O'Connell: Film Noir and Batman

Batman and the Joker's final face-off

Tim Burton utilizes many elements of film noir to create his vision of Batman. The most obvious techniques being used is in the setting. Batman takes place in Gotham, a dark and urban setting that is littered with criminals. All the buildings are huge and angular; they are also pressed tightly together. This gives the city a claustrophobic feeling which is common of film noir.  Another characteristic of film noir is “Harsh, low-key lighting brought about the high contrast and rich, black shadows.” There is an example of this in almost every scene. Much of the characters are partially covered by shadow or are in a setting where there is an opposition of dark and light. The dark setting of the film matches the conflicted personality of Batman. His life has been shrouded by darkness from a very young age. The contrast between dark and light is a representation of the battle between good and evil or Batman vs. The Joker. The corruption of Gotham city and its dark shadows invoke a feeling of hopelessness. This caters directly to Burton’s theme of alienation. The city seems isolated and the citizens are clueless with no direction.

When it comes down to the “conflicted heroes” of film noir, this film has two characters that perfectly fit this description. The Batman still suffers from witnessing the death of his parents and carries around a sense of guilt. He hides away in his mansion and only feels totally comfortable when he’s fighting crime in his bat suit. This guilt gives him a sense of responsibility to uphold the law. The Joker could easily be labeled as a sociopath. He was a “hard-boiled” criminal to begin with but when he becomes physically deformed he becomes totally unhinged. The Joker is free of all obligations and isn’t held back by feelings of remorse. He does whatever he wants and follows through on every urge he has. The character that best fits the description of the “femme fatale” would be Vicky Vale. She is a seductive and intelligent reporter that Bruce Wayne is instantly drawn to. She also fills the role of the “damsel in distress” as Batman always saves her when she’s in trouble.

                 

O'Connell Death Denial in "Beetlejuice"

http://notofgeneralinterest.blogspot.com/2012/08/it-takes-village.html

                Americans deny death because it is much easier to deny it than to acknowledge and deal with it. Many people want to quickly move on with their lives rather than dwelling on the past. This way they can avoid the grief and sadness that comes along with it. Beetlejuice denies death in the way that it makes the afterlife seem not so different from regular life. In real life when someone dies, that is the end and you don’t know what happens after that. Burton’s film makes it seem like death is just a continuation of life that doesn’t really change. In fact he makes death seem more tedious than life because it is portrayed as endless waiting rooms with endless amounts of paper work. Even in the afterlife, people still have jobs and deadlines. Rather than a care-free paradise that most people expect the afterlife to be, the Maitlands are confined to their home and still have obligations to fulfill. Similar to the way that Americans refuse to incorporate the reality of death into their lives, Beetlejuice does the same thing. After the death of the Maitlands, there is no funeral or grieving relatives. The film skips past this aspect of death completely and makes it seems like the Maitlands are just returning home to their regular lives when they are, in fact, dead. The fact that they don’t even know they’re dead at first is another indication of death denial. The film utilizes black humor to turn situations that would usually be tragic into comedy. The casual approach the film takes to death lightens the mood and drains it of any sadness. An example of this is the team of dead football players who died in a plane crash. A group of young athletes perishing in a plane crash would usually be tragic but the film turns it around by having the players believe that Juno is their coach and that they don’t know they’re dead. Juno’s sarcastic reaction to them further brightens things and causes the audience to view it comically rather than tragically. The afterlife portrayed in Beetlejuice is, in itself, an example of death denial. 

My name is Yamato O’Connell and I am an Undecided General Studies Major. I chose this class because I have an interest in film and want to incorporate it into whatever I choose as a profession. I was born and raised in New Orleans and went to high school down the street at Lusher Charter School. I commute to school by car and live with my parents downtown in the Marigny. I chose to go to Loyola because my mother is an immigration lawyer at the Loyola Law Clinic. I have a little sister who is a sophomore in high school. My mother is from southern Japan and my father is from Minnesota, I am bilingual in both Japanese and English. I usually visit Japan every summer for a month and a half to visit my grandparents and the rest of my family on my mother’s side.  In my spare time I love to watch a wide range of films. I also draw and listen to music. I was in the visual arts program at my high school for two years before I realized it was not something I wanted to pursue. My favorite types of movies are independent films that don’t reach mainstream theaters and I am also very intrigued by foreign films. I especially like Hispanic and Asian films. My favorite genre is horror. This is due to the fact that the first big film I remember watching is Poltergeist from a very young age. I love a lot of Tim Burton’s films including Beetle Juice and Ed Wood but I think he could really benefit from taking a break from making movies with Johnny Depp. My least favorite type of genre is musicals because I prefer dialogue to singing. My favorite directors at the moment include Quentin Tarantino, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, and Christopher Nolan. My interest in film began when I would watch many different films with my father starting from a young age and I had a movie rental store within walking distance from my house. I hope this class with help me to understand how I want to incorporate film in to my profession. 

O'Connell Introduction

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