- Examine all aspects of mise-en-scene (lighting, composition, set design, properties, etc.). This would include colors as well. Discuss the concept of "monster" through the mise-en-scene in each film. This exercise will help to prepare you for your Independent Study and your Oral Presentation. Examine CLOSELY and offer many details and examples. Think about what the director is trying to say IMPLICITLY. Tie both films in with each other. Discuss similiarities and differences in the mise-en-scene in both films. Please do this in 4 well-developed paragraphs.
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- Choose a five-minute scene in both films and examine the role of women and how they are portrayed in your selected scenes and in the films as a whole. Be sure to discuss this topic CINEMATICALLY. How does the director show us? Do this in 4 well-developed paragraphs.
DUE: Wednesday, October 16
Ringu and The Shining are both similar in the way that they both flip their view of women during some of the final scenes of the film, making women look more and more empowered at the end of these films. The scene from Ringu is the scene in which Asakawa is being lowered into the well, and the scene from The Shining is the scene in which Wendy hits Jack upside the head with a baseball bat. In both of these scenes it seems as if women are put down until the end of the scene where they become empowered.
ReplyDeleteWhile watching Ringu, I do not believe that any feminist would be angry with how Hideo Nakata represents women throughout the movie. Nakata uses cinematic elements that show both the weaknesses and the empowerment of women in the film as a whole. Laura Mulvey says in her essay titled “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” that within a film’s narrative, “Women [are] displayed as a sexual object” and that women are just a projection of the “determining male gaze.” However in Ringu one could say that this idea is not present at all, adding much more depth to female characters like Asakawa, making them much more than a “passive female” character, they are the backbone supporting characters of this story. A scene that shows this perception of depth very well is the scene in which Asakawa is lowered into the well and finds Sadako’s body.
In the beginning of this scene, we see several medium shots that show Asakawa pulling up the buckets of water that her ex-husband is filling up down in the well. During these shows we see a singular light in the darkness on her left typically, a faint and dark image of Asakawa, surrounded in dense black. The singular light creates low-key lighting during the scene, which shows how Asakawa is experiencing fear and anxiety, and how she is afraid of her death approaching her, as she frantically searches the dark room under the cabin. After she collapses from exhaustion from lifting all those buckets filled with water, she is viewed from a few high angle shots, having the effect that at this moment she feels weak and vulnerable. However this is not necessarily so. Throughout the entire length of the film Asakawa is very brave in moving forward into discovering the truth behind this mysterious video. She is brave in exploring further into the video in order to find some way of saving her life, and later her son’s. After her son watches the video, she becomes even more determined to finding the secret behind the video. However in this moment she seems to be portrayed as scared, afraid, anxious and seemingly trapped in this situation of fear and anxiety by the darkness around her. This creates a contrast in her character, being both brave and being capable of experiencing intense fear. However she is also trapped by the darkness that surrounds her in these shots and so this darkness could represent what is entrapping her in this situation: fear of her and her son dying. With such a character that has so many levels of depth, one could not make the assumption that she really could be just a “sexual object” of a male gaze. Nothing about the cinematic elements of the scene depicts her in any such way. They show her as being brave even though she is afraid for her life. So you could say that this film so far shows woman very highly, rather than films that Laura Mulvey is describing. Next we have a shot of Asakawa being lowered into the well in an extremely high angled shot, showing that as she is lowered into the well she is becoming more and more vulnerable. Also the well makes the frame closed, entrapping her even more than the darkness did. So from this shot we can say that Asakawa is being lowered into an area that gives off more fear and anxiety, however her character is brave to enter it in order to save her son. She is willing to be trapped down in the well by the frame, as long as it is a chance to save her son.
There also is a shot that is supposed to be a point of view shot of Asakawa’s, but it cuts to a black and white image of what was once the point of view of Sadako when she also was in the well. This match cut shows a similarity between Asakawa’s and Sadako’s character, making us both feel sympathetic towards them. Sadako was put into a similar situation of fear and anxiety when she was hit over the head and shoved down into the well. So we defiantly can’t associate Sadako as a sexual object, but we feel sympathic towards her character, even though we haven’t met her. After Asakawa is pulled out of the well and is driven home by her ex-husband, the shots that she is in are very similar. The shots are now typically open framed shots, giving her more of a sense of freedom from her fear and anxiety. She is alone in the frame in the parking lot, and even though it still is dark out, she feels like a weight is lifted off her shoulders and she can go home without having to be afraid of anything anymore. Also when she is sitting alone in her room, the lighting on her face is a lot softer, being high-key lighting, that shows a sense of relief on her face. So at the end of this 5-minute scene we can see that she really is a character that has a lot of depth to her personality, as shown by the cinematic elements. So a feminist would be able to watch this film and think highly of how Asakawa is being treated and portrayed in this scene. You could not argue in any way that Asakawa is being portrayed as a sexual object in this scene after all the emotions and feelings being shown on her through the various cinematic elements. So in conclusion, one could say that women are very empowered during this film, even when they are victims like Sadako.
