17th October 2017

1.8 significant connections

Rabbit Proof Fence- Phillip Noyce

 

The nature of survival was shown in the film “Rabbit Proof Fence” directed by Phillip Noyce. The first aspect of survival that was shown is thinking ahead can help assist your survival. This was shown when Molly, Gracie and Daisy are held at Moore river and Molly identifies rain clouds heading for Moore river. The text states “Come on. Get your things. We’re going. We’re going home to mother” and “He not gonna get us. We just keep walking and the rain will cover our tracks”.The camera shot that is used is a close up, eye level of molly’s reaction of seeing the dark clouds getting drawn into Moore river from this scene we hear the rumbling thunder from above and the children walking into their church. This shows that Molly had thought ahead of time to plan their escape by noticing the rain coming into the camp she knew that it would clear their tracks.

 

A second aspect of survival that was shown in the film “Rabbit Proof Fence” was determination This was shown when Molly told Gracie and Daisy that they were going home and that Gracie and Daisy persisted to stay, Molly stuck to her word and was determined to go back to home as for Moore river made her feel sick. The text states “bad place,” “make me sick.” From this we see a high angle, medium shot zooming into a close up of molly lying in her bed with her sisters at Moore river. The shot is used to show that she is in bed with her sisters and to also show that she is still awake as she has bad feelings about Moore river and that those feelings make her feel sick. The lighting that is used in this shot is very dark and has an evil feeling to it and that Molly doesn’t feel like a good place to be around and that they will have to plan an escape.This shows that being determined about your choices will also determine the others around you to choose the right decision.

 

After Earth- M. Night Shyamalan

 

The nature of survival was shown in the film “After earth” directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

The first aspect of survival that was shown is staying calm in a difficult situation. This was shown when Kitai Raige is at the top of the volcano trying to find a signal to contact Nova Prime as he also has to be aware and calm about the Ursa that is hunting him down.

The text states “Fear is not real, The only place that fair exists is in our thoughts of the future…”

The viewer sees a eye level, medium shot of Kitai with his back on the Ursa staying calm in the situation making sure that the Ursa won’t be able to sense the fear inside him. The lighting that is used in this scene is dark and ashy to show the location that they are in and to show the viewer that it is an important scene for Kitai as he is so close to reaching his goal and is in a dangerous situation.

This shows that being calm in a dangerous situation will make you be able to think clear and to be able to choose the right situations.

 

A second aspect of survival that was shown in the film “After Earth” was listening to advice. This was shown when Kitai is in a situation where he is faced with a group of monkeys.His dad (Cypher Raige) gives him advice on staying calm and to lower his stance otherwise they would react, Kitai doesn’t listen to his dad’s advice and throws a rock at the group of monkeys and they react aggressively.

The text states “Every single decision you make will be life or death. This is class 1 quarantined planet.Everything on this planet has evolved to kill humans”. The viewer sees a High angle, medium shot of Kitai staring up at the monkey approaching him. The high angle is used to show that the monkey is a predator to kitai making it look tougher and dangerous. This shows that you should listen to others advice as they could have been in a similar situation or have some knowledge on how to act in a situation like this.

 

Molly also shows herself as staying calm throughout the film when her, Daisy and Gracie are in some tough situations the same as what Kitai does throughout the film. Molly showed that she was calm by staying positive to Gracie and Daisy to make sure to make them feel as safe as possible as we can relate to in the film After earth when Kitai is staying calm as he faces the Ursa which in the end helps him survive the attack from the ursa and is able to contact help.

 

Touching the void- Joe Simpson

 

The nature of survival was shown in the text “Touching the void’ written by Joe Simpson.

The first aspect of survival that was shown is planning and setting goals. This was shown when Joe Simpson is crawling over the rocks trying to find his way back to Simon and starts to think in his head of setting checkpoints/goals to reach in a certain amount of time for him not to lose focus and to keep pushing himself. The text states “Swayed on my good legs’ and ‘lay back face down in the snow’. The viewer sees a eye level, close up of Joe simpson thinking about his setting his goals and telling himself that he can do it and for him to do it in a certain amount of time. This shows that by setting yourself goals helps motivate to push you through the tough times or if you are in a tough situation. It can give you something to think about as in joe’s situation it stopped him from thinking about how hungry and thirsty he was and thinking about the pain caused from his leg.

A second aspect of survival that was shown in the text “touching the void” was dealing with physical fatigue. This was shown when Joe Simpson had snapped his leg climbing down the edge of Siula Grande. The text states “The pain is… came flooding down my thigh” and ‘If i have broken my leg im dead”. The viewer sees a high angle, long shot of the position joe is in after falling down the slope of Siula Grande. This shot is used to show that Joe looks vulnerable out in the open and to show the way he has fallen and to show his experience of this situation. This shows that Joe Simpson had gone through a hard time with his experiences up Siula Grande as he had to deal with hunger, thirst and also having his leg injury on his journey to get back to his camp at the bottom of Siula Grande.

This can be compared to After earth with the aspect of physical fatigue for throughout the movie Kitai has trouble with his oxygen supply on earth as this makes him feel tired and weak which affects his performance of survival where we can also relate to Joe Simpson in touching the void as his survival is also affected by being exhausted from his leg injury and lack of food and water.  

 

I am legend- Francis Lawrence

 

The nature of survival was shown in the film “I am legend’ directed by Francis Lawrence.

The first aspect of survival that was shown is to outsmart your enemies. This was shown when Dr Robert Neville sets up a trap to hopefully capture a dark seeker to be able to trial his cure on the Krippin virus.The text states “Because you can still get infected” and “gotta pay attention ok…” The viewer sees a high angle, over the shoulder shot of Dr Robert Neville’s perspective of the trap as he is waiting for one of the infected to set the trap off so that he can run some tests on to find the cure for the Krippin virus. In this scene there are no sounds or music used to make it an intense moment as he is waiting for the impact hit the trap as it could happen any moment. This shows that outsmarting your enemies will help your survival but using the knowledge that you already have from the past and will make it an easier situation for you to defeat or escape your opponents.

A second aspect of survival that was shown in the film “I am legend” was knowing your direction. This was shown when Dr Robert Neilie is running away from the infected in an abandoned building after saving Sam his dog as we can see he knows the layout of the building which makes it easier for him to find a safe way out. The text states “Sam we gotta go” . The viewer sees a eye level, medium shot of Dr Robert Neville running away from the infected finding his way out of the abandoned building. The lighting used in this shot is just the light off his flashlight to make the scene more of an intense situation and to show what he only sees visual. This shows that knowing your direction helps you survival by making it easier for you to escape the difficult situation and can also relate to outsmarting your enemies as you could use shortcuts or by leading them into a trap.

This can be related to Rabbit proof fence with the aspect knowing your direction which shows that Molly knew her direction by finding her way home and staying calm about it by staying positive to Gracie and Daisy as she told them that they would make it by following the Rabbit proof fence back to her mother in Jigalong. As we also see this in I am legend with the scene shown above.