3. ‘A comparison of the opening and closing sequences of a film reveals its ideological messages’: to what extent is this true of the films you have studied? [40 marks]

Comparing the opening and closing sequence of ‘Under the Skin’ reveals the films ideologies such as Romantic primitivism. During the opening equilibrium, there is a long shot of Laura staring at an ant on her hand. She comes across as staring at it with a childlike curiosity and innocence, especially since this is her first proper interaction with the world.  However, this innocence is lost as the film goes on. For example, the narrative repetition of her leading men into the abyss. The abyss room is similar to Richard Wilson’s 20:50, and it’s possible that the director was exploring environmentalism as the artwork used oil, and he portrays the abyss room as very negative. The abyss room is also completely black (binary opposition of white and black), contrasting to the abyss room at the beginning which had high contrast lighting and was completely white, this has connotations of her losing her innocence which happened after being exposed to society. During the ending equilibrium, the ideology of Romantic Primitivism is brought to a close with the mise en scene of her body on fire in the snow. The red fire contrasts to the white snow, and as white can have connotations of purity and innocence, it could be a way of contrasting her morality to goodness and innocence, suggesting that she has lost it. The film does however end on a shot of the snow falling down, which could be interpreted that the film is showing her as innocent still, however it can also be interpreted as a way of presenting the idea the Laura is at peace during death, and possibly going to a better place. It would make sense for this film to be exploring Romantic primitivism as it also explores the Romantics. Such as, the extreme long shot of the motorcyclist on the mountain which is reminiscent of Caspar David Friedrich’s ‘Wanderer above the sea of fog’ painting, which is about the sublime; the audience is left to consider whether the motorcyclist can feel the sublime like humans can, and will probably that decide that he cannot unlike Laura who now can, which is shown by the super imposed image of her sleeping among the trees, suggesting she is connected to nature and finds peace in nature.

Comparing the opening and ending scenes of ‘Under the Skin’ also reveals the ideology of feminism, which links to the theme of gender. During the opening of the film, both the motorcyclist man and Laura are presented as emotionless through their performance. Such as, the way that the man carries the woman and how Laura emotionlessly undresses the unconscious woman and drops her head on the ground when undressing her. However, the unconscious woman is shown as emotional, as when there is a close up of her face the audience can see that she is crying. By the end of the movie Laura has changed, she has become more emotional. This can be seen by her fear during the ending, which can be seen through her performance such as her scared noises and her facial expressions. Plus, the long shot of her crouching behind a tree in the forest makes her seem vulnerable, emphasising her fear. However, a lot of this ideology is explored during the middle of the film rather than just at the end and the beginning. Such as, how her change to becoming completely emotional happens during the middle when she analyses herself during the long duration shot when she looks in the mirror, and metaphorically and literally steps into the light. Plus, during the shopping mall sequence she is presented as a predator with the high angle shot of her on the escalator. The mise en scene of her picking a fur coat also shows her as a predator. This predator representation of women is continued when she leads men to their death in the abyss.  The non-diegetic music that follows her every footstep emphasises her power during this sequence, and therefore her predator like qualities. In this scenario, the men are shown to be the prey and the women are shown to be the predators, but this changes. Such as, when the bus man leads her to the castle, the narrative repetition of her leading men is flipped which is why she is so cautious to continue as she fears that it is a trap. And also, during the ending equilibrium, when she is chased by the log man. This sequence has a lack of music, as it is scary enough already which emphasises his cruelty towards Laura. As well as this, the motorcyclist can be interpreted as a failed predator during the ending, as the extreme long shot of him in the mountain suggests that he has lost Laura, and so cannot do any harm.

Comparing the opening and closing sequence of ‘Moon’ reveals the films ideologies such as Capitalism with a Marxist critique, as well as showing how the film explores the binary opposition of worker and employee. During the opening equilibrium, there is a montage of the moon and Sam on the moon, during this montage, Sam’s performance explores the ideology of Capitalism such as through the mise en scene of him running on the treadmill. This can be considered to be a visual metaphor of how he is putting effort into his job but getting nothing out of it; just like he is running on the treadmill but getting nowhere. This could be a critique of capitalism, as it is showing how Sam Bell is not benefiting from his job, and Capitalism doesn’t benefit everyone. The opening also shows this through the mise en scene/cinematography of the moon being desaturated, which contrasts greatly to the saturated and highly colourful earth during the opening montage infomercial made of archive footage. The moon being desaturated contrasting to the earth attaches negative connotations to the moon and Sam’s work life there. The ending equilibrium also explores the ideology of capitalism as it continues to show how the Sam’s do not benefit from their work, just like not everyone benefits from Capitalism. Such as, the first Sam we meet has to die, and the only time that the second Sam we met is exposed to anything positive is when he leaves the work environment. Such as, when he is travelling back to earth, the cinematography and mise en scene of colourful lights such as blue by his head have positive connotation, suggesting that leaving the workplace is beneficial for him.

However, comparing the films opening and ending is not always a good way to show its ideologies. Such as, the ideology of existentialism can’t really be found during the opening equilibrium but is still explored throughout the film such as during the ending. For example, the narrative repetition of the diegetic voice over of the Eliza arrival can be heard while there is a lingering long shot on Sam 3, which suggests that his life is important, despite being a clone. This links to the binary opposition of human and clone and how both are presented as important individuals. As well as this, Sam 1 dying to let Sam 2 leave suggests a meaning to Sam 1’s life, which links to the ideology of existentialism. In the same way that Sam 2 leaving to expose Lunar Industries can be seen as his meaning in life. However, the voice over of the reaction to him being on the earth presents the idea that people have not and will not react to him very well. For example, he is called a ‘wacko’ and an ‘illegal immigrant’. This could link to the ideology of nihilism, as it suggests that despite the Sam’s best efforts, they could not change anything such as the world’s opinions. Nihilism is also explored during the ending equilibrium as it is suggested through this voice over that the problem with the earth is the people on it, and that they cannot be changed, and so problems will still exist despite any effort to stop it. Such as the corruptness of companies like Lunar Industries which is shown during the opening equilibrium during the animated sequence of the montage edit. For example, we learn that they plan on using the moon instead of the earth for energy which is just swapping one finite resource for another suggesting that they are not as environmentalist as they try and seem.