ESSAY NO.1

What is the importance of mise-en-scene and/or sound I'm creating meaning and generating response in the films you have studied?  

‘La Haine’, directed by Mathieu Kassowvitz in 1995, follows 3 young men throughout a 24-hour day in the projects of France. The three main characters live in ‘les banlieves’ on the outskirts of Paris. During 1995, particularly in the lower class there was a significant amount of social unrest in the form of police brutality, racism (inevitable considering there were sixty different nationalities living in one area) and socio-political injustice, all of which are demonstrated throughout the film.

 One scene in particular demonstrates the differences between the police and the citizens, especially the lower class. The scene begins with a upper body MS of a young rookie police officer, without knowing the situation his feelings are made evident by his body language and facial expressions, an aspect of the mise-en-scene. His eyes keep looking up at the situation before him and then back down towards the floor signalling discomfort and possibly disagreement to what is happening. The diegetic sound allows the audience to feel the same as the cop, even though we don't really know what is happening. However, we can hear an interrogation going on which immediately suggests that what is going on is in fact a serious situation. Then the situation is revealed to us, and the discomfort we predicted due to the cops expressions and the diegetic sound is proven to be true. A MLS is used showing Saïd and Hubert sat and tied to two chairs, whilst two police officers are looking down on them. The mies-en-scene within this scene introduces the attitudes and mind-sets of the police officers within the room and possibly the institution as a whole. On the walls are posters of naked women, demonstrating the sexism attitudes beheld by both police officers and showing the corruption within the institution. However it also shows how the institution is male dominated, reestablishing and explaining the reason for the amount of sexism. The only diegetic sound within this scene is the dialogue between the men within the room however it still creates a lot of meaning. Not only is the issues of racism introduced by the framing and positioning of the police officers in correlation to Saïd and Hubert (A MLS is used showing Hubert sat down, eyes on the floor whilst the two police officers doing the interrogation are stood up looking down on him clearly showing the racial divide.) But there are also racial slurs during their dialogue "pick it up with your feet. That's what they do where you come from". As i and other audiences witness this scene rage takes over, due to the racism and ignorant behaviour exhibited by the police officers who you would expect to have a degree of respect and professional behaviour.


One scene in particular- when Hubert, Vinz and Saïd walk down a street in paris- perfectly contrasts the scenes filmed in the out skirts of Paris.  A XLS is used showing Hubert, Vinz and Saïd walking down a street in Paris. The mise-en-scene within this scene, the cars alongside the road and the three boys is framed in a way that makes the shot ordered and symmetrical. This is because all the cars evident within the shot are on the left side of the fame. Throughout these scenes Saïd is constantly in the  middle, establishing the "liberty, equality and brotherhood" theme evident throughout. However, each scene shot in paris is shown to have structure and symmetry suggesting the nature of society in Paris. It suggests that theres is some degree of social order within Paris. In comparison to a scene shot within the outskirts of France, it is clear to see the social unrest in comparison to Paris. For example, the rooftop scene. The scene begins tracking Saïd's movement allowing the audience to see the rooftop. Graffiti is evident, plastered over the walls which immediately introduced the mindset of the youths,  rebellious and possibly bored. This contrast in scenes through the use of mise-en-scene gives a clear understanding of the nature of the three boys lives, in the poverty stricken outskirts of France with social unrest. Also, during the XLS scene within Paris, the only diegetic sound is distant cars, and the quiet dialogue shared between Saïd, Hubert and Vinz. Whereas the rooftop scene is dominated by the diegetic sound of western cultured music. Signalling in the 'les banlieves' everyday life is busy and hectic constantly dominated by western culture.