To carry out a study of the relevance and usefulness of semiotics and Marxist approaches to film criticism and analysis, one must outline the definition and interpretation of Marxism and semiotics and their application to criticism and analysis. Marxism is defined as “a theory in which class struggle is a central element in the analysis of social change in Western societies”(_____). Pre-occupied with the concept of cultural materialism, a social class is defined according to Karl Marx (1818 - 1883) by the relations of its members to the means of production. Under capitalism the proletariat (e.g. the working class or the people) own their capacity to work, having only the ability to sell their own labour. Much of Marxism today concerns internal economics within the socialist government and how the proletariat is 'exploited' by the upper classes for their own gain. Religion is also a major concern of Marxism. Karl Marx (1818-1883) wrote that 'Religion is the sign of the oppressed creature, the feeling of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless circumstances.' (_____) In other words, religion is a reaction to human suffering in an unfair society.
Early Marxist filmmakers such as Sergei Eisenstein (1898– 1948) used the medium of film to criticise the traditional narrative structure and ideology of Hollywood. Arguing that the prevailing ideologies of Hollywood films were used to promote the ideology of the bourgeois in America, filmmakers such as Eisenstein and later Jean-Luc Godard (1930-Present) intentionally broke away from the Hollywood narrative structure to demonstrate what they saw as almost political indoctrination of the masses.
Semiotics is a simpler concept to get to grips with. Founded by the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure, Semiotics (derived from the ancient Greek 'semeion') 'studies the role of signs as part of social life', investigating 'signs and the laws governing them.' (Chandler, Daniel) This can include verbal language, body language, paintings, music, photographs and sounds. For example, swearing is something done usually at times of anger or great stress. If a character in a novel or film is wearing a crucifix then the audience can reasonably assume that they are Christian. However, if the audience sees him/her doing unchristian things then the audience has more than one interpretation to follow. Is the character suffering a crisis of faith or is he/she using piety as a facade for their own personal gain? This would be indicated by how the character behaves in situations. Through this the audience can derive a reaction to the story and the nature of the character and his/her environment.
The film I shall discuss to demonstrate the relevance and usefulness of Marxist and semiotic analyses will be Children of Men (2006) directed by Alfonso Cuaron. Rich in symbolism, it depicts a world in which the world's women have become infertile and all societies but the United Kingdom have descended into total chaos. Because of the chaos, immigration has increased to an unsustainable level and so the British government has taken extreme measures to curb immigration, illegal or otherwise. This film is concerned with the oppression and abuse of the masses by a centralised government obsessed with control. This film takes a pre-dominantly culturalist examination of society, demonstrating that societies are made up of a diverse group of cultures. Aiming to indicate that certain sections of society receive a disproportionate representation in the media and in the process shaping and defining consensus to obscure the roots of genuine conflict.
In the world presented by Children of Men (2006), the bourgeois have more power in Britain than since the 19th century, with unprecedented powers to invade the privacy of the proletariat. Immigrants are rounded up and put in cages ready for transporting to 'Bexhill' - a prison camp for immigrants, avoiding fertility tests is illegal and basic human rights such as privacy and transport are restricted in the hunt for illegal immigrants. In the opening scene we see the main character witness a supposed terrorist bombing by a fringe group called 'The Fishes'. Later in the film, we find out that it was in fact the government staging a terrorist attack to spread fear about a group representing a section of the proletariat holding a differing ideology.
Children of Men (2006) is also rich in religious imagery and language. Caught up in a plot to escort the unborn baby, who would bring hope back to a hopeless world, to a safe haven (known as The Human Project) that may or may not exist is Theo Faron. Theo's very name means 'God's gift' (_____). Theo finds out that Kee (the pregnant girl) is with child in a barn surrounded by farm animals. When Sid, the corrupt prison guard, finds out about the baby he shouts 'Jesus Christ!' (a) repeatedly out of shock. More subtly perhaps, during several scenes we see characters washing their feet, which is often seen as a religious exercise in certain sects of Christianity and Islam. Through this code of religious signs the audience reflects an extra dimension of importance on the existence of this unborn child.
The film takes a structuralist view of the media. Structuralism examines ideology embodied in a media text. The fictional TV channel 'BCC' (suspiciously similar in presentation to the BBC of today) reports the character Julian as a terrorist when in fact she is a well-meaning freedom fighter, suggesting that media outlets such as the BBC would become the propaganda wing of the government in times of great crisis. These signifiers demonstrate Herbert Marcuse's (1898 - 1979) idea that “the irresistible output of the entertainment and information industry carry with them prescribed attitudes and habits” (Chandler, Daniel) and defining the way in which the people in this alternate reality would see the world. Because of such intense media hype immigrants are seen as social pariahs, as one prison guard says to Theo posing as a Fuji, 'you f*cking people disgust me.' (a)
The struggle of the immigrants is compared visually to that of the racist and xenophobic attitudes sometimes present in political life today. For instance, in the background of the entrance to Bexhill we see a hooded man, draped in a torn up gown standing in a Christ-like pose on a pedestal. This image is identical to that of a photograph (Fig. 1) released during the Abu Ghraib scandal of 2004 where military prison guards had been found guilty of torturing and abusing inmates on religious, cultural and racial grounds.