ReplyDeleteDuring the 5-minute scene in which Wendy and Jack are in the main lobby area of the hotel, Wendy is shown in the beginning to be extremely fearful through the cinematic elements, as long as showing Jack as elated, feeling as if he is the ruler of his little world in the hotel. However at the end of the scene, Wendy becomes the one who has the power in the situation. In the beginning of the scene Wendy walks into the room with the type writer and walks toward it slowly. She then is shown from a low angle shot with the camera focused on her face and the typewriter in the foreground of the shot, blocking off part of her view. This shot heightens the fear and anxiety shown in her face, but also undermines her as a character, making her seem like a victim. This shot is repeated once more when she looks at the huge pile of papers that all say the same thing over and over again, repeating this image of her character being vulnerable, giving off the idea that women in this film are vulnerable. And to some extent that is true, when you look at the film in total, noting that women are the majority of the people who are killed in the narrative are women. The two little girls, their mother, and there also is the dead woman in the bathtub. So it makes sense that you would be able to see so far, a pattern of white male supremacy over the female characters of the film, making Wendy seem as if she is a weaker character. This “white male supremacy” is shown again when Jack enters the room. When you compare the hair, make-up, and costume of Jack and Wendy together in this scene, it creates another sense of how Jack is above the place in which Wendy is in terms of two their characters look. Jack’s hair, make-up and costume all show that he has sharp, defined features that make him look intimidating, strong, and self-confident. When compared to Wendy’s outfit and make-up, she is not dolled up at all, wearing very run down looking clothes that didn’t have a lot of thought put into them, and her features are exaggerated with the use of the make-up, making her character almost look silly to look at.
This comparative difference between Jack and Wendy is another thing that creates this imbalance in the power between the two genders. Another thing that involves the lighting is how Jack is made to seem greater than everything around him, and thus greater than Wendy, is the intense backlighting from behind that comes from the windows, and this backlighting is what separates him from the background of the shot, making him stand out much more than Wendy does, giving Jack the impression of being “more powerful” than her.
ReplyDeleteHowever towards the end of this scene, we see that Wendy ends up getting power over the situation as Jack and her go farther and farther up the steps. Jack slowly pushes her to the top of the stares in a slow pursuit, but Wendy ends up getting the courage to swing at Jack and send him falling down the steps. This shift in power is shown through parts of the film language. Although hair, make-up, and costume design don’t change at all, as Wendy goes up the steps she has the cinematography and other parts of the mise-en-scene helping her in this gain of power. As she goes up the steps, we see low angle-shots of Wendy, and high-angle shots of Jack. Now even though that Jack is the monster in this scenario still, Wendy now is the one who has the power, as we look up at her and look down upon Jack. Also she now is using the weapon prop of the baseball bat as an actual weapon of defense. Before as we looked at her as she clutched the bat helplessly, we got the sense she was holding as more a sense of security, but we can see that she is too scared out of her mind to think of using it. But as she climbs up the steps, she holds the bat in a more threatening, defensive manner, and then starts swinging it to try and ward off her attacker. This shows a change in her mindset, as she now is prepared to go on the offensive in order to defend herself. As she climbs the steps further there is one other set prop paired with composition that shows Wendy’s increase of power. As she climbs the steps, one of the chandeliers is perfectly placed above her head. Now before during the film, Jack was shown with these chandeliers framed above his head, which look like crowns, making him the “king of his dream land.” Now as Wendy climbs the steps there is one of these chandeliers framed above her head, giving her the power in this scene now. So as we can see, there are several similarities between how women are shown in Ringu and in The Shining, which is interesting to note that both of these films are horror films that first show women as weaker then make them the heroin at the end of the film. The same is also true for other horror films like Alien, which is interesting to note the directors’ choices in the portrayal of women.
okay, i dont want to read austins blog (i never read anybodys blogs) because im afraid if i do ill take his ideas, but seeing as how we did blogs for both let the right one in and ringu, how are we supposed to do a whole nother blog on them without writing like the same exact thing?
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering the exact same thing!! I just spent so much time writing for both of those, now I have to do it again in a different way??
DeleteRingu and The Shining are both very similar movies in that their portrayal of women in certain scenes of the movie are somewhat degrading, but in some ways the women are empowering in the same scene. In Ringu the scene that most shows this effect is the flashback scene where Sadako’s mother is doing the “magic” show and then the men in the crowd accuse her of being a fake and they start up uproar, causing Sadako to become frightened and kill one of the men. In The Shining the scene that shows this belittling is when Wendy finds Jack’s work that he has been “working so hard on” while they were at the hotel and Jack confronts her about it.
