Examine Rififi through a feminist lens. Use at least one quote from a feminist film theory essay (either the Laura Mulvey essay or Anneke Smelik's essay. Read the film by analyzing one five-minute scene. Be sure to discuss the film's meaning as a whole (through the feminist lens) and the scene's relation to that meaning. Why did you choose the scene? I also want you to mention your favorite part of the movie and what cinematic techniques you learned you could use in your own productions. Minimum of 2 paragraphs
Due: Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Rififi is a great movie to watch through a feminist lens. There are many things in this film that prove that women are depicted as weaker beings to men. The scene that stuck out to me most is from 12 minutes to 17 minutes into the movie. This scene is where Tony sees his old mistress and invites her home with him. When she goes home with him, she walks into the apartment and Tony right away mentions he needs money and she says she will help him. This is where she is shown as weak in comparison to Tony, a male. Tony tells her to take off her ring and her expensive jewelry and she does it without questioning him. He then tells her to take off all of her clothes and after she does he then grabs a belt and hits her. He performs this action off screen and it doesn't show him doing the beating, but the fact that the violence is performed off screen makes the focus fall “on the face of the person committing the violence and not the violence itself” according to Roger Ebert. This makes the violence much more effective and realistic in my opinion. Tony hits her many times across the back as we learn after we see the scars later in the film. This action shows that Tony, the male, has power and dominance over his mistress, the female, making this a great scene to look at through a feminist lens.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of the movie, while very obvious, is the heist scene. I love that even though it was the biggest portion of the film, “it is the centerpiece of the film, not the climax” as pointed out by Roger Ebert in his Rififi essay. It was the most important part of the movie, but the climax came when Cesar gets kidnapped. The fact that this masterpiece heist scene wasn’t even the climax highlights it even more and makes it seem even more important. Also, I learned that background music isn’t necessary to making a scene suspenseful and important. The entire heist scene was made with only diegetic sound, which I think adds to the suspense of the film. I will definitely try out this technique in my own films.
If you examine the film Rififi through a feminist lens, you can discover that women aren't portrayed in a positive manner; they are just the objectifiyed object of the male gaze. The narrative revolves around the male characters that aremore dominant than the female characters. I chose a scene that I feel is very important for anyone that wishes to look at this film through a feminist lens, which is the scene where Tony goes to a club to find his former lover Mado and at the e d of the scene beats her and kicks her out of the house. When he beats her, that is really a key moment that makes men have power over women for a large majority of the film. Anneke Smelik says in her essay on feminist film theory, that in classic film narratives, like Rififi, "the female character is passive and powerless: she is the object of desire for the male". This scene shows how Rififi can be classified as a classic narrative, with these characteristics.
ReplyDeleteThe scene opens up with a shot of Tony facing a large foul of people, some dancing, some sitting, with him on the right side of the screen, with lots of shadows and areas of darkness that are scattered throughout the image. Tony approaches the table where Mado is sitting, and we can look at the cinematography of this part of the scene we can see how this scene shows the male gaze and male dominance over women. We see a shot of Tony standing, most likely over the table, staring downward. The shot is a low angle shot, which automatically puts him in a place of power. We can also look at his costume which also displays him as powerful. He is mostly always wearing a suit, with a tie and jacket and all. A suit usually identifies someone of powernor significance and thus puts Tony in a very high place of power. The next shot is of Madonna looking up towards Tony, and a lot of elements in this shot show the male gaze. First looking at her placement in the frame, she isin the dead center, putting her at the center of attention. This fact paired up with the editing shows that this ia a point of view like shot, not in the exact position of Tony's eyesight but in a similar manner, show that this is a representation of the male gaze. Why is he gazing at her? Well elements.of the mise-en-scene help explain this. Her costume is meant to be attractive, to force attention on her, along with all of the jewelry she is wearing and her hairstyle and make up, all make her a "visual pleasure" and thus the object of the male gaze. Another thing to notice in this shot ia the fact that it is a high angle shot, making her in a place or little or no power. In the next shot Tony and Mado are seen in the same shot, and the framing still conveys Tony having more power over Mado, because Tony takes up the entire height of the frame, while Mado is sitting and only uses half of the height. The next major part of this scene that best shows the male gaze and gender imbalance of power, is the scene where Tony beats her with a belt. The prop of the belt and clothing, or lack of clothing, convey Tony being powerful and Mado being powerless. When someone is naked, they are at their most vulnerable state, or their weakest state, so when Tony forces Mado to take off all of her clothing, he is reducing her to almost nothing. Next the prop of the belt and the diegetic sound of the belt hitting Mado creates the imageof a slave and their master, making Mado litterally powerless. The last prop is the picture of Tony and Mado.when tbeywere apparentlyna couple before, and this explains his gaze on her, it isn't really a gaze for him of obsession, but he is still the powerfully figure I. Which the narrative now flows around, and Madonis left powerless as he throws her out of the house half dressed.
