Pride and Prejudice Interpretation
Our opening scene shows how the two genders, male and female, can be represented in different ways.
One way in which males are represented is violent. At the
moment with the man is talking to the girl in the kitchen. This was constructed through the use of a Medium Shot allowed audiences to witness him wearing a an untidy suit, connotes that
he is violent because he is rough looking which makes the audience wary of him.
It is a metaphor for his frame of mind, his mind is rough and dishevelled so
the audience are shown this through his costume. Sound was also used to make
him violent because the sound track was no longer playing and instead the only
sound was his voice the tone of which was loud and aggressive as well as
including swearing “why is there no f-ing beer” which further reinforces the
representation of violence. Editing was also used with a slow cutting rhythm to
let the audience absorb what is happening in the scene, his acts of aggression
and violence. The lighting further reinforces the danger because it was low
key, which makes the audience feel unsafe because darkness connotes danger and
violence.
Women are represented as being the suppressed and vulnerable
gender because they cannot stand up to men. This is shown in the
moment when the actress runs away combined with her father has threatened verbally "are you listening?" in an aggressive way. Then an
extreme close up is used to show the fear in her eyes as well as a cut to when she runs out
of the house. The jump cut shows that she is vulnerable because it is a fast way to
change the shot, which makes the audience realise that she is vulnerable
because she is running away. The girl is represented as the suppressed gender because she has no lines, so she cannot stand up for herself, which
connotes that she is suppressed. The music soundtrack comes back at a dramatic
point in the track, which helps to compliment how the girl is feeling further
implying how she is vulnerable to the audience. The use of low-key lighting
also helps to tell the audience that she is fearful and helpless.
Men are represented as troubled when the man is sitting at the table with a bottle in his hand to signify that he has a drinking problem. This was communicated to the audience through an establishing medium long shot, with a slightly canted angle, which shows him sitting at a table with an empty chair beside him and the table in the foreground giving the audience cause to see him as troubled because he is alone. The set is cluttered with empty 'beer' bottles and is unorganised. The camera's focus is not sharp, instead it appears blurry on the screen, shallow focus to connote that he is drunk. The empty chair beside him hints that he is drinking because he is distressed that the chair is empty. There is not sound or dialogue, in other words silence, which makes the atmosphere tense. The low key lighting also contributes to the general distressed feeling of the scene. As well as the darkness outside the window which connotes that it is night, this makes the audience think about how at night you feel more troubled than in the day which can lead to some of the audience members linking with this situation.
