Extra Credit - Juxtaposition Piece

Juxtaposition creates associations between componential parts that would not exist in segregation. Soviet filmmaker Lev Kuleshov formulated a principle of juxtaposition that is known today in film theory as the “Kuleshov effect.” He juxtaposed footage of a man with a neutrally-expressive face alternatively with three contrasting images: a bowl of soup, a beautiful woman asleep on a sofa and a little girl lying dead in a coffin. The man did not alter his expression from shot to shot, yet audiences interpreted his neutral expression to subtly represent hunger, lust and grief respectively.

Theme can also be revealed through the careful use of juxtaposition. The following clip is the famous montage sequence at the conclusion of Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). In context, it depicts the ignition of multiple nuclear bombs after an enormous procedural oversight of the U. S. military. Notice the stark contrast between the mood of the image and the mood of the music. As you watch the scene, think about what the film is saying about the military’s superfluous reduction of such a deadly weapon to frivolousness:

The following clip from Francis Ford Coppola’s classic film The Godfather (1978) occurs in the context of the christening of mob boss Michael Corleone’s infant nephew, to whom he stands godfather. Simultaneously is shown the various assassinations of Michael’s enemies that he himself has ordered. Notice how parallel editing is used to suggest the sheer hypocrisy of Michael Corleone’s character:

Assignment Description:

Students will juxtapose two or more images (still or moving), music and/or sounds to suggest a relationship between them that would not be present in isolation. Said relationship may be either aesthetic (as in the Kuleshov effect) or ideological (as in the clips from The Godfather and Dr. Strangelove). Students are encouraged to consider the affinity and contrast between the components and how they contribute to their relationship. Images and sounds that are not of the student’s original creation must be credited appropriately.