FM3 - Kevin Smith Presentation Script

Projector: Clip from Clerks where Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes give Dante advice (2)

Speaker:
Kevin Smith is an American filmmaker who creates most of his films in what his fans call the "View Askewniverse" which is named after his production company. Most of his films are set within the View Askewniverse. You are able to recognise Kevin Smiths films through his use of recurring characters and his ability to integrate them within a variety of current social issues as well as his outstanding use of humour to convey opinions of the ignorant and the rational being.

I believe these factors make Kevin smith an Auteur especially using Sarris' Notes on the Auteur Theory "The auteur theory emphasises the body of a director's work rather than isolated masterpieces, it is expected of great directors that they make great films every so often"(12) using his criteria you can easily see that Kevin Smith fits perfectly within the category. Not only is his ability to merge the controversial with blockbuster cinema but he is also very well known for the passion given throughout his films. His love for his work can be seen through his individualistic directing and his ability to provide an audience with personal messages littered throughout his films.

Roger Leenhardt and Andre Bazin provides the theory that "It is the director that brings the film to life and uses the film to express their thoughts and feelings about the subject matter as well as a world view as an auteur." I think using this theory can provide a very clear insight in favour of my strong belief that Kevin Smith is in fact an auteur. Using this definition provided it is very clearly seen that he uses film to express his thought and feelings about every subject matter that is of popular discussion in the world and can use these matters whilst also giving the audience a film full of life. (15)

Projector: Clip from Dogma Jay and Silent Bob's first introduction(1)

Within this clip from Dogma you are able to see the clear satirising of social issues within the narrative with the use of a satirical notion that places drug dealers as prophets of God which is in itself a contradiction this successfully allows the viewer to witness his unique, individual style throughout his work which appeals to the fans of Kevin Smith. Time Magazine publicises Kevin Smiths clever use of satirising social issues by publishing "Dogma - a satire in which God is a woman, Jesus is black and drug dealers return as prophets."(4)  This unique style is easily recognisable to be Kevin Smiths work as he is very typical in using a comedic setting to unleash highly controversial topics in order to make spectators laugh but also he states "I've got em sitting there whip a little message at them, whip a little moral at them, whip a little of what my message of the world is because that's what a good film maker does"(5) In his interview with Stroumboulopoulos he states that through the satire and controversy of his films, most specifically his work on Red State and the provoked religious grouped it had enraged (9), it actually attracts more people to watch his work and critique it by giving an opinion on things that are hard to talk about.

Kevin Smith is very well known for using controversial topics within his films such as his ability to manipulate the philosophical interpretations of religion, most specifically his work on Dogma which provides a handful of contradiction, God being a woman, alongside a tremendous amount of insensitive perspectives in that God is so easily 'beaten' by evil (1) and to compliment him further if we were to look at Truffaut's "Une certain tendance du cinéma francais" it maintains that a good director provides such a distinctive style and promotes consistent themes that their influence is unmistakable in the body of their work." (13) It is clear that Kevin Smith follows Truffaut's understanding of an auteur as you can see, throughout his works he promotes consistent themes, mostly personal to him, for instance he states that the movie Dogma comes from a childhood catholic who 'hit a wall' and doesn't know if he can believe in that anymore. (6)

Projector: Clip from Clerks '37 Partners' (2)

As you can see, Dante in this particular scene tackles the inferiority complex by being told his girlfriend has had a lot of sexual partners that eventually leaves Dante feeling inferior and the prospect of being stuck in the same dead end job as hinted at by the customer. The inferiority complex stems from Dante's curiosity with his girlfriends previous sexual partners and while it's a fairly exaggerated view point he uses this to address the issue that men are not comfortable discussing previous partners. Another great example of this that also follows the idea that an auteur provides a distinctive style that promotes consistent themes throughout their work, 'Chasing Amy' considers the inferiority complex in which the main character also feels intimidated by his girlfriends sexual history so much so that it is used to drive the narrative throughout both films. (2)

Projector: Clip from Red State of Protesters at funeral (3)

Red State does however, provide a different 'style' of film making that Kevin Smith is not very well known for tackling. It's described as a horror film whereas Kevin is distinctively known for creating comedy films. The change in technique does not warrant change in theme though as he remarkably submerges the entire film in very controversial aspects that are very well versed in today's society. He bounces from the fictitious fundamentalist church goers, that are based on the Phelps family, that protest funerals to the issues of homosexuality within the police force to even the almost conspiracy theorist view of the covering up of crime scenes by the government. Within Red State the controversy and satire is quite clearly there, for example, there are Christians murdering infidels and the exploitation of homosexual blackmail. The film really outlines the religious hate for homosexuality and how unreasonable it is as most characters speak against the main antagonists and offer, quite reasonably, Kevin Smiths own view point on the matter. Most filmmakers would find to tackle such topics would be very daunting however Kevin Smith is well versed in this 'genre' of film and uses controversy and satire to further the narrative of his creations. (3) In a Q&A featuring Kevin Smith named 'Burn in Hell Louder' he states that by making Red State and the comparison of the Phelps family within the film he had been contacted and labelled a 'Fag enabler'. There is risk in making controversial films in the real world and I believe that through this provoking of fundamentalist groups it can be said that Kevin Smith is very much an Auteur due to his motivation in publishing his work while disregarding the threats that he receives. He clearly cares about the work he makes and is happy defending it. (9)

