Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Cleopatra Scene Analysis
This scene taken from the animated short Cleopatra (1963). In the movie Cleopatra is seen as a very powerful character, she calls herself a god on multiple occasions and is able to influence some of the strongest and smartest men in history. Throughout the movie Cleopatra and Julius Caesar are shown in powers of position through their proximity to the camera, their central location or the physical height difference between them and other characters in the shot. In this shot the back of Cleopatra's' head is much larger and closer to the camera thus showing her power. The camera is also at an angle looking down on the servant who is also far away and made to seem small and insignificant. In the scene Cleopatra is doing makeup on a fake human head, though it may be a stretch, I thought that this could have been used to show that she has so much power that she can sculpt humans like a god which she is often compared to. The scene ends with Cleopatra ordering the servant to drink the poisoned wine and kill herself, showing how much power she has. Overall the scene shows in a very clear way who has power through means that anyone who didn't know the context would understand what the dynamic of the scene is.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)

Very nice job on the way the power differential between Cleopatra and her servant Lotus is visually expressed. Just to add to this a little counter point, whenever a character is filmed from behind, that usually expresses vulnerability or even weakness. That fits to Cleopatra here because she was just about to be poisoned. You could also say more about the mise en scène: what's placed right at the center of the image, etc.?
ReplyDelete