My favorite part of the movie is most deffiently the theist scene, mostly because you do t see a technique used like that I. Most movies, old or modern. The use of only dietetic ambient t sound, no speaking at all what so ever, and mostly silence, for such an extended period of time, is often unheard of by most, and it is extremely powerful. This film has also showed me several differnent techniques that are simple that I couldt use in productions of my own, including the use of silence, which is really powerful. I also can make relivant use of dollying the camera, even the slightest bit forward and backward can be effective, framing people in doorways can also be very helpful. Also very simple cuts, like a fade to black, Cnn be very helpful in keeping continuity moving smoothly in a film. These techniques aren't thatnhard to use and so I should be able to use them in production of my own.
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ReplyDeleteThough women throughout Reefeefee were usually portrayed as being weak and less powerful in comparison to the men, they are able to effect the them with their beauty. There is symbolism during the nightclub scene, especially with Viviane’s appearance. The women in the room look as though they are leading the men. Since they don’t have a large voice in cinema like men do, they are “restricted to the realm of the body.” When Viviane is performing the Rififi song, she captures all of César’s attention. For a second, it almost seems as though she is manipulating him with her beauty and wonderful singing. But we find out later on that she works for Grutter, so she is being manipulated by men. This is probably the only scene that represent women in this manner. Viviane having a strong voice in this scene sets it apart from other scenes.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite scene from Rififi is near the end when Tony finds César tied up in the Grutter night club. I personally liked how this scene was shot, in a small storage room that is filled with darkness and regret. Being that there is no music, the emotions between the two characters is further emphasized. Things look intense. When Tony explains to César that Mario was murdered, the camera films it through a close-up shot of their faces, and at eye level so that we focus on their eyes. The glare in César’s eyes makes me feel sorrow for him, because I understand what is most likely going on in his head. From this scene, I learned more about how darkness and shadows, in many situations like this, are essential for conveying deep emotions.
A lot of criticism can be made about Jules Dassin and his film Rififi as inspected through a feminist film theory lens. The scene that I believed represented what some critics might have to say about this film happens between 11:28 and about 17:30. The scene starts off with Tony walking down the spiral staircase into the club. It’s interesting that the set contained this spiral staircase, which was a prominent thing to use in expressionist films which could have influenced Dassin while in France. While doing some research, I came across an essay from an anonymous author that stated, “Modern historians describe film noir as a synthesis of hard-boiled crime fiction and German expressionism.” Anyways, the scene then goes to Tony finding that Mado is on a date and he swoops in and takes her away, back to his apartment. He makes her give up all of her expensive looking jewelry and strip down and then he beats her with a belt and throws her out of his apartment. A very sad seen to look at indeed, especially with the feminist policies that have become an integral part of society nowadays. Even though this film was created back in 1955, it is still strange how Dassin chose to represent female characters in his film. This is because of the time period it was created and what was going on in the time.
