One of the things that caught my interest in Chapter 8 is the idea of an Affective Response within the movies that we watch. Silverblatt uses the example of the movie, 101 Dalmatians. This movie is very heartwarming to most children, who find the idea of little puppies to be happy and exciting, and wouldn't want them to be harmed in any way.
It is important for a writer to capture the audience's heart or cause some sort of a reaction from the viewer. There are several examples that I can think of just from my own experiences. I remember when I was younger and watched the movie Old Yeller. Yes, this is an old movie and some of you may not have seen it, but if you have you would know that the movie has a very sad ending and definitely pulls at your heart strings. The important thing to think about is that the writer was able to get that reaction from me. This is something that Disney, the creator has been very good at and because of them being able to do this with many of their movies, it keeps me wanting to watch more.
Another example of an affective response could be the movie Saw. It is a fairly scary and suspenseful movie, and for me, movies like these often keep me on the edge of my seat wanting to know what's next. This particular genre of movie keeps me watching because even though similar outcomes are happening in each movie, they are a bit of a rush.
Lastly, another type of movie is the action movie. Movies like The Matrix can make you can make you fall in love, so to speak, with a certain character. Neo, for example, the main character becomes someone that you continually want to follow and find out what's happening to him. It is because of this that I then wanted to watch the sequels to the movie.
Choosing a favorite movie is tough, but one thing is for sure, the best movies allow you in some way to connect with them and get a response.
A strong narrative is part of it but it is also important to think about the production elements that work to elicit affective response. Your example of the movie Saw is a good one, in many ways it is a typical horror film. Take a look at the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFQebvkii90
ReplyDeleteThe use of sound is particularly interesting. By playing the "thud" of a heartbeat behind various scenes throughout your level of excitement is increased. That sound is a signal to the audience that something is coming and anyone who has watched a horror movie before recognizes it and thus is on the edge of their seat trying to anticipate what will happen next. Can you see any other production elements in this trailer that are helping to provoke that sense of fear/dread that horror films are known for?