Description
Film is a medium that has been widely discussed, analyzed, and critiqued within professional, academic, and social spheres. What much of this debate has centered on is the visual experience, the narrative, the thematic ideology, or the ability to immerse. However, what has been largely overlooked is how these things are interwoven with each other, functioning together to create an ideological whole. This paper provides a thorough evaluation of the visuals, the developmental process, and the critical and thematic reception of three films: George Lucas' Star Wars: A New Hope, Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Jurassic Park, and James Cameron's Avatar. As a method, this study uses a visual analysis to understand how the special effects function ideologically in the films through different levels of visual integration and how this contributes to the audience's immersion. This analysis demonstrates that the special effects sequences within the film function as rhetorical communication tools, advancing ideological points while leading the narrative forward.
