Mise-en-Scene Flashcards
How is mise-en-scene used in the opening scene?
- Shaun dressed in business-like attire (white shirt and red tie) but his button undone and his tie is loose
- Set in the Winchester Pub (and ends there in the main external conflict)
- Multiple beer glasses on the table
- Ed wears an unironed baggy shirt, wearing dull colours
How is mise-en-scene used in the credits scene?
- The setting of a supermarket
- The youth are stereotyped (all of them are wearing hoodies and buying at fast outlets) and are all holding their phones at the same time
How is mise-en-scene used in the first flat (of Shaun) scene?
- The setting of the flat - a state of disarray, with pizza boxes on the floor, fast food wrappers and cans of pop all over the coffee table and the games console)
- The use of props – the bathroom mirror - for the introduction of Pete.
- Shaun’s costume of a white shirt and a red tie
- Pete in business attire and a blue tie - clean shaven and his shirt is ironed
- Pete exits the flat and the audience is revealed to sticky notes on his back left by Ed
Why is Shaun wearing business like attire with a red tie (first seen in opening scene)?
- Representative of a passive conformity to capitalism
- The red tie symbolises the political centre-left wing - the labour party (alliance of social democrats)
- Seen through his friendship with Ed (the slacker stereotype)
Why is Shaun’s tie loose and his top button undone (first seen in opening sequence)?
- Signifies his rejection at capitalism
- Rebellion towards capitalist ideology
- He is caught between a transitionary stage of childhood and adulthood
Why is the movie first set in the Winchester pub?
It is a working-class bar.
Why are there multiple beer glasses on the table in the opening sequence?
It implies that alcohol is the only method of escapism from this mundane existence.
What does Ed’s un-ironed, baggy shirt reveal about him in the opening sequence?
- The slacker archetype
- Shows that he has no motivation and aspiration to take on an occupation
Why is the setting of the supermarket scene used in the credits scene?
Depicts consumerism, capitalism and one of the mundane occupations (retail)
- Retail fuels consumerism and therefore helps capitalism to grow, spreading the problem
In the credits scene, how does mise en scene show that the individuality of the youths have been stripped away?
- The youth are stereotyped
- All of them are wearing hoodies and buying at fast outlets
- All holding their phones at the same time
In Shaun’s flat scene, what is the state of Shaun’s flat like?
- In a state of disarray
- Pizza boxes on the floor
- Fast food wrappers and cans of pop all over the coffee table
- Games console in Ed’s hand and next to him
In Shaun’s flat scene, why is Shaun’s flat in a disarray?
- The state suggests the mess made by a group of teenage characters (or university students)
- Shows that Shaun and Ed are still caught in a transitionary stage between adulthood and childhood
How is the mirror used in Shaun’s flat scene?
- Contributes to introduction of Pete in a conventional horror genre movie shot
- Spectators are encouraged to view this character as an antagonist and distance ourselves from his views (i.e. capitalism)
In Shaun’s flat scene, why does Pete wear a business-like attire with a blue tie?
- Blue tie symbolises the conservative party
- Presents him as an advocate/archetype of capitalist ideology with no sympathies held to the working class (e.g. to archetypes of the working class like Ed)
In Shaun’s flat scene, why is the sticky notes on Pete’s back used?
- As Pete exits the flat the audience is revealed to sticky notes left by Ed used as a comedic retaliation
- The audience shared in Ed’s joke at Pete’s expense as their sympathies are with ed
- The film aligns with Shaun’s views of Ed as a best friend and supports the view of Pete as the antagonist and the binary opposition of Ed
