After watching the film, please post your responses here. Think about the figure of the pariah (the outsider/outcast) and how she’s presented to us. What effects does identifying with a pariah have on the viewer? What kind of conversations does it begin?
As you watch the film: take notes on three formal elements: image, sound, and time.
Image: how does the film visually present the characters, plot, and setting? Take note of color, light, composition, depth of field, contrasts, focal points.
Sound: listen to dialogue, music (the score as well as music that’s part of the narrative–called diegetic sound), other sound effects.
Time: take note of editing. This includes the length of scenes, the sequencing of shots, as well as the pacing. How does time feel?
Please remember that blog posts are due before the start of the class in which they are discussed. Whatever you do, please do not miss class in order to write one, or turn one in during class time.
A pariah means an outcast or outsider. I made sure to learn that definition before watching the movie. I did this in order to understand exactly what this film is trying to portray to us. Right off the bat the movie starts with a scene in a strip club. The lighting is dark and the stripper has a glowing light of pinkish purple on her. Giving off the sense of seduction. Here are my first thoughts. Most shots in the background are blurred out while the characters are the only focused objects. The shots are all close and personal trying to make the viewers connect with the characters. The scene, where she is taking off her clothes in the stall to wear her more usual clothes (guy clothes), is shot by having the camera peeking through the door like we are spying on her. This gives us the sense that we are doing something we know isn’t right. Just like how she thinks she is doing something wrong by being a lesbian and wearing “guys” clothes. She always seems to isolate herself. She works by herself at school and at the club scene she chooses not to dance with her girlfriends. Throughout the movie we are bombarded with scenes telling us that being a lesbian is wrong. For instance the scene when the dad is at a liquor store and his friend is verbally abusing a lesbian asking, “Should I call you sir or ma’am?”
The word Pariah means an outcast or outsider. In this film, the Pariah could be multiple people. However, probably the most blatant example of a pariah is lee. She is presented to the audience as the main character. Lee is a lesbian but she has yet to come out mostly because of fear and uncertainty. I don’t think the viewer has to be homosexual to relate to lee. Ultimately, anyone who has been different or scared of showing everyone who they really are can relate to lee and her story. Lee’s problem in the movie brings up the topic of acceptance not only in the community but also within her family. Her dad shows support and love towards her even after he knows that she is a lesbian. However, her mother shows the other side of the spectrum. She doesn’t want anything to do with Lee and can’t even bring herself to say “I love you” back to Lee after she finds out.
During the movie I noticed that color differences were used a lot to show contrast in different scenes. For example, at the strip club, the lighting is also dark with bright purple and red coming through at times. When Lee is at school, the lighting is brighter especially when she is in the room with the teacher reading her poetry. Perhaps this is to show Lee’s emotion and feeling. Her house is also another place where the lighting is extra dark, even during the day time. I would say this is because she feels trapped and unhappy at home. When she is at the club, its still dark because she is uncertain but the hints of bright light that shine through show her excitement.
Also, for time, I took note that often when she was in the club, the scenes were short and choppy. I think the director chose to do it this way to show her excitement or nervousness. Also, when violence occurs like when she finally comes out to her parents, the scene is choppy and sporadic like the action that was physically taking place in the scene.
