Themes Of Landscape And Wilderness In Cinematic Films - Essay Example

?How are themes such as Landscape and Wilderness portrayed in Cinematic Films? Objectives The objectives of this paper are detailed below To discover the elements of landscape and wilderness in cinematic films such as Walkabout by Nicholas Roeg, Safe by Todd Haynes and The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert by Stephen Elliot among others. 2. Examine the scope of landscape and wilderness in films. 3. Highlight the nature of landscape and wilderness as characters within films. Despite the progressive change, which land undergoes, two key predictions can be made about land, especially with regard to the establishment of new landscapes: i.e. landscapes transpire in light of people’s expectations, as well as their previous encounters, or landscapes evolve from a shift in mindset and from a changed connection between the environment, society and self. This means that changes that are embedded on a landscape are not typically similar to changes that are wrought on land. According to Sobieszek, the theme of landscape has undergone a dramatic change since early times, especially between the 1950s and 1980s. It is clear that a relatively new order of landscape has engulfed cinematic films that seem to take hold of the imagination of not only the writer and film director, but the audience, as well. The radical change in the perception of landscape is that from a solid yet permanent view to one that is marred by treachery and transmutation. In essence, different media create new landscapes. For instance, in the film Walkabout of 1971, Roeg offers what can be perceived as a typology that showcases photography of locations such as Australian auk lands in the late 20th century. Roeg embodies a formalist concept by rendering the settings of landscapes devoid of human presence through settings such as deserts, flat horizons, vacant highways and fields (Harper and Rayner, 2010, 71). All these locations convey an essence that is at odds with the echo of Hollywood fictions. This allows films to level the meanings that they are originally meant to convey. Landscape in cinematic films adopts quite a different stance compared to still images, which are frozen depictions of landscape. Landscape in cinematic films incites the feeling of culture and cross-over between popular cinema and photography. Historically, landscape is initially associated with painting, and this is evidenced by the numerous depictions of landscapes in exhibitions and art museums around the world. Launched in the seventeenth century, the portrayal of emerging infrastructures of channels, harbours and roads that ran through sheltered country sides illustrates the claim that landscape depiction and description through picture is a product of the shift from feudal to capitalist economies (Harper and Rayner, 2010, 58). This paper argues that landscape facilitates new perceptions and venues of analysis and interpretation of cinematic films. Simply put, landscape emerges when the setting becomes the subject of the cinema rather than an object within the entire cinematic film. When applied to films, landscape enables a variation from plot, characters and psychology towards elements that are rarely taken into account in mainstream film. The main challenge thus becomes the discussion of landscape as a comprehensive expression in its own right, as well as its own agenda in other instances. Landscapes can be appreciated as encompassing numerous interacting ideas, traditions, as well as inventions rather than something that is either out there or can be fixed on films. This paper will conduct a discussion within the realm of films over the period between the year 1970 and 2009. This is a period marred by a number of uncertainties and upheavals, as well as immense successes in the media industry and especially with regard to films. Through this period, there has been immense focus on film and landscape as avenues of the contested perception of individuals, and how film makers investigate the practices, properties and traditions of global cinema that is intertwined with landscape (Harper and Rayner, 2010, 31). In order to uncover the essence of landscape and wilderness in films, this paper will analyse a number of films that are based on landscapes and wilderness. Furthermore, this paper elaborates on how landscape collaborates, while also conflicts and contradicts formal effects, as well as themes in films that are considered in the text. It is paramount to note that the reflexivity that is called to mind by the title of a film does not typically refer to a pursuit for metacinematic device, but rather on how landscape can be enhanced to reflect on its individual status as a construct, as well as the cultural legacy of that which the landscape is part. For instance, in Radical Vision: American Film Renaissance of 1967 to 1976, Glenn Man asserts that many filmmakers assess and critical analyse the mythical and moral landscape of the American scene in what became the increasingly despairing venture. This is primarily done to settle on a critique, which identified the American society as a moral wasteland thus reflecting the disillusionment that comes over the waning of progressive values. Although filmakers primarily uses landscape in its basic form as a metaphor, a viable way to circumscribe this thesis is to take the metaphor literally by examining how landscape has established values in the past in comparison with the massive redefinition that it underwent. The metaphor in landscape explains the nature of people’s emotions and character at a certain time. As earlier cited, landscape in films does not only