Appendix 3.1: Analytic methods - 6 films from 1954
thematic factor of these films is represented, then, in a
context explicitly defined as other than that of the audience;
in the one film which takes place in contemporary UK, Doctor
in the House, representation of the path of the hero from
student to qualified doctor predominates over that of social
conflicts. Innocence and experience are opposed here rather
than 'them' and ,us,, or good and bad. All the oppositions
which constitute the thematic centres of these films, however,
are played out through male rather than female characters.
Having developed and tested my analytic methods through the
study of this group of films, I applied them to the sample
group of eighteen films: the insights which my methods allowed
are presented in the body of my thesis. For the sake of
clarity, however, I list here the procedures which I followed.
A: For each film:
1: viewing and notes.
2: list of all characters, male and female, in order of
appearance (see appendix 3.2).
3: assignment of all characters to groups 1-4.
4: synopsis of film (see appendix 3.2).
5: outline of each female character in group 1 and 2
(not included in these appendices).
B: For each group of six films:
1: comparative charts showing disposition of female
characters in the four character groups, and noting
the numbers of male characters in each group (see
appendix 3.3).
2: comparative charts showing analysis of characters in
each group in the following terms (see appendix 3.4)
- Initial Presentation: appearance and location,
action and speech, introduction by another
character;
- Definition: class∕race∕nationality; age∕sexual
status; aims∕occupation.
- Narrative Resolution (groups 1 and 2 only).
This analytic schema enabled recognition and discussion of the
two central elements of my thesis. These are (1) the terms in
which female experience was conventionally represented in
popular cinema during the period, including the question of
whether or not (and, if so, how) these terms changed, and (2)
the use value which contemporary female audiences may have
derived from their consumption of popular cinema. Taken
together these terms offer insight into the ideological
construction of the feminine in the UK between 1945-65, in so
far as popular cinema contributed to this construction.
200