The Effect of Opening Scenes on Plot Setting and Characters

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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.

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