Character Representation Analysis

1. By Bruna Borges
HOW CHARACTERS ARE PRESENTED
AND THE USE OF MISE EN SCENE
FOR CHARACTERISATION

2. Patsey – 12 Years a slave
From her costume and make up
the audience can tell that the
character of Patsey lives in
extreme poverty; her clothes
look dirty and worn out and she
looks dirty and sweaty.
She seems to have no
belongings, all she has with her
are dolls which she is making
out of straw, bark and dry
leaves she has collected.
The dolls may be a symbol of her
solitude. She is sitting on an
empty field and has no
belongings to her name, she is
alone and she is creating these
dolls to give company.

3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHOVSYK4c88
In this scene we learn that she is
desperate to able to have simple
needs; being clean is something
that we take for granted and
Patsey is not granted that by her
owner.
It is made obvious
she has little or no
education as her
language has
grammatical and
pronunciation
errors
She is kind and honest,
even though she knows
she will be punished for
her innocent actions, she
tells the truth to keep the
other slave from being
punished.

4. Regina George – Mean Girls
Regina is being carried
by a group of young
men portraying her as
someone who has
extremely high status,
so much that other
people will treat her
well to win her respect.
She has a ‘Barbie-like’
appearance, young girls usually
want to be like Barbie. Therefore,
conveying the idea that other
girls want to be Regina.
Notice how only men are
carrying her; perhaps to
illustrate she is desired by
the male students in the
school.

5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPwrmfRVwoA
This scene shows Regina’s status as a trendsetter. An attempt to mock her and
embarrass her was turned around. Clearly, if this had happened to a character
with a lower status the students would have laughed, but because Regina has a
high status other people follow her actions to be popular and cool like her.

6. King George VI – The King’s
Speech
The setting is dark and
empty, the room looks
cold, old and run down;
not at all a place where
you’d expect to see a king.
It makes him seem just
like an ordinary man.
Kings are often linked to wealth and
gold. Nothing in this scene is golden
apart from detail of the chair. Having
so little golden details may symbolise
that he is struggling to live up to his
title.
His grey costume strips
away the idea that he is a
king. The grey may also
reflect his feelings and
emotions. He is falling
into depression because
he cannot deliver the
speech.

7. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_A08Ejzgbw
The lighting is very low key, sets a
depressing, downbeat mood. The opposite
kind of mood you would associate to a
king. Again the cinematography makes him
appear as not being a very good king.
There are a few slightly
high angle shots of
George. High angle shots
makes the subject
appear weaker. We would
expect low angle shots of
a king to make him look
great and powerful.
The close-ups show
him hesitant to
speak and looking
nervous and
uncomfortable. This
portrays him as an
inelegant, weak king.