Textual analysis practise

Analyse how camera language has been used to construct the narrative in a media product you have studied. (12 marks)

One way camera language has been used to construct the narrative of 'Get Out' (2017) is the use of tracking and handheld shots. Tracking shots are used throughout the scene to set a pace of whats going on. The character is walking rather quickly which helps develop the idea of a fast paced narrative. We see this mainly in this scene where the characters emotions are quite high due to him being scared or nervous but we also see it used throughout the film in other scenes. The tracking shots are used to highlight that the character is in danger and almost act as the eyes of the antagonist.
This ties into Todorov's theory as in the scene we can see how the equilibrium has been distributed which also happened at a rather fast pace.

Another way camera language has been used to construct the narrative of 'Get Out' (2017) is through the use of different camera angles at different points in the scene. The type of shot used is in correlation to what is going on in each shot and the tension in the shot. For example we can see that during the climax of the scene when the antagonist is being attacked, we see they use a low angle shot to suggest the character is now in a position of weakness and no power over the situation which helps the audience empathise with the character. This helps the audience have a deeper connection with the film and generates the Barthes theory where the audience starts to question what is going on as it leaves a sense of confusion as to whats going on.

Finally camera language has been used to construct the narrative of 'Get Out' (2017) through the use of a jump scare. The directors use quick cuts between shots in order to create a sense of tension in the scene, building up to the dramatic part where the antagonist gets kidnapped. This ties into Altman's theory of creating the sense of emotional pleasure for the audience. This helps for the audience to get a deeper connection with the film and the characters through creating these different types of pleasures that makes them more engaged in the film.
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In the opening scene of 'Get Out' (2017), mise-en-scene is constructed to comment on stereotypes. The protagonist is the victim of an attack which takes place at night time. In terms of the location, it is set in a predominately white neighbourhood. This challenges the stereotype because a black character is being attacked in a white neighbourhood and is seen as vulnerable, which opposes the dominant representation. However, it conforms to the danger of night-time crime.This links to the binary opposition theory founded by Levi-Strauss.  

Furthermore, mise-en-scene conforms to both the black representation and class representation through the use of costume as the black protagonist was wearing rather casual and informal clothes. This is also aided by the fact that the attacker who is white, is driving an expensive white Porsche to connote the divide and racial tension. 

This constructs stereotypes because it conforms to the stereotypes that white people have more social class and therefore they have more power meaning that they have more money.

In addition, the mise-en-scene of this scene is that the main protagonist is young and being attacked challenges the stereotype of old vs young. This challenges the stereotype because young men are stereotyped to be strong and able to fight off an attacker when in this both the attacker and the victim are young and so this stereotype is not given an accurate representation in this scene.

Also, in the opening scene, the mise-en-scene is portraying the darkness and the danger that is to occur throughout the movie through the use of lighting and shadows on the character and the car in the background. This gives a dominant representation of white power in the opening scene as the main protagonist at the beginning of the scene was hardly scene due to the darkness in the setting but all you could hear was an on-screen diegetic sound of the protagonist on the phone talking about how he is in a 'Suburb' which means that he is in a predominately white, middle to upper-class area which may suggest that he is now entering a place of uncertainty and danger. Throughout the scene, the lighting coming from the streetlamps are white connoting the stereotype that white people have power as the lamps are high up suggesting they are above everybody else including the protagonist, as well as shinning the white light directly onto the white car elevating the attackers status over the protagonist.