Fig. 1 – Prisoner held in Abu Ghraib
Through one simple image, Cuaron is delicately but explicitly informing the viewer that this is a world where institutionalised torture and abuse is acceptable as long as it maintains public order and aids the search and continued suppression of illegal immigrants. When Theo gets off a train and sees a cage full of Fuji's ready for transportation to Bexhill, the song 'Arbeit Macht Frei' by The Libertines can be heard in the background. 'Arbeit Macht Frei' translated from German means 'Work will set you free' and was forged on the signs of concentration camps at Auschwitz and Belsen. Using an aural icon, the filmmaker signifies the nature of the reality the people inhabit while also immersing the audience.
Signs don't only signify a political agenda or a feeling. They can foreshadow events or even the conclusion of a story. For instance, oranges appear to signify a descent into chaos because of the class struggle. Early in the film, Miriam (a Fish) starts to peel an orange in the car just before the car is attacked by Omegas. In Bexhill the baby is fed orange slices by an old lady just before the British military descends on the camp to destroy it and all of its inhabitants. This is not the first time oranges have been used as a signifier to foreshadow danger. In 'The Godfather' (1972) characters are shot or die around or near oranges. Using small icons the filmmaker establishes 'visual sub-codes within the universe of signs' (b) such as this warning the audience of dreadful things to come.
Icons can be used to further immerse the audience in the reality of the story. For example, London is presented as a decaying city covered in graffiti and litter and choked by pollution and the fear of terrorism through video screens on every street displaying government propaganda. London today is a vibrant and exciting cultural hub. The dismaying depiction of the capital city instantly signifies to the audience that this is a world gone terribly wrong. When a character is shot at Bexhill his blood lands on the lens and does not disappear. This makes the film feel more like a documentary and the prominent red on the screen signifies the level of danger the characters are in.
The film is pre-occupied with a class struggle, which is also at the heart of the Marxist theory. The Fishes won't make the pregnancy public because they believe that the government would never admit that the first baby born in 18 years belonged to an illegal immigrant, preferring to present the immigrant's child as that of a 'rich black lady' (a). It is revealed halfway through the film that Julian's death is down to The Fishes so they could keep the baby to use as a political pawn for the upcoming uprising. Marxist theory analyses society in the context of its progression towards Communism. In this context the Fishes are now ' aware of (sic) their loss, of their alienation, as a universal non-human situation' and now 'it will be possible for them to proceed to a radical transformation of their situation by a revolution.' (Mark, K. 1818-1883)
While the class struggle in this film is towards democracy, a comparison can be made between this struggle and the hypothetical one towards Communism. Only once this specific section of society's situation becomes so desperate do they attempt a revolution. It appears as though this revolution fails as in the final scenes we see fighter jets swoop overhead and into the background to apparently carpet bomb the camp. However, Theo and the pregnant woman escape signifying that there is hope. That the boat, which will take Theo and Kee to The Human Project, is called 'The Tomorrow' presents the audience with a vein of hope that all is not lost.
Through the use of codes of behaviour the audience can learn about the disposition of a character. For instance, animals are fond of the film's hero, Theo. While not explicitly saying anything about the nature of the character, it indicates to the audience through association that there is a level of good within the character, which emanates from him. Theo also never uses a gun in any adversarial or combat situation and only uses weapons for protection. This affirms the audience's belief in the character's good nature. However this man is not the ideal hero. Theo is often seen taking swigs from a bottle of whiskey he keeps hidden in his coat pocket. This man is an alcoholic. He is troubled and this is reflected by the fact that he comes to terms with it by drinking. He makes bad choices because as with the rest of the world, he has lost hope, however by the end of the film his transformation from apathetic anti-hero to activated saviour with the belief in a prevailing good is indicated by the smile he gives Kee just before he passes away.
In conclusion, the practice of Marxist and semiotic analyses of film can certainly be relevant and practical to gain a deeper understanding of the text. However, the film I used to discuss analysis and criticism in this way presented political agendas such as class struggle and the mass media as its central focus. I would have reservations about applying a Marxist approach to analysing and criticising films, however a semiotic approach is far more practical and relevant to most films as it can be applied to any type of story or mode of storytelling in film.
Sources:
Bibliography
· ___________, (2009) What is Marxism? Web page available from: http://www.allaboutphilosophy.org/what-is-marxism-faq.htm
· _____________, (2009), Class Struggle, Web page available at: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/367344/Marxism/35147/Class-struggle
· CHANDLER, DANIEL (2009) Semiotics for Beginners Web page available at: http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/sem01.html
· CHANDLER, DANIEL (2009), Marxist Media Theory, Web page available at: http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/marxism/marxism08.html
· HAM, ETHAN (2008) New Yorker Abu Ghraib Article, Web Page available at:
· MARX, K. Towards a Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right (1844) Cambridge University Press. 4th edition.
Filmography
a) Children of Men (2006) Film. Directed by Alfonso Cuaron. UK: Universal.
b) The Godfather (1972) Film. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. USA: Paramount Pictures.
Appendix
Fig. 1) HAM, ETHAN (2008) New Yorker Abu Ghraib Article, Web Page available at:
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