ReplyDeleteIn the scene that I chose for Ringu the mother and father of Sadako are performing in front of some men showcasing the mother’s “special talents” as a psychic. The crowd is pleased for the most part until one man has enough and makes a scene by calling the act fraud. In this scene the men are definitely more dominate, as there are more of them in the frame during the commotion. After the man causes the scene, they all stand up at once and take up most of the frame. In contrast to that, Shizuko is just a singular female figure in the frame whenever she is shown in the shot. Not only that, but she is shown cowering in fear as the men swarm and call her a monster. In contrast to that, Sadako is shown in power, although she is a little girl. She is able to kill one of the men, and the fear of the men is clearly shown on the face of the dead. They are afraid because of the unknown, something that has always haunted mankind since the beginning of our time.
In the beginning of the scene from The Shining Wendy is shown as very frantic as she is looking through Jack’s papers. In one shot, the camera is placed below and behind the typewriter, looking up at her face. Usually when this type of shot is used, it is to show something very despicable like a dead body or a weapon, but this is only used to show how crazy Jack has become where he can only write “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” thousands of times. The anxious and frantic look on her face makes her seem like a very weak character, which is key to what happens in this scene. The supremacy of males and the belittling of women is shown in full through the next couple shots as Jack approaches Wendy. Everything about Jack shows that he is a tough, rugged, intimidating man, especially his costume and make-up. The make-up, along with astonishing acting, shows the effects the hotel has had on Jack in making him insane.Wendy’s make-up, along with her almost imbecilic acting, makes her look childlike and very unintimidating. Wendy starts to back up while holding a bat and Jack follows her, but I noticed that the camera angle hasn’t changed. Usually when one of the characters has a weapon, there is a shift in something such a music or camera angle that shows that that one character has more power than the other, but this doesn’t happen. In fact, as Wendy and Jack start to go up the stairs, Jack seems to have more power. When the camera is behind Wendy and showing Jack, he is shown more fully in the frame and the camera is closer to Wendy’s shoulder. When the camera is behind Jack and showing Wendy, there is more empty space in the frame and the camera is further away from Jack’s shoulder. All of this leads up to the final part of the scene: where Wendy hits Jack in the head with the bat and knocks him down the stairs. As Wendy and the audience stares down at Jack limp at the bottom of the stairs, we finally see him as insignificant in the frame and Wendy now has power of her own. This resonates to the rest of the film as Wendy is in survival mode and eventually her and Danny get away.
There are several similarities between Ringu and The Shining and how the directors wanted to show us the importance of women in this film. There is an awkward balance between weakness and power in both of the films and it takes a very traumatic event for the characters to transition.
Both Ringu and Let The Right One In emphasize human complexity and empowerment inside of female characters through the use of cinematic elements such as shot composition, mise-en-scene, and most importantly, lighting. Sadako in Ringu and Eli in Let The Right One In are most similarly portrayed as dominant figures and sources of fear and darkness. The directors of both movies heavily rely on lighting in similar ways to showcase females in a more complex fashion, though mise-en-scene and composition also help to do the same.
ReplyDeleteIn Ringu, women are portrayed as more of an active force and having the ability to become more of a dominant presence instead of being an erotic object thrown into the film. Sadako, the terrifying girl from the cursed video, presents her looming strength through the darkness (lighting), such as when she is about to kill Ryuji. In this scene, the darker Ryuji becomes, the more power Sadako has over him. Ryuji falls to the floor and into the darkness when she stands up after having crawled out of the tv, emphasizing the fact that he cannot escape his fate. At this point, Ryuji is filmed at a high angle, and Sadako a low angle, showing the difference in power between the two. Another interesting thing to note is how Sadako looks: Her skin is pale, her face is covered by her hair, her body is covered in robes, her nails are gone, and she lacks any feminist features/body proportions. Nakata does all of this to present Sadako as a powerful force, and not as a sexual prop.
Let The Right One In also demonstrates females as a powerful, monstrous source, while also retaining the female’s human qualities. Eli, a bloodthirsty vampire in the body of a seemingly 12-year-old girl, is torn between a life of purity and a life of survival. Throughout the film, Eli is almost never present in shots where there is natural lighting. Lighting plays a major role because it not only highlights the darkness inside of Eli and adds complexity to her character, but also presents light itself as her natural enemy, and implicitly shows that she can never be completely pure. For example, in the scene where she is sleeping in the bathroom, the room is completely dark and ominous, much like the demon sleeping inside of her. When she is shown onscreen sleeping, the lighting is very low-key, making her look completely innocent and devoid of anything that would make her look like a threat. But as she is killing/feeding, her appearance seems to completely change; her face looking older than it did before, and her eyes seemingly change color. Despite this, she wants to be pure, and seeks acceptance through her admirer, Oskar. With all of this, Alfredson adds depth to Eli’s character, and portrays her as her own person, and not just a love interest for the “male protagonist”.
