2008, Werner Herzog directed a remarkable documentary, following Timothy Treadwell, also known as 'grizzly man'. Over 100 hours of footage was recorded by Treadwell, which was then edited together after his death. The documentary examines the calling that drove Treadwell to live amongst a tribe of wild grizzly bears on an Alaskan reserve. He was a devoted conservationist with a passion for adventure. Treadwell believed that he had bridged the gap between human and beast. In October 2003, Treadwell and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard, were viciously killed by a large male grizzly bear.

Treadwell wrote "there are many times that I feel death is the best option. My work would be much more seriously looked at, and possibly make the difference that in living I can't do".

Within the documentary we can clearly see Lacan's lack theory. Treadwell is a loner, at ease and feeling greater comfort around bears and nature than with other humans. Although in some of his footage he discusses relationships and questions why he is still single. He tries to fill his lack of a human connection by using bears as a way of escapism. Timothy makes up for a lack in his life by befriending bears and wild animals. Treadwell reveals that he was an alcoholic, and that nothing was stopping him from drinking until he discovered the danger that the bears were facing in their natural habitat, and lived with them in the wilderness. He also states that he runs free with the bears, emulating a child. His parents state that he feared rejection and had always had a love of bears and nature, unhappy in his life until he was out living with the bears, 'saving' them. Although it is disputed that he was doing them more harm than good.

"We explored the glacier in the back country of his grizzly sanctuary. This gigantic complexity of tumbling ice and abysses, separated Treadwell from the world out there. And more so, it seems to me that this landscape in turmoil is a metaphor of his soul".

With the documentary compiled from hours of footage filmed by Treadwell himself, Herzog carefully selected shots where he is alone with the bears showing the full extent of his loneliness, or when he is riled up and discussing his anger. The mood of documentaries depend on how camera techniques and voice overs relate to the audience, transmitting different feelings/emotions. Shots similar to the screenshot above show how Herzog carefully selected these shot types, emphasising Lacan's theory:

• Lonely locations and severe backdrops.
• Treadwell is the only person in the shots/alone with the bears.
• Natural framing.
• Natural lighting.
• Diegetic sound from Treadwell's footage. Non-diegetic instrumental sound added in post-production, used to emote sympathy for him.
• Handheld camera.

Lacan's theories

Lacan's lack

Jacques Lacan was a French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist, who has been named as the most controversial psycho-analyst since Freud. He was born in 1901 to a bourgeois Catholic family.

Lacan created the idea of 'lack' and that it causes desires to arise. Desire is a relation to being to lack. The lack is the lack of being properly speaking. It is not the lack of this or that, but lack of being whereby the being exists. Lacan contrasts the lack of being, which related to desire, with the lack of having, which relates to demand.

Lacan distinguishes between three kinds of lack, according to the nature of the object which is lacking.

• The first type of lack is symbolic castration - and its object related is the imaginary phallus.
• The second is the imaginary frustration - and its object related is the real breast.
• The third is the real privation - and its object related is the symbolic phallus.

The three corresponding agents are the real father, the symbolic mother, and the imaginary father. Of these three forms of lack, castration is the most important from the perspective of the cure.

Lacan's mirror stage
Initially, Lacan proposed that the mirror stage was part of an infants development from 6-18 months. By the early 1950's, Lacan's concept of the mirror stage had evolved. He no longer considered the mirror stage as a moment in the life of the infant, but as representing a permanent structure of subjectivity, or as the paradigm of 'imaginary order'.
The concept of the mirror stage was strongly inspired by the earlier work of psychologist, Henri Wallon, who speculated based on observations of animals and humans responding to their reflections in mirrors. Wallon noted that by the age of 6 months, human infants and chimpanzees both appeared to recognise their reflection in a mirror. Whilst chimpanzees quickly lost interest, human infants typically became very interested and devoted much more time and effort in exploring the connections between their bodies and their images. This could be interpreted biblically, as the bible recognises that humans are the dominant race, and can appreciate higher qualities, whereas animals only require the ability to survive and reproduce.

The Machinist (2004)

Brad Anderson's 2004 psychological thriller follows Trevor Reznik, played by Christian Bale, a factory worker who suffers from insomnia, so severe that his condition has taken its toll on his weight and mental health. When Trevor unintentionally causes an accident at work and injures a co-worker, he begins to become even more troubled. Despite a relationship with Stevie, he descends further into paranoia, blaming his problems on an enigmatic figure named Ivan. The film has a tendency to question what we perceive to be real and how the mind deals with trauma.

