Explore how far spectators respond in the same way to a film. Illustrate your answer by close reference to your chosen film.
In your answer, consider:
- what you understand by spectators responding to a film in the same way
- how aspects of film form are used to encourage a particular response
- to what extent spectators respond in the same way to those aspects of film form
This essay will explore how far spectators respond in the same way to the film Captain Fantastic. Spectatorship theory is the emotional responses a spectator experiences with fully engagement of a film, and factors that influence this response.
In the opening scene the filmmaker uses camerawork as a key structural element to encourage the spectator to respond in a certain way, we see a close up shot of a beautiful deer, focusing on its eyes, we then zoom out slowly and watch as Bo as he slowly closes up on the wild beast and brutally murders it with a hunting knife, this use of camerawork is designed to encourage the spectator to respond with feeling of anger/sympathy, the most important reason Matt Ross encourages the spectator response in this way is due to position/alignment of how we see this scene, for example, we are in a close up point of view perspective, of we were looking at this from another angle perhaps as a whole shot the spectator would not be encourage to respond in the same way.
Another piece of information about the emotional response to this opening scene is that each spectator will not respond in the same way depending on personal affecting factors such as whether they agree or disagree with the killing of animals, spectators will feel angry/sad if they disagree, as apposed to someone who agrees with the killing of animals. The emotional response would be shock and sympathy as it is brutal to kill a wild animals, however the rational response is the fact that his family have to eat, they are killing to eat, not for pleasure, the deer has lived a nice and lustful life and not in a cage being fed all sorts of growth enhancements for it to be killed as better meat for supermarkets. It is most likely the spectator will appreciate how the filmmaker's use of camerawork encourages them to respond with shock and sympathy. For the spectator with strong opinions regarding the killing of animals, this would result in a negotiated response as the spectator feels shock and sympathy but they are also acknowledging the rational side that it is necessary as without its death, the family would die, they also aren't mindlessly killing the deer. On the other hand a person who is very strongly against the killing of animals could completely disagree with this scene and therefore they will have an oppositional response.
Another way of looking at spectatorship is by looking at the relationship with Rellian and his father, and how the filmmaker stimulates the spectator to have an active response, the filmmaker has used the performance to lead the spectator feel shock/sympathy in the scene when Rellian lashes out and expresses his hatred for his father and blames him for the death of his mother Lesley, this behaviour of Rellian is shocking and gives the spectator this active response as it is seen is wrong for a child to treat their parent like this, however spectators could sympathise with Rellian as he is only asking to celebrate Christmas and receive normal gifts as apposed to Noam Chomsky Day and receiving bows and hunting knives. It can been seen as child abuse when Ben forces Rellian to clime a rock face which he clearly does not want to do. An example of an emotional response is shock when Rellian tells his father he hates him. A rational response is sympathising as Rellian is being treated unfairly.
The way the spectator responds to this is dependent upon personal factors affecting them, for example a spectator who is a widowed parent will disagree with Rellian, it must be hard enough for Ben losing his wife but also knowing his son blames him for it is seen as shocking, this is a dominant response the spectator holds against Rellian. On the other hand what Ben is doing is seen as wrong, for example when he makes Rellian climb a rock face (which he clearly does not want to partake) can be seen as child abuse and therefore a spectator who has been through similar situations as a child will agree with Rellian and respond with sympathy for him, this is a negotiated response as Rellian shouldn't treat is father like this but he is also being treated unfairly.
This essay has in fact shown that spectators do not tend to respond in the same way to Captain Fantastic, this is the essence of spectatorship, despite the fact to people could see the film in the same circumstances they can both come out and have a different point of view. Spectatorship is the view of how each spectator will respond in a different emotional ways to one another dependant upon personal factors affecting them.
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