Film Technique Paragraphs - Sean Luffy

Bunny:

In the short film Bunny, there are numerous cinematographic techniques that convey and represent religious imagery. One the best examples of this is evidenced by the oven as it is a tool of transformation; thus, when the old woman bunny is lead into the oven by a strange light, it is inferred that she has passed on to the next life with a religious entity as she is being transformed and transcending by entering the oven. In addition, the beginning of the short shows a moth being drawn to a light, much like there are those who are drawn to religion; showing this shot with just these two items on the screen conveys that relationship. The moth also has a relationship with the woman bunny in the form of an 'angel of death' that is her guide onto the next path.

Harold and Maude:

In this movie, Maude is trying to teach Harold about the importance of life and how each individual is just as different as everyone else. This is specifically evidenced by the scene with the flowers as Maude is pointing out that each one of the flowers blooming in the garden are drastically different from each other in some way. However, the audience learns that all of the flowers were a reference to gravestones in a cemetery as the camera pans out of where Harold and Maude are sitting; thus, this symbolizes how the US military viewed all the men who gave their lives in wars are a collective 'them' by drafting them, rather than individuals that each had lives to live. This is also an example of the cinematography revealing the true meaning of some of the scenes in this movie.

Northfork:

The movie Northfork had some shots and scenes in the movie that represent and evoke religious ideals. One example in particular was after the main protagonist and his son dug up their dead wife/mom, there is a shot of the casket in the foreground and the massive mountains in the background. This cinematographic technique forces the audience to experience two religious ideals, the permanence of faith and the certainty of death, by juxtaposing them with the image. In addition, the scene with the house that is split in two represents the gap between the sacred and the profane worlds, especially in the sense that we are physically separated from sacred time and space in our everyday lives. 

Paris, Texas: 

I believe the opening shots of this film conveyed a interesting juxtaposition and comparison between the sacred and profane spaces; specifically, the black coat that the protagonist is wearing sticks out like a sore thumb in the red, brown, and tan colors of the dessert. representing how society's profane existence is separated from the natural, sacred space. However, the protagonist also wears a distinctively red cap that symbolizes the human affinity for faith and belief in a religious context. In addition, the protagonist journey noticeably follows lines of communication, such as things like phone lines, trains tracks, and cars, representing how religious journey can sometimes be a one-on-one experience; therefore, it is also a form of social isolation.

Pink Floyd: 

In the animated scenes that we watched of the war, I found it particularly interesting that they decided to portray the planes as crosses at first before they actually turned into planes. I feel like this represented that war and the state of nature that it creates is somewhat like the angel of death like the moth from Bunny; what I mean by this is that the cross represents Jesus' judgement, meaning that the planes are now enacting that judgement on the places they are attacking. Additionally, the school life scenes of the movie represent the idea of indoctrination as the school was portrayed as if it were a prison and everyone had to believe in the same form of thinking and follow the same rules. Lastly, the series of images at the end of the movie represent the protagonist's reflection of his life and his transcendence into the next one.