We can see almost instantly that Reznik suffers from mental health issues, due to his scrawny pale body, which other characters within the film mention continuously. Already considered as an outsider at the factory he works at, Reznik is further pushed over the edge when he is the cause of a serious accident, when a colleague loses an arm. The accident is a result of his concentration lapsing, because he is focused on Ivan. This pushes Bale's character further into distress, his insomnia intensifies due to the guilt he feels over the accident. We soon discover that nobody other than Reznik has seen Ivan or knows of his existence, leading us as an audience to question the reality of Ivan. We see how tormenting Ivan is to Reznik, as recurring motifs appear. His paranoia heightens as nobody believes in the existence of Ivan. Stevie, a prostitute Reznik has relations with, seems like the only person he can confide in, finding peace and comfort with her. Which tips him over the edge when his jealousy over an imaginary relationship between Ivan and Stevie startles him.

Despite all of his troubles, he attempts a relationship with Maria, a waitress and her son, Nicholas. The three take a trip to a theme park, where he takes Nicholas on a fairground ride, turning into an experience for the both. Trevor sees many disturbing subliminal messages, whilst the flashing lights spark an epileptic fit for Nicholas.

As we reach the climax of the film, flashbacks reveal to us that a year previously, Reznik was involved in a hit and run with a young boy, who turns out to be Nicholas. The events during the film are revealed and the true meaning of his insomnia is revealed, due to the guilt of the accident. His mind created the character of Ivan as a way to re-direct his guilt.

We can relate Freud's theory to this film, as the film covers memory repression. Defined as in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defence mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings and memories. Freud came up with the idea of defence mechanisms and said that they were unconscious. According to Freud, people repress painful memories to protect ones self concept, and to minimise anxiety.

Reznik's insomnia is a result of his guilty conscience. Using Freud's theory, we can identify Ivan as the id, the repressed part of the personality. The id is the primal, instinctive aspect of personality, expressing emotions and carrying out actions without the ego.

Trevor is the films ego, as he is the main character, dealing with reality and the never ending battle between his insomnia and therefore, his guilt.

The relationship with Maria and Nicholas, in addition to Stevie play out as the superego. Maria and Nicholas' fictional relationship with Reznik show a possible source of repentance. His kindness towards them both, Nicholas in particular, shows he is feeling guilty and trying to make amends. However Stevie provides comfort and warmth for him, advising and helping him.

The techniques used in the film demonstrate Lacan's theory, and show Reznik's loneliness, and ultimately, his lack:

• Low key lighting, connoting darkness and evil.
• Long, drawn out shots. Slow paced using panning and tracking shots, giving a stronger sense of realism.
• Mainly diegetic sound, however when we do hear non-diegetic sound it is instrumental and gives us a dark and eerie feel. Main use of violins and synth, which alters in volume, giving a sense of tension.
• Point of view shots.
• A mixture of high and low angles. Making him appear both dominant and then opposing this by showing him as being weak (mainly high angles).

Trevor has 3 physical choices of direction to take within the film. Within the first, he takes the left option, going to the 'highway to hell'. Taking this choice his mind continues to play tricks on him, whilst his past haunts him. Once again, he chooses the left option, further descending on a pathway of destruction. Finally, in the last scene, he has his final choice, the airport, to escape from his troubles and past, or the 'right' choice, towards the light shown in the past two choices, to hand himself into the police precinct and admit to the crime which has haunted him. He takes the right option, the 'road to salvation'. Which as the ego, is the most predictable verdict for him, as he is dealing with reality, and must face the consequences of his past.

Freud - Id, Ego, and Superego

Sigmund Freud argued that the creation of civilisation has resulted in the repression of basic human instincts. Freud's psychoanalytic theory of personality states that personality is composed of three elements. These elements of personality known as the id, the ego and the superego work together to create complex human behaviours.

The Id

• The id is the only component of personality that is present from birth.
• This aspect of personality is entirely unconscious and includes the instancing and primitive behaviours.
• According to Freud, the id is the source of all psychic energy, making it the primary component of personality.

The id is driven by the pleasure principle, which strives for immediate gratification of all desires, wants, and needs. If these needs are not satisfied immediately, the result is a state anxiety or tension. E.g. an increase in hunger or thirst should produce an immediate attempt to eat or drink. This is very important in early life, because it ensures that an infants needs are met. If the infant is hungry or uncomfortable, he or she will cry until the demands of the id are met.
However, immediately satisfying these needs is not always realistic or possible. If we were ruled entirely by the pleasure principle, we might find ourselves grabbing things we want out of other peoples hands to satisfy our own cravings. This behaviour would be disruptive and socially unacceptable. According to Freud, the id tries to resolve the tension created by the pleasure principle through the primary process, which involves forming a mental image of the desired object as a way of satisfying the need.

