Manipulation of the Audience's Emotions in the Film Let Him Have It
My overall impressions of the film are basically to the point that it
was very successful in manipulating my feelings, to feel for Derek
Bentley. Throughout the film, I was manipulated by many means, to
believe that Derek was innocent, and should not have been hanged, as
he, the film manipulates us to believe, has done nothing wrong.
The definition of manipulation is this: "With skill, to influence by
unfair means or cunning, for example, to give false appearance to".
Even before we watch the film, we are being manipulated, and this is
by the film's cover. A picture of two men, Craig and Derek, confronts
us. Craig is wearing black - this makes us think that he is associated
with evil. He looks pale, as if like a vampire, which signifies the
fact that he 'feeds' off Derek. He is smiling, with a style typically
referred to as a gangster smile. He has a gun in his hand, which shows
he has the power to kill. Derek seems smaller than Craig, which gives
us the idea that he is innocent. He has a 'scared' expression, a total
contrast to Craig's.
The film itself is subjective (biased) because Iris Bentley (Derek's
sister) tried for years to have the sentence her brother received
overturned, and his name cleared. She gave help to the film's
director, Peter Medak - she will have given her side and therefore
will have mentally presented her family in the best light possible.
The film, in order to avoid manipulating its audience, would need to
be presented objectively (not influenced by personal feelings), and
just concentrate on the facts, which would not sell the film. So,
Medak has inevitably been subjective in his filming process. We are
manipulated both visually and aurally via this type of medium (film).
We are manipulated visually, by way of the expressions and gestures of
the characters. For example, if Derek's family weren't huddled
together and crying when he was being hanged, we would not have as
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