Empathetic Space on Screen

This book sets out to fill the lack of a clear account of the power of setting and place that we are now reduced to describing as 'atmospheric' or 'emotionally moody'. The volume begins by showing how one unifying aspect of these iconic settings sets them apart from ordinary cinema settings. While the settings of most films pass by as a dispassionate backdrop or sometimes as simple eye-candy - and therefore have a weak relationship to the film's protagonist. In cinema and television, certain settings stand out above others. Think of the iconic gooey dripping tunnels that Ripley stumbles through in Aliens, Norman's bird-decorated parlour in Psycho or the dark Gotham of certain Batman movies. But what makes these particular places so powerful and iconic? This work argues that there is a clear but complex relationship between setting and character. We learn that there are three distinct forms of narrative space before focusing on the most powerful of these forms termed by the author as 'Dantean Space'. In 'Dantean Space', a character can be understand as both within a place but also within herself as the story's setting becomes a projection of the character's inner emotional drama. The author explains which characters we cry for and why, revealing an important but as yet uncovered machinery of empathy in visual narrative space through popular case studies such as Apocalypse Now, Goodfellas, Homeland and The Secret Garden. This original and insightful investigation is the first to really explain what makes some settings so effective and will be an invaluable resource for young filmmakers designing their very own narrative spaces for the screen.