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Micro analysis Of A Film Sequence Essay

The film I am analysing is Inception. The film is the directed by Christopher Nolan; it was released July 8^th 2010. The film is about the main male character Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a thief with the rare ability to enter people's dreams and steal their secrets from their subconscious. The clip I am using is the dream-collapsing scene. This essay will analyse how the micro-elements of sound and mise-en-scene create audience response and meaning, the clip I am using is 3:48 minutes long, this occurs near the beginning of the film. The micro-elements I will be analysing are sound and mise-en-scene.

Mise-en-scene

The first micro-element I will be analysing is mise-en-scene. The props that are involved within this scene are: envelopes, guns, statues, bath, suites, dresses, rubble and the chair. Within the scene the settings within the scene are also unusual, the first scene that lasts most of the way through the scene is an interpretation of a Chinese Temple, the second scene that is shown within the film is a hotel room and bathroom within the city of Mombasa.

Within the first scene of my film clip, one of the props that is used are the envelopes, within this scene there are two envelopes both are a gold-copper colour, one contains blank paper and the other contains the confidential documents. The significance of the first envelope contains blank paper, whereas the second contains the information that is needed. This shows that it acting as a decoy and also Saito’s reaction from finding the blank paper also shows that he has been deceived by Cobb, and feels he needs to get the other envelope containing the real information as a matter of urgency. The significance of the envelope within the film is to show the audience that Cobb is unable to find the most important information in the second envelope, however Saito knows what Cobb is planning to find but he allows him to continue his work as he is auditioning Cobb’s team for hi inception, also the envelope contains the expansion plans for Saito’s company, however Saito left out key information because of the audition. There are two envelopes within this scene this creates the meaning to the audience that Cobb is going to deceit Saito with the envelopes. However, the audience do not know what is in both envelopes so the audience have an air of suspicion about the envelope that is given to Saito, and whether it is the envelope containing the information.

Another prop that is used within this scene are the guns that are used by the guards in the temple, Cobb and Mal. These guns are all used as methods of threat, inducing pain, or a method of death to wake Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) up. Each gun is a different size, which can symbolise to the audience the level of power each character has within this scene, the guards all carry relatively small hand guns, Mal holds still a hand gun but is more the size of a pistol and Cobb holds the largest gun in the scene showing he is the most dominant, important and strongest character in the scene. Every gun that appears in the scene is black showing to the audience that they all have dark, unforgiving purposes with the intention to either kill or harm an individual. The gun Cobb holds is the gun used to shot Arthur, giving the meaning to the audience that it was Cobb’s intention to kill Arthur.

Also, used within this scene there are statues of Japanese or Chinese soldiers, helping the audience to understand where the dream is set. These help the audience to recognise that they are in some sort of Japanese or Chinese home or temple, this also leads them to wonder why has the persons mind they are in (in this case Arthur’s) transported them to the place and what significance does it hold to the film. Also, within the scene when the figurine falls it is almost like it has been made to fall in this way as it completely blocks Cobb’s route. The figurines all fall as if they have a job they must do when they fall. The figurines may also show the audience where the characters are within this scene, and also the figurines look like dark menacing figures that have a purpose, to the audience the purpose of the figurines are to stop Cobb from getting the confidential information that the envelope contains. To also help the audience realise where the characters are within the dream (a Chinese/Japanese temple), this is done through the patterns and colours on the walls in the beginning of this scene. The walls are a green colour and they have patterns of trees and dragons on the walls, showing the audience that the place they are in has some connection to the Chinese/Japanese culture.

Within the scene, another prop that is used within the scene is the bath. The bath in this scene is full of water, and this is what wakes Cobb up as it shows in the scene that when he hits the water, the water begins to come through into the dream, which ending the dream. The bathroom that is shown within the scene is dirty, grimy and looks very run down. The audience would gather from this that the area is very run down and poor, the audience would respond to this as they would wonder why they are there and why Cobb has been pushed into a bath in order to be woken up from his dream.

Sound

Within the opening of the scene the sound is a very quiet, low rumble, all this sound is non – diegetic, meaning the audience can hear the sound that is happening within the background of the scene. This builds suspense, making the audience feel tense, and full of suspicion about what is going to happen during the scene. Also, during the opening scenes of this clip, the low rumble changes into a very quiet, almost unaudioable orchestral sound, during this scene the orchestral sound begins to get gradually louder, as Mal and Cobb begin to converse. This is creating meaning to the audience, that their conversation is going to result in something happening, something bad. This also will make the audience feel suspense and wonder what is going to happen next. This may make the audience feel slightly uncomfortable, as they are unsure about the overall outcome of this scene, as the conversation they are having does not seem the most normal conversation to be having.

