An Emotional response is created in the spectator due to what they are waterching on the screens. Their morals are often challenged in popular films and their views constantly switch.
Using Professor Murray-Smith's Structure of Sympathy, we are given a deeper understanding of why this may occur.
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F 9/ 11
Fahreinheit 9/11 is a documentry by Michael Moore (2004), that also challenges the spectator's views.
Scenes such as clips of the ones, accompained by the mustic track "Shining Happy People" may lift the mood slighty by the the movie, but drops the mood straight away with the clip of a beheading striaght after, leading many of the audience to go "Oh!" and often feel shocked by the instant mood killer.
The opening credits of F 9/11 appear 11.20 minutes into the film, accompanied with video clips of the newsreporters and the offical American government, smiling and getting their hair and make-up done before announcing news on what we percieve to be about the brutal attacks of 9/11 - something not to be smiling about.
Then the scene ends with a minute black out as the audio of 9/11 attacks plays out.
The spectator automatically has reconition, despite our seeing what is visually on the screen.
We are alligned through the use of sound, and straight away our Alliegence is with all the voices heard because we have sympathy for all those who have lost their own or someone's lives.
The spectator will also feel extremely uncomfortable due to the fact 9/11 is a senstive subject especially if you were affected by 9/11 or you were watching it when it first came out.
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F 9/11
Another uncomfortable scene to watch is when we are introduced to Lila Lipscomb before the end of the film when she is reads out her last letter from her soon.
The audience have been aligned with Lila either through having sympathy or empathy for her about her son's death.
The camera shows close up reactions of Lila and her family crying and shaking as she reads the letter, and again as the spectator we sympathise with Lila and her family forming an allegiance with her and dissapproving George W. Bush's actions.
She challenges our values because of her story and leds us questioning whether what George Bush was right on what he did to America and cause a war.
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Overall (ACO and F 9/11)
A documentary that may be seen as being mocking Bush then turns serious all of a sudden can cause a confused and distressed emotional response as the cut scenes are rapid.
It underlines and exposes the right-wing and Michael Moore implies his left-wing views throughout the sequence.
He selectively picks the most distressing and emotional scenes in order people's political opinions to change and dislike Bush and his political enforcements.
However, it could be seen as biased because we never see Bush's side of the story just Moore's therefore, the spectator could either react enraged as it could be biased (right wing people would often react this way) or what Bush has done (often non-polictial or left winged people.
As for ACO it transgresses from us disliking Alex to being somewhat sympathatic towards him and view him more as a anti-hero and not an antagonist.
Recognition occurs when the mise-en-scene almost reminds the audience of something they trust or seen before therefore they become drawn to this.
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