"The Island"(Michael Bay, 2005) follows 'Lincoln Six Echo' and 'Jordan Two Delta' as they go on the run after they escape from a facility. Up to this point they have never stepped into the outside world, and they are both about to have a reality check. They are both clones who are an insurance plan where their 'parts' are supposed to be harvested.
Narrative
The opening scene depicts a dream of the main character before showing his daily routine. In the dream we are shown a linear narrative as well as a montage of random images and clips. As we assume his dream never happened or that it is made up of memories, the structure of this piece is overall linear. Because we see inside his head and follow his daily routine, the audience is positioned with Lincoln Six Echo.
In the clip there is a contrast of happy family memories with violence as two peoples lives become under threat. Two unsuspecting people are pushed into the water, the male having to be restrained and fought by other men. This scene is shot underwater creating distressing images as they come closer to drowning. After the dream occurs Lincoln Six Echo is told that because of his disturbance during the night, he has to go see someone about it. This raises the issues of whether dreams actually mean anything or not.
In this sequence tension is created by showing a peaceful setting on a boat, and then cutting quickly to a man being dragged into the water. As the man struggles and screams, the audience ask if the man will survive. It then cuts to flashing images whilst their is a voice over of a man.
Representation and Ideology
We are positioned with a range of adults in this clip. There is a range of ages, but only one women. This shows the separation of the two genders. The stereotypical view that women bewitch men is shown. A women is shown stood at the end of a boat looking glamorous with the wind blowing around her, the man then walks admirably towards her. The stereotypical view that men are in competition with each other are also shown; their competition to get into the lift and to win a trip to 'The Island'.
Institutional Context
There are two superstars shown within the opening scene, with others names being shown in the credits. Scarlett Johansson and Ewan McGregor are shown in the first few seconds in the film. The use of the star names in the film adds a buzz factor and fan-base around it before the film is even finished. It shows that the budget for this film was particularly, showing that this film is a product of Industrial Cinema. The studios that produced this film were Warner Bros. Pictures and DreamWorks SKG. The use of the big stars, glamorous locations, and the 'reality' that they created for the film shows that the film is Industrial as the budget it needed must have been substantial. The films budget was $122,000,000.
This is an interesting narrative of a dream world bringing the characters back to reality, the voice over is a technique we are considering, however for our opening narrative we will be using a disequalibrium structure rather than this linear structure.
ReplyDeleteLilli - some interesting observations here, however how would you say this film links with your concept development?
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