Monday, March 14, 2011
Renoir's Rules of the Game
Think about the way women are presented in the film. In at least 2 very well-developed paragraphs, analyze a 5-minute scene through a feminist lens. This does not mean to look only at the women as objects (of a male gaze), but to look at how women are treated as a whole in the film. Use specific cinematic examples.
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Jean Renoir’s 1939 “Rules of the Game,” demonstrates the dangers of infidelity and represents the negative aspects of love and its power within all people. It shows how it has the ability to tear people apart and drastically change a persons actions. The outlook on women throughout the film is a very crucial piece which brings the audience in closely to the narrative through its cinematic and emotional components.
ReplyDeleteI chose the scene at 5:56, when Lisette and Christine are talking about relationships, men, and their lives in general. Christine, draped all in white, begins the scene by asking Lisette if she’s happily married. Lisette reply's by saying that her husband is “no trouble,” right away signifying that she isn’t in love, due to the lack of enthusiasm in her speech or tone. Lisette, who is draped all in black, stands over Christine and watches her in the mirror as she puts on make up. This shows how Lisette is very envious of Christine's stability as a women, since it is clear that Lisette cannot make up her mind about men, which you find out later gets her in a great deal of trouble. As the camera remains static at a medium shot, you can see Lisette watching herself in the mirror, which brings insight onto not only how the audience portrays her, but to how she portrays herself. If the dialogue about her many “lovers” wasn’t enough to realize that she is a complex female with a secret agenda, her black outfit reveals the rest. Her darkness contrasted to Christine’s bright clothing shows how Christine is in fact innocent and a pure individual.
In this scene, and the film as a whole, women are not just seen as objects of gaze, rather, they are seen as complex individuals, with freedom and motivation just like any man. However, within the actual narrative women are seen as “eye-candy” and are loved simply because of their charm and beauty, but implicitly, Renoir created these characters to represent much greater things. This scene is a clear representation of free, independent women. Although they are not doing what’s right (by cheating on their husbands), they are exemplary examples of real life women that are not just subject to a mans gaze. The Feminist Film Theory states that in this instance, the director intends for women to look less old fashioned, and represent a more real and important part of society.
“The Rules of the Game”, directed by Jean Renoir, is a French dramatic comedy-of-manners which takes a satirical look at the French upper-class (and to a lesser extent, the lower class) right before the start of World War II. Renoir takes the situations in the film and is able to deconstruct the typical roles and tendencies of both men and women in that era’s French society. Looking at the film from a feminist lens one can see that through the use of not only character traits, but lighting and camera angles as well, Renoir is taking a jab at both women in society (1930s France) and the society’s treatment of the women itself. The scene in which the audience first sees Christine and her maid, Lisette, starts with a wide shot of the two from some distance (possibly from a window) and already the director is establishing distance between the two and the audience; this makes it harder for the audience to connect with the two women and forces the audience to judge them on their own account, without the aid of a low or high angle. This technique of limiting the use of close-ups is frequently used throughout the entire film, and Renoir really only uses them when it serves to further the story. The use of a static camera in this scene is also crucial, as the camera only pans to follow Christine when she moves, while whenever Lisette moves the camera does not. Although this is not pure feminist film theory, it can be looked at through that lens: Lisette is a working class woman and so she is entrapped in her role as a maid, unable to move anywhere in society. However, it is interesting to note that Lisette is happy with her role as lady in waiting to Christine, which may be a further irony.
ReplyDeleteRenoir does not try to separate the men from women in this film on the surface – they all cheat on their spouses (except for Lisette’s husband who simply decides to kill his wife’s lover). However, implicitly, the difference is purposefully noticeable. When Christine and her husband de la Chesnaye first appear together onscreen Christine is shown in a much harder lighting than her husband, who is shown in a softer lighting. This signifies a difference between the two. The harder lighting on Christine, in contrast to the softer lighting on her husband makes Christine more difficult to see both literally and symbolically in society. Ironically it is Christine, Lisette, and Genevieve – the three main female characters in the story – who talk openly about the affairs they are having. De la Chesnaye is shown in a softer lighting which makes him seem younger, if not naïve. Also not coincidentally, it is the male characters – De la Chesnaye, Octave, Andre – who keep their affairs and feeling sheltered and hidden. In many films of this time period (like “Citizen Kane”), softer lighting was often reserved for women and hard lighting for men. However, here Renoir reverses the lighting to critique possibly on the real way that society was functioning at the time and how women in French society truly were, not just how they looked and acted in glamorous films. The light reversal helps to convey the typical “roles” of women (and men) in comedies-of-manners and helps to break down these roles in pre-WWII French society as well. In “The Rules of the Game”, women are not mere representations of what men wanted to see women as in films, but living, breathing, three-dimensional characters.
