For our first homework, I wrote an analysis of the first clip of Children of Men. Hope you enjoy reading it and please leave your comments on what you think.
Children of Men Analysis
In the opening clip of “Children of Men” is represented in London in the year 2027. This is represented with text to the audience and in the beginning scene a news reader’s voice over talks about the date, 2027. The representation of futuristic London has changed somewhat to the current London scene. It is a negative representation and the lighting is kept low to keep the effect of a gloomy London. This is created by low lighting and pollution hovering in the air, there is lots of rubbish around and futuristic screens on buses and buildings to support the year 2027.
The character who is focused the most on is a man named Theo; we know this as the camera follows him and his movements. We assume that he is the hero in the film, but only because the camera follows him. He doesn’t fit the hero category because of his image, he wears grubby clothes and isn’t very clean. A hero in the audiences’ eyes is generally clean; wear a brightly coloured outfit and heroic movements. Theo is the opposite of this with dirt on his face and a very dull coloured outfit, which makes him blend into the crowd. This could suggest that he has two identities; a hero and a normal citizen or that he does not yet know he is the hero in the film.
Women are perceived as equal to men in the beginning clip as there is no prejudice towards either sex. Whereas after the opening credits, when Theo goes into work, all the women are crying at their desks about the death of baby Diego. The women have little ornaments on their desks and this suggests that they are the softer weaker sex. Although this is not in the opening clip, it does suggest that there could be some strong feminist views later on.
The future is represented cleverly as the buildings and streets are the same, but the technology has advanced. It’s not too different from modern day, so the audience can still recognise London; otherwise it would become too unrealistic. There are tutut vehicles on the streets of London and although these are not a new invention, they exist in India; it does suggest that London progresses to become more like a LEDC and goes downhill slightly. If London’s streets were to be full with unrealistic “futuristic” cars, then the audience may not believe that the film is real and this would decline the overall effect of the film. So instead of inventing a car that no one has ever used, the producers use the tutut vehicles to keep the text down to earth.
There are not many different social groups in the opening, apart from there are some policemen in the cafe when the news is announced of baby Diego. These figures could represent that instead of sorting out crime the police are just sitting around drinking coffee and are unproductive.
The lighting is very dim and dull, which shows a good representation of the future. It has the effect that the text is serious and lifelike, because if it was bright and colourful then it could suggest that it is a light funny text. This makes the audience feel like it may not have a happy ending.
The camera work is very slow, calm and controlled before the explosion. The camera is clearly on a track and moves slowly with no sudden movements. After the explosion the camera becomes hand held and moves much faster than before and runs towards the action. The calm movements are not what are expected from an action text, but after the explosion the fast movements support the idea of an action film. I think that the camera shots have been chosen because before the explosion the calm movements are setting the scene for Theo’s background and the confirmation that the year is 2027 by showing the scenes of futuristic London. After the explosion the camera work starts to get the film going and lets the audience know what the film represents.
The editing in the clip shows a futuristic television screen mounted on a wall, which could only be produced through editing. It’s made to look as real as possible and does work well; this shows the future in technology during the text successfully.
The sound of the news reader’s voice is very loud and bold, to make the audience listern carefully. After the explosion a high pitched screech starts and continues throughout the beginning credits and through to the next scene. I think that the high pitched noise is chosen because it creates an uncomfortable noise for the audience. This creates the concept of an unbearable beginning and therefore I think it’s a powerful beginning to the text.
The locations have been created by set and very clever artistic skills to look like the futuristic London. The technology on set proves that it the year 2027, this is shown on the side of buses and at news stands. The well know London landmarks are shown, such as St. Pauls Cathedral, therefore supports the idea of the setting being London.
I think that the film is an action, adventure film because in the opening, the scene leads up to an explosion and this gives a clue to the rest of the film. The narrative at the start of the film is very clever as to set the scene; there are a couple of news readers explaining the breaking news about baby Diego. As there is no picture to the voices, it makes it even more effective as all the audience’s attention is focused on the speech. The beginning narrative supports my idea of the action, adventure film because this is how I would imagine a text with this genre to begin.
The film is targeted at both sexes, between the ages of 15 – 50. The film rating is a 15, therefore persons under 15 years of age are not advised to watch the text. The text is aimed at any lifestyle, there is no specific situation financial, social or educational that the text is aimed at or not. The clip can attract many audiences from sci fi from the technology to modern coffee shop sinarioues and the explosion for action audiences.
The text could be representing current issues throughout, such as the Iraq war or similar states of affairs. The purpose of this would be that the audience could view the current situation in a different way. This can be seen in the clip because of the pollution and rubbish everywhere, may represent a dirty place and the explosion acts as an everyday occurrence.
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