Viewer And D Fens example essay topic

The opening scene of Falling Down gives the viewer the impression that both D-Fens and Prendergast are stuck in what appears to be the middle of nowhere. The camera concentrates mainly on the vehicles and their occupants rather than on where they are located. The scene is appropriately described as a "frozen tumult of a traffic jam [3]", which clearly gives an idea of what the scene looked like exactly. There is a short glimpse of what appears to be the underside of a bridge as well as of a billboard with graffiti on it, suggesting that, in the very least the location depicted is in, or at least very close to a city. The view is rather abruptly changed to that of a quiet and peaceful neighborhood with a nearby shoreline. While not seeming to be anything special and being most likely an average middle-class location, the sudden shift back to D-Fens' new whereabouts quckly shows the viewer the enormous difference of the two places.

The film at this point shows, by revealing it rather slowly, an absolutely awful, derelict and rather void of life neighborhood. The enormous amounts of graffiti, not only on the nearby wall but also on the buildings, not forgetting the latter's strongly barred windows, confirms that not only is this an atrocious place but is possibly also quite dangerous, for a person to be walked around in, alone. One could assume that the scenery changes were done for 'contrast' in order to fully make an impact on the viewer as to how very different two locations in the same city could be. To further add to the misery of the scene, the viewer is taken into the shop which is close by, with the camera moving in such a way that its entire interior is shown, fully showing the old furniture and equipment, as well as the gloominess and darkness, which in turn add to the whole 'depressing' place. The viewer is thus convinced that the situation is just as bad inside the buildings, as it is outside. To confirm as to the depiction of such scenes in the film [1] states that "It is significant that downtown Los Angeles should be the setting for this tale of white male paranoia.

[1]". Once again the camera takes the viewer through a few short scenes involving a police station and the D-Fens' ex-wife's house, reminding that, although not perfect, there are much better places than the one D-Fens is stuck in (or rather, going through). When the view is once again reverted to the 'gangland' (as D-Fens puts it a little later) the main focus is on part of a building with "Kill" posters plastered all over it's wall. Not only that but D-Fens is shown sitting on stairs of what was probably an entire structure previously, with gang signs (graffiti) all around it. A view of the city can be viewed in all directions. However, what one sees is so dark and smoggy, that it actually, in a way, takes away from the idea that other places are any better than the current one and is lined with huge buildings pointing up to the sky, very typical of an American city - .".. very much an imperial city, economically and culturally formed by the dynamics of American empire building [1]".

Ironically enough, D-Fens' location, despite being danger- and graffiti-ridden, looks much cleaner, greener, quieter (too quiet) and more welcoming. Following is the police station, full of people working, likely to take off the pressure of the attack on and by D-Fens. After a some dwelling on that, the camera is back on the streets, this depicting a rather better location with people going about their business all around and cars driving by. Everything and everyone seems busy and while there are a lot of persons, it's still relatively quiet. The camera's main focus, besides D-Fens, is what seems to be a flower shop. However, the shots are not entirely taken off the phone, which also has graffiti (in Spanish), though to a much lesser degree, unlike in the previous scenes.

This is most likely because the viewer might have 'relaxed' after seeing something more acceptable, on average, just to remind him / her that the location is still very much not better, despite looking that way. There is a brief scene showing still the same poor part of town with beggars, people selling goods on foot and people who obviously do not have a good enough work, so they have to sit around and wait for way too overcrowded buses. After sweeping the entire area, the camera once again finds a construction site. There is nothing wrong with that, however, just after, yet one more construction site is shown before the camera settles on the goings on in the park.

It is as if, all over the city, someone is trying to fix the degeneration that can be seen all over the place. This, unfortunately is not really the case, as will be shown later. The fact that a park is shown, somehow naturally assumes, that all should be good and happy, with children playing, people walking their dogs, and so on and so forth. This is quckly dissolved with the reality of the matter - there are children playing but there are also so many beggars and (terminally) ill people asking for help, unemployed people just sitting around (and singing) and, in general, just people who apparently have nothing in their lives to live for, and the park is their escape. Yet, before continuing, the viewer is drawn to a sign which reads "No Matter, Never mind", as if to say to those same people, as well as the viewer: "Don't care about what you see because nobody else does. Don't worry, life goes on (as empty as it might be)".

The shots just described are said to be a "a potent example... set in a public park populated by poor and homeless people. [1]" The scene continues with the camera going through a, once again, colorful graffiti-ridden tunnel, with the, most probably, previously mentioned construction site on the other side. The construction sites, it seems, are something like markers, or turning points, that takes the city to another level, one that is better (or worse) than that before it. This is confirmed by the description of Los Angeles being like a "fortress city [1]" which is "brutally divided between 'fortified cells' of affluent society and 'places of terror' where the police brutalize the criminalized poor. [1]" Every single time one of these appears, it is as if to say "Look, we are fixing it, go on and you " ll see it's better". This time it is a Whammy Burger house.

