Black Swan (Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2010)
Recently, Travis Merchant was able to catch up with Joanna Scholefield, who wrote her article, “Under the Skin: How Filmmakers Affectively Reduce the Space Between the Film and the Viewer,” for issue 5.1 of Film Matters. Her article explored Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan (2010), and how the camera’s movement, focus, and shot length explored the emotions and mental state of the characters in the film. Merchant was able to ask Scholefield about her article, along with questions about where she is at and where she is heading in her life.
Travis Merchant: How did you first hear about Film Matters, and what was the publication process like?
Joanna Scholefield: I heard about Film Matters when I learned that David Sorfa [senior lecturer and program director for Film Studies at University of Edinburgh] was going to be second marking my dissertation for my degree. Though, I had probably read the magazine many times in our university library without recognizing that it was Film Matters!
TM: In your opinion, are there other films that explore character’s mind state through camera work and character movement, like how you said Darren Aronofsky explores Nina in Black Swan?
JS: Oh gosh, there are so many. This is a tough question! Fight Club (1999) really springs to mind, and there are many recurring psychological themes in [Stanley] Kubrick’s films. This is a pretty big question, so I might have to have a think and get back to you on that one!
TM: Do you think Darren Aronofsky tries to convey emotion and affect similarly in his other films, like the companion film The Wrestler (2008)?
JS: For sure! I don’t find The Wrestler to be as horrific as Black Swan, but there are a lot of body horror elements to the film that are incredibly affective. It settles in your mind and gets under your skin in the same way that the extreme closeness of the skin horror in Black Swan does, and Aronofsky does a spectacular job of exploring the mental fragility of his main character through the fragility of his body – even such a strong wrestling body.
TM: What has been the reception to your article?
JS: To be honest, I haven’t had anyone get in touch with me about my article other than you. Thanks!
TM: You said that you were studying for a Master’s degree when your article, “Under the Skin: How Filmmakers Affectively Reduce the Space Between the Film and the Viewer” was published; how was/is that experience? Where are you now?
JS: I actually decided against doing a Master’s degree in the end. It was going to be in fine art curatorial studies and a number of reasons resulted in me deciding not to go on to further education, as much as I love learning. It just means I have to push myself to seek out challenging films and to make myself consider them critically, and discuss them with likeminded people. I’ve actually moved on to a career in food, and I currently work as a cheese buyer (of all things!) and general delicatessen worker at a wonderful deli in Bristol.
TM: Do you plan on continuing to write about film? Are there any ideas that are currently interesting to you?
JS: I write about film in a very casual way these days. I have a blog called Dinner and a Movie [http://jscholefield.webs.com/blog], where I write about new films in exactly 100 words. I think this is a good challenge for me because it means I have a limit to what I have to say, and I have to be incredibly concise and clear with my opinions and ideas. As far as other ideas that are interesting me, one I’ve always been keen to explore is the importance of soundtracks, sound, and music in films. I almost went down this route for my dissertation at university, but exploring the power of aesthetics won over! Films that come to mind where sound is vital for many different reasons are [David] Lynch’s Eraserhead, [David] Fincher’s The Social Network and [Ridley] Scott’s Alien.
Author Biography
Travis Merchant is a student at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington studying film and English. He hopes to continue his studies in film and teach in his future, all the while continuing passions in making films and composing music.
