In Girlhood (2014), Marieme (Karidja Touré) faces a question of self identity. Bothered by poor performance in school and an abusive big brother, Marieme connects to an all-girl gang to define himself and her individuality through petty criminal offense, alcohol, and violence, and also love and camaraderie. Through the film, a serious theme present is just how characters will be influenced simply by and eventually emulate every single other’s chaotic and immoral behavior. As being a victim of domestic violence, Marieme distances herself from her home and uses a journey of self discovery. However in finding her own durability, she turns into violent herself, and in turn recognizes her personal immoral activities mirrored simply by her young sister. This kind of theme is supported by Girlhood’s use of mounting and shot length. In addition , the film uses in the same way colored clothes to represent character parallels.
After the innovator of Marieme’s gang, Girl (Assa Sylla) loses a fight to Caidy (Nina Mélo), Marieme challenges Caidy to a fight. In this scene [00: 58: thirty five 01: 00: 31], Marieme wins the fight, obtaining esteem by her team and finally being a dominant member. She has verified herself while powerful and impresses her friends becoming a dominant part of the gang, and not the tag-along as she had been before. Yet contrary to this kind of scene’s transformative and leaving you nature to get Marieme, the cinematography party favors Caidy, concentrating on the hurtful impact of her actions.
The sequence starts with a mobile medium shot of Marieme, pushing through the crowd with her friends. The motion can be shaky, and remains unstable even following briefly buying Marieme and her close friends as your woman reveals that she create the battle. The outrageous camera action that proceeds throughout the pattern makes the picture more action-packed, which makes both the fighting and emotions seems more strong. Marieme’s attractive blue sweatshirt stands out against the pale colors behind her. The camera then pots and pans to follow Marieme and reveals Caidy, within a similarly colored denim shirt, who’s framed in wide while Marieme faces her close up in screen right. The radiant shirts provide contrast for the neutral colour pallette behind them, sketching the audience’s eye and portraying them with equal position.
The next shot can be wider, and cuts back to showing only Marieme in profile. The camera uses her shakily, rotating since Caidy strolls into body, the masses of girls ranking behind them. This long have contrasts with the frenetic croping and editing style that follows: as the ladies break into a fight, the camera cuts tighter on them, swinging more wildly since Caidy episodes Marieme. The contrast in rhythm makes two colors: first, a slow anxious buildup, then a chaotic outburst.
The next slice is broken, interrupted, girls drive Marieme back to the fight though your woman hadn’t been seen receding. Then the camera pans back in the practitioners, framing these people parallel to the camera because they tug on each other’s frizzy hair. It reduces back over Caidy’s shoulder, driving in since she episodes and kicks Marieme, and swivels to show her face as the lady lets out a struggle cry.
The quickly and broken, interrupted nature in the cuts can make it difficult intended for the viewers to fully discern what is happening. This can be accentuated by the fact that the girls are dressed up similarly, therefore it is easy to reduce track of who may be who. Considering that the earlier shots pictured and moved with Marieme, the viewer is definitely oriented to spot with her in the combat. This frenetic style works in adding the audience into the damage that Marieme is in, but also begins to mask the identity of each girl so that it becomes significantly less clear visually which jet fighter we should identify with. This prime the next main shift in both recording style and identification.
Marieme problems back, gets Caidy into a chokehold and rips away her t-shirt. Then, the camera stops following Marieme and cookware back to demonstrate only Caidy as your woman backs away scared and embarrassed, covering up herself. The camera contains on this momentarily, allowing the viewer to orient their very own identification with Caidy while she instantly goes from viscious to timid. Coming from nowhere, Marieme leaps in frame, punching Caidy hard. This is the switch. We are no more in Marieme’s head. Were in Caidy’s.
The camera continually discriminately follow Caidy since she crawls on the ground. The group can’t see Marieme in any way, save on her feet kicking Caidy and after that withdrawing via frame. While the camera pans about reveal Marieme taking a cutting knife from her pocket, her face basically shown.
Finally, the camera reductions. This extended take all over again changes the rhythm of the scene. It really is no longer speedy and disorienting but rather sluggish, clear, and drawn out. This has the effect of making the audience think every strike and kick that Marieme delivers to Caidy, plus the contrast in shot size leaves the viewer frantically waiting for the painful shot to end. Marieme pins Caidy down and cuts off her bra. Your woman holds her trophy full of the air, as well as the camera mix pans approximately it, certainly not allowing to find out Marieme’s expression in her moment of triumph.
While the 1st half of this kind of scene places the two girls on equivalent footing, the past half shows Marieme while the opponent and Caidy as the victim. With regards to story arc, this instant should be Marieme’s, she is victorious, proves very little to her close friends, and shows her durability to himself. Yet the camera focuses on Caidy, giving the group a peek of how Marieme’s violence impacts others much in the same way your woman was troubled by her brother’s violence.
