The Effect of Opening Scenes on Plot Setting and Characters

841 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Film critique on dead poets society

The Effect of Opening Scenes on Plot Setting and Characters

The opening scenes of a feature film can play a major role in establishing key elements that parallel throughout the rest of the film. The three key elements are settings, characters and plot. The film "Dead Poet's Society" shall be used as an example throughout this essay.

The first scene in "Dead Poet's Society" is in a dim room with a candle being lit by boys in school uniform. Although very brief, this scene is symbolic of many things. The candle being lit symbolises knowledge, which is backed up by the boys' school uniform. The boys with their college uniforms straight away state that they are in a school. The darkness of the room is also symbolic of the boys' unhappiness. The candle may also be symbolic of the light to guide them out of their misery, which is Mr Keating who appears in the following scene, which incorporates symbolic, technical and audio codes to establish setting and characters.

Scene two is situated in a large assembly area much set out similar to a church with hundreds of boys in uniform seated in rows with the room quite brightly lit. One of the cameras is set so that it is positioned high above the front stage, looking down on all the boys in the assembly area. This implies that all the boys are small and easy to conquer or squash. It is symbolic of their overall weakness, even as a large group. There is a murmur of talking that is symbolic of all the boys being merged into one unit and their lack of individuality. The boys are all wearing identical uniform which again is symbolic of the boys having no individuality and their likeness to an army which is usually thought of with a negative feeling. In this scene there is no sign of any females or any female symbols such as flowers, which indicates that the school is strictly for boys. When the boys' come down the aisle playing instruments and holding flags up high, this is also somewhat representative of an army soldier blowing a beagle introducing the sergeant or whoever is in charge. In this instance, it is introducing the principal of the school who is portrayed in a negative light.

The flags carried are symbolic of ancient times, which along with it carries tradition. This is also backed up by the fact that bagpipes are being played which symbolise the very religious and traditional Scotsmen and Irishmen.

Show More
Related

  • Gogol's True Identity in The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

    647 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sometimes religion can be a necessity for comfort. Over time, we may already possess our very own identities and then develop different ones after a tragedy. In order to easily move on from a plight, some sort of comfort or security is needed, whether its time, family, friends, a sport, or religion. In the novel, The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, one can clearly see the viewpoint of how Gogol’s life over time has evolved from American to Bengali. With the comfort of his Bengali life he’s able to push through the tragedy of his father’s death. However, apart from when Gogol needs his family and culture for comfort, he is simply a true American.

    Read More

  • Malick's Badlands Essay

    2124 Words  | 5 Pages

    John Gibbs and Douglas Pye (2005) Style and meaning : studies in the detailed analysis of film. Engalnd: Manchester University Press, pp 42-52.

    Read More

  • Comparing Marlow of Heart of Darkness and Willard of Apocalypse Now

    1513 Words  | 4 Pages

    Whenever books are adapted for film, changes inevitably have to be made. The medium of film offers several advantages and disadvantages over the book: it is not as adept at exploring the inner workings of people - it cannot explore their minds so easily; however, the added visual and audio capabilities of film open whole new areas of the imagination which, in the hands of a competent writer-director, can more than compensate.

    Read More

  • The Classical Hollywood Paradigm in Singin' in the Rain

    973 Words  | 2 Pages

    A set of practices concerning the narrative structure compose the classical Hollywood Paradigm. These conventions create a plot centering around a character who undergoes a journey in an attempt to achieve some type of goal (). By giving the central character more time on screen, the film helps the audience to not only understand the character’s motivation but also empathize with his/her emotional state. Additionally, some antagonistic force creates conflict with the main character, preventing immediate success(). Finally, after confronting the antagonist, the main character achieves his or her goal along with growing emotionally(). This proven structure creates a linear and relatively easily followed series of events encompassing the leading character and a goal.

    Read More

  • Movie diary: Thelma and Louise

    1358 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many of the first film elements that can be found in this movie work as an introduction to the two main characters of the story. These elements are meant to force the spectator- even one who had never heard speak of, or seen the two Hollywood stars shown on screen- to focus their attention on them.

    Read More

  • The Essay Film and Chris Marker’s Sans Soleil

    2023 Words  | 5 Pages

    Rascaroli, Laura. "The Essay Film: Problems, Definitions, Textual Commitments." Framework: The Journal of Cinema and Media 49.2 (2008): 24-47. JSTOR. Web. 08 May 2014.

    Read More

  • How to Apply Make-up

    591 Words  | 2 Pages

    Before being able to actually apply the make up, the first thing is to get your products and then skin ready for the process. Start off by taking out all of the basic make-up needed :concelor, foundation, powder, make-up sponge, lipstick, lip gloss, eyeliner (liquid or pencil), mascara, hair tie, as well as face wash and face moisturizer. After everything is laid out in front of you, start with washing your face with the face wash, then dry your face off and apply face moisturizer. Afterwards, take the hair tie and pull of you hair back ( if needed use hair clips to pull your bangs back), this will prevent the hair from getting in the way and will allow you to see your entire face when applying foundation and powder. Finally once the moisturizer is fully absorbed and your face is completely dry, you are ready to begin applying the make-up.

