All Over Red Drover !

Hi, my name is Aj Kaur, and for my Year 12 project, I am exploring the concept of evil in humanity and how filmmakers have incorporated this concept into their films. The question I will be exploring throughout the year is:

HOW IS OUR PERCEPTION OF HUMAN EVIL BEING DISTORTED BY THE MEDIA, AND WHAT ARE ITS EFFECTS ON VIEWERS? 

I've known for a few years that I wanted to look at something relating to crime for my Year 12 project, but when the time came for me to decide, I felt so stuck. Initially, I wanted to look into why we are so fascinated by what we don't understand, which led me to look into evil. Evil is a phenomenon that is barely understood, yet it captivates people, nonetheless. Since I was looking at fascination, I took two things I am fascinated by and merged them together to create my topic. That being film and true crime. As a visual thinker, film has always been a massive influence on how my perspective is shaped. I watch a lot of true crime and never really realised the negative effects this genre of film can have on an individual until my recent Project related exploration.

I started out my research by just looking into evil and the many varying perspectives people have on it. I tried to look at how our understanding of evil developed from being completely theological to a more modern perspective. It became a bit of a struggle to find a conclusive definition due to there being contrasting opinions. I ended up focusing on a form of evil called malignant evil. Malignant evil acts are actions done from evil motives; actions that cause colossal suffering done with the intent to do something unimaginably wrong to another human's life. This concept of evil felt the most relevant to the types of people I wanted to look at, as well as representing my belief in evil. I believe that all actions are done with some form of intention and thought, even though they can't always be explained. As you would expect, researching evil became quite confronting as I had to read detailed examples of malignant evil.

Initially, researching evil in film started making me second-guess my choice of topic. I couldn't find any evidence which supported my theory. I started to think that maybe it was just me who thought these true crime films were glamorizing evil characters. I discovered more questions than there were answers. At this time, I was also beginning to feel like a hypocrite for picking this topic when I loved to watch true crime. I felt that it wasn't fair to be talking about how we're being desensitized to violence and how viewers are losing empathy for victims when I most likely have fallen into that trap. But as my research has furthered, my understanding has grown. I have become more aware of my detachment from reality due to the media, and I have learned people have been trying to fight the glamorization of evil for a long time.

When I began my research, I wanted to look into how directors of popular Hollywood films could take some of the most evil humans and turn them into loved and misunderstood characters. Despite already being aware of the details of different evil-deemed crime cases, it was interesting viewing these films and noticing how I and others reacted to these evil high-profile murderers, rapists, and manipulators on-screen. The film industry has taken the world's fascination with malignant evil and turned the concept into visual entertainment. My focus developed into looking into how the media can lessen empathy towards victims and how that desensitizes us to the evils surrounding us.

Through my research, I came across a theory called cognitive film theory. It refers to the relationship between human psychology and film by referring to the similarities between our experiences of cinematic images and narrative and our experiences of comprehending events in real life. I learned that by eliciting empathy towards evil, it influences the alteration of our real-world beliefs.

There are cinematic techniques that can be used to evoke emotions, such as sympathy. A film can heighten the narrative, creating an emotional attraction to the perpetrator on-screen. For the viewer to form this emotional attachment, they need to consider the morals of what is being shown to them. This means that to provoke sympathy towards the character on screen, that character must be morally approved. This is a form of desensitisation, which I then learned can cause a lack of empathy because repeated exposure to violent or aggressive behaviour can lead to a blunting of emotional responses. This can make it harder for people to feel or understand the emotions of others. 

Often, we forget when viewing a true crime film that these are people's real stories and real traumas being turned into entertainment. For the practical component, I want to give the viewer an experience of this reality. I am thinking of creating a short film/ trailer using scenes from other films to create a montage of evil that provokes sympathy from the viewer. I will also write a short article on the events of the film for people to read, so that they may gain a sense of how film can distort evil.

My research on the distortion of human evil by the media and its effects on viewers has heightened my empathy for victims and emphasised the need for awareness regarding the real traumas behind the entertainment of true crime films.

Renaud Matthys

Growing up with many siblings, three of whom are older than me, the year twelve project was constantly talked about in our house. When it finally came time to create my own project topic, I knew I wanted to do something that had never been done.

As a little kid, I remember always trying to make my friends laugh.  This has remained till now, and I knew I had to explore this idea. Comedy instantly stood out for me. I have always loved to watch stand-up comedy, and some of my favorites are Josh Blue, Jimmy Carr, and Jack Whitehall. I enjoy watching these comedians as they talk about life. Not only life but personal struggles and simple things they notice around them.

My love of comedy led me to think of some of my early ideas, such as the psychology of humour but this idea was too broad and started to lead me away from what I was really passionate about; Comedy – particularly stand-up comedy.  

Once I started looking into stand-up, I learned about the different styles and techniques comedians use, and I decided I wanted to focus on 3 specifically: Dark humour, which talks about the horrible things in life, Observational comedy, which talks about life and everything that happens within it and lastly, Self-Deprecating humour which is the art of putting yourself down.

My appreciation for comedy has grown immensely from watching my first favourite sitcom "The Office," to going out to Comedy clubs and watching amateur comedians perform.  Yes, believe it or not, this is something I get to do for research this year.

I also found out some pretty interesting information when I came across a theory written by Sigmund Freud.  He explains that humour is a form of superiority. When we make fun of someone, we do it as it makes us feel superior. Throughout the year, we must track our progress in a journal. Although I am not the biggest fan of having to complete journal entries, it will feel incredibly rewarding once it is all done. The year twelve project also has a practical part. This gives us an opportunity to work with our project topic and gives us a deeper understanding.

For my practical, I will perform my own stand-up comedy routine at the Fremantle Comedy Factory. So far, I have started writing my script and telling my usual jokes at lunchtime but there is still a lot of work to be done. I will be practicing my material with Friends, teachers, and family so that I have a perfect final copy. If you are interested in coming to watch me perform, I will be sending out some information in the future. I believe that doing my own stand-up comedy skit is an appropriate practical and is directly correlated to my topic. I am very nervous to stand up on stage and present my comedy, but if I practice my material and delivery, I believe I will be okay. If you have any questions or suggestions, contact me here: renaud.matthys05@gmail.com