ReplyDeleteDuring the 1950’s the world, especially America, was going through major social changes. New policies were being made to help the case for not only blacks and other racial minorities, but for women as well. They were also part of the civil rights activists and were starting to gain more respect and power in the workplace. Dassin definitely knew of this and was a part of this before he got deported to France, so the question is “why did he choose to continue with showing such harsh treatment of woman?” Anneke Smelik tells in her article on feminism and feminist film theory some reasons why Dassin and some others decided to portray women that way. In Smelik’s essay she writes that Claire Johnston, one of the first feminist film critics, says that, “Women are negatively represented as being ‘not-man’. The ‘woman-as-woman’ is absent from the text of the film.” By this, she means those women are treated wrong because they are not male characters and only male characters are treated respectfully in films. In that respect, most filmmakers choose to portray female characters as submissive and often very powerless, unless in the case of a femme fetale, which we do not see in Rififi. Specifically in this scene, it is obvious that Mado is the submissive character because when Tony gives her the command to take off all of her jewelry and then all of her clothes, she doesn’t fight it. Then, he starts beating her with a belt and still no resistance. It’s as though Dassin thought of women as having no fight in them whatsoever, which is obviously not the case as shown in much of American history. This scene also exemplifies on meaning of this film as a whole, which I believe was the different things that a man would do because of a woman, and vice versa. Because Mado feels bad that she left Tony as soon as he went to jail, she takes off all of her jewelry and clothes on command, takes a vicious beating from Tony, and gets thrown out of his apartment without being able to get dressed. Tony, because he is so furious by the end of the scene, decides to call up Jo and accepts the offer to go through with the heist. The pattern is the character does something drastic because of the opposite gendered character and this sets off a chain reaction of other events. This pattern follows suit throughout the film with other characters. For example, Cesar decides to be dumb and steal the extra ring after they get done with the heist and gives it to Viviane as a gift, which ends up getting the whole gang caught and killed. Also, Mario’s wife screams into the telephone for Tony not to come because the rival gang would kill him as well, which gets her and Mario killed.
My favorite part of the movie, by far, has to be the heist scene. I believe it is the climax of the movie because after it, everything about the movie changes drastically. This scene is very well put together with different lighting, camera, and sound techniques that I would have never thought of and might actually be capable of duplicating for one of my films. In this scene, the lighting is very dim except to show the faces of the thieves. The sweat drips down their faces and you can see the angst on their face as they go through with the job. It is a simple way of showing intensity and causing suspense. Also, the camera is very kinetic and the editing is very long and slow. This also gives the feeling of suspense because the audience is anticipating the next cut or jump but when none comes, they can’t wait to see when it will occur and what it will show. Also, the gang is being very quiet while they are going about this job. This, added with no non-diegetic music playing at all, also gives the scene a lot of suspense. It was quiet, too quiet.
ReplyDeleteRififi is a perfect film to analyze through a feminist lens. It has plenty of women and men, and lots of time to view and analyze their interactions together. And many times in this film is it ever so present that there are very obvious sexist undertones, depicting women as less mentally capable, less able to be a part of society as well as a definite second to men in this world (which of course is not true).
ReplyDeleteIn the scene where Tony goes to the Parisian night club to find Mado, this ever present sexism is outstandingly obvious. At the very beginning, as he descends the stairs, he blatantly ignores the female coat check as she offers to take his coat. Despite this not being a big event, it still signifies what is to come as well as his general atmosphere toward some women.
Following this, as he finds and approaches Mado, here with another man. She is talking him into paying for more drinks, and he gives in. This shows she has an amount of control over this man, with her "feminine charm". This implies yet another sexist undertone, that women can control men with their sexuality. Then she looks up and sees Tony, with fright in her eyes. This finishes the line of control, that Tony has control over Mado, who has control over this man, and by the transitive property, Tony had control over them both. The man with Mado, upon seeing Tony, gets up to confront him, to which Tony tells him to scram, which he does.
In the next few minutes, Tony continually asserts his power over her, making her go up to his room. She seems very weak and vulnerable the entire time, following all of his condescending and sexist instructions, and not showing any resistance at all. Then as he makes her undress and beats her, this is the epitome of the blatant sexism in the film. Not only does he have control over her with his words, this movie subtly justifies his control over her with a belt.
My favourite part of the movie will have to be the heist scene. It uses the lack of non-diegetic sounds to a major advantage, uniquely creating tension and story with the use of the diegetic sounds and shots. The camera movement also helps this, and this scene is moved along, despite the lack of conventional means of narrative.
