Elizabeth essay

Elizabeth media essay

In the film ‘Elizabeth’ there are lots of figurative things occurring. Majority of these things include mise- en- scene and camera shots. The reason why these things are used is to enable the audience to see and share how the character is feeling at that present time.

In the beginning of the first scene there is a close up shot of Elizabeth face, in this shot we notice that there is no expression on her face, this could indicate that she is in deep thought or that something is happening beyond her control and there is nothing she can do about it. Her face being like this shows she is the kind of person who thinks and worries a lot about things which us as a audience can clearly see and acknowledge. Also another thing we see in this scene is a two shot of Elizabeth and her maid, in this shot we see her maid cutting her hair off while crying. The colour of Elizabeth hair is a very bright and vibrant orange, which explains her personality. By her hair being this colour it shows that she is very wild and out- going, we see this side to her in a flashback of her dancing and playing about with her lover. The fact that her maid is cutting her hair off symbolises a new start and a new beginning for the up coming queen. Besides this we also notice that the maid cries which doing what she is told to do by Elizabeth. This tells us that the maid and Elizabeth had a good friendly relationship and by the maid cutting her hair it symbolises their friendship ending which creates a tense atmosphere.

 It is ironic because there is a saying which is: ‘ it’s like my life is slipping out of my hands’ during this part of scene we see a point of view shot which is taken when Elizabeth hair fall in-between her fingers, for every little bit of hair that drops in her palms this shows a bit of her old life demolishing slowly. Elizabeth goes on to say ‘I have become a virgin’ this tells us that Elizabeth hair was her confidence and it helped her with her love life but know that its gone its as if she is pure again she is a whole new Elizabeth.

Coming towards the end of the scene we see a different colour, which is white, and this colour is used when she is soon to be‘ queen of England’. As she walks in a long shot is taken where we can see a big transformation in her, she has all her flesh covered up including her neck which mean that because she is soon to be the queen of England she has to dress and act like a mature woman in order to gain respect, also the colour of her outfit is white and as she walks in through the doors with a bright light behind her it is as if    she portraying an angels who has seen the light and discovered where and who she wants to be in life.

Following on from that the reception gets from the people who are there is the kind a women who is getting married would get. Everybody there seemed mesmerised and shocked and usually at an actual wedding this would be there reaction because of how astonishing and beautiful the bride looks however in this circumstance the reason why people where shocked was because the transformation that had taken place with Elizabeth. As she walked in she said ‘I am married to England’ which implied that she is ready and strong enough to be the ruler of England also it could mean that she doesn’t want or need to get married to a man because she has England and that is her main priority. While she is walking down the aisle there is a high angle shot taken when she passes her ex lover in this part of the scene you can see the love he has for her and there is a big difference in states because he is looking up to her. Already in this scene there is a change in Elizabeth life someone that he once loved is now the queen of the country he lives in which tells us that they have now become two completely different people.  

There is a close up shot taken of Elizabeth face at the end which in the beginning of the scene we saw a close up shot of her face, however the first shot is different from the last shot because in the end we see a completely new face and personality and this just goes to show that growing up is a part of life and taking responsibility is a part of life and that she had to choose between her life and   everyone in it and or England.  

Denotation/connotation of skins poster

Denotation/connotation reading of skins poster

Picture 1

In this image the character doesn’t have a costume. All that is visible is his bare chest and his emotionless facial expression, which may suggest that he is in deep thought, and is depressed. Also he is  drowning himself in the bath which implies he wants to get away from the world. The fact that the character is in a bathroom allows us to understand why he doesn’t have a costume, it also gives the assumption that he is attempting to commit suicide.

 

The style of the bathroom is very Victorian days, however the bath tub and sink are modern, the fact that the location is very filthy and grotty explain why the style looks Victorian because in those days there wasn’t really bright coloured rooms to show cleanliness instead the rooms were dull. We can tell a lot from the characters personal hygiene in this picture and it is obvious that he isn’t very clean and doesn’t mind dirt, which is ironic because most teenagers don’t.

A washed away green is the main colour represented in this picture. This tells us that the colour has been faded away to represent a dull and miserable atmosphere with matches the characters feelings and personality.

 

Teenagers are being portrayed as moody, which is a basic stereotypical issue nowadays. It isn’t a very realistic picture because there are different kinds of teenagers not all are temperamental and unreadable. However it is believable because majority of teenagers are sensitive and tend to over work there brains with worry which this teenage boy in the picture seems to be doing. Adults wouldn’t be surprised to see this image because they know how it feels to be at that stage and may have children the same age so this wouldn’t be a new thing nevertheless the only people that may get offended are teenagers themselves because the image is only portraying one side to them.  

Picture 2

The character in this image is wearing green bra, black briefs and a black lace cardigan that is falling off her shoulders. She looks like a middle class girl who has just woken up or been up all night from a house party. Also she has a worried look on her face and doesn’t really look comfortable and we can see this through the way she is sitting down and the intense look in here eye.

This image is located in an abandon bedroom. The character in this image doesn’t look very respectable and presentable and neither does the location. I say this because the wallpaper looks very dull and black and also looks as though its falling off the wall. However the style of the room looks like a parents room just because a teenager’s room wouldn’t be so big and dull. In the background there are a lot of teenagers with no cloths on and lazing about which brings the life to the room.

In this image there is artificial lighting because in the background is a lamp which is switched on, this light is reflecting on a specific person in the corner and this may be to take the attention from the main character who doesn’t need light on her as the picture seems to be taken in the early hours of the morning which means natural light is already on her and to put the attention on another character who has an emotionless face. Even thought that little bit of light in the background is present the atmosphere still seems humid as there seems to be mixed emotion mainly worried ones. The room kind of gives a scary mood because it looks as though they are vampires or something in a horror film.

This poster represents teenagers are rebellious and outrageous in the way they are dressed. The picture is a little exaggerated because of the way they are dressed and also if they were having a house party or sleep there would e a happy mood not a depressing one. It is a very negative representation of teenagers because all of the characters in this picture hardly have any cloths on which makes them look out of control and will make others stereotype teenagers. Depending on the age some will feel disgusted especially adults because it will give them the impression that there children are also doing the same and some teenagers might find it ‘cool’ and try to explore it. Adults will find this image very offensive just because of there ages.