This is our course work for the short film yo, enjoy.
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Tuesday, 8 April 2014
Monday, 7 April 2014
Textual analysis
Textual analysis
The title of the
film I am going to analyse is ‘Dirty Pretty Things’ directed by Stephen Frears.
The genre of the film is a crime, drama thriller and was released on the 13th
December 2002 in the UK.
Todorovs
equilibrium model includes five recognised steps. Firstly, a state of
equilibrium, where everything appears to be normal. Secondly, a disruption by
an event, then the recognition that the disorder has occurred. There is then an
attempt to repair the damage of the disruption. Lastly, a return of restoration
as there is a new equilibrium. Todorovs theory applies to ‘Dirty Pretty Things’
in the different stages of the film. The film begins with Okwe doing his job as
a cab driver and then also turning up to his next job at the hotel where he
works on reception. The disruption is seen when he tries to unblock a toilet
and he finds a human heart. The recognition of the event happens when he tells
his friend Guo Yi and the woman he lives with Senay, who also works at the
hospital. Okwe finds out that there is illegal organ transplants taking place
in the hotel and after his friend agrees to sell her kidney for a British
passport, he attempts to repair the disruption by pretending to do the
procedure for her, but instead sells the evil bosses kidney for money. The new
equilibrium is seen when both Okwe and Senay go back to their own countries
after admitting they love each other.
Levi-Strauss’
theory of binary oppositions is about how humans understanding is defined by
opposites. The binary oppositions in ‘Dirty Pretty Things’ are more complicated
than a normal crime thriller because it includes many different situations and
characters. Firstly, the main binary opposition is between Okwe and the hotel
manager, as good vs. bad. The hotel manager is seen as the bad guy in this film
as he is trying to illegally preform organ transplants and as he doesn’t have a
doctor to perform the operation, he bribes Okwe to do it for him. The binary
opposition is articulated through the hotel managers character shouting, not
socialising with the workers and being selfish, whilst Okwe tries to help as
many people as he can, is friendly and loyal. Secondly, strong and vulnerable
is shown through Juliette (the local prostitute) and Senay (a virgin) who is a
desperate immigrant. One other binary opposition shown in this film is the
villain, who is the sweatshop owner who makes Senay perform sexual acts as a
bribe or he will tell the immigration officer that she is working, and the
Senay the victim, as she is left no choice but to co-operate.
The film is in
chronological order as the orders of events happen systematically over a period
of time. Dirty pretty things has a closed narrative structure, as there is a
definite ending for the audience. Although, we are somewhat left wondering what
is going to happen once both Senay and Okwe return to their countries, we know
that they go their separate ways with no indication that they will ever meet
again. The film also has a restricted narrative, as we do not have a god like view
of the narrative. This is because key info is withheld from the audience. It
can be argued that Senay is the main character in this film as she is on the
front cover or because she was the bigger star at the time the film was made.
However, Okwe is the actual main character and he is seen as the ‘hero’ in the
film.
The second
character Senay, who is more typical of a drama film which tackles serious
issues and problems, shown through the tone and focus of the film, her
behaviour is much different to Okwe’s. Her female character is seen as the
vulnerable victim who is in need of saving, and when she begins to sell herself
short in order to make some money or get a British passport, the audience
begins to feel sorry for her, which is typical of this genre. She speaks in a
very polite way and is seen as a young foreign woman, who also has an accent,
and therefore is seen as someone who will do the jobs that British working
class people, do not want to do. Her facial expressions are hardly ever
smiling, which shows that she is not happy with her way of living and her
seriousness in which she values her jobs, shows the audience that she appreciates
her chance to work. Her body language is portrayed as fearful as she walks fast
and always has her head looking down, as she does not want to be involved in
anything. Her hair and makeup is minimal which not only shows her lack of
money, but also that her appearance doesn’t matter to her, as she is only there
to work.
The story line is
fairly typical of the genre; however because of the hybridity of this film, the
storyline fits in all three of these categories. The part of the storyline
about the illegal organ transplants taking place in the hotel belongs to the
thriller and crime genre. The parts of the film to do with the two main
characters, their backgrounds and their immigration, belongs to the drama
genre, where we get to feel emotions for each character and feel their
struggles as it happens to them. There are several themes that run throughout
this film. Firstly, the theme of friendship, which comes together at the end of
the film where Juliet, doorman and Okwe’s hospital friend, all help Okwe and
Senay. Another theme in this film is exploitation, which both Okwe and Senay
experience. Senay is exploited in the sweatshops by being made to give sexual
pleasures to the boss and Okwe by making him perform the operations in order to
stay in the country with a job. Also, the theme of corruption in the hotel by
the hotel owner, who is only interested in making more money so he decides to
make it illegally in his hotel.
The 2 minute
extract I am analysing begins with Juliet (the local prostitute) in the hotel
lobby talking to Okwe. From this scene, their diegetic conversation begins with
a shot reverse shot of them talking at medium close ups in order to see their
facial expressions. The editing style is slow and smooth in order to show that
there is nothing for the audience to be on edge about. The mise on scene is in
the hotel lobby where there is a front desk; there are many props involved such
as flowers for the setting, Juliette’s high heels on the counter and a
cigarette, which she is smoking. This is typical for a crime thriller as most
people smoke to show they are ‘rebellious’ or ‘trouble’. Once Okwe is told to
go to the room, we see an establishing shot of the mise en scene, to understand
more about the job Juliet does at the hotel. The lights turn from dim to bright
as he enters the room, we then see the bed clearly with a high angled shot of
the props such as glasses and a remote on the bed. The camera stays at a high
angle. The camera begins to pan as Okwe walks towards the bathroom. The slow
editing style continues to make the audience feel relaxed. This is contradicted
with the choice of no music of sounds, which could make the audience feel like
something is about to happen and is very typical in dramas to create suspense.
We then hear the sounds of water flooding in the bathroom as he walks into the
room and turns the light on, we get a close up of his frustrated facial
expressions, and then a straight cut to him walking into the bathroom again
after taking his jacket off. The camera stays still whilst he is trying to
unplug to toilet, and moves in and out of the frame with his head. The audience
then is shown bubbles of blood appearing in the toilet by a worm eye view shot
inside the toilet. This is a creative shot in order to show the blood and also
Okwe’s facial expressions. Non diegetic music begins to play of slow high
pitched music, which creates tension, we then see a close up of Okwe trying to
retrieve whatever is in the toilet, and eventually see an extreme close up, of
a point of view shot of him holding a heart In his hand. A jump cut is then
edited in, of him taking the heart in a bag, back downstairs into the lobby.
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