What is the importance of mise en scene and/or sound in creating meaning and generating response in the film you have studied ?
In the scene where we are first introduced to Vinz we see a close up of his ring introducing him to us. The ring has his name on and is a cheap gold ring which is similar to what American rappers and Hip hop artists would wear, this shows us Vinz's westernisation and his dependence on the American culture. The ring could also show Vinz as the liberty that the French motto refers to in "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity" as he introduces himself through his material belongings, unlike Said who uses criminal activities such as vandalism. A 360 shot is used in Vinz's bedroom to show us the mise en scene of the posters on his bedroom walls. Most of the posters on his wall are of people who were huge stars in America such as Marylin Monroe. Two of the posters/pictures on his wall were famous for the violence that was included in their jobs. Brett Hart was a wrestler for the WWF/E while the company was in its prime, this shows us that Vinz is viewing American scripted violence and is seeing Hart as a role model. The other picture on the wall was of Bruce Lee who was also famous for his martial arts and violent movies. The fact that Vinz has two violent men on his wall shows us that the only male figure he has to look up to are violent men. The mise en scene of the posters can show us Vinz's morals and values, the posters of sexualised women, violent men and drugs shows us that Vinz's dreams of being the violent man and believes he will get the others as a result of this.
In the scene where we are first introduced to Vinz we see a close up of his ring introducing him to us. The ring has his name on and is a cheap gold ring which is similar to what American rappers and Hip hop artists would wear, this shows us Vinz's westernisation and his dependence on the American culture. The ring could also show Vinz as the liberty that the French motto refers to in "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity" as he introduces himself through his material belongings, unlike Said who uses criminal activities such as vandalism. A 360 shot is used in Vinz's bedroom to show us the mise en scene of the posters on his bedroom walls. Most of the posters on his wall are of people who were huge stars in America such as Marylin Monroe. Two of the posters/pictures on his wall were famous for the violence that was included in their jobs. Brett Hart was a wrestler for the WWF/E while the company was in its prime, this shows us that Vinz is viewing American scripted violence and is seeing Hart as a role model. The other picture on the wall was of Bruce Lee who was also famous for his martial arts and violent movies. The fact that Vinz has two violent men on his wall shows us that the only male figure he has to look up to are violent men. The mise en scene of the posters can show us Vinz's morals and values, the posters of sexualised women, violent men and drugs shows us that Vinz's dreams of being the violent man and believes he will get the others as a result of this.
When we are shown Vinz's breakfast table we see his female family members at the table. The mise en scene of the table shows us that Vinz's family still has a place where the family can still be together however the mise en scene of the Television in the background shows the corruption the media is having on the family and many other families too. The mise en scene of the pictures on the side unit shows us that Vinz's grandma has strong family values and wants her family to be safe, there are also Jewish candle holders on the unit yet again showing us that she wants the family to stick to their religion, believing that God will help them escape the life of the other people who come from the projects.
When we are shown Vinz's dream sequence the non diegetic Jewish music that sounded upbeat, this showed us that while Vinz is asleep he is still influenced by the Jewish culture, whereas when he is awake he is dominated by the western culture. As Vinz wakes up the non diegetic music fades out.
The lack of music when they are vinz's bedroom highlights the importance of the mise en scene we are being shown in the 360 shot of his room. Kassovitz may have thought it more important for us to be solely focused on Vinz's moving away from his religion and his globalisation. When Vinz and his family sit down for breakfast we can hear the non diegtic sounds of the Television in the background, this shows us that the media is always there even when they are meant to be a family communicating with each other. At the end of the scene when we get a close up of Vinz doing the gun pose with his hands we hear a non diegetic sound effect of a gun shot. The gun shot sound is a recurring motif throughout the film which foreshadows the later events of the film.
