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Y12 Starter tasks

Aesthetics

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Aesthetics – An overall style. A film will create a certain aesthetic from the mise en scene and cinematography.

Aesthetic Terms 1 – realism

Verisimilitude – the appearance of being true or real.

  • In This Is England, the housing and location can be verisimilitude for the audience as it might be similar to the audiences life.

Social realism – films aims to show the effects of environment factors on the development of character.

  • In This Is England, the social realism conforms to the British contemporary social realism genre, with representation of real life, with its difficulties.

magic realism – portrays fantastical events in otherwise realistic tone

  • In Harry Potter the writers sets the characters in a fantastical world of mystery

Hyperreality – an inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from a simulation of reality

  • The Matrix, uses hyperrealism for example the film sucks us into the matrix or the virtual world

Aesthetics Terms 2 – Visual style

Iconography – the patterns of signs we associate with a particular genre.

  • In the Bond movies, the car chase scene is normally associated with the genre of the movie.

Intertextual Referencing – two works of art overlaps. The movie overlaps with another work of art.

  • In Shrek 1, Shrek is a Ogre who is assumed to be the bad guy and prince charming usually assumed to be the hero and the good guy.

Visual/sound motifs – sound motif is a recurring element that is associated with a particular character, theme, or idea.

  • In Jaws, when the shark is near a theme of 2 notes of music to symbolise the shark being close.

Colour Grading – the process of manipulating and enhancing colour to achieve a desire look and mood.

  • In Harry Potter and the order of Phoenix, the colour grading ends in a dark blue and murkier colour to reflect the ominous and bleak prospect of Voldemort’s reign.

Auteur Trademarks – a reference ( e.g. to an object, a character, or a happening) that is recurrent in the authors work.

  • For example Steven Spielberg’s trademark would be his use of lighting, camera angles and movement.

Aesthetics Terms 3 – Tone

Pathos – referred to as an emotional appeal

  • In UP, Carl griefs over his wife to increase the emotional response.

Bathos – the effect of turning a serious moment in a movie, into something completely trivial and unimportant.

  • In War of The World, A Batho happens when the machine gives an ending far different to audience expectations.

Suspense – the audience’s excited anticipation about the plot or conflict.

  • In Jaws suspense is used when the shark is near creating excited anticipation.

Comedy – light-hearted dramas, crafted to amuse and to entertain the audience.

  • In Pitch Perfect, the genre is a comedy movie aimed to make the audience laugh, for example one of the character being called “fat Amy” as she doesn’t want to be called fat behind her back.

Dramatic Irony – The significance of a characters words or action is clear to other audience but unknown to the character.

  • In Romeo and Juliet. Romeo enter the tomb thinking Juliet is dead and drinks the poison to be with Juliet in death, however wakes just after he dies.

Distancing Effect – artists never act as if there were a fourth wall besides the three surrounding them

  • For example, In Ferris Bueller’s day, Ferris gives direct mode of address to the camera breaking the fourth wall.

Postmodern Humour – subvert highly regarded expectation

  • In Scream, post modern is used when they ignore the formats it continually references by always being a step ahead or a step behind
Y12 Starter tasks

Aesthetics

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aesthetic is the overall view and representation a person or place gives off due to its or their features such as clothes hair makeup etc.

realism

realism in film is the representation of realistic and authentic use of movement speech and setting, something the view can see and resonate with it being relatable.

verisimilitude: in film means the appearance being true or real.

eg- the realistic life’s of teenagers and their troubles highs and lows etc.

social realism: to give the audience a true sense of what the lives of these characters are like, and the social issues that are happening at the time.

eg- the events surrounding society ant its beliefs when this film was set.

magic realism: portrays fantastical events in an otherwise realistic tone

eg- the fantastical events within this film are shown to be realistic.

hyperreality: a condition in which what is real and what is fiction are seamlessly blended together so that there is no clear distinction between where one ends and the other begins.

eg- the idea that within Truman’s life none is entirely sure what real and what’s fake.

visual style: the visual style of a film is how its visuals evokes a emotional response to convey its mood or theme.

iconography: the use of recurring visual images and symbols in movies that convey specific themes, evoke emotions, and build a film’s narrative identity. 

eg- the reoccurring bunny rabbit though the film while the plot thickens

intertextual referencing: when a piece of art is mentioned, examples being a book, a poem, another film etc..

eg- the mentions of all the literature within this film

visual/ sound motifs: sound or visual elements in film that reoccur to help tell the characters story.

eg-“number one rule about fight club” repetition

colour grading: putting a filter or a certain filter over a film to suit the mood or set a tone.

eg- summery and vibrant to match the contents of the film.

auteur trademarks- a directors following theme of vibe throughout there films

eg- Jordan Peele, reoccurring theme of black representation in horror films, realistic representation of fear.

