Perhaps this is another kind of unreliable narration: when the shooting,
scoring and lighting of a scene create a impression (often sinister) that
turns out to be inaccurate.  In some cases the camera is simply expressing
and reinforcing a character's point of view (i.e., in "Meet Me in St. Louis"
when Tootie approaches the neighbor's house on Halloween; she is terrified
but after she flees we see that he is a nice if puzzled old man whose
snarling dog is really quite gentle).  But how about the frightening way the
scientists are presented in "E.T."--all Gestapo-like flashlights and tromping
feet, with relentless forward tracking and low camera placement, until they
reveal themselves as benevolent extra-terrestrial-lovers?  Whose subjective
experience does this express?  E.T.'s?  I don't think so; sometimes he isn't
even aware of the ominous presence. It's simply the filmmaker trying to
create suspense by misleading the audience.  I call it cheating.
 
Barbara Bernstein                       email: [log in to unmask]
Kinexis, San Francisco,  CA
 
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