- camera shots, angles, movement and composition
- editing
- sound
- mise-en-scene
The scene opens with an ariel shot of a barren, deserted room, which looks cold and untouched. The only light that enters the room is natural light covered by a thin blind, so the room appears dark and dreary, the blind is there to show that no one can see in to the building as if they are doing something wrong, that no one can see, this makes the audience on edge as they don’t know what is going to happen. Shadows is all you can see in the grand room, which shows that the villains have wealth which is not a stereotypical trait. The non-diegetic sound also adds to the tension of the scene and creates an eeriness to the scene. The villain is shown as superior to the MI5 agents as they are sitting down on chairs tied up. Whereas he is shouting down to them in a harsh tone. He is Iraqi but is shaven and in a suit which is not stereotypical, as due to people such as Sudaam Husain represented Iraqis in a manner of thick bearded men who want to create trouble and are dressed in thawbs. He has a toned, slender figure which is also not stereotypical for this race within the media. The villains sidekick is a broad man of the Iraqi race, he is hired as his body shape would scare others. As he is much larger than the average man, so would win in a fight if placed in the situation. All you can see of him is a small area around his eyes. The rest is covered in black clothing and he is holding a huge gun, this also creates tension as the accessory is deadly. He also holds a gun up to the MI5’s throat and his boss says he can kill anyone. Which shows he is emotionless and they do not care who they kill on their path to victory, which is the villain trait in them. This shows that the villains (Propps theory) have captured the English and are bullying them. The MI5 agents stay calm and try to retaliate to scare the Iraqi's but they do not succeed. But still show no emotion to not seem fazed by their capture. The woman has a masculine haircut to show strength and is also dressed in a suit. so she does not get stereotypically be degraded as she is a woman. She has British skin and does most of the talking throughout the scene, rather than her partner. The mise en scene such as rope is used to tie her down which shows she is a strong, independent woman. The close ups of her face also show her stern exterior with her strong jaw line which puts the character as a threat. Her hard exterior is extended with her outfit of a masculine suit, to emphasis this fact. Her partner is a black male also dressed in a suit, who seems reserved. This may seem as they are degrading the black race as she is superior to him, she is making the decisions and actions they are taking. He is just following in her footsteps. But on the other hand the British government have hired a man of another race, which shows he is a well-educated man. Throughout the whole scene the camera is always shaky to reinforce the tension and eerie atmosphere, they also use quick movement between each transition to create tension and suspense in the scene. When the photo is slammed on the desk the non diegetic music placed with it is loud and unexpected, before this the music is almost silent to emphasis this change. The cuts of the scene are edited together so that the scene flows. They challenge the ethnicity representation as they normally always show the English or American’s as they strongest characters of the scene. But in this case they are the weak characters being taken and tortured. The lady of the MI5 was forced to read a script, she is looked down upon and even though she is the victim in the scene, she composes herself to not seem as she is the weak character. This challenges Alvaro's theory as the villain is shown as the more wealthy character whereas stereotypically they are the poor characters. But it sticks to the theory as he is of the Iraqi race. The sidekick is represented as the British public see a typical Iraqi man. He is dressed in black, suspicious and has weaponry on his person. This reinforces that the Iraqi man in the suit may be the leader of the villains and has the stereotypical Iraqi men working for him. But this may also challenge the British view of Iraq's to show that they don’t all look like they have been represented the media. It may be trying to show the good side to the Iraqi side of things as all they here in Britian is the British side of things. The script is also challenging as it does seem as the Iraq's have suffered greatly with the attacks they have been receiving, they are all being punished for what a few members of their society have done. So it gets the audience thinking about the actions they are taking and be aware of the people suffering in other countries. In the scene they end to use a lot of zoomed shots and close up shots to show the emotion in the characters faces to express what they are thinking about the situation. this is also emphasised by non diegetic sound to add suspense and emotion to the scene.
