"The Crush" By Lisa Walden

The Crush (2010) Oscar Winning Short Film- Michael Creagh

Theory One: Tzventan Todorov (Classic Narrative)

Equilibrium: this begins with an enigma when something happens which starts the story off- it is here in ‘The Crush’ portrayed with Ardle’s everyday life at school and at home with his parents. Medium shots of the children in the classroom learning their spellings, presents the idea of everyday life.

·      Disruption: this is the Equilibrium of normality and here in ‘The Crush’ it is portrayed after young Ardle proposes to his schoolteacher. Not long after this he meets her in their local town and his presented with his teacher’s fiancé- due to his facial expressions we begin to piece together how he feels. 

Confrontation: this is the recognition of the disruption and the attempt to deal with it. This is recognized when Ardle confronts Miss Purdy’s fiancé, trying to diverge him from marrying his crush. This is how he attempts to deal with her fiancé and try’s to set up a serious meeting.

·      Resolution: here we see all the disruptions and problems solved. Furthermore in this short film Ardle, at this stage, meets Miss Purdy’s fiancé and threatens him with his toy gun in order to deceive him about telling the truth behind why he wants to marry Miss Purdy. 

·      New Equilibrium: after young Ardle does all he can to win over his teacher he finally notifies her that he is ‘finically unstable to cater for her needs’, and ends with ‘girls are stupid’, which leaves the audience slightly puzzled as it differs from the previous events in stages 2 and 3.

The classic narrative from Todorov helps me to further deepen my understanding on the various stages in the film, such as how all the pieces combine together to create a perfectly crafted story. Typically, when watching a film one doesn’t regard these stages and their meanings, however when greatly examining it, your appreciation of the structure of the film extends.

Theory Two: Bordwell and Thompson (Plot and Story)

·      The Story in ‘The Crush’: The story is all the hidden information behind what is viewed on screen. For example, the story in ‘The Crush’ would be everything that has previously happened prior to the film, such as Ardle as a baby and starting school and everything he does amid of what we see on screen: him going to bed, waking up, doing homework and eating. If the entire story were to be shown in the film, it would be much more than a short film, so it is therefore shortened to the Plot, which is what occurs in the film- everything the audience see.

·      The Plot in ‘The Crush’: The plot is all that takes place during the film, thus we see all the relevant elements prior to the story, such as Ardle spotting the gun, which is then later used as a weapon, and Ardle giving Miss Purdy the ring. These scenes are all appropriate to give the audience enough information to understand both the plot and story.

Both Plots and Story’s are used in the making of every film- feature and short. Story’s are what directors plan the plot around, as they need to have every detail behind the characters and their upbringing. Therefore the events of the story are plotted to create the narrative.

These are shots from the film that the audience do see, however the spectators do not view some events that have happened in the characters world.

This theory assists me into seeing new meanings in the film, as when you explore into the story behind the plot it allows you to have a new view at the film and how the characters view their situation.

Theory Three: Claude Levi-Strauss (Binary Oppositions)

·      Levi-Strauss observed that everyone makes sense by dividing the world into binary oppositions, so this could be: good against evil, male against female or rich against poor. All narratives in films are organized around this conflict between binary oppositions.

·      In ‘The Crush’ there are a range of binary oppositions, which assist the narrative, therefore showing how has more power and authority.

·      An example of this would be when Miss Purdy’s fiancé offensively screams at her using dire language, showing that he obtains higher authority in their relationship. The binary opposition here is Male versus Female, although when she breaks off their relationship, leaving him unaccompanied, it shows that the woman too can attain high power.

·      Another example is regarding the binary opposition strong versus weak- we see this right through ‘The Crush’ between Miss Purdy’s fiancé and Ardle. At first the fiancé believes to be the stronger one of the two- this is apparent when he laughs at Ardle, not taking him serious thinking he has more power over him. In the next scene to come, Ardle comes out as the stronger one between the two, subsequently shocks the audience: threatening him with a realistic gun and tricking him into giving up Miss Purdy. This shows that regardless of age or appearance any single person can obtain stronger control over the other person acted out by actions, speech or body language. 

The binary oppositions in this film narrative were clear to identify, although relatively surprising. Such as in strong versus weak young Ardle turned out to enclose more strength over the middle-aged man. This took me aback, as from the fiancé’s body language we were to believe that he was stronger and more authoritative over Ardle, thus after Ardle’s brave act of fortification I am left thinking otherwise.