refer to the physical places, but also the emotional and psychological places, especially where the plot of the film is concerned with themes such as mental breakdowns or unrequited love. In essence, physical spaces that can be defined as landscapes are used by screenwriters and directors to augment the story’s depth or situations in which characters find themselves in. Basically, landscape acts as an archetypal style through which screenwriters and directors elicit certain responses from an audience. For instance, a dense jungle, raging sea or barren icescape can elicit fear in the audience who feel thankful that it is not them in the situation. Other places such as office buildings, airports or shopping malls may elicit a feeling of comfort and contentment as the places look familiar. Other landscapes such as the Himalayas, Serengeti and Death Valley may conjure up the sense of wonder and marvel, as well as fascination in the sites. As expected, filmmakers’ view is to tap into these emotions to support the story or even in character development. In other instances, landscape functions as an essential component of the overall film’s visual expression of the genre of a film like certain periodical settings of a historical film, spacescapes in sci-fi movies or landscape progression in road films. Usually, landscape acts a more than an overtly active or passive visual background against which the story or plot, which entails characters and storylines, is developed. Most DIRECTORS use landscapes to serve various sub-textual objectives within their scripts, for instance, to reinforce themes, emphasize contrasting worlds, raise the stakes of the film or act as a character, as well (Harper and Rayner, 2010, 54). The 1995 film Safe by Todd Haynes is set in a prosperous neighbourhood where the film gives an account of the life a homemaker, Carol, who formulated multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) or twentieth century disease. Multiple chemical sensitivity refers to a controversial diagnosis where an individual develops non-specific symptoms and thinks that the symptoms are brought by chemicals household industrial products that are accessible on a daily basis. Carol conducts daily activities such as taking clothes to dry cleaners, attending aerobics classes and gardening. Her marriage, on the other hand, is relatively stable but void of emotional intimacy, whereas her friendships, though polite are quite distant. Landscape within the film does not entirely refer to the physical environment, but rather the emotional, as well as psychological environment in which people exist. Carol’s emotional environment or landscape is one marred by distance, detachment and dissolution despite the seemingly availability of human contact. The film centres on the essence of human, emotional and psychological contact between persons. Carol’s monotonous routine is implicit of a rigid landscape in which the characters, as well as people exist. Carol’s difficult situation is further augmented by the onset of unpredictable bodily reactions such as intense coughing, nose bleeds and convulsions when she goes to the dry cleaners. The film further exemplifies the nature of individuals’ psychotherapy, which is portrayed through physical conditions as seen in Carol’s case where doctors are unable to identify the cause of her physical discomforts. Presumably, Carol’s ailments are as a result of her emotional and psychological environments or landscapes. In Manufactured Landscapes, Jennifer Baichwal shows quite substantive mastery of using the theme of landscape to exemplify other themes. The film, which centres on videos and photographs of visual photographer Burtynsky’s trip across landscapes, show effects of large-scale human activities on landscape. The theme of the altering effect of human activities is exemplified through the portrayal of different landscapes within the super-16mm film. Most photographs within the film are pieces exhibited across the globe, and were taken using a large format field camera, before being developed into high dimensional prints on high resolution. The photographers’ main aim was to challenge people’s perceptions while querying the interplay OF aesthetics and environmental ethics. The film’s footage of vast landscapes was compiled from a trip to China during which Burtyansky went to see factories that Western societies have come to rely on for a majority of its appliances. This include among others, factories that produce most of the world’s supply of irons, which not only employs up to 23,000 workers, but is slightly more than one kilometre in length. Some intriguing landscapes within the film include the Three Gorges Dam that, together with the biggest dam in the world, has displaced over one million people and resulted in floods, in 140 towns, 1,350 villages and 13 cities from the start of its construction in the mid 1990s. The film, unlike most documentaries, is void of commentaries thus allows the audience to understand and appreciate the images and add up of what they observe. The landscapes shown in Manufactured Landscapes also attempts to alter the audience’s consciousness regarding the world and the way people live in it. Manufactured Landscapes has gotten a lot of acclaim since its debut. Its opening tracking shot of the Chinese factory is among the most fascinating elements of the entire film. The film further exemplifies the themes of capitalism where many persons are employed by few people to help the latter maximise their capital earnings. Despite the documentary films’ lack of commentary, it is evident that the screenwriter, as well as the photographers, embraced various landscapes, both manmade and