The low orchestra sound in the background then begins to crescendo as the action in the scene begins to unfold. The sound reaches it’s maximum when Cobb shoots Arthur, during this section of the clip the gunshots all then become diegetic sound, this recreates a more realistic scene as it allows the audience to feel as if they are in the film, as it makes them feel as if they are feeling what the characters within the film are feeling. The sounds of shouts from the guards are also diegetic, making the audience feel as if they are the ones that need to run because they are being chased by the guards. Another aspect of sound that is used throughout this clip is the sound of things falling, smashing and breaking.

·      The sound of things falling, smashing, braking and the sounds of gunshots are all diegetic sounds.

·      Loud orchestra continues throughout until Cobb is pushed in the bath.

·      All the sound slows as he falls into the water (non-diegetic), splashing sound when he enters the bath and when he comes up from the water.

·      Creaking as the water comes into the dream then a gushing sound.

·      When Cobb is under the water there is a non – diegetic beat to show he couldn’t hear anything.

·      During the end of the scene when they are ‘wrestling’ on the floor, there is the sound of shouts coming from outside the room on the street.

Messages and Values in Opening Scenes in The Krays

Message:

The Krays believed themselves to be invulnerable. This is evidenced during the playground scene, this is because they are walking through the playground pushing people out of their way and just pushing people for no reason. Another piece of evidence to show their invulnerability is during the National Service scene, this is because they walk out of National Service and punch the Drill Sargent.

The Krays family are very close. This is evidenced within the opening scenes as each member of the Kray family including the mother and her three daughters all live on the same street in East London. Other evidence to show this is also during the opening scenes is when the twins run in between their home and their Aunt Rose's home. 

The twins are very close to Violet. This is evidenced within the film during the air raid scene when everyone is in the tube station and using it as air raid shelter, this is because when a bomb falls the twins run directly to their mother and she tells them "no one would dare hurt you, they wouldn't dare with me around'. Other evidence to show this is after the boxing match when their injuries are being cleaned up, Violet tell the twins they aren't to fight each other, and they both apologies by kissing her hand.

The Krays have a lack of male role models. This is evidenced within the film because during the film the twins are hardly ever scene with their father, the only time the boys are shown with their father is when he is hiding from the police constable and they tell him " Our dads not stupid enough to hide in the coal cupboard, is he?" Also, the twins only ever really have a relationship with their grandfather when he leads them astray during the boxing match.

Value:

When people fear you it's good because you can do anything. This is evidenced during the hospital scene as Violet Kray tells the doctor that she is taking Ronnie home from the hospital, showing that she can do what she wants because she made the doctor fear her by threatening him with one of her sisters. Another piece of evidence to show this is during the end of the playground scene as the children who are playing around them begin to move out of their way from being around the twins as if they were moving out of the way of something that was going to hurt him.

Women had the real war. This is evidenced during the opening scenes when the police officer comes looking for the twins father and Violet says to him "If you find him, tell me, I've got three hungry mouths to feed". This is also evidenced during the same scene when Violet's mother says "a women's work is never done, Constable" and then when Violet says "housework is a dangerous occupation".

Family comes first. This is evidenced within the film as Reggie feels as if he needs to help Ronnie with the business, this is shown that after the honeymoon Reggie leaves his wife (Frances) in order to be able to go to a meeting with his brother. It is also shown when Violet asks her sister May if she's lost Reggie now he's married, and May tell her "What Reg, you know you'll always come first". 

Messages and Values that are developed or developed further in later scenes:

Ronnie's insanity. Ronnie's insanity becomes apparent later on in the film, this is shown through the pleasure he gets from killing people or hurting people, this is shown during the film when he is killing someone and has a smile on his face and is breathing heavily which shows he is getting pleasure from this.

Reggie smothering Frances (male domination). This is shown later in the film as Frances mood about marrying Reggie deteriorates, leading to her killing herself, this is shown in the film when Frances is talking to Violet and is telling her that she doesn't even know what she likes anymore she only know what Reggie likes.

The failure of the police to control the criminal activity. The twins in the film never seem to be caught until the very end. The community never tell the police about the things the Krays did. An example of this is when Ronnie shot Cornel in broad daylight and was not caught, another example of this is when they take the machine guns into the pub in broad daylight and they are never caught.

Male/Female relations. Most of the women believe they had it worse during the war than men, Violets mother says "men are born boys and stay boys", she also says this after the boxing match when Violets mum is shouting at Violets dad about leading them a stray and causing them to fight each other. 