Ringu and Let The Right One In both show how lighting and mise-en-scene can create depth and complexity within female characters. Sadako is framed to be a looming force of nature, and instead of being a sexual figure, is devoid of anything and everything that gives her feminism, and Eli is shown to have a deep, complex struggle within herself, while seeking to be accepted as a person rather than a love interest. Both characters go much deeper than the stereotypical, lustful portrayal of women in the media.
Both Ringu and Let The Right One In portray the role of the female characters through cinematic language. In both films, the female protagonists are seen as powerful, independent characters. In Ringu, particularly the scene where Reiko is at the bottom of the well searching for Sadako's body, Reiko is portrayed as strong and powerful through cinematic language. In Let The Right One In, the scene where Eli is saving Oskar from death at the pool portrays Eli as a hero.
ReplyDeleteReiko is alone at the bottom of the well. It is very dark and grimy down there. But, although her surroundings are dark and shadowy, her face is very bright. The lighting on Reiko's face shows that she has overcome her fear, and that she is ready to face the spirit. This gives the audience a sense of hope. Most of the shots throughout this scene are level medium shots. This is important, especially when Reiko finds the body. She remains calm throughout the entire scene. The level, steady camera reflects Reiko's level head. She does not freak out, and the steady, balanced shots reflect that. She appears strong. Reiko is a very strong character. Towards the end of the scene, Reiko takes the dead body in her arms and hugs it. Still, the lighting is placed on her body. It is warm and comforting. Just like how she is comforting the spirit. She is not afraid, she has overcome any fear or doubt. She remains calm even while her ex-husband is screaming at her.
Oskar, the male protagonist, is drowning in a pool during one of the last scenes. Local enemies of his are trying to kill him, and then all of a sudden someone swoops in and saves him. The audience is not sure that it is Eli until the end of the scene. Suddenly, the audience sees a child's legs being dragged through the water on the left side of the screen, while Oskar drowns peacefully on the right side. Then in the background on the left side of the screen, a bloody body is dropped into the water. The arm that is pulling Oskar is quickly detached, and a much more frail arm pulls Oskar out of the water. The audience then finds out it was Eli. The first shot of her in this scene is an extreme close up of her eyes with two drops of blood in between them. This makes Eli seem intimidating and powerful. The drops of blood on her pale skin symbolize the loss of her innocence. The camera then cuts to a high angle shot of Oskar in the water, making him seem vulnerable, then a high angle shot of Eli, telling the audience that she has total control. But she is not portrayed as a monster. She flashes a gentle smile towards Oskar, letting the audience know that although she has lots of power, she will use it to protect Oskar.
In Ringu and Let The Right One In, both of the female protagonists are portrayed as heroes. Through cinematic language, they are displayed to the audience as powerful, and dominate the male protagonists. Using specifically lighting and shot composition to their advantage, the directors of these films create heroic, inspirational female characters that the audience, and the characters in the film, can look up to.
Both "The Shining" and "Let the Right One In" use elements of mise-en-scene in order to portray the concept of "monster." In both films, ghosts, spirits, and the supernatural in general constitute elements of fear in the protagonists. However, towards the end of both films, the audience comes to realize that those elements aren't necessarily the monsters in the film. In "Let the Right One In," it can be ultimately be determined that the true monsters are the bullies that terrorize Oskar right from the start of the film. In "The Shining" it is obvious that the monster is our once-protagonist Jack himself.
ReplyDeleteIn "Let the Right One In," after watching the film, it is clear that Eli, the physical monster, is not the primary and worst figure in the film. This can be seen through the mise-en-scene elements in one of the last scenes in the film. Oskar is is continuing his pool exercises after his coach has left to investigate a dumpster fire outside of school. The gym, under the wing of his coach, has been previously established as a sort of sanctuary - he was taken in by the coach after he wanted to improve his strength. However, earlier in the film water was noted as very dangerous, after Oskar hit his primary tormentor, Conny, in the ear while ice skating on a field trip. At this point, his bullies have come inside, led by Conny's older brother, Jimmy. As Jimmy approaches the camera, it's revealed he's wearing a red leather jacket, and a very pronounced belt buckle, which can be perceived as him being tough. He pulls out a knife and flicks it open. Oskar is clothed in next to nothing. On top of him already being submerged in water, his lack of clothing further exemplifies his vulnerability. The lighting is very bright, proving that everything is in the open, yet no one is coming to help him. As Oskar is soon submerged underwater, the lighting allows for what's happening to remain quite visible but, due to the tint of the water, everything is surrounded by a shade of blue. As time passes, parts of Oskar's suppressors' bodies are seen floating in the blue water. In this relatively long shot, it can be determined that the blue represents Oskar's new found serenity. He is no longer held down by bullies. He no longer has anyone controlling him. He is free to make whatever decisions he wants to make without definite repercussions (perhaps fueling his decision to kill for Eli). Therefore, it can be decided, overall, that the real monster in the film are the bullies. While Eli appears as a monster on the outside, her personality and intentions are not that of a dangerous villain while those of the bullies most definitely are.