natural to discover and explain other elements of human behaviour. Through the film, Baichwal has effectively portrayed landscape as more than a mere backdrop of pictures and plots, but also as a point, which shifts the paradigm of human existence. Landscapes such as dams are exemplified as a cause for human displacement from their natural habitats. The film’s landscapes also impress upon the audience the cancer that is intertwined in everything that they buy, from iron to the simplest and essential objects such as processed foods. Various film critiques have praised the film citing its capacity to raise the consciousness of its audience regarding aspects of production and its impacts on human lives and the environment. The environment has also been contrasted to its ideal form, which not only upholds human existence, but also supports it. However, the film shows that environmental ethics have nowadays been replaced with materialism, as well as capitalism. Through landscapes within the film, the audience become concerned over the irreversible nature of the global frenzy of consumption and production that has plagued postmodern humanity. 1979’s sci-fi film Stalker by Andrei Tarkovsky exemplifies the concept of using landscape as a character of its own. The film tells of an expedition, which was led by the Stalker to take his clients to an area called the Zone (Tatyana, 1997, 24). The Zone as a site has been used for the purpose of fulfilling one’s innermost desires. The Zone is set apart as a landscape that in itself is a character. The film’s title, which is similar in Russian and English, derives from the English word stalk, which means to approach furtively like a hunter. Within the film, a stalker is typified as a professional guide to the landscape of the Zone or someone who goes beyond the border into the prohibited zone with a specific view in mind. The Zone in the film Stalker is a region where the standard laws of physics do not typically apply. In addition, the room is yet another landscape that dismisses the popular notions of conventional laws of physics. As the stalker walks with the two clients to the forbidden zone, the trio evade military blockades and a gun battle ensues. The zone, which leads to the room, is a place plagued by danger and treachery. The characteristics of the zone are exemplified by the fear that engulfs people who go through it. The zone is antagonistic as it frustrates and prevents characters from achieving their goals and views of finding their innermost desires. For the Writer and Professor in Stalker, the zone symbolises the difference between the achievement of their desires or not. Because of this perception, the trio perform their utmost best to reach the dangerous land. In the end, the trio encounter hardships in a rather unforgiving landscape, which typifies a world that is set apart from the relative comfort and stability of modern landscapes and environments where homes and loved ones care one another (Melbye, 2010, 97). For instance, the stalker’s wife tries to convince her husband not to go to the zone, but rather stay home. The stalker dismisses his wife’s advice to his own detriment. The mysterious nature of the landscape that encompasses the zone and the room is also explicit of the antagonistic nature of the two super natural entities or landscapes. The essence of the director’s use of the zone and the room as characters is perhaps the description of different landscapes as having distinct characteristics that either facilitate or threaten the existence of life and comfortable living. Furthermore, the use of impeccable colour and sound within the film allows the audience an additional appreciation for the capacity of landscape to influence the film’s effect on the audience. Despite the film’s capacity to depict the two regions as individual landscapes and as characters, it is apparent that the sci-fi feel to the movie does not offer a formidable stance on the effectiveness of landscapes to influence human actions and thoughts. This is perhaps because landscapes within sci-fi films do not particularly elicit a feeling of appreciation of the meaning of such landscapes. Nonetheless, the film is a viable source of information regarding the efficacy of selecting appropriate landscapes within films (Melbye, 2010, 63). Wilderness as part of landscape also acts as an impressive theme in films, often used by filmmakers to develop the script or augment characters. Most films, which are set in the wilderness aim at showing people’s survival or fights against nature. The wilderness is also a formidable landscape when used in films to augment the film’s script, as well as enhance characters’ traits. The film Walkabout by Nicolas Roeg is a fascinating piece of work as it exemplifies the theme of wilderness. The storyline centres on a teenage girl and her younger brother who are stranded in the wilderness after their father goes crazy (Guthmann 1997, 14). The father shoots at his children after he drives them into the Australian wilderness. The film is explicit of human suffering at the hands of other humans, and the theme of wilderness is used as a stepping stone to further showcase the nature and capacity of human survival in the midst of the toughest situations (Melbye, 2010, 75). After running and walking for nearly an entire day, the two children are weakened by the conditions of the wilderness. However, the script takes a dramatic turn when the duo encounters a small pool with fruit trees and they spend an entire day resting. Even more shocking is the fact that, by morning, the pool has dried up. The nature of the wilderness to drain life out of everything and anyone in its vicinity is