Questions From the lecture...

Week 5; Post 2

This week we delved into the crazy world of film, and how filmmakers use its uniques methods and conventions to tell stories and convey meanings. But a question that has arisen is 'why do we like what we watch on screen?' and 'How does watching movies help us?' 

'Why do we like what we watch on screen?'

As the Clapperboard states, we as a human audience not only looks for what is said and done, rather what isn't said or done. This concept in effect has caused the birth of a great genre known as drama. With our keen eyes we are able to identify the subtext within a film, and in doing so we keep entertained seeing tension, romance and an array of other emotions swell, through viewing shots that are blatantly showing us what we need to see, as opposed to reality where it may be missed simply by blinking. "Subtext is the meaning behind the words, the emotions within the speech. As the prefix suggests the subtext is hidden below the text."(Subtext: The Meaning Behind The Words, 2011) In seeing this hidden text, we are able to mentally establish the characters point of view, of which in turn allows us to see the significance of the changes they are experiencing. “Such character developments are used to express a central concept or a theme” (Exploring the meaning of Movies). This leads me to my second question,

‘How does watching movies help us?'

Through the clever manipulation of subtext, the audience can establish what is happening to the character, this in turn reveals the moral or message to the story. “...a popular theme has been characters building up the courage to overcome their own self-doubt in order to achieve” (Exploring the meaning of Movies).Through the appropriate use of characters personalities and events, we, as the audience, are ushered into relating to the characters and their predicament. Once this connection has been achieved it is more than likely that any message or theme of the story will have an emotional effect on the audience, often feeling empathy toward the character and their achievements. It is this inspiration that helps viewers in their daily escapades.