In "The Shining," various sadistic elements of Jack are revealed right in the very beginning, when it is noted that in a drunken stupor, Jack broke his son's arm. However, the real monster in Jack isn't brought out until about midway through the film, well after Jack and his family begin living at the Overlook Hotel. The setting of the hotel is perhaps one of the looming factors in the novel. It is noted (extremely obviously) in the beginning of the film that long periods of intense solitude can bring out the worst in people and, at times, cause them to go insane. As Jack investigates Room 237 (which has become subject to various analyses ever since the film came out), he discovers a woman whom we can determine is a ghost. Additional ghostly elements of the film include the 1920s ballroom setting Jack encounters earlier in the film. He meets Lloyd, the previous caretaker that kills himself and his entire family. The audience is subject to whatever Jack is subject to, therefore we see the ghosts as Jack would see them. Therefore, it is nearly impossible to fully determine whether or not the ghosts actually exist or if Jack is making them up. However, as the film progresses, it becomes evident that the ghosts are not making Jack do what he does, and that the ghosts are basically a projection of Jack's subconscious. In the famous "all work and no play" scene, we see elements of Jack's psychological demise. Jack has an entire hotel to himself - countless rooms, nooks, and crannies. Yet, he chooses to work in one of the most open and empty rooms in the entire hotel. Therefore he is consistently surrounded by emptiness, perhaps even worse when combined with his inability to write creatively. In the scene itself, Wendy discovers what Jack's been working on all this time - dozens upon dozens of pages filled with the iconic line, "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." The room is so open, yet the use of the typed pages and crunched lines reveal both the state of intensity and absence of intelligent and mindful thought going through Jack's head. It is at this point that perhaps the audience, along with Wendy, understands the true demise Jack is going through and knows that their story will not end well. When Jack appears, the lighting and framing is so that he is completely darkened. He looms in the background, yet he exhibits such a terrifying presence. In the final sequence, when Jack is going after Wendy and Danny (during and following the "Here's Johnny" scene), the action first occurs in a more confined setting - the bathroom - allowing for a more intimate recognition of Jack's clear and present danger. The snowstorm adds to the terrifying aspects of the final chase scene in which Wendy and Danny run away from Jack in the maze, while also giving Jack a convenient way to die.
DeleteOverall, the two films present the supernatural in such a way that allows us to recognize them as supposed monsters. In "Let the Right One In," Eli is ultimately determined as a monster because she is a vampire and in "The Shining," ghosts and spirits are presented as elements that are a stagnant part of the Overlook Hotel. However, as the film progresses, it is revealed that the true monsters in the film aren't who they seem to be, allowing the audience to understand the human capacity for evil is greater than one might expect.
In Let the Right One In, the 2008 Swedish horror film, the meaning and themes of the movie, as well as the concept of “monster” presented in the film are developed in key ways by the mise-en-scene choices made by the filmmakers. While it’s a horror movie, it is also a coming of age story about two kids. The lighting is important in developing these ideas. The lighting is almost always set up in such a way that the subject, generally in the foreground is lit, and everything else is in sort of a haze, if not total dark. This is true in their apartments, in the gym, on the playground, and in the forest. It gives a focus to the film, and it gives it a distinct look. Also if they want the audience’s focus to shift, they can change the lighting so the new focus is brighter, and the old subject is darker. The idea of a distinct look is really the key to this movie. Getting away to an extent from mise-en scene, the way the camera focuses, the haze of the actual filming style is the first thing to establish the look. The look is at the same time hazy, and sharp and bright and cold. Then it is all about lighting, the set, the color and the costume/makeup/hair choices. The set is a lot of outdoors, which is always either bright and white snowy, or grim and grey snowy, depending on the lighting, and mood of the scene. The indoor sets, including the school room, the two apartments, the pool and gym, and the boy’s father’s house, are obviously all very Swedish looking, but individually characterize those who dwell in them. The boy’s apartment seems warm, but dated, and on the lower end of quality. The gym and the school, the public spaces, are uncluttered, and sterile. They have hard, clean surfaces and are often on the extreme end of bright or dark in terms of lighting. Their sterility is why the soaking of the pool in blood at the end of the film is so shocking. The pool’s lighting actual materials appear so clean and blue toned, that the blood really stands out. That is actually true for most of the film, there are cold blue tones and then the blood comes, from the vampire or from her helper, and is a shocking contrast and a reminder of the rawness of the subject matter. The idea of monster is also developed through color, primarily that of the costumes, makeup and hair. Everything about the school boys and those characters who live in the world without the burden of fear of vampires, or other things, appear to have brighter complexion, wear colored clothes, and deliberate haircuts. Oskar, who lives in fear of his best friend and his tormentors, has dulled colors, and unkempt hair. Eli is the greyest of all. This is how they develop her image as the monster; she is so different from the rest in such a vital way. Her skin is grey, her hair is mousy and straggly, her outfits don’t seem to change.In The Shining, Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 psychological horror film, mise-en-scene also works to create meaning, in similar and different ways. In The Shining, Jack’s character is developed as the monster, in the small details of mise-en-scene. The set is important. All characters are seen in a diverse mix of places, but each has their own domain. Shelly Duval’s character’s domain is the home, their old home in the city, and their apartment at the hotel. Jack’s domain is the public area of the hotel. The big room where he is seen writing. It is monster-like because that room is created to be his lair. He tucks himself away, speaking to no one, only to grow more destructive. I also think the dynamic created in the kitchen is an interesting tool.
