Textual analysis..
"The Lady Killer" Emily and Nate fight sceneIssues and debates
Representation and stereotyping;
This scene is a fight scene between Emily and Nate the stalker. It starts with a disequilibrium (Todorov) then when she stabs Nate, a new equilibrium is restored as the bad guy dies. Nate is a false hero, he seemed like a good character but turned to be the villain (Propp's character theory)
There is an Alternative representation as it goes against the traditional stereotypes of women being weak and unable to fight the way men do. This scene goes against Berger's ways of seeing where men act and women appear as this scene is heavily focused on Emily and Nate fighting each other. It is a fight between a man and a woman where they are both are being equally represented as strong, also the girl ends up stabbing the guy which is also unexpected and and alternative representation than what we are used to. However, after the bad guy has been stabbed, a male (named Caleb) comes up with a gun and hugs Emily while she cries - this shows women are very emotional which is a dominant representation as it reinforces the traditional stereotypes of being a damsel in distress.
Mise-en-scene.
Costume - Both characters are wearing winter coats and dressed warmly. Emily's hair is all scruffy and messy which connotes that she has already been harassed and fighting to save herself.
Lighting - In the clip there is mainly the use of low key lighting which creates lots of shadows and silhouettes, especially due to the fact that it is night and they are fighting up in a lighthouse.
Actors facial expressions - Emily's brows are furrowed as she is scared and frustrated trying to call for help while Nate has an angry expression as he is out to kill Emily.Make-up - Both have light natural make up on and because Emily has been crying her eye make-up is slightly smudged but it is not that noticeable.
Props - The use of a knife is a form of iconography and signifies an action code as we know it is a fighting scene. (Barthes)
Settings - The scene starts of as Emily runs through a dark jungle which presents an enigma code (Barthes) as is creates suspense because we are not sure why Emily is running so fast and from who/what. - Then setting changes as she proceeds to a lighthouse which is where the main fight scene takes place.
Sound.
In the Clip there has been the use of Non-diegetic and Parallel sounds. This is because the music is not from the diegesis. It has been added later (post-production) to add a suspense effect to the scene (creating an enigma code - Barthes). While Emily runs the pace of the music starts fast and as she approaches the lighthouse it becomes slower, almost thriller-like music.
Cinematography.
The use of a suture (shot, reverse, shot) when Emily is standing in the lighthouse and trying to call for help stitches the audience into the story line as we are intrigued to know what has happened. When Emily is up in the lighthouse there is a close-up of her mobile which shows that she has no signal and she is calling for help, this then changes to a medium shot of her holding her phone and looking terrified which is evident through her facial expressions. Then there is another closeup of her mobile while she calls 911 which connotes that there is danger and sets another enigma code (Barthes). When Nate comes there is a jump cut which suddenly diverts out attention to focus on him. While Emily and Nate are fighting, there are some fast paced straight cuts which keep us intrigued into the scene.
There is a binary opposition (levi-strauss) of good and evil where Emily represents good and Nate represents Evil.
Opening credits.
The opening credits are a montage of lip gloss, nail polish, eye makeup, hair curls and high heels. The show seems to almost be fearful of a loss of traditional femininity in our society, and it compensates by relegating all the characters to hyper-feminine roles.This reinforces and creates a dominant stereotype of girls as this is how they are portrayed in real life Shows how heavily PLL focuses on the ‘pretty girl’ appearance. Pretty Little Liars’ pilot episode opens on a scene of five teenage girls drinking in a barn while a thunderstorm rages outside – this is a negative representation because of the fact that young teenagers are getting drunk in the middle of the night with no adult supervision.
Cinematography
Firstly the title sequence opens with an extreme-close up of a wide which is open widely and this represents the character who is dead. From her eyes we can see the type of person she may have been with the make-up she has worn which must represent how her personality was and this shows her costume. From watching this part the audience can identify that the person is not moving as it zooms in to her eye it aids in showing that she is not alive and creates a sense of enigma code for the audience as it creates suspense. There is then a straight cut to show another close-up which shows the girl adding lip gloss to her lips very slowly and effectively which engages the audience into knowing more and this shows how pale it is and this is then significant as it is conveying some kind of message to its audience. Their is then a fade cut showing a close-up of her feet showing to the audience that someone is putting it on her, which then represents she is dead as someone is dressing her up as we can see someone else hands. This follows n to another close-up shot of her hair being curled and then someone applying nail vanish on her nails which represents she is dead once again. When this is shown their is an instantaneous transition from one shot to the next, as it's a title-sequence this engages the audience having fast shots of diverse images.
Mise-en-scene:
The costumes are sophisticated as they are present at a funeral, however they are wearing short dresses which is how girls in the 21st century dress. The lighting used starts off quite dim which the montage is being presented. When the girls are shown there is top-key lighting used which is effective as it makes the character look more glamorous as only the filter lights are used and this makes them stand out to the audience. However their is also low-key lighting used in this as their is a sense of shadows at the back of her which makes it look effective however light and dark is less pronounced.
Sound:
The title sequence also consists of having diegetic sound which emphasises the characters emotions allowing the audience to feel the same way as the characters which represents how they are telling a story as the story lies in the lyrics "secret can you keep it" this is seen as a dominant representation as it reinforces the traditional stereotypes of girls keeping secrets and lying. The montage is showing all these features of the girls which is a short hand way of identifying them which gives a negative representation (Medhurst). However these representations can sometimes be true (Perkins) as girls in reality are perceived this and this makes the characters in the title-sequence to be aware of the deep secret and through their body language and facial expressions it shows the audience feel an action code is happening from the way they are performing at the end and they also feel nervous for them. Also the way it shows the four main protagonists it starts off with a establishing shot of them and this shows all the characters at once letting the audience analyse how they look which includes how their body language is, how their facial expressions are and what each protagonist is wearing (costume) and from viewing this the audience is able to visualize their personality. It then takes a fade cut to one of the characters showing a close-up where it shows her facial expressions and this moreover tells most things about the character and when she puts her finger to her lips it shows there is a secret and she wants the audience to keep it. Their consists of a violin being played as the shots are going continuously fast creating suspense, fear and tension for the audiences and indeed the characters. Enigma code and Action codes is Barthes theory which relates to the sound of the violin as enigma code is to do with narratives having mystery with unclear answers which leaves the audience at the edge.
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