Emilio
De Hoyos
Period
5
The theme in this extract is about
power, and standing within society, and how it affects us. Specifically the
power of banks, and how they ultimately have the last say in our lives. Here,
we see Stannis, (the first man we see on the boat) have his fate decided by the
bank, even though he himself holds power. The theme serves to show how little
control one truly has over one's life.
In the first scene, we see an aerial
shot of a boat on the water, and then a man on said boat, this serves to
demonstrate that the man, Stannis, holds power and is approaching something of
importance. High-key lighting helps to reinforce the grandeur of the ship, and
further highlight Stannis. The shot we get inside of the ship is of two men,
the aforementioned Stannis, and his ally, Davos. We see a two-shot of the both
of them, with Stannis in front, the camera slowly zooming in on him, this again
serves to prove that he is the one in charge here, and the others (Davos)
follow him. We cut away to aerial shot, this time, transitioning to an
establishing shot of a coastal city. This is the first scene, and it helps to
establish that Stannis is a man of power heading to a coastal city, perhaps in
search of something.
We then cut to the second scene, it
begins in a low-key lit bank. The bank is large, with stained glass windows and
a desk with three chairs in the middle, clearly meant for someone of
importance. Again we see the characters in a two shot, Stannis again being the
center of focus. A cut occurs, and we now see the width and size of the bank
with a wide shot, and within it, see how small Davos and Stannis look, taking
away the power we thought Stannis to have. Three people enter the bank, and the
camera tracks them all the way until they sit. Their presence already tells us they
have power. This thought is confirmed as they begin to have a dialogue. Davos
attempts to introduce Stannis as the king but is shot down by the bankers,
further diminishing Stannis’ power within the scene, and they continually find
reasons to refuse his requests. Within
the dialogue we see a lot of shot-reverse-shots, as well as fast paced editing,
this serves mainly to demonstrate that the people from the bank already have an
answer, and they only hold the conversation as long as they have to. The scene
ends as we see yet another two-shot of Davos and Stannis, he is, once again in
the forefront, but this time, he seems defeated, showing that he no longer
holds power, and even bankers hold more sway over decisions than he does.
Through the extract we see Stannis,
a man of power, however, we quickly learn that he is not as powerful as we
think. Through the dialogue, and angles, we see he is a man near defeat, and is
desperate for aid. The bank holds clear power over him, and refuses his
request, demonstrating that they are of more importance over him. Dooming any
hope of triumph, Stannis is left a powerless man.