Aesthetic tone

pathos: an appeal to the audiences emotions. sad moments

Ethos- is a persuasive technique that appeals to an audience by highlighting credibility

bathos- anti-climax, unintentional lapse in mood.

suspense- a film that puts you on edge and unknowing of what’s to come.

dramatic irony- when the audience knows something that the character does not.

distancing effect- something to remind the viewers that it is just a story and to not get too emotionally invested in it.

post-modern humour: when a film has embraced multiple genres and embracing absurdity and breaking conventions.

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definition: a set of principles that are associated with an artistic taste. (i.e. colour grading, costuming, set locations and sound)

realism–

Verisimilitude: Something that is sticking to reality, being true to life or realistic. Example: Yes God, Yes.

Social Realism: Something that aims to draw attention to a real societal or political issue. often sets out to critique these issues. Example: The Millionaire Tour

Magic Realism: A realistic narrative is combined with surreal aspects of fantasy. Example: The Shape of Water

Hyperreality: the inability to distinguish simulations of reality from reality. Example: The Matrix

Visual style–

Iconography: the use of a recurring visual images/symbols in a movie that convey themes, help the narrative or evoke an emotional reaction in the audience. Example: in ‘On a Clear Day’, the sea/pools/bodies of water are shown repeatedly throughout the film to represent the guilt Frank feels for his son’s death, and how he’s dealing with his midlife crisis.

Intertextual reference: When a movie will reference another text (movie, play, tv show, book). Example: Sawyer in lost using many references as nicknames, i.e. calling Charlie ‘Oliver Twist’. He is also often seen reading books which he will then reference.

Visual/Sound motif: A recurring story element that helps to forward the films thematic meaning. (it can be represented visually by shapes, colours, objects and settings. or audibly as distinct sounds, music or noises). Example: In Lord of the Rings, whenever the hobbits get reflective on The Shire, its theme will play in the background, the instruments in it often changing to reflect the way it is being reflected on by the characters.

Colour Grading: tools that are used to make films look better or artificially change the colour to suggest tone or mood. Example: In Pet (2016), whenever Seth is in the basement with Holly, the lighting is made cooler and darker to reflect both Seth’s and Holly’s mindset while down there.

Auteur Trademarks: A filmmakers distinct artistic approach to their film making. Example: Wes Anderson’s movies are always very bright and eccentric. for example, his movie Isle of Dogs, specifically when they’re on land with the humans rather than with the dogs.

Tone–

Pathos: objects that are incorporated into a film to create an emotional appeal in the audience, often one of pity. this can be used to connect with the audience. Example: the Episode ‘Fire + Water’ from Lost, where the audience is shown the character Charlie from a different light as he is trying to save Claire’s baby from things he is hallucinating, which appear to the audience as surreal flashbacks.

Bathos: An anti-Climactic moment. (where a serious moment is being built up to a nothing climax, it can sometimes be done by accident or done for comedic effect). Example: When Mike in Five Nights at Freddy’s is around the office, the audience is made to think that one of the Animatronics will be waiting for him but it is actually a small toy that scares him.

Suspense: When a movie creates a sense of anxiety, anticipation and unease in the audience. it is most often used in thrillers. Example, when Holly is being stalked by Seth as he finds her at her work in Pet(2016).

Comedy: when something is done to make the audience laugh. Example: the Honda odyssey scene from Deadpool and Wolverine.

Dramatic Irony: when the audience has knowledge of something that the characters in the movie/tv show do not. Example: the Pet (2016) scene where Holly talks to Seth, coaching him on how to get rid of Nate, who has no idea that Seth is behind him.

Distancing Effect (verfremdung): breaking the fourth wall. reminding the audience they’re watching a movie. Example: Ferris Bueller’s day off

Postmodern Humour: humour that goes against common ideas in relation to society, genre and humanity Example: Seed of Chucky, specifically the character Glen/Glenda.

