opening sequence details Flashcards
‘war is a drug’ & james
- james is addicted to war, symbolising the USAs addiction to war
- he also has a hero complex and loves adrenaline
who was the film written by?
a journalist who was with soldiers in iraq
sounds in the opening sequence
- foreign language
- shouting
- car horns
- children
- sirens
- heartbeat
- wheels on a bot
- soldiers
= messy - soundscape - sound built with layers
pov of the bot
low definition
shaky
glitchy
cultural imperialism (pepsi)
when a country takes over the world and takes over peoples thoughts/ideologies
camera work in the opening scene
- hand held
- crash zoom - snaps the viewers attention to something on screen
- high angles to establish setting
what happens to the sound when we meet americans?
sound and messy noise de-escalates when we meet american characters
extreme close ups with americans
viewers feel safer with a voice/sight that they recognise
eyeline match - american perspective
- filming/editing technique that informs the audience what the character sees. puts us on the side of the person looking.
- AMERICAN: soldiers dont trust iraqis. we dont see any iraqi perspective. only see american POV = danger/threat
humour in the opening scene
alpha male ‘dick jokes’ - making jokes while their life is in danger. cowboy americanesc
how are the american soldiers presented as vulnerable?
establishing shot of soldiers from a high angle and through fencing and other objects which makes them look more vulnerable
what is UNREALISTIC about the opening scene?
- super slow-motion of the bomb which is beautiful, emotional, powerful, impressive, wouldn’t see that IRL
- horror of war or glamourizing violence
- parts of conflict that feel exciting/ beautiful which explain james’s addiction
what is REALISTIC about the opening scene?
- props: army tank/guns
- army uniform
- soundscape
- camera movements
- chaos
- soldier dies at the end which shows war is unpredictable
