Themes In Witness
Thought id write up a little somethin for everyone to read before im off to work. Hey modern hot chic do you wanna send your notes to me please...
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A. CLASH OF CULTURES
Positioning the responder (Influencing the perception of the audience on the two cultures)
i. Opening scene. The scene represents the Amish culture as...
- Rural (long shot of group seemingly emerging from the grass)
- Peaceful (music, long shot of wind carresing the grass)
- Communal (long shot of groups coming together)
- Idyllic (mis-en-scene) 'nice place to live'
- Caring (the outpouring of grief during the funeral)
BUT...
- Conservative (uniform costuming, low angle of horse and buggies)
- Restrictive (closeup/medium shot creates a sense of claustrophobia in the funeral, full shot demonstrates clearly assigned gender roles during wake.)
ii. Murder Scene
Represents Contemporary Culture as:
- Strange (low angle/high angle of Samuel staring at statue)
- Cold and Anonymous (long shot of Rachel sitting on bench)
- Dirty, Corrupt, Decayed (mis-en-scene of bathroom)
- Violent (refer to murder scene notes*)
- Dangerous (refer to murder scene notes*)
B. THE CLASH
i. Happy Valley Scene (Post Murder Investigation at Bar)
Techniques that represent the clash.
- Mis-en-scene (dirty, dark, dismal back alleys full of wandering street people)
- Irony (name of the bar)
- Red lighting inside bar (signifying danger)
- Closeup of suspects face pushed up against the glass (terrifying, distorted, foreign even alien)
ii. Book Goes To Town Scene.
Techniques that represent the clash.
- Dialogue ("Eli: This is not our way. John: But it's my way")
- Costuming (John still looks uncomfortable and out of place in Amish clothing)
- Closeup of Johns face depicting his fury.
- Medium shot/full shot representing his sudden, unexpected and out of place violence
- Closeup depicting tourist with bloody nose - the sickening result of violence (the responder devided between cheering the good guy and being appalled like the Amish)
- Humour ("Daniel: He's from Ohio")
The scene overall represents that, even though John has come to respect, enjoy and admire the Amish culture, he is still a "man of action" (including violence) and can never belong to their world.
Other Themes that you could consider (you should have atleast 2) are:
- Forbidden Love
- Violence vs. Pacifism
- Conformity
- Making Choices
- Corruption
- Criminality
Ensure that your discussion includes close analysis of atleast 3 scenes where you:
IDENTIFY ---------> DESCRIBE --------> DISCUSS specific film techniques.
Good Luck
If Anyone needs anymore help, just add me to msn.
jaysaaan04@gmail.com