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Aesthetics

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Aesthetics is the style and tone of a film.

Realism

Realism is an attempt to make the audience believe in the world the film creates

Verisimilitude – When a film conveys a sense of truthfulness and realism, sometimes requiring suspension of disbelief

Intruder (1989, Scott Spiegel)

The Hitcher (1986, Robert Harmon)

Social Realism – The movie displays a social environment and its impacts on the characters in it.

Perfect Blue (1997, Satoshi Kon) – Kon uses the film to critique the Japanese idol system and how celebrities are treated.

Magic Realism – Surreal and fantastical elements have been incorporated into an otherwise realistic setting

Carrie (1976, Brian De Palma)

Hyperreality – A film in which the reality portrayed is exaggerated, or is “too real to be real”

The Matrix Reloaded (2003,The Wachowzkis)

Visual Style

Iconography – Use of reoccurring visual symbols that convey emotion and provide symbolism

Lady Vengeance (2005, Park Chan-Wook) – the colour white is used in the movie to show purity, revenge and devotion.

Intertextual Referencing – When a film incorporates aspects of another work (another film, book, series, poetry etc)

The Crow (1994, Alex Proyas) – The graphic novel the film was based on was heavily inspired by the band Joy Division and quoted song titles in the artwork frequently, and the film itself quotes classic literature like ‘Paradise Lost’ and Edgar Allen Poe’s ‘The Raven‘

Visual/Sound motifs – Recurring element in a film to help the story like announcing a character, punctuating a plot point or highlighting a theme

Suspiria (1977, Dario Argento) – Suspiria uses a lot of unnatural red and blue lighting, creating a dreamlike feel and being used to announce the appearance of supernatural forces or death

Colour Grading – changing the colour of footage in post production to create a constant colour scheme or to represent a theme

Manhunter (1986, Michael Mann)

Auteur trademark – a visual technique used prominently by a particular director that an audience can use to recognise as their work

Phantom Of The Paradise (1974, Brian De Palma) – De Palma uses split screen often in his works

Tone

A films tone is how it portrays its subject matter and how the audience should feel while watching the film

Pathos – Something in a film that invokes pity and compassion in the spectator

Stand By Me (1986, Rob Reiner) – Gordie dreams that his father tells him he should have died instead of his brother

Bathos – an effect of anticlimax

Se7en (1995, David Fincher) – The main antagonist of the film turns himself in

Suspense – When the director creates anticipation and anxiousness in the audience during tense scenes

Black Christmas (1974, Bob Clark)

Comedy – aspects in a film intended to make a spectator laugh and entertain them

Scary Movie (2000, Keenen Ivory Weyans)

Dramatic Irony – When the audience knows something a character doesn’t

Woman Of The Hour (2023, Anna Kendrick) – The audience knows Rodney is a killer. Cheryl doesn’t.

Distancing Effect (V-Effekt) – When the audience is reminded that they are watching a film and are “alienated” from the world of the film

The Muppet Movie (1979, James Frawley) – Dr. Teeth reads the films script

Postmodern Humour – when a film subverts mainstream audience expectations

Return Of The Living Dead (1985, Dan O’Bannon) – The film subverts the standard horror movie format at the time by making the main cast a group of punks and low wage workers and giving them personalities and depth

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Realism

Versimilitude: the believability or semblance of truth in a work, even if that work doesn’t reflect real-life accurately. Example: ‘The Wolfpack’ (2014). Uses the real-life people who experienced the events shown in the film, adding to the versimilitude in the film.

Social Realism: when a film tries to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structures behind these conditions. Example: ‘The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner’ (1962). The main protagonist uses running as a way to mentally reflect upon his political thoughts and realises the class divisions within in England.

Magic Realism: when a film portrays fantastical events in an otherwise realistic tone. Example: ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (2016). Tells a realistic story simultaneously with a fairytale.

Hyper-reality: a film in which what is real and what is fiction are seamlessly blended together so that there is no clear distinction between where one ends and the other begins. Example: ‘The Matrix’ (1999). The virtual reality medium is used to illustrate the concept of hyper-reality, which is what the majority of the film is based upon.

Visual Style

Iconography: the use of recurring visual images and symbols in movies that convey specific themes, evoke emotions, and build a film’s narrative identity. Example: ‘Schindler’s List’ (1993). The recurring symbol of the girl in the red coat, which represents the persecution of innocence and the needlessness of war.

