Thursday, 9 December 2010
Sunday, 5 December 2010
Kick-Ass
As a class we watched Kick-Ass the movie, we had to pick out the seven key areas of representation: Gender, Age, Ethnicity, Sexuality, Social Class, Physical Ability/ Disability, Regional Identity and also, the four key areas of Textual Analysis: Camera Shots, Editing, Sound, Mise en Scene.
From the very start of the film we see who the hero will be, Dave, who later on becomes the superhero Kick-Ass. He is a typical white middle-class American comic book nerd and wants to help the world as a vigilante. The binary opposite of Kick-Ass, is the villain, a white business man with lots of money who is in charge of lots of people. We see other types of villains who seem as though they're important, like a Red Herring; they're stereotypical criminal gangster characters, dressed wearing chains and vests and walking with a typical gangster swagger.
There are many close-ups within the film, mainly when there are particularly gruesome parts, for example the stabbing and when Kick-Ass has blood all over his face. There is a repeated scene involving Dave, a girl and their lockers in a school corridor, the camera work creates a tense awkward feeling for Dave but shows that the girl wants to talk to him, and they keep exchanging looks. During a more upbeat scene in the film, there is a contrast in scenes from a bright fast-paced chase with loud music through the middle of New York City and the quiet, dark alley where Kick-Ass is trying to be a hero and save a cat. The scenes then collide as the criminals involved in the chase turn down the back street, Kick-Ass gets involved and the camera work involves fast shots to increase the impact on the audience; again there are close-ups of action shots and injuries.
As the film is set in New York City, there is a reputation of the city housing some gangs and violence, so in the centre of Times Square it's light and bright and colourful, whereas in the shadows and back streets it's not a friendly place to be walking on your own. This proves that regional identity is present in every city; the effect of light and dark is also shown with the lighting used in the film. During one scene in particular the lighting is dim outside and it's a quiet suburban neighbourhood, Kick-Ass has gone to try and make peace between two people, the flat he goes into is full of black people, stereotypically they're smoking and drinking and playing violent video games, there are also lots of weapons around the room, and only one girl, who looks as though she's a prostitute. Hit Girl is introduced and she saves Kick-Ass from being killed, she is around 12 years old and knows more about the world than Kick-Ass, she can use any weapon put in front of her and kills everyone in the apartment; this is a very fast paced scene as the child's talent shocks the audience.
Another character is introduced later in the film, Red-Mist, he also claims to be a superhero but really he's the villain boss man's son. This causes trouble as he comes across as a genuine hero, but beneath the mask he's involved in the gangs his father is in control of. Red-Mist then gets Kick-Ass, Hit Girl (and her father, Big Daddy) involved in trouble, there is a factory fire which includes lots of hand-held camera work and added sound effects such as the sound of fire and the music in the background. Towards the end of the film, there is a long action scene involving the heroes, Kick-Ass, Big Daddy and Hit Girl; against the bad guys, the boss man and his hired gang members. The sound is incredibly loud and there are many added sound effects for the sound of guns firing and stabbing, the lighting is very dark and there is upbeat music playing throughout. Night-vision is used at one point as Hit Girl saves Big Daddy and Kick-Ass, she succeeds but at the very end the last gang member alive sets fire to the floor surrounding Big Daddy, this involves close-ups and wide shots of the area the scene is set in. An emotional scene at the end of the fight between Hit Girl and Big Daddy shows their faces half lit and slow, quiet music is played.
The whole film consists of action scenes with fast paced camera shots and loud music and sound effects, there are some shots from below and some from above at key points in the film, for example when Hit Girl and Big Daddy are keeping something secret from the audience the cinematographer uses a camera looking up to them from where the object would be, this is then revealed near the end of the film.
The ultimate heroes in the film are Kick-Ass, Hit Girl and Big Daddy, they are all white middle-class American people, of all different ages. Big Daddy is approximately 40, Kick Ass is around 18 and Hit Girl, 12. In the final scene Hit Girl fights against the boss man villain, this involves binary opposites against each other, old and young, male and female.
