RC - Analysing an opening sequence

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

The first two minutes...

Genre
Q. To which genre does the film belong?

A. This film belongs to the slasher/teen-horror genre

Q. To what extent are the audience's generic expectations of the text fulfilled or challenged by the opening sequence?

A. The audience's generic expectations are fulfilled, as the first two minutes highlight the various conventions of a 'slasher' film. This incorporates: the use of iconography, for example the chainsaw; the use of sound, which is very eerie; the mise en scene such as, the dull lighting and the desolate house. Other common conventions include the use of camera and editing,

where the cutting rate is very quick, the picture has been filtered to be black and white and there are plenty of close-ups. This is just a brief overview of how the audience's generic expectations are fulfilled.

Q. Does the text conform to the characteristics of the genre, or does it treat them playfully or ironically?

A. I think that the text does conform to the characteristics of the 'slasher' genre. This is because the film is based on a true story, so I do no think that they would treat the characteristics in a playful or ironic way. The opening sequence underlines what I think as well, this is due to the use of the voice over narration, which is narrating the history behind the film and also the mise en scene, which includes newspaper headlines of the events, which accentuates the truth behind this story. Similarly to what I have answered in the previous question, I think that the use of camera, sound, mise en scene, editing and even iconography is the reason for why the text does conform to the 'slasher' film characteristics, but does so in a serious manner.

Film language

Q. How does mise-en-scene convey meaning in the sequence?

A.The first thing that we see in this opening is two men carrying a dead body into the back of a van, which we assume is an ambulance. Immediately, this establishes enigma as people would be curious as to why that person is dead in the first place. The mise-en-scene here shows the ambulance to be in a deserted area, which definitely creates tension. We then see someone pulling across a 'police line do not cross' tape, which amplifies further that someone is dead, and they are investigating as to how and why. We then see another dead body in a lake, with lots of police men surrounding it, their body language shows them to be searching for clues and evidence. Another use of mise-en-scene is when there is a shot of a huge house, which seems to be desolate, this comes under the conventions of a 'slasher' type film and would instantly build up suspense for the audience. We then see lots of close ups of different objects, which include broken glasses and parts of a human skeleton, this connotes an ominous feeling to the film, which bodes will with the genre. We then see someone typing up an autopsy report, again signify the theme of death in this opening. An empty corridor is then shown and the lighting here is very dull and it almost seems as if there is a green/blue filter to the picture. The dull lighting again supports the 'slasher' genre. There are also more objects shown, which are seen to be pieces of evidence, as they are concealed in a plastic bag. The objects include such things as a hammer/mullet, teeth, a dead fish with a hook going through its mouth, and most importantly a chainsaw, which again implies that a lot death takes place in this film and that they are trying to put together all the evidence to catch the killer. Overall, mise en scene is used effectively to convey the meaning of this film.

Q. How does camera shot size, movement and angle also convey meaning?

There are a lot of close ups used in this opening sequence, which helps the audience to understand the content of this film, particularly when close ups are used on objects, which most of them are seen to be evidence for a homicide case. They are used to highlight what is going on in the film such as, when there is a close up of the 'police line do not cross' tape, signifying that something very bad has happened. A lot of panning shots are used as well to also help establish what is going on, this is evident when one is used to show a police crime scene of a dead body lying in a lake. High angle and low angle shots are also used to create tension within the film, this is obvious when a low angle shot is used to show us the desolate house and because of the low angle the house is made to look bigger than it actually is, which builds suspense as not only is the house isolated but is also huge. It is obvious that camera shot size, movement and angle are very important in establishing enigma, as it is shown to be key in this film's opening.

Q. How does sound anchor the images?

Right at the beginning of the clip, when the titles are appearing on the screen, the music is very ominous, with a slow tempo and a minor key and when moving image appears on the screen it then becomes a lot lower and louder. Then as soon as the voice over narration begins the music is drowned out. This suggests to me that the music at the start is preparing the audience for the film so that they recognise that this is a 'slasher', and when it becomes lower and louder when the moving image appears we know that no assumptions need to be made that the body on the trolley is dead, this is implied through the ominous feel of this music. When the narration begins it is very loud, connoting that what he is saying is very important, along with the images that go with his dialogue. Also, as the clip goes further on we are hear that every noise being made is being amplified such as, the slamming of the chainsaw on the table. This is building up suspense and puts the audience on edge.

