Representation of Gender in ‘Moon’
During the opening sequence of ‘Moon’ (2009) there is a montage sequence that shows the space station on the moon. During this montage, the audience is introduced to the worker Sam who is running on a treadmill. This performance and mise en scene could be seen as a visual metaphor for the ideology of capitalism, as it symbolises how Sam is putting in effort but getting nowhere, which links to hoe capitalism doesn’t help everyone. This would make sense, as the film often explores a Marxist critique of capitalism throughout the film, such as the heavy implication that the Sam’s working conditions aren’t nice. One example of this, is how the earth during the opening montage infomercial of archive footage is colourful and saturated, but the moon is desaturated and monochrome which has connotations of lack of emotion and happiness, giving the sense that where he works isn’t a very nice place to work. The Sam’s are the only workers on the moon, and them being male creates the binary opposition of men and women as there are no women who work on the moon. Instead, they are shown to be the ones who stay at home, in the form of Sam Bell’s wife a daughter. They are represented as a prize for the Sam’s to go back to. This is a negative representation of women, because it’s suggesting that men are the ones who do the physical labour jobs and it is slightly objectifying women. The film also includes negative representation of men, as it shows them as aggressive and quick to anger which is a stereotype. For example, during the Sam fight sequence, Sam two’s performance of physically throwing and destroying the model shows his anger. The model is also an important part of mise en scene, as it could be interested as a symbol for the world that the Sam’s want to live in, but their jobs prevent them from having, again criticising capitalism and capitalist company’s as the workers are not benefiting from their jobs. Another example of men being presented as aggressive during the fight scene is the close up of Sam’s blood, which makes the scene violent, not only showing how Sam is slowly dying as a clone, but also that the Sam’s, as males, are aggressive. A narrative device during this sequence is that the Sam Bell’s are played by the same actor, Sam Rockwell, which emphasises the theme of cloning and advanced technology (cloning humans) to the audience.
Binary oppositions in ‘Moon’
The binary opposition of the earth and moon is established during the opening equilibrium of the movie. One way in which this is done is through the mise en scene. For example, the opening montage infomercial sequence made from archive footage is the only part of the film where we see the earth. During this montage, the mise en scene is colourful, such as the greening fields, and saturated. This contrasts to the desaturated and monochrome moon and space station. Another contrast between this binary opposition is the cinematography, as during the infomercial montage, the lighting tends to be high key as it has positive connotations and Lunar Industries are trying to get across that they are a good company. But the montage of the moon includes functional lighting which is darker, and has a less positive connotations just like the monochrome aesthetic and desaturation. This mise en scene and cinematography was a way to show the unlikeable working conditions that Sam had to work in. This link to the ideology of capitalism, which the film often explores. This is because giving the Sam a bad working environment suggests that he is not happy where he works, meaning that he isn’t benefiting from his work and that links to ideology because not everyone benefits from capitalism. This would make sense as the film tends to display a Marxist critique or capitalism. The performance of Sam running on the treadmill supports this exploration of ideology, as it could be considered a visual metaphor for him working but achieving nothing, therefore how he is not benefiting from working for a capitalist company. The binary opposition of the earth and moon is continued during the ending equilibrium when Sam two leaves the moon to go to earth, and the mise en scene and cinematography includes bright colours zooming past him. As these bright colours are only used again when the destination is earth rather than the moon, it emphasises the negative connotations of the working place as well as being a reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey. This would make sense as it’s not the only reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey, such as the mise en scene of the chair that Sam one sits in after the fight scene which is reminiscent of the chair in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Ideological analysis of ‘Moon’
One of the main ideologies explored in ‘Moon’ (2009) is environmentalism. One reason why it is used is to create the narrative device and technique of dramatic irony in the opening equilibrium. This is done through the opening montage infomercial for Lunar Industries, that uses archive footage. The infomercial’s aim is to promote Lunar Industries, hence the major piano non-diegetic music with positive connotations and the discussion and display of how Lunar Industries represent themselves as an environmentalist company. For example, the mise en scene contrasts a long shot of polluting factories to an extreme long shot of greening fields, with a voice over that explains how Lunar Industries are an environmentalist company. Originally, this would make the audience like Lunar Industries. This is because the film was made in 2009, and so environmental problems like global warming would be very real in the audience’s lives, and so being presented a company that has helped solve environmental problems makes them likeable. However, the animated sequence of the infomercial explains through mise en scene and voice over, how the company use the moon as an energy resource. The audience might recognise this as swapping one finite resource for another, and therefore how Lunar Industries are not as environmentalist as they like to appear. This creates the narrative device of dramatic irony, as the audience knows not to trust Lunar Industries before the protagonist. This is the only example of dramatic irony in the movie, as mystery is a theme of the film, and so not knowing that the company uses clones allows the audience to find out information at the same time as the protagonist, as well as keeping their interest in the film as they want to find out what is happening.
