An illustrative report using approaches to analysing film theory
In this report, i will be talking about two film directors and if they are considered to be part of the auteur, feminism or queer filmmakers. My two chosen directors are Spike lee and Wes Anderson.
Spike Lee is an auteur director who is of African American background and lives in New York. . An Auteur director is a director who’s personal views, creative vision and expressions are expressed throughout the movie and can be seen in different scenes when watching the movie. A little history about Spike Lee is that he was a music director and a documentarian. He directed some music videos for famous names such as Michael Jackson,Anita Baker, etc. Another thing is he known for is making commercials for big companies such as Nike, Ben & Jerry's etc. He’s an african American and most of his films contain elements to do with racism, urban crime, violence etc.
His first movie “She gotta have it” was a comedy film which is stereotypical vision on black men cheating on their partners but instead the roles were reversed and it focuses on black women having three different partners.
In another movie, Jungle Fever it is about a non -black person attracted sexually to black people in 1991 set in America. During this period racism was not on the low but on the rise in America so it was strange for a non black person to be sexually attracted to black people. 
(figure 1)In this scene,it is a wide shot of the white lady attracted to black men walking with her partner in public and bypassers staring at the couple in shock because it wasn't a normal thing to see in that time (1991). Spike Lee being a auteur theorist who relates to this issue of racial abuse towards black people expresses his view about how unsatisfying it is by using the characters to show how uncomfortable it is for coloured people.
(figure 1)In this scene,it is a wide shot of the white lady attracted to black men walking with her partner in public and bypassers staring at the couple in shock because it wasn't a normal thing to see in that time (1991). Spike Lee being a auteur theorist who relates to this issue of racial abuse towards black people expresses his view about how unsatisfying it is by using the characters to show how uncomfortable it is for coloured people.
Jungle Fever is also set in New York which Lee took small details from his personal life and included it in the movie.
In his other movie School Daze, it features images of slavery and prominent figures in the african american neighbourhood where the movie is set. 
(figure 2) In this scene, two sets of black males can be seen facing each other angrily in a wide shot capturing everyone and the crowd. Spike Lee uses this scene to represent the divide between the youth in Black communities and the need for peace to prevail among ourselves us individuals. The theme he uses in the movie is unity among the black community. His film reflect American society in two aspects; integration and segregation which he includes historical events to provide contexts for his films. Comparing his movie School daze to Bamboozled, he uses black face clips and images to reinforce the purpose of his films which is to “raise awareness of poor practices accepted in popular culture” An example is in the scene below in his movie Bamboozled when a white man can be seen wearing a black face which is unaccepted by society and he points it out in his movie that such practices cannot be tolerated. 
(figure 3)
(figure 2) In this scene, two sets of black males can be seen facing each other angrily in a wide shot capturing everyone and the crowd. Spike Lee uses this scene to represent the divide between the youth in Black communities and the need for peace to prevail among ourselves us individuals. The theme he uses in the movie is unity among the black community. His film reflect American society in two aspects; integration and segregation which he includes historical events to provide contexts for his films. Comparing his movie School daze to Bamboozled, he uses black face clips and images to reinforce the purpose of his films which is to “raise awareness of poor practices accepted in popular culture” An example is in the scene below in his movie Bamboozled when a white man can be seen wearing a black face which is unaccepted by society and he points it out in his movie that such practices cannot be tolerated. (figure 3)
Spike Lee mostly uses his main characters for strong lead roles. He does this because they can relate to the emotional story behind the movie and can can act it out accordingly. An example is Denzel Washington who is of african american background who featured in many of his movies including Malcom X.
All his movies are set in his hometown New York because all the problems he faced happened in New York and that shows that he’s a real auteur because it means so much to him.
Wes Anderson is an auteur direction who grew up in Texas. Wes developed his love for movie at university where he took part in a playwriting class at the university of Texas. Most of his films are a mix of different themes.eg. Drama,adventure,comedy,romance etc. This shows that his films do not follow the conventions of general Hollywood screenwriting. Also most of his films are about families on the idea of parenthood and who’s in charge of the house. His movies also involves dysfunctional families and a lack of parental figures for the young ones. For example in his movie “ The life aquatic” it relates to an absent parent in the life of a young one. His films are in that form because as a kid he lived through that experience as his parents divorced when he was 8 years old and this is the experience he tries to get through to audience in his movies.
His films highlight the key importance of friends, family, love etc. The friendship in most of his movies turns out to be romance and can be seen in his movie “Rushmore”. 
(figure 4). In this scene it is a medium shot of two students who seem to be friends walking in the hallway of a school. Attention is shifted on the face of the two students and their facial expression is different. There are sparks of love showing in this scene as the guy looks shy perhaps showing that he has a crush on the girl.
(figure 4). In this scene it is a medium shot of two students who seem to be friends walking in the hallway of a school. Attention is shifted on the face of the two students and their facial expression is different. There are sparks of love showing in this scene as the guy looks shy perhaps showing that he has a crush on the girl.
Anderson often places his characters in centre frame as we can see from the picture above. This is very different from the conventional filming style rule of thirds which sets him aside from modern directors. His sets are often complex and work like theatre sets than modern movie sets. And example is in the movie “the life aquatic” 
.(figure 5) This allows the camera to move more freely and capture everything going on in the scene while maintaining one shot type. His colour choice is often vibrant with clashing colours that creates a theatre like setting and a removal from modern era eg.”the moonlight kingdom”.
(figure 6) With his prop choice, his interests in the 50’s and 60’s can be seen inserted into his work.
.(figure 5) This allows the camera to move more freely and capture everything going on in the scene while maintaining one shot type. His colour choice is often vibrant with clashing colours that creates a theatre like setting and a removal from modern era eg.”the moonlight kingdom”. (figure 6) With his prop choice, his interests in the 50’s and 60’s can be seen inserted into his work.
Anderson over the years has used famous actors in his movies eg. Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Jeff goldblum etc. His use of the same cast and crew makes his work easier as they are used to him and his style of directing. Eg. Robert Yeoman as DOB as worked on every movie he directed as he is used to Anderson’s personal style.
In conclusion both directors use their movies to portray some real life events they faced in their childhood and the factors around them that changed their lifestyle or perhaps help them grow out of it. Spike Lee uses his characters to represent his emotions and how he feels towards the treatment of black Americans in New York and Wes Anderson uses comedy and family issues to show his upbringing with a single parent and how he coped without having two parental figures.
Figure 1 - josh b. (2014). jungle fever . Available: http://www.hollywood.com/general/jungle-fever-movie-stills-57252191/#/ms-1753/1. Last accessed 8/12/18.
Figure 3 - Ashley clark. (2015). spike lee bamboozled. Available: http://blog.bam.org/2015/10/spike-lees-bamboozled-15-years-later.html. Last accessed 11/12/18.
Figure 2 - nick h. (2018). loser city. Available: http://loser-city.com/features/school-daze-spike-lee. Last accessed 2018
Figure 4 - Travis. (2013). criterion . Available: http://www.flickchart.com/blog/criterion-commentaries-rushmore/. Last accessed 2018.
