Watch one of the following clips from Little Big Man and descriptively discuss (in detail) at least 3 elements of mise-en-scene and how these elements present the implied meaning of the scene and how this scene relates to the film's meaning as a whole.
Clip 1
http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/297790/Little-Big-Man-Movie-Clip-Good-Day-To-Die.html
Clip 2
http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/297788/Little-Big-Man-Movie-Clip-Gunfighter-Period.html
Western films are often seen as the pinnacle of American film, known for the striking cowboy characters, the conniving Indians, and the drawn out, intense battles between these two groups. Arthur Penn’s Little Big Man depicts the life of a “modern” American fellow, a white man who was raised by the Cheyenne native americans during the nineteenth century. One of the main themes in this film is contrasting the daily lives of the american pioneer vs. the daily life of the Cheyenne Indian, which is masterfully portrayed by the mise-en-scene of the cinematographer, Harry Stradling Jr. Particularly, the use of costume, makeup, and hair design, and lighting and composition, particularly in the “good day to die” scene. I think this scene’s position in the film is enforcing the juxtaposition of the humanity of the Native American culture and to the inhumanity of the white culture.
ReplyDeleteMakeup, costume and hair are all linked in creating the difference in characters in the two worlds. The Indians are dressed authentically, not flashily or skimpily, yet individually. Everything in the hut is somewhat dirty, and humble. The white people wear structure, pretentious layers of clothing, but it’s still dirty. The hair is interesting in this scene as well, as the Native Americans have a specific way of keeping their hair neat, in elaborate braids. The white people use hats to keep their neat. The mode used by each group would seem foreign to the other but really they have the same goal, to be retain a certain look, deemed presentable to their society. The makeup is obviously key for Jack to prove to his aggressor that he is in fact a white man.
The composition and lighting as connected as well. The chief and the Jack are seated. In the white culture the man is up high on a carriage, and Jack must be hoisted up unnaturally to join him. The hut scene is closed and dark, it is an intimate moment. The Battle scene is wide open and bright - it’s the time for change and opportunity. It is the interaction of the two factions that rarely takes place. The battle composition is also scattered and confused. People and horses run all over the screen, it is not a highly designed matchy, rule of threes kind of several shots. Then when we get into town with Jack the composition returns to be seemingly more designed.
Throughout Little Big Man, we are shown the main character and his exploits in satiric ways. A major motif throughout the movie is his trying to fit in in places and not succeeding. In the second clip, we see one of these failed attempts, his attempt at being a gunslinger.
ReplyDeleteOne of the elements of mise-en-scène in this scene is the spacing of objects and people. It is used here to show that he really is not a gunslinger and shows how absurd he is while trying to do it. When he first enters the bar and tells the man that he’s crowding him, there is an absurd amount of space between them, and while the man thinks he is tough, we know that he’s really just pretending. Another time the spacing shows his absurdity is when he goes to sit with the real gunslinger. He tries to imitate him (again to pretend to be authentic) by leaning against the wall with his foot up on the table, but the spacing between him and the table makes it impossible for him to do comfortably. Instead, we see him feigning comfort in this position just so he looks more like a tough guy. The spacing here also highlights his height.
Another element used to highlight his attempts at blending in as a gunslinger is the costumes. He comes in wearing all dark black clothes, but in this scene, he is the only man wearing anything like it. All of the women in the scene are also wearing dark black clothes. The clothing sets him apart from all the other men, but at the same time compares him to the women, and I doubt a gunslinger would appreciate being called girly. The clothing in this scene does just that.
Another element used is the props. A major prop used in this scene are bottles/glasses. His distinguishing soda pop characteristic is shown in a bottle, when he tries to act tough and take offence to Bill’s laughing, he knocks over a glass. Both instances are him using a bottle/glass to attempt to fit in as a gunslinger. Another prop I noticed being used to belittle him (pun intended) is the shoes in the shot where he’s sitting next to Bill. They both have their shoes up on the table, and it is shown to exaggerate how much larger Bill’s are than his. His bottle in this shot is also shown significantly smaller than Bill’s.
Arthur Penn’s Little Big Man essentially deals with the theme of identity, while presenting the lives of native americans during colonial america in a far different light than they were seen during the early era of western films. As discussed previously when responding to John Ford’s The Searchers prompt, the treatment and representation of native Americans during the traditional American western period was quite terrible, extremely degrading, and helped to segregate a nation. In Little Big Man we see a different light shed on the lives of Native Americans that completely reverses the roles of the “white man” and the “indian”, characterizing native americans as far closer to humanity than that of Colonel Custer's men. Along with the new outlook on the lives of native americans there is also a focus on the identity crisis the protagonist, Jack, is undergoing as he is confronted with his heritage but fearful to assume his true identity.
