Textual Analysis Of An Opening To A Thriller Chosen By Your Teacher

Cape Fear

The credit sequence at the beginning of the Cape Fear extract had a small italic font with italic and jagged writing. The colour white is used in the font because that is one of the three main colours in an average thriller. Throughout the credit sequence we see a lake reflecting images which reflect into what is going on inside the man’s mind. Some images include a close up of an eagle which shows the audience that he is some kind of predator. Blood also drips into the water which represents that he is a murderer.

Immediately after the title sequence we see a close up of a woman’s face, this is to show that she will be significant later on in the film. The camera then zooms out to show a mid-shot of the woman talking to show what she looks like and where she is. The woman is wearing white, this suggests that she pure and innocent and the fact that her buttons are buttoned right up to the neck also suggests this. This could also suggest that she is in danger because she is so pure and innocent, this could be seen as a stereotype of a woman, the damsel in distress.

Parallel editing is then used to show a man in a jail cell. This is used to show a connection between the woman and the man and that they might bump into each other later in the film. There is a close up of the man's back, this emphasises his tattoos, he has a scales and a hammer of justice on his back, this suggests that he believes in the old justice system.

 

There is a non diegetic soundtrack throughout the extract, to build up tension and to give a sort of eary feel to the film. The man is working out, so this suggests that he is a strong dominant figure.

A pan shot and a tilt down shows the man's jail cell and his possessions, which include pictures of extreme dictators like Hitler and Stalin, which suggests that he worships them, and books which suggests that he is an intelligent man.

There is a long take when the man walks down the stairs as he is being released from prison, this is used to get the audience used to the character and also to show the reaction of the other prisoners as he leaves nobody talks, so this suggests that he was a powerful figure in prison.

By Ian Slade