Category: Article Type: Zoom

  • Kes. Dir. Ken Loach. Woodfall Films. 1969.

    Kes (dir. Ken Loach, 1969) depicts working class Billy using his kestrel training as a means of escaping the grim reality of life in the industrial north, while the juxtaposition of industry with local nature represents the man-made depression of the mining town. In the scene we see Billy’s first glimpse of the kestrels in flight.…

  • Flushed Away. Dir. David Bowers and Sam Fell. Paramount Pictures. 2006.

    Within Flushed Away, the scene of Roddy meeting Sid for the first time utilises their anthropomorphism to project, not only social class, but bullying societal pressures and to scrutinize those who do not conform. Illustrating Roddy’s adopted social class is the way in which he is anthropomorphised, assuming the role of the upper class. However, Roddy’s upper…

  • Shaun the Sheep The Movie. Dir. Mark Burton and Richard Starzak. Studiocanal. 2015.

    Restaurant scene Starzak and Burton challenge our perceptions of human and animal intelligence in Shaun the Sheep The Movie. Aardman excel in casting the animals as intelligent and exasperated by humans, meanwhile humans are portrayed as less so, and oblivious to animal antics happening directly in front of them. The scene in which the sheep dine…

  • Duma. Dir. Caroll Ballard. Warner Bros Pictures. 2005.

    Duma. Dir. Caroll Ballard. Warner Bros. Pictures. 2005. Duma follows the narrative of a young boy named Xan embarking on an epic adventure to release his pet cheetah, Duma, to the wild. The ever-looming inevitability of Xan and Duma’s separation is the emotional core of the film, and Ballard’s depiction of their perilous journey together explores…

  • Seven Psychopaths. Dir. Martin McDonaugh. CBS Films. 2011.

    Callum HowkinsMonday 16 January 2017 At the core of its various subplots, Seven Psychopaths revolves around a situation in which a trio of criminals steal dogs in order to claim the reward money offered by the owners. It becomes apparent that the animal is a vital part of this film, serving as a framing device for the…

  • Scott Pilgrim vs The World. Dir. Edgar Wright. Universal. 2010.

    Joseph MackayMonday 16 January 2017 Scott Pilgrim vs The World, a film based on Bryan Lee O’ Malley’s six graphic novel series of the same name, is about the titular Scott attempting to win the heart of a girl named Romana Flowers – to accomplish this, he must defeat her ‘seven evil exes’. As the…

  • 102 Dalmatians. Dir. Kevin Lima. Walt Disney Pictures. 2000.

    Feathers Amongst the Furs: The Revival of Power Dynamic in 102 Dalmatians The visuals of the original 1961 animation and the 1996 live-action adaption have become iconic to those familiar with the story of 101 Dalmatians. The sea of black spots dispersed across endless white furs. The gangly, striking screen presence of the archetypal villain,…

  • Nymphomaniac : Volume I. Dir. Lars von Trier. Artificial Eye. 2014.

    Nymphomaniac: Vol. I (2013) features as half of the final film in Lars von Trier’s unofficially titled ‘Depression Trilogy’. It follows the story of a woman named Joe who recounts her past as a self-diagnosed nymphomaniac to a man called Seligman, who takes her in after finding her half dead in an alley.

  • Inside Llewyn Davis. Dir. Ethan Coen, Joel Coen. CBS Films. 2013.

    Inside Llewyn Davis, is a Coen Brothers mock biopic depicting a struggling singer in 1960s New York. The film leads the central character Llewyn to question whether or not he should continue to perform music following the suicide of his singing partner, Mike. The theme of alienation reoccurs throughout the film and is reinforced by…

  • Beauty and the Beast . Dir. Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise. Buena Vista Pictures. 1991.

    Ostensibly, the transformation of a dog into a footstool in Beauty and the Beast operates as a humorous pun.[1] Visually, it works: Sultan in footstool form is around the right size, his tassels stand in for a head and tail and his decorated legs make convincing paws. Furthermore, the transformation of a dog into a footstool plays on…