Neill Blomkamp’s District 9 transcends the bounds of Hollywood’s usual, cliché alien movies. Through its imposing cinematography and mise-en-scène, an element of compassion is woven in throughout District 9, inverting the audience’s expectations with a shocking, novel narrative. The first fifteen minutes open up in a ‘mockumentary’ style, establishing the environment with interviews, news footage, corporation logs, and found footage of the alien ship hovering over Johannesburg. The film’s opening scene communicates that the extraterrestrials first arrived during the 1980’s and have been living amongst the people of Johannesburg as an unwelcome threat ever since. However, as film’s narrative progressively informs the viewer, their …show more content…
The small glimpse of the aliens harboring their ship made them appear horrifying; whereas, when they properly make their first appearance in the camps, they are accurately shown as pathetic and sickly. The different mise-en-scène in these two shots uncovers the two interpretations of the supposed threat. This informs the audience’s perception of the aliens as vulnerable and lost due to their imprisonment by the Multi-National United (MNU) Security Force. The mise-en-scène of the camps further captivates the viewer with images of destruction, barbed wire, and dilapidated homes in a Johannesburg slum. The choice of the setting being Johannesburg sets a different expectation for the viewer, as most Hollywood alien movies take place in major American cities; the foreign setting clearly establishes the film’s unique tone. This tone highlights the film’s clear allusion to the South African Apartheid by depicting comparable events. Mise-en-scène plays a huge role in this connection, as the camera rolls by a chain of signs that say, ‘For Humans Only’, ‘No Non-Human Loitering’, ‘No! Not Welcome’. This communicates that the human population is against the alien presence, preferring segregation instead of unity. These images have a direct connection to South Africa’s past, while also being reminiscent of the European refugee camps and the Jim Crow laws in America.
In continuation, the mise-en-scène used in the camps
The narrative of the violent undocumented “alien” serves a dual purpose of instilling fear into Americans and to view undocumented immigrants as criminals. The opening scene of the documentary shows dark, shapeless figures running across the border. This gives the impression of a foreign “thing” crossing the border with bed intentions. During another opening shot, a white male congressman with power talks over a scene
Based off Charles Webb’s 1963 novel by the same name, The Graduate is an American romantic comedy/drama released in the United States on December 21, 1967 starring Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross, and William Daniels. The film was directed by Mike Nichols, produced by Lawrence Turman and the screenplay written by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham. The film was produced by Lawrence Turman/Mike Nichols productions starting in March of 1967. Mike Nichols has also directed other well known films such as Catch-22 (1970), Working Girl (1988), and more recently Closer (2004). The film was distributed by AVCO Embassy Pictures nationally and United Artists internationally. AVCO Embassy Pictures studio, founded by Joseph E. Levine, the films executive producer, also claims production/distribution for other hit films such as Godzilla, King of Monsters! (1956), The Fog (1980), and Prom Night (1980). The movie was well received due to its $104 million dollar box office opening tab. The score was produced by Dave Grusin and the songs written by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel.
The vision Christopher Nolan had for The Prestige (2006) was to add to the outbreak of street magician film, whilst playing a large dramatic subplot equal in grandeur to the magical performances within the film. In the final sequence of the film, I will analyse how the cinematography and sound resolves the plot so that it summarises the themes present in the film, whilst also invoking a response from the audience. Nolan predominantly uses close up shots, non-diegetic sound (music) and dialogue collaboratively to convey the dramatic, personal subplot of the characters and their relationships, whilst appealing to the audience bringing forth an emotional response from the audience. The heavy, slow, dramatic atmosphere of the ending sequence uses various techniques to summarise and uncover the underlying mysteries of the events throughout the film and consolidate themes introduced during the exposition.
Analytical Thesis: Get Out is a psychological thriller that analyzes the racial issues in modern America through the use of visual rhetoric: such as film noir, symbolism and metaphors.
As a genre and aesthetic, the Afrofuturist films An Oversimplification of Her Beauty, Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker, Space is the Place, and Pumzi use science fiction and technology as a vehicle for storytelling, whether that story comments on the environment, oppression or identity. I argue that because black experiences are being told through this
Mise-en-scene plays a large role in Children of Men; Alfonso Cuaron uses it to set a world with the state of affairs of reality mirroring concerns as migration, and media manipulation
The film “Akeelah and the Bee” delves into the life of an 11-year-old African American girl who appears to have a natural knack for spelling. Akeelah’s sociocultural environment proves to be an impediment to the development of her skill, due to it forcing her to attend a school that does not have sufficient funding’s. Furthermore, being intellectually inclined makes her out to be an outcast. However, through various mentors and new-found determination, Akeelah can harness her formidable spelling abilities, while experiencing joy and victory during the process. This analysis will explore the youth in Akeelah and the Bee, from a developmental perspective while applying the theories of Vygotsky and Ainsworth to further defend my observations. These observations will include the seemingly vital role of an adult during child maturation, the child’s connection to said adult, their response to restrictions and the benefits of play-based learning.
Imagine having to face impossible odds, if failed, would kill you. This is exactly what the Spartans had to face when they were protecting their home. The movie 300, directed by Zack Snyder tells the story of the courage and solidarity of King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and his army of three hundred Spartans who fought the army of King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and his colossal Persian army to their deaths. In 300, producers cover the Spartan life, the Spartan women, and the Battle of Thermopylae.
Throughout this course, you have been compiling a blog and writing essays that analyze various elements of film such as theme, cinematic techniques, and genre. It is now time to combine those elements into a comprehensive analysis of one movie.
There were several cultures present in this film, the ones selected for discussion are the culture of the Marines stationed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and the officers representing the accused as
With “Straight Outta Compton” being well received and reviewed by major audiences and critics all over, many are excited that a “black film”, a hip-hop biopic even can do so well and make incredible numbers. NWA has played an important role in speaking out about the injustice of their community and rapped about their personal obstacles, which can be still brought up and familiarized today, especially with the surge of police brutality and protest against such terrible injustices.
The use of various camera techniques such as canted frames, low-angled, high-angled and close up shots, as well as camera distance, enhances the struggle between the characters. The use of such techniques not only allows the audience to get an extensive insight into the many different characters, but also helps us understand the relationships between them and how all of these factors contribute to the overarching theme of racism in the film. The use of these camera rapid movements
The “Lost Battalion” film was a great film about World War One. It showed a lot about the horrors of the war. It also brilliantly depicted the reality of the war.
District 9 (Peter Jackson, 2009), a science fiction film produced by Peter Jackson, is a rare gem unlike the many sci-fi movies which have been released in our time. The story is established via a mix of standard third person camera and documentary footage and takes place in the present - a twist from your regular science fiction film which normally takes place in the future. The film, about a colony of alien refugees forced by humans to live in a South African slum, is an example of social satire by presenting a critique of the injustice with which we treat those who are different from us. The metaphors of science fiction are being used to portray the nature of racism; with the way that racist ideology and discourse deals with those different
District 9 is a science fiction documentary style film directed by Neill Blomkamp in 2009, set in present time in Johannesburg, South Africa. District 9 uses stylistic techniques such as cinematography, sound, mise-en-scene and editing to make us, the audience, believe that the alien invasion redundant is truly happening in our world today. District 9 also uses strong documentary techniques to reel the audience in even further and to capture the audience’s attention in a very different style of science fiction never before seen in Hollywood. All of these techniques, along with how they are used to create realism,