Presentation Script
In Ridley Scott’s films, females are often portrayed as strong, powerful characters. Does this make him an auteur?
Speaker:
To begin to answer this question, I will start with a crucial piece of information. The definition of auteur - 'a director whose creative influence on a film is so great as to be considered its author' [13]. I believe Scott fits the description.
In many of his films, Ridley Scott portrays female characters as strong, independent characters. He is one of the few directors to do this. This particular trait is rare in films, especially those being churned out of Hollywood. Not often do we see a female character calling the shots, killing bad guys and ultimately surviving. A prime example would be Ellen Ripley, from ALIEN.
Projector:
(Item 2) Show clip of Ellen Ripley alone in the Alien hive in ALIEN.
Speaker:
In this presentation I am going to explore how Ridley Scott creates some of the most powerful, both physically and mentally, female characters in movie history. I will also discuss whether this makes him an auteur or not.
Projector:
(Item 1,2,3) Show pictures of each film's poster.
Speaker:
I will be referring to three of Scott's films; Prometheus, his most recent, ALIEN, his most famous, and Thelma & Louise. I feel that in all 3 of these films there is a powerful female character.
I'll start with ALIEN, the film that could be argued is one of the best sci-fi films ever. The protagonist in the film is female, which instantly sets it apart from other films in the genre, such as Predator and even Star Wars. Scott deliberately chooses female protagonists because...
Projector:
(Item 10) Show quote - 'I find it quite engaging to be working with a female when I'm directing.'
Projector:
(Item 1) Show clip of Meredith Vickers in Prometheus pushing David to the wall.
Speaker:
Not only does Prometheus contain 1 strong female, instead it features 2. Meredith Vickers is the mission's supervisor, and Scott portrays her to also be an extremely powerful character. There is a difference between Shaw and Vickers, though. Vickers has power, whereas Shaw has strength. Vickers' power comes from her role in the film, and her status among the crew. The director shows this by using many low angled shots to show her dominance, and more obviously in the previous scene, she is shown violently throwing her male counterpart around the ship. The unnatural, low key, blue light that surrounds both characters gives the scene an abnormal and very tense feel, much like when we are first introduced to the fully grown Alien.
Projector:
(Item 2) Show clip of the alien attacking Brett in ALIEN.
Speaker:
This scene also features very low key, almost noir lighting with a cold, unusual feel. This shows that Scott's creative ideas as a director are apparent in two of his best sci-fi films that have over 30 years between them.
Shaw on the other hand, has strength and courage. Scott shows her to be a natural leader, as often she would suggest the crew's next move. However she is portrayed as an innocent and much weaker character than Vickers, by using high angled shots and placing Shaw's character alone in many situations.
Projector:
(Item 1) Show clip from Prometheus. Scene with Shaw and Ford examining the Engineer head in the lab.
Speaker:
As you can see from this scene, Shaw is the one taking charge, similarly to Ripley in ALIEN. However, Shaw is much more timid, and polite to the other characters. In an interview Scott compares Rapace with Weaver 'As a protagonist, she’s a very physical woman who’s almost as agile as an acrobat. She’s also got a real brain in her head. No one’s going to be disappointed. It’s odd because Sigourney is about six feet and Noomi is about 5 feet 5, but you don’t notice the difference onscreen. And she sure does kick some ass in this movie. Her character evolves in a very clever way.' [10]
His statement clearly shows why he wanted to use a female to lead in Prometheus. Rapace is extremely similar to that of what Sigourney Weaver was when he was casting for ALIEN. I would go as far as to say he was looking for the same qualities in the protagonist for Prometheus as he was in ALIEN. Item 16 shows that Scott's personal depiction of how women should behave in films has not changed since his first big film. He has a clear style with women and I believe this makes him an auteur.
In many of his films, Ridley Scott portrays female characters as strong, independent characters. He is one of the few directors to do this. This particular trait is rare in films, especially those being churned out of Hollywood. Not often do we see a female character calling the shots, killing bad guys and ultimately surviving. A prime example would be Ellen Ripley, from ALIEN.
Projector:
(Item 2) Show clip of Ellen Ripley alone in the Alien hive in ALIEN.
Speaker:
In this presentation I am going to explore how Ridley Scott creates some of the most powerful, both physically and mentally, female characters in movie history. I will also discuss whether this makes him an auteur or not.
