Following on from my inital research conducted last weekend, and my analysis of the opening of Pan's Labyrinth, I decided that my next port of call would be one of the most popular contemporary thrillers - Batman: The Dark Knight.
At the beginning of the sequence, the camera zooms in on a skyscraper; we see a glass pane smash, and the film is continuity edited to immediately switch to a shot of the perpetrators inside the building.
As the robbers enter the building, they are all wearing masks; this use of mise-en-scene, as well as the action they are performing, denote to the audience that the masked men are the villains within the clip. As they enter the bank, the villains hold a woman at gunpoint, who reacts by screaming - reinforcing gender stereotypes.
The scene is set - as is now a regular occurance in many contemporary thrillers - in a bank. Whilst there is a stock character, he can also be described as an archetypal hero - he is in good shape, and is courageous, as he walks out of his interview room and begins to shoot at the antagonists.
Great film, great opening. I think the comment on gender stereotypes and mise-en-scene are really useful, especially as stated they all build towards a archtypal group of villians.
ReplyDelete