ReplyDeleteIn the second scene to choose from, we explicitly see a man acting tough and preserving his masculinity when confronted by another but implicitly he is a person suffering from a long-term dentity crisis. Through shot composition, costume design, and set design within the mise-en-scene, the internal conflict that Jack is undergoing is further emphasized by segregating this man both explicitly and implicitly throughout the scene.
Through shot composition in the mise-en-scene we see how Jack is trapped within a identity crisis by the framing that is constantly used to box him into a closed-frame, and Jack’s height and size is often lesser than his ego and the response of fear he gets from his peers in this scene which shows the viewer that the life he is living is fraudulent because we are given conflicting information. The establishing shot of this scene not only frames Jack within the saloon doorway, but he is also closed in by two men sitting below him. Because of the egotistical way he presents himself during this shot one would believe he ‘owns the place’ when in reality he is shown in a closed frame, this again shows a conflict of information which alludes to his internal identity crisis but essentially hints that he is not who he claims to be. We then cut to a longer shot of the same composition repeated by symmetrical curtains and dancers that frame him once again, this new composition solidifies the assumption gathered from the previous shot, that Jack is not who he seems to be and is in fact undergoing an internal conflict with his identity. As the scene progresses, this long shot is ubiquitously shown- reminding us of this central implied meaning of the scene. Nearing the end of the scene an even longer shot is presented from a different angle of the saloon that shows Jack in the center of every object within the building. This shot completely emphasized the central implied meaning of this scene and the film as a whole and almost explicitly shows us the conflict Jack is facing within his own skin. Due to the composition of shots Jack is also seen as simply different than those around him, when Jack approaches the bar we see him in a POV shot of a man almost twice his size, and when he sits down with his enemy he is also about half the height of that man even though they are presented in an equal shot. The placement of Jack’s own body also reveals his identity crisis, when he is sitting with his enemy Jack’s shoe is larger than his face and covers half of it showing not only that the audience is unsure of who he is but that he hides himself at any and every opportunity possible.
Costume design is an important element of this scene’s mise-en-scene that explicitly sets Jack aside from everyone else in the saloon. Jack is wearing an all black outfit completed with a black hat while all other men in this building are wearing a variation of light tan. This shows how drastically different Jack is from his peers and allows the audience to take note that there is something peculiar about his character. Jack also shed’s his hat which foreshadows that he will soon succumb to his natural state and culture because we can see his natural hair.
DeleteThe set design of this scene is simply symbolic as the backgrounds in shots of Jack reveal elements of his complicated past. The most important shots of set design that have not been mentioned yet are during close up shots of Jack alone. For example, the first shot of just Jack that we see is with a blurred background of the cluttered bar behind him. This set design hints at Jack’s complicated past and shows that he is quite unorganized as he is in the middle of his own crisis. Another example of a shot solely consisting of Jack is when he is sitting against a wood-planked wall. These vertically set wood planks carry similarities with the bars seen in a prison cell which again hint at the scenes central implied meaning and show how Jack is trapped within a lie and is pretending to be someone he is not.
Altogether, mise-en-scene is an important element within film analysis that carries great quantities of symbolism and in this scene in particular it truly shows the degree of complication of Jack’s current situation. Essentially, the mise-en-scene of this scene along with the serious nature of Jack’s surrounding audience make it truly ironic, they have great fear and faith in him but he is not who they think he is.
Little Big Man is a film that really was the first that attempted to show the perspective of the American Indian. Though it still shows a lot of the stereotypes that are related to the American Indian. It shows them as another human being rather than a mysterious creature. One of the iconic characters in the movie is Chief Dan George. The humor and comedy that he brings to the movie is a complete movement in film’s history of portrayal of the American Indian. The film is beautiful put together in the way that the story is framed. It does show a lot of classical American Indian history, there is the teepee and the popular symbols associated with the American Indian.
ReplyDeleteLittle Big Man is a film that really was the first that attempted to show the perspective of the American Indian. Though it still shows a lot of the stereotypes that are related to the American Indian. It shows them as another human being rather than a mysterious creature. One of the iconic characters in the movie is Chief Dan George. The humor and comedy that he brings to the movie is a complete movement in film’s history of portrayal of the American Indian. The film is beautiful put together in the way that the story is framed. It does show a lot of classical American Indian history, there is the teepee and the popular symbols associated with the American Indian.
Everything on each set represents people that are just trying to live. They do a good job of showing a people that just want to settle live and grow. A lot in the plot is about getting food and having babies and trying to expand their knowledge. Little Big Man is shown as someone that wants knowledge and uses his knowledge of Indian life and Settler life to solve his problems. The mise en scene is used to show that there isn’t much of a difference between the two and connect them. The settlers are living in tents whilst they hunt the American Indians while they live in teepees. They want food and have status within their ‘tribes’. The sets directly parallel. The constant move back and forth between the civilization in Little Big Man, shows a constant ongoing parallel between the societies as well.
