‘Never Forget’ Textual Analysis - Sam Swinson

‘Never Forget’ Textual Analysis - Sam Swinson

In this post I will be looking at a short film called ‘Never Forget’. I will be looking at:

• How gender is represented?
• How masculinity and femininity are being represented?
• How this is shown by the four technical codes?
• How are we being positioned?
• How do I feel about the two characters?
• How is the film’s construction positioning you to take this view?

Figure 1

• The opening shot is a tracking shot that follows a hand as it unzips a suit holder.
• A focus pull is used in the shot so at the start of the shot the focus is on the suit cover showing that it is a men’s suit then by the end of the shot the focus is on the hand which the audience assume is a man’s hand.
• There is non-diegetic background sound which is slow paced high classy music played with a grand piano.
• This is a stereotypical view of formal masculinity because men are often seen in suits and the non-diegetic background music matches the suit being shown.

Figure 2

• There is a cut to the next shot. This is a cut away from the previous shot.
• This is a pan and tilt shot that follows a woman as she is walking then as she stops to look in her bag.
• This woman is dressed formally with black high heels and a black jacket.
• This is a stereotypical view of femininity because of the way this character is dressed and the way that she walks.
• The non-diegetic background music stops when she is on screen and we can hear the diegetic sound of her panting as if she is out of breath.
• This suggests that she is late to where ever she is supposed to be.
• The audience assume that these two characters are linked because they are both dressed formally and it is cutting to and from the characters.

Figure 3

• There is a cut back to the man as he is getting dressed.
• This is a close up on his chest as he pulls is shirt sleeves out of the suit.
• Also, the is a tilt upwards and a change from shallow depth of field to wide depth of field as he adjusts his tie.
• This shows the attention to detail and care that he is taking when getting ready and it show that he is taking his time getting ready and not rushing.

Figure 4

• Then there is a cut back to the woman which is a close up shot.
• This shows the woman as she checks her hair and make-up in a small heart shaped mirror prop.
• There is a focus pull so that the hand she is holding the mirror with is in focus and the audience can see her wedding ring.
• This suggest that the two characters we have seen are married and this ring is shown in another close up later on in the film.
• Also, the small mirror signifies that she is rushing because she hasn’t had enough time to check her appearance.
• Furthermore, this is a stereotypical view of women because appearance is very important to her.

Figure 5

• Then there is a short big close up on the man’s and his background is the two characters smiling showing that they used to have a happy relationship.
• This is shown by the light background of the photo where they are smiling and in the present time we don’t see either of the characters smile and the background of the shots are dark.

Figure 6 + 7 + 8

• The next few shots are parallel cutting between the two characters as they have a phone call.
• When the man is waiting for the woman to answer his facial expression show that he is angry and it is a very serious facial expression.
• Also, there is diegetic music playing quietly in the background which links back to the formal look of his suit showing his masculinity.
• Shot reverse shot is used for this part of the phone call and parallel cutting is used so that the audience can see both of the characters during the phone call and see their different facial expressions and body language.
• The man has dialogue that says “No rush, happy valentine’s day”, however, the tone of his voice show that he doesn’t mean this and he continues to have the angry and serious facial expression.
• The woman responds with dialogue saying “sorry, happy valentine’s day” and the tone of her voice shows that she has done something wrong and she is just say that because he said it.

Figure 9

• There are some close up shots of the woman as she talks about what she did last night.
• The audience, also, get to see flashbacks of what happened, but, the flashbacks don’t match what the woman is saying which shows that she is lying.
• On top of this, her eyes show that she is lying because she keeps looking to one side and her facial expression show that she is feeling guilty.
• Furthermore, when the shot cuts back to the man and he says “so you stayed in” which suggests that he knows that she didn’t stay in and this is dramatic irony because the audience know that she didn’t stay in.

Figure 10

• Then during one of the close ups in the flashbacks shallow depth of field is used to bring the audience’s attention to the ring on the woman’s figure as she takes it off.
• This is a non-stereotypical view of women because normal it is considered that the man would be the one to cheat and lie about cheating to the other.
• Then later on in the flashback there is a tracking shot that follow the woman as she walks out of the club then the camera stops moving and focuses on the man in the club.
• This shows that the man know that she is lying and explains his tone of voice, facial expression and body language
• When the man sees the woman in the club his facial expression shows that he is shocked.

Figure 11

• Over the phone the woman can her the man sigh and as he does she stops walking and her facial expression show that she thinks something is not right.
• Also, her body language show that she feels slightly awkward.
• The man says how he loves her and then she says it back, but, her tone of voice shows that she doesn’t mean it.

Figure 12

• Then there is a cut to a big close up of the man’s mouth and his hand as he is holding his phone.
• As he is saying the dialogue during this how the tone of his voice changes to a more serious and canister tone.
• Then he says “this is all your fault” which leaves the audience and the woman wondering what is going to happen.

Figure 13

• Finally, there is a cut back to woman who is on an empty path next to a river in a city and her facial expression shows that she is confused as is the audience.
• Then after the diegetic sound of the phone hang up has played there is a few seconds of silence as the woman tries to understand what has happened then a body of some sort falls from above causing the woman to scream.
• This leaves the audience confused because of enigma as they don’t know who the body was, but, they can guess that it was the body of the man that the woman has been talking to, however, it could be the man the woman had an affair with.

How are we being positioned?

We are being positioned in the middle of this relationship with these two characters. This allows the audience to see both sides of the story that the characters are saying. Also, it makes the audience choose sides with the two character either being on the man’s side of the woman’s side.

How do I feel about the two characters?

I feel sympathy for the man in the relationship because he has witnessed his wife have an affair with another man and she is lying about where she was the previous night. On the other hand, I don’t feel sympathy for what the woman has done, but, having to see what I can guess is the, dead body of the man he killed or the man himself, is not right by any circumstances.

How is the film’s construction positioning you to take this view?

This is done through how this has affected the man. This is because the audience can see that the affair has cause lots of problems for the man as his facial expression show anger yet the man still loves the woman. On the other hand, the woman shows no remorse in her facial expression and by the fact that she is lying to her husband.