Limited Exposition: CAN YOU DIG IT?

This weekend while perusing through the realm of Netlfix I came across Walter Hill's The Warriors (1979). I'm usually not a big fan of movies from the 80's (1979 close enough), I just have a hard time getting past the cheesy, outlandish, synth- filled madness that is known to accompany films of this era. That being said, The Warriors  is a clear exception. I love this movie. 

This stylized film centers around gang life in NYC, but not the rough and tough street gangs that you see on the evening news- this is the 80s, remember. The gangs in The Warriors are more of a protective family, not a lucrative organization specializing in a drug trade or other illegal activities. They are violent, but only to protect their turf and their gang.

Not the most intimidating crew

The thing I like most about this film is the almost nonexistent exposition to help set up the story. We as the viewer are immediately thrust into this world as the Warriors gang is traveling on a subway. We have no idea who they are, what they are doing, or generally what the hell is going on. The opening is just a mash up of trains whizzing by and different groups of people (characterized by their specific matching outfits) traveling to some unknown location. Details slowly get revealed and pieced together- although not very clearly. A quick cutaway of a subway map reveals they are traveling to Manhattan. Through some brief dialogue we get a sense of the huge scale of this meeting, which also reveals that there are many other gang factions in attendance. Talk of a "truce" and some mysterious character Sirus  give us more questions than answers- at least to start. 

Normally movies like this just annoy me and make me feel out of the loop- I like things clear cut and explained. But the ambiguity of The Warriors works very well. It feels like  a fantasy/alternate reality film at first, but everything we see on screen indicates a normal earth in present day (1979). This is mainly due to the various gangs in outlandish costumes (leather vests, painted mime faces, baseball jerseys, roller skates- the list goes on and on). It almost gives off a post apocalyptic, urban Mad Max type of vibe. It is very off-putting, yet oddly satisfying and believable. 

This film makes you focus more (subconsciously) on the minute details we see and hear on screen and piece together the background of the narrative. It is up to the viewer to decide how the film world came to the specific starting point of the movie. The events that unfold throughout the film are dependent on a specific understanding of the narrative universe and how this world works, but those "rules" are never clearly explained.  However, the average viewer doesn't really perceive this or even know it is happening. That is what makes The Warriors so good. They give us so little information, yet we are able to understand everything about this world and instantly relate it the characters and their unfortunate situation (don't worry- no spoilers). 

I really like this alternate-exposition technique; I think it makes the viewer more engaged and immersed in the film as they try to figure out the nuances of the story world, even if they don't realize it. I think this is a problem that our film Dollhouse had initially- we tried to initially tell too much of the story explicitly  instead of implying story details  visually or through brief dialogue. As our script goes through minor changes I hope we are able to incorporate more (less?) of this into our story exposition.

I understand that not everyone is fan of this exposition choice. I'm usually not. But I thought it really worked for The Warriors. Can You Dig It?

A Second a Day

Going in the opposite direction from last week's blog, I'm going to talk about videos that effectively use extremely short takes to get their points across. In the past few years, there has been a trend (mostly amongst youtube videos) of people taking a picture of themselves every day for a year to show how much they've changed. Although I am terrified at the thought alone of allowing the entire world to see every awkward phase I've been through in my lifetime, it is interesting to watch others do so. Here's an example of a transformation video:

Many times these videos are used to not only show change in looks, but also to shed light on issues, whether they be diseases, like the girl above, or social problems. In 2013, a Serbian news site called B92 funded a video campaign to raise awareness of domestic violence towards women. The video was posted to youtube as if it was a real person's story of abuse, stirring controversy and gaining a lot of attention.

TRIGGER WARNING: Domestic Violence

The sign reads "Please help me. I don't know if I will get to see tomorrow."

Recently, the idea of the "photo a day" video has evolved. People have been posting "one second a day" videos, showing different aspects of their daily lives as they grow. Here's one of the most adorable babies in the world, from birth to one year old:

Personally I believe the one second video compilation is much more effective than the photo series. I feel more attached to the subject and although each segment is only a second long, I feel like they tell much bigger stories.

And as the media world goes, this form of video was used in another social issue campaign. Save the Children, an organization dedicated to helping children in need worldwide, created a short film to highlight their campaign to help the children in Syria.

Not only is this film extremely effective in terms of its message, it is an accomplishment in effective storytelling as well. Because the takes are so short, everything needs to be precise. The production design, dialogue, makeup, camera work all have to be exact and planned out to a T. Additionally, each second progresses the storyline. In the beginning, we get exposition: family members and their relationships, the girl's attitude, etc... Then snippets of the war are subtly sprinkled between average days, showing a realistic progression of a country in crisis. Lastly, the symbolism of starting and ending on the girl's birthday really hit home the change not only in the girl, but the world around her. Although the film is a campaign for an organization, I found it impressive as a stand-alone piece.