Intertextual Referencing: when films over lap with another piece of literature or an idea. Example: ‘Shrek’ (2001). Throughout the ‘Shrek’ franchise many fairy tales and other pieces of literature are referenced, such as the characters of Pinocchio or The Three Little Pigs.

Visual/Sound Motifs: A recurring visual or aural element that is link to a thematic meaning. Example: ‘Psycho’ (1960). Throughout the film, the character of Norman Bates is frequently seen with images of birds or actual taxidermized birds. This foreshadows to the viewer the twist ending that his mother is dead and that Norman has been preserving her since her death.

Colour Grading: Manipulating contrast, colour, saturation and other aspects to match scenes that are shot under different conditions or that have similar thematic content. Example: ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ (2015). The film of ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ has an amazing orange hue throughout and was done by director George Miller’s wife Margaret Sixel. It was a risk as she had never edited a film before but Miller wanted a woman’s take on editing. She ended up winning an academy award for Best Film Editing in 2015.

Auteur Trademarks: a reference (a character, an angle, a theme) that is recurrent in the author’s work. Example: ‘The Shining’. Stanley Kubrick’s auteur style is marked by grandeur and meticulous craftsmanship. His style consists of striking symmetry, innovative lighting techniques and detailed set designs whose visual depth mirrors the thematic depth of most of his films.

Tone

Pathos: To appeal to the audience’s emotion. Example: ‘The Lion King’ (1994). The scene in which Mufasa dies by the hands of his own brother, Scar, is sure to evoke some emotion from the audience as someone in the audience has surely lost a parental figure.

Bathos: When a film’s tone starts out serious and then turns trivial. Example: ‘War of the Worlds’ (1953). The ending of the film ‘War of the Worlds’ is definitely anticlimactic and bathetic, as the Martians die to microbes in the atmosphere that their immune systems were unprepared for. This delivers an unexpecting ending for the audience.

Suspense: The audience’s excited anticipation about the the plot or the conflict, which may be heightened by a violent moment or a stressful scene. Example: The Conjuring (2013). The scenes in which the family first arrive at the house are rather suspenseful, due to the set design of the film, which utilises narrow staircases, low ceilings and an unsettling atomsphere.

Comedy: ‘Make ’em laugh’ films designed to elicit laughter and excrete humour from the audience. Example: ‘The Three Amigos’ (1986). A personal favourite comedy film of mine, featuring Steve Martin, Chevy Chase and Martin Short, in which Three actors travel to a Mexican village to perform as their movie characters, the Three Amigos. However, the community thinks they are actual gunfighters and asks them to stop a group of bandits.

Dramatic Irony: A plot device to highlight the difference between a character’s understanding of a given situation and that of an audience. Example: ‘Jaws’ (1975). Throughout the film, there are moments where the audience knows the shark is there, when the characters do not.

Distancing Effect (Verfremdung): When a character reminds the audience that they are watching a play, rather than making it more realistic. Example: ‘Palindromes’ (2004) in Palindromes, Solondz uses the alienation effect to create a space for discussion over what abuse can look like from a child’s perspective

Postmodern Humour: When a comedy presents a thoroughly undeceived view of human life. Example: ‘Wayne’s World’ (1992). Uses post modernist humour to discuss the fragility of the media.

Representation, This is England

This Is England Representation Task

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Masculinity

Masculinity is a key theme of the film ‘This is England’, as obviously a lot of the characters in the film are men. There are two main characters, in my opinion, which not only exhibit masculinity to the characters in the film, but also represent two types of masculinity in the eyes of the viewer. On one hand, you have Woody, who embodies the male in Britain at the time who was accepting of everyone, no matter of their appearance, age, gender or ethnicity, which is shown by him inviting Shaun in to his group despite being such a young age. Then you have Combo, who embodies the males who had very right wing views and who believed that through Britain caring for minorities that the white working class male had become a minority themselves.

Women

Women throughout the film of ‘This is England’ are shown to be caring towards the male characters in the film, such as Shaun’s Mum to Shaun, the girls in the gang to Shaun and Smell to Shaun. They’re also used in the film to portray some of the horrible that happened to women during that time period and still happen today. This is shown through the interchange between Combo and Lol in which Combo claims that the thought of their ‘love’ got him through prison. Lol then implies that Combo raped her whilst drunk, as she says that she’s been trying to forget about that night ever since it happened. They’re also portrayed as the more sensible characters in the film and soceity at the time, as shown by the second montage in the film where the boys are messing about and walking solemnly towards the camera, and also when Shaun’s mum takes him to the shoe shop and insists he gets a certain pair of shoes.