Projector:
(Item 1,2,3) Show pictures of each film's poster.
Speaker:
I will be referring to three of Scott's films; Prometheus, his most recent, ALIEN, his most famous, and Thelma & Louise. I feel that in all 3 of these films there is a powerful female character.
I'll start with ALIEN, the film that could be argued is one of the best sci-fi films ever. The protagonist in the film is female, which instantly sets it apart from other films in the genre, such as Predator and even Star Wars. Scott deliberately chooses female protagonists because...
Projector:
(Item 10) Show quote - 'I find it quite engaging to be working with a female when I'm directing.'
Speaker:
…he says he finds it
easier to work with female characters. Not many directors will agree with
this, which I know because in an interview Scott describes how his idea for Thelma and Louise
was declined many times because of the two main female characters - Scott said 'There are a lot of men who feel they're being emasculated by having the women in charge; I've never had that problem. The stronger the woman, the better for me.' [10] I think this is reflected in ALIEN, as Sigourney Weaver's performance is astounding. Scott's ability to create powerful female characters in unusual genres really pushes the boundaries of film. For example, in this deleted scene from ALIEN:
Projector:
(Item 2) Show scene from ALIEN when Ripley gives orders to the crew about how to deal with the alien in the ship.
Speaker:
This scene is a particularly good example of how strong Ripley is. There are 2 males, and two females in the scene. Any other director would have one of the males take charge, unlike Scott. A low angled, close up shot of Ripley's face depicts her going against all the stereotypes for women, and shows her dominance over there rest of the crew. The shallow focus on her face puts Ash (behind her) out of focus, and metaphorically puts him out of the equation and unable to contribute to her decisions.
Meredith Lepore states in her article on Scott that 'the concept of a woman who fought her own battles without the help of a magic lasso (sorry Wonder Woman) or a costume (Catwoman), or who was fighting while sporting perfectly feathered hair and in a bikini (Charlie’s Angels) or a very strong man standing next to her (every woman in every action movie ever), was downright foreign to audiences.' [11]
Scott addresses this issue in ALIEN, and creates one of the first female characters that is able to care for herself and even defend others. I believe this scene addresses what could be the beginning of Scott's auteuristic career. After ALIEN he keeps on going with films like Thelma and Louise, Blade Runner and Prometheus.
Projector:
(Item 2) Show scene from ALIEN when Ripley gives orders to the crew about how to deal with the alien in the ship.
Speaker:
This scene is a particularly good example of how strong Ripley is. There are 2 males, and two females in the scene. Any other director would have one of the males take charge, unlike Scott. A low angled, close up shot of Ripley's face depicts her going against all the stereotypes for women, and shows her dominance over there rest of the crew. The shallow focus on her face puts Ash (behind her) out of focus, and metaphorically puts him out of the equation and unable to contribute to her decisions.
Scott addresses this issue in ALIEN, and creates one of the first female characters that is able to care for herself and even defend others. I believe this scene addresses what could be the beginning of Scott's auteuristic career. After ALIEN he keeps on going with films like Thelma and Louise, Blade Runner and Prometheus.
Projector:
(Item 1) Show clip of Meredith Vickers in Prometheus pushing David to the wall.
Speaker:
Not only does Prometheus contain 1 strong female, instead it features 2. Meredith Vickers is the mission's supervisor, and Scott portrays her to also be an extremely powerful character. There is a difference between Shaw and Vickers, though. Vickers has power, whereas Shaw has strength. Vickers' power comes from her role in the film, and her status among the crew. The director shows this by using many low angled shots to show her dominance, and more obviously in the previous scene, she is shown violently throwing her male counterpart around the ship. The unnatural, low key, blue light that surrounds both characters gives the scene an abnormal and very tense feel, much like when we are first introduced to the fully grown Alien.
Projector:
(Item 2) Show clip of the alien attacking Brett in ALIEN.
Speaker:
This scene also features very low key, almost noir lighting with a cold, unusual feel. This shows that Scott's creative ideas as a director are apparent in two of his best sci-fi films that have over 30 years between them.
Shaw on the other hand, has strength and courage. Scott shows her to be a natural leader, as often she would suggest the crew's next move. However she is portrayed as an innocent and much weaker character than Vickers, by using high angled shots and placing Shaw's character alone in many situations.