After watching Pariah, I was shocked how different it was from Superbad in its portrayal of a coming of age story. Pariah was a very racy film which put together black culture and homosexuality. In some ways I related to Elika in the fact that during the movie, I felt outcasted because I was unable to relate to any of the characters. Even though I wanted Elika to be happy and socially accepted, I could not immerse myself into her situation (something I was able to do successfully while watching Superbad). Aside from that, I thought that Pariah had brilliant aesthetics. I loved how the movie played with depth of field. The depth of field was primarily focused on the characters rather than the setting/environment. Consequently, my undivided attention was dedicated to the emotions, feelings, and actions of the characters in the film. The background was also very dark during the course of the movie. In the strip club scene, the dark lighting scheme brought my attention to the stripper with the pink underwear (set the tone for the explicit nature of the film). During the scene where Elika and her new lover are kissing, the darkness of the frame actually made it hard for me to distinguish the action in the scene from the background. I’m not sure if this is playing on black culture but i think the lack of light gave a mysterious vibe to the scene. Another reason I think the film is so dark is because Elika has to hide her true identity. She changes her clothes in order to present herself as “womanly” to her mother. We see a change in lighting when Elika is on the roof of the building a she says, “I’m not broken, I’m free!” The brightness is linked to Elika’s newfound freedom to express her true identity and not conform to the rigid framework that society and her mother have laid out for her.
The directors of the film make a direct effort to inform the viewer of what it exactly means to be a pariah, in which it’s written definition appears in its advertisement, on the website, in its graphics, in the trailer, and in the film itself. This repetitive exposure to the precise definition of pariah reveals its extreme significance, in which an understanding of its meaning is key to the film. As an outsider or an outcast, a pariah is typically not generally accepted by society, thus leading to their existence outside of the societal norm. In this film, the figure of the pariah is in the form of a teenage girl, named Lee, who is struggling with her sexuality. As societal norms consist of gender coinciding with sex, she is presented as an outcast as she feels like she is a male trapped in a female body. She doesn’t want to participate with the gender norms of female teenage girls, to which she prefers sneaking away and acting upon her masculine desires. The story is presented in the point of view of the pariah, to which the viewer forms a deep connection with her pain and struggles. This forces the audience to associate with troubles that they might not usually associate themselves with, to which a new perspective is formed. Differing from a stereotypical point view presented in Superbad, this point of view allows discussion of a topic that is generally disregarded or seen as “taboo.”
The image presented throughout the film is one of constant change. We see Lee in two different areas of life, in which her image and the image around her changes. When Lee is pretending to coincide with the gender norms of a female we see her in conflict with not only with her family, but with herself. When Lee is embracing her true masculine desires we see Lee in a somewhat brighter image as the genuine happiness is reflected with her expressions. Her image transforms from feminine attire and actions to masculine attire and actions, to which her expression changes as well. The focal points of Lee at home are choppy and of her family, representing how she is always wishing to be somewhere and something else. The lighting is dark and eerie, reflective of her dark and unhappy feelings. In contrast, the club is still presented as dark, but sparks of light reveal her growing enthusiasm and happiness. This is reflective of how the club is only a spark of what her life would be like embracing her true self. Therefore, during the moments that Lee is truly embracing who she is (when she is with the girl she admires and by herself) it is light and true.
In addition, the score and music within the film heighten the themes presented in the images. The score and music ranges from empowering and encouraging, to energetic and loud, to dark and dismal; each reflective of Lee’s constantly changing mood and persona. Time also seems to go by slower when she is embracing her true self, in which she is content, versus choppy and fast when she is uncomfortable or in times of heightened action.
After watching “Pariah” my first thoughts were that the way this film is shot is very different from any other movie or TV show that I have watched. There were many extreme close ups where all we could see was the side of a character’s face with the background of the image blurred out. The camera also jumped from one close up to the next in quick 2 second shots. It was hard to really focus in on one shot or even on the scene as a whole with the the camera switching so fast. The colors were also dark in almost every scene. The only scenes I saw that were well lit was the scene in the first half where she is in the gym playing basketball, a couple scenes walking to and from school, and the scene in the end where she is on the roof talking with her dad. The majority of the scenes were dark and in different shades of green, purple, and pink. I found it hard to see what was going on because it was too dark. The scenes in the strip club were the hardest to watch because of the deep dark shades of purple and pink that were used. I agree with Kurt about the shots being close ups to give us the feeling of the character being alone. These close ups also gave us a more intimate and personal view of the character the close up was focused on.