Q. What do we learn about the characters through dialogue and non-verbal language?

In this sequence we are presented with many characters and there does not seem to be an obvious protagonist yet. However, the characters that we do see in this clip are mainly police officers of some form and it is apparent that they are all investigating in this one particular case. There is not much dialogue in this opening sequence until you get to the last five seconds of the two minutes, where you hear a police officer speaking into a tape recorder, here you understand that he is recording what he sees when at the crime scene. This tell us that this particular character is trying to find out who the murderer is.

Q. What other visual techniques are used?

Other visual techniques which are used, include a black and white filter to the picture, giving it an authentic feel, which suggests to us that the events in this film happened some time ago. This is supported by another visual technique where the picture seems to go fuzzy at some points, which implies that the camera is old.

Narrative

Q. How is the narrative organised and structured?

A.The narrative seems to be non-linear, as we keep going back and forth to different events and the sequence seems to be asynchronous.

Q. How is the audience positioned in relation to the narrative?

A. Although there seems to be no obvious protagonist yet, we appear to be positioned with the narrator, who is telling us the story but also the police men because they are the only characters that we see in the first two minutes.

Q. What techniques of identification and alienation are employed?

Although it is implied that there is no protagonist just yet, there is one point in the opening sequence where we see someone typing up an autopsy report and the name 'Hewitt' is being typed out. This could suggest that this person plays an important role in the narrative.

Q. What are the major themes in the narrative?

A. Death seems to be the most prominent theme in this film.

Q. How is tension created and maintained?

A. I think that tension is created and maintained through the use of the many conventions of a 'slasher' film genre. However, in relevance to this film I think that the fast cutting rate, which causes the audience to go back and forth in the narrative, plays an important role in maintaining the tension, as it keeps the audience mesmerised.

Representation and Ideology

Q. What social groups are represented in this sequence and how?

A. This is quite hard to say from just looking at the first two minutes, as it appears that the only characters we come to meet are the police officers, so they are the only obvious social group. However, you could say that the victims of the killer, who are dead, are some sort of group although you could not really define them as being a social group. Also, it appears that the characters in this film are mainly white-Americans.

Q. What values and beliefs / ideological discourse is evident?

A. There is the belief that a murderer should be caught because of his actions, underlining the values of the policemen - that sinners should be punished.

Q. How does semiotics as a framework see how the representation is constructed?

A. The tape, which says 'police line do not cross' is an obvious indicator for the representation constructed, as it shows the policemen secluding the crime scene area so that they can find evidence to catch the murderer.

Media Audiences

Q. Who is the target audience?

A. The target audience for this film would appear to be the youths aged between 16-25 and obviously audiences' who appreciate the slasher genre.

Q. What are the probable and possible audience readings of the text?

A. The preferred reading of this text is likely to be that we are to meant be positioned with the narrator or with the policemen of this film, so that we are to believe that whoever they are looking for we are meant to be against him/her. The oppositional reading of this text is that we are to sympathise with the killer and the negotiated reading of this text could be that we may understand the justification behind the killer's actions but we follow the morality of the policemen.

Q. How do you, as a British teenager, read and evaluate the text? To what extent is your reading and evaluation influenced by your age, gender, background?

A. As a British teenager I think that I would read this text just like any person would and I do not believe that age, gender or background necessarily comes into it. However, I do feel that when you are of a younger age your comprehension of morals and ethics is not so clear to how they are when you grow older, so this could cloud your judgement on the justification of the killer. Also, if you have had much more of a rough background compared to others, where you are use to theft, murder, rape, etc. then your perception of this text could be that you understand where the killer is coming from, on the other hand, it may mean you are less inclined to sympathise, as you have come to detest these actions because you are so familiar with it. So, although I said that I initially didn't believe that age, gender, or background influenced your reading of the text, I do now believe that it does play a role.

Institutional context

Q. Has a star been used in this film? Why is this important?

A. Jessica Biel is the only actress in this film that could be considered as the bankable star. It is important that a bankable star is used because including a bankable star is most likely to increase the credibility of the film, in turn raising revenue.

Q. Which studio produced this film? Is it an 'industrial' film or an 'independent' film?

A. The film was distributed by New Line Cinema and Focus Features and the film appears to be an industrial one.

Q. Is the institutional context evident in the production values of the opening?

It is evident through the production values in the opening that this is an industrial film, as you can tell that to achieve the effects that this film does a lot of money would have had to have gone into it.