Our Era is Their Era

What are the ways that the influences in our lives (media, school, parents, community, state, country, etc.) create a world that we inhabit?

Right now, we are all living in the technological age. We have entered a new era dominated by electronics, advertisement, and advancements that were only written about in Science-Fiction novels. This is the world that we inhabit and this world has a massive impact on who we all are as individuals and as a population.
Everyday, the modern, metropolitan citizen sees hundreds of advertisements. These can be on billboards, buses, television, radio, and otherwise. Out of all of these sights, it's nearly impossible not to be somewhat influenced by at least one of them. It could be something as small as making someone change their minds about what they were going to eat for lunch, or something as large as donating hundreds of dollars to a Children's Hospital. Either way, they change our lives. They shape us, slowly but surely. Not only that, but it creates people that create us.
It took a bit of convincing on the part of the school board and on Apple's behalf to get the iPad into New Trier High School. This new media was accept though and now the majority of kids who circulate through the school have a class that revolves around it. The distraction is much more present and can affect grades negatively or positively, depending on someones personality. In a world before this one, students did not have to decide between paying attention in class or beating another level on Candy Crush. And in the future, that can have a massive impact on a person's life.
These impacts can even affect an entire government. There have been new laws passed and regulations administered to monitor online bullying, harassment, and threats. Recently, a boy was arrested for insulting a woman on Facebook and saying things that he should not have. Granted, he should never have even put those words out there, but it just proves that the internet is no longer just a tool for entertainment.
The media alone influences the world around us. And because our generation is one dominated by the media, we are all influenced by it in turn. The men and women who create technology are now the men and women who created the people who use their products. In a very non-literal sense, they are the new "Gods of our World", and I for one am terrified of it.

Mise-en-Scene: The Story Behind the Story

Still images from a film allow you to fully analyze and appreciate the choices made by the director at any given moment. Within these two very different scenes from L.A. Confidential and Double Indemnity we can pin point very similar goals in cinematography. 

Both allow the viewer to derive a relationship between the two characters based on posture and action from them. I chose these images specifically because they include the main character and then a sub-character that holds significance within the story. Now Keyes is obviously not the Femme Fatal because, let’s face it, he just doesn’t look the part. However, both Keyes and Lynn are seen as both a threat and an ally by the audience and protagonist alike. These images lean more towards the friendship or love between those involved rather than the problems they bring to the plot. 

The sub-characters are being explained inadvertently through the use of objects set in the background. Keyes is immediately set up as an office man who has a keen eye towards numbers. We first meet him in this scene in his office as shown by the writing on the door and he is dressed for leisure by taking off his suit jacket and smoking a cigar. The chart on the back wall showing the, “life insurance surrender rate at all time low,” explains a pride and appreciation for his own work in the field and that he is indeed very good at his job.

Lynn on the other hand is explained by her setting as a whole. The fact that she took Bud into her own personal bedroom decorated with her childhood effects represents a level of trust and emotion between her and this man that she has not had with any of the other people she has slept with. And, considering her line of work, is probably a lot. The viewer is reminded of how personal and private her room is with the placement of the Arizona pillow in the background. Her deep-rooted love for her home state and floral patterns show that this is not the room meant to impress lovers, but rather to give her a place for comfort and escape.

Even given the time gap between these pieces, the directors still followed very similar artistic guidelines and ideas. Using posture and Mise-en-Scene to not only create a gorgeous image, but also to give as much information to the audience as they would have gotten from watching the entire movie beginning to end. And even a little bit more than what they bargained for.

Minority Report: Still Image Fun

Let's kick things off with a little analysis shall we? And what better way to look at a film than when it's viewed as a picture. I can't think of any. There are things that you only notice this way that would otherwise be overlooked when watching in full speed. This shot most likely didn't last more than 5 seconds, so now that we have the opportunity to look at it for as long as we want, we can really break down what the director wanted us to get from this.

To start, this shot is one of a medium shot of Tom Cruise's character. However, at the same time, it is a medium-long shot of the woman behind him and the environment that they are both in. This allows for the focus to remain on Anderton's face and his expressions, while not losing the physicality and minor reactions of the older woman in the background.

The background was something that told a lot about what was happening within the scene at the time. During this moment, Anderton is dealing with a venomous vine that is effecting him while he is trying to learn about the Precogs from this woman. The plants, a prop, and the greenhouse, the setting, constantly remind us that the vine is a constant pressure along with the problem at hand, raising the tension.

These pieces in the scene are highlighted with what seems to be a natural lighting of a foggy or cloudy day in mid morning. The inferences that can be made from the weather can easily reflect the feeling of the situation. As we all know, movies constantly use weather to reflect a scene, like when it rains during the climax of the film (i.e. The Lion King when [SPOILER] Simba kills Scar). This is equally being done here with confusing in our protagonist that is symbolized by cloudiness both in his mind and in the sky.

 This kind of analysis can be done to every shot of this movie. Spielberg puts a lot of time and thought into every angle and camera movie within Minority Report and there is more within it than most people would ever expect.

And if you've made it this far than you have hopefully read the entire thing. If so, Kudos! Keep up the quality work.