Mean Creek Essay
Describe at least ONE character or individual who changed during the text(s)
Explain how the change helped you to better understand the character or individual, supporting your points with examples of visual and/ or oral language features.
Throughout life everybody changes as they adapt and change due to different experiences and events. In the film Mean Creek directed by Jacob Aaron Estes, Estes uses the character of Sam to show how the events of the film can really change a character and the way that the character is viewed. This helped us to understand the character of Sam in which we discovered that while not physically tough, he proved to be the strongest mentally of the group. This is shown to us through different scenes as we see visual techniques express the changes that Sam has foregone. The scenes include the opening scene, the scene when they discover that George is dead, and the final scene in which Sam confesses. It is through these scenes that we see a change in Sam’s character as he is affected by Georges death, this giving us a better understanding of Sam’s character.
In the opening scene in which George is beating up Sam, Estes perceives Sam as a very vulnerable character who has no strength to stand up to George. The use of camera angles which put George at a low angle, making him look strong and overpowering giving the audience the impression that he is a bully who has power over Sam. However Sam has a high angle shot on him as this makes him look small, with which the audience understands Sam is a weak character who is not physically strong. In this scene close ups are also used which makes the audience feel claustrophobic as they are put in the scene, and we see the pained look on Sams face as he is beaten up. We see the scared expression on Sams face forcing us to sympathise as we look to Sam a weak character who is being bullied. From this scene the audience can draw a conclusion on the character of Sam in which they believe he is a
Explain how the change helped you to better understand the character or individual, supporting your points with examples of visual and/ or oral language features.
Throughout life everybody changes as they adapt and change due to different experiences and events. In the film Mean Creek directed by Jacob Aaron Estes, Estes uses the character of Sam to show how the events of the film can really change a character and the way that the character is viewed. This helped us to understand the character of Sam in which we discovered that while not physically tough, he proved to be the strongest mentally of the group. This is shown to us through different scenes as we see visual techniques express the changes that Sam has foregone. The scenes include the opening scene, the scene when they discover that George is dead, and the final scene in which Sam confesses. It is through these scenes that we see a change in Sam’s character as he is affected by Georges death, this giving us a better understanding of Sam’s character.
In the opening scene in which George is beating up Sam, Estes perceives Sam as a very vulnerable character who has no strength to stand up to George. The use of camera angles which put George at a low angle, making him look strong and overpowering giving the audience the impression that he is a bully who has power over Sam. However Sam has a high angle shot on him as this makes him look small, with which the audience understands Sam is a weak character who is not physically strong. In this scene close ups are also used which makes the audience feel claustrophobic as they are put in the scene, and we see the pained look on Sams face as he is beaten up. We see the scared expression on Sams face forcing us to sympathise as we look to Sam a weak character who is being bullied. From this scene the audience can draw a conclusion on the character of Sam in which they believe he is a