Ellie's Female Representations on The Krays

Female And Male Representations (The Krays)

Females:

1.Outline some of the main female stereotypes that exist in the media broadly

There are both negative and positive stereotypes of females, however most broadcasted in the media tend to be rather negative. Such as; women are seen as sex objects and their purpose is to provide for men in the home by doing the housework, cooking and cleaning etc. Furthermore a very typical stereotype of women is that they are inferior and may need a man to 'look after them'. However in modern society there are much more positive messages and stereotypes being broadcasted about females, such as: feminism, many females are strong independent and believe heavily in girl power.


2.How are Frances and violets (and her sisters) represented in the krays? (give specific examples) consider how their gender affects their experiences.

Frances (Reggie's wife) is represented as an unstable person, she's not suited to the limelight lifestyle that she is thrust into by Reggie. She has her individuality taken away from her as Reggie metaphorically suffocated her with affection to the point where she didn't even know what she liked herself- only what reggie liked. She is a weak character and completely in contrast with violet, Reggie and his family attempt to mould her like Violet however it became too much as she was a completely different type of person. Violet and her sisters were completely different to Violet. Violet Kray was the matriarch of the Kray family, she mollycoddled the twins and instilled a sense of vulnerability into the twins, furthermore made them extremely close. She represents the 'rock' of the family, as the Kray's father wasn't very involved or much of a strong character in their life. Therefore violet actually took on both roles and was very well respected. Also the Kray twins Aunt Rose was another main mother figure in their life, much like Violet she was also a strong independent women who cared for their twins as though they were her own and empowered them by telling them that they're invincible.


3.How do the representatives challenge or reinforce these stereotypes? (or do they?)
Frances very much fits the old stereotype of females that they are inferior to men and need to be 'looked after', Reggie seems to think that showering his wife with so much love and affection and gifts that it will keep their marriage strong, when in matter of fact it actually weakens it, and actually weakens her, to the point where she actually takes her life. In comparison to Frances, violet is the complete opposite and challenges this stereotype as she is a strong matriarch in a patriarchal time era.

However she does fit the stereotypical housewife, violet covers both the female and male roles in the household, whilst bringing up her children and doing household chores she also raises the children single handedly and covers everything that a father figure should have done for the twins.

Female And Male Representations (The Krays)

Females:

1.Outline some of the main female stereotypes that exist in the media broadly

There are both negative and positive stereotypes of females, however most broadcasted in the media tend to be rather negative. Such as; women are seen as sex objects and their purpose is to provide for men in the home by doing the housework, cooking and cleaning etc. Furthermore a very typical stereotype of women is that they are inferior and may need a man to 'look after them'. However in modern society there are much more positive messages and stereotypes being broadcasted about females, such as: feminism, many females are strong independent and believe heavily in girl power.


2.How are Frances and violets (and her sisters) represented in the krays? (give specific examples) consider how their gender affects their experiences.

Frances (Reggie's wife) is represented as an unstable person, she's not suited to the limelight lifestyle that she is thrust into by Reggie. She has her individuality taken away from her as Reggie metaphorically suffocated her with affection to the point where she didn't even know what she liked herself- only what reggie liked. She is a weak character and completely in contrast with violet, Reggie and his family attempt to mould her like Violet however it became too much as she was a completely different type of person. Violet and her sisters were completely different to Violet. Violet Kray was the matriarch of the Kray family, she mollycoddled the twins and instilled a sense of vulnerability into the twins, furthermore made them extremely close. She represents the 'rock' of the family, as the Kray's father wasn't very involved or much of a strong character in their life. Therefore violet actually took on both roles and was very well respected. Also the Kray twins Aunt Rose was another main mother figure in their life, much like Violet she was also a strong independent women who cared for their twins as though they were her own and empowered them by telling them that they're invincible.


3.How do the representatives challenge or reinforce these stereotypes? (or do they?)
Frances very much fits the old stereotype of females that they are inferior to men and need to be 'looked after', Reggie seems to think that showering his wife with so much love and affection and gifts that it will keep their marriage strong, when in matter of fact it actually weakens it, and actually weakens her, to the point where she actually takes her life. In comparison to Frances, violet is the complete opposite and challenges this stereotype as she is a strong matriarch in a patriarchal time era.

However she does fit the stereotypical housewife, violet covers both the female and male roles in the household, whilst bringing up her children and doing household chores she also raises the children single handedly and covers everything that a father figure should have done for the twins.

