Marla in Fight Club

‘Marla is the root of it all’ says Jack in Fight Club. Discuss this statement.

David Fincher’s Fight Club was released in 1999 a time in society when the male role in society was being questioned due to females being able to have more dominant roles. Marla is the main female character of the film. 

We are first introduced to her when she crashes Jack (the narrators) happy places, which happen to be all of the support groups he attends to help him deal with his emotions and insomnia. This immediately gives the audience the impression that she could be a villain in the film as she is wearing dark clothes and is smoking vigorously in a support group for men who suffer with testicular cancer. My first time viewing the film was after the release of the Harry Potter series so my only experience with any other characters that she has played made me believe that she was going to be the villain of the film. During the first meeting of Marla we also see a glimpse of Tyler Durden as he flashes up on the screen. This immediately plants a link between Tyler and Marla making her an important part of the narrative. 

Jack is told to go to his cave in his mind to meet his spirit animal, Marla appears in the middle of his cave and tells him to ‘slide’. This could be seen as Marla telling Jack to let go of his fear of emotions, almost to man up and accept life how it is. Marla appearing as Jack’s spirit animal shows that she is a key figure in his life and he does think highly of her. The quote says that Marla is the root of it all and Jack’s cave inside of his head proves that this could be true especially because the thought of ‘sliding’ and letting go of his consumerist filled lifestyle must have lingered enough for him to remember his true self and who he needs to be. 

This comes back in the final sequence when Jack ends up killing his Id, Tyler Durden, so that he can move on and be with Marla. The sequence is completed by Jack holding Marla’s hand whilst they watch the explosions take place in front of them. This signifies how Marla was the main reason he wanted to sort himself out, she was his motivation making her an extremely important part of the film because she was the main influence for Jack to sort himself out. 

However, there are obviously other factors which could be said to be ‘the root of the film’ such as the issue of consumerism that is addressed through out. During the Ikea scene where there is a pan shot of his apartment showing all of the ikea furniture he has bought over time. ‘I flipped through catalogues and wondered what kind of dining set describes me as a person’ Jack compares what he is like as a person to the materialistic possessions that he owns showing us as the audience that he has been heavily overtaken by consumerism. He even goes on to say ‘a house full of condiments with no food’ which is a metaphor for him saying that he has everything that he is meant to own to be happy but he still hasn't been fulfilled and is searching for more in his life. This, we find out is Marla, making her stand out as the key link through out the film. 

There is also the issue faced of masculinity. At the beginning of the film we see Jack struggling to deal with his emotions and having to take part in support groups for testicular cancer so that he can cry. He meets Bob at this support group who has lost his testicles to this cancer he says ‘we’re still men’ as Jack cries onto him. This gives the impression to the audience that their way of thinking is that they have to have every male part in tact. It also shows us that Jack only feels safe to cry in an environment where it has been deemed acceptable to cry. 

Tyler himself also says ‘we’re a generation of men raised by women’ giving the impression to the audience that most men part of generation x feel like they are now only useful for reproduction. This is because at this time, women were now able to carry out many jobs that were mainly carried out my males, obviously this made the men of this generation feel like they are being pushed out and losing their dominance because of this. During 1999 David Beckham was also a strong influence on the male public and he was openly showing how much he takes care of his appearance, something that was new and not widely accepted by males as acceptable. Bearing this in mind it does stand out as an important feature of the film however, it is not quite as important as Marla has been made out in this film. 

How does the director use Mise En Scene and sound to establish meaning and provoke the audience’s response in the opening scenes of Finding Nemo?

How does the director use Mise En Scene and sound to establish meaning and provoke the audience’s response in the opening scenes of Finding Nemo? – Grace Pye

Mise en scene is a French phrase that means ‘placing on stage’; this guides the director with everything from props, costumes, makeup and set design that is used to manipulate an audience response. In film studies mise en scene is used to build up and create the scene so that the audience gain a better understanding for a certain character by the costume they are wearing and makeup that they have on, even the props they are using and environment that they are in.

Sound is a key feature to films as it provokes certain emotions by setting the scene, introducing a character, emphasising on key moments by using a technique called ‘sound sting’. There are two types of sound which are diegetic and non-diegetic. Diegetic is the most common form of sound, it is basically the sound that exists inside of the film. Non-diegetic sound is the sound of a clip which can only be heard outside of the film world to enhance the audiences’ experiences of the film, for example the non-diegetic voice narrator of Bridget Jones in the Bridget Jones Diary.

