Chttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OYBEquZ_j0
In the bank robbery scene from The Dark Knight there is a large use of Mise-en-scene to convey the characters in shot. It shows who is good and who is bad.
This extract expresses Mulveys theory of 'Male Gaze' in the sense it is from a heterosexual male's point of view, it is from the point as if the viewers are one of the bank robbers. By doing this is will hugely appeal to the target audience through the use of Mise-en-scene as it's conventions of character and storyline primarily will target young/ middle ages men. This can be expressed though their use of over the shoulder shots and long shots. This conforms to not only the thriller genre but to how media is represented in general.
The use of setting is stereotypical for a film of the thriller genre. The urban setting is used highly as it's immediate connotations are that a city is busy and full of action; very popular among crime thrillers, such as the Dark Knight. A similar film which use this kind of location of effect would be Jake Reacher. Additionally making a bank scene the primary location of the film immediately conveys character types, it is obvious that the masked men are bank-robbers i.e. the 'bad guys'.
The use of the masks in this scene is highly effective and alternatively ironic. By having a clown mask for such a task as robbing a bank it unusual and in some cases 'funny'. This is not something you would expect from people robbing a bank as they are hidden but also stand out. It also adds a sense of enigma to the scene as we do not know who is behind the faces. We assume from the use of hidden identity and their reckless behaviour that they are the villains according to Propp's character types. People who are familiar with the Dark Knight movies may identify the characters to a villain as henchmen from their costume.
Continuing with the costume of the villains they are all wearing similar purple suits. This is to help identify they are with the villain (purple being the Joker's iconic colour). Purple connotates Wealth, Money, riches, royalty, all things which link in with the style of robbers (i.e. the Joker's theme). Additionally it symbolises power, mystery and ambition all things which link to that particular villain. The colour purple is a very rare colour in nature; some people consider it to be artificial, maybe suggesting that not everything is as it initially seems.
Generally there is Masculine theme, they are primarily male characters in the scene and are armed with guns as well as explosives; the guns represent power and authority by the masked villains. Again this will appeal to the audience as these movies are watched to see characters such as criminals and their perception of the law. People watch film such as the Dark Knight as they get a sense of a side of life they do not ordinarily experience additionally they enjoy seeing people being brought to justice especially by a vigilante type character such as Batman (the hero).
This extract expresses Mulveys theory of 'Male Gaze' in the sense it is from a heterosexual male's point of view, it is from the point as if the viewers are one of the bank robbers. By doing this is will hugely appeal to the target audience through the use of Mise-en-scene as it's conventions of character and storyline primarily will target young/ middle ages men. This can be expressed though their use of over the shoulder shots and long shots. This conforms to not only the thriller genre but to how media is represented in general.
The use of setting is stereotypical for a film of the thriller genre. The urban setting is used highly as it's immediate connotations are that a city is busy and full of action; very popular among crime thrillers, such as the Dark Knight. A similar film which use this kind of location of effect would be Jake Reacher. Additionally making a bank scene the primary location of the film immediately conveys character types, it is obvious that the masked men are bank-robbers i.e. the 'bad guys'.
The use of the masks in this scene is highly effective and alternatively ironic. By having a clown mask for such a task as robbing a bank it unusual and in some cases 'funny'. This is not something you would expect from people robbing a bank as they are hidden but also stand out. It also adds a sense of enigma to the scene as we do not know who is behind the faces. We assume from the use of hidden identity and their reckless behaviour that they are the villains according to Propp's character types. People who are familiar with the Dark Knight movies may identify the characters to a villain as henchmen from their costume.
Continuing with the costume of the villains they are all wearing similar purple suits. This is to help identify they are with the villain (purple being the Joker's iconic colour). Purple connotates Wealth, Money, riches, royalty, all things which link in with the style of robbers (i.e. the Joker's theme). Additionally it symbolises power, mystery and ambition all things which link to that particular villain. The colour purple is a very rare colour in nature; some people consider it to be artificial, maybe suggesting that not everything is as it initially seems.
As this is early on in the film there is a use of the backing track to create an atmosphere of equilibrium - according to Todorov's narrative structure. However the music is also a ticking noise which suggests that something is about to happen, it is used to create a source of tension so that the viewers of the film are being pro-active to see what is going on in the city. The use of diegetic sound i.e. the breaking of glass represents the disturbance in equilibrium as it is where the tone of the film changes. It goes from a state of equilibrium to disequilibrium and ultimately chaos. We can tell this from the change in the sound of music and that the camera diverts from introducing the city to following the story of the bank robbers.
A Proficient and focused analysis, exploring a range of symbolic and technical codes, with consideration of the preferred meaning. It does seem as though you have not covered the whole scene, however.
ReplyDeleteHTI -
You could perhaps begin applying reception theory, having looked into that now - is the meaning being negotiated somewhat through ambiguities and enigmas? What about the effect of the surprise of the bank manager being armed and dangerous?