From day 1 the western was always used to show the frontiersman cowboy that was an all american man that was representative and everyone looked up to. Not only did this movie show that everyone makes mistakes, but it gave the public perspective and made them realize the feelings of the other side to the story. This scene in particular is one of the first times that we see how American Indians live their life inside their homes and what they rely on. The dialog itself is very expressive and even though the way they talk sometimes seems unintelligible it is representative in what they value and what they believe in.
Carson Bloomingdale
Clip 1
ReplyDeleteA central theme of "Little Big Man" is Jack's confusion or ambivalence about his identity. Constantly swapping back and forth between being a part of white and American Indian cultures, he offers an unbiased perspective on the conquest of the Western Frontier during the 1800s.
The first part of the scene is presented in muted, earth-tone colors and medium shots. It depicts Jack's life among the Human Beings, arguably some of his happiest times in the film. The tribe is depicted as respectful of the world and of men, as well as being benign and free of malice. Jack is dressed similarly to the other Human Beings, showing that he's been accepted openly as one of them. During the battle scene, the stark blue of the sky contrasts the dusty earth, evocative of battle shots from traditional Westerns. Using the conventions of other movies, the director attempts to vilify the viewpoint presented in such films and their depiction of Native Americans. The battle is shown in long shots, as though from the view of a spectator. This establishes Jack's position as a sort of "spectator" of the two races; he is a part of both and neither at the same time. His spectator standpoint allows him to present an unbiased recollection of the events and the slaughter of the Indians by the American army. When he comes face to face with the soldiers, Jack's garb now seems incongruous, and the juxtaposition of his Western accent and tribal face paint is apparent to the audience. The scene aims to call attention not only to the traditional view of American expansion and the treatment of American Indians, but the racial themes of the Western genre as a whole. The soldier's murderous aggression toward Jack up until he finds out he's a white man mirrors the attitudes of the cowboys we've grown up with, and the portrayal of Cowboys and Injins in the media.
Little Big Man was a film directed by Arthur Penn in 1960. This film was a landmark that changed the way Hollywood directors and audiences thought of Native Americans. The old norm for Native Americans in movies is that they’re wild and inhumane. They live a savage life and are unable to be controlled or persuaded by the white man to become civilized. The way Penn enacts many of the scenes, using the different aspects of mise-en-scene, shows that he had a very different idea of how Native Americans should be portrayed in cinema.
ReplyDeleteOne aspect that really stood out to me was the set design. In scene #1 “Good Day To Die” the first part was set up in a very dark tent between Grandfather and Jack. Often times when scenes are shot with a dark and enclosed area it makes the audience feel claustrophobic. One would especially expect that whenever they watch a movie about Native Americans because they are always portrayed as such dangerous beings. This scene, on the other hand, is very heart felt. Grandfather is enclosed in all of his belongings and is clearly "at home" in his life and his teepee. Later, when Jack gets “rescued” by the American troops the set design becomes totally different. He doesn’t even look happy with his new surroundings because he was used to being a “Human Being” all of his life.
Another aspect of the mise-en-scene that stood out was the costume design. The way the Native Americans are dressed in this film make them look comfortable and natural. They are comfortable being half naked, especially Jack. This freeness is contrasted by the stiff get-ups of the soldiers, especially in the battle scene. The Native Americans are riding around on their horses freely, while the soldiers are stiff and in formation. The motive of the soldiers was to get the Natives to conform to their society or die, and this is represented through their stiff awkward costume. Jack is even shown as uncomfortable at the end of this scene when he is going on the wagon. He is not used to this change in setting or change in costume. This goes with my point from earlier that Penn is trying to disprove against the conventional American view of Native Americans in film.
I will be discussing the Gunfighter period scene from the film Little Big Man. Little Big Man represents a revisionist film from the western genre, with the Native Americans being represented in a better light than in genre films from the past multiple decades. The mise-en-scene drives the film’s suspension of disbelief, but this scene in particular uses different elements of mise-en-scene in order to move it along. The first, and easiest to analyze is the set design. The saloon is an integral location in Western films, where many dealing ons happen. The rustic wood and open concept of the bar welcomes action and invitations, especially between our your hero and the mustached man in the corner. Color plays an important role here in setting the neutral color palette of the scene.
ReplyDeleteThe second important element of mise-en-scene is costume design. In this scene, Jack is wearing his version of a rootin tootin gunslinger outfit, an all black formal attire. His stark contrast effects the viewers’ perception of him, as well as the fellow bar goers perceptions. His facade which he puts forward is that of a showman, and through his weird attire, everyone sees through that he is hiding his past.
The third mise-en-scene element is the usage of props to assist in the actions of the scene. From the chairs that allow the comical leaning back like an old timer gag, to the sassparilla being had by Jack instead of a hard drink of choice of the rest of the cowboys and gunslingers in the saloon. The guns also play an integral role in furthering the suspension of disbelief for the viewer.