Young People

Young people throughout the film are shown to be quite impressionable to their surroundings, such as when Combo convinces a handful of Woody’s gang, including an extremely young Shaun, to join him in committing these heinous, racist acts that we see them do throughout the film. They are also actually shown to be more sensible than adults that we see throughout the film, and even though they do destroy an old abandoned house, that has a nice, friendly tone to it, as they aren’t hurting anyone and they’re bonding with one another over something. On the other hand, the adults throughout the film do horrible, disgusting things, such as prank Woody’s party with a machete. It is only once the young people find themselves under the adult’s tutelage that start to do horrible things, such as racially berate children and men and sexistly taunt women. This film maker showing the audience how impressionable the youth of that time was.

Older People

In terms of older people in the film ‘This is England’, some of them shown to be the caring parental figures in Shaun’s life, such as his mum and Combo, even though Combo does have malicious intent, he is shown to be caring towards Shaun at certain points throughout the film. Politicians, such as Margaret Thatcher, are shown to be, just like in real life, uncaring fools, shown by the graffiti on the side of the church, which is constantly shown throughout the film. Her lack of caring for the working class is the reason for the emergence of these subcultures, such as the ska movement that Woody’s gang follows and the right wing liberalism that Combo believes in.

English People

English people in the film ‘This Is England’ are portrayed in a majority of ways, one being the way in which they are portrayed as violent through the characters that support the political views of the far right, such as Combo. This portrayal is also shown through the opening compilation, in which there is quite a lot of footage that shows British people rioting. Another in which British people are portrayed are quite accepting other people no matter their age or ethnicity. This shown through Woody’s gang and how he invites Shaun, a child, into the gang/friend group as well as being friends with Milky, who is black. This representation though is contradicted later on by the far right characters who berate and abuse people of other ethnicities, such as the man who owns the corner store.

Asian/Black People

Asians and Black people are represented through the characters of Milky, the only black skinhead, and the Asian man who owns the corner shop and the group of Asian boys playing football. Throughout the film, these characters are constantly discriminated against, the most memorable examples for me being when Shaun calls the shop owner a paki and when Combo beats Milky nearly to death whilst berating him with racial slurs. This representation in the film shows to the audience the discrimination people of different ethnicities faced during this time period.

Place (the Midlands where it is set)

The setting of the midlands in the film feels like its own sort of character and as a way for the director to show to the audience the feelings that people had at the time towards those in power, evident from the mise-en-scene which portrays a run-down northern town, telling the audience that the government don’t really care about these people, which is why they’re angry at them. Another element which portrays this anger towards government officials is the ‘Maggie is a twat’ graffiti shown throughout the film.

Class

From the very beginning of the film, directly after the montage, the audience is presented with a clear image of a working class home, which is the opening scene of Shaun’s bedroom and the basic furnishings that it has. The audience is then shown the negative effects that poverty can have upon a person mentally, besides from the obvious effects such as lack of food, as Shaun is bullied for his outdated and ill-fitting clothes. Other images of class presented throughout the film are Combo and his defiant stance on society that the working class male has now become a minority, due to too much immigration, which even those is wrong, could be viewed as right in the case of Combo, as he has clearly had a poor education and where he lives isn’t the nicest of places.

Representation, This is England

Representation in This Is England

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Young people:

Young people are mainly represented in the beginning of This Is England, not only by showing the school that Shaun goes to, but also in the form of Woody and his friends, who are quiet young. It is revealed that Gadget goes to the same school as Shaun, as well as Smell. They are mainly represented as a rowdy sort of bunch, who are easily influenced which is evident by how quickly Shaun joins Combo. However, it is also shown that a lot of them don’t hold the same views as the typical skinhead does, as Woody is far more left-wing than Combo.

Older people (parents/authority figures/politicians):

There are multiple clips of Margaret Thatcher, as well as radio broadcasts of her, throughout This Is England. However, she is not presented in a good light; from the very beginning of the film, there is lots of anti-Thatcher graffiti, and then later on, Combo reveals his criticisms of her. Conservative politicians, especially Thatcher are represented in a very negative way, though it was mainly because of Combo’s white supremacist views.