After watching Pariah i definitely felt pretty darn depressed. For one i presents an issue still quite dominant in today’s society but no one really sees it or rather chooses not to talk about it. I feel that the film definite;y presented the emotions of Alika. I felt that the viewer easily felt the mood set by the image, sound and in some cases time. Image! To me the image seem to have the biggest effect on me anyway. Constantly dark and dim the viewer could definitely feel the obscurity in Elika’s situation itself. I caught myself squinting at my laptop or having to turn up the brightness at some point. The aside from being dark the image/scenes did increase the color that was present. The rich greens and purples almost like the different emotions and thoughts that surround Elika herself. And at the very last shot on the bus ride to freedom, the shot is covered with light once again not allowing the viewer to see. I felt like the lighting was a bit symbolic in saying that things seem hard to understand and see in our lowest and highest points in life. I also noticed the blurred out background in almost every shot focusing only on the main character or the character thats talking not to mention the constant close up shots. As far as sound goes, the music was constantly changing almost like Elikas attitude toward her lesbianism. I noticed different music of different genres; Hip-hop, R&B, Rap, Rock. I felt like the film moved quite quickly moving from one shot to the next never staying focused on one scene for more than 5 minutes. I felt like it kept the viewer entertained as anything slower would just drag one.
The movie pariah was filled with emotion. This is established from the very beginning with the name of the movie being pariah, which is an outcast or outsider. Immediately the movie starts out with people bullying Alike, and really this occurs throughout the movie, whether it be from her parents and their disapproval or her peers. Her mom repeatedly tells her that she does not approve of her daughters lifestyle, wardrobe or friends. Because this is shown from the perspective of Alike, the viewers can get to experience the societal pressures that a lesbian faces today in the world.
The lighting in the movie pariah is always dark. Even if there is some white in the picture such as with characters wearing a white t-shirt, the scene is shot in the dark to keep a large contrast in colors. Perhaps this could be because this is shown from Alike’s perspective, it represents her outlook on life being a dark and scary place. Before arguments, the screen would go black
The scene that caught my attention most and made me feel uncomfortable is when Alike and her parents get into an altercation and her mother says to her father “You are letting your daughter turn into a man.” And her father responds, “Alike tell your mother this is just a phase.” Although I have never experienced a situation like this, it really put the viewers into the perspective of people that have and it really does show how difficult life can be an a pariah.
I loved how real this film felt. It is a coming of age story far more realistic and mature than Superbad. Although we might not all be in the exact same position as Lee, I can guarantee that most of us have felt like an outsider or an outcast. The film is very relatable in a different way–in terms of the feelings and anguish the character portrays. I noticed that most of the film is presented with a very dim and dark lighting. I believe it was meant to convey the dark and disconnected feeling Lee had been experiencing in her life, especially within her family. Towards the end of the movie, the lighting of the scenes became more white and bright, giving the viewer a sense of hope. The lighter contrast also came through during the scenes in which Lee seemed to be happy and began to accept herself and her situation in life. I really enjoyed the movie and found it to be very touching. It really makes you feel for the main character. The movie seemed to take place over the course of a few months, and it is completely relatable to the amount of change we can and have experienced in our own lives. The film really portrays the struggles of growing up and embracing one’s total self. We see that the main character cannot be her total self around her family or her friends; having to change into more masculine clothes while at school, and also having to change back into her feminine attire before returning home to her judgmental mother.