    Read More

  • Dead Poets Society Coming Of Age Essay

    520 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Dead Poet’s Society” is a film set in the late fifties at a prestigious school for boys called the Welton Academy. The story focuses on an unorthodox English teacher and his impact upon his students, especially a group of seven boys. The primary focus of this film, in my opinion, is the theme of coming of age. The film itself highlights many important and relevent issues that teenagers face in the process of trying to find out who they are as a person. The students are constantly pressured to conform by adults throughout most of the film. Although these adults are only trying to help the boys, it is important that they figure themselves out and develop their own way of thinking. When the boys realize this, they grow up themselves. The character of Todd is a fantastic example of this. Throughout most of the film, this shy boy is ultimately unwilling and reluctant to go against what he is told. When Neil commits suicide, he begins to see the world in a very different way and understands that sometimes questioning the decisions and regulations accepted by society is necessary.

    Read More

  • Postmodern Film

    2291 Words  | 5 Pages

    The film’s story does not simply shines forth, but is also the foundation of the plot. The film’s plot makes the traditional guidelines applicable...

    Read More

  • Movie Analysis: The Social Network

    1429 Words  | 3 Pages

    Barsam, R. M., Monahan, D., & Gocsik, K. M. (2012). Looking at movies: an introduction to film (4th ed.). New York: W.W. Norton & Co..

    Read More

  • The Namesake By Jhumpa Lahiri

    710 Words  | 2 Pages

    The hardships to fit in America as an immigrant are possessed in The Namesake written by Jhumpa Lahiri. Gogol, the main character, struggles to uphold the traditions his parents expect him to follow. “Its not the type of thing Bengali wives do- a husband’s name is something intimate and therefore unspoken, cleverly patched over” states Ashima. (Lahiri 2) This statement made by Ashima exemplifies the importance of private life and feelings to Bengali families. In this culture family and close friends use a pet name then everyone else uses another name. Gogol is given an unusual pet name as his real name because his grandmother’s letter with his real name has not arrived. This is probably because it is a typical Indian name not an American name. He dislikes his current name and starts to reject the name in his teens. Later on, while in college he is only known as Nikhil, which is a more usual name. This puts him in an identity crisis. “Individual names are sacred, inviolable. They are not meant to be inherited or shared.” (Lahiri 28) Although this is true, Gogal and the children in America are embarrassed by their differences instead of appreciating them. In college, Gogol finds a girlfriend who is an American but his parents disapprove. They disapprove because she is not Indian. Gogal finds an American girlfriend because he wants to fit...

    Read More

  • David Fincher Analysis

    1235 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Entertainment has to come hand in hand with a little bit of medicine, some people go to the movies to be reminded that everything’s okay. I don’t make those kinds of movies. That, to me, is a lie. Everything’s not okay.” - David Fincher. David Fincher is the director that I am choosing to homage for a number of reasons. I personally find his movies to be some of the deepest, most well made, and beautiful films in recent memory. However it is Fincher’s take on story telling and filmmaking in general that causes me to admire his films so much. This quote exemplifies that, and is something that I whole-heartedly agree with. I am and have always been extremely opinionated and open about my views on the world and I believe that artists have a responsibility to do what they can with their art to help improve the culture that they are helping to create. In this paper I will try to outline exactly how Fincher creates the masterpieces that he does and what I can take from that and apply to my films.

    Read More

  • Classical and Post-Classical Hollywood Cinema

    2472 Words  | 5 Pages

    Classic narrative cinema is what Bordwell, Staiger and Thompson (The classic Hollywood Cinema, Columbia University press 1985) 1, calls “an excessively obvious cinema”1 in which cinematic style serves to explain and not to obscure the narrative. In this way it is made up of motivated events that lead the spectator to its inevitable conclusion. It causes the spectator to have an emotional investment in this conclusion coming to pass which in turn makes the predictable the most desirable outcome. The films are structured to create an atmosphere of verisimilitude, which is to give a perception of reality. On closer inspection it they are often far from realistic in a social sense but possibly portray a realism desired by the patriarchal and family value orientated society of the time. I feel that it is often the black and white representation of good and evil that creates such an atmosphere of predic...

    Read More

  • Symbolism In 'The Namesake' By Jhumpa Lahiri

    1340 Words  | 3 Pages

    In The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri illustrates several factors contributing to an individual’s life, such as the struggle faced by settling immigrant families and their growing second-generation children. Lahiri develops the fundamental idea that the absence of strong roots heavily affects an individual’s identity. This is clearly depicted through Gogol and the conflict he faces with his identity, the central theme and the symbolism found in Gogol’s names.

    Read More

  • Dead Poets Society, Summary

    488 Words  | 1 Pages

    "The Dead Poet’s Society" is a movie about a group of kids. The conflict, characters, plot and theme are very interesting. So now I am going to tell you a little about it.

    Read More

More about The Effect of Opening Scenes on Plot Setting and Characters

Open Document