Halloween Opening Sequence. How Is Meaning Created?

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The meaning in the opening sequence of Halloween is created by the performance of the two teenagers who seem to be in love which makes his murder more shocking and also is more intimate for the audience. This also means we can connect with the killer as the film started with us looking through his eyes as this is a point of view shot with no cuts or edits this shows life truly, as there are no cuts or edits in reality. This also hides the fact that the killer is a young boy with it being a point of view shot the big reveal that when he comes out of the house he is revealed as a child not an older sibling of the girl. The beginning is very clear for establishing the scene as we see a long shot of the house and then the point of view shot takes us round the side giving us a better look at the family home that is being shown before we even step foot inside the house. The shot of the house is creating meaning as it shows the young boy is from a stable and loving home where is clearly trusted like his sister is also. 
The lighting as we enter the house is fill lighting providing soft light which looks naturalistic as we are shown bits of the house and the family life for example as there are four seats at the table creating meaning as it suggests connections that he had with his family members. The costume of the killer shows the clown outfit which is ironic use of an iconic costume, this is because clowns are usually known for 1978 there was an American serial killer and rapist arrested in 1978, who became known as the killer clown after it was discovered he had performed as Pogo the Clown at children's parties and other events; however, John Wayne Gacy did not actually commit his crimes while wearing his clown costume.

Comments

  1. A Bateman19 September 2017 at 06:11

    Some very good points here Keighley which are insightful and detailed, and you have covered most of the main points well.

    WWW- I really like the comments about the historical contexts and the way that meaning is created through the neat and orderly dining room which is in contrast to the actual purpose of the scene.

    EBI- I do think that there is more to say about performance even though we see little of it, what bit we see does create meaning for the audience.

    Show me- reply to this post and explain in more detail how the performance creates meaning in the scene, consider the teenage couple, Michael's parents and the POV shot throughout, which is also a performance.

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    Replies
    1. Film studies Keighley Garside27 September 2017 at 02:33

      Show me - The performance in the clip is show by the two teenagers which can present how normal the lives of the teenagers are and makes the murder more horrific and shocking. The mother and father of the boy are not even phased by the way their child comes out of the house with a bloody knife. The performance of the point of view shot is very well done as the it is played by a women this is to protect a child from acting this out and also because when we see the hand is very difficult to distinguish between a women's hand and a child's hand.

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