Trial History and Memory free essay sample

Film The Queen and Tanka Luckins novel The Gates of Memory consciously represent aspects of history and memory to give the responder a deeper understanding of the events in the texts. The events being the death of Princess Diana in 1997 and the 75th anniversary of the end of the Great War in 1993. Both composers had a purpose of their texts in which they wanted to portray to their audiences. Stephen Frears being to give audiences an insight into the private life of the Royal Family, whilst Luckins wanted to explore the concept of memory and loss in the Great War.Stephen Frears attempt to portray into a behind the scenes look into the royal family related to the interplay of both personal and public life. We are immediately introduced to the Queen through a tilt shot go her being painted, note that the camera angle when on the Queen is almost all of the time above her head, this is symbolic into two representations, one, the Queen is viewed as the figure head of the nation 2 we gain a god like perspective of the Queen reflecting the natural hierarchy. We will write a custom essay sample on Trial History and Memory or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This shot of the Queen shows her very traditionally dressed as a reflection of her traditional values and the monarchy, a long shot of the Queen with the cape draped around her reflects her private nature however Frears is giving us an inside into this hidden aspect, at the same time Tony Blair is being interviewed on T. V. about becoming Prime Minister, note that the two modes being used juxtaposed the traditional values of the Queen that of the modern government.The music used us often always classical reflecting the reserved nature of the Queen. Frears has viewed a mixture of archival footage, created archival footage and filmed moments to enhance the realistic nature of the event in the aim of the Audience believing it. The use of archival footage, news and interviews allows the viewer to view the public aspect and public reaction to the death of Princess Diana. The created archival footage with the grainy filter, of news interviews with Tony Blair convinces the audience that he is the realTony Blair and enhances their understanding . It is important to note that never do we actually see any footage of Diana that is not real, she never appears as an actor in the film, albeit the moment she is killed. Frears here is attempting in this shot to emphasis the intrusion on her life by the Papparzzi as th e shot is from over her shoulders. The montage here allows the composer to place images in a sequence juxtaposing the one in which it is placed next to.This cleverly gives us short representation of her life and how she was always chased by the Papparazi. The image in the montage where Diana is in the waves is symbolic of the waves of the media over her life, or her isolation having left the royal family. The camera shot showing her defensively looking over her shoulder, The recurring motif of water is also seen when the Queen gets stuck in the river symbolic of her relationship with the public.The film is shot from over her shoulder and the footage is grainy suggesting that this moments too private even for us as the viewer to see. The representation with the flowers and the queens physical distance of the people reflect her distant relationship with the people, and how little she understands the people okay just move the flowers away However frears attempts to portray this is how the Queen has been raised, brought up with traditional values.Charles says She grew up in the war time This is further emphasised when Charles says Why dont you get a new car and the Queen replies This perfectly alright The distance kept here between the window screen and them is emphatic yet again of their private nature. The panning shot of the landscape is pathetic fallacy using the cold, bare, distant plains as symbolism of the royal family and the stag in which they hunt a symbol of Diana. Similarly The Gates of Memory speaks of personal aspects in which create memory such as that of Diaries, photographs, letters, oral memories, ocuments etc. all of which take away the cruel purgatory of waiting quotes Luckins. This also explores the idea of how Keating a public figure spoke very little of the bet roved relatives but of what Australia has constituted and gained from the common men' Australia is often referred to as a metaphor mentions luckins The arrival of captain cook is seen as the birth of Australia/ the maturity phase, where as loss and death does not constitute as part of the growth model and is often referred to as the Great Australian Silence.In conclusion both Stephen Frears and Tanja Luckins have used their novel and film to give the responder a deeper understanding to events and people in the text through the use of diabetic and non diabetic sound, visual techniques and literary techniques. The events are shapes and represented as the responder wants to view it in the case of the queen believable actors, costumes and props made this achievable.