exemplified by the dried up oasis. However, the film proves that even the harshest environments are still habitable as the siblings are rescued by an aboriginal boy who helps them find water and hunts for their meals. The friendliness of aboriginals is also shown through the wilderness as the aboriginal boy, and his family are quite welcoming. Communication barriers are also a key theme within the film as the young siblings are unable to communicate effectively with the aboriginal boy. Walkabout embraces cultural diversity and natural contexts in its plot, which is developed further through the existence of the wilderness. The film provides the audience a chance to react to natural ecosystems such as wildernesses and appreciate the beauty and hardships that such wildernesses harbour. The film’s impressive directorial style, which is set apart by its strong visual composition typify Roeg’s experience in cinematography (Guthmann 1997, 97). The combination of these visual compositions with broad cross-cutting, as well as the juxtaposition of locations, environments and events also helps to build themes and enhance the plot and characters within the film. The juxtaposition of the child slaughtering prey with that of a butcher at his shop is an impressive composition in the film In addition, the wilderness describes the character of the stranded siblings as courageous, cheeky, wise and enduring. In addition, the use of the wilderness’ montages helps in the creation of symbolism (Tatyana, 1997, 47). This is primarily by juxtaposing two distinct shots within the film that are otherwise not quite compatible. For instance, in a scene, in Walkabout, while in the wilderness, the aboriginal boy kills and dismembers a kangaroo, which is then interrupted by a number of brief clips of a butcher at work in his butchery. Such juxtaposing of experiences within the wilderness and other environments provides immeasurable comparison grounds of occurrences in different environments. For example, in the wilderness, all persons despite their ages are confined to tasks that in other more conducive environments would be set aside for older persons. Furthermore, Roeg uses the scene of butchering meat in a shop and in the wilderness to show a stark contrast between civilisation and nature. The wilderness in Walkabout also conjures up images of animal and plant life within their varied landscapes. The director uses these images to give emphasis to events in the film’s plot, as well as set the film’s emotional tone. This is perhaps most notable in the violent scene that involved the rifle hunters. The film shows that while many things are viewed as impossible in the natural setting, they create a background of a varied, as well as populous environment. This is, for instance, shown in the scene where a woman wonders past the sleeping children in the middle of the desert (Guthmann 1997, 16). This allows the audience to perceive the wilderness as a haunting and beautiful place rather than a monotonous and shrill place where everything is acute and overly severe. Through using the wilderness as a major theme, the screenwriter is able to allow the film to entail minimal emotional and moral judgements of its characters thus ultimately portraying the nature of isolation in proximity. The exotic, natural images are quite strong within the wilderness, and enable the audience to appreciate the diversity of nature and existence. The wilderness also portrays the mystery of communication and suggests the crushed spirits of city dwellers whose lives are transformed by life in the wilderness (Tatyana, 1997, 51). While the landscape of the wilderness is uninspiring because of the heat haze, it nonetheless still acts as a viable communication vehicle that the screenwriter and director use to emphasize other pertinent themes that foreshadow events in the film. The shimmering heat haze of the desert echoes the idea of a mirage such as in The Adventures of Prescilla Queen of the Desert by Stephen Elliot. The film follows the story of gays and drag queens who transverse the Australian desert on their way to a hotel where they are to perform. The mirage resonates in the audience as they are forced to wonder whether such caravan exists within the wilderness or it is a mere figment of their imagination (Lefebvre, 2006, 61). The caravan of gays and drag queens collides with aboriginals, tourists and small town citizens who are not appreciative of the former’s choice of lifestyle. This conjures up a sense of sympathy towards the caravan as the audience feels sympathetic towards them because of not only their experiences within the desert, but their conflicts with the people they contact. Within the film, three key characters are heterosexual, but are still able to create a sense of sympathy towards the three-dimensional homosexual characters. The film conveys a different picture compared to that conveyed by Hollywood films regarding homosexuals. Homosexuals in The Adventures of Prescilla Queen of the Desert are portrayed as having a sex life, as well as sexual wishes than the depiction of Hollywood, which considers this rather disturbing for a straight audience. The film offers a foundation for the connection and interrelation between heterosexuals and homosexuals in the society (Lefebvre, 2006, 18). Furthermore, it also conveys the disparity that exists between homosexuals and heterosexuals within the society. For instance, Tick who also has a bisexual ex-wife is confronted by his colleagues on the basis of the latter’s prejudices with regard to homosexuality. This film is able to typify the strengths and weaknesses of the gay community as an integral constituent of the overall society. Through