Compare how the construction of your chosen scenes illustrates different approaches to screen violence. What conclusions can you draw about this issue?

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Matt Ford

Compare how the construction of your chosen scenes illustrates different approaches to screen violence.  What conclusions can you draw about this issue?

Violence is a strong issue in society.  In a world that is surrounded by terrorism, aggression and crime, the way violence is represented in the media can be crucial.  Most viewers define violence as an act that breaks out of a personal comfort zone and therefore opinions of how violent a scene is can differ.  Arguments for the link between violence in the media and real life focus on the perpetrator of violence being unable to acknowledge the difference between reality and the fiction portrayed in film. These opinions however, are frequently the results of a public who use violent films as a scapegoat for physical aspects that shape people's lives. Social issues such as divorce, unemployment, stress, homelessness and other factors have a prevalent role in people's lives.

The two films that I am going to discuss are “Fight Club”, directed by David Fincher and “The Legend of the Drunken Master” directed by Chia-Liang Liu. First and foremost these two films have both been rated ‘18’ for disturbing and graphic depiction of violent anti-social behaviour, sexuality and explicit language.

In Fight Club the sound plays an important role throughout the scene.  Unlike Drunken Master, Fight Club has a narrator.  These voice-overs take away the impact of the violence. The things he says like “No one wins or loses at fight club, no situations are resolved.” makes the viewer see that there is much more reason to the fights, than just brawls.  The diagetic sounds of the actual fights themselves have been hugely exaggerated we hear the hard blows to the face in great detail. The crowd circling the fight are all shouting and jeering, this again has been emphasised to create a brutal atmosphere. When Tyler begins to fight, the sound of the crowd is muffled and all we can hear is the fighting.  This hits the audience with a sense of reality and makes the emphasis with the character.  There is a soundtrack that plays when a jump cut takes place to the two main characters walking down a street.  This music plays a contrast between the normal lifestyle, and when they are at fight club.

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In Drunken Master, sound is important in establishing the scene. The synchronous diagetic sounds of punching and kicking are overly exaggerated.  This emphasises the violence but at the same time makes the scene become less severe and somewhat comical. There is no music at the start of the scene; this creates realism and a tense atmosphere. After a pause in the action, the first piece of dialogue is spoken.  Jackie Chan is taunted and challenged. As Jackie accepts his opponents proposal an incidental piece of music begins to play.  It is a fast heroic piece, with obvious oriental influences.  This ...

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