The extract that I chose to
write my essay on is 24. The theme of this extract is surrounded by espionage
and terrorism. The talk of the president and bombs are mentioned throughout
Jack and Nina’s talk. The theme is used to create suspense on who Nina is and
why this bomb was set. It also creates suspense on what exactly does Nina know.
It makes the audience wonder why the president’s signature was needed.
In the first few seconds of
the extract, score is used. There is some suspenseful type of music that
creates tension between Jack and Nina. This connects to the theme that I used
because the mystery is about who Nina is and what does she know. It must be
something vital. In the next few seconds, the zoom in camera movement was used.
The camera zoomed in on an actual camera that was in the room. This sets the
mood that Jack and Nina are being watched. It creates mystery because nobody
knows why they are being watched. This zoom in shot connects to the theme I chose
because it is obvious that Nina has done something wrong and Jack is trying to
get information out of her. We do not know who Nina is, but we do know that she
knows something since they are being monitored.
In the next part of the scene,
diegetic sound is being heard from Jack’s footsteps. As he walks into the room,
you can hear his feet patter against the floor. It creates suspense because he
seems to be walking slowly, as if he wants to intimidate Nina. In the next part
of the scene, a shot reverse shot is shown. In the scene, the camera transfers
from point A, which would be Jack and Nina, to some people that are watching
them on what looks like some type of television, back to Nina and Jack. This
creates suspense as to why these two need to be watched. Who is Nina and why
does she need to be watched and interrogated? This connects to the theme that I
chose because we do not know who Nina is. It can be inferred that she knows
something Jack doesn’t, but we don’t know yet.
In the next part of the scene,
we see an eye line match. This eye line match shows Nina looking up at the
clock and the camera shows the clock on the screen. The clock is ticking
created the precedent on what is happening next. This eye line match ties into
dialogue also because Nina says that she must get on a plane to go deactivate
the bomb. This goes back to the clock and it shows that time is running out on
the bomb. This connects to the theme that I chose because the talk of bombs
usually means terrorism. Nina seems to be someone who knows a lot about this
bomb, which means she may be in on it. She could be a spy which adds espionage
to the meaning. In the next few seconds, more dialogue is shown. Nina is still
talking about the person that knows how to deactivate the bomb. It connects to
the theme that I chose because this shows that Nina is in on some type of
terrorism, so she needs to be watched. Jack must get information on her because
she obviously knows where the bomb is, and she most likely knows the person or
group of people who activated the bomb.
Going to the next part of the
scene, there is a reaction shot. In the scene, Jack flips the table over
because Nina won’t tell him who it is that they are going to see, which is the
person who knows about the bomb. This connects to the theme that I chose
because it shows that Nina knows some information on this bomb, which means she
could be a terrorist or knows who is. Dialogue was incorporated when Jack says
that she will sell out anyone. This hints towards espionage. She may be a spy
trying to get information on things. In the next few seconds, the film shows a
close up. These close ups are the faces of Nina and Jack. It shows some type of
dramatic tension because Jack is trying hard to get information out of Nina,
but she won’t budge. This connects to the theme that I chose because this shows
that Nina may be in on this terrorism because she is not telling Jack what he
wants to know. We can infer that she could be working for some terrorist or spy
group.
In the last paragraph, I will
be talking about the mise en scene, or the genetic makeup of the extract.
Location was used in this extract showing the interrogation room. An
interrogation room is where people get questioned if they’ve done something.
This creates suspense because it makes the audience wonder what is it that Nina
did and why does Jack need information on it. It connects to the theme I chose
because it creates a mystery on who Nina is. From the extract, we gathered that
it has something to do with terrorism, as it mentions bombs and the president.
Another part of mise en scene that the extract displays are the lighting. The
lighting is very low and dim. This creates a mysterious and dark mood. It also
creates tension between the two. This connects to the theme that I chose
because Jack is trying to get information from Nina who seems to be tied in
with terrorism acts.
To conclude, the theme that I
chose was correct because of the terminology used throughout the film. A bomb
was activated, and Nina knows where to go and who activated the bomb. This
tells us that she is a part of the terrorism or knows a lot about it. The problem
is that she won’t tell Jack who the person is when he is trying to get
information out of her. This creates the espionage part because she could also
be a spy in a terrorist organization.