The Ego

• The ego is the component of personality that is responsible for dealing with reality.
• According to Freud, the ego develops from the id and ensures that the impulses of the id can be expressed in a manner acceptable in the real world.
• The ego functions in both the conscious, preconscious and unconscious mind.

The ego operated based on the reality principle, which strives to satisfy the id's desires in realistic and socially appropriate ways. The reality principle weights the costs and benefits of an action before deciding to act upon or abandon impulses. In many cases, the id's impulses can be satisfied through a process or delayed gratification, the ego will eventually allow the behaviour, but only in the appropriate time and place.
The ego also discharged tension created by unmet impulses through the secondary process, in which the ego tries to find an object in the real world that matches the mental image created by the id's primary process.

The Superego

• The superego is the aspect of personality that holds all of our internalised moral standards and ideals that we acquire from both parents and society. Our sense of right and wrong.
• The superego provides guidelines for making judgements.
• According to Freud, the superego begins to emerge at around age five.

There are two parts of the superego:

1. The ego ideal includes the rules and standards for good behaviours. These behaviours include those which are approved of by parental and other authority figures. Obeying these rules leads to feelings of pride, value and accomplishment.
2. The conscience includes information about things that are viewed as bad by parents and society. These behaviours are often forbidden and lead to bad consequences, punishments or feelings of guilt and remorse.

The superego acts to perfect and civilise our behaviour. It works to suppress all unacceptable urges of the id and struggles to make the ego act upon idealistic standards rather than upon realistic principles. The superego is present in the conscious, preconscious and unconscious.

Interaction between the Id, Ego and Superego
With multiple competing forces, it is easy to see how conflict may arise between the id, ego and superego. Freud used the term ego strength to refer to the ego's ability to function despite these duelling forces. A person with good ego strength is able to effectively manage these pressures, whilst those with too much of too little ego strength can become too unyielding or too disrupting. According to Freud, the key to a healthy personality is a balance between the id, the ego and the superego.

Vertigo (1958)

Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 American romantic story of obsession, manipulation and fear, stars James Stewart and Kim Novak. The narrative follows a detective forced to retire after his acrophobia (fear of heights) causes the death of another officer, and Madeline, the wife of his friend Gavin, when he is hired to follow her after her husband worries of her sanity. He becomes dangerously obsessed with her and saves her from a suicide attempt. Later on she climbs up a church tower, and due to his vertigo he is unable to save her from death. An enquiry finds that she did not intend to commit suicide, and indeed blames Scottie for her death.
Months later he meets Judy, a woman who closely resembles Madeline. We later learn through flashbacks that it was indeed her that we saw running up the stairs of the bell tower and her that he was following all along, and that when she got to the top, Gavin was there, holding the lifeless body of Madeline, with Judy and Madeline were wearing the same outfit. Judy screams and Gavin throws Madeline's body from the bell tower. Gavin knew of Scottie's vertigo and knew he wouldn't be able to make it to the top, but he would be a credible person to say that Madeline had taken her own life, unknowingly helping to cover up her murder.
Scottie begins to date Judy, but attempts to make her look more like Madeline. He then forces Judy to re-enact Madeline's death to give himself a second chance, but as they reach the top of the tower he conquers his vertigo, figuring the whole conspiracy out. Judy confesses her love for Scottie, and tells of how she has fallen in love with him. They kiss, but a sudden appearance of a nun startles Judy, who then trips, plummeting to her death from the church tower.

Certain scenes within the film show the full extent of Scotty's obsession and Mulvey's male gaze, with the most notable being when Scottie buys Judy clothes to make her look more like Madeline, the café/restaurant scene and the final scene when Judy falls from the church tower.

Title sequence

• Non-diegetic music, creating tension and emphasis.
• Fragmentation of a woman's lips (male gaze).
• The colour red connoting passion, lust and death.
• Spinning shapes, giving a sense of disorientation and a literal vertigo.

Film

• A woman drawing a picture of another woman in a corset (male gaze).
• Scottie and Midge look at/speak about her brassiere and it's "revolutionary uplift" (male gaze).
• Scottie shown from a low angle, giving him power and authority.
• Midge shown from a high angle, showing her as being vulnerable and weak.
• Madeline stands out wearing green, showing Scottie's sickness and jealousy to be with her (male gaze).
• Side profile of Madeline, with a shallow depth of field and a red background behind her, focusing all attention to her (male gaze).
• Reverse shot of Scottie as Madeline elegantly walks away (male gaze).
• POV shot from Scottie following Madeline (male gaze).
• Close-up shot of a bunch of flowers next to Madeline, looking at a painting in an art gallery with the subject of the painting resembling her very closely, suggesting that she sees the woman as an ideal self - she had earlier visited a gravestone of the name Carlotta Valdes, and the painting is named 'Carlotta'.
• Madeline's clothes are hanging up, with a slow pan from Scottie, to the clothes, then to her lying in bed (male gaze).
• Madeline is undressed in bed, with a high angle showing her as vulnerable.
• Madeline enters the room wearing a red dressing gown, connoting passion and lust, with the music increasing in tension (male gaze).
• Scottie buys Judy clothes to make her resemble Madeline, controlling her to be an object that he will desire.
• A store assistant is modelling clothes for Scottie and Judy, with the camera fragmenting her body, not showing her face, therefore her identity as a person (male gaze).
• Judy refuses to wear the clothes that he chooses, he grabs her arm, then she gives in to his whim, showing his control over her.

