Today’s
society is filled with tons and tons of social problems, one of the biggest
issues is violence. Specifically, police brutality, the movie 24 is a perfect
example of what is wrong with our law enforcement system today. The author was
trying to portray how unnecessarily aggressive the cop was being to a helpless
lady. He resorts to unneeded violence for no apparent reason, but personal
interest. The extract shows multiple scenes giving context on how violent and
dangerous the cop really is.
To begin with, the first scene
shown in the extract the directors uses multiple techniques to help highlight
his point. For example, he uses over the shoulder shots, dialogue, and the
interrogation room. When the main character enters the room, he makes eye
contact with the woman sitting down in the chair. The constant back and forth
of the camera over each character’s shoulders, gives viewers a feeling of unease
and highlights the importance of the conversation between the two characters.
Eventually, they began having dialogue between each other, this gives everyone
context on the situation, and why the two characters are there. The cop uses
threats, and force with his words, showing how unnecessarily aggressive he is.
This all takes place in an interrogation room which gives the whole scene its
mood. If it were anywhere else, like in the middle of a bright sunny park, the
whole dynamic of the scene would be ruined. It also gives the cop the
opportunity to show how violent he is when no one else is around.
Furthermore, in the second scene
shown in the film the producers use minuscule techniques that don’t seem
important, but are actually vital to the scene. For instance, in this brief
scene of these unrevealed figures in a computer room, the film maker uses eye
line matches, and close-ups. The scene begins with a close-up of a computer or
tv screen showing the cop interrogating the victim. This close up is extremely
important because it emphasizes that the cop has to be monitored. It implies
that his actions are unpredictable, and can hurt the woman at any time. The
next thing the camera shows is two anonymous people viewing the tv in an eye
line match. The eye line match shows the suspicion in the scene and gives the
scene a serious mood.
To add on, the last scene I will be
reviewing uses some of the most commonly used filming techniques. These
techniques are sound mix, dark lighting, and action match. The scene has a mix
of different sounds while everything is going on. The characters have dialogue
while there is noise in the background. These different combinations of
diegetic sound, ambient sound, etc.… all contribute to giving viewers a sense
of anxiety and nervousness while watching. The dark lighting also plays a huge
factor in the feeling the audience receives. Anytime it’s dark, people get a
certain eerie and skeptical feeling. This is exactly what happens to people
watching this scene with dim lighting. Additionally, action match played an
essential role in the entire scene. The cop brutally shoves the woman’s chair
all the way to the wall and begins to choke her. As he is pushing the chair the
camera gets multiple angles of this happening. This technique gets multiple
points of view of the uncalled-for ferocity and how scared the victim is.
In retrospect, these plethora of
techniques and little skills the film maker utilized all contributes to the
leading theme of the film which was police brutality. The main character could
have had a completely different approach that was more positive to get the
information he needed. Instead, he uses brute force and aggression which leads
to a waste of time. These different film methods all help capture these
horrific scenes and enhance them. This movie was created to show the audience
the whole truth about police violence.
