Tag: feministfilm

A-Level exam answer: How useful has an ideological critical approach been in understanding key characters in This Is England and We Need To Talk About Kevin?

Both Shane Meadows’ This is England and Lynne Ramsay’s We Need To Talk About Kevin centre around the difficulties associated with teenage boys approaching adulthood, however whereas This Is England revolves around Shaun as the central protagonist, …Kevin pursues an alternative perspective, using the title character as a focal point to explore the identity of his mother, Eva. Although the spectator will automatically form their … Continue reading A-Level exam answer: How useful has an ideological critical approach been in understanding key characters in This Is England and We Need To Talk About Kevin?

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Some observations on hair in Captain Fantastic

The costume design in Matt Ross’s directorial debut is one of the most visually interesting elements of the film, from Ben’s red ‘clown suit’ through to Zaja’s gas mask and road kill hat. (It’s worth reading the New York Times’ interview with costume designer Courtney Hoffman here: Homespun Hippie or Backwoods Gucci?) From the outset, the Cash family’s abundant hair is a further visual indicator … Continue reading Some observations on hair in Captain Fantastic

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The Absent Mother: Female Agency and Identity in ‘Captain Fantastic’

In ‘Captain Fantastic’ (2016), director Matt Ross constructs a self-consciously egalitarian haven ‘out of Plato’s republic’. The film’s opening sequence presents us with girls who skin animals and build shrines to Pol Pot; men who nurture both plants and small children. In this forest commune, it seems, inequalities of age and gender are swept aside – or at least kept safely at bay in the … Continue reading The Absent Mother: Female Agency and Identity in ‘Captain Fantastic’

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