After watching Pariah at the screening tonight my main emotion from it was a mixture between depression and awkwardness. Through my own natural human reaction I wanted to relate to Elika, unfortunately I found no similarities between her and I at all. Truly she embodies the idea of a Pariah because she is an outcast among outcasts. Being in a predominantly black society, it should come easier for Elika to be embraced by a culture that is also discriminated against. I completely misjudged black culture before I watched this movie because I believed that african americans in general would be much more accepting of differences than their white counterparts because of their own history of discrimination. To my chagrin I realized that when it comes to sexuality, black culture can be as stubborn as any other race. Without question the darkness of the lighting creates an eerie setting for the movie. Furthermore most of the camera shots in the film are face shots which are able to show much more emotion than other camera shots. From the get go it is easy to see that Elika has trouble with her sexuality as she changes her girly clothing as soon she enters her school to embody her desired lesbian attire. Her obscurity in her family life can be seen either in her actions or in how the producers portray the lighting and camera scenes when she is around them. What I thought was the most interesting idea of the film was the characters relationships with the dad. Firstly the mom is in awe of her husband and incorporates the passive role of housewife whenever around him. Interestingly Elika bonds the best with her father because of her desire for a male influence in her life and his sexually unbiased look upon his daughters own decision making.
The way Pariah was filmed made it almost seem like I was watching a documentary. For the most part, it seems like the set wasn’t lit with special lights, every light source was in set like lamps, the tv, or the fluorescent lighting in the ceiling. This made a lot of scenes very dark and hard to see. I had to really focus on the characters and stay paying attention to the shots to be able to follow what was happening. This also made the story seem more real with no extra glitz or glam. I did not notice really brightly lit scenes until after Alike confronted her parents. I think this is symbolic in that she broke free of her parents and brought them out of denial, therefore the sun could shine and she could be in light. She became more comfortable in her own skin and didn’t need to be in dark lit places to be comfortable being who she truly is. The camera isn’t always stable and doesn’t always glide smoothly which adds to the effect that we are following a girl for a documentary and not watching a scripted movie. The music gave a feeling of independence, the soundtrack provided almost a source of power to the characters because of the unknown artists and “underground” genre. The pacing of some sequences especially ones at night is very fast. It’s kind of hard to keep up with the characters and dialogue during these scenes which gives a feeling of cautious to the audience.
Something I noticed was that the majority of the shots took place at night and thus were darkly lit. However, after the confrontation scene between Alike and her mother, Alike is seen standing on a rooftop in bright daylight. The very end of the film as well was just a white screen. This clearly symbolizes the dark, unhappy state of Alike’s life in the beginning before the hopeful state she’s in at the end when it is revealed that she’s going to graduate early and go to college. Much of the music throughout the film also had a soulful quality to it in which the singers sung about struggle, which parallels Alike having to come to terms with her sexuality.
Despite the fact that we have very little in common, I still found that there were times where I could relate to Alike, as well as any audience. Almost everyone at one point or another has felt like an outsider or uncomfortable in his or her own skin. Everyone’s struggled to find their place in life and know who they are. Identifying with the pariah is, at times, painful. No one wants to feel that they are the “Other” in society. It is human nature to want to belong somewhere, and Alike clearly displays this desire by spending time with different groups of people, such as the people who frequent the nightclub, Laura, her family, etc. In this way, her decision to leave home and go to college isn’t just a choice to leave her old life behind; it’s also a choice to reject all the people she’s spent time with and find her own place to belong.
