The poetics of obsession: understanding Kathryn Bigelow’s characters

The work of Kathryn Bigelow is often discussed in terms her technical and stylistic achievements. Relatively little has been written about characterisation, perhaps because protagonists tend to be less than sympathetic – enigmatic the point illegibility driven ways which can hard fathom. In this article, I will argue that what Bigelow’s have common an obsessive quality also haunts filmmaking; themes at heart films are reflected aesthetic structural strategies she employs. particular, explore how use view close-up highlights characters’ qualities; surveillance mediated vision creates a recurring atmosphere paranoia; uncanny stillness centre jumpy, frenetic camera emphasises single-minded focus protagonists; framing narrative structure complement performances create fascinating, if times infuriating, inscrutability characterises so many protagonists. thus seek define poetics obsession pervade filmmaking, connecting visual language, thematic content, characterisation.