The Narrative Function Of The Costume Design In The Cinema: The Physical Appearance Of The Film Character As A Characterization Element In The Classical Hollywood Cinema

Abstract

The mail goal in this paper is to identify the function of the costume design as an element of characterization in the character from the analysis of the main character in a sample of films produced in the classical Hollywood cinema practice between 1930 and 1960. Our hypothesis is that even if the election of the costume in the main character is conditioned by the film genre and the historic and geographic context of the film narration, the costume design is used as an active way in order to characterize the character. To achieve our aims we make a textual analysis in an iconic classic 55 films sample, from a subjective sample by reasoned decision. In this sample, the films are chosen not from stylistics methods but from some of their features. The results show that costume design is defined by the historic context and the geographical space where the action takes place in the film, as well as the social class the character belongs to. Secondarily, it defines the main features in the heroes of the film narration and the film genre. Those film genres specially involved in the development of the personal experience of the characters, as the melodrama, create a more complex main characters from a psychological point of view, but they also attends to the costume of the main character as an important characterization element. In the male hero, the costume becomes a secondary element that few times acquires relevance. The woman in the melodrama, on the contrary, is more interested in her costume and so the melodrama cares of the costume design.