Pariah definitely evoked a weird sort of emotion in me after the film was over. Based off of the blog responses above, it seems as though a lot of people felt this way. This film is definitely unlike any I have seen before and is not a coming of age movie that I would have necessarily chosen to watch if given the choice. However, I do feel as though this movie provided a lot of different perspectives on African American culture and also sexuality that I had not viewed before. A pariah, defined as an outcast, is something that isn’t necessarily thought about in everyday life. This movie forces the audience to focus on viewing life from Elika, the outcast’s, point of view. As far as examining the formal elements of the film such as image, sound, and time, the film was shot very differently from most films I have ever seen. For example, many of the shots focused on a single characters up close facial expressions for long periods of time. This adds drama to the film and also gives the audience time to think about what is happening and the emotions that each character is feeling. The lighting of the scenes changed depending on Elika’s situation. By this I mean that when she was at home and forced to be the person she was not, the scenes seemed darker and depressing which showed that it was an unhappy place for Elika to be, because she was a “pariah” in her home. Whenever she was with the girls she had feelings for or felt comfortable with, the scene seemed lighter and more upbeat. The music playing in the background of scenes was typically slow and sad. It evoked a depressing tone which I felt makes the audience sympathize for Elika and brings us down to dark emotion she feels in her life. A focal point that I noticed throughout the film was her earrings. It seemed as though the earrings were very symbolic of the identity she wore when she was around her family that was not her true self. She took off the earrings when she went out to the club, but she would put them in when she would go home to her family that she was an outsider to. I felt as though the camera always focused on the earrings to show the audience the present personality that Elika was showing at the time. Overall, I would say that this movie was important to watch because it showed life from the perspective of a teen going through the transition of finding her true identity and being proud of it. Although I have never personally dealt with a situation such as Elika’s, it was interesting to get a glimpse at what some girls really do go through and what it is like to be a pariah in one’s own home.
After watching this movie, I find a lot of differences between this movie and the previous movie ‘superbad’. In a way, this movie seems to be much more mysterious. This is shown from all the dark scenes that are seen throughout the movie. In addition to that mysterious feel, the movie also feels much faster due to the fast change of one camera shot to another. Another thing I recognized is that there are a lot of close ups that focuses on the faces of the actors or the features on their face. There are a lot of scenes that places the actors in the middle of the screen, which focuses all the attention to either their conversation or just their expressions. (Basically, it focuses mainly on them). This partly shows why the camera is always moving in a fast pace, because it wants to focus a lot on each actor’s emotions and reactions. Other than that, I find the scene where Alikay changed her clothes in the bus way home very interesting. It is obvious that the producers are trying to emphasize that Alikay (or Lee) has two personas. This change of clothing is also seen when she goes to school and isn’t around her mom. The constant switch of the two personas that Alikay/Lee shows in the movie is very interesting for me to see, because it shows the fact that some people just can’t accept her. It was also very interesting to see a quote where the audience is pulled into the movie straight away by thinking about what the movie is about already from the start.
The pariah is our main character, Alike. She is an outsider in her society, especially her own family, where she is unlike the rest and feels like she does not belong. Visually, there are many shots in the film where there is only one color: red. Other times the scenes were very dark and dimly lit, leaving many to the viewer’s imaginations rather than outright showing something. I noticed that at times they would immediately cut to a very bright scene afterward, a very heavy contrast. One scene involved very shaky camera work, done on purpose to emphasize the rage that Alike was feeling at the time, the confusion and jumble of thoughts that must have been running through her mind. One important part of her character involved her earrings. These earrings were symbolic of which gender role she was taking on at the moment. The background music usually matched with the mood of Alike as well. At times it would be simple instrumental music, while at other times it would be louder with heavy drum beats, especially when Alike was feeling angry. From the beginning to the end, this film depicted heavy emotions and showed raw feelings from a person struggling with their identity.
The thought of being a pariah loomed over my head the entire time I was watching the movie. It felt as if the world was condescending and did not care about my opinion, because I felt like I had assumed the role of Alike, a pariah. The theme that stuck out to me most was that black lesbians are a group of people that are severely overlooked in society, and nobody really thinks about them as part of society. Their opinions are often overlooked on issues, and society does not deem it acceptable to be a part of this group of people. The most important though one of the less subtle themes was that it felt real. Though the lighting was played up to invoke certain emotion, it still felt like I could be watching a girl’s life unravel before her eyes. I did not notice much about the music, save for the fact the music really picks up speed in the intense scenes. Another theme that I picked up on was the fact that black families have a very hard time dealing with homosexuality. It is traditionally known that homosexuality is far less accepted amongst the black community in the United States compared to the rest of the country, which causes Alike to feel even more challenged about her sexuality since even her family is not willing to accept it.