The scene begins with a tranquil non diegetic soundtrack playing which immediately creates a calm setting for what looks like a relaxed scene. A spacious ocean, which enhances the tranquil feel of the soundtrack, can be seen through high key lighting, as the diegetic verbal communication between Marlin and Coral develops. Marlin is feeling quite proud because he is proud of the home that he has found for his wife and future family, this is evident through his tone of voice as he uses diegetic dialogue to say ‘‘So Coral when you said you wanted an ocean view you didn’t think you would get the whole ocean.’’ This is a key feature throughout this scene and especially the film to bring in the common sounds of their natural environment which does include the sound that is created by the water when the sea creatures swim.

Coral uses diegetic dialogue to say “the neighbourhood is awesome” which is a trigger for the non-diegetic soundtrack as it changes to a more upbeat accompaniment for the new busy environment that is being shown. The change in the soundtrack has faster rhythms and a high major melodic tone which creates a happy mood for the audience as they watch the busy neighbourhood rushing around doing their daily chores. There are many soundscapes that can be heard that you would likely hear in any other human neighbourhood, such as children laughing and mumbling of different conversations taking place which almost humanises the sea creatures living in this environment.

Both Coral and Marlin swim down to the area where they are keeping their eggs. There is low key lighting on the surrounding area of the eggs, but the actual eggs themselves are well lit and glowing which exaggerates their importance in the film. The non-diegetic soundtrack changes the mood as well as it becomes calmer, slower and more gentle, showing us that this is a key moment for both of them as they are both with each other looking at their multiple eggs.

 Marlin exits the anemone exclaiming ‘cuties here’ to Coral which is part of an inside joke they both share, his tone of voice is very playful and jokey which is a complete contrast to the new mood of the reef. The soundtrack cuts out which shows a dramatic change in mood as we are shown a darker deserted neighbourhood giving the impression that there is some form of danger. There is a zoom out from Marlin which shows Coral in front of him staring straight forwards a Barracuda. When the Barracuda is shown to the audience an eerie non-diegetic soundtrack picks up giving an added feel of danger to the action that is beginning to unfold. A growl like noise can be heard from the Barracuda as he eyes up Coral and Marlin’s eggs. The growl implies that he is an evil character as connotations with growls are predator like animals. This evil fish is also shown through darker colours and a low key lighting compared to Marlin and Coral. Marlin says ‘‘Coral get inside the house’’ in a much more serious and desperate tone compared to the previous speech they have shared with each other, while saying this he barely moves which shows that his body language has changed from moving around playfully to actually being quite playful with Coral to acting a lot more afraid.

There is a suspension used in the soundtrack as Coral makes her move towards her eggs. This builds up a tense atmosphere at the beginning of what looks like it could be a dramatic one, with lots of action. As the barracuda battles with Marlin there are many pleonastic sounds exaggerating the fishes’ evil qualities such as his sharp teeth that we can hear clamp down like swords as a close up of his pointy teeth are shown on the screen, and also his sharp tail fin which we can hear batting Marlin about with before he blacks out. The last thing that we can hear before the screen blacks out and the sounds die down completely, is a last growl from the Barracuda which fades out into silence once again highlighting the element of danger that both the fish are in as well as their eggs. This also leaves the audience with a built up level of suspense because they do not know what has actually happened to Coral and her eggs.

The blackout fades revealing dark blue colours as it is now night in the ocean, and low key lighting which sets up the mood for being quite dark. The non-diegetic soundtrack that also picks up is still quite tense with high notes being played on violins. Marlin shouts out in desperation for his wife with facial expressions which clearly display desperation and panic. The eggs which could once be seen poking out of the rock cave in their glowing glory have now disappeared causing a minor tonality for the soundtrack as the realisation of what has happened hits Marlin whose body language becomes a lot slower and heavier with sadness. He repeats his wife’s name each time with a more upset tone eventually reducing to barely being able to speak because he is so choked up in emotion. This gives the audience a clear understanding of the thoughts going through Marlin’s mind as he goes from being kind of hopeful that Coral will still be alive, to the realisation that she probably hasn’t actually survived the attack.

