I wasn’t so keen on last weeks lecture, although putting the semiotics we learnt into practise in the seminar was pretty cool – still not sure I completely get it though. I’ve had a go at putting it into practise on my own a couple of times:
Number one; The Rocky Horror Picture Show’s Dr.Frank’N’Furter
Denotation
Frank is obviously a transvestite who loves being in drag, always appearing in stockings, a corset, heels and drag make-up, although he’s still very masculine. He’s extremely charming and overly sexual, and appeals sexually to both men and women. He’s enthusiastic, fun-loving and charismatic, and very persuasive.
He’s also a performer, a major attention seeker, very spoilt, self important and extremely temperamental.
Connotation
Frank is sexually obsessive. Many female viewers find Frank attractive, which may sit uneasy with them as he is so openly bi-sexual and constantly dressed as a woman.
When he doesn’t get his own way he loses control and momentarily loses his charm. This is unexpected and so takes the viewer by surprise. He then becomes extremely dangerous and even murderous and cannibalistic. This is extremely shocking to the viewer, although the film is a comedy throughout, so the audience find it amusing as well as shocking.
After these outbursts, when he regains control, he turns the whole situation into a dramatic performance, and is never without an audience until the very end.
Myth
I think Frank is an extremely damaged soul, abused in the past and now obsessive and psychopathic. He doesn’t know what he wants, he’s never happy, and doesn’t really know who he is. He has made his whole life into a performance, and without an audience he becomes manic depressive.
Number two; Gangs of New York’s Bill the Butcher
Denotation
Bill is dressed in smart, middle class clothing – long coat, shirt and waistcoat and often a hat, although the clothing is scruffy and dirty looking. He has a bushy moustache which makes him look middle class, but his hair is unkempt and greasy. He calls himself a “Native American” and is fierce about this identity; he wears a glass eye with a bald eagle where the iris normally is. His general manner is authorotive and quite gentlemanly.
He is a butcher by profession, and offers good quality meat to many of his acquaintances. He is also a brutally violent gang lord, but he does have certain morals and a certain amount of respect for others.
Connotation
He is extremely calm and collected, even when making threats. This makes the viewer very uneasy as they have seen at the beginning of the film the brutality that he is capable of, and so we know he is unpredictable. His scruffy but middle-class appearance also make the viewer feel wary of him, especially when he’ spattered with blood.
In the fight scene at the beginning of the film, we witness the violence the butcher is capable of in gory detail, but he also shows us his morals and respect for others, in letting no-one touch the Priest’s body.
We later see a picture of the Priest that the Butcher displays, and we learn that when the Butcher had previously been defeated but spared by the Priest, the Butcher had cut out his own eye to remember it by. We realise that the Butcher had an incredible amount of respect for his enemy.
When Bill finds out about the betrayal of his new assistant, it’s the first time we see him really lose his cool. This disturbs the viewer as he becomes even more unpredictable, and the violence he uses in this scene is cruel and meditated, not just brutal. We realise here that the Butcher is not entirely empty inside, he’s obviously been hurt by the betrayal.
Another thing that makes the viewer slightly uncomfortable is the enthusiasm of the public when they witness the violence of the Butcher – they shout out encouragements and applause as if they were at a pantomime. But by performing his bloody actions in front of an audience, Bill is making an example in order to continue his fear reign.
Myth
Bill’s Father died trying to carve out a place for “Native Americans” in New York, and Bill sees himself as continuing his Father’s work. He was brought up in a rowdy gang environment and doesn’t know any different. He does not lead a normal life; he says at one point regretfully “I never had a son”. He lives the life of a gang lord – prostitutes, drugs and violence.
He is good at what he does and knows that the only way to rule is with fear. He admits that what has made him live so long is fear for himself – he sleeps with one eye open. It is fear that fuels the violence, but he is not entirely immoral.
