In director Jake Kasdan's movie Orange County(2002) the story takes place in Southern California in character Shaun Brumder’s (Colin Hanks) senior year of high school. He wants to become a professional surfer until one day he finds a book in the sand which makes him want to be a writer. The author of this book is a professor at Stanford and this makes Shaun aspire to go there to become a writer. The problem is though, that the college counselor mixes his application with another kid and he gets stuck in Orange County. This sets Shaun on an adventure to find a way into Stanford.
At 13 minutes and 34 seconds, Shaun is running away from the college counselor’s office right after he finds out that his transcript was mixed up. He thinks his life is ruined because now he can’t become a writer. He believes the only way to become a successful writer is to get into Stanford where his idol is a professor at.
This shot shows how Shaun is “trapped” in Orange County. Others around him encourage him to just go to the community college in the area like everyone else does, but Shaun doesn’t want to be “everyone else”. If he can’t go to Stanford he feels like there’s no way for him to get out of Orange County.
It was a good choice by the director to choose this narrow passage for this part in the movie. With the walls presence dominating over Shaun, it depicts how he’s trapped in Orange County with the rest of the kids there. With the walls being so tall it signifies how there is no way out, at least that’s what Shaun thinks. The long corridor makes it seem like Shaun’s been running forever or is running away from Orange County.
This long shot of Shaun running depicts how far away he is from what he wants to do in life. It also shows how small Shaun is to the world around him along with the walls of the corridor towering over him. As Shaun runs towards the camera it represents that by the end of the movie he’ll overcome his problem and get closer to the world around him. The director uses a wide angle lens to make Shaun seem smaller and to make the walls seem way bigger than him. Shaun is far away so it makes it so he has less power since he just got rejected from college.
When I was picking which shot to use for this I was assuming I would pick a shot with a lot going on. Then I saw this shot and it shocked me how much was in it. It’s a pretty plain shot and to the naked eye there isn’t much going, but because of the circumstances in the movie it makes perfect sense. It’s the perfect shot for a kid trying to escape his current situation.
Alright honestly, does anyone see this shot in the way I do? Or am I just blowing it out of proportion?
Mr. Cowlin here. Ben's last question got me thinking...How do we know when we've blown things out of proportion? How much is 'too much' when it comes to analyzing movies? Any ideas?
I agree that when I was choosing my shot, I too thought it would be great if there was a lot in it because there would be so much more to say-- and both Mr. Cowlin and Ben are right that it doesn't have to be that way (I chose what looks like a simple shot but I ended up having a lot to say about it because of what goes on in the movie). I think any random person would say that "a lot going on" or a "complex shot" is when there are a lot of objects and ideas in one shot. So yes, we do over think this sometimes because a complex shot could very well be some thing like these walls towering over one guy. What makes it so interesting is the way it fits into the story. Its perfect, and you can say so much about it when you dig in a bit.
ReplyDeleteI think this entry makes a fantastic point regarding how the long shot makes the boy seem so small and unimportant while the rest of the world and peers, represented by the looming and daunting walls. In this case, I don't think that we are over analyzing. The point in which you know you are over-analyzing is when you start pulling things out of your head that relate to your personal life or what is going on in the world, rather than things just in relation to the movie. So saying that, this entry is not over the top and interprets the symbolism of this shot brilliantly.
ReplyDeleteThis shot completely fits the whole movie. The guy looks like he's running for his life while the massive walls are looming over him. He actually is literally running for his life because he is trying to escape the trap that he fell into. The shot displays one clear path (the stairs) signifying that the guy's only path out of Orange County is to go to his dream college. It becomes his destiny, and he's running towards it so that he can pursue his destiny.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that Ben's analyzation is blown out of porportion because it just fits the theme of the movie artistically. The director could have shown a distressed guy sitting in a chair with a group of people around him pressuring him into staying in Orange County...but that would just ruin the essence of the theme and make it appear cheesy. Photographers and directors, and basicaly all artists, always strive to get the theme or moral of their peice of work across to the audience in the most creative way possible. The audience is left to uncover it, and I believe that this entry did just that.
hahaha thanks. Eventually there became a point where I thought I could go too far when I was writing this. Personally I thought I was just in depth enough to get the point across. If I would of said anything else I could of went too far but in this case I didn't. I agree with Sylwia in the fact that this shot "fits the theme of the movie artistically". It's a simple shot but it has a lot of power
ReplyDeleteBrandon Stark
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ben. I can see the walls as the higher power over Shaun. He's trapped in the neverending cycle of the society he lives in. For when he runs closer to the camera and becoming bigger to the audience his power increases. It also shows he doesnt want to live a meaningless life. He wants to live his life the way HE wants to. I kinda wanna see this movie now. It seems very interesting the story of a teen in high school wanting to do something in high school nobody else wants to do. When in life it's the opposite for alot of teens.
Owen Moynihan
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ben, even though I have never seen the movie I can see that the character seems trapped and that they seem to be running down an endless hallway never able to reach their goal.
i like how you picked this shot since it shows the long journey he has to make. The walls look really narrow. which can be a way of showing how trapped he is and how everyone wants him to do the same thing as kids his own age. this shot really shows how long he must travel and how far he must go to get what he wants
ReplyDeleteI actually really like this shot and think it contains great aspects of Mis En Scene and Cinematography. Everyone is correct when thinking this shot is trying to depict how in Shaun's life he is getting no where and has to keep trying very hard to get out of Orange county but is never successful with any attempt so far. I believe as well that this shot want to show the struggle in Shaun's life and how he is getting no where near being able to be out of orange county. This shot is trying to show how there is just so much around shaun and so much holding him back that it is almost impossible for him to ever get where he wants to be in life. All this friends want to do is sit around and surf and hangout on the beach and none of them really care about their lives and their future careers. Shaun is the only one that has goals and a normal perspective on life and actually wants to get ahead and achieve things in life. Where his friends on the other hand are contempt and want to just stay in orange county and this is holding Shaun back. Shaun's Brother, Mom and father are nothing near normal and continue to hold shaun back in his life whether it be because they mess up his college interviews or just because he has to take care of them being the youngest in the family when they should be taking care of shaun and helping him succeed in life. The only one really helping Shaun and could be the light at the end of this hallway would be Shaun girlfriend who wants the best for Shaun and tries to help him succeed in the world. All of these things are present in this shot because Shaun is running an endless race to try to get out of Orange county and this factors in his life are the wall in this shot never letting him go and enclosing his and keeping him in Orange county no matter how hard Shaun tries to escape it. I also think the only way you really know you've blown something out of proportion is when you have no longer can look and see what the person is talking about in the film. If it does not really relate to the plot as it should then it has been blown out of proportion but this is hard to do because the director and editor spend so much time with every shot that there usually is a hidden truth and symbolism in every shot they have put into the movie, that is if it is a good movie.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to second what everyone else has said thus far! Though it may just be irony, I like how the one hand rail is placed lower than the other. This may just be a coincidence, but if not, then it gives more of the "crooked/something is wrong" aspect to the whole scene. Nice capture!
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