When applying theory to Vertigo, we can add Mulvey's male gaze, as Scottie has a set image of a woman in his head, and turns Judy into that image. The camera also fragments Madeline, objectifying her, so the audience has no option but to look at her as an object of desire and attraction.

We can also apply Freud's scopophilia theory, the love of watching. The audience takes pleasure in watching Madeline/Judy, looking at aspects such as her face and figure. Close-up shots and panning shots engage the audience because they are enjoying looking. During the opening sequence we are shown this instantly, with the colour red, and connotations of passion, love and danger.

Laura Mulvey's visual pleasure theory (1975)

British born feminist, Laura Mulvey, born August 15th 1941 was educated at St Hilda's College in Oxford. She is currently a professor of film and media studies at Birbeck, University of London, having previously worked at the British Film Institute. Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema was an essay written by Mulvey in 1973, published in 1975. The essay coined the term 'male gaze', which soon became a highly discussed and debated theory.

Mulvey's world famous visual pleasure theory was thought of in 1975, with the basic view that within the male gaze the audience is put into the perspective of a heterosexual male. This is demonstrated by a scene in a movie focusing on a females figure, putting the viewer in a males position. However, it is only said to be the male gaze theory if specific conventions are used, for example, slow motion, deliberate camera movements and cut aways. The theory suggests that it denies females of human identity, portraying them as objects for visual pleasure. The theory also states that women can often watch a movie from a secondary perspective subconsciously, viewing themselves from a male perspective. Mulvey cited that the presence of a female is vital in film, however she has no real importance, and only exists in relation to a male, and the way that she makes a male feel is her main role within the narrative. Mulvey stated that the role of a female character in a narrative has two functions, to pose as an erotic object for the characters within the narrative to view, and as an erotic object for spectators within the cinema to view. Only 16% of media creators are male, proving that in the media industry men have the power and dominance, controlling the mass media and what we see as a public audience.

Examples of the male gaze in film:
- The James Bond (007) franchise
- Sin City
- Charlie's Angels
- Transformers
- Kill Bill
- The Dark Knight Trilogy
- Tomb Raider
- Psycho
- The Avengers

Not only is this theory applicable in film, modern music videos are subject to the male gaze, as most of the time men are shown fully clothed with scantily clad attractive women in their company, with the man often looking at the woman's body, and the camera fragmenting her body.

Scopophilia literally means 'love of watching', deriving pleasure from looking. It refers to sexual pleasure, derived from looking at erotic objects. The term was thought up from Sigmund Freud. He considered pleasure in looking to be a regular partial instinct in childhood, which may be sublimated into interests such as art, or alternatively becoming fixated in curiosity of the female body.

Jacques Lacan subsequently drew on the theory  of gaze to link scopophilia with the apprehension of the other, "the gaze is this object lost and suddenly refpund in the conflagration of shame, by introduction of the other". Lacan privileged scopophilia in his theory of how desire is captured by the imaginary image of the other. Other French analysts have emphasised how the discovery of sexual difference in childhood, and the accompanying sense of not knowing subsequently fuels the scopophilic drive.

Voyeurism and the male gaze have been seen as central elements in such mainstream cinematic viewing, most famously discussed by Mulvey. Voyeurism derives sexual gratification, from observing others in secret. Often the object of voyeurism is undressed or engaged in some kind of sexual activity. The key factor in voyeurism is that the voyeur does not interact personally with the person being observed. Voyeurs are also known as 'peeping Toms'. Traditionally, the audience of a film sit in the dark, observing the activities of the people who appear on screen, who are unaware that they are being watched. Horror films in particular are strongly voyeuristic, as they identify the viewer with the point of view of the 'monster'.

Hard drive failure 10/11/2014

A failure in my hard drive, resulted in me loosing my filming footage, which I filmed in preparation for my film, inspired by the American New Wave.

This has encouraged me to back-up all of my work in numerous places, to ensure nothing like this happens again. I will be using the same design brief as before, with the same intention and roughly similar shots, re-done.