Manipulation of the Audience's Emotions in the Film Let Him Have It

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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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