Mise en Scene and Editing in Sadaam

The text uses mise en scene to inform the reader through it’s signifiers. Firstly we see a room what signifies a home office because of it’s desk’s lamps and cushioned seats. The colours are warm reds browns and oranges which signifies exoticness, warmth and wealth. As we see the protagonist leaving the building he goes through a glass door again signifying wealth he has an accompanier who is wearing a suit which also signifies power and wealth. The protagonist is military connoted from his badges and green shirt but we can tell he’s Asian by the colour of his skin. It is night time the preferred reading of this is that they are escaping as we can tell from the signifiers they a walking quickly and it is night. The car is black and there are lots of shadows signifying the protagonist has a dark side or evil in some way. The verisimilitude of the reason for escape is anchored with the use of the flashes, smoking derelict car and uneven soil to signify war therefore the audience know something isn’t quite right. This scene is left polysemic as to the outcome of the protagonist to draw the readers attention. We begin the scene within the disequilibrium suggesting an equilibrium cam before it. We are then provided anchorage as to who the protagonist is meant to be by the use of the text. The producer juxtaposes a dark scene with a light scene. The next scene uses a glaring effect to signify heat and peace although signifies the binary opposites of peace and disorder with the use of the tanks, un even ground, rubble and smoke. The tanks, helicopters and smoke signify war and trouble a stereotypical view of the middle east as these signify. We see one shop window but the reflection is so great we can’t see through it which signifies hiding. The flowing costumes suggest a hot country along with the wavy air but the costumes also suggest hiding or hidden agenda’s. We can tell this is a country that uses Arabic writing by the use of it on the phone booth the use of a phone booth instead of a mobile signifies either the preferred reading of poverty or the negotiated reading of a past time period. The use of the golden poster of the protagonist as we saw in the last scene signifies he is the same character in this but in hiding as he’s not dressed the same it also signifies that he was once a ruler and like the text at the bottom of the screen which gives anchorage this provides a signifier for time has passed. As we see him in the phone booth the scene cuts to the lady signifying he is on the phone to her. The text uses the binary opposites male power and female abiding to juxtapose western and eastern power to signify conflict. The woman signifies western culture because of her dress her top is white which connotes innocence and her rings signify wealth. The producer uses the stereotype and present’s the woman with blonde hair and advertising her chest and bum through the camera to signify a primitive society by using our old fashioned views of woman instantly recognizable to the audience. However the countertype of a professional woman signifies this is still the modern day and Sadaam has power. We then see another contrast in scenes from this disrupted landscape to a natural idyllic landscape again signifying time has passed and a sense of lonliness as we see the boy swimming. The boy swimming signifies freedom but his freedom is upressed by the site of the protagonist. He has no possions visable but his clothing and is skinny signifying poverty a stereotypical divided view of the middle east by using the binary opposition of this with a chubbier more well dressed protagonist. The preferred reading therefore gets us to dislike the protagonist yet be compassionate with him by the use of close ups and showings of his relationships his bold black eyebrows signify evil a stereotypical view of middle eastern’s.