City Of God & Pan's Labyrinth Paragraphs
2 paragraphs minimum on two micro features in City of God and Pan's Labyrinth (e.g. cinematography and mies-en-scene)
City of God micro element paragraph:
One element that Fernando Meirelles uses to create meaning in City of God is cinematography. This is depicted through the deaths of Shaggy and Bene. Meirelles uses lighting during the scene of Shaggy's death to create meaning; the lighting at the start of the scene is bright as the sun is glistening which represents the hope of escaping the City Of God for a 'brighter' future but the lighting changes when Shaggy dies as the shadows disappeared. This creates meaning as the lighting depicts that Shaggy's dream of escaping the lifestyle of City of God is no longer a reality and conveys Shaggy's loss of life. This ignites a response from the audience as the use of lighting signifies how another youngster has lost their life due to gang life so this creates sympathy from the audience as they feel sorry how these kids were prevented from a better life due to their living conditions. Lighting is also prevalent in the scene of Bene's death as strobe lighting is used in the build up to Bene being shot and the aftermath of the shooting. This creates meaning as the flicker of the strobe lighting is a metaphor for the last moments of Bene's life and how the light goes out of a person after they die. Dark lighting is also used during this scene to generate tension for the audience as the night setting foreshadows the future chaos which allows the audience to be more focused as they are interested to see how this scene plays out. The use of lighting also creates meaning as the dark lighting parallels to the dark nature of the citizens of the City of God and represents how death takes over hope. The impact of deaths is also shown through the reactions of the characters girlfriends. The close-up of Shaggy's girlfriend presents facial expressions of horror and sadness which makes the audience feel sympathetic for her because of her heartbreak and Angelica (Bene's girlfriend) is presented at a high angle after his death which conveys her devastation at her boyfriend's death and her fear of Lil Ze. Both of these reactions creates meaning as they convey how the girlfriends have nothing left in the world that is as important to them and how their lives have changed forever because of this moment. Meirelles uses cinematography throughout City of God to capture the character reactions at pivotal moments and to create a response for the audience.
Pan's Labyrinth micro element paragraph:
Another film that uses mise-es-scene to create meaning is Pan's Labyrinth by Guillermo Del Toro. This is especially prevalent in the scene in the Pale Man's lair due to the appearance of the character. Del Toro presents a threatening image of the Pale Man to the audience; his blood stained nails and eyes for hands creates meaning as this alerts the audience that he is a villain and the use of blood foreshadows that danger will occur in this scene. This impression is emphasised by Del Toro's use of mise-en-scene as he shows a pile of shoes in the corner in the room and paintings of the Pale Man eating children which depicts his evil intentions and presents to the audience that this is a malevolent and violent character. Del Toro's presentation of mise-en-scene in this scene also presents religious connotations as the paleness of the Pale Man represents the colour of the Pope; Del Toro uses this to represent that the Church are as guilty and impure as the fascists as the Pale Man has a banquet but still eats the innocent whereas the Catholic Church have the wealth but still threaten people in Spain with threates & violence. Del Toro also uses mise-en-scene to criticise the fascists in the scene where Mercedes escapes from Vidal as Vidal uses a hammer which conveys imagery of Vidal taking down communism which shows the fascists have complete control. This makes the audience fearful of Vidal but his dropping of the hammer symbolises the fascists losing their power as Del Toro uses props in this scene to convey the character's statuses. Mercedes hides a knife at the start of the scene before revealing it during a crucial moment; the reveal of the knife parallels to the reveal of Mercedes true self and represents how women had to hide their true power as the fascists saw them as subordinate to the men. Del Toro uses mise-en-scene in Pan's Labyrinth for character development and to depict the dangers of fascist regimes.
Section A: Global Film
With close reference to the two films you have studied, explore how either mise-en-scene or cinematography create meaning.