Male and Female Representations

Male Representations Within The Krays

Male:
Outline some of the main male and masculine stereotypes that exist in the media broadly.
Within the media today, the main male and masculine stereotypes that exist are that the main male roles within today's society is that males are the main provider (breadwinner) for their families, another media stereotype of males within today's society is that they are always the bosses of businesses and are always the highest earners. Another media stereotype of males within the media is that they are always the ones who manage the money of the households or manages the bills and financial elements. Also, a media stereotype is that males are usually the more dominant and assertive of the genders, who engage in violence or wagering and have more control over things rather that females. Also, a male stereotypes within the media is that within many horror, action or thriller films males are always shown as the hero of the hour and always save the day or save the 'damsel' in distress which are usually the female characters, showing the male dominance over women. A final media stereotype of males is that within the news most of the hooliganism or football fights are usually shown as being male, this is one of the main negative male stereotype that is shown within the media. 

How are Reginald and Ronnie (and other male characters) represented in The Krays? (Give specific examples)
Within the film The Krays, Reginald is represented as being very business orientate and being tough and still violent but not as violent as his brother, however Reginald is also shown as being very sensitive and emotional, within the film Reginald is also shown as being very protective over Frances. Reginald Kray is very influenced by his brother, but he is not as violent as Ronnie, Reggie only uses violence when he need to, he also seems to use crime as a business, as a way to make money, this is shown within the film when Jack McVitie scams the twins, and Reggie lets him off, whereas Ronnie would of murdered him, during this scene Reggie tells Jack that he's lucky he was dealing with him and not his brother. During his childhood, Reggie Kray was "mollycoddled" by his mother and his aunts, this has lead him to feel as if he is invulnerable or untouchable by people from society. Reggie Kray treats his wife Frances in the same way his mother treated him, he is very over protective Frances, he buys her the dresses he likes, within the film Frances is speaking to Violet and tells her that she doesn't feel like her anymore, she doesn't know what music she likes, what films she likes, she even says that some mornings she wakes up and has to question herself on her own age and the kind of things she likes. Within the film Reggie is shown as having a very sensitive and emotional side, this is shown within first within the film when he first meets Frances, this is shown because he seems to be in complete awe of her and never wants anything to happen to her. The next time within the film that we see the emotional side of Reginald Kray is when his Aunt Rose dies, when this happens he his on his honeymoon, but completely breaks down next to the car completely distraught. The third time within the film that we see the emotional side of Reginald Kray is when Frances dies, when this happens he becomes a shell of his former self until Ronnie snaps him out of it. The lats time we see he be emotional is when his mother dies right at the very end of the film as he has lost the most prominent female figure in his life.
Within the film The Krays, Ronnie is represented as being of a psychopathic nature, very violent, however Ronnie does show a emotional side within this film. We see Ronnie's emotional side when his Aunt Rose dies, during this scene he tells his mother to get Reggie off his honeymoon, whilst being distraught, then he goes outside and completely loses it, he kicks bins over and screams for Reggie. Within the film, Ronnie uses his criminal and violent nature to help him satisfy his psychotic needs as he seems to use violence as a form of pleasure and he uses the infliction of pain on people as a way of fun, this is shown in the film during one of the opening scenes when he is in the club and he is pushing the sword through the mans hand, whilst he is doing this he has a smile on his face and is breathing heavily as a sign of satisfaction. During the film Ronnie Kray also shows a  affectionate side, this is  when he comes into work and finds to homeless boys in his office. Ronnie gives the boys money and tells one of his gang members to look after the boys and make sure they're safe and have a place to stay.

From the representations do the twins challenge or follow the stereotypes
Reggie Kray does challenge the stereotype of the 'typical' gangster, he does not walk around beating up people for no reason, he only uses violence when he needs to and he uses the criminal community as a business, he uses it to make money but also uses it to up his social status. He also challenges the stereotype as he has the softer side which is not seen with gangsters, he is gentle, calm and loving towards his mum, and to Frances he is passionate and loving, but is overly loving and begins to smother her, which leads her to begin to have break downs which eventually leads to her killing herself.

Ronnie Kray follows the  stereotypes of a 'typical' gangster, he enjoys the violence and the crime, you can see this through the heavy breathing of enjoyment whilst slicing peoples mouths or pushing the knife through the  mans hand, he also uses these violent aspects to help feed his psychotic nature. Also, Ronnie challenges the stereotype of a homosexual man, the typical stereotype of a homosexual man is to be very calm, very gentle and not engage in much violence. However, he challenges this as he his a very violent person, who seems to love taking part in violence and also he enjoys to engage in fights or crime.