In Time Techniques

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In the social commentary ‘In Time’ by Andrew Niccol, humans stop ageing at 25, but there’s a catch; they’re genetically engineered to live only one more year unless they can buy their way out of it. The wealthy earn decades at a time, becoming essentially immortal, whereas, the poor, beg, borrow or steal enough time just to make it through the day. Throughout ‘In Time’, the Director aims to convey both the ideas of economic injustice and the negative implications of a capitalist society. These ideas are portrayed through the use of low-key lighting, set design, short-cutting and dramatic music, during the scene where Rachel Salas times out. Andrew Niccol has successfully used these four techniques to encapsulate these concepts and to help the …show more content…

Niccol uses low-key lighting to emphasise the ominous mood in the scene, by making it appear darker. When Rachel’s face is partially darkened, it shows the audience that something sinister is about to occur. By associating Rachel with a feeling of imminent doom, it challenges the audience to consider the reason behind her death. The reason being, that as Rachel was born into an economically destitute time zone, her death was unavoidable; due to the prices continually rising in Dayton. Niccol uses low-key lighting and set design to portray the idea of economic injustice. Here, the director’s use of set design helps the audience to understand the prevalent economic injustice throughout the time zones. Niccol uses set design to highlight what’s really going on in the poorer time zones. When Rachel is staring through the bars on the door, it symbolises that she is trapped in an endless cycle of poverty that she can’t escape from. The wrought-iron bars convey the idea of entrapment and how both Rachel and the rest of the Dayton citizens are entrapped and restricted, economically. By using these techniques, Niccol conveys the concept of economic injustice. Low-key lighting, paired with set design, is used to portray the fact that economic injustice is not just untoward, it is one of the main reasons as to why thousands of people die, each and every

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