ReplyDeleteThe kitchen is like no man’s land- its where all the big conflicts occur, besides the fight in the apartment, and there seems to be a supicious aura created around the kitchen. This has something to do with shot composition. The kitchen is never seen in its entirety. It seems to be big, with several adjacent rooms, but the viewer has no real way of knowing. The fact that there are so many props in the kitchen- food, kitchen utensils, so many things that are innocent, but could possibly be used as weapons, makes the viewer fearful. A kitchen is such an ordinary place, but it is sort of spoiled by these unstable characters.
ReplyDeleteEven in the most tumultuous scenes in the Shining, the lighting is bright. This is a bold choice. In scenes where you might expect the lighting to be dim, when Jack is talking to the ghost of the former caretaker in the bathroom, when the young woman turns into the old woman in the bathroom, or in the kitchen fight, the lighting is at its brightest. I think this makes the moments more horrific. The horror doesn’t come from the fear of the unknown, it comes from being able to see the ugly truth. The bright lighting also makes the last scene more dramatic and suspenseful. In the final scene where Danny is being chased, the lighting becomes shadowy for the first time. It makes this moment all the worse. The colors and costumes are also quite key in developing the characters. This is similar to Let the Right One In. The more “normal” characters- in this case Wendy and Danny- wear bright, primary colors, and Wendy’s makeup makes her look vibrant, yet childlike. In the case of the monster the two movies differ slightly. While Jack does wear generally darker, more muted tones, the differentiation between the two groups is much more subtle. Also, in the Shining, the differences in the characters makeup, hair and costumes, grow as Jack grows more and more into the monster and Wendy and Danny grow more and more into the victims.
In Let The Right One In and The Shining, the director’s element of a monster in each film are very different. While one conquers the aspects of a “vampire” , another represents the psychological monster inside of everyone of us. On the other hand, the aspects of mise-en-scene in each of these films have some certain similarities, like color, costume design, and set design.
ReplyDeleteIn Let The Right One In, the mise-en-scene is one of the reasons why it is well known. It’s costume, lighting, composition, set, properties and color revolves around the director’s(Tomas Alfredson) view of a vampire. The color red is the most standing out color. This color is a motif but also a symbol. Red is the color of blood and normally leads to a more darker tone of mood throughout the film. The most obvious representation of red in the movie is the obsessive use of blood in the violence of Ell’s vampire attacks. Blood is on her face, sometimes splattered, on the victim and, if outside, on the contrasting, white snow, displaying a multitude of red already. Other characteristics of Alfredson’s vampire include, not being able to survive in daylight, a vampires crazed mood when near the smell of blood, and the age of the vampire never changing, which has brought up many questions of the plot in this film between the relationship of the older man and eli, and then what the relationship will be between Oskar and Eli turned into in the future. Yes Alfredson’s view of a vampire is a formal view of a “monster”, but he also reveals another meaning to the word. He implicitly presents the monster side of the human race as well.
In the costume design of Let the Right One In, the use of red represents little meanings that gain importance to the film as a whole. Many times it represents the amount of evil or dark in their characters. For example, the bully, Conny, usually wears a jacket with a thick line of red. Normally this doesn’t present much evil, but if you look at the rest of his jacket, it is mostly black. This could represent that his darkness is cast upon him from someone else, his older brother. The first and last time we see him his shirt is all dark red, meaning he will go to any extent to get revenge, or have any reason to hurt. Alfredson relates to this through a “monster” format by the measure of evil in someone’s heart. In set design, colors also represent much. In the house of Eli and her older friend, there is practically no red, only light blues and yellows, (even the majority of Eli’s wardrobe is blue) along with little tidbits of personality throughout the house( decorations, pictures, etc), which makes the viewer feel at home, even when they know a vicious vampire in the house. This describes the implicit innocence of the two people, even if, explicitly they kill people.