Projector:
(Item 1) Show clip from Prometheus. Scene with Shaw and Ford examining the Engineer head in the lab.
Speaker:
As you can see from this scene, Shaw is the one taking charge, similarly to Ripley in ALIEN. However, Shaw is much more timid, and polite to the other characters. In an interview Scott compares Rapace with Weaver 'As a protagonist, she’s a very physical woman who’s almost as agile as an acrobat. She’s also got a real brain in her head. No one’s going to be disappointed. It’s odd because Sigourney is about six feet and Noomi is about 5 feet 5, but you don’t notice the difference onscreen. And she sure does kick some ass in this movie. Her character evolves in a very clever way.' [10]
His statement clearly shows why he wanted to use a female to lead in Prometheus. Rapace is extremely similar to that of what Sigourney Weaver was when he was casting for ALIEN. I would go as far as to say he was looking for the same qualities in the protagonist for Prometheus as he was in ALIEN. Item 16 shows that Scott's personal depiction of how women should behave in films has not changed since his first big film. He has a clear style with women and I believe this makes him an auteur.
Projector:
(Item 16) Show clip from interview with Noomi Rapace.
Speaker:
This interview also supports Item 16, because in the interview Rapace says 'the way he thinks and they way his brain works… and he's very very funny as well. I adore him.' It upholds item 16 as she shows how well she got on with Scott. This helps to make Scott an auteur because it shows that not only can he create great female characters on screen, but he can also get on with them off-screen.
Projector:
(Item 3) Show clip of Thelma & Louise. 'Tanker' scene. (2mins).
Speaker:
This scene from Thelma and Louise clearly shows how the girls dominate the entire film. Scott has used low angled, two shots of the girls as opposed to long shots of the truck driver. Doing this puts the women in power over the driver and in control during the scene.
After they shoot and blow up his truck, they quite literally 'run rings' around him in their car. This shows how women can manipulate and confuse men using their bodies.
Projector:
(Item 14) Show image of Xenomorph from H.R Giger's 'Necronomicon'.
Speaker:
I would argue that this is the image that started it all. When Scott saw this image for the first time, he 'nearly fell off the desk, said 'that's it' and why look farther?'. [15] He had clearly found the perfect antagonist for his film. When I look at this image, I try and figure out why Scott loved it so much. To me, it has a subtle female look to it, with the large eyes and almost graceful figure. Perhaps this is why Scott wanted to use it, because it resembled a female figure? Even so, this image could be what spawned Ridley Scott's fantastically unique style and autistic abilities. His methods of working with women in his films over the years upholds my idea, and he can easily create smart, beautiful and strong characters.
(Item 16) Show clip from interview with Noomi Rapace.
Speaker:
This interview also supports Item 16, because in the interview Rapace says 'the way he thinks and they way his brain works… and he's very very funny as well. I adore him.' It upholds item 16 as she shows how well she got on with Scott. This helps to make Scott an auteur because it shows that not only can he create great female characters on screen, but he can also get on with them off-screen.
Projector:
(Item 3) Show clip of Thelma & Louise. 'Tanker' scene. (2mins).
Speaker:
This scene from Thelma and Louise clearly shows how the girls dominate the entire film. Scott has used low angled, two shots of the girls as opposed to long shots of the truck driver. Doing this puts the women in power over the driver and in control during the scene.
After they shoot and blow up his truck, they quite literally 'run rings' around him in their car. This shows how women can manipulate and confuse men using their bodies.
Projector:
(Item 14) Show image of Xenomorph from H.R Giger's 'Necronomicon'.
Speaker:
I would argue that this is the image that started it all. When Scott saw this image for the first time, he 'nearly fell off the desk, said 'that's it' and why look farther?'. [15] He had clearly found the perfect antagonist for his film. When I look at this image, I try and figure out why Scott loved it so much. To me, it has a subtle female look to it, with the large eyes and almost graceful figure. Perhaps this is why Scott wanted to use it, because it resembled a female figure? Even so, this image could be what spawned Ridley Scott's fantastically unique style and autistic abilities. His methods of working with women in his films over the years upholds my idea, and he can easily create smart, beautiful and strong characters.
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