English Practice Paragraph

 In English, we looked at 'Silver Linings Playbook' for our close-viewing assessment. After watching the movie, we analyzed all the aspects in the opening scene and wrote a paragraph about the effect of them on the audience and why the director chose to use those specific aspects.

In the opening scene, the aspects of lighting and close-up were paired effectively. We see these aspects combined when Pat is in his room at the hospital and he is standing in front of a naturally lit window. Backlighting is used and also only half his face is illuminated by the light coming from the window next to him. Along with the lighting, a close-up shot was used to capture Pat’s stern facial expression. The purpose of using this particular type of lighting and close-up together was to create an intimidating atmosphere. In this instance, we don’t know much about Pat, but from his dialogue during this scene, “Yeah I’ll be there in a minute okay? I’ll be there in a minute,” it is hinted that he has anger issues and this is why the use of the film aspects lighting and close-up help to further portray him as being intimidating. This makes the audience feel uneasy about Pat and makes us wonder what kind of a person he really is. Is he quick to anger? Does he get physically violent when he gets angry? This idea of Pat being an intimidating guy that is implied through the film aspects of lighting and close-up in this film not only links well with the film aspects of dialogue leading up to this scene, but also with the stigma that society has surrounding mental health facilities. Russell created this film to clear up some of the stigmas that circulate about people with mental health issues or problems, especially people who have been admitted to mental health hospitals. The stigma is that there is something seriously wrong with these types of people, and they should be avoided at all costs in case they go psycho around you. In this film, the protagonist, Pat, has bipolar disorder, which results in him having fits at inconvenient and often unexpected times. This is why it is fitting to use the aspects of lighting and close-up together to help convey this idea of him.