Identity in Persepolis

Marji's self-understanding undergoes a dramatic shift over the course of the book, shaped by her family, her country, and the world around her. In the first frame here on page 6, we see a young Marji divided by two identities. We get a medium close shot of Marji facing towards the reader with a neutral face, showing that she is clearly unsure of which side holds precedence in her mind. On the left is the "Western, avant-garde" of her family, depicted by the gears and tools in the background, the straight lines and perfect circles representing a modernized, more liberal lifestyle. on the right is the "conservative, religious" side of her life that had played heavily into her aspirations of being a prophet. The background to the right is much less structured than the left side, which suggests something less modernized and more traditional. In the second frame from page 151, we get a wide close-up shot of Marji looking into a mirror, not long before she leaves Iran for school in Vienna. Nothing is in the background of this frame aside from the mirror that she sees herself in. Her face is divided again, but this time only one half of her face is showing. This image combined with the caption leads the reader to conclude that she has chosen which identity to pursue, choosing to be whoever she feels herself to be. She recognizes that both identities are equally important in her life, and now that she is join off into the world on her own, she needs to be herself first.

Mise-en-scene Analysis

Both of these shots convey the idea that the person that we had viewed as morally sound has been trapped by their actions. Both are trapped in the areas where they have done their best work; for Neff it is his office at the insurance company and for Exley it's one of the rooms where he interrogated the original three Nite Owl Massacre subjects. This helps the viewer to see that both Exley and Neff have had their roles reversed, as Keyes now looks down on Neff for what he did to Mr. Dietrichson and Exley has gone from the interrogator to the interrogatee following the events at the Victory Motel concerning Captain Dudley Smith. In both frames, the "protagonist" is sitting down and the other figure(s) are standing, which shows that the "protagonist" has less power than they may have had before.
In the L.A. Confidential still, the reflections of the heads of the LAPD are on the window and appear as if they are sitting alongside Exley, which suggests that they are trapped by how to best cover up what happened. In the end, both movies conclude with the "protagonist" being helped out by the other side, although it is no stated to the viewer how Neff's situation is resolved.

Minority Report Frame Analysis

This frame, from the concluding minutes of Steven Spielberg's Minority Report does much to inform the viewer of the changed atmosphere within the world of the film. Not even regarding the Rule of Thirds, the colors in this shot are much warmer than the vast bulk of the film, quite a contrast from the overexposed blues and whites from before. The foreground contains books. Lots of books, which is a nod to the Precogs' desire to learn and/or their overall intelligence to not be bored by so many books. Our eyes are first drawn to the bright light of the sun before moving across towards the trees in the background and then down to Arthur and Dasher sitting by the window of the house.. The sun is resting on the upper-right intersection on the RoT grid, which conveys the warmth and safety of the Precogs' new residence, far away from their past duties. Opposite the sun on the upper-left intersection point, our focus is drawn out back to the view outside, which is a stark contrast from the steel-and-glass technological environment of futuristic Washington D.C. Situated along the bottom line of the RoT box we see the books that Arthur and Dasher are holding. This is a strong symbol because now that their duty as crime-preventers has come to an end, they are finally able to use their eyes to view things other than murder.

Summer Films 2013

That Thing You Do
Forrest Gump
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 2
Tommy Boy
Spaceballs
This Is Spinal Tap
The Dark Knight
The Big Chill
Finding Nemo
Les Miserables
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
Get Smart
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Minority Report (shocking, right?)