eden’s film blog

How does the final scene show how some of the main  ideological , character and narrative conflicts and binary opposites  in the film have been  resolved   ? How are the compromises and new equilibrium ( domestic situation, family relationships, schooling, lifestyle etc . ) shown through  film form  :  e.g  mis-en-scene , use of camera, lighting , sound and performance ?     bus is symbolic of their escape however in this scene mis en scene shows bus is parked, wheels taken off, so they are not going anywhere  they keep their chickens in it demonstrating its permanent position domestic family living in this place, they are not going to run off or escape somewhere else resolves the narrative, showing that they are settled film settles for comfortable middle ground domesticated rural suburban life with little echoes of how they previously lived, but safer house lighting suggests its a safe, comfortable and positive environme...

Jack        v      Ben Traditional    v   Alternative     (lifestyle and family ) Academic  education  v  practical education / life experience/social skills conservative   v   progressive cold lighting  v  bright and vibrant lighting                    Parent   v  child Ben   v   Bo communism   v  capitalism suburbia   v   wilderness safety   v   risk formal traditional ritual   v  unconventional informal ritual

 Cinematography: - When Ben wakes up, he hallucinates and sees his wife. His wife is shown through his POV extreme close up shots and his actions match what the audience see in his POV and out of his POV. - Close ups of people crying and grieving. - Close up of Ben over the casket with the flowers to show he brings light and happiness for Lesley. - Hand held camera as the security grab and escort Ben out. - Establishing shot as the family enters. - Close-ups outside the church showing the children facial expressions. Mise-en-scene: - They enter the church in non traditional for funerals, colourful clothing as they believe in celebrating life and not the fact she is dead. - Ben wears red which can be linked to superheroes and he hasn't fulfilled his superhero role. He has let Lesley and the children down. - Flowers in the girls hair - bringing nature. - The priest mentions Lesley's dogs before her husband and children. - Ben mentions that his wife followed Buddhist practices but...

In 'the bill of rights' scene, the social issue of homeschooling is raised. This examination of a homeschool family is so unique that it’s difficult to classify. Although the Cash family is very different from most real-life homeschoolers, many aspects of their curriculum are comparable to educational approaches adopted by homeschoolers across the country and it is clear that the children are intellectually far advanced for their age. In this scene, the kids are questioned on the bill of rights - when a relative questioning Ben’s parenting methods children mumble inane responses, but Ben’s 8-year old son can recite the text verbatim, and even give his own analysis of the document’s meaning and importance, we are, as the audience encouraged to side with Ben's view through the dialogue as it seems that he is more successful in his teachings. The camera angles in this scene also add to the audiences perspective - when the relatives children are questioned, they fill the screen...

B) Connect is about how life can be isolating, and the need to connect with others When analysing mis-en-scene, we can infer that the director uses the setting of the bus to create a sense of realism as it is a familiar mode of transport. Because it is public transport, it is confined. This confined space on the transport could be seen as a microcosm for society as a whole - people are ignorant and do not want to connect with others. On the bus, the protagonist reaches for the man's hand repeatedly showing that she is reaching for some sort of physical connection between them and when he finally holds her hand, they both smile and look happy which juxtaposes from the overall mood on the bus with people sat looking straight faced disregarding everyone around them. This shows that 'Connect' is about how life can be isolating, and the need to connect with others - the way she views people is therefore a reflection of the way people view the world. The diegetic sound of a compi...