Camera Angle:
The shot is a medium close up- this allows the audience to identify what is happening in this scene quite easily. The audience get to have a close up of the expressions on the characters faces, so we can establish what emotions they are going through. The woman is over-powering the man in this shot which shows her authority power.
Lighting:
The lighting is very dark and non-ambient, this adds an enigmatic feeling about the scene. The camera is focused on the characters, meaning the background is blurry which enables the audience to focus particularly on the characters and not the background.
Characters:
The main character in this shot it a women, which challenges the thriller conventions as well as challening the iconic stereotypes in a thriller. Because she is holding a gun it contrasts greatly with the gun being a masculine symbol. The divisions between gender are great, the fact that a woman needs a 'boys toy' to survive.
The man in this shot is being dominated by the woman. You can see his fear as she controls him. It is very humiliating for a man to be dominated, you can see by his face that he is not so confident whether or not she'll actually shoot him or not.
Location:
We can see an outline of a van in the background of this shot, but it is quite hard to identify this shot as being in a carpark. The carpark is a generic thriller convention, which builds suspense because a carpark at night is very lonely and scary.
Props:
The gun is the dicatating object within this shot. Because the prop is a symbol of masculinity we can establish she is a women in power. Holding a gun to someone's head is very threatning especially when the roles are reversed. She has crossed the boundaries.
How does Ridley Scott utilise or challenge thriller conventions in the screen shot from Thelma and Louise?
Ridley Scott has challenged the iconic femme fatale character by role reversing, he has used the woman as a dominating figure whilst holding a masculine symbol. This shows the divisions between gender, and that woman can like 'boys toys' aswell. As well as Scott changing the iconic gender reversal he has challenged the generic location. Instead of using an enclosed, claustrophobic space he has used an open carpark. The fact that cars are a male signifier it links back with the women being dominating in this film. Because males are usually boastful and proud about their cars, this is not a boastful moment of a man being dominated by a woman, frozen at gun point.
Ridley Scott has firstly challenged the generic location of an enclosed space and has used an open car park instead. The cars within the car park are a male signifier, males are proud of their expensive cars, but this is not a proud moment for the man who is at gun point by a woman. He has used role reversal in this scene- the woman is playing a dominating male role, and also holding a masculine symbol. This shows the divisions between genders; it shows that women can also like cars and they can also play with ‘boy toys’ too.
Some competent analysis here. The noir low key lighting of course reinforces the genre; though the car park is outside it is nevertheless isolated and out of view thus a convention of the thriller genre.
ReplyDeleteA little more research into the film or viewing this clip on youtube would strengthen, particularly with regard to the differences between Thelma's costume and Louise's. Their costumes connote their different attitudes to femininity, masculinity and independence at this early stage of the film.
Representations of masculinity in this film are interesting and all the males reflect aspects of Harlem who Louise is threatening in the screen shot.