Joseph Warrilow: December 2017

15 December 2017

Film Review: Reasons why "Kill Bill Vol. 1" is Postmodern

Fig. 1. Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003

Released in 2003, Kill Bill: Volume 1 written and directed by Quentin Tarentino is a martial arts film starring Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu and David Carradine, to name just a few cast members. Tarentino’s vision and direction of this film makes Kill Bill: Volume 1 an excellent example of postmodern film work. The way in which he structures the film creates a sense of uncertainty and discontinuity, the way in which time passes. The film is not shown in chronological order, distorting the passage of time which can be related to the concept of postmodernism in the sense that in a postmodern society the boundaries between time and space are blurred and distorted, and goes against all expectations of the viewers. Despite this choice of structuring the film, it does not impede the viewer’s comprehension and understanding of the events in the film, it adds to the atmosphere and suspense of the film, keeping the viewers anticipating what will happen next and where the storyline will take them.

Fig. 2. Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004)

Secondly, the fact that Kill Bill was released in two volumes, Volume 1 and Volume 2, which were both filmed alongside each other, just released one year apart. However, the second instalment is not considered to be a sequel to the first and the first is not considered to be a prequel – this again has parallels with the concept of postmodernity as many theorists do not regard postmodernity as a distinctly different time period to modernism, instead they see postmodernism as being a continuation of modernity. This choice to release Kill Bill in two volumes is an interesting one and bears close ties with the concepts of both modernity and postmodernity and the passage of time.

The main character in the film, the Bride, is never referred to by her name and even in the credits she is only ever referred to as ‘the Bride’. There is one incidence in particular where the Bride’s real name is said in conversation, but this is bleeped out, causing viewers of the film to have a moment where they question whether they heard what they thought they had done and wonder why her name was bleeped out and not revealed to them.

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Fig. 1 Kill Bil Vol 1 (2003) [Poster] At: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/516SFOXbJVL.jpg

Fig. 2 Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004) [Poster] At: http://img.moviepostershop.com/kill-bill-vol-2-movie-poster-2004-1020251862.jpg

Film Review: Reasons why "Scream" is Postmodern

Fig. 1. Scream (1996)

Scream, directed by Wes Craven, was released in 1996. It focusses on Sidney Prescott, a student at high school in a fictional town in California called Woodsboro. A killer, known as Ghost Face, targets Sidney inflicting gruesome deaths on those around him as the film unfolds.

Characters in the film make reference to real life people, which creates a direct link between the audience and the characters, creating more of an atmosphere of them being in a real and normal environment. The creation of a normal environment that is close to what an audience can associate with is a classic element of a horror film which will then seek to violate that sense of comfort and normality.

The characters also analyse the motivation of other fictional horror characters such as Norman Bates and Hannibal Lecter during the course of the film. This had not been done previously in films of this type.

Fig. 2. Friday the 13th (1980)

The film Mocks the stereotypical horror slasher movie such as Friday the 13^th where characters within the film meet spectacularly gruesome deaths. The writing provides genuine suspense where the audience are taken to the edges of their seats waiting for the inevitable, punctuated with elements of humour and, at times, slapstick. The combination of horror and comedy was not something an audience was familiar with at the time of release and, arguably, the incorporation of humour widened the potential audience considerably.

As well as mocking the classic format of a horror film, Scream also incorporates and mocks elements of a classic ‘whodunnit’ type film.

The writer, Kevin Williamson, has also been involved in writing productions such as The Vampire Diaries which also display very specific post-modern themes.

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Fig. 1. Scream (1996) [Poster] At: http://cdn.bloody-disgusting.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/scream-poster.jpg

Fig. 2. Friday the 13th (1980) [Poster] At: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Friday_the_13th_(1980)_theatrical_poster.jpg

Collaboration Project: Reflective Statement

I won't be the first to admit (and won't be the last) that the Collaboration project did not go as smoothly as originally hoped.

I was placed in a group with Anabel Saise and Jack Rushton. I had not worked with either of these before, and was looking forward to seeing how our project would turn out. I feel that whilst I was able to cope with the workload at the beginning of the project, and was clicking well with my team at various points throughout, due to various creative differences and other circumstances, the project started to fall apart quite a bit towards the end.

We had to change our ideas midway through, as they were a bit too complex for the timeframe we had, plus we couldn't really envisage how they would turn out - after some guidance from Alan, and from Jack helping us to keep pointed in the right direction, we were able to settle on the 3 skit ideas we actually liked.

After creating the base environment and the run cycle, I created our Crit presentation. Again, due to slight breakdowns in communications, our presentation went poorer than we would have hoped.

Overall, I recognise that this project was definitely not my best work, and I aim to get a head start on the next one as soon as possible.