Saturday 6 October 2012

First Mock Exam Improvements

In the first scene of the clip there is a loud part of music played over the clip as they are walking to the arena, this music is played at a very low pitch with drum beats and a trombone and it creates the effect that they are forced to walk to their own death. This is a great connotation of their class and status as it shows the fighters are just another possession of the rich people and makes the fighters seem a slave like status. This music is then followed by two pieces of music which are juxtaposed to each other, one is extremely tense and loud as the final two fighters are fighting which creates a sense of danger and fright for the fighters but allows the viewer to sympathise with those, this music is then contrasted with a more upbeat and melodic piece that is played quietly while we watch the rich people chat amongst themselves during the fight. These music pieces contrasted with each other emphasise the fact that the fighters are such a low class and status that they are just the possessions of the rich who are just using them for their entertainment.

There are a wide variety of camera shots used in this extract of the film. One of these is a camera shot from up behind the higher class looking down on the fight which may represent the class and status divides between the two because the rich are looking down on the lower class. During the final fight in the clip we see many different camera shots; each with different connotations.One camera shot was at a low angle looking up towards the fighters showing their masculinity and strength but in the same shot you can also see the higher class in the background looking down at them which shows that although the fighters may be strong, they are still a lower class than the higher class. Within the fighters there are different levels of status too, camera shots clearly show this because towards the end of the fight, the black fighter is shot at a low angle looking up at him while the white fighter is shot at a high angle looking down at him, this shows his power and superiority over the other fighter. There is one shot in this extract which is particularly good at showing the class divides, this shot is at ground level inside the box the fighters are held inside looking through the door, at the bottom of the screen we can see the fighters being shown as the lowest class, in the middle of the screen we can see the guards and their leader which may represent the middle class of people but then above those we have the higher class looking down on both of them being shown as the highest class.

Mise-en-Scene is also used to great effect in this extract of film because although the black fighter is shown as a higher status than the other fighters, gestures given by the higher class show that he is still of a low status and class. Towards the end of the fight when the black fighter has the opportunity to kill the other, he hesitates for a while, then one of the higher class women sticks her thumb down which gestures for the fighter to "kill him", this shows again her authority over the fighter and her role as his "owner". Another part of the behaviour and gestures shown of the upper class emphasising the class divide is during the fight, When the men are fighting for their lives below, the higher class are passing around food and the higher class men are discussing something completely irrelevant to the fight, this shows that for the higher class this is just another form of entertainment, this again reinforces the class and status of both sets of people. Towards the end the black fighter rebels against the hierarchy by not obeying the higher class orders to kill him but instead throwing the trident towards them and then running and climbing up the wall towards them, this symbolises him climbing up the class and status ladder.

The setting of the clip also shows the representation of class and status. In the first scene we see the men walking from their cages towards the arena, The setting of this scene is all dull using only deep browns and greys which suggests the lower class people. As they leave their cells and walk towards the arena there is a shot from behind the cage which shows the fighters as "trapped". Once the men enter the arena they are forced into another small box like cage like a caged animal, this suggests that the fighters are seen as such a low class to the higher class people that they are treated only as well as wild animals are. As the main fight begins we see the viewing platform raised above the arena in which the higher class are observing the fight from. This connotates the fact that they are higher above the fighters not only literally but figuratively too.

The clothing of each set of people is different, In the opening scene of the extract the fighters are seen wearing grey/brown rags suggesting the low class and status of them. In contrast to the fighters set of clothing we see them directly contrasted with the guards clothes who are the middle class in the scene, they are seen wearing some browns but also some red which shows their status above the fighters. Finally the clothing of the higher class is all bright colours like red and white, this connotates their hierarchy by showing them in royal colours such as red. The red in their clothing may also represent danger and the danger that they are to the lower class fighters in the extract by making them fight to their death. When the fighters enter the arena to fight they are made to take off the grey rags they have exposing only a very small piece of armour, this connotates the vulnerability of the fighters as they are fighting with exposed flesh.

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