With Alfredson’s view of a monster, he displays a gruesome amount of make-up effects. Specifically on Eli,usually referring to when she goes to kill. When this does happen, at one point there is a close up of her face. Up until then the viewer only sees her actions as abnormal. But when the close-up arrives, the look of her face highlights the veins running through her, making her look older. which would create an answer for how old she truly is, through make-up. Of course her make up involves colors also, red blood more specifically. The one unusual characteristic that Alfredson brings to the stage is the fact that vampires need to get invited into a home before entering (Thus the name of the title, Let The Right One In) . When a vampire is not invited, and does enter, blood protrudes from the nose mouth, and eyes, represented through make up.
On the outside, Alfredson’s view of a monster is not much different from that of ourselves. However when one looks closer, into the implicit meaning of the film, you find the hidden beliefs Alfredson has of a “monster”. The same goes for The Shining, in terms of hidden meanings. However, explicitly, Stanley Kubrick’s view of a “monster” isn’t as subtle as Let The Right One In.
In The Shining, color is very important to the support of characters, and to the implicit meaning of the film. In costume design, everyones wardrobe have very diverse difference between each other in order to symbolize their characters. One very noticeable wardrobe is Wendy’s out of whack clothes. The first time the audience sees her, she is wearing a light blue jean dress, along with a vibrant red shirt that is very eye popping in the film, and of course, to contrast with the rest of the outfit, she is wearing mustard yellow boots. The way she dresses is, in any decade, abnormal. This presents a key characteristic of her personality, her diversity between the rest of society. Throughout almost the entire film, we do not clearly see any of the main characters interact with the rest of society. With Wendy’s wardrobe, you can almost see her daily life when it would be in the middle of society. Her personality could have ended up like this because Jack, her husband, could have had a glimpse of a “monster” characteristic before him and his family had traveled to the hotel. After all, there were stories of him abusing his family after a hard day of drinking. When Jack is in the ballroom, he meets a bartender that seems to understand the problems Jack is having at the moment. Through costume design, this is displayed also. Both the bartender and Jack are wearing dark red jackets/suits (difference in time). the detail in these outer shirts have similarities also: both with a collar of a darker red. It is as if Jack is imagining himself as another person to talk to, but from the past. Some thing noticeable about the characters from the past placed in the ballroom, is their make-up. Especially the bartender, they seem to have a purposeful “plastic” look. The bartender has shiny wrinkles and a tired smile, as if it is hard to talk, creating that plastic touch.
DeleteAs Jack is already starting to subdue to his craze, he encounters many sets with outstanding characteristics of color: the gold ballroom, the outstanding red in the ballroom’s bathroom, the dizzifying look of the rug in the hallways. These sets coincide with the scenes that take place in them. In the hallways is where Danny normally plays around with his toddler bike, as if he is the hall officer. His travels in the hallways lead to many mysteries that extract his character more and more. The rug represents a playful tone, but with grounded colors, presenting Danny’s dazed and scared personality. As for the gold room, where Jack places his hallucinations, the color of the gold affects the viewer by means of how glorifying. It is almost as if it could never be real. This dreamy effect of a ballroom definitely relates to his hallucinations and how they are not real. Lastly, the one scene taken in the bathroom directly coincides with that scary red that encompasses the room. The way I interpret this scene is the red color enlarging the fact the two “monsters” of the house are conversing with each other and finalizing Jack’s fate.
This red has a very similar symbol to the red symbols in Let The right One In. So is the costume design, presenting the implicit characteristics of each character.
The mise-en-scene of both THe Shining and Let the Right One In help portray what a monster really is. It would be important to start by describing the type of monster in both of these films. In the Shining, Jack devolves into a monster because he goes insane in response to isolation, and possible some otherworldly forces. In Let the Right One In, Eli is considered a monster because of her nature as a vampire. Though these are decidedly different types of monsters, they are represented similarly. Isolation is the driving factor in both of these monsters natures. Jack digresses because he is isolated from humanity, and this isolation drives him to madness. Though Eli is already a vampire, she doesn’t partake in any “monstrous” acts until she is left alone. As they say, idle hands are the devil’s plaything. But both of these movies are tales of isolation, and the effect it has on people. The first thing to look at would be lighting and color. In Let the Right One In, the winter temperament results in much of the movie being spent in darkness. This helps add to the mood cast by a vampire, as well as some of the darker themes like murder. The snow and ice that run abound in the film effectively wash the movie of color, leaving very little for the viewer to relish. This is important, however, because it makes the impression of the use of red in the film that much stronger. The white wash of the landscape, while furthering the ever looming sense of isolation, also builds a sense of innocence and general cleanliness. The spotless white goes unbroken, and is beautiful in that way. That is changed as our lovely vampire comes. These white landscapes are found with splotches with red, all in striking intensity. Be it blood, a jacket, a sled, or some other object, these dynamic bursts of color all paint a horrifying picture the death and monstrosity that are necessary for Eli’s “life”. Also, our blond haired and generally light Oskar, her human companion, is mirrored by a raven haired, dark colored Eli, who’s sunken eyes have dark bags and aura paints dark tones on her environment. Lighting is equally important. Its interesting to note the dynamic between Oskar’s lighting, lighting revolving around a normal human, and Eli’s lighting, the lighting of a vampire. Oskar has many scenes during the daytime, which fills the normal pattern of a human being, but Eli often finds herself prowling the dead of night, as she sleeps during the day, a time that would otherwise be deadly for her. The aversion to sunlight reflects her ungodly lifestyle, of literally absorbing the life of others, leaving them dead. As such, the lighting of their scenes are directly opposite the other. Eli’s haunts are steeped in shadow and darkness, and the deepest of these darknesses are shown when her truly monstrous nature is brought to light (so to speak :p).
