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How Does Baz Luhrmann Create Tension In The Great Gatsby

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The Great Gatsby, directed by Baz Luhrmann, is a film which depicts the evil of the society thorough the ‘observer’ Nick. In this film the director aimed to cause confusion by subtly removing the line between good and evil. On account of this, the audience will start to think about their own sense of morality and corruption within themselves and within their society. These confusions are conveyed through the use of techniques such as different types of shots, settings and music.
The Great Gatsby revolves around the ‘observer,’ Nick Carraway, who is writing about the past and looking back over the past. His story starts when he moves to West Egg and hears rumours about his neighbour Gatsby. Nick finally meets Gatsby at his colossal party, and after they spend some time together, Gatsby takes Nick …show more content…

From this moment, Nick starts to get confused owing to the biased action of the police which reflects the corruption of society. To emphasise this confusion, the director uses close ups from various angles to show that Nick is now very puzzled. The ‘lunch’ that Nick is heading to is actually an underground party which, once again, represents the evil inside society. The director uses dark colours such as black, brown and grey and smoke to emphasise the idea of evil. As they entered the underground club, slow motion has been used which shows that Nick is confusing because he is now starting to realise that everyone is acting immorally even the high class people. In this scene, the director uses a tracking shot of Nick coming down the stairs and blending with everyone else. This scene effectively illustrates the faults in society and also shows becoming one of them is easy as Nick simply walked into the underground club without any restriction. The other example of Nick experiencing the corruption is when he is at the party in the hotel which was organised by Tom

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