Once inside, the view is carefully moved around the show the brightness and colorfulness of the place, with all the people sitting around, assuring ly happy. "As with so much of the film, the camera colonizes and exoticises scenes of intractable otherness... [1]" and this case is no different, in comparison to previous scenes. This perception however, is probably due to the fact that the set up of the location itself looks so comforting, especially compared to previously displayed scenes. It is almost like a heavy burden has been taken off the shoulders of the viewer. Once the view is taken back outside it can already be noticed that there are a lot more 'high-level' establishments included in the shots although they are dispersed among the other, familiar from before, buildings.

This gives one a feeling of security and relaxation though. The camera views carry on taking one through parts of the city, in each case showing enough to display the new and different surroundings. There are no more random graffiti on the walls but rather, there are colorful wall-sized drawings, unoffensive to the eye, and actually quite pleasant and interesting, with the exception of a few, which depict soldiers and war. The surroundings are also relatively clean and there are more 'respectable' individuals walking around. When the camera takes the viewer into the next city location (another 'marketplace') it is not of great surprise that it is of a somewhat military nature. All that has been shown so far are parts of the city that look more like a war zone, as the shop is for war-related supplies, than any normal part of a town.

In a way, after throughly showing the contents, it seems to signify a normal part (more of a necessity) in a city, in particular this one. The scene continues on to the back of the shop mentioned above which is lined with weaponry and other military equipment going all the way back to the world wars. The scene is very dark and gloomy, giving the viewer an impression of a bunker, almost suggesting that this is not any place that could actually exist in a normal American city. .".. The multicultural urban Jungle of Los Angeles... [3]" is how the scenes in the movie are described, and this is definitely one of those places.

Before the viewer is taken to yet another point that is under construction, he / she is shown the very first scene once again. This time, however, it is from a slightly different point of view and is not so 'heavy' to look at. The shots are from far up and the traffic problems are brief and seem a lot more inconsequential. The construction site actually looks a lot like the first one just mentioned again, with the huge line of cars and their annoyed occupants shouting. Yet another scene of American decline and 'self destruction'. When D-Fens reaches his next traveling point, after passing through the construction site mentioned above (which was apparently meant to be one of the bigger turning points between 'fortified cells [1]') he has to pass over a fence to actually get there.

It is actually shown by the camera to be more of a 'fortified' wall, in most likelihood to represent the division line between social statutes - bad and good. What the viewer in met with next is completely different from anything seen so far - a wide and spacious, very green (and apparently for the rich) area. A golf course, not forgetting to add, to its representation, some rich and pompous people (players). This of course is a very strongly underlined difference and could actually be called quite irritating. Thus when D-Fens mentions that all that space should really "be given over to 'children playing... [and] families having picnics [1]' " it would be no surprise if the viewer agreed with him entirely. To remind the viewer once again that it is not all 'peachy' and beautiful, the viewer is shown D-Fens' room which could be considered, at this point, to be the normal part of a a particular neighborhood in the city, despite being represented as a very gloomy and depressing place, in huge contrast with the light and clearness of the gold course.

In a very strong contrast the scene is taken to his house which is represented as a very dark and gloomy face. The camera, it seems, never wanting the viewer to forget the other, bad side by the representation of his "neurotically sterile, petty-bourgeois household. [3]" This, of course takes us to one more 'fortified' wall. Actually much more than the one shown before, with barbed wire on top. On the other side a huge house with a swimming pool is shown, not forgetting its own element of poor - the family that works for the obviously rich owner.

The final scene, although previously represented as fairly peaceful is now full of crowds of people bustling about on some kind of a parade. The camera then carefully goes on to move, actually slowly morphing that into a relatively small and secluded pier. The viewer is once again taken to graffiti and 'kill' poster lined walls, actually giving a sense of insecurity and danger one more time just as it was in the very beginning (that is, with the exclusion of noise and huge amounts of people). Throughout the film the camera takes the viewer and D-Fens" through all representations of the city, most of them being its dark side. A very unattractive but what could be said a realistic view. A lot of the representations are 'violent' and unexpected but this is nonetheless an integrate part of the overall representation of the movie and only adds more depth and meaning to the whole plot.

In other words it has helped by giving. ".. a series of scenes which crystalline urban frustrations and dangers... [2]"

Bibliography

[1] Alien Nation: White Male Paranoia and Imperial Culture in the United States, Liam Kennedy [2] Gender, Ethnicity and Sexuality in Contemporary American Film, Jude Davies and Carol R. Smith [3] White Guys, Studies in Postmodern Domination and Difference, Fred P feil [4].