What is the
importance of mise-en-scene and/or sound in creating meaning and generating
response in the films you have studied.
Mise-en-scene is important in any film. This is because it
enables the viewer to see more than just the characters within a film. It can foreshadow
events by showing images in the background that are similar to events within a
film etc. This can then create meaning within a film and build the story up.
Mise-en-scene can also tell you a lot about a character, for example if a
character is wearing white, they would be seen as angelic and innocent.
Therefore all of these things have created a general response from the
audience. Which adds to their general knowledge, this helps them form an
opinion of characters and scenes.
In ‘La Haine’ when we first meet Vinz we see him in his
bedroom and as the camera moves in 360 degrees shot we see his bedroom in
detail and through the mise-en-scene we are able to tell a lot about him. La
Haine continuously uses 360 degree shots to enforce the quote, “The world only
goes round by misunderstanding”- Charles Baudelaire. This quote suggests that
the lack of knowledge in a society will create a vicious cycle of struggle for
the minority.
From this mise-en-scene we tell he is a religious man, by
the traditional Jewish candles. The fact it is in his bedroom, indicates to the
audience that he holds strong religious values. There is also a portion of family
photos in his room, which also shows that he is family-orientated. This helps
the audience see him in a positive aspect because he is a family man and this
stereotypically, is the characteristics of a good person.
We can also tell from his bedroom, that he is highly
influenced by the all of the American culture. This is shown through
mise-en-scene because he has posters of Marilyn Monroe, Bruce Lee and American
Wrestlers. This shows that he wants to live the American dream and one day earn
enough money to support his family. This also links to the dreamer aspect of
Vinz, this would allow the audience to be able to empathize with his situation
and connect with him.
His room also includes stacks of American branded shoes and
he is wearing a Spider-Man top. This shows that he is attempting to live like Americans
and it is a form of escapism. This is evident because although he lives in
France, he is wearing American influenced clothes and has American posters. Which reflects on how bad French society is;
by dreaming of America, he is escaping his problems. The mise-en-scene also
shows Vinz asleep, which adds to the dreamer characteristic in him and helps
re-enforce that idea.
The start of the film it has already been established that
it is set in France through location and establishing recognisable shots in the
projects. He lives in a multicultural estate, which influences the audience to
believe that he struggles to get by due to the range of minorities living in
the projects. Due to his Jewish background, the audience can see that he is an
outside to the French culture.
In the first narrative dialogue in the opening scene, there
is complete silence. Silence can be seen just a powerful as sound, this is
because the silence enforces the importance of what the narrator is saying.
Silence also causes the audience to pay close attention to the words being
used, causing it to become a significant effect. The narrator says, “As he
falls, he tries to reassure himself by repeating; so far, so good...” this is
said to give the audience the impression that the society that they live in,
barely let’s the minority get by. This idea is then enforced by the
mise-en-scene a few seconds later, as the bottle rag bomb is thrown at the
world. This foreshadows the riots and violence that is later carried within the
film. The fact that the narrator says, “tries to reassure”, shows that the
people within the projects are unhappy and they are not assured of their stability.
This particular mise-en-scene causes an indication of corruption within the
world and supports the earlier quote by Charles Baudelaire, that the world is
highly misunderstood.
After the bottle is thrown, the world explodes and the
narrator says, “It’s not the fall that matters, it’s the landing”. Causing an
interpretation that it’s not the journey that matters, it’s the end result.
This indicates that the rioters do not care how much of a fight they have to
put up, it’s the final outcome that is importance.