the caravan’s transversal of the wilderness, we are able to grasp the concepts of homosexual cliches. Adam is perhaps the epitome of homosexuality within the film as he presents some of the notable cliches regarding homosexuality. However, the screenwriter and directors’ superior skills in cinematography enable Adam to also bring immense depth and insight in his role in which actors of a lower capacity would have failed to convey the desired message effectively. The film is also improved by the character of Berbadette, a transsexual who plays the part with dignity, as well as an intense sense of humour, which allows the audience to identify with him/her despite his/her different sexual orientation. Elliot effectively showcases how drag queens work for their roles within the performing family and how the entire experience can sometimes be frustrating or rewarding. The costumes and wigs used in the film are also characters of their own. In The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, the vast open plains of the Australian desert represent the freedom of homosexuals who as they are able to live free of the bias and ridicule of modern and civilised societies. Landscapes and wilderness are also used in films to exemplify the concepts of emotional highs (Lefebvre, 2006, 27). Landscape, especially when intertwined with an effective soundtrack helps to create an emotional high that surpasses the effectiveness of written action and dialogue within the film. This purely visual, as well as auditory combination, demonstrates a standard cinematic experience, which today’s special effects can only desire to emulate. For instance, the film Walkabout embodies magnificent cinematic experiences with regard to the wilderness scenes. Flying slowly and low over a landscape, especially in the wilderness is used to evoke exhilaratION. This relationship between landscape and soundtracks within films is a way to make to audience feel more alive and powerful in a way that being grounded and stationary in the landscape does not. Into the Wild is a biographical film on the travel experiences of Christopher McCandless across North America, as well part of his life spent Alaskan wilderness. The film has earned strong reviews from film critics who cite that the film is a positive depiction of the disparities between the civilised world and the wilderness. The film centres on the McCandless’ experiences in the wilderness that caused him immense suffering, as well as an exhilarating experience where he appreciates his tenacity in the face of adverse situations. For instance, when his car is caught in a flash flood, McCandless is forced to hitchhike to his Alaskan odyssey. In the film, the lyrical soundtrack offers a depiction of the Alaskan wilderness as it creates a rapport between nature and emotions. The film also provides a contrast to different worlds that exist around us. The wilderness and the modern environment are contrasted through landscape and wilderness. The dramatic alteration in landscape is an effective module to create the immediate impression of contrasting worlds. The film contrasts the environments of modernity in North America and the wilderness of Alaska. The style of contrasting worlds exemplifies the difference in different worlds such as the wilderness and the modern environment. The wilderness, for instance, is typified as a world where normal friendships are put to the maximum test through extraordinary circumstances and a natural world where different dangers exist than those of the industrial steelworks of the civilised world. The wilderness also shows a world where the occasional hunter sometimes becomes the hunted. The film provides a view of the trajectory of the film that jumps between two different worlds in terms of technology and time with regard to the distant past and the relatively near future. In addition, it tells of different worlds in terms of location, i.e. from the earthbound life to one that involves life in space especially with regard to the prospect of eternal life that is provided by a superior deity. Films present aspects of human lives through landscapes such as wilderness, oceanic and mountainous landscapes among others. This paper has examined the development of landscapes as a means of conveying human emotions, as well as the development of themes and other characters. It is evident that landscape and wilderness as themes in films describes other elements of the film as showcased through films such as Into the Wild, The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Safe and walkabout. Landscape and wilderness have the immeasurable effect of exemplifying the purpose or aim of a film through the comparison of different worlds and uncovering emotional highs. This paper has examined the scope of wilderness and landscape within films, and highlighted the nature of landscape and wilderness as characters in films. Landscape and wilderness are immensely viable themes in films as they depict various elements in specific films. Wilderness is an integral constituent of landscape and offers immense hurdles to human survival. The epitome of human existence and triumph is the capacity for people to survive the hardships of wilderness and other adverse landscapes. Word Count: 4, 380 References: Guthmann, E, 1997, Intriguing `Walkabout' in the Past. New York: McGraw Hill. Harper, G. and Rayner, J, 2010, Cinema and Landscape. Bristol: Intellect Limited. Lefebvre, M, 2006, Landscape and Film. New York: Routledge. Melbye, D, 2010, Landscape Allegory in Cinema: From Wilderness to Wasteland. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Tatyana, E, 1997, Soviet Film Music, London: Routledge. Read More