In Fritz Lang’s M, mise en scène is employed to evoke the theme of Machiavellian theory, the characterization of wavering faith in crisis and the tone of impatient anger and fear. As the following analysis of the scene where the mobsters strategize on how to track down M demonstrates, the great light fixture in the center of the room, in conjunction with the mobsters themselves and their meeting room, is used to accentuate the notion of vigilante justice and expediency that circumventing the law provides while also highlighting the paradox of criminals attempting to serve justice.
First, Lang employs mise en scène via a grand light to brighten the whole room for the five mobsters. With all the windows covered by curtains, there is no natural
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A small, smoke-filled and well-lit room with a small circular table, some buffets and other furniture. Having everything typical to a middle and upper class residence, this room symbolizes the type of citizens who are tired and afraid of M’s reign of terror. Having the mobster’s meet in this room in the first place, Lang highlights the notion of the silent, scared majority of Berlin who will accept any course of action just to see to it that their children are safe and that their normalcy of life continues on, before M began abducting children. The cigar smoke filling the room is symbolic of the haziness and gray area that such a situation presents. One may stop to ask themselves, “Is this right? Are we doing the right thing by setting the mob loose on M?” or “If I was a criminal, would I want due process and a fair investigation and trial?” By the mob and the people taking matters into their own hands, they are essentially submitting to fear and thus usurping the due process of law. By having the mobsters in the room, the citizens are okay with ends being justified by the means and show that have lost complete and utter faith and trust in the police to keep their children
As a son watches his mother take her last breath on her deathbed, an overwhelming grief sets in. Although knowing that his mom smokes and drinks, he never told her to quit or ease up because he thought his mother can never die. In this case, the offset of this denial is his mom’s early death but, the denial by the Jews during 1942, caused a far more superior calamity, six million deaths! Alas, just like the boy who lost his mother, the Jews have signs and warnings to escape the invasion and Elie Wiesel does a superb job of incorporating that in his book, Night. These overlooked chances, or motifs, are Moshe not getting the respect for his word, uncomprehending the news that is given to the Jews, and the misjudgment of how evil a man Hitler is.
It is reported that over 6 million Jews were brutally murdered in the Holocaust, but there were a very few who were able to reach the liberation, and escape alive. There were many important events that occurred in Elie Wiesel’s Night, and for each and every event, I was equally, if not more disturbed than the one before. The first extremely disturbing event became a reality when Eliezer comprehended that there were trucks filled with babies that the Nazi’s were throwing the children into the crematorium. Unfortunately, the sad truth of the murdering babies was clearly presented through, “Not far from us, flames, huge flames, were rising from a ditch. Something was being burned there, […] babies”, (Wiesel, Night, 32). This was one of the most disturbing events of the narrative for myself and truly explained the cruelty and torture of the Holocaust.
Mise-en-scène, what the audience sees in a film, is crucial to the movie’s development. Lighting and props are two of the many important aspects of this category. The previously mentioned scene has the goal of representing Kane’s early ideology of what the New York Daily Inquirer will become and provide for its readers. While writing the document, Welles constantly uses lighting to illuminate it for the audience, naturally drawing eyes to the paper even before it is introduced in the film. The lighting of the scene helps viewers identify the document’s value, especially in comparison to Kane as he tends to be less lit then the paper for the majority of scene. The other three cast members, Leland, Bernstein and briefly Sully, continue to be lit but almost never to the magnitude of the paper itself. The first cut of the scene shows Kane writing the document from outside; where a burning gas lamp is the key lighting, allowing the audience to easily notice both the flame and the paper. In the following cut, Kane continually looks at the paper and the gas flame as to signify their imp...
The mood of Night is harder to interpret. Many different responses have occurred in readers after their perusal of this novel. Those that doubt the stories of the holocaust’s reality see Night as lies and propaganda designed to further the myth of the holocaust. Yet, for those people believing in the reality, the feelings proffered by the book are quite different. Many feel outrage at the extent of human maliciousness towards other humans. Others experience pity for the loss of family, friends, and self that is felt by the holocaust victims. Some encounter disgust as the realization occurs that if any one opportunity had been utilized the horror could of been avoided. Those missed moments such as fleeing when first warned by Moshe the Beadle, or unblocking the window when the Hungarian officer had come to warn them, would have saved lives and pain.
Elli talks about daily life in her neighborhood. Her mother does not show any compassion for her. When Elli complains of this, her mother brings up excuses that are unconvincing. Elli believes her mother does not care for her and that her brother is the favorite. Hilter’s reoccurring radio broadcast give nightmares to Elli, whos family is Jewish. The nights when the Hungarian military police would come and stir trouble did not provide anymore comfort for Elli. One night, her brother, Bubi, comes home with news that Germany invaded Budapest, the town where he goes to school. But the next morning, there is no news in the headlines. The father sends him back to school. He learns the next day that a neighbor’s son who goes to school with Bubi has said the same. The day after, the newspapers scream the news of the invasion. Bubi arrives home, and the terror begins.
