REPRESENTATION
SETTING
At the start of the opening, the audience is introduced to the situation of this film through a series of news reports. Although we are only able to hear voices, we are able to easily identify the unusual occurrences that were mentioned :
- Army occupation of Mosques
- Day 1000, Siege of Seattle
- British boarders closed for 8 years
- Death of "youngest man on earth"
In this opening the audience is also informed the date and location of the setting, stating in the corner "London, 16th November 2027". With this, we are immediately able to figure out that this film is set in a dystopian universe set in the future where many abnormal news being told such as "Siege of Seattle", which is what we audiences associated as a calm and peaceful city.
Another way the audience was introduced to the setting was through a pan following the main character outside the coffee shop. In this shot we are able to see several things that help create an impression of the environment:
- Chinese carts and TukTuks (asian vehicles) - suggests that London in 2027 is very culturally diverse as in current days and real world it is not what people would expect to see in the city of London
- Dirty street with rubbish bags lying on sidewalks - creates impression that instead of developing for the good, the world became unhygienic and grim
- Bad fumes and traffic - again, emphasises the lack of civilisation and refinement that you would expect the world to be persistently improving on
- Military planes/helicopters - suggests oppression and impending violence in the society controlled by officials
CHARACTERS
We are introduced to two significant characters in this opening : "Baby Diego" and the main character of the film whom the character follows throughout the clip.
Baby Diego is the only name we are introduced to in this clip and it gives the audience a lot of information about the dystopian world.
An 18 year old man is "the youngest man on earth" and had just been stabbed to death. The introduction of Diego suggests the violence and unsettling problems the world is facing.
The Main Character can easily be identified in the film because the camera follows him throughout the whole opening clip and he undeniably stood out amongst the others.
The man is portrayed as scruffy and not clean shaven, suggesting that he does not have full control over his life, which is similar to the situation of the dystopian world he lives in. The stern and lack of expressions of his face gives the impression that he is a cynical man. He is also wearing very dark colours to support the previous ideas.
He seems to be extremely unbothered by the situation(death of baby Diego), standing out amongst the crowd of viewers and his sole goal being to get the cup of coffee from the shop. The composition shows that he is the only person with his back facing the audience, indicating the detachment to the society and lack of empathy he has left for this world.
In this shot we can see the main character pouring alcohol into his coffee that he just bought. The fact that he is consuming alcohol during the day can suggest that the man is alcoholic, or drinking in order to suppress the depression of facing the reality.
ENIGMAS ESTABLISHED
- Why is the death of Baby Diego a big deal?
- How can he possibly be the youngest person on earth?
- What caused the explosion?
- Bomb? who planted the bomb? Why the coffee shop?
- Who is this man?
- Why is he drinking?
- Why doesn't he care?
