Below I will be analysing a short scene from the film Snakes on a Plane. I will be explaining and describing the significance within the film and how this effect and has an impact on my critical investigation. I will also be raising issues and debate as well as theorist that relate to my topic. This will allow me to have an in depth understanding on my topic across a vase range of areas.
This extract is from the film Snakes on a Plane, which was directed by David R.Elis in 2006 and stars Samuel Jackson as the protagonist. When the scene beings, it has a close up of the protagonist as he declares a speech, where upon has an impact on the passengers as they react and follow his commands. He carries a gun as a prop which connotes his authority and superiority upon others. This automatically indicated the genre of the film being action and as his position of being an FBI, connotes to the fact the within films black characters are no longer seen as the criminals but are now the face of society by standing with the law and not against it. This film connotes liberal values as it challenges the stereotypes held against black people within films, and are usually portrayed as the villain or criminal not saviours.
As the protagonist is a black male, and most of the passengers are white, it connotes the stereotypes being challenged as he becomes the hero and saves them by preventing the plane crash. This is where the protagonist and another black character take seat into the pilots seat and fly the plane. The camera goes from a wide shot to a close up of the characters faces creating suspense and enigmas as it allows the audience to question whether they will survive or not. This again highlights the authority of the protagonist being a hero and saving the day. i.e There are many iconography's that highlight the action genre for example the props used when the protagonist holds the gun as well as the diagetic sound used helps to create suspense. There are many social and political issues this film may raise for example the use of the plane may cause many audience to shutter a sense of reminiscence of the post 9/11 attacks in America. This can create a controversy as most films that use plane tend to highlight the word terrorism Flightplan, which can either attract an audience or make them feel doubtful to watch the film.
As the passenger scream in distress, the diagetic sound becomes louder creating a suspenseful atmosphere and allows the protagonist to react and act faster. Throughout the scene there is high key lighting which connotes the danger and suspense as the passengers wait in hope to be helped by the protagonist. The representations of some of the characters within this film range from positive to the typical stereotypes, for example the way the protagonist has been represented as being touch and very serious and shows no emotions which goes against the typical stereotypes of the way black characters are usually represented as comedians which indicate the second characters as he jokes and mocks in a serious, life threatening situation which in actual fact connotes and reinforces stereotypes of black characters within films. The way the white characters are represented for example the witness is represented a weak and dependable to the protagonist as he listens to all his commands. This again challenges the stereotypes of black people being the criminals and listen to white people thus connoting how film industry and institutions are changing and moving of from the traditions and liberalising black characters to have meaning and power.
Hegemony is the power or dominance that one social group holds over others and within this film the black protagonist is the dominant group and the whites are the subordinate groups. This goes against the typical traditions where white people are more dominant to blacks. This however is the ideology behind the institution New Line Cinema. As they have chosen a black actor to play a powerful FBI to help and save the day which has become contemporary across many films now. The ideologies behind this may be to create a new line of audience where black people can now identify with the protagonist, as it attracts a mainstream audience of both male and female and has alternative representations. The narrative follows the typical generic conventions of an action film, for example using Tedorov's narrative structure theory, the extract immediately starts of with the recognition of the disruption and quickly moves to an attempt to repair the disruption where the protagonist flies the plane and land and then moves to a reinstatement of equilibrium where the protagonist saves the day, by controlling the plane.
Films like Snakes on a Plane have allowed black people within communities to have a sense of escapism and identify with the This film reflects and has an impact upon society as it can have a positive or negative impact on the audience. For example historically black people were usually depicted as salves, criminals, servants, dumb or comedians and this had a major affect on black communities as it didn't allow to associate or identify themselves in films and were often misrepresented within films. This therefore allowed them to react in the way they were being represented i.e. as criminals, which created moral panic upon society as they would portray deviant behaviour. However as films like this along with films such as I Am Legend or Coach Carter have become a new wave for targeting black communities as it allowed them to see the opposite of what was being portrayed.protagonists and follow their ways which would have a major impact on society. This therefore challenges the traditional hegemony as black characters are now the dominate group.
In conclusion this extract has allowed me to understand the changes that occur within the film industry and how representation of characters don't fall into the typical stereotypes they use, thus having and creating a new ideology upon black characters that will have a positive impact upon the audience.
No comments:
Post a Comment