Griffin explores Heinrich Himmler and the secrets that are hidden within him. Throughout his childhood Himmler’s secrets and thoughts were hidden, overshadowed by a mask or barrier formed by his upbringing and culture.
Carrying torches, they marched toward large bonfires, where they burned about 25,000 volumes of "un-German" books.”13 Contrary to the common misconception, these burnings “were not limited to works by Jewish writers; … social critics Eric Kastner, Bertolt Brecht, Heinrich Mann and Jack London”14 were also victim to these burnings. The Nazi and German students targeted Jack London’s novel in the 1930’s because London was seen as a “social critic”15 by the Nazis. London has the idea of uniformity or that everyone is equal, and “he showed his [idea] in his novel 'Call of the Wild '”16 London’s personal ideology of uniformity goes directly against the Nazi’s
Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 film Inglourious Bastards entails a Jewish revenge fantasy that is told through a counterfactual history of events in World War II. However, this story follows a completely different plot than what we are currently familiar with. Within these circumstances, audiences now question the very ideas and arguments that are often associated with World War II. We believe that Inglourious Basterds is a Jewish revenge fantasy that forces us to rethink our previous understandings by disrupting the viewers sense of content and nature in the history of World War II. Within this thesis, this paper will cover the Jewish lens vs. American lens, counter-plots within the film, ignored social undercurrents, and the idea that nobody wins in war.
Through segregation, loss of identity, and abuse, Wiesel and the prisoners around him devolve from civilized human beings into savage animals. The yellow stars begin separation from society, followed by ghettos and transports. Nakedness and haircuts, then new names, remove each prisoner’s identity, and physical abuse in the form of malnourishment, night marches, and physical beatings wear down prisoners. By the end of Night, the prisoners are ferocious from the experiences under German rule and, as Avni puts it, “a living dead, unfit for life” (Avni 129). The prisoners not only revert to animal instincts, but experience such mental trauma that normal life with other people may be years away. Night dramatically illustrates the severe dehumanization that occurred under Hitler’s rule.
This scene is used to emphasise the danger that Dave and The Sapphires are in very real and very lethal danger, the mixture of sinister camera angles to emphasise the visual danger that the characters are in to the inhospitable sounds portrayed by the scene to highlight the explosive danger that the characters are in. The lighting used features the darkness and the difficulty to see due to the night sky. The mise en scene highlights the military background that the characters are in. All in all, this scene is a highly emotional scene highlighting the mortal danger that confronts Dave and The
The prominent theme that was exhibited throughout the novel was inhumanity. The quote "Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky." This quotation shows how a powerful authority had all the control to carry out disturbing actions and no common ma...
We see that the author’s purpose is to allow the readers to understand that the prisoners were not treated humanly, and allows us to see the negative attitudes the authority had towards the prisoners.
In order to analyse this sequence, the narrative links that are drawn here must be addressed. After Dreyman’s long-term friend commits suicide due his ‘black-listing’ by the Stasi, an infuriated Dreyman is driven to write an anonymous article about concealed suicide rates. He sends this article to be published in the West German magazine, ‘Der Spiegel’. All typewriters are listed in the GDR in order to track all authors, so in order to avoid arrest, a miniature typewriter is smuggled across the border. This typewriter is concealed beneath a threshold in Dreyman’s apartment. After one unsuccessful search by the Stasi, drastic measures are taken in order to bring down Dreyman. Under interrogation and blackmail due to her perscription drug addiction, Christa-Maria, reveals to the Stasi where the typewriter is hidden. However, before the Stasi can search the apartment for a second time, Wiesler removes the typewriter, unbeknownst to both Dreyman and Christa-Maria. While the Stasi are searching the apartment Christa-Maria sees the horrified look on Dreyman's face as he realises she has disclosed the typewriter’s location. Guilt-ridden, sh...
There are four crucial scenes of this film in which Hitchcock shows a change in perspective and identity through the mise-en-scène. Hitchcock’s signature motifs, style, and themes are conveyed through the mise-en-scène.
Through the masking of narrative, secret window exposes order and chaos. The use of mise en scene throughout the first scene of ‘Secret Window’ reveals a lot about the main character’s profession and life style. One is brought into the opening scene to learn that he is a writer/author depicted through the busy desk filled with a laptop and other books/journals around it. Secondly, we find the character placed and lying on a sofa instead of a bed which could possibly relate to his current state of mind which may have been affected by previously seeing a woman in bed with another man. The main use of mise en scene used in the opening few minutes of ‘Secret Window’ is when a stranger is seen at the door of the main character’s house. The stranger is wearing a black top hot which suggests that he may bring danger or harm that comes from his mind. By the use of the man wearing a black hat which dominates the majority of his head, it also applies the belief that ‘Secret Window’ is a psychological thriller. Throughout the film, one is under an illusion for the better part of it. Most of what someone hears and sees is through t...