The music throughout the film is effective and a wide variety of genres, however the last scene in particular shows a contrast in music every few minutes. For example, western style music is played as Hit Girl convinces some security guards that she's an innocent child, the music let's the audience know she's up to no good; then there is some rock genre music with drums and guitars when she takes on a group of about 15 security guards; and as Kick-Ass comes to save her, one of America's most well known anthems plays, 'An American Trilogy - Elvis Presley'. The special effects are well used, for example flying, fighting and the make-up used makes the audience more involved in the film as it appears more realistic. There is a wide shot as Kick-Ass and Hit Girl fly home on the jet pack over New York City, this fades into a sunset. The ending of the film shows Red-Mist taking over his father's role and sitting in his office chair, he then turns and fires a gun at the camera - the film ends with the flash of the gun. The song 'Make Me Wanna Die - The Pretty Reckless' plays during the credits, the song relates to all the death in the film and the idea that Red-Mist's character doesn't think the war is over yet between himself, Kick-Ass and Hit Girl, so it leaves the audience thinking that there could be a Kick-Ass 2.
Representation - Race/Ethnicity - Spooks
As a class we watched a scene from the drama series Spooks, the title is 'Danny's Death', from the short clip we had to analyse the mise en scene, lighting, characters, colours and representation included.
How is representation of ethnicity constructed in this clip?
The mise en scene from the very start shows a contrast between dark and light, the faces of the characters are always partially lit; this highlights the representation of ethnicity by the difference between black and white. The main character, Danny, is black; the two terrorist characters are Arabian and the woman in the main scene is white, so already there are characters playing stereotypical roles for their race. There are other people within this clip but not in the main scene, they are all white as well and are colleagues and friends of Danny and the woman. All the characters are well spoken irrelevant to their racial backgrounds, this shows that the only features that make them 'different' are their religion, beliefs and physical appearance.
The sounds used in the clip make the atmosphere tense and unpredictable for the audience, there is a drum beat playing from the start of the clip which could be perceived as a heartbeat or footsteps building closer to a climax. The sound slowly blends into a song sounding very similar to the 'Mvezzin', which is traditionally the 'Call to Prayer' this could show links to the different religions between races in the clip. The whale song is played until the very end of this short clip, this holds emotion between all the characters as there are short shots showing each persons' reaction.
There is another aspect of religion as before Danny speaks to defend himself against the terrorist holding a gun to his head, he whispers something to himself as if it was a prayer or a goodbye to someone he loves before he surrenders himself. This shows there are different beliefs in different people no matter what religion or race they are. The two Arabian men are terrorists, one was dressed as a regular businessman, the other was head to toe in Arabian black robes. The man in the suit is obviously the leader of the two, he could be mistaken for an everyday businessman in a busy city, as though he's in disguise.
How is representation of ethnicity constructed in this clip?
The mise en scene from the very start shows a contrast between dark and light, the faces of the characters are always partially lit; this highlights the representation of ethnicity by the difference between black and white. The main character, Danny, is black; the two terrorist characters are Arabian and the woman in the main scene is white, so already there are characters playing stereotypical roles for their race. There are other people within this clip but not in the main scene, they are all white as well and are colleagues and friends of Danny and the woman. All the characters are well spoken irrelevant to their racial backgrounds, this shows that the only features that make them 'different' are their religion, beliefs and physical appearance.
The sounds used in the clip make the atmosphere tense and unpredictable for the audience, there is a drum beat playing from the start of the clip which could be perceived as a heartbeat or footsteps building closer to a climax. The sound slowly blends into a song sounding very similar to the 'Mvezzin', which is traditionally the 'Call to Prayer' this could show links to the different religions between races in the clip. The whale song is played until the very end of this short clip, this holds emotion between all the characters as there are short shots showing each persons' reaction.
There is another aspect of religion as before Danny speaks to defend himself against the terrorist holding a gun to his head, he whispers something to himself as if it was a prayer or a goodbye to someone he loves before he surrenders himself. This shows there are different beliefs in different people no matter what religion or race they are. The two Arabian men are terrorists, one was dressed as a regular businessman, the other was head to toe in Arabian black robes. The man in the suit is obviously the leader of the two, he could be mistaken for an everyday businessman in a busy city, as though he's in disguise.
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