A more hopeful non-diegetic soundtrack picks up as soon as Marlin spots the last egg remaining which reflects the emotion of hope that he is experiencing. The egg is red which stands out from the dark blues which are surrounding it in the scenery and darkness of the ocean. This highlights how important the egg is at this moment in time as it can clearly be seen and has impacted the mood of Marlin. Marlin uses diegetic dialogue to say “there there there, it’s okay daddy’s got you” which is said in a calm reassuring tone, contrasting his previous panic and devastation showing that he has now stepped up to care for his child.  

In conclusion Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich, the directors of Finding Nemo, have used sound and mise on scene to set the tonality of the emotions up for the audience. The non-diegetic soundtracks set the tone of the scenes, emphasising the emotions that the audience are meant to be feeling, while the use of mise en scene focus on the more obvious things such as body language to help the audience understand how the characters are feeling.  

Don't Forget Me - Reflective Analysis

My screenplay is called ‘Don’t Forget About Me’ and takes place in New York, 2001. Georgie has just got back from a morning shop and is about to take a pregnancy test as her boyfriend, Jacob, phones her unexpectedly as his plane has been hijacked. My screenplay is titled ‘Don’t Forget About Me’ because Georgie will end up having his child and as the viewer we don’t know if Jacob heard Georgie tell him that she was pregnant. Either way, he doesn’t want to be forgotten which is a line mentioned in the screenplay as he says ‘Don’t you all go forgetting me too quickly will you?’

My screenplay has been inspired by films such as The Impossible and United 93. The Impossible tells the story of a family separated by a natural disaster who fight the odds to find each other again, it is based on real events. The United 93 is a film about the plane that was hijacked, but the passengers on the plane fought back and redirected the plane away from the building it was originally meant to hit, this is also based on real life events and the historical event that Don’t Forget About Me is based on, however the characters are fictional.

The location of my screenplay is New York because it helps to show all angles of the 9/11 attacks, enabling me to show Georgie’s reaction in her apartment as well as the general public’s reaction as the action takes place outside of her apartment. I also decided to include Jacob’s view point from the inside of the plane so that the audience could really see the drama building up and the effect that it was having on the people inside of the plane. This was highly inspired by the previously mentioned film The United 93. Having both locations of the apartment and the plane made the last conversation that Georgie and Jacob a lot harder hitting because as an audience we would be able to see the other people on the plane as well as how Jacob is coping with what is going on, while we would intercut with Georgie to see her ever growing emotions.

I decided that Georgie shouldn’t get the chance to tell Jacob that she is pregnant because it creates a more painful outcome for the audience who already know that she is pregnant and they would want Jacob to know before anything bad may happen to him. As the line cuts out midsentence and all she is able to say is ‘I’m preg-’this will cause the audience to question whether Jacob may have heard any of the sentence or none at all. I also thought that for Georgie to actually be able to hear the impact of the plane on the World Trade Centre would make the whole situation feel a lot more real to her as well as the audience who would be watching in anticipation.

The main message of my screenplay is ‘living life in the moment,’ this is because most people do take the people in their everyday lives for granted. Like the saying ‘you don’t know what you have until it’s gone’ a real life message that the main character of the film Georgie will feel the effects of. This message can be seen when Georgie realises she is losing Jacob, her boyfriend, who she has previously spoken highly of saying that he would support her through a pregnancy if need be, but then things take a turn for the worst when he phones up saying that his planes been hijacked and he doesn’t know if he will make it home.

My primary target audience would be young adults who are starting to make their own ways in the world, whether this is through further education or starting their careers. This is because they would be able to relate to the main character a lot more as they would be roughly in the same age group as her and may even be able to put themselves in her situation. My secondary target audience would be people who enjoy heart breaking romantic films due to the painful storyline that occurs though out the screenplay. This film may also appeal to a more serious audience who are interested in real life events due to the context of the screenplay. The final product may be shown as film festivals.

I believe that the audience of my screenplay would be able to relate to this message because in this day and age where terrorism is a current threat, where no one really truly knows when the last goodbye will be. The fact that the two main characters in this film are both young with bright happy futures ahead of them who have their lives mapped out, will really put into perspective to the audience about how quickly certain things can change. Georgie and Jacob aren’t special people, they are the average couple that you may see around on a daily basis making the story between them a lot harder hitting and realistic for the audience so that they can feel the emotions of the characters with a lot more detail.