Assignment 3: Clip Analysis

There are police cars and a flare is lit indicating the scene of a crime. *ACT: The question is proposed as to what had just happened. The initial point of view is ambiguous; as the viewer is unaware as to whose eyes they are watching through. When focused on the man in the car saying, “I’m okay… I don’t know what happened,” a partial answer is revealed. Once the answer to what has just happened is revealed, the focus is turned to Cole and his mother in the car. **HER: What is Cole going to tell his mother? Cole is confiding in his mother to tell his secrets. Her perplexed facial expression indicates her anxiety awaiting Cole’s confession. However, there is the promise of an answer to what Cole is experiencing through the shot reverse shot dialogue between him and his mother. There is fraud when the viewers see the dead woman and we know Cole can see her too; however, his mother cannot. Equivocation is evident when we see Cole and standing behind him is the dead woman. This combination of fraud and truth evokes bewilderment within the viewers. However, a partial answer is revealed also through the shot reverse shot dialogue. When his mother says, “Cole, you’re scaring me.” Cole responds, “They scare me too sometimes.” This interaction is unique because his mother is worried about him and he is worried about himself, indicating a common concern. The climax of the conversation between Cole and his mother is when he talks about his interaction with his grandmother. The validity of this conversation leads to the disclosure of the question that is what are Cole’s secrets and what will his mother think. ***ACT: another proairetic code is when Cole and his mother are talking about her missing his play. This is a minor part of the conversation; however, it relates to the conversation Cole had with his dead grandmother about his mother’s dance recital. ****SYM: It is obvious that the mother is disconcerted with this information about her son and doesn’t know how to deal with it. The focus on her wedding ring symbolizes loyalty, however, this is contrary to her conversation with Cole, which is focused on abandonment and the reasoning behind it. *****REF: There are many cultural references in the initial scene of the crime, including: the obedience to a higher authority (the police), the reaction of the guy who had just been in an accident, and mainly the interaction between Cole and his mother, resembling the son or younger person approaching his mother, the higher power.