ReplyDeleteIn the Shining, color and lighting are also very important. In the beginning of the Shining, the movie is very bright, and full of open shots full of sunlight. As the movie continues, however, this changes. The beauty of natural sunlight is replaced by the glow of electric light bulbs, with very little natural sunlight seen again. This is taken to the extreme at the end of the movie when Jack goes on his murderous rampage. This whole scene takes place at night, where no sunlight reaches. In the true darkness, his nature is revealed. Also, the winter setting helps amplify the feelings of isolation in the film, as well as the dark recesses of Jack’s own self, much like the winter setting of Eli. Also, the snowstorm that this scene takes place in helps exemplify Jack’s own lack of sight, as he can’t see things clearly. This, paired with the ever turning and convoluted maze, represent Jack’s full descent into madness. Make up is another thing to look at in these characters. Both of them have a dramatic change in make up when they are being monsters. In the case of Eli, we see a dramatic shift from a smooth, young, and innocent face to an ugly, hagrid, horrifying monster face when Eli is feasting on people. Also, she becomes covered in rich red blood, literally painting herself the monster, and giving the viewer an ever present reminder of the atrocities she commits. Jack also has a change of make up/costume as he becomes a monster. At the beginning of the movie, Jack is well dressed and clean shaven. As the movie progresses, however, his costume becomes messier and messier, and eventually he stops changing clothes altogether, continuing to wear the same outfit throughout. One of the most dramatic changes is Jack’s facial hair. Left unchecked, he gets a messy growth of hair all over his face, which is not only frightening, but shows his lack of self control and inner wildness. Also of note is that when these two act as monsters, the are viewed from high angle shots, reflecting the negativity of what they’re doing, as well as having their faces cloaked in shadow, almost as if hiding from what they are actually doing (which may be because of their lack of control in their respective situations). Ultimately, it seems almost as if monsters are born of circumstance and are something that cannot be helped by the individuals who become them, or maybe just a lack of human contact, something that we all crave. However, the way these monsters handle their darker sides is in their own hands. Eli is ashamed of her nature, and actively fights it. Jack, on the other hand, seems almost to revel in it, not only because he is smiling and laughing through much of what he does, but because he facilitates the change with alcohol, even though he has a history of alcohol related domestic abuse (though his alcohol consumption is in his head and not real, it’s almost as if he has given himself permission to act violently). Eli fights to keep her grip on reality, but Jack forsakes it and fights to stay in his madness.
ReplyDeleteIn life, when someone has a fear, it manifests, often in real life, as a monster. This monster has no defined form, or shape, and can appear in any way. Both The Shining and Ringu present this intangible monster in a quite real way. They present the monster in a multitude of ways, showing how women in both films are subject to many horrors through their lives, both by a sexist culture and an abusive husband.
ReplyDeleteIn Ringu, the horror takes the form of a small girl who comes back from the grave to haunt those who watch a film. This is presented cinematically in a bunch of ways. The best scene in which this is presented is when the girl climbs out of the TV to fulfill her destiny to kill. We see the protagonist watch as his tv comes on, showing the film. This shot is shown through the bars on his staircase, giving the viewer a premonition of him being trapped, leaving an uneasy feeling. As the girl climbs out of TV, she is shown in an extreme close up, giving the feeling of being trapped in this scary shot. Her face is not shown, but her fingers are, clawed to the bone. This further shows the monster, and those it traps trying to escape its horror.
In The Shining, the father is the monster, as he abuses his family. He is shown in dark hallways, chasing his son, who is terrified. Dark shadows are shown on his face, by lighting it from odd angles, particularly from underneath. When he is chasing his son in the maze, the snow presents a odd contrast between it and his shadow, and the overpresent shadow of the maze that is trapping them in.
In both films, the monster is shown in different forms, as a form of mental fears that the characters have and are trying to escape from, both in reality and mentally. These fears attempt to surround them and kill them, literally or emotionally. It is a tough reality that these characters have to face, and worse then that some of these exist in real life.