Motifs

PATTERNS
What patterns are we starting to see across the film? Think about the way in which certain techniques are used for the same effect across the film and also the way in which different techniques are being used to support/reinforce certain ideas across the film.
MOTIFS
What is a motif? Sparknotes defines motifs as recurring structures, contrasts, and devices that can help to develop and inform the texts major themes. What this means wider themesaof a text a significant a film is a patterntext). can be connected to the to me is that motif is (remember, recurring visual that Something that you can talk about in your essay writing that will express your ability to understand the text as a whole (important at Level 2) is the way in which the director develops motifs to support his thematic intentions.
MOTIFS
Visual Patterns Ive watched the film a bunch of times now and having gone through a number of scenes in detail in order to make commentaries, Im finding some really clear motifs running across the film. The thing about patterns is that they are never immediately clear, especially when you watch/read something for the first time. Unfortunately we simply dont have time to watch the film again and then look at lots of scenes side by side to practise identifying patterns. So, here are some of the more clear cut ones that Ive found.
The use of extreme close ups to emphasise the body The development of a barrier/cage motif through set and composition The use of blue/white/green light to establish the tone/feel of the world Wide angle shots to isolate Vincent Crowd shots composed of the backs of characters to create a faceless world
EXTREME CLOSE UPS
EXTREME CLOSE UPS
EXTREME CLOSE UPS
EXTREME CLOSE UPS
EXTREME CLOSE UPS

Effect The power of the extreme close up is that is disconnects the individual parts of the body from the whole. The focus in an extreme close up is not on the whole individual, but on the pieces that make them up. It also tends to do a really good job of highlighting imperfections - this is why extreme close ups are often used for comic effect to show distorted faces, etc. In Gattaca though, the power of the extreme close up is that is reinforces the notions that in this world, the individual is a construction, built of pieces, whose wholeness (and by this I mean individuality, personality, etc.) is of less importance than the perfection of the individual bits that make them up. These shots place an emphasis on the physical, rather than the personal (the extreme close ups tend to be of body parts, rather than facial features), which is a strong representation of the attitude of Gattacas society. By repeatedly using this device, the director is able to highlight the way in which conformist societies like Gattacas are deeply concerned with detailed scrutiny of people and seek to identify flaws and eradicate difference.
BARRIERS & CAGES
BARRIERS & CAGES
BARRIERS & CAGES

Effect As a visual motif, the development of a barrier/cage motif is powerful way of helping us understand both the character of Vincent and the world in which he lives. It tends to become a visual representation of the barrier that Vincents genetics creates in his world. So, when we see these barriers, it is the visual equivalent of Vincents genes leaping out and standing in front of him, holding him back from his goals/dreams. The barriers also tend to stand between Vincent and the viewer. As a consequence it seems to suggest that he is holding back from something from us, or that there is a barrier between us and the true Vincent because of how he must carry himself in this world. The film is perhaps suggesting that in a world such as this, we start to lose connection to others because we are unable to express the truth about ourselves openly. The cages suggest something slightly different. The recurring cage imagery connects more to Vincents body acting as a prison. He is literally trapped within an inferior body and this is what stops him gaining his ultimate freedom. There is the suggestion that within a genetically perfect society, our bodies can literally become prisons as they come to define everything we can and cant be and what we can and cant do. By developing a pattern of cage imagery in relation to Vincent, it helps us understand the oppressive consequences of a genoism.
LIGHTING
LIGHTING
LIGHTING
LIGHTING
Effect What we see is a recurring pattern of blue, white and green lighting. This has a significant effect on the tone/atmosphere of the film. It helps to reinforce the sterility of the society. The colours lack warmth due to how they dont exist as natural tones. They are clearly synthetic (i.e. man made), which again reinforces the values of this society - human kind has conquered nature. The coldness and sterility of the lighting is also a nice representation of the consequence of this genetically perfect world. Because of the lack of difference, it is sterile, cold, without personality. I think Niccol lights it in a way that is generally unattractive/unnatural so as to highlight the unnatural attitude/values of this society.
WIDE ANGLES
WIDE ANGLES
WIDE ANGLES
WIDE ANGLES
Effect This is probably one of the clearer motifs throughout the film. Niccol has found some quite spectacular locations and he uses them to great effect throughout the film by filming them in wide angles. When he takes a significant piece of architecture and films his characters up against them from a wide angle, he successfully diminishes the importance of the individual. This shooting style offers a really nice representation of the impact of the world. It seriously diminishes the importance of the individual and highlights the power and importance of Gattaca as an institution. This is a nice reminder of how the institution is of greater significance/importance/value in a conformist world. The individual becomes marginalised in such a world. The more local use of wide shots - i.e. in Gattaca, on the beach - is a nice way of reinforcing the isolation Vincent faces throughout the film. Over and again he is shot from wide angles in empty compositions. This expresses his lack of connection to others within this society and also the difficulty of developing connection in a world that is so focused on finding flaws in others. Niccols use of wide shots in this way highlights that idea that without the ability to express/be ourselves as we actually are, it is easy to become isolated from the world as we struggle to connect with it in a meaningful way.
BACKS
BACKS
BACKS
Effect Sort of a strange thing to notice as a motif, but this is a recurring pattern that exists in the film. It is particularly common in crowd scenes. This is understandable because of the way it allows the focus to remain on the central characters, stopping the extras from pulling focus. But in this film it has a more significant effect. The fact that the extras in the film are often shot with their backs turned has the impact of removing their faces from the film. This helps to construct a really faceless backdrop to the film as a whole. What this might represent is the ubiquitous nature of a genetically perfect society and the impact such a society might have on individuality and difference. Beyond this, we have the frequent use of the orange/sepia tone that permeates a lot of the exterior shots of the film. The effect of this is to reduce the number of colours that exist in any one shot. It creates a very washed out world, where there is a lack of distinction in terms of colour and tone. What this suggests is that the director wanted to create a world that feels very ubiquitous, that lacks the vibrancy and personality of a world that embraces difference and individual self-expression. Again, this reinforces the stifling nature of a conformist society - a genetically perfect world would, according to Niccol, be a world without colour.
PURPOSE
Statements you could use to help connect your analysis to the wider purpose/intention of the director: 1) To express the consequences of a genetically perfect world. - what, according to this film are the consequences of a genetically perfect world? 2) To develop a parable about the conflict between the individual and conformism. - what, according to this film, are the consequences for an individual who attempts to infiltrate a conformist society? 3) To comment on the nature of identity and its connection to self-expression. - what, according to this film, the connection between identity and self-expression?

Motifs

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PATTERNS

EXTREME CLOSE UPS

EXTREME CLOSE UPS

EXTREME CLOSE UPS

EXTREME CLOSE UPS

EXTREME CLOSE UPS

BARRIERS & CAGES

BARRIERS & CAGES

BARRIERS & CAGES

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