The function of narrative devices in the opening of ‘Moon’
The narrative device of the montage infomercial sequence made of archive footage during the opening equilibrium of ‘Moon’ serves function as it creates binary oppositions and starts to explore ideologies. For example, the contrasting mise en scene of the long shot of the factories and the greening fields, paired with the narrative device of the voice over, creates the sense that Lunar Industries are an environmentalist company. This would make the audience like them, as the film was made in 2009 and so environmental problems were very real in the audiences lives like global warming, and so seeing a company solve these problems is a good thing. However, the animated sequence suggests otherwise as the audience learns that they use the moon as an energy resource which is just swapping one finite resource for another, this therefore makes them seem untrustworthy and they are not as environmentalist as they try and make out to be. This creates dramatic irony, as we know that the company cannot be trusted before the protagonist does. The narrative devices of the opening montages also create the binary opposition of the earth and moon through cinematography and mise en scene as the earth is saturated and colourful such as the extreme long shot of the green deserts and the long shot of the beach, but the moon and space station is monochrome and desaturated creating negative connotations about the work place and creating the binary opposition of the moon and the earth.
The function of narrative devices in the ending of ‘Moon’
An example of a narrative device during the ending of ‘Moon’ that serves function is the voice over of the Eliza arrival timer that acts as a ticking time bomb. This narrative device creates tension in the audience, as we feel a pressure for Sam 2 to leave, before the arrival for his safety. We are proven right when they show up, and they are carrying guns, and their spaceship has a spiderlike shadow. The Eliza arrival narrative device has other meaning too, it’s a motif that has narrative repetition throughout the film emphasising its meaning, but it’s also heard when there is a long shot of Sam 3. This suggests that Sam 3 matters too, and that he should also be saved. This links to the film’s exploration of the ideology of nihilism and existentialism, and how this moment proves that every life is important, as the timer is shown as important to him too, despite the audience not even knowing who he is. Sam 3 is also a narrative device, as its narrative repetition of the Sam’s waking up. This repetition throughout the film emphasises the unmoral way that Lunar Industries uses and creates workers, which links to the films exploration of capitalism, as it shows how not everyone benefits from a capitalist company. This makes sense as the film often uses a Marxist critique of capitalism.
Impact of narrative structure in ‘Moon’
One impact of narrative structure in ‘Moon’ is the use of the narrative device of the montage edit specifically during the opening equilibrium. This is because, the opening montage infomercial made from archive footage for Lunar Industries causes dramatic irony which is important for the rest of the film. It causes dramatic irony through the ideology of environmentalism. Lunar Industries claim to be an environmentalist company, shown through the voice over and contrasting mise en scene of polluting factories to greening deserts. However, the animated sequence proves otherwise as they use voice over and mise en scene to show how they use the moon as an energy resource which is just swapping one finite resource for another, and therefore they are not as environmentalist as they try and portray. This causes dramatic irony in the opening equilibrium as the audience know that they are not trustworthy before the Sam’s do. This makes the closing equilibrium of the Sam’s trying to escape even more tense as we have been anxious for them to escape since the very beginning. The narrative device and narrative repetition of the Eliza arrival voice over during the ending of ‘Moon’ helps build tension in the audience, as the time pressure and repetition emphasises the need to escape which was first brought about with dramatic irony. Comparing the opening and closing equilibrium gives a sense of the film’s ideologies. For example, the opening explores capitalism and how it doesn’t help everyone. It does this through the mise en scene, such as the visual metaphor of Sam running on a treadmill, symbolising how he’s putting work in but getting no benefit. As well as, the desaturation and monochrome aesthetic of the moon, contrasting to the earth which is colourful and saturated; this is a binary opposition and shows that Sam’s working conditions aren’t good. By the end of the movie, the Marxist critique of Capitalism is still being explored, such as through the tension of the Sam’s trying to escape as their work is dangerous. The audience are proven that Lunar Industries are a dangerous company with the cinematography as the Eliza arrival has a spider like shadow, and the mise en scene of the rescue team carrying guns.
Georgia Newman Film Studies 