HAROLD AND MAUDE (1971)

Director: Hal Ashby

FILM ANALYSIS

Analysis – the act of taking apart something complicated to figure out what it is made of and how it all fits together

Describe how something works How the parts contribute to the whole and produce meaning

Recognize the many tools and strategies filmmakers use to tell stories, convey information and meaning, and influence emotions

Begin to see movies as a reflection and expression of the time and place (or culture) that produced them

TYPES OF ANALYSIS

Formal analysis – Looking at how techniques like camera angles, camera position or proximity, staging of a scene, lighting, sound, or editing work to create meaning or move us emotionally

Thematic analysis – Looking at how the movie explores an idea or set of ideas. Example: X-Men films often look at how difference makes people outcasts.

Cultural analysis – Looking at how a movie reflects the culture that produced it. How does it reflect the values and assumptions of a particular time and place?

Genre analysis – Looking at how film functions within a traditional category of films, including how it complicates or challenges that tradition.

TYPES OF ANALYSIS

Biographical analysis – Looking at how a film is a reflection of the experiences, values, needs, or desires of its director and/or writer.

Ideological analysis – Looking at how a film expresses a particular political point of view or belief system.

Character analysis – Looking at the wants, needs, and desires of a character; describing what motivates the character and makes him or her unique.

Comparative analysis – Using any or all of the above approaches to compare two different films, characters, directors, etc.

TOWARD AN IDEOLOGICAL/CULTURAL ANALYSIS OF HAROLD AND MAUDE (1971)

HAROLD AND MAUDE (1971) DIR: HAL ASHBY

Film was a product of late 1960s counter-culture

Counter-culture is the idea that there exist a subculture or subgroup that opposes the direction and assumptions of the larger, culture and/or those in charge

Anti-Vietnam War movement was a counter-culture movement

VIETNAM WAR DEATHS BY YEAR (1967-1970)

Peak of war measured by American deaths

1967 : 11,363

1968 : 16,899

1969: 11,780

1970: 6,173

Vietnamese deaths from 1965-1975

800,000-1.1 million

THE VIETNAM WAR

Every single night on the TV news (remember, only 3 stations!) the U.S. and Viet Cong deaths were announced

This started as the result of a U.S. Government policy that attempted to create support for the war by showing quantified, numeric “evidence” for U.S. success

The most famous of those news presenters was Walter Cronkite

Note the mention of Cronkite in the film

HAROLD AND MAUDE (1971) DIR: HAL ASHBY

Harold and Maude as anti-establishment/counter-culture filmAnti-establishment – “opposed to or working against the existing power structure or mores, as of society or government” (Dictionary.com)

To challenge an existing power structure and its policies and practices

To challenge the values (or mores) of a societyArtists can be anti-establishment by aligning themselves with revolutionary movements or simply by rejecting the values and beliefs of the larger culture

ANALYTICAL APPROACHES TO HAROLD AND MAUDE

oQuestions toward an ideological analysis:

What is the political/ideological point of view expressed by this film? What does this film want it’s audience to believe?

What are the scenes/moments that help the filmmaker express this point of view?

How does the director use filmic techniques (music, camera angles, editing, etc.) to reinforce his point of view?

oPossible claims:

Harold and Maude is an anti-war film

Harold and Maude is an anti-establishment film or a work of counter-culture

ANALYTICAL APPROACHES TO HAROLD AND MAUDE

oQuestions toward a thematic analysis:

What are one or more ideas or concerns explored by this film?

On the literal level this film is about two characters who form a strong friendship, but what is the film about underneath the surface?

What is the implied (hinted at) meaning behind the action?

What is one fundamental Conflict of human existence explored by this film?

oDo NOT confuse theme with “moral” or message.

oSome films push instructive or inspirational themes, but thematic analysis does not demand that we reduce a film to simple positive message

ANALYTICAL APPROACHES TO HAROLD AND MAUDE

oPossible themes (Harold and Maude is about…): Friendship Society’s expectations Alienation Love The Individual vs. Institutional Power Others?o Evidence comes from the details of scenes and interactions between characters

ANALYTICAL APPROACHES TO HAROLD AND MAUDE

oQuestions toward a genre analysis:

What kind (type, genre) of film is this?

What does it have in common with other films of its type?

How does it challenge or subvert the conventions of this film genre? How does it break the rules?

Does it demand it’s own category?

oPossible claims:

• Harold and Maude as Romantic Comedy

• Harold and Maude created the category of _________________

ANALYTICAL APPROACHES TO HAROLD AND MAUDE

oQuestions toward a formal analysis: How does the film use sound and music for effect? How does the film use camera techniques (close-ups, wide shots, high angle, low angle) to create meaning or reinforce theme?

How are characters and objects arranged in relations to each other (staged) in order to create meaning or reinforce theme?

How does the film use costuming and makeup to create meaning or reinforce theme?

ANALYTICAL APPROACHES TO HAROLD AND MAUDE

oQuestions toward a comparative analysis

How is the film like another film on the basis of the way it looks, the themes it explores, it’s ideological point of view, it’s tone, the use of particular techniques, a particular character, or how it functions within a set of genre conventions? How does it diverge from that film?

Does one film show the influence of another?

oPossible directions:

Compare this film to a film by Tim Burton (Sleepy Hollow, Edward Scissorhands) or Wes Anderson (Moonrise Kingdom, Rushmore)