opening sequence analysis

1. The first scene is a flash forward. From her body language we can assume a very
negative vibe from the girl and that she is the main protagonist in the movie.
The fact she is looking straight in the camera combined with the dialogue we
feel as if she is daring the person behind the camera and the audience feels
more drawn in because it is if she is talking to them.
American beauty

2. The tracking aerial shot shows us the whole neighborhood where the family
live. We can automatically assume that they are normal suburban family
and although the camera doesn't focus on one house we can see the
closeness in the neighborhood which may presumably be a problem later
on. The voice over on the scene makes it feels as if Lester is coming back
down to earth to recount his last year on earth. We also can assume this
because the voice over is in first person so the audience know the character
will be telling a story. the lack of color in the scene connotes the boringness
of their life and the audience emphasize because we feel as though there
American dream hasn’t worked out.

3. The high angle shot makes the character ‘Lester’ appear weak and powerless. The audience
also as though lesters soul is watching over his body. The dull room and dark lighting connate
the segregation between him and his wife and the lack of love in their relationship. He faced
away from the window so this could be suggesting that he is hiding away from reality. The
music is calm and is often associated with spirituality and dreaming. The single shot allows us
to see how immaculate the bedroom is and we can see that his slippers are placed wonky and
out of place therefore we can infer that he is the fault in the relationship as he is the only thing
out of place. There is also a shadow behind his lamp and not his wife's, This could be
suggesting that he has a great darkness inside of him.

4. from the continuation of the last scene we now feel as though Lester has re
entered his body through the use of a close up. This is also signified as the alarm
was added as Foley sound to signify a new beginning. From his body language
the audience feel as though he has given up and the high angle shot makes him
subvert from a stereotypical male role as he look weak.

5. The extreme close up of the rose signifies love and
passion therefore the cutting of it connotes that the
love that Lester had is now gone. The scene then
jumps onto Lester's wife where we are first introduced.
From the mid shot we can see that she is portraying a
typical role of a woman as she is taking on garden
duties. However the fact that she is wearing a suit
could imply that she still likes to maintain control. The
colour of the red rose, blue and White house are all
colours of the American flag and represent the
american dream

6. This shot is often used in film noir. It is visual metahphor and makes the
audience feel as though lester is imprisoned in his house and
marriage.leasters concentration on jim makes us feels as thoguh he is
longing for the same freedom and like he has never seen anyone like
him before

7. From the shot reverse shot we can assume that Jane
is a typical teenager in a stereotypical nuclear family.
From her clothes and make up we can infer that she
is a rebellious teenager. However her looking in the
mirror makes the audience feel as if she is
questioning her appearance and what is supposed
to typical American beauty.