(40 marks)
City of God micro element paragraph:
One element that Fernando Meirelles uses to create meaning in City of God is cinematography. This is depicted through the deaths of Shaggy and Bene. Meirelles uses lighting during the scene of Shaggy's death to create meaning; the lighting at the start of the scene is bright as the sun is glistening which represents the hope of escaping the City Of God for a 'brighter' future but the lighting changes when Shaggy dies as the shadows disappeared. This creates meaning as the lighting depicts that Shaggy's dream of escaping the lifestyle of City of God is no longer a reality and conveys Shaggy's loss of life. This ignites a response from the audience as the use of lighting signifies how another youngster has lost their life due to gang life so this creates sympathy from the audience as they feel sorry how these kids were prevented from a better life due to their living conditions. Lighting is also prevalent in the scene of Bene's death as strobe lighting is used in the build up to Bene being shot and the aftermath of the shooting. This creates meaning as the flicker of the strobe lighting is a metaphor for the last moments of Bene's life and how the light goes out of a person after they die. Dark lighting is also used during this scene to generate tension for the audience as the night setting foreshadows the future chaos which allows the audience to be more focused as they are interested to see how this scene plays out. The use of lighting also creates meaning as the dark lighting parallels to the dark nature of the citizens of the City of God and represents how death takes over hope. The impact of deaths is also shown through the reactions of the characters girlfriends. The close-up of Shaggy's girlfriend presents facial expressions of horror and sadness which makes the audience feel sympathetic for her because of her heartbreak and Angelica (Bene's girlfriend) is presented at a high angle after his death which conveys her devastation at her boyfriend's death and her fear of Lil Ze. Both of these reactions creates meaning as they convey how the girlfriends have nothing left in the world that is as important to them and how their lives have changed forever because of this moment. Meirelles uses cinematography throughout City of God to capture the character reactions at pivotal moments and to create a response for the audience.
Pan's Labyrinth micro element paragraph:
Another film that uses mise-es-scene to create meaning is Pan's Labyrinth by Guillermo Del Toro. This is especially prevalent in the scene in the Pale Man's lair due to the appearance of the character. Del Toro presents a threatening image of the Pale Man to the audience; his blood stained nails and eyes for hands creates meaning as this alerts the audience that he is a villain and the use of blood foreshadows that danger will occur in this scene. This impression is emphasised by Del Toro's use of mise-en-scene as he shows a pile of shoes in the corner in the room and paintings of the Pale Man eating children which depicts his evil intentions and presents to the audience that this is a malevolent and violent character. Del Toro's presentation of mise-en-scene in this scene also presents religious connotations as the paleness of the Pale Man represents the colour of the Pope; Del Toro uses this to represent that the Church are as guilty and impure as the fascists as the Pale Man has a banquet but still eats the innocent whereas the Catholic Church have the wealth but still threaten people in Spain with threates & violence. Del Toro also uses mise-en-scene to criticise the fascists in the scene where Mercedes escapes from Vidal as Vidal uses a hammer which conveys imagery of Vidal taking down communism which shows the fascists have complete control. This makes the audience fearful of Vidal but his dropping of the hammer symbolises the fascists losing their power as Del Toro uses props in this scene to convey the character's statuses. Mercedes hides a knife at the start of the scene before revealing it during a crucial moment; the reveal of the knife parallels to the reveal of Mercedes true self and represents how women had to hide their true power as the fascists saw them as subordinate to the men. Del Toro uses mise-en-scene in Pan's Labyrinth for character development and to depict the dangers of fascist regimes.
Paragraph 1:
ReplyDelete"the lighting at the start of the scene is bright as the sun is glistening" - aim for "natural lighting" or "high-key lighting" - "bright" is a little ambiguous in film terms.
"Lighting is also prevalent" - "prevalent" is the wrong word here - lighting is always prevalent in film, be it low- or high-key.
Paragraph 2:
"as he shows a pile of shoes in the corner in the room and paintings of the Pale Man eating children" - Aim for terminology specific to mise-en-scene. Comment on set dressing, props etc.
Overall, your writing could be a little more concise in places - you would benefit from some careful proof-reading and editing. I feel that, in places, you repeat yourself.
Remember that this is an either/or question, so you wouldn't be able to mix cinematography and mise-en-scene.
Your analysis, though, is often strong, and you find some interesting meanings in the film.
Mr Boon
mr boon u mood killer
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