Representation of Authority Figures Twelve Angry Men and

Representation of Authority Figures Twelve Angry Men and The Lindy Tapes

Recognise Aims and Objectives: • Recognise who are authority figures in Twelve Angry Men and The Lindy Tapes. Identify • Identify how they have been represented in the texts. Identify • Identify contrasting figures of authority. Understand Explain • Understand the playwright’s and filmmaker’s purposes in these representations to position the audience.

Who are the authority figures in The Lindy Tapes? • Police • Judges • Pathologists (Forensics) • Journalists

LET’S COMPARE THE SCIENTISTS

• How does The Lindy Tapes represent Joy Kuhl? • What is our connection with her as an authority figure the audience because of this? • How does The Lindy Tapes represent Barry Boettcher? • What is our connection with him as an authority figure because of this? JOY KUHL vs. BARRY BOETTCHER

JOY KUHL

Professor Barry Boettcher • Cool colours • Calm demeanour • We hear from him directly • The shots are closer • How do the film techniques, sound effects and selections of details affect audiences?

How is Barry Boettcher represented? Attitude – Beliefs Cultural Assumptions –. Values -

Journalists

KEVIN HITCHCOCK – JOURNALIST https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=SSntp 5 x 3 VVc

How does the documentary position the audience to think of Kevin Hitchcock and therefore, his testimony?

How is Kevin Hitchcock represented? Attitude – Beliefs Cultural Assumptions – disabled – more vulnerable, more trustworthy. Values – Consider also, his relationship with the documentary presenter. How does this affect audiences?

Authority Figures – the police. What is the impression you have of these identities from the documentary? -How do film techniques influence the ways in which audiences regard them?

Record specific ways in which the police who originally investigated the case are demonized (made to look bad) Refer to the prompts below to guide your investigation: • Music & sound effects • Use of setting/s • Use of re-enactments & embellishments • Film techniques • Documentary techniques eg file footage, voice-over narration, interview oriented segments • Sequencing of information • Use of colour

Authority Figures. Police A discussion around whether the police had the car uses the phrase ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ is an allusion to the Tenesee Williams play, according to the filmmakers because they have capitalised the words, making it a title, not a saying.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof – synopsis. • As the hot summer evening unfolds, the veneer of happy family life and Southern gentility gradually slips away as unpleasant truths emerge and greed, lies, jealousy and suppressed sexuality threaten to reach boiling point. Made into a film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a masterly portrayal of family tensions and individuals trapped in prisons of

Justice, Miscarriage of Justice, Justice Process • Plan to write a paragraph on how the authorities are represented in relation to your chosen concept (above) • Select two aesthetic features (eg from in the quotes that we have looked at about the police or other evidence & a selection of documentary style choices as evidence • label your aesthetic features and stylistic devices. E. g. The metaphoric use of…The repetition of dark colours constructs the officer as sinister, a man in the shadows…The re -enactment of… • Analyse how the aesthetic features and stylistic features invite audiences to accept particular attitudes, values, beliefs or assumptions constructed by the text. E. g. In representing the police as believing that Lindy Chamberlain was guilty, even without evidence, audiences accept that a miscarriage of justice took place. • Analyse how the use of aesthetic features & stylistic choices position the audience to regard the concept and authorities • Support your assertions with specific evidence

Example: Allusion- Cat on a Hot Tin Roof The Police, authority figures in The Lindy Tapes, are exposed as biased in their investigation, leading to a miscarriage of justice. This shows that (explain) He believes the Chamberlain family display the veneer of a pleasant family, when really lies and deceit lurk behind. This is important because (effect- positioning) The audience is positioned to perceive the police as witch-hunters, seeking damning evidence rather than valuing the truth and attaining justice. [You can add more evidence and explanation, categorising aspects of the police into this same paragraph, before linking back to thesis. ] Consequently, the filmmaker endorses the idea that the miscarriage of justice aligns with police values.

What Aesthetic Features are in the following statements? • “ Determined to make their case stick, the NSW police doubled – down, they seized the Chamberlain’s car. ” - Journalist walking past the yellow car. • “Foetal blood is only found in babies; this is bombshell evidence” – journalist voice as police are walking toward the car in holding. • “Thought we might brighten your day for you. We’ve got confirmed foetal blood in the car. ” Police to each other on the phone, in silhouette, grainy blue colours, looks dingy. • “It was like a conviction and punishment in a public square in medieval times” – Kevin Hitchcock to son (journalist) in interview, talking about the police.

Aesthetic Features • What do these quotes say about the Big 4 with regard to the police? • Attitude? • Beliefs? • Cultural Assumptions? • Values?

Let’s write a paragraph…

Justice, Miscarriage of Justice, Justice Process • Write a paragraph • Have a clear topic sentence – POINT • Provide categories of evidence eg aesthetic features in the quotes that we have looked at about the police and documentary style techniques. • Provide specific evidence from each category, labelling the aesthetic features and stylistic devices as you mention the specific examples • Elaborate on the effects of the examples on the audience, linking to how they create attitudes, values, beliefs, assumptions - ABCV (the Big 4) • Link to how audiences are positioned to interpret the concept and the authorities eg. endorsing any miscarriage of justice, as the fault of the police.