Kevin is also interviewed by Empire Magazine in which he further reinstates that the religious fanatics within the film are a reference to the real life Phelps family but most specifically notes that, while religious fanaticism is a huge topic of controversy that he wished to tackle he also wanted to highlight the 'shoot first ask question later' mentality of the government forcing the FBI to shoot and kill everyone within the church vicinity. I believe that throughout his films and very clearly within Red State he uses controversy and social issues as a predominant theme no matter the genre of film.(10)

Projector: Screen shot of Kevin Smith from An Evening With Kevin Smith (5)

Out of one of many Q&A's Kevin Smith does I have decided to use a specific extract from 'An Evening with Kevin Smith' in which he discusses his films with his fans and the general public in which a lesbian comes and asks him specifically about his work on Chasing Amy and that she had distaste for it due to one of the comments coming from Banky. He states that "All lesbians need is a good deep dicking". Kevin Smith's response is why I have included this within my argument for him to be an Auteur. He states that in all of his films there is the message that he wants to get across hidden in plain sight but masked to the unseeing eye and he uses Banky, in this scenario,  because he is portrayed as the idiot thus deflating anything he says. I feel as though, throughout his films, he is able to provide a strong insight to a certain controversial subject that is personal to him but is also able to provide the contrasting opinion often placed in the dumb character which gives a clear bias of the Auteurs opinion. An Evening With Kevin Smith is, as previously mentioned, one of many Q&A's which I had the liberty to watch. The way in which Kevin Smith discusses film echoes passion in a great deal but also looks at the absurdities of other directors or writers, most specifically when he begins to belittle Jon Peters, for instance, on his lack of knowledge of Superman and wanting him to make a Superman film that would leave him without his ability to fly and not use a superhero costume.(5) His common passions are what drives him to be who he is and that passion is what has lead him to become a prime example on an auteur, a character who is invested into every film in a very personal level. If we look at Sarris' Notes on the Auteur theory he states that "Although the auteur theory emphasises the body of a director's work rather than isolated masterpieces, it is expected of great directors that they make great films every so often" Not only is Kevin able to provide a great example of creating what he wants to be made with the ability to provide alternative techniques whilst ultimately ascertaining the fact that it is his work he is also praised for creating films that will go down in history. (12)

Projector: Scene from Dogma - Jay and Silent Bob talk John Huges(1)

In conclusion, I believe by following the Auteur theory and all standard definitions created by those who study Auteur theory be it creating great films, displaying personal thoughts and feelings through visible personification on the screen. Kevin Smith uses controversy and social issues in order to create a strong narrative that is driven on personal issues, thoughts and feelings and world views.

RE: First Exam Mock

How far does the impact of the films you have studied for this topic depend on distinctive uses of film techniques.

La Haine is a 1995 film directed by Matthieu Kassovitz set in Paris. La Haine translates to The Hate which hints at the social problems surrounding this film.
The film technique that impacted me the most would be the use of Black and White. This highlights the conflict between race and also provides the idea that we as an audience see everything in black and white but as we can see in the film there are a lot of 'grey areas' both physically through the use of black and white and also through actions such as the Police brutality scene in the interrogation scene. The three protagonists are from a cosmopolitan background that seemingly sound like a joke at first. A jew, an Arab and a Black man live in the suburbs of Paris, the projects. What is interesting is that the actors and director lived in the projects for 6 months in order to gain a more realistic performance.

Another technique that impacted me highly would be the use of camera angles in order to show conflict between characters often combined with the mise en scene. Specifically one scene in which there is a physical barrier held between Vinz and Hubert illustrating conflict between the two, a physical divide. There is one scene in particular, the bathroom scene, in which conflict is shown through a clever use of mirrors that positions Said between Vinz and Hubert. The three shot is often used placing Said in between the other two who can be seen as two very drastic opposites in how they deal with their problems. This film could actually be seen as an argument of how you should react in times of hardship, the calm, distant Hubert style or the aggressive explosive way of Vinz.

We can see through the use of non-diegetic sound another impactful use of film techniques. Throughout the whole film there is a large use of music which often tends to be Westernised. Specifically the scene where Vinz and Said go to a hangout you can hear a recurring word which is 'California'. This strongly highlights the fact that the music doesn't represent France or it's culture but the domination of Western Culture. However, the scene where a DJ uses his turntables to literally mix the cultures of France and America through the use of MWA and Edith Piaf show a strong integration between Westernised culture and the projects of France. It is also highly noted that there is breakdancing in the 'hangout' scene which originated in the 70s from America; this just furthers the fact that they are lacking their own culture. Kassovitz, could however be trying to highlight the idea that they had just lacked the opportunity to acknowledge France's culture due to being lower class.

Through the use of the film Techniques I've highlight that are used by Mathieu Kassovitz you can see they are specifically chosen in order to create reactions and emotions from the audience. He does this by filming in black and white, which is definitely considered uncommon, especially within modern cinema. He also uses non-diegetic sound in order to portray the lack of culture in the projects.