Hey ms holden. Sorry this is so late. I worked late yesterday then crashed, and then worked aaaall day today. But here it is now :)
ReplyDeleteLooking at Rififi through a feminist lens is very easy. The movie is very clearly geared with a chauvinist mentality, which is obviously evident in the characters and large events, but also present in small nuances of the film. One very obvious scene from this film when wanting a feminist analysis would be the scene where the woman sings “Rififi.” As the scene opens, one of our attractive protagonists is cupping a woman’s face and looking at her from various angles, as if appraising an ornament, and he does so seemingly with no care about how she feels about it. Next, as the characters enter the bar, some women see the men and instantly get smiley and throw themselves at the men. It’s also interesting to note that before the approach the men, the women are in the background and indistinct, but gain prominence as they attach themselves to the men. Also, the men refer to the women by demeaning names like “kid,” as well as saying things like “sit your moneymaker down.” The men pay little attention to the women when they talk, and get easily distracted by the actions around them. The most obvious part of this scene that negatively portrays women is the song that Viviane sings. Throughout the song, Viviane makes herself out to be extremely sexualized, weak, and swayed by manly swagger and abuse. Anneke Smelik says "the female character is passive and powerless: she is the object of desire for the male,” and this comment is extremely accurate. This whole song suggests that men should dominate their women, and men should willingly accept this, or even seek it out. Not only that, but it would support the action of men doing this to their women. At one point in the song Viviane even says that when she tries to talk, the man commands her to shut up and she happily does so, and that this tickles her sexual fancy. Also during the song, the men in the club stare at Viviane the way dogs stare at meat. Viviane is made a sexually objectified object, and this increases as she humps objects around the bar and dances, as a silhouette, with Rififi. During this silhouette dance, Rififi goes as far as to “slap” Viviane multiple times, and this initiates a love making sequence. This sequence describes the tone and the macho drive of the rest of the film, and helps explain the mind set and influence of the time period.
ReplyDeleteThis also happens to be my favorite part of the movie. It really helps with painting a picture of the time, it’s interesting, it helps characterize our protagonists, and its, aside from its negative connotations, entertaining. Viviane sings well and it’s a good show. Music is very important to me, and I find myself still singing this song weeks later. The fact that this scene is set to music makes it all the more memorable. A film trick I would really like to try from this scene is the silhouette section of the scene. I think having hyper-stylized actions expressed from the opposite side of a film would be exciting and very interesting, as well as an experience that would teach the use of lighting, filters, kinesis within the shot, etc.
"In their traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-ness. Women displayed as sexual object is the leit-motiff of erotic spectacle." I find that this quote from Laura Mulvey's Visual Pleasure And Narrative Cinema essay pertains to Rififi, especially when looked at through a feminist lens. One scene in Rififi that especially displays women as sexual objects is towards the beginning of the movie where Tony invites a woman back to his apartment and beats her. The woman is forced to take all her clothes off and then Tony hits her multiple times. This scene can very easily be seen through the "male gaze." I'm sure its very exciting to the male audience to see a woman take off her clothes on screen. But for the female audience, to see that a woman is displayed as a sexual object and then beaten by a man, its degrading and unpleasant. This scene adds to the recurring theme in the film of treating women as "second class citizens" and only using them as sexual objects. Throughout the film, men have dominance over women and this scene is just one example to prove the theme.
ReplyDeleteAlthough this scene has a large impact on the film, my favorite part, along with many of my classmates, was the 35 minute heist scene. To be more specific, i enjoyed the part where the men drilled the hole in the back of the dresser. The use of only diegetic sound was very interesting. There wasn't any background music or noises. Just the shuffling of the men's feet and the sound of the drill. The sound of the drill was obnoxiously loud. This was significant because it created suspense among the audience. The drill was so loud, I know that I, as a viewer, was on the edge of my seat hoping that the sound wouldn't get the men caught. I hope to use this diegetic sound technique in future productions of mine because I find it really draws in the audience and adds significance to the meaning of the film.
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