As Alike continues develop her sense of self throughout the movie, the elements begin to change to subtly reflect how she is feeling inside. In the beginning, the lighting and timing are all over the place, the music is down with a battered spirit. There is frequent neon lighting: primarily red and green, to display a sense of uncertainty and intensity. The scenes are chopped up and brief, never taking a long time showing one thing. This creates a uncomfortable effect: as though the story is moving too fast for the audience to keep up. Whenever Alike is lying down in her room, everything is red. This is because of a red light in her room that creates this mood. Alike hates being in her room, she feels like she doesn’t belong.
As she becomes more comfortable with the idea of who she is, these elements begin to change. There are more long scenes with a lot of talking and explaining, making the story clearer. The lighting shifts from this constant vivid neon to gentle yellows, grays and blues. At one point, Alike becomes so fed up with everything that she destroys her room, knocking over the red lamp and tearing down her blinds. “Breaking” and allowing the light to enter, which was a common theme of her finding herself.
A pariah is defined as a social outcast and Elika embodies the definition. From the start, Elika expressed that she was lesbian but felt that she needed to keep it hidden because she wouldn’t be accepted. The film does a great job with using the camera to create a connection to Elika. An example of this is seen when Elika is at the strip club and the lighting is very dim. The dim lighting creates a dark depressing vibe that is seen throughout the beginning of the movie because she feels no hope and Elika doesn’t want to be seen there. LIke David said, the movie did move extremely fast and was pretty hard to keep up with because of its fast pace. As the movie progressed the lighting began to change from dim to brightness. This represents the hope she begins to receive as time progresses. From the first scene at the strip club to one of the last scenes where Elika is standing on the rooftop looking into the city, one can see the dramatic difference in the lighting. Dark to light. The scene on the rooftop gives a sense of freedom or hope because it expresses that Elika is beginning to become more comfortable in her own skin and hopeful that she will be accepted amongst society.
People might think that Alike is not a very relatable character due to her race or sexual orientation, but I’m sure everyone has had an experience when they felt like a pariah. A pariah is an outcast or an outsider. However, Alike’s situation is made worse by the fact that even members of her own family will not accept her, something I could not relate to. Many shots in this film are dark and gritty and usually correspond to how Alike is feeling at certain places. For example, scenes that take place in her house are darkly lit which shows that Alike is not happy at home. Her parents are always fighting because of Alike’s behavior and her father’s tendency to come home late from work. Many of the shots in the film are close ups of characters’ faces. This is so the audience can see emotions more clearly, especially in darkly lit scenes, which this film has a lot of. There are many scenes where shaky cam is used along with quick cuts, which I think have to do with the confusion that Alike is having throughout the film. However, Alike always knows that deep down she is a lesbian. She embraces this by wearing male clothing outside of the home. I was surprised that her mother still refused to accept her at the end. However, it was a nice change of pace to see a film without a completely happy ending. Some scenes at the end of the film were brightly lit to show that Alike has accepted who she is and that there is hope for her in the future.
Alike is presented to us as a black lesbian girl who is not only an outcast in school, but also one in her own home. Her mother doesn’t agree with her appearance and worries about keeping the family “perfect”. Alike is obviously have trouble with personal identity and purpose, shown in her change in appearance constantly throughout the beginning of the movie, and by her constant conflict with her mother. All of the conflict in this story is shown in dark light, a method used by the producers to set the themes. Bright light usually shows resolve and peace, as seen in the last couple of minutes of the movie when Alike is sitting on the roof, writing a poem. Her dad visits and they resolve their issues. One thing I noticed that the producers used a lot in this film is a camera angle looking at characters from behind at an angle. A majority of the close ups used this angle. I feel like this angle give a closer up image of feelings and emotion than a frontal view because it’s so unusual. People don’t usually look at others in that angle unless they are analyzing them in some way, deeper than just looking at a face from a frontal view. It is much more personal and abstract.