Textual Analysis: Carrie

     

The opening of Carrie begins with a high angle shot down in a bedroom which shows a woman on the bed cradling a baby. The blood stains on the bed and baby indicates that she has just given birth. Her character conforms to the stereotypical idea that women are caring and a comforter. This also links to the ideal mother that women should be. The room is quite dull and dark - the only sources of light are the candles and lamp, in which the candles are red. Above the bed is a wooden cross so the audience can assume that she is religious. The cross is also a typical prop used in horror films. To support this, the bed sheets are all white which could suggest innocence and kindness of the character.

In the background, there is non-diegetic music of string instruments. The long held notes reflect on the situation as possibly relief and happiness as she has just given birth. However, the music then crescendos into a minor key making the music sound quite sinister.

The screen then turns black and the title is revealed in red capital letters. The loud non-diegetic music then stops and all that is left is a quiet drone which can often be used to draw out the suspense and mystery. The colours used are stereotypical in horror films which can often symbolise danger or even death. This sets off the tone for the film and reveals what genre it is. The text then begins to get larger as the letters begin to drip upwards which is designed to look like blood which is a common feature in horror films.

The title screen then fades into the next scene where there is a young female walking towards the camera. The credits appear in bottom left corner in the same font as the title. The colour makes it stand out amongst the background. The scene begins out of focus until the protagonist is shown in a close up shot to reveal her face. She is wearing minimal makeup so she isn't over sexualised in anyway. Her hunch shoulders and blonde hair covering her eyes can suggest that she possibly uneasy or shy. This links to the fact that the scene begins out of focus to imply that she does not get paid attention  lot by others. Furthermore, her blonde hair and blue eyes enforces the stereotypical American teenage girl. The actor is Chloe grace Moretz who is very famous which can link to Richard Dyer's Star Theory where the use of celebrities can attract a larger audience.

During this, there is non-diegetic music which sounds quite scary. This can be used to forebode what is going to happen later on. The camera cuts to a mid shot where there are several girls laughing as they enter the room. The credits are carefully placed as to not get in the way of the action. There is a cutaway to the protagonist shown in a close-up. The composition uses the rule of thirds where she is positioned slightly to the right which can further support her uneasy feelings. Here facial expressions seem to be quite unreadable.

Anther cutaway is used which shows a mid shot of a young female about the same age who is also blonde. The cutaway is used to show the comparison between the two characters. The protagonist looks quite unhappy which can evoke sympathy from the audience. Contradictory to this, the other female is shown to be laughing and happy which portrays how they are binary opposites.  There is diegetic laughing in background which has been edited to have an echoed sound effect.

Returning back the protagonist, there is a slight arc shot which shows three teenage males in shallow focus. They are all smiling and laughing together which can signify the different friendship groups compared to the protagonist who is alone.

There is another cutaway back the the other blonde female who is kissing a male who seems to be of similar age. There is dialogue in the background where a female is calling them which reveals both of the male and females names. Next, another close up shows the protagonist looking downwards and back up. Her facial expressions can give off a feeling that she is possibly envious of the couple.

There is match on action so there is continuity between the transition of shots which shows the three characters together in one long shot. The protagonist is positioned on the right as the female leaves leaving the male who is smiling.

The scene is then interrupted by a diegetic whistle noise as the camera shows a female close up at a side angle of her face. She seems to be the the P.E teacher which is demonstrated by her clothing and whistle.

The camera then pans quickly across the room to show a large swimming pool. To follow, there is a shot under water which shows they are all female and quite energetic. This contrast to the last pair of legs who is standing still and in the corner. It highlights the protagonists personality as an introvert. This subverts from typical portrayals of females being friendly and talkative. During this, there is diegetic sound of the water splashing whilst there is non-diegetic high pitched violins used to emphasise the tone of the film as well as making the audience on edge.

The next shot is a high angle shot down on the swimming pool showing the girls laughing and talking. This is a stereotypical representation of the life of students at an American High School. They all seem to be quite talkative and interacts a lot. The shot continues down to where the protagonist is still remaining in the corner. This implies that she doe not fit in with the others.

The next few shots shows various different students who seem to be having fun which is used to show the contrast between the rest of the students and the protagonist. A low angle shot shows the ball landing towards her. This was accompanied with a loud diegetic bang of the ball being hit to exaggerate as if it was really daunting. The camera cuts to a high angle shot down on the protagonist as if the camera was the ball. The over the shoulder shot shows the ball landing in the water with a large splash. These few shots were done in slow motion and the voices have stopped. This suggests that it was obviously unusual for her to have to participate. It also amplifies the fact that the other students do not interact with her in the way that they do with the other students. The opening finishes with a mid shot of the protagonist reaching for the ball hesitantly.