The Use of Mise-en-scene to Portray Carols Lack of Identity in Safe Film - Coursework Example

 The use of mise-en-scene to portray carol’s lack of identity in ‘Safe’ The art of film production is a challenging task that requires the producer to use several techniques in order to capture and sustain the attention of the viewer. One of the most common techniques in film production is the use of mise-en-scene to communicate certain themes. In the film “Safe”, Todd Haynes main theme is that of lack of self-identity as portrayed in the life of Carol White, the main character. Haynes uses the natural settings, light, costumes, performance, and space to portray Carol’s loss of direction in life and her desire to escape to a “safe” place. The year is 1987 and Carol White, a house wife living in San Fernando Valley develops a peculiar disease which people refer to as the “Twentieth-Century Disease” which is basically an acute sensitivity to multiple chemical substances. The allergies which are triggered by virtually any chemical that Carol comes across cause Carol to have persistent fatigue, uncontrollable coughing, nose-bleeding, asthma, vomiting, and eventually a seizure (Haynes, 1995). As time goes on, Carol loses her sense of self-identity and when doctors fail to diagnose her illness, Carol goes to the desert and checks in at the Wrenwood self-help retreat center where clients are taught how to heal themselves. Setting Haynes makes good use of setting in bringing about the mise-en-scene effect. According to Bardwell & Thompson (2008), the film setting is a crucial aspect in film production as it can be used to narrate the story. Lathrop & Sutton (n.d) add that producers often choose between natural and artificial locales for the setting of a film. In ‘Safe’, Haynes chooses a natural setting whereby the film is shot is San Fernando Valley, which is an affluent neighborhood that is deemed safe unlike neighboring places like Los Angeles (Grossman, 2005). The neighborhood is characterized by gated homes, perfectly mowed lawns, police patrol and luxury. One would expect that the people living in this suburb are happy and secure, but that is not the case as exemplified by Carol’s life. Living in the affluent suburbs, Carol’s only duties seem to be centered on furnishing her home, going for beauty treatments at salons and spas, and attending luncheons for rich people. Basically, Carol’s life is devoid of meaning and hers is an empty, pointless existence. Carol has no form of self-identity as she prides herself in being a housewife, meaning that she relies on someone else, in this case her husband, to give her an identity. In addition, although she goes to the usual social meetings, Carol is not much of a social person and prefers to keep to herself most of the time. For example, at the baby shower, while all the other women mill around the host for the opening of the “big present”, Carol alienates herself from the group. Haynes (1995) also uses the desert as a natural locale for the Wrenwood retreat center to which Carol goes to seek treatment. Wrenwood is a sharp contrast from San Fernando Valley, as the former is located in the middle of a dangerous desert. Unlike San Fernando Valley, Wrenwood is inhabited by people of other races, is close to the motorway and does not have any form of security systems (Haynes, 1995). Ironically, Carol escapes from San Fernando Valley where safety is almost guaranteed, in search of safety in the desert. Lighting Haynes employs clever use of long and deep-space shots in filming Carol’s mansion in such a way that the viewer becomes immersed in the beauty of the house and forgets Carol’s presence (Haynes, 1995). In some instances, the film is shot in such that the viewer gets a double vision in which both Carol and the house are in a single shot, somehow competing for attention. For example, in the scene where Carol is on phone talking to her mother, the camera focuses on her while also showing the vast, expensively decorated living room. At some point, the viewer is too engaged in deciphering the room’s decoration that Carol is momentarily forgotten. In fact, in the entire film, Carol is only recognized as the beneficiary of such magnificence, while she is struggling internally to have a sense of identity outside her suburban housewife status. Carol’s life is defined by the riches that surround her and for being the wife of a rich man (Haynes, 1995). Otherwise, there is nothing else going on for Carol as an individual in the film. Haynes makes perfect use of lighting to produce the mise-en-scene effect when Carol arrives home only to be met by a black couch in the living room. For about five to ten seconds, Carol blankly stares at the black, empty, unused, square-shaped couch (Haynes, 1995). The couch is symbolic of Carl’s life and that must be the reason why she cannot seem to stop staring at it. Haynes was very creative in developing this particular scene, considering that the lighting is low key, and there is no sound as Carol stares at the couch, thus giving the feeling of the emptiness which is Carol’s life. Costume The dressing of characters in Haynes’s film plays an important role in advancing the mise-en-scene technique. In particular, in almost the entire first half of the film, Carol is dressed in white clothes which lead the viewer into viewing Carol as someone who is living in fear of contamination and septic conditions. As a result, Carol chooses to wear white so that she can easily spot any dirt on her and avoid being contaminated, although the irony that Carol still gets sick despite being that careful. As Lathrop & Sutton (n.d) write, costumes can be used to imply the psychological disposition of a character. The white clothes can also be interpreted as a symbol of Carol’s emptiness and lack of adventure in life. As Carol puts on white clothes, they reveal her lack of adventure in life and her preference to play safe. Performance At the very beginning of the film, Carol is seen as being alienated and self-deluded, way before she develops the environmental sickness (Haynes, 1995). As Carol engages in sex with her husband, she seems so disinterested and vague that she is methodically rubbing her husband’s back while he reaches orgasm. This shows that Carol considers sex as a duty she must perform as a wife, but she cannot identify herself as deserving of attaining pleasure from the act. Carol alienates herself from her womanly needs and only serves to please her husband, a scene that exemplifies her lack of self-identity. Furthermore, Carol cannot identify the source of her illness and considers it as being the result of being stressed out and in need of rest. Carol’s performance during her stay at Wrenwood is also very believable. For example, Carol manages to play the role of a deluded person when she writes to her family telling them that she is doing much better, yet she appears to have gotten worse. For example, during her birthday speech, Carol is barely coherent and her body looks fragile and worn out (Grossman, 2005). As if to emphasize the reader’s observation, towards the end of the film, Carol is seen looking at herself in the mirror and saying “I love you” to her bruised and pale reflection. Space As Bardwell & Thompson (2008) write, the use of space in a film can bring out the desired mise-en-scene effect on the viewer. For example, in one of the scenes, Carol is getting worried about her illness and decides to consult a psychiatrist upon insistence by her doctor. In the psychiatrist’s office, Carol is seen sitting vulnerably across the psychiatrist with a huge desk separating the two. Haynes uses deep space to portray the desk as occupying such a big portion of the room that Carol seems to be miles away from the psychiatrist. The use of space here shows how distant doctors are to the needs of their patients and the alienation of doctors from the patients who depend on them for treatment. References Bordwell, D., & Thompson, K. (2008). Film Art: An Introduction, 8th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. Grossman, J. (2005). The Trouble with Carol: The Costs of Feeling Good in Todd Haynes’s [Safe] and the American Cultural Landscape. The (E) Journal of Cultural Criticism, 2(3). Haynes, T. (Director).(1995). Safe. [Motion Picture]. United States: American Playhouse Theatrical Films. Lathrop, G., & Sutton, D. (n.d). Elements of Mise-En-Scene. Retrieved from www.proseproductionsink.com./1102_licata_elements_of_mise_en_scene_modified.pdf. Read More