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ReplyDeleteIn his controversial 1939 film Rules of The Game, Jean Renoir used women as a source of visual pleasure for his male audience while demonstrating the growing independence and power of women in the 1930s. The female lead, Christine, embodies both sides of feminist film theory, as she is simultaneously used as an object for the male gaze and as a picture of an independent women able to make her own decisions and deviate from the ‘rules.’ The duality of her purpose is most strongly demonstrated by the party scene, beginning around 1:05:50. Throughout this scene Christine is bathed in soft, flattering lighting, indicating a soft “womanly” nature. It is also apparent that she is filmed in a way that accentuates her beauty, the intent of which is explained by Laura Mulvey’s feminist film theory. The first point of this theory is that women are included in films as a source of viewing pleasure for the male audience, a point that could definitely be argued in this film, not only in regards to the always decadently-clad Christine but also in Lisette and Genevieve, the latter wearing a revealing gypsy costume throughout the scene. These women are all made up, and with the soft lighting blurring their edges, they are almost more like dolls than real people. The second point of Mulvey’s theory is also apparent, in that this one scene shows Christine linked with four different men. These men, who include the robust Octave, Christine’s effeminate husband, the inexperienced Andre, and an unknown party guest, are not extraordinarily handsome or spectacular. Despite their average appearance, and somewhat annoying personalities, Christine is still attracted to them. This adds a sense of realism to the film, and gives the male audience members the idea that they could be with her, allowing them to gain even more pleasure from her appearance.
ReplyDeleteHowever, Mulvey’s belief that men viewed women ONLY as objects of gaze ignores another facet of women in film, as vehicles of power. Christine is one such women who, although appealing to men, is also an independent figure. Her ability to live for fun, moving from man to man at a whim demonstrates the transition of women from a subservient /passive role (as seen in earlier films and for hundreds of years) to a status equatable with men. Women, who previously accepted their husbands infidelity were now able to be unfaithful themselves. Although a disconcerting statement on the burgoise society, whose frivolous and almost immoral practices Renoir wished to expose, it also demonstrates the trend of women gaining independence. Christine embodies this new independence through her actions as well as the way in which she is filmed. As Christine speaks to Andre, after declaring her love for him, she is dominant in the frame. Christine is filmed from a low angle looking down at Andre (whose face we do not see), highlighting her power over him and all men. During this exchange Christine is lit with a back light source, creating a halo around her head. This indicates Renoir’s desire to portray Christine in a positive light, viewing her power and gender role reversals as a welcome addition to French society. In this sense, Renoir did not use women simply because they were pretty, but as deeper characters who represented a changing French culture.
Jean Renoir’s comedy of manners “The Rules of the Game” is evidently a mockery of the pre-World War II French upper-class, emphasizing especially their adulterous tendencies. It may, however, exaggerate the norm-status of such corruption, all the while, distorting the viewer’s perception of women within the film. Although surprisingly enough, Renoir explicitly sets a rather equal standard for both men and women through character traits and costume. Andre and Christine are commonly dressed in white or lighter shades, while the rest of the characters are primarily seen sporting darker grays and blacks, including their counter-couple, Genevieve and Robert. This trend allows an even playing field between the sexes, for the most part. In a scene taking place during the masquerade ball, an exchange between Andre and Christine is made significant entirely through Renoir’s cinematic techniques. It opens with a roughed-up Andre in medium-closeup and centered, providing a more personable impression on the audience. Relatable even. His bow tie is crooked and he wears no sports coat, leaving on only his white button up and his shadow on the wall to his left is neither overpowering nor pathetic, giving him a rather neutral status. In contrast, Christine is viewed from nearly Andre’s perspective, all the way across the room. A long shot in which she is merely another subject makes her much less appealing or apparent in the frame. Her face is but a blur in the middle ground, despite the intensity of her speech. Conventionally a director would cut to a closeup, while Renoir chooses to keep a static long shot for the entirety of her confession. Obviously, he did not intend to portray Christine as any more innocent or likeable compared to her partner, because the next shot of Andre is even more personal than the last. Closer, with his expression soft and empathetic. When the two are in the frame together, Christine’s face is continuously angled away from the camera. One shot includes an over the shoulder view, focusing on Andre’s face as he preaches his love. The single closeup of our female character is brief and she remains speechless, simply shaking her head in response to Andre’s oh-so-sincere monologue. The shot may only serve to remind the viewer of her beauty. This is supported by the theory that women are included in film to satisfy the “male gaze”. In the next medium shot, the two embrace until Christine becomes upset, turning to leave the frame. She does so, but the camera waits to pan in order to follow Andre after her. She can leave the frame and he cannot, foreshadowing the fact that he will eventually lose his beloved quite briefly. When Andre moves to Christine, he takes his place on the couch beside her. She is sitting on the armrest and is thus slightly above him. A delicate high angle shot has the potential to portray Christine as superior, however, in context only makes her seem more unpleasant. She resists Andre, although he has put himself in such a vulnerable position, almost resembling a man on one knee, proposing. This cold attitude was likely characteristic of the female upper-class, and is therefore implicitly included within this satirical film. In his film Renoir certainly supported the Feminist Film Theory in an implicit manner, allowing for vast interpretations of the film’s position as a whole.
