SPOILER ALERT: This series of posts is spoiler-heavy. But, seriously, the movie is from 1997!!! If you haven’t watched it by now…<\/b> <\/p>\n
Unlike a novel, which is a final, complete piece of literature in and of itself, a screenplay is a working document, designed to be shot as a movie. Regardless of the different purposes, there are literary techniques that work the same in both forms.<\/p>\n
Literary Techniques – Juxtaposition<\/b>
Juxtaposition, which essentially means the act of placing things close together, is a useful technique to create meaning in a story. It can be used for emotional impact, or to create humour.<\/p>\n
Let’s look at some examples of the use of juxtaposition.<\/p>\n
Example 1 -Emotional Impact<\/b>
The last scene on page 68 shows the funeral of a police officer, killed in the line of duty. It is a sea of blue uniforms. Many people are present to pay their respects to the slain officer. The scene finishes with a twenty-one gun salute to farewell the deceased.<\/p>\n
This elaborate police funeral, filled with pomp and ceremony, is contrasted with the simple burial of a criminal named Larry Fontaine, killed in the same gunfight that claimed the life of the police officer. Larry’s mother is the sole mourner.<\/p>\n
The contrast between the two funerals speaks volumes, and creates a deeper emotional impact than seeing either of the funerals by themselves.<\/p>\n
Example 2 – Humour <\/b>
On pages 69 and 70, there is an example of juxtaposing for humorous effect. At the bottom of page 69 an Older Gentleman emphatically stands up to a smarmy Lawyer, refusing to be bullied into changing his vote to please a certain Mr Patchett.<\/p>\n
The Lawyer produces a stack of photographs – compromising photos of the Older Gentleman clad only in a pair of socks and garters.<\/p>\n
In the next scene, we see the same Older Gentleman rising for a vote in a State Assembly chamber. He states, “It may surprise some, but a mature man, enlightened by the facts, can change his mind…”<\/p>\n
The Older Gentleman’s initial resistance is juxtaposed with the reversal of his decision to create a humorous effect. It is also effective because it has a plot purpose – it is not just humour for humour’s sake.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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