There are other people of an older generation that are also represented in the film. For example, the National Front that are giving a presentation are all older men, who seem to be of a higher status and class due to their much nicer clothes. Combo and his friends are also of a generation older than Woody, which emphasises the fact that the older people in the film (apart from Shaun’s mother) are represented with far more right-wing views.

English people:

A lot of the English people in the film -despite whether they are white supremacists or not- seem to be somewhat proud of the country. However, a majority are represented as racist nationalists, which include Combo’s violent group, as well as the politicians that are introducing the National Front to Shaun for the first time.

Masculinity:

There is a bit of a theme in This Is England of masculinity, even though it is quiet subtle. There are no women at the National Front meeting, and none of the women in Woody’s group decide to join Combo, which suggests that the nationalist skinhead stereotype is very much associated with men. As well as this, when Shaun comes back in after Combo assaults Milky, Combo stops sobbing and notices that Shaun is crying a lot, which prompts him to shove a finger in his face to tell him to stop crying and say that ‘men don’t cry’.

People of colour:

The representation of people of colour in the film shows them as being a villain in Combo’s eyes. In his ‘This Is England’ speech he describes them using racist slurs, and talks about how they are ‘taking jobs’ from the unemployed in England. While they are represented in a negative way, they are clearly not shown to be the actual villains of the story, and the audience is seemingly supposed to sympathise with them. Rather, Combo and his group are presented as the villains.

Setting:

The setting of the film really seems to give an insight into what England was like in 1983. It is filmed on site, which gives it a sense of verisimilitude and in general, it just feels grimy, gritty and grey which represents the English weather very well.

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Reframing is the general change in a person’s mindset, whether it be a positive or negative change.

Throughout Joker, cinematography is used effectively to create a sense of chaos within the films diegetic world.

Here, the camera is used to position the spectator.

This suggest to the spectator that.

This reframing of the central character.

PEEL Structure

The structure of the paragraph shows a clear structure of point, evidence, explain and link to spectator.

-point-evidence-explain-link

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Level 5 terminology/phrases

“occurring within the context of the story and able to be heard by the characters.”

“encouraged to sympathise”

“diegetic world”

Stylised: giving a distinct style or appearance.

Diegetic: occurring within the context of the storyline and able to be heard by the characters.

Cathartic effect: Spectators emotional response to an event in the film, strong realised emotions.

Reframing: change in mindset, appearance, how they’re perceived. Can be positive or negative.

Connote: implying or suggesting, sometimes linking to another thing, drives from the word connotation.

Depicted: how a character is portrayed and seen by spectators.

Paragraphs are written in the PEEL structure (Point, evidence, explain, link back to question.) Paragraphs start by expressing the overall point and then providing evidence that the point is true, following this the evidence is then explained and given context to how it relates with the overall point. Finally, the paragraph ends by referring back to the original essay question and how everything written links to it.

Joker

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  1. using more impressive vocab/phrases such as ;
    • ‘connate’
    • ‘within the films diagetics’
    • ‘encourage to sympathise’
    • ‘This suggests to the spectator that’

Diegetic definition – Any sound or things that come from the world of the film for example the sound of doors slamming and isn’t added after like music.

Cathartic effect definition – Its an emotional experiences that the audiences goes through while watching a specific movie / scene e.g. feeling sad at the movie UP

reframing definition – when the camera angle is changed without using a cut in order to change the focus of the scene

connote definition – To signify or suggest something in addition to the original point

Throughout Joker, cinematography is used effectively to create a sense of chaos within the film’s diegetic world. This is particularly evident in the scene towards the end of the film where Arthur is shown in a  low- angle, close-up looking out of the police car window and reacting with glee at the riots taking place around him. Here, the camera is used to position  the spectator as not only connecting with Arthur, but now looking up to him. This suggests to the spectator that the tables have turned and Arthur, who was earlier depicted as pathetic and sad, is now depicted as powerful and heroic. This “reframing” of  the central character” has a potentially cathartic effect on the spectator who has, up until this point, been encouraged to sympathise with Arthur’s point of view as a victim of circumstance. The deliberate and stylised use of this slow-motion reaction shot, enables the spectator to get a sense of poetic justice being served: Arthur is now on his way to prison.