Appendix 3.1: Analytic methods - 6 films from 1954
of the character, her dress, bearing, physical condition and
so on, and this is the mode most affected by the audience's
possible recognition of a well known actress, or star. If a
star is recognised it seems likely that the star persona will
become an important element in the audience's understanding
and expectations of the character. Secondly there is the
location of the character. The surroundings in which the
character is situated will suggest certain readings of the
character which may or may not be (but generally are)
substantiated as the narrative unfolds. These two modes, the
appearance and the location of the characters, both depend on
the audience's coding of their visual perceptions. Thirdly
characters may be initially presented in terms of their
actions, and fourthly via their speech. I do not wish to enter
into a semantic discussion about whether or not speech could
be said to be a form of action, merely to assert that in
practice, as my analyses showed, this is a useful division
since one or other generally predominates. Both these modes
entail the fictional character's own presentation of herself
to the audience. Finally characters are often initially
offered to the audience by means of the utterance of another
character. In this case the audience's understanding of the
new character will be modified by their positioning vis a vis
the already-known character subject, as this will have been,
to all the same modes of presentation outlined here.
To summarise I find that the five different ways in which
characters are initially perceived by the audience, on which
audience readings and expectations initially depend, can be
subsumed into three. These are the appearance and/or location
of the character; the self presentation of the character by
means of her action and/or speech ; and the introduction by
another character.
The characters in groups 1 and 2 are of particular interest
since these are the ones for whom some audience sympathy is
constructed - we may have access to their private moments,
their motivations and the consequences for them of the
narrative's unfolding. The two group 1 characters, Maggie in
Hobson's Choice and Helen in The Glenn Miller Story, are
offered to the audience predominantly through their appearance
and location, but also through their introduction by another
character. They do also both speak at their first appearance
on screen but I would argue that their speech is subordinate
to the other two modes as far as the audience's initial
understanding of their characters is concerned. We first meet
Maggie early in the film when her father (Charles Laughton)
returns drunk to their home above their shoe store. We share
his point of view, looking up at Maggie standing in a long
white nightgown, her hair in plaits, a shawl around her
shoulders, halfway down the staircase which leads to the
showroom which he has just entered, noisily, from the street.
She scolds him for his drunkenness, but she is defined by him
for the audience when he responds with 'You're a proper old
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