The scene
is set in a classroom which is normally considered as a happy environment where
people learn and have a good time. Unlike the classrooms that we’re used to,
this one is bare and empty of inspirational colour. This implies that the
classroom is full of pain and emotion. This contrasts the quote “Your school
days are your best days” as we can already tell in this scene; this is
definitely not the case. At the beginning of the scene, the students are all standing
in their racial group which shows the audience that there is some sort of
corruption in the school system. However towards the end of the scene they end
up more scattered and mixed up. This shows that due to the lesson exercise, its
lead everyone to become more accepting of one another. Their primary body
language comes across as proud, shielding their real selves from society but
when they’re encouraged to stand on the line, this is where we see a more
sensitive and vulnerable side to them.
The scene
is moderately filled with a muted natural light from the windows which would
make them feel extremely isolated but once the class has a general
understanding and unity of each other, they begin to feel more comfortable,
like in a home environment that they never had. Instead of feeling isolated and
conscious of their surroundings, they begin to feel warm and happy almost as if
a huge weight has been lifted off of their shoulders. As the sun begins to
shine harder after everyone has revealed their losses, it is almost implying a
break in the system. Having so much natural, pure light coming into the
classroom could represent the childhoods that the students never had, this is
because they’ve had to grow up quickly to adapt to their surroundings. For
example, instead of being outside and playing with their toys, at that age
everyone was used to playing with guns and running from the law. The camera
angle that is used at this point encourages the audience to feel like one of
the students. For example moving side to side at eye level is like our own head
movement which adds effect to the current scene.
In this
scene, the students all wear dull and dark clothing with the exception of a few
light denim colours but other than that it’s all monotonic. For example, we see
a repetition of the colours: beige, dark blue and black; compared to the
teacher’s clothes which consists of a pearly white shirt and a royal blue
skirt. For the audience in this scene, she is seen as the outsider who leads
us, the audience realise how different she is from everyone else.
When it
comes to acting, apart from the teacher, all of their speaking is done through
body language. For example initially, you see that they feel uneasy about such
a sensitive subject however the more they get into it; they all begin to have a
mutual understanding of the pain they have all endured. From their body
language, you can also tell that they’re not used to making eye contact to
anyone outside of their racial group. You can tell this by the initial awkward
glare that turns into a considerate response that leads to change ones aspect
on another. They become more accepting of each other.
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