Meanings of Mise-en-scene in Mainsteam Cinema [Assignment]

This is an assignment I did for my 'Reading Hollywood' unit. It talks about the use of mise-en-scene in mainstream cinema using Stanley Kubrick's 'Full Metal Jacket' as an example. Got marked as a B (just).

What kinds of meanings are made by ‘mise-en-scene’ in mainstream cinema?

Mise-en-scene is an interesting subject to analyse in a film and often gives a film meaning that can subvert the consciousness of the viewer. It can imply different meanings in different texts using a variety of techniques if used correctly. In the book “Film Art: An Introduction”, Bordwell and Thompson claim that “many of our most sharply etched memories of the cinema turn out to centre on mise-en-scene.” This definition reinforces the claim that mise-en-scene is a powerful tool for the film maker to use when giving meaning to a scene.

There is extensive use of mise-en-scene to create meanings within Stanley Kubrick’s “Full Metal Jacket”. One example of this is in one of the first scenes on the Parris Island boot camp. The colours used in this scene are limited, mainly only white and brown, and the lighting is very bright. These are quite bland colours and provide an interesting atmosphere. As all the characters are in the same uniform there is a sense of order and uniformity, as well as implying a loss of identity, which is also emphasised in the preceding scene where the characters heads are shaved. This loss of identity is reinforced by the rows of beds that recruits must sleep in. They are all identical and positioned in rows, implying that none of the recruits are to be treated as individuals with different personalities, but just as soldiers.

It is interesting to note that when the recruits are sent to Vietnam, their sleeping quarters are quite similar in layout to those at the boot camp. The beds are still in rows, the colours are bland, and there is also bright lighting. This shows a uniformity that has been carried from the boot camp scenes through to when the recruits are stationed in Vietnam. There is also this order of rows during the last scene at boot camp in the ‘head’. The toilets in the head are all positioned in two rows, which match the beds, and to some extent, when Pvt. Pyle commits suicide in this scene, he is sat roughly in the row where his bed was in a previous scene where he is attacked. This gives particular meaning to the scene as it hints at the loss of his identity as a human being and his conformity to what he has been taught at boot camp has made him insane as well as almost machine like.

For both of these scenes the lighting is very dark and blue, with lots of shadows being cast over the characters. This provides a dark atmosphere and accentuates characters expression, especially during a close-up of Pvt. Pyle. It also hints at a mechanical feel, implying the boot camp is simply turning the recruits into robots.

The mise-en-scene is quite relentless during the boot camp scenes and even scenes shot outside have a quite bland and uniform feel to them. Recruits are still in uniform creating order and often march in rows reinforcing the uniformity that has been shown in previous scenes. The colours are often still quite dark and bland and the sky, even though it often takes up a lot of the scene, is nearly always cloudy. This implies that the boot camp is always reinforcing its message of order and lack of individualism, as even the outdoors lacks character and embraces uniformity.

Other scenes on the other hand offer some sense of balance. For example, during the scene in the helicopter a soldier is seen shooting at innocent people on the ground. When we see him there is a balance of the bland, dark colours on the inside of the helicopter and the bright greens and blues of the outside. This emphasises the dark content of this particular scene, as well as the possible innocence of those that are being shot at.

Towards the end of the film a lot of the scenes feature plenty of fire and smoke. As well as being caused by the war, the fire and smoke could also be seen as a symbol of degeneration, that of the group of soldiers when one dies, and of the soldier’s state of mind. This is especially true in Pvt. Joker’s case, a soldier who has rarely seen action, but by the end of the film executes a Vietnamese sniper.

The last film in the scene creates some interesting meanings. It shows the soldiers marching through a destroyed town at night in front of fire, smoke and rubble. One of the most interesting things about the mise-en-scene in this shot in how the soldiers are marching. In previous scenes, such as in the boot camp, the soldiers are always marching in order, whereas in this scene they are not. This could be seen to represent how the soldiers have changed personality wise and have regained some sort of individualism, albeit different to who they may of been when they first joined the boot camp.

Overall, I think that the mise-en-scene works well in this film on both a conscious and sub-conscious level. Order and uniformity have important meaning, but may not be explicitly noticeable to the casual viewer, although still invoke a response. Viewers will see the order that is being forced upon the soldiers through the acting and context of the film, but it is the mise-en-scene that underlines it and gives it strength.