The Role Of Social Hierarchal Tensions Through The...

Donnie Darko by director Richard Kelly is a thriller film that explores many aspects of social hierarchal tensions through the presentation of Donnie Darko’s life. The film consists of the his universe and a tangent universe; it shows how his social, family, and school interactions effects his role in society. From â€Å"Looking at Movies: An Introduction,† by Richard Barsam and Dave Monahan, film technique such as mise-en scene, cinematography and sound are used by Kelly in the lifeline sequence to dramatizes Donnie’s rebellion against inane ideals of the shallow authority figures at his school. The lifeline sequence, comprised of fourteen shots, exhibits Donnie’s rebellion against his teacher, Ms. Farmer, about how the lifeline is not†¦show more content†¦Turner, editing and sound techniques are used in shots three, four, and five. As display the argument in a professional manner, AB shot sequence is used. Shot A (shot three and five) is composed of Donnie and shot B (shot four) is composed of Ms. Farmer. These enhances the argument by showing only the individual who is asserting their views. As Donnie and Ms. Turner assert their views, the voice in these shots allows the audience to understand that the tension is building up. This is displayed in shot five when Donnie’s voice rises as he states that, â€Å"there are other things that need to be taken into account for like the whole spectrum in human emotion.† By the end of his sentence about human emotion, his voice is twice as loud as his voice at the beginning of the shot. This creates the e ffect that Donnie’s temper is shortening and he is extremely frustrated. To over dramatize Donnie’s rebellion against Ms. Turner’s lifeline, the camera dollies in to the right as Donnie voice rises and walks toward Ms. Farmer; closing the gap between them and placing them in a two shot. In these few shots of the sequence, Kelly used editing and sound techniques such as volume increase, AB shot sequence, and two shot to enhance and dramatize the clashing values between Donnie’s realistic belief and Ms. Turner’s inane belief of what type of emotions should be on the lifeline. To help