ReplyDeletei just wanna say first that i just wrote this whole thing and was almost done and clicked something else by mistake and it deleted my whole thng and im kind of upset right now, but i guess ill re-do it:(
ReplyDeleteIn “Rules of the Game” the view on women from the audience point of view was not only as to portray themselves as eye candy but they played as an important role to the plot of the film. The main plot of the film was mainly just about the many confusing love triangles that were occurring and how they ended up and how they ended up affecting the characters’ lives. The females in this film not only were used to build up the plot but they had the same amount and level of guilt as the men did in their relationships with their husbands and others that they were having affairs with. There were not a lot of films in which women played a dynamic role in the film in which they were actually used and important to the plot and conflicts of the film, but in this film the women were equally as important as the men, and even sometimes the character Robert seemed a little feminine himself.
ReplyDeleteOne scene in particular that I found in the movie was the scene in which Robert is in a room all alone with this women that he is having an affair with behind his wife’s back. So he establishing shot of the scene starts with the women in the foreground which definitely draws attention to her from the audience’s perspective, and Robert is in the deep background opposite side of the frame from her. The opening shot itself puts an emphasis on the female but in a way that it gives her power in the shot, but also since she is watering the flowers it gives her that “women” appearance, and also the face that she is wearing this long robe, which is signifying class. As the scene proceeds they continue to stay staggered and still holding their foreground and background positions. Also when they finally come closer to each other you can see that she is taller than Robert. This is not saying that she has power over him but it is just giving her extra emphasis that she is a women but that she is there to make a statement not jut to pose as eye candy for the male vieweers.
Rule’s of the Game is a depiction of, writer and director, Jean Renoir’s look at the burgoise class at the beginning of WWII. Jame’s put an emphasis on the female characters and their apparent character relation with the other male characters. The leading lady, Christine de la Cheyniest, had the most complex character. She was from Hungary and although she spoke French she still seemed to do things a little differently and it seemed the each male character found her to be irressistable. In the bedroom scene including Christine and her huaband’s misstress Genevieve starting at 56:00 Christine into Genevieve’s room to speak with her. At this point the audience is aware that Christine knows about her husband’s affairs. Renoir had already revealed Christine’s “dirty laundry” to the audience and we are aware that she was having an affair with a pilot. Yet instead of the usual married husband and mistress, Renoir in a sense turned the tables with a married women and single male, revealing an obvious change in the social structure. The audience is also already aware of the pilot’s unfortunate feelings for Christine, along with her not matched feelings towards him. This vision of multiple people in love with her at one time while she does not match their feelings almost makes Christine the “Alpha male” of the film. This changes the whole perspective of women being just eye-candy in films, although she may have been the main attraction her character also seemed to have power over the males.
ReplyDeleteAs Christine enters Genviev’s room she stops at the door and the camera shows Genevieve packing a bag in the foreground and Christine still at the door in the background. This medium- longshot of Christine at the door looks as if she may have guarding or blocking the door from entry or exiting for that matter. While the audience may know that Christine is aware of her husbands wrong doings, Genevieve does not know that Christine know about them. Genvieve’s character is actually the complete opposite of Christine’s character and Genevieve’s character is actually the epitomy of how most women would in films are depicted. She could be considered the “beta male.” As Christine and Genevieve get deeper into their conversation it becomes known that Christine is aware of her husband’s relations and seems to joke about it with Genevieve and they begin to discuss the things he does in bed that they hate. Renoir puts both